William Sprigg (judge)
William Sprigg (1770 – September 9, 1827)[1] was an American attorney who twice served as Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, as well as adjudicated on the Superior Court of the Orleans Territory and the highest court of the Illinois Territory.
William Sprigg | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court | |
| In office April 2, 1803 – April 12, 1806 | |
| Preceded by | none (state established) |
| Succeeded by | George Tod |
| Judge of the Superior Court of the Orleans Territory | |
| In office 1806–1808 | |
| Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court | |
| In office February 16, 1808 – February 10, 1810 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Symmes |
| Succeeded by | William W. Irvin |
| Justice of the Illinois Territorial Court | |
| In office 1809 – April, 1818 | |
| Preceded by | Obediah Jones |
| Succeeded by | Thomas C. Browne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1770 Prince George's County, Maryland |
| Died | September 9, 1827 Hagerstown, Maryland |
Early life
Sprigg was born in 1770 in Prince George's County, Maryland to Joseph Sprigg and Hannah Lee. His uncle, Thomas Sprigg, was a Member of Congress from Maryland from 1793–1797. His half-brother, Samuel Sprigg, was Governor of Maryland from 1818-1820.
Career
Sprigg headed westward to Hagerstown and Cumberland, Maryland (where relatives were merchants) then continued along the Ohio River. He became a pioneer and early attorney in Adams County, Ohio, then in the Northwest Territory. When Ohio became a state in 1803, the state legislature appointed Sprigg to the Ohio Supreme Court. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court from April 1803 to April 1806, and again from 1808 to 1810. During the interim period, Sprigg received an appointment from President Thomas Jefferson to serve on the highest court in the Territory of Orleans, which he did from January 1806 to November 1808.[2]
In 1812, Governor Ninian Edwards of the newly formed Illinois Territory appointed Sprigg as a judge for that territory.[3] Sprigg served on the Illinois court for several years alongside Jesse B. Thomas and Stanley Griswold.[4] However, when Illinois was on the verge of becoming a state, he and Thomas became the center of controversy about the relative relationship between the judicial and legislative branches, and both wrote to the U.S. Congress. By April, 1818 Judge Sprigg was either removed or had resigned from the bench.[5] When Illinois became a state in December 1818, the Illinois House of Representatives approved none of the territorial judges to the newly formed Illinois Supreme Court. Sprigg sought nomination for Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Illinois, but failed.
Death and legacy
Judge Spriggs returned eastward, moving to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he died among relatives on September 9, 1827.[1] Sprigg Township in Adams County, Ohio is named for Judge Sprigg.[6]
References
- "William Sprigg". The Supreme Court of Ohio and The Ohio Judicial System.
- Celebration of the Centenary of the Supreme Court of Louisiana (March 1, 1913), in John Wymond, Henry Plauché Dart, eds., The Louisiana Historical Quarterly (1922), p. 113.
- Thomas William Herringshaw, Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteen Century (1904) p. 879, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=Xxg7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA879&lpg
- Illinois State Historical Society, Papers in Illinois History and Transactions for the Year 1902 p. 90, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=CuZLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA90&lpg
- Buck, Solon Justus (1918-01-01). Illinois in 1818. McClurg.
- Evans, Nelson Wiley (1900). A History of Adams County, Ohio: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. E B. Stivers. pp. 461.
{{succession box| title=Judge of the Superior Court of the Territory of Illinois | before=Obadiah Jones| after=[[Thomas C. Browne| years=1815-1818}}
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by newly created position |
Judge of the Ohio Supreme Court 1803-1806 |
Succeeded by George Tod |
| Preceded by Peter Stephen Duponceau |
Judge of the Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans 1805-1807 |
Succeeded by John Thompson |
| Preceded by Daniel Symmes |
Judge of the Ohio Supreme Court 1808-1810 |
Succeeded by William W. Irvin |