Spratt Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: SpC MS 0476

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains correspondence of Fred E. Spratt and Chessman Chadwick Spratt, two brothers born in Palermo, Maine. Most of the letters were written by Fred to Chessman and reflect his life on the family farm. They include comments on agriculture, crops, planting, and prices, general comments on the weather and its effects on crops, as well as family and local news. A few letters from Melissa Chadwick Spratt to her two sons are also included in the correspondence. The collection also contains letters to various other Spratt family members, some unidentified family photographs, and school essays written in Palermo in 1882 and 1883. A section of the collection from the 1960's contains correspondence about the family genealogy, much of it to Fred Spratt's daughter Melissa Sennett from Gertrude Lundberg, compiler of a book about the Spratt family.

Dates

Creation: 1880-1969
Creation: Majority of material found within 1880-1920

Creator

Spratt family (Family)

Restrictions on Access

Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.

Use Restrictions

Information on literary rights available in the Library.

Biographical Note

Fred E. Spratt was born in 1863 in Palermo, the son of David W. Spratt and Melissa Chadwick Spratt. Fred Spratt remained on the family farm and after his father's death became responsible for the work on the farm and the care of his mother. Fred Spratt also held various positions in the town of Palermo, was in the state legislature, and was a justice of the peace from 1902 until 1920. He married Estella Turner in 1902, and the Spratts had one daughter, Melissa, born in 1904. Fred Spratt died in 1920.

Biographical Note

Chessman Chadwick Spratt, Fred's brother, was born in Palermo in 1867. After study in the local schools, he went to Bates College, graduating in 1893. He became principal of the high school in Richmond, Maine, and then spent seven years at the Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine. He received further education at the Detroit University School in 1902-1903 and at Harvard in 1904. He then spent seven years at the high school in Putnam, Connecticut, before moving to his last position as principal of the high school in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Chessman Spratt died in 1923 in Woonsocket.