Ebenezer Sproat (February 9, 1752 – January 7, 1805), surname also spelled Sprout, was an officer of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, a pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Appalachian Ohio, southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum River, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia ...

, the first permanent American settlement in the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

. He served throughout the entire American war of independence, from April 1775 through November 1783, achieving the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. After the war, he was a pioneer and surveyor in the Northwest Territory, and became a leader of the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

at Marietta during the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1785–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native Americans in the United States, Native American na ...

. He was the first

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

in the Northwest Territory and Ohio, serving fourteen years as sheriff of Washington County, the oldest county in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Early life

Ebenezer Sproat was born in Middleborough,

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

in 1752. He was the son of Bathsheba (Wood) and Ebenezer Sproat, who owned a farm and was the proprietor of the Sproat Tavern in Middleborough. During his boyhood and youth, he assisted his father in cultivating the farm. When quite young he became interested in the public affairs of the colony. Like his father Ebenezer grew to be a tall man and was of perfect proportions.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 230.Weston, ''History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts'', 322.

Revolutionary War

Ebenezer Sproat was in the field with the

throughout the

,Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 513.''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors, Vol 14'', 777. and was engaged in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 231. He was a disciplinarian, but also of cheerful disposition, and was a favorite with both officers and enlisted ranks. He initially served with Colonel Theophilus Cotton's Massachusetts Regiment during 1775. He joined as captain in April 1775, several days after the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

, and was promoted to major in June 1775.Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 32, 513. During 1776 he served with Colonel Ebenezer Learned's 3rd Continental Regiment.Heitma, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 20. He was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel of Colonel William Shepard's 4th Massachusetts Regiment and served with this regiment from January 1777 to September 1778.Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 37. While with this regiment, he was one of the officers who wintered at Valley Forge with General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

during the winter and spring of 1777 and 1778.Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 11. He was said to be the tallest man in his regiment. Ebenezer subsequently transferred to the 12th Massachusetts Regiment, where he served until from September 1778 through year-end 1780.Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 39. Ebenezer Sproat next joined the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment where he served from January 1781 until November 1783. During January 1781, he was executive officer under General Robert Howe with a detachment of five hundred men, ordered out to suppress a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment at Pompton, New Jersey. Three of the ringleaders of the mutiny were tried on the spot, with Lieutenant Colonel Sproat being president of the

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

. This was a sorrowful duty for Colonel Sproat; two of the men were sentenced and executed.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 231–33. He often said that duty was the most painful ever imposed upon him.Weston, ''History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts'', 324. Ebenezer Sproat was promoted to colonel during September 1783, shortly before the end of his eight and one-half years of service in the Continental Army. An anecdote illustrating Colonel Sproat's good nature with the enlisted ranks concerns a furlough early in the war when he was home visiting his mother. Three private soldiers asked for lunch at his parents' tavern, and when finished eating, asked him the cost. He informed them that the cost was about a shilling for each man. To their surprise, instead of collecting the money from them, he paid each man a shilling and wished them a good journey.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 234. Colonel Sproat was also on good terms with the officers such as General Von Steuben, and was a friend of General Washington.Weston, ''History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts'', 322–23.

Post-war in Rhode Island

After the war, Ebenezer Sproat lived in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, where he married Catherine Whipple, daughter of Commodore Abraham Whipple of the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United Colonies and United States from 1775 to 1785. It was founded on October 13, 1775 by the Continental Congress to fight against British forces and their allies as part of the American Revolutionary ...

. He purchased a store, and worked as a merchant, but was not successful. In 1786 he was appointed as surveyor for the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. In that role, he participated in the surveying of the Seven Ranges in the Ohio Country.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 234–35.Smith and Vining, ''American Geographers, 1784–1812'', 197.

The Ohio Country

Ebenezer Sproat became a shareholder of the Ohio Company of Associates, and was engaged as a surveyor with the company.Hulbert, ''Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume I'', 26. On April 7, 1788, Ebenezer Sproat and a group of American pioneers to the Northwest Territory, led by Rufus Putnam, arrived at the confluence of the

and Muskingum rivers to establish

as the first permanent American settlement in the

.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 206.Hulbert, ''Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume I'', 24.Cutler, ''Founders of Ohio'', 15–17. Ebenezer's wife, daughter, and Commodore Whipple joined him at Marietta the following year. Colonel Sproat, with his tall and commanding presence, was a notable member of the pioneer settlement of Marietta. He greatly impressed the local Indians, who in admiration dubbed him "Hetuck", meaning "eye of the buck dear", or "Big Buckeye".Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 237.Ohio Division of Forestry, ''Ohio…The Buckeye State'', brochure.Goodman and Brunsman, ''This Day in Ohio History'', 54. Some historians believe this is how Ohio came to be known as the Buckeye State, though a more commonly accepted explanation involves the later presidential campaign of

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

. During the

he was authorized by

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Henry Knox to superintend the military affairs of the United States in Washington County. He was a founding member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

,Drake, ''Memorials of the Society of Cincinnati'', 463–64. and helped form the American Union Lodge No. 1 of Freemasons at MariettaSummers, ''History of Marietta'', 294–95. along with others including Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, and William Stacy. Ebenezer Sproat was the first

in the Northwest Territory, serving fourteen years from 1788 to 1802 as sheriff of Washington County, the oldest county in

. At that time, the county encompassed lands from the Ohio River in the south, to

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

in the north, embracing half of the eventual state of Ohio. Sheriff Sproat was cheerful and fond of company, and quite attached to horses and dogs. As sheriff, he always rode a horse during his long journeys through the county, accompanied by two or three large dogs.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 238. He filled the office of sheriff with dignity, and exhibited a great kindness in his execution of the law. He was often known to furnish a poor family with his own money for repayment of a debt, rather than to make an arrest.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 238–39.

Later life

In his latter years he was fond of physical labor and of cultivating the land.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 239. Ebenezer Sproat died in Marietta in early 1805, either on January 7,Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, ''Ebenezer Sprout'', online database. or perhaps during February,Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 240. with his oft-repeated wish of a sudden exit fully answered. He is buried adjacent to his father-in-law, Commodore Whipple, and near many other American Revolutionary War soldiers and pioneers at Mound Cemetery in Marietta.Hawley, ''Mound Cemetery'', 415.

Notes

References

* Andrews, Martin R.: ''History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio and Representative Citizens'', Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois (1902). * Barker, Joseph: ''Recollections of the First Settlement of Ohio'', Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio (1958); original manuscript written late in Joseph Barker's life, prior to his death in 1843. * ''Birthplace of the Northwest Territory'', Northwest Territory Celebration Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1938). * Cutler, Julia Perkins: ''The Founders of Ohio, Brief Sketches of the Forty-Eight Pioneers'', Robert Clarke and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1888). * Drake, Francis S.: ''Memorials of the Society of Cincinnati of Massachusetts'', Boston (1873). * Goodman, R. and Brunsman, B. J.: ''This Day in Ohio History'', Emmis Books, Cincinnati, Ohio (2005). * Hawley, Owen: ''Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio'', Washington County Historical Society, Marietta, Ohio (1996). * Heitman, Francis B.: ''Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution'', Rare Book Shop Publishing Co., Washington, D.C. (1914). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1852). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1848). * Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume I'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). * Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume II'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). * New England Historic Genealogical Society, The Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati Profiles: ''Ebenezer Sprout'', online database, NewEnglandAncestors.org (2004). * ''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol 14'', Published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Wright and Potter Printing Co., Boston (1906). * Ohio Division of Forestry: ''Ohio…The Buckeye State'', Ohio Department of Natural Resources brochure (rev 11/1998) * Smith, B. A. and Vining, J. W.: ''American Geographers, 1784–1812'', Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut (2003). * Summers, Thomas J.: ''History of Marietta'', The Leader Publishing Co., Marietta, Ohio (1903). * Weston, Thomas: ''History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts'', Houghton Mifflin and Co., Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1906). * Zimmer, Louise: ''True Stories of Pioneer Times'', published by Broughton Foods company, Marietta, Ohio (1987).

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sproat, Ebenezer 1752 births 1805 deaths Continental Army officers from Massachusetts American pioneers History of Ohio People from Washington County, Ohio People from Marietta, Ohio Ohio sheriffs American surveyors Burials at Mound Cemetery (Marietta, Ohio) American people of the Northwest Indian War People from colonial Massachusetts American city founders