Sprague, John Wilson, 1817-1893.

John Wilson Sprague (1817-1893) was born in White Creek, New York. He attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute but did not graduate. He became a merchant and was for a short time with his uncle in Charleston, South Carolina. Form 1851-1852 he was treasurer of Erie County, Ohio. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was appointed Captain of the 7th Ohio Volunteers. In 1863 he became Colonel of the 63rd Ohio Regiment and then, in 1864, Brigadier-General of the Volunteers. After the war he was associated with several railroads and went to the Washington Territory in 1870 as General Agent of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He was active in building up Tacoma, Washington, and was president of its Board of Trade, and of several banks and corporations there.