Alexander Sproat (June 19, 1834 – August 20, 1890) was an

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land surveyor, businessman and political figure. He represented Bruce North in the

1st Canadian Parliament The 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867, until July 8, 1872 (4 years and 252 days). The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867. It was prorogued prior to the 1872 election. ...

as a

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member.

Biography

He was born near Milton in Halton County,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, in 1834, son of Adam Sproat and Eleanor Brown. He studied at Knox College and Queen's College. He came to

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around 1856 as a provincial surveyor and ended up the agent of the Commercial Bank of Canada (his future father-in-law, as well as Crown lands agent, was the agent of the

Bank of Upper Canada The Bank of Upper Canada was established in 1821 under a charter granted by the legislature of Upper Canada in 1819 to a group of Kingston merchants. The charter was appropriated by the more influential Executive Councillors to the Lt. Governor, t ...

, so in effect Alexander's direct competition). He married Alexander McNabb's daughter Eliza in 1861 in Southampton. They were the parents of Marion, Adam, Eleanor. Two other children, Margaret and Mary died in infancy and are buried in Southampton. In 1864, he was appointed treasurer for

Bruce County Bruce County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It has eight lower-tier municipalities with a total 2021 population of 73,396. It is named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, the sixth Governor General of t ...

, a position he held until 1873. He served as colonel with the Southampton Rifles during the Fenian Raids. In 1866, the volunteer companies of the County Bruce were formed into the 32nd Battalion of Infantry and Alex was made lieutenant colonel in command. In 1867, Alex was elected Conservative MP for North Bruce and sat in the first House of Commons after Confederation (which sat between September 24, 1867, and July 8, 1872). In 1872 he lost his bid for re-election by a handful of votes. He also served as the mayor of Walkerton in 1876 and also served a term as reeve. By 1880, Alexander and his family had moved west to Prince Albert. In that year, he was named registrar for the District of

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in the

District of Saskatchewan The District of Saskatchewan was a regional administrative district of Canada's North-West Territories. Formed in 1882, it was later enlarged then abolished with the creation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905. Much of the are ...

. He helped found the Curling Club of Saskatchewan and served as its first president. He organized and served as the first lodge master of L.O.L. No. 1506, the first Orange Lodge in the

District of Alberta The District of Alberta was a regional administrative district of Canada's North-West Territories. It served as an administrative district from 1882 until the creation of the province of Alberta in 1905. The District of Alberta and province of Al ...

in 1882. When the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

broke out in 1885 the

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, who were sent to Duck Lake, were sworn in by Colonel Sproat, his son Adam (Bruce) among them. His brother-in-law Alexander McNabb was wounded in the battle and his friend John Morton was killed. Alexander Sproat died at Prince Albert on August 17, 1890.

References

* *
''Saskatchewan curling : heartland tradition'', WP Argan (1991)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sproat, Alexander 1834 births 1890 deaths Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Canadian Militia officers Prince Albert Volunteers Mayors of Walkerton, Ontario Canadian military personnel from Ontario 19th-century Canadian military personnel 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada