History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 1887



Sprout Family - CHARLES H. SPROUT Biography

Charles Howard Sprout, deceased, was a man of unusual ability and beautiful personal character, and passed away just after having fairly entered upon a career which held out for him the most brilliant prospects. He was born at Picture Rocks, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1860, the elder of the two sons of Lewis B. and Ellen (Donnelly) Sprout, and the third of their six children. He was of studious habits and had acquired a good practical education by the time he was seventeen years of age, when he entered the factory established by his father, which became that of Sprout, Waldron & Company. In 1883 he became associated with John Waldron in the firm of Waldron & Sprout, and when this was succeeded by the corporation of Sprout, Waldron & Company in 1895, he became its secretary, holding this position until his death at the early age of thirty-six years. During this all too brief period he displayed talents of the highest order-intelligence, prudence, diligence -and to these qualities added decision of character, and a measure of affability which endeared him to all with whom he was in any way associated. Some of the largest advancements made by the company were during his connection with it, and he bore an intelligent and active part in the erection of the new factory in the first year of his association in the firm (1883), in the installation of the machinery for the manufacture of French buhr mills, in 1884; and in the rebuilding of the plant after its destruction by fire on February 22, 1888. He was of an inventive turn of mind, and afforded valuable aid in the setting-up of new machinery, introducing various modifications and improvements of his own designing. His interest in the establishment amounted to enthusiasm, and he persisted in his labors in spite of severe physical ailments and almost up to the moment of his death. He had been accustomed to journey to various portions of the country in the interest of the business, and was on such an errand in, March, 1896, at Catskill, New York, where he was suddenly stricken down with appendicitis. Twice before, during the previous five years, he had endured great suffering from the same malady, and had often declared to his friends that in the event of another attack he would place himself in the hands of the surgeons. He was taken by friends to the City Hospital in Albany, New York, and his wife and his brother, Fred M., were summoned to his side and found him in such serious condition that there seemed no possible remedy but by surgical treatment. An operation was performed on Sunday morning, but was unavailing, and on the evening of the following day he closed his eyes in that last sleep which falls upon the sons of men. A devout Christian, while saddened to part from his loved ones, he held fast to his faith in an awakening in a better and brighter land, and passed away, his last utterance being in the words of the beautiful psalm which has ever been a solace to the dying righteous : "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

In his youth Mr. Sprout was baptized into the communion of his parents, that of the Baptist church, and he maintained an unsullied christian walk and conversation throughout his life. Without bearing his heart upon his sleeve, he ever manifested a tender brotherly solicitude for those about him, and in every presence carried himself as a modest unconscious exemplar of the beauty of holiness. He deemed a strictly abstemious life a part of his religious duty, and out of similar consideration ever gave a hearty support to the cause of prohibition, seeking to preserve the weak and infirm of purpose from a temptation which could only be for their undoing if yielded to. In all his family relations he was an ideal man-a reverential and dutiful son, a loyal brother, and a devoted husband.

Mr. Sprout married, December 9, 1880, Miss Tranie Shipman, daughter of Amos Shipman, of Muncy Creek township, who survives her lamented husband. Their union was unblessed by children.


Source: Genealogical and Personal History of Lycoming County, John W. Jordan, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1906.










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