Charlotte Taylor, daughter of Hon. Simon Taylor, wife of James Sproule of Mellmount

Some might have read the story on this blog of James Sproule of Mellmount and Jamaica, and a lady called Charlotte Taylor. It was a story that was astounding for me to research – each step of the way bringing a new surprise. But the surprises continued to arrive after I had posted the story.

In October of 2017 I received an email:

“Kate, I read your excellent research on the Sproule family and discover I must be a distant relative of yours.

We have in our family a portrait painting of which I would like to send you a photo; I think you would be interested.”

It was from a gentleman called Michael Ferriss who sent me a photograph of a portrait of a lady who he claimed was Charlotte Taylor. Could it really be her?

Charlotte Taylor was born a slave on the plantation of Golden Grove in Jamaica in 1795.  She was a ‘Quadroon’, which meant that her father was white and her mother was a mixed race slave. Her father lived there with her on the Golden Grove plantation, and he was a gentleman called the Honourable Simon Taylor. He was said to be the richest man in the whole of the British Commonwealth at that time. Charlotte Taylor was his slave daughter by his ‘housekeeper’.

Later in the story we find that Charlotte Taylor has 7 children with James Sproule, each of them baptised in Jamaica. With each is recorded that the father is James Sproule and the mother is Charlotte Taylor, quadroon. They weren’t married, as it was not possible marry in Jamaica at that time.

The white men, mostly English or Scottish, in Jamaica at that time often lived openly with slave 'housekeepers', and they had children by them. Some sent these children to England or Scotland to be educated, but what was really unusual about this was that James Sproule brought Charlotte Taylor and his 7 children all back to live in Ireland. They lived in a grand house called Mellmount on the outskirts of Strabane. Charlotte was introduced as his wife, now at last called Charlotte Sproule. She lived as an affluent lady there until her death in 1849. This is very rare, and indeed the story has brought much interest from academics who study the history of these times, and study the culture of slavery.

So here, now, was a portrait. Could it really be Charlotte Taylor?

Jane Fisher Holland and Mike Ferriss had sent me two photographs of the portrait. The name of the painter, they told me, was on the portrait. He was called Richard Hooke. Richard Hooke (1820-1908) was born in County Down and he was a respected portrait painter of his day. He was an exhibitor in the Royal Irish Acadamy for many years.

Charlotte Taylor 1795-1845,
Portrait by Richard Hooke, (1820–1908)

The portrait had been kept in their family all this time. It was definitely my Charlotte Taylor! This was so amazing for me to look this wonderful lady in the eyes for the first time. I had lived with her and her story for the best part of a year, and here she was. And here were her descendants, they were my cousins and they were descendants of a lady I had much admired for so long. I am so grateful they got in touch – thank you Jane Fisher Holland and Mike Ferriss.

References:

All references relating to James Sproule, Charlotte Taylor and the Hon. Simon Taylor can be found in the story in this blog. It is in several posts and begins here - The Beginning of the BIG Story

James Sproule is was born in Tullymoan, County Tyrone, Ireland.  For more on his family history -  The Tullymoan Sproules, 

Information on Richard Hooke, Artist - Library Ireland - Richard Hooke Art UK - Richard Hooke

The Family Tree of Robert Evan Sproule in Kinnebec, Maine, USA

 This post is on the family tree of Robert Evan Sproule who was hanged in British Colombia, Canada on 29 Oct 1886. The research on Robert and the identification of his family was all done by a gentleman called Greg Nesteroff of the KÜTNE READER. My aim is to publish this so that Robert Evan Sproule’s name appears on his family’s tree in the genealogy records.

Greg trawled the newspapers and all the documents to find hints of Robert Evan Sproule’s family, and there are plenty there.

There are several references to his brothers, including in the hand-written will  of Robert Sproule, but I’ll show just two examples. These are the most definitive references that I could see that show for certain what Greg had found, and which confirm the Maine Sproule family where Robert belongs.

One comes from one of the the newspaper articles announcing that Robert Evan Sproule has been hanged. The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) of  12 Jan 1887 tells us that he is a native of Weeks Mills, Maine;

“Papers showing his innocence beyond question were filed yesterday with the secretary of state here, and a brother of the dead man, Frank Sproule, of Weeks Mills Maine, has instructed his counsel here to bring a suit against the Provinces of British columbia for $50,000 damages in consequence of the wrongful oeccecution of his brother…”

The other example also gives the same address for Robert's brother, and it is from no less a person than  the Secretary of State in Washington D.C.. His  reply to a letter from  Robert’s brother, Franklin Sproule Esq. Weeks Mills, Maine is printed in the local paper;

Daily Colonist 28 Sep 1886 Thanks to Greg Nesteroff 

Franklin Sproule, brother of Robert Evan Sproule is very easy to locate from this address. He was a weathly man who owned mills in Weeks Mills, Kinnebec County, Maine. Franklin was born on 29 Aug 1825 in Jefferson, Lincoln, Maine, and he died on 23 Jan 1805 in Windsor, Kennebec, Maine, USA. So now we have enough to place his brother, Robert Evan Sproule, on his family tree.

The death cert of Franklin Sproule 
Ancestry.com. Maine, U.S., Death Records, 1761-1922

The Family of Robert Evan Sproule with  Grateful thanks to Greg Nesteroff of the KÜTNE READER

ANDREW SPROULE CAPTAIN was born on 23 Sep 1788 in Bristol, Lincoln, Maine, USA. He died on 07 May 1852 in Jefferson, Lincoln, Maine, USA. He married  ELIZABETH BETSEY LITTLE on 06 Apr 1814 in Bristol, Lincoln Co., Me, USA. She was born on 05 Mar 1792 in Bristol, Lincoln, Maine, USA. She died on 19 Jul 1871 in Jefferson, Lincoln, Maine, USA.  

1.  SARAH A SPROULE was born in Oct 1815 in Maine, United States of America. She married Edwin a Potter on 2 Mar 1839 in Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Sarah died on 30 Jan 1874 in Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. 

2. SUSAN ANN SPROULE was born on 09 Feb 1819 in Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine, USA. She married Henry A. Potter on 10 Jul 1842 in Waltham, Middlesex. Susan Ann died on 05 Apr 1905 in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA. 

3. ELIZABETH SPROULE was born about 1821 in Washington, Knox, Maine, USA. She married Dwight D. Carrier She died on 21 Jun 1891 in Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA 

4. FRANKLIN SPROULE was born on 29 Aug 1825 in Jefferson, Lincoln, Maine, USA. He died on 23 Jan 1905 in Windsor, Kennebec, Maine, USA. He married Sarah A Frisbie on 27 Apr 1851 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Sarah was born about 1828. Sarah died in 1877

5.  ABIGALE M. WEEKS was born in 1827 in Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine, USA. She married Winthrop H Weeks on 1 Sep 1854 in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA. Abbey died on 11 Jun 1878 in Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine, USA.

6. ROBERT EVAN SPROULE was born on 11 Jul 1833 in Kinnebec, Maine, USA. He died on 29 Oct 1886 in Victoria, British Columbia, USA. 

7. JAMES SPROULE was born on 10 Aug 1835 in Kinnebec, Maine, USA. He died on 10 Mar 1910 in Verdi, Washoe County, Nevada, United States of America. He married Margaret Ellen Godfrey, daughter of James Godfrey, in 1888. She was born in 1840 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She died on 03 Dec 1928 in Verdi, Washoe County, Nevada, United States of America. 

The Will of Robert Evan Sproule
Ancestry.com. Washington, U.S.,
Wills and Probate Records, 1851-1970

 

For more on Robert Evan Sproule:

The Hanging of Robert Evan Sproule

The Unfortunate Robert Evan Sproule 

 

The Family of Robert Sproule and Hully Murray

 ROBERT SPROULE OF BURRELL’S FOLLY was the son of Joseph Sproule of Curraghamulkin according to Jack Elder. He died at Burrell’s Folly, Drumnaforbe, Longfield East, County Tyrone, which was a house that he had built in 1779. Robert married HULLY MURRAY.

There is some evidence that Hully Murray could well be the daughter of Edward Murray who was living in Drumquin at that time, and he died there in about 1772. In a deed dated 13 Apr 1768, Edward Murray of Drumquin is leasing out land in Drumnaforbe.[1] In another deed date 5 Nov 1773 we learn that Edward Murray of Drumquin is now deceased and his eldest son and heir is Lowther Murray. [2] Now Lowther Murray appears as a plaintif in the Ireland Court of Chancery Records of 1777, and there is in that a list of defendants that includes Lecky Murray, his brother, and also Robert Sproule and his wife Hully Murray.[3] We don’t have details of this record, but it looks like a financial dispute between Lowther Murray and other members of his family, which includes Robert Sproule and his wife Hully. Lecky Murray, who was a brother of Lowther, was a doctor in the American Revolution, and in his papers there, we learn that his father was Edward Murray and his mother was Sarah. He died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1813/1814.

So it looks like Hully Murray could be the sister of Lowther Murray and Dr Lecky Murray, and the daughter of Edward Murray of Drumquin and his wife Sarah. More research is required to confirm this.

Robert Sproule and Hully Murray had the following children:

1.       MARTHA (MATTY) SPROULE OF BURRELL'S FOLLY was born in 1775. She died on 29 Dec 1867 in Burrell’s Folly, Drumnaforbe, Longfield East, Tyrone, Ireland (Aged 92).

“December 29, at Burrell's Folly, county Tyrone, Martha, eldest daughter of the late Robert Sproule, Esq., aged 92 years.” Londonderry Sentinel 11 Jan 1867

2.       SARAH SPROULE BURRELL'S FOLLY was born in 1778. She died on 25 Oct 1858 in Clare House, Clare, Tyrone, the home of her sister Rebecca.

“On the 25th ult., at Clare House, the residence of John Mathewson, Esq., Sarah, second daughter of the late Robert Sproule, Esq., of Burrelsfolly, in the 80th year of her age.” Londonderry Sentinel 8 Oct 1858

3.       MARGARET SPROULE OF BURRELL'S FOLLY was born about 1786 in Burrell's Folly, Drumnaforbe, Tyrone, Ireland. She married James Caldwell on 09 Jan 1805 in Drumquin, Longfield, Tyrone (this marriage is family lore and no document has been found). James Caldwell was born about 1780 in Tyrone,  Ireland.  They lived in Orange County, New York, and had at least 8 children. At some stage around 1820 the family moved to Newmarket Ontario where James Caldwell died in 1825.

Margaret is buried with her son James Bell Caldwell in in Newmarket, Ontario West, Ontario, Canada. He died in 1825 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, where she died on 06 Feb 1854  Margaret married a Mathewson after the death of James Caldwell, but I have found no record of this marriage as yet.

4.       EDWARD SPROULE OF BURRELL'S FOLLY was born in 1792 in Burrell’s Folly, Drumnaforbe, Longfield East, Tyrone, Ireland (Upper Langfield). He died on 30 Jan 1875 in Burrell’s Folly, (left will in PRONI). He married Mary Porter of Strabane, daughter of Frederick Porter and Catherine Sproule, on 17 Apr 1826. She was born in 1790 in Strabane.. She died on 25 May 1866 in Burrell’s Folly, Drumnaforbe, Longfield East, Tyrone, Ireland. “May 25, at Burrellsfolly, Mary, the beloved wife of Edward Sproule, Esq., aged 76 years.” Londonderry Sentinel 5 Jun 1866

5.       REBECCA SPROULE OF BURRELL'S FOLLY was born in 1796 in Burrels Folly, Drumnaforbe, Longfield East, Tyrone, Ireland. She died on 16 Jul 1862 in Clare House, Ardstraw, Tyrone (Aged 66). She married JOHN MATHEWSON OF CLARE. James was the son of James Mathewson of Ardstraw,  and he was born in 1800.  He died on 05 Apr 1871 in Newtonstewart, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland (Age 71 Derg Churchyard).

6.       HELENA (HULLY) SPROULE OF BURRELL'S FOLLY was born in 1805 in Burrells Folly, Tyrone, Ireland (Youngest daughter). She died on 12 Aug 1859. She married Henry Stanford Maxwell esq, son of John Maxwell MD and Ann Stanford, (Freeman's Journal). He was born in 1796 in Bromyard, Hereford, England. He died in 1837 in Drumquin, Co Tyrone, Ireland. Helena (Hully) then  married Thomas Irwin Simpson on 14 May 1841 in Langfield Church (Freeman's Journal). He was born in 1790 in Ballyards, Armagh. He died on 23 Nov 1875 in Ballyards House, Armagh, Ireland. (Will in PRONI)

References:

[1] Deed 13 Apr 1768 where Edward Murray of Drumquin is leasing out his land in Drumnaforbe,266 228 17092 Registry of Deeds, Dublin, Familysearch.org

[2] Deed 5 Nov 1773 Edward Murray is now deceased and Lowther Murray is his son and heir. 298 415 197889 Registry of Deeds, Dublin, Familysearch.org

[3] 12 Nov 1777 Court of Chancery Record, Microfilm of Original Records at the National Archives; Dublin, Ireland; Chancery Bill Books Ireland, Court of Chancery Records, Ancestry.com. Ireland, Court of Chancery Records, 1633-1851

Thanks to Bernie Donaghey and Sheena McClure for insriptions from the Derg Parish Church, Lower Main St. Castlederg

See also:

The Sproules of Burrell's Folly, Drumnaforbe

Marriage Settlement of Edward Sproule of Burrell's Folly and Mary Porter 17 April 1826

Marriage Settlement of Edward Sproule of Burrell's Folly and Mary Porter 17 April 1826

814 252 348587 Registry of Deeds, Dublin, Familysearch.org Transcribed by Kate Tammemagi

 

A memorial of a deed dated 17 April 1826 made between Edward Sproul of Burrells Folly in the County of Tyrone of the 1^st part esq.,  Mary Sproul of Castletown in the second part, Mary Porter of Castletown, spinster of the third part, Alexander Campbell of Lisnally and Robert Porter of Mellmount of the fourth part. Whereby after reciting a marriage was intended to be had and solemnised between the said Edward Sproul and the said Mary Porter ….

Edward Sproul granted… to said Alexander Campbell and Robert Porter two undivided third parts of the two parks  of Mullandrate adjoining Mr James Johnsons park and the Glebe together with the other park above the highway also adjoining said glebe containing together 18 acres together with the field commonly called and known by the name of the Barley Hill containing 8 acres in the manor of Stranorlar, Co Donegal together with... and also all that and those the tenement with the dwelling house thereon lately built by Anthony Rogers deceased situated next adjoining the late Surgeon Sproule’s stable on the South side of the street leading from the Bowling Green to the Market House in the Town of Strabane to hold unto the said Alexander Campbell and Robert Porter their heirs & assigns upon the trusts and for the purposes in the said deed particularly mentioned and amongst others for the use of the said Mary Porter her heirs and assigns until the solemnisation of said marriage and immediately after the solemnisation thereof for the use of the said Alexander Campbell and Robert Porter and the survivor of their heirs on trust to pay the yearly units and profits therof onto the use of the said Mary Porter during her natural life for her own sole and separate use notwithstanding coverture and from all and after the decease of the said Mary Porter … and the said deed further witnessed that the said Mary Sproule in consideration of said marriage and for the love and affection that she beareth towards her niece the said Mary Porter and for other considerations therin mentioned grants bargain etc. to the said Alexander Campbell and Robert Porter their heirs etc. all that and those one undivided third of and in the said two parks of Mullandrate with the field commonly called Barley Hill …lying in the Manor of Strabane and in the County of Donegal etc. to the said Alexander Campbell and Robert Porter heirs etc. for the uses and for the trusts and purposes for the said Mary Sproule to have receive and take the yearly rents, issues and profits of the said lands and for her and their own purposes use and benefit etc.

Witnessed by Archibald Hamilton & Samuel Walker of Castletown

See The Sproules of Burrell's Folly

The Sproules of Burrell's Folly, Drumnaforbe

Burrell’s Folly was the home of Robert Sproule and his wife Hully Murray, who married sometime round the mid 1770s. Robert was a Curraghamulkin Sproule according to Jack Elder, the son of Joseph Sproule of Curraghamulkin, which is in Longfield West, County Tyrone.[1] The house named Burrell’s Folly was situated near the village of Drumquin, in Drumnaforbe.

There was a house originally on this land, but Robert Sproule built his own house here in 1779 at a cost of £350. I'm not sure why the 'Folly' was in the name of the house, but the 'Burrell' came from the former owner of the land, George Burrell. [2]  It was built beside a stream behind the main road on the Omagh side of the village of Drumquin. The house itself was  demolished, but the offices beside the house which were built by Robert’s son Edward Sproule in 1832 still remain. [3]

Burrell's Folly offices built by Edward Sproule stabeled the horses
and the quarters on the first floor were occupied by the horsemen
 and stable lads. Picture from  Kenneth Allen, geograph.ie

We learn about the house in a book called 'Langfield Parish, A Brief Historyh' by Rev Creighton a former Rector there, which also tells us about some additions to the Langfield Church by this Burrell's Folly family.[3] The stained glass window beside the choir stalls in Lower Langfield church was paid for by Edward Sproule, in memory of his wife, Mary.   In Jack Elder’s Tree of this family, Edward's wife is Mary Potter, but in fact she was actually Mary Porter. [1]

Edward was the only son of Robert of Burrell’s Folly. He married  Mary Porter of Strabane, daughter of Frederick Porter and his wife Catherine Sproule, on 17 April 1826.  This was revealed in the Marriage Settlement deed of the couple.[4] As you can see, Mary Porter's mother was also a Sproule, and these two families are intertwined in several generations. More on this in another post.

The history of Langfield Parish book also tells us that pulpit of Langfield church was dedicated to the memory of Hully Sproule of Burrell's Folly in 1859. This Hully, or sometimes Helena, is the daughter of Robert Sproule and Hully Murray. The stone pulpit, offset with small marble pillars, has the following detail inscribed on the base;

 ‘To the glory of god in memory of Hully Sproule, wife of Thomas Simpson, died 12 August, 1859, aged 60. Erected by her husband’ 

Hully, or Helena, was Robert’s  6^th child and she married Thomas Simpson on 14 May 1841 in Langfield Church. [5] This was Hully’s second marriage, as she had been married before this to Henry Stanford Maxwell Esq., (1796-1837) an English gentleman soldier of the 98^th ft. 

Thomas Irwin Simpson, (1790-1875)  the second husband, was a very affluent man from Ballyards, County Armagh. There is a story to tell here with Mr Simpson, but I don’t know what it is yet! His will is rather extraordinary – he leaves a large amount of land and big sums of money to nephews, nieces and other folk. To his son Thomas Simpson, living in Barnsley in England, he leaves a meagre £25 a year. Perhaps this son is not the son of Hully Sproule! [6]

Rebecca Jane, (1796-1862)  the 5^th child of Robert of Burrell's Folly and Hully Murray, married a relative, John Mathewson of Clare House, and the name Hully is carried on in their family too. [7]

Another two daughters of Burrell’s Folly were single ladies. Martha (Matty) was eldest child, born about 1775 and she died on 29 December at Burrell’s Folly, aged 92 years. Sarah, the second child, died in the home of her sister Rebecca, at Clare House, on 25 September 1858, aged 80. [8] [9] 

There was one more daughter in this family and she is one that I was not away of until recently. I  first heard of this lady from John Parfitt in our Sproule Genealogy Facebook Group. She was a lady named Margaret Sproule who lived in Orange County, New York. She had been married in Ireland in 1805 to a man called James Caldwell. Now a Caldwell/Sproule marriage is not at all unusual. What made this couple stand out was the name of their only daughter and she was given a very distinctive name. She was Hully Jane Caldwell. Her own family seemed to know that this name Hully was important, and Hully herself called one of her daughters Hully. This name immediately suggested the family of Robert Sproule of Burrell's Folly.

Margaret Sproule of Orange County was the right age to be a daughter of Robert Sproule, she was born in about 1786. But we needed more evidence, and one lovely piece came from Stuart McCormick and this helped to confirm the parentage of Margaret Sproule of Orangae County. Stuart is a Mathewson researcher, and he had found a reference to this Margaret in Bill Mathewson’s excellent book, "A Mathewson Story".  On p.4 of this book there is a list of the children of James Mathewson of Arstraw (1723 - 1828) from his second marriage. The first child of this marriage was Isabella, and one of her children, Rosanna (1807 -1892):

"married James B. Caldwell, son of James Caldwell, whose wife was Margaret Sproule, daughter of Robert Sproule of Burrell’s Folly.”[10]

James B. Caldwell, was James Bell Caldwell, 1807-1887, who was born in Orange County, New York, and was the son of James Caldwell and Margaret Sproule. [11] His sister was Hully Jane Caldwell.

So that name Hully, the name of her mother,  helped bring Margaret Sproule back to her family tree. Now we have the full family of Robert Sproule of Burrell’s Folly and Hully Murray – unless of course, you have found another child!

References:

[1] JJ Elder Page 1 Sproule Family Tree 

[2]  Renewal Lease for Burrell's Folly dated 8 dec 1832 quoted in Landed Estates document, for 'the house, garden and land then formerly possessed by George Burrell'. from 1853 Landed Estates, Findmypast.ie 

[3] Langfield Parish, A Brief History by Rev. Derek Creighton with Mrs Georgina Millar, published November 1992 Thanks to Sheena McClure and Kathleen Caldwell for this.

[4] Marriage Settlement Deed dated  17 April 1826, marriage of Edward Sproule of Burrell’s Folly and Mary Porter, 17 April 1826, 814 252 348587 Registry of Deeds, Dublin, Familysearch.org 

[5]  Marriage of Hully/Helena Sproule,  "At Langfield Church, by the Rev. Archibald Hamilton, Thomas Simpson, Esq., Ballyard, county Armagh, to Helena, youngest daughter of the late Robert Sproule, Esq., Burtatolly, county Tyrone, and relict of Henry Maxwell, Esq., 98th Regiment."  Londonderry Sentenel 22 May 1841

[6] Thomas Irwin Simpson Will in PRONI Will Calendars, Date of death 23 November 1875 Date of Grant 16 december 1875

[7] Marriage of Hully Mathewson in The Belfast Newsletter, 15 Feb 1865 - "Mathewson and Mathewson - February 2 at Crew, Hugh Mathewson jun. of Montreal to Hully Mathewson, daughter of John Mathewson Esq., Clare House, Tyrone." Linen Hall Library; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Periodicals & Newspapers, Irish & Reference, Ancestry.com. Belfast, Northern Ireland, The Belfast Newsletter (Birth, Marriage and Death Notices), 1738-1925 [database on-line]. 

[8]  Death of Martha Sproule - "December 29, at Burrell's Folly, county Tyrone, Martha, eldest daughter of the late Robert Sproule, Esq., aged 92 years." Londonderry Sentinel, 11 Jan 1867.

[9]  Death of Sarah Sproule - "On the 25th ult., at Clare House, the residence of John Mathewson, Esq., Sarah, second daughter of the late Robert Sproule, Esq., of Burrelsfolly, in the 80th year of her age." Londonderry Sentinel, 8 Oct 1858.

[10 "A Mathewson Story". Bill Mathewson. 2010. unpublished.

[11] James Bell Caldwell, birth and death in Findagrave - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/148355571/james-bell-caldwell Inscription on gravestone reads:

James B. CALDWELL
west Born in New York
Dec. 30, 1807
Died Mar. 15, 1887
Rosanna POTTER
Wife of
James B. CALDWELL
Born in Co. Tyrone Ireland
June 28, 1809
Died Jan. 4, 1892
Margaret Sproule
MATHEWSON
Mother of J. B. CALDWELL
Native of Tyrone Ireland
Died Feb. 6, 1854

Aged 67 yrs.  

 

 

 

The Family of James Sproule of Grennan and Ann Irwin/Irvine

Written by Jo McCoy 

Time to introduce myself as Jo McCoy from Melbourne - a big fan of Kate’s Sproule Genealogy blog and grateful recipient of hers and others’ research.

My husband Rowan’s great great grandfather was James Sproule (1810-1884) of Greenan and Wellington. James was the son of John Sproule (1785-1853) and Elizabeth Wallace and potentially the grandson of a Hugh Sproule and a Ms Houston. [1] [2] [3]

Jack Elder's tree showing James,
son of Hugh Sproule

It seems that based on the Sproule DNA Project research that Hugh may in turn have been the grandson of Cornet Andrew Spreull, but I’d love to get some YDNA evidence from James’ line to confirm that. Maybe there’s a distant male cousin with the right mutations.  Stick with me to the end of this story to see some surprising prospects for who we might ask to take the test!

James Sproule married Ann Irwin/Irvine, daughter of James Irwin and Isabelle Osborne on 13 June 1837 when he was about 26 and she 20.  Sadly, Ann died quite young in around 1853, leaving behind seven children aged between 3 and 13. [4]

James emigrated to Australia not long after, arriving in Melbourne on the Oliver Lang in September 1854, with his two eldest sons George 14 and James 12.  The five youngest children were left behind with family friends (more on that later) while James Snr established himself in the colonies.  It’s only recently come to light though that there was more than one brother at home in Greenan – thanks to some great pointers from fellow Sproule researcher in Australia – Robyn Ritchie.  According to our branch of the oral family history, James Snr’s plan had been to head to Yackandandah with is three sons in the Victorian goldfields, close to where many of his wife’s Irvine relatives had already established a home for themselves at Osborne’s Flat. Quite why there was no apparent knowledge of the other siblings is a mystery which is yet to be unravelled.

We now know that James’ older brother John Sproule had emigrated to Australia in 1841 and sponsored at least three of his siblings to arrive in New South Wales over the next four decades, but not James. Who knows why James chose to stick with the Irvine side of the family?

James’ younger children did eventually all make their way to Australia, but little is known about many of them or their relationship with their father. James Snr died in Wellington, New Zealand as a very wealthy businessman in 1884 but his executors were still advertising to try to find three of the children some four years later. 

Son David Robert and youngest daughter Margaret inherited the bulk of his considerable estate following provision for his second wife, Eleanor Hollywood (nee Jennet) whom he had married in New Zealand in 1868 and his stepdaughter Emma. It appears James Snr was unsure of the circumstances of many of his children in Australia and perhaps America at the time of his death. Please feel free to examine this line on my Tatchell Summons tree on Ancestry and let me know if you can add anything to the story or correct any errors.

It’s with James’ second son, named after his father, that the story comes ‘closer to home’ for our family.  James Jnr had been sent to be an overseer at Momalong – an Osborne family property in southern New South Wales when he turned 20 in around 1860.  This was soon after two of his younger siblings – Thomas and Ann Eliza, arrived in Melbourne. James Snr migrated to New Zealand in 1965.

While the Osbornes ultimately sold Momalong, James Jnr became the manager and was reportedly earning £500 a year, a small fortune, by the time of his marriage in 1875.  James’ English bride, Mary Brodie Smith, was a governess at a nearby property and 14 years his junior. Mary, known as Polly, was born in Lancashire but had migrated to Melbourne as a four-year-old and grew up in Ballarat.

James Jnr and Polly had six daughters and two sons all bearing the middle name St George. The Rev Henry Lucas St George had been the rector at the Dromore Presbyterian Church, a few miles from the farmlands at Greenan.  Apparently, James and some, perhaps all, of his siblings had been taken in by the St Georges after his mother died while James Snr was organising his travel to Australia.  The story goes that incorporating the St George name for each of his children 20 plus years later was James’ way of expressing how grateful he was for the kindness shown to him as a child.

James and Polly Sproule with their five eldest children
at Momalong in southern NSW in the late 1880s.

The growing family left Momalong and the pastoral life behind in 1892 and moved south to Melbourne – ostensibly for the children’s education, but there had been a terribly hot summer of bushfires the year before. They built a grand home in the suburb of Kew which was named Chatto after Polly’s mother’s family.  Some years earlier, James had also purchased significant acreage at Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula and it was there that the family enjoyed a country retreat named Palafia for many years to come.

James’ and Polly’s fifth daughter, Viva St George Sproule was my husband’s grandmother. One of Melbourne’s first female medical graduates of the early 1900s, she married Dr Walter Summons in 1909. His family lived near the Sproules in Kew and coincidentally also had property in Flinders.  We are lucky enough to now have our own holiday home there, named Little Chatto, originally owned by Viva’s sister Florrie.

It is to the descendants of Viva’s brother, the third James in this line, that we must look to for that YDNA evidence. James St George Sproule, known as Jim, was born at Chatto in Melbourne in October 1893, the last of James’ and Polly’s eight children. Like many young Australians of his generation, he joined the AIF when war broke out and found himself at Gallipoli and later on the Western Front. He was awarded an MC in 1917 for "behaving with great gallantry at the taking of Vimy Ridge."

While recovering from injuries at various stages throughout the war, Jim had spent much of his time in Hertfordshire at the home of his mother’s Chatto cousins. Andrew Chatto (1840-1913) was the publisher of Chatto and Windus fame – his family circumstances provide lots of interest for genealogists to ponder over too. Look for him in the censuses from 1871-1891 for some eye-opening living arrangements.

As the photo below from 1901 shows, Jim’s older siblings had been visiting the Chattos in England for decades – well before the war.  

Hillside Hertfordshire 1901 - the Chatto home at Elstree. Standing L to R: Walter St G Sproule, Miss Patten and Mr White (neighbours), Andrew Chatto, Dorothy Chatto, Horace Brocklesby Seated: Helen Leyborn (Chatto), Katherine Chatto, Andrew Chatto Snr, Isabel Brocklesby (nee Chatto), May St G Sproule Front: Josephine Chatto (Fleming), Gladys Chatto (Sproule), Phyllis Brocklesby

In mid-1918, Jim married his second cousin Gladys Muriel Chatto, and soon afterwards brought her home to Australia and the family compound at Flinders. Gladys was unhappy though and pined for her old life back in England to where they returned in 1920. Their eldest son Thomas Chatto St George Sproule was born at Elstree in 1922.  This is the line where the YDNA takes an interesting journey.

Thomas went on to become an actor who used the stage name Tom Chatto. It would be fabulous if one of the Chatto boys from this family or their paternal male cousins would come forward for YDNA tests so that we can confirm the Sproule origins of this family and see whether their elusive ancestor, Hugh Sproule of Greenan was in fact a grandson of Cornet Andrew.

 

References:

[1] Death of John Sproule - "SPROULE. At Grannan, parish of Dromore, on the 11th inst., MR. JOHN SPROULE, in the 75th year of his age." Londondonderry Sentinel

[2]  Death record of James Sproule 1 Dec 1884, Ancestry.com. Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

[3]John Sproule and Elizabeth Wallace are confirmed as being the parents of James Sproule through his death cert in Wellington, which reads, "District of Wellington,  1 Dec 1884 James Sproule, age 75 Gentleman, Father John Sproule, Mother Elizabeth Wallace, farmer,  buried 3 Dec 1884 Wellington, Religion Presbyterian,  19 years in Ireland Married 26 years before in Wellington to Anne Irvine, and 6 years to Eleanor Hollywood." Thanks to Robyn Ritchie for this.

[4] James Sproule and Anne Irwin were married on 13th June 1837  "Married James Sproul son of John Sproule and Elizabeth Sproule alias Wallace of Grannan Parish of Dromore to Anne Irwin daughter of James Irwin and Isabella Irwin alias Osborne of Letterbuoy Parish of Magheracross, Witnesses Robert Sproule and Charles Stevenson"  from PRONI Ref MIC/1P/247, thanks to Robert Williams, Ulster Ancestry

[5] Dromore Church Records births,  PRONI Film # MIC.1P/247 (PRONI = Public Records Office of Northern Ireland), transcribed by Kate Tammemagi

The children of James Sproule and Ann Irwin:

GEORGE SPROULE 12 Jul 1838 (baptism date) in Aughadara, Dromore, Co Tyrone, Ireland (Dromore Church Record). He died in 1895 in Prince Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

JAMES SPROULE  07 Mar 1840 (baptism date) in Ederney Hill, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland (Dromore Church Record). He died on 17 Feb 1912 in Kew, Victoria, Australia. He married Mary Brodie (Polly) Smith on 22 Dec 1875 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. She was born on 05 Jun 1854 in Chorlton, Lancashire England. She died on 06 Feb 1936 in Flinders, Victoria, Australia.

ANN ELIZA SPROULE was born about 1844 in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland.

WALLACE SPROULE 02 Dec 1844 (baptism date) in Dromore, Parish of Dromore (Dromore Church Record). He died before 1884 in Momalong Station, New South Wales, Australia.

THOMAS SPROULE was baptised on 01 Aug 1847 in Dromore, Parish of Dromore.

ROBERT DAVID SPROULE was baptised 31 Oct 1849 in Dromore, Parish of Dromore. He died in 1880 in Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA.

MARGARET ISABELLA SPROULE was born on 06 Jun 1851 in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone,  Ireland. She died on 12 Mar 1939 in Wellington, New Zealand. She married (1) CAPT THOMAS WILLIAM SMITH on 10 Dec 1877 in Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. He was born on 02 Dec 1848 in Auckland, New Zealand. He died on 08 Feb 1879 in Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. She married (3) MAX BOLLINGER in 1884 in New Zealand. He was born on 13 Sep 1848 in Zivil, Altenkirchen, Pfalz, Bavaria. He died on 14 Nov 1917 in Khandallah, Wellington, New Zealand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Unfortunate Robert Evan Sproule – Returns to his Family Tree

The tale of Robert Evan Sproule is indeed a sad one. It has been much talked about and written about over the years, and therefore I will only give a brief summary here. My interest, as always, is in the family history of Robert Evan Sproule and there is an important job now to be done.

He came from Maine, as we know from that first article that I had seen. I was familiar with the Sproule families in Maine, as I have traced them when I was chasing a family for the Sproule DNA Project. I have a tree on Ancestry of Maine Sproules and I thought it would be easy, therefore, to find the family of Robert Evan Sproule. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t on any tree that I could find.

And yet, when I contacted the right person who sent me extensive files of amazing research, I got a bit of a shock. His family was known all along. Everyone knew who he was, or they should have. There were plenty of clues were there in the newspaper coverage.

 Robert Evan Sproule ought to have been on his family tree. Robert Evan Sproule ought to have been on nearly all of the Maine Sproule family trees.  He is a descendant of the very first Sproule in Maine. He is from one of the chief families. And yet he is not there. We have to get him back where he belongs.

Kootenay Lake, British Colombia

Poor Robert really was an unfortunate man. Hehad found a promising area on the Kootenay Lake, in British Colombia in 1881, and in 1882 he staked a claim, planning to mine there.  He filled in all the right paperwork, so it was an official claim. He was mining for minerals and he called his mine the Blue Bell mine.

At the end of that year Robert Sproule ran into financial problems, it was costing a lot to get the mine going. And there was also competition. An affluent consortium was financing three other miners. One of these miners was Thomas Hamill, the victim in the murder case. Hamill had the area on the other side of the lake from Robert Sproule. Robert left the mine at the end of 1882 taking an official leave-of-absence, and Thomas Hamill stepped in and illegally ‘jumped the claim’.

There followed court cases, with our poor Robert Evan Sproule trying to get his claim back. Thomas Hamill was well financed, and even though the first verdict went to Sproule, Hamill was able to appeal to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

In 1884 Robert Sproule finally got his mine back, but he was far from out of the woods. He had gained partners to invest in the mine and they also helped with the court costs. One of these partners defaulted on his payments, and the Court seized his share in the Blue Bell mine. They auctioned it off to the highest bidder who turned out to be the infamous claim-jumper Thomas Hamill.

Map showing Blue Bell Mine
and Kootenay Lake

During 1885 Robert Evan Sproule found new partners and worked the mine.

On 1 June 1885, Thomas Hamill came to the Blue Bell mine. Whatever happened, we don’t really know, but Robert Sproule allegedly shot Hamill in the abdomen.

Thomas Hammill, the Victim

Robert Sproule was arrested and charged with the murder. The court case and subsequent appeals gave rise to much fuss in both Canada and the US. There even seem to have been protests in the streets. The case against Robert had hinged on his hatred of Hamill, and on two eye witness testimonies. Apparently, these two witnesses withdrew their statements at the appeal stage, and claimed they were paid to give their testimony.

But, as we know, Robert Evan Sproule was hanged on 29 October 1886.

Now, which of the Sproule families of Maine is our Robert Evan Sproule from?

Notes

• Special thanks to Greg Nesteroff and his excellent blog THE KÜTNE READER Adventures in Kootenaiana. Thank you so much for all your superb work on this story.

• Thomas Hammill, the Victim pic from The Blue Bell Grave, by Greg Nesteroff, 28 Sep 2018 
• Map showing Blue Bell Mine and Kootenay Lake is from "Dr. W. A. Hendryx and Robert E. Sproule" by Nancy Foster Renk posted on North Idaho Past/Present, January 26, 2016

• Sproule's Saga Continues the Vancouver Voyager, Karen McGill, 5 July 2013

For more on this story:

The Hanging of Robert Evan Sproule

The Family Tree of Robert Evan Sproule

The Hanging of Robert Evan Sproule

This article was on Trove and I thought it to be a brief, if tragic, story. It had been reprinted in the 'Riverine Grazier' of 27 January 1888 and it came originally from the New York Sun.  I was surprised to find that there is quite a bit more published about the story of Robert Evan Sproule and about his efforts to defend himself. 

Robert Evan Sproule was prosecuted in Victoria, British Colombia, Canada for the murder of Thomas Hammill and he was hanged there on 29 October 1886.

The following is the original article as it appeared in the 'Riverine Grazier' 27 January 1888. (The victim in the case is a man called Thomas Hammill, not Thomas Cannell as was printed here.)

THE FATE OF ROBERT E. SPROUL

When on the Gallows he Heard that A Fortune  Had Fallen To Him

"This story was made public for the first time in the Supreme Court of New Haven lately. Lawyer William L. Bennett went before Judge Andrews and made a motion for the sale of certain personal property belonging to the estate of Robert Sproul, who was hanged about two years ago in British Columbia, for having murdered a miner named Thomas Cannell. Sproule was born and reared on a farm in Kennebec Country, Maine. In 1854 he became tired of the drudgery, of farm life, and in company with several friends, went West to try his fortune in mining. Sproul learnt that a company had been in Connecticut for mining in Kootenay, British Columbia, and he purchased an interest in their claim, and as a representative of the Connecticut corporation went to Kootenai. He built a cabin, which he shared with Thomas Cannell.

On New Year's Day, 1885, Cannell was found dead with his body riddled with bullets. Sproul was arrested on suspicion, and was tried in Victoria. Having no money, he appealed to the corporation in Connecticut which he represented, and procured a loan of 1800 dollars, for which he gave his stock in the mine as security. After a long trial he was convicted. An appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of Canada, on the ground that additional evidence had been found, and Justice Henney granted a motion for a writ of habeas corpus. The Sheriff who had the keeping of Sproul refused to deliver up his charge, and in August, 1886, the same attorney obtained from Justice Henney a discharge for Sproul.

At this stage of the proceedings Sproul found himself in the singular position of being, a free man in theory, but in fact a prisoner of the Canadian Government. Having been unsuccessful in his own effort to procure Sproul's release, his attorney appealed to the United States Government, and an application for Sproul's release was made.

About that time the Attorney General of Canada, recognising the peculiar position in which Sproul was placed, appeared before a Justice of the Supreme Court and had the decision of Justice Henny reversed and Sproul's imprisonment, made legal. He at the same time had a date set for the hanging.

A large part of the evidence which had  convicted Sproul was given  by Charles Wolfe, who, when he heard that the date for hanging Sproul had been determined upon, came forward and swore that all the evidence which he had given was utterly and absolutely false. In addition to this, a witness was found who made a sworn aftidavit that he was in Sproul'a company at the time the murder was committed, and that they ware fifteen miles from the scene of the tragedy. A motion for a new trial was refused, as was an appeal for a respite.

On the day set for the hanging Sproul was led to the gallows, and from the platform addressed the assembled crowd, affirming his innocence. The noose was adjusted to the neck, and the hangman was about to spring the trap when someone in the crowd caught sight a horseman riding at full speed towards the scene. He waved a paper in his hand, and it was supposed he bora a respite.

On dashing up to the scaffold he handed Sproul a message, which he scanned eagerly, and falling backward, said:

“Too late!  Justice claims the blood of an innocent man.”

A moment later the trap was sprung, and Robert E. Sproul was launched into eternity. The paper which had been handed him bore the information that by the death of a relative in Boston he had become heir to 100,000 dollars.— N.Y.Sun."

Publication Title: Riverine Grazier,  Source: Trove [National Library of Australia]

Country/State of Publication: NSW, Australia

UPDATE:

It appears that it is not only the name of the victim in this case that is wrong - so too is the whole story of the horseman dashing up! 

According to the Victoria Daily Colonist of Wednesday 23 November 1887, the man who wrote this story;

 'must either be a lunatic or a fool. The story of the horseman "dashing up to the scaffold" is only another instance of the wonderful imaginative power of the ordinary American reporter.'

Victoria Daily Colonist is the local paper of the area where Robert Evan Sproule was hanged, and they covered all of the trial and aftermath of this story.

This article was in the information recieved from Greg Nesteroff of the THE KÜTNEREADER, thanks Greg.

For more on this story:

The Unfortunate Robert Evan Sproule

 The Family Tree of Robert Evan Sproule

Robert Auchmuty Sproule and the Jamaican Plate

Many years ago,  I got a phone call  from a gentleman in a big auctioneer company in London. He had emailed me first, getting my contact from my Sproule Genealogy Blog, and asked if he could he call.  When he did, he asked me if I would have any photographs of the plate that Robert Sproule of St Georges, Jamaica had commissioned from his cousin Robert Sproule in Canada?

St George, Grenada Plate from the series

What? What plate? What cousin in Canada? Robert Sproule of Jamaica I knew well, and he didn’t have a cousin Robert Sproule in Canada. What was this about?

The auctioneer explained that there was a series of decorative dinner plates from the early 1800s from the West Indes.  He had only one plate in the series and it was of Grenada, I think – nothing to do with either of these Robert Sproules. It seems that another one of this same series of plates was of Robert Sproule’s plantation in St Georges, Jamaica. He believed it was commissioned by Robert of Jamaica himself. Another plate in the series was a rather 'out-of-place' scene from Canada, and apparently it had been copied from an engraving by a Robert Sproule in Canada. So the auctioneer had put two and two together and he had guessed that these two Roberts were cousins.

I never found a picture of this plate of Robert Sproule’s plantation, and judging from my internet search today, neither has anyone else – though there are people still looking for this series!

Robert Sproule of Jamaica and Mulvin is an interesting character and I will write about him shortly, but before I get to his story, a little on that Canadian ‘cousin’ Robert Sproule.

He wasn’t hard to find, as he is quite famous. He is Robert Auchmuty Sproule and he is an Athlone Sproule. His father wasThomas Ernst Sproule born about 1765ish, who was a great grandson of Captain John Sproule of Athlone. His mother was Marianne Plummer Ardesoif.  Her uncle was the Rt Hon Sir Samuel Auchmutty, who left Thomas Ernst and Marianne a legacy – hence the middle name of our Robert Auchmutty Sproule.

Robert Aughmuty Sproule

Thomas Ernst Sproule was in the Navy and retired as a Commander, and it was shortly after this that they received the legacy from Sir Samuel Auchmutty. Using this, the family headed to Canada.

Robert Auchmuty Sproule was the second son born in 1799, and he was educated in Trinity College Dublin. When he arrived in Canada, he took an advertisement in the Montreal Herald announcing himself as a miniaturist who had studied with ‘the best masters in London and Dublin’.

In November 1829 he brought out six views of Montreal which were later made into engravings on copperplate.

Montreal from St. Helen's Island.
Robert Auchmuty Sproule 1830,

Quebec from Point Levi Robert Aughmuty Sproule 1832

Although he was a proflific painter,  Robert Sproule seemed to have difficulty making a living, as most artists do, and he moved around from place to place. He married Jane Hopper in Montreal, and they had two sons and four daughters. He died 1845 in March Township, Upper Canada.

• Family history of Robert Auchmutty - Eight Centuries of the Spreul & Sproule Families, James Richard Sproule

• Biography of Robert Auchmuty Sproule from Dictionary of Canadian Biography

• Information on the plates - CARIBBEANVIEWS SERIES (MAKER UNKNOWN)