Sprigg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The history of the name Sprigg goes back those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain. Such a name was given to a person who because of their physical abilities was referred to as "sprack" or "spragg." This nickname surname was used to denote those individuals who were "agile", "nimble" and "quite lively." 1 2 3
In Shakespeare's comedy, The Merry Wives of Windsor, he states "He is a good sprag memory," IV. i. 84. 4
Early Origins of the Sprigg family
The surname Sprigg was first found in Suffolk where Reginald Sprag is listed in Suffolk in 1303. This is generally considered to be the first record of the family. A few years later, Richard Sprak was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327 and Alice Sprakes was listed in Somerset in 1359. 5
Early History of the Sprigg family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sprigg research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1618, 1620, 1632, 1645, 1655, 1664, 1673, 1677, 1684, 1695, 1720, 1725, 1919, 1944 and 1946 are included under the topic Early Sprigg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sprigg Spelling Variations
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Sprigg family name include Spragg, Spragge, Sprague, Sprake, Sprigg, Spriggs and many more.
Early Notables of the Sprigg family
Notables of this surname at this time include:
- Rev. Harvey Spragg of Essex; Joshua Sprigg or Sprigge (1618-1684), an English Independent theologian and preacher, chaplain to Sir Thomas Fairfax; and Francis Spriggs (died 1725), a British pirate act...
- William Sprigg (fl. 1655-1695), was an English pamphleteer, born in or near Banbury, Oxfordshire, was younger son of William Sprigg, steward of New College, Oxford. 6
Migration of the Sprigg family to Ireland
Some of the Sprigg family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 113 words (8 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sprigg migration to the United States +
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Sprigg or a variant listed above:
Sprigg Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Thomas Sprigg, who arrived in Maryland in 1662 7
Sprigg migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Sprigg Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- John Sprigg, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Sprigg migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Sprigg Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- William Sprigg, English convict from Somerset, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 8
- Andrew Sprigg, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Delhi" in 1839 9
- Charles M. Sprigg, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Delhi" in 1839 9
- George S. Sprigg, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Delhi" in 1839 9
- Henry Lorenzo Sprigg, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Delhi" in 1839 9
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Contemporary Notables of the name Sprigg (post 1700) +
- Dr. Richard Sprigg Steuart (1797-1876), Maryland physician, early pioneer of the treatment of mental illness
- Richard Sprigg Canby (1808-1895), American politician, Representative from Ohio 4th District, 1847-49; Circuit Judge in Illinois 2nd Circuit, 1867 10
- Sprigg Harwood, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 1864, 1876 11
Historic Events for the Sprigg family +
- Mr. Leonard Leslie Sprigg, British Leading Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 12
Citations +
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- Dixon, Bernard Homer, Surnames. London: John Wilson and son, 1857. Print
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
- State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DELHI 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Delhi.htm
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html