Charles Ezra Sprague
Charles Ezra Sprague was not a graduate of the Normal School. Born in Nassau, New York on October 9, 1842 to the Reverend Ezra Sprague, a Methodist Minister, and Elizabeth Brown Edgerton Sprague, he displayed a keen intelligence and appetite for learning very early in his childhood. At age of 8, he taught himself Hebrew by comparing English Bibles with Hebrew Bibles- beginning a lifelong affinity for language. (2)
Sprague enrolled at Union College at age 14, and at the time he was the youngest to ever attend the school. At Union, Classical Greek was his specialty, and in this area he was "years ahead of the nearest competitor." (3) He also learned Modern Greek later in life. He developed a novel method of learning new languages: he met new, and while talking with them, immersed himself into their language and forced himself to learn it.
Sprague attended Union with the benefit of the Nott Scholarship, which provided full tuition and fee coverage, plus a $10 stipend if certain standards were maintained. These conditions included: academic good standing, and abstinence from alcohol and tobacco. Charles Sprague observed these conditions to the fullest and maintained his scholarship throughout his years at Union. (4)
At Union, Sprague became active in fraternity life. He joined Alpha Delta Phi, an organization to which he remained close for the rest of his life. He served as National Secretary for the fraternity between 1896 - 1901, and as president ad interim in1897-'98 and 1901-'03. He also joined Phi Beta Kappa, an honorary scholastic fraternity, upon graduation from Union. Fellow student George W. Brown described Sprague as one of "the brightest and best equipped,despite his youth. He was never haughty or arrogant." (5) Sprague received his Master's degree from Union in 1862 and a Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1893.
Sprague had been promoted to sergeant in January 1863. He remained with Company E until he
was wounded in the left shoulder at Gettysburg. The injury, while not terribly serious, served as a
painful and partially disabling reminder of the war. He was discharged for his wounds in March
1864, and in 1868 he was brevetted a Colonel in the New York Volunteers for "meritorious and
gallant service at Gettysburg." (6) Despite this brevet, he enlisted as a private in the New York
National Guard in 1870. In January 1872, Sprague won a lieutenant's commission, and was
promoted to captain that June. He was honorably discharged from the National Guard on August
28, 1873. Sprague's final taste of military service came in 1897 when he was commissioned a
Colonel to serve as Assistant Postmaster General for the State of New York. He left National
Guard service for the last time in June, 1901.
The war exposed Sprague to military tactics, in which he became proficient, and he began teaching in military schools. After his discharge in 1864, and as soon as he was physically able, he joined the faculty of the Yonkers Military Institute, where he taught for two years. He also taught at the Peekskill Academy and the Poughkeepsie Military Institute. During this period of teaching, Sprague's proficiency in tactics grew to near levels of mastery. He published several articles in the "Army and Navy Journal," discussing and comparing U.S., British and Prussian tactics. He was also asked to confer with the Commandant of the United States Military Academy on the proposed revision of the Academy tactics manual. (7)
Sprague married Miss Ray Ellison of New York City on April 2, 1866. Together they had four daughters. Two of the girls died before reaching adulthood. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague traveled extensively to Europe, a total of 27 trips, and was primarily focused on Great Britain, where he observed and learned new business practices and improvements.
His interest in language continued, and he developed an interest in simplified spelling and universal languages like Esperanto and Volapuk, that would simplify communication in a world where communication and dealings between countries was becoming more important, especially in business. He made a special trip to Bavaria to visit the German priest, Father Johann Schleyer, who invented Volapuk. Since Sprague spoke sixteen languages at this time, Volapuk was not necessary for him, but he could see the larger impact such a language could have on society.
In 1870 Sprague began what was to be his true calling. He took a clerkship at the Union Dime Savings Bank in New York City. He obtained the job primarily because of his multi-lingual interpretive ability. In 1877 he became Secretary, and in the 1880s became Treasurer. Finally, in 1892 he became the Bank President, a position he held until his death in 1912. During his clerkship he had become skilled in accountancy. He was therefore one of the first to qualify as a Certified Public Accountant. His pioneering efforts in the certification process allowed him to sit on the Board of Examiners for CPAs in 1896-1898.
Sprague introduced many innovations to savings bank bookkeeping, including: the small bank passbook and checkbook; the loose leaf ledger; amortization methods; and the "automalogothotype," a machine that made automated ledger entries, thereby speeding and simplifying routine work and reducing errors of hand-made entries. Sprague failed to patent the creation, and its design was copied unashamedly. (8)
Also while connected to the Union Dime Savings Bank, Sprague recognized the need to train young men for life in business and commerce. He became instrumental in the founding of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance at New York University. He became a member of the faculty of this new school, teaching at night and without compensation. In class he was known for punctuality, precision and carefulness. His lectures were clear and extremely beneficial to the young students. There were no documented cases of students skipping one of Sprague's classes.
Sprague also published in the field of finance. He wrote several timely articles for banking and business magazines, and newspapers. He served as the associate editor for The Bookkeeper and The Journal of Accountancy. He published many books during his life, several of which were republished after his death, testifying to the value and contribution of his work. Sprague's works include: The Algebra of Accounts (1880); The Accountancy of Investment (1904); Extended Bond Tables (1905); Problems and Studies in the Accountancy of Investment (1906); and, The Philosophy of Accounts (1907).
Charles Ezra Sprague died of pneumonia, March 21, 1912. His close friend, Dean Johnson, head of New York University, said in memory:
He was a gentleman of the old school, courtly, sensitive, tactful; a man of wide culture with a genuine love for beauty in art and literature; a scholar without pride of attainment, but insistent in his love of scientific accuracy; a soldier, and in battle you felt that he would be a brave fighter; and in addition, a banker, an accountant, and a square, honorable, business man. (9)1. Helen Scott Mann, Charles Ezra Sprague (New York: New York University, 1931), 12.
2. Ibid., 2.
3. Ibid., 3.
4. Ibid., 4.
5. Ibid., 9.
6. Ibid., 33.
7. Ibid., 38.
8. Ibid., 48.
9. Ibid., 67.