Was Robert Spreull, who
was buried in the Castlederg Cemetery in 1689, the first Sproule settler in Ireland? This was certainly the belief of some early family historians. They said that Robert came from Renfrewshire in Scotland in the 1650s
with his wife and sons, he settled in Tyrone and the Sproules spread from there. These Sproule family historians were,
coincidentally, all from Tyrone themselves, so they were understandably a little biased!
Now, thanks to the great work of transcribers and the wonders of the internet,
we have much more data available. We can see clearly that Robert was far from the first, and that there were many more families of Sproule
settlers than any of these early family historians had imagined.
The Earliest Sproule
Records
The earliest records of Sproules in Ireland are in the Muster Rolls of 1630. The Muster Roll was a list of all able bodied
men who were fit to fight in a war. There was one Sproule in the Muster of Donegal
in 1630:
· James
Spreull in the Barony of Raphoe on the land of “The Lord Duke of Lynox”. James had one sword.
Raphoe parish is very near to County Tyrone. However, there was another Sproule recorded in
a quite different part of Ulster:
· Claudius Sprowell
in The Barony of Keenaght on the land of Thomas Phillips, of Limavady
Twelve years later in 1642, there was another Muster in Donegal, and now
we have two Sproules there. They were both in the same parish of Raphoe:
· In Sir
Robert Stewart's Company mustered at Raphoe is Private Robert Sprowle.
· In James
Hamilton's Company also mustered at Raphoe, Private James Sprule.
The Sproules in the Hearth Money Rolls
The Hearth Money Rolls was a tax in 1665 based on the number of hearths in a household. It gives us a much
better picture than the Muster Rolls and it reveals a very surprising pattern
of Sproules in Ulster!
In 1665 there were already at least 15 households of Sproules, and they
are spread across the northern counties of Ulster in the following clusters:
 |
| Sproule Family Groups in Ulster 1665 |
1. Clondermot Parish in the townland of
Gortin, four households. The Sproules have obviously been here for some time. This is the New Buildings area of County Derry
/ Londonderry.
2. The Town of Belfast, four households, again
a well established group
3. Ballymoney Parish in Antrim, the townland of
Bravallen – there are two households
4. Raphoe Parish – two households. Archibold
in Lismontigly and John Sproul in Stranorlughan
5. Mevagh Parish, this is round the
town of Carrigart in the north of Donegal. John Spruel of Glanree and Jennett
Spruel, widow, of Glanree
6. Kirkinriola Parish in Antrim, on the Ballymena
Estate, one household
7. Ardstraw Parish in Tyrone, in the
townland of Lissaleen, now Lisleen, we have one household, that of one Robert
Spreull.
Non-paying Sproules
Even this is not a complete picture, as many folk were
successful in avoiding paying the
Hearth tax. A good example of this is when we look at Limavady, where there was
a Sproule in the first Muster of 1630. This Sproule family does not appear on
the Hearth tax, and yet there is good evidence that they were still there. There was a will recorded in 1705 for a Margaret
Sproull, from Rafad in the Parish of Aghanloe. Aghanloe is a townland on the outskirts
of Limavady.
Conclusion - The Early Sproules
What we can definitely say is that there were at least seven separate
families of Sproule settlers who established themselves in the early 1600s. They
were spread across the northern counties of Ulster and they were a much more diverse
group that was previously thought. They were not just leasing or owning land,
they were also moving into towns.
In Tyrone, where my family originated, the first Sproule who appeared on
record was indeed Robert Spreull in 1665. Robert lived at that time in Lissaleen,
now Lisleen, in the parish of Ardstraw.
Where did Robert of Lisleen come from? Was it directly from Scotland or
was it possible that he came from one of the more established Ulster family
groups? Was he the only Tyrone
Sproule in 1665 or were there others who did not appear on the Hearth Tax? Robert was certainly my ancestor, on one side of my family. On the other side are the Tullymoan Sproules, when did they arrive? These are some of the questions which I will
explore in the next posts.
Thanks to:
