Tyrone, Bombay and Jamaica - Family Connections

At this point, I knew that my great, great grandfather was Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, and that he had married Rebecca Mackey in the mid-1790s. I had discovered the whole story of Samuel Sproule who had gone from the same County Tyrone farm all the way to Bombay in 1797. But I was also following other strands of Sproule travellers, more clues and evidence, and I was slowly coming to an even more amazing conclusion!

Who was Young Samuel?

I was chasing down Samuel Sproule, who had been Head of the Medical Board in Bombay, when things got very confusing!  In the early 1800s there was plenty of evidence of Samuel Sproule in Bombay, and there was more of him in the 1820s, 1830s and 1840s. This was very strange indeed since Samuel Sproule had died in 1829! There had to be two Samuel Sproules!  It was tricky to sort them out because the information was almost identical. Both Samuels were in the East India Company, both were doctors and both were working in Bombay! Two Doctor Samuel Sproules, it  was too much of a coincidence!1

They overlapped slightly. Young Samuel seemed to have arrived just as the first Samuel was leaving. Who was Young Samuel? Samuel Sproule Senior had only one legitimate child, a daughter named Ann Jane. Young Samuel could not be a son of Samuel Senior. Was it possible, then, that he had come from Ireland, and that was he was a nephew or some other relative?  I went back to hunt for Young Samuel Sproule in my trusty list of Sproule births, marriages and deaths of that time. I not only found him, I found his parents!

DIED Anne Sproule 19 June 1847

On the 12th inst., at Glentimon, Anne, relict of the late Mr. William Sproule, and mother to Samuel Sproule, Esq., M.D., Surgeon of the Civil Service, Ahmeibad, Bombay 2

Young Samuel Sproule had definitely come from County Tyrone, and his parents were William and Anne Sproule. Now this was exciting! Could it be that Young Samuel was a nephew of Samuel Sproule of Tullymoan and Bombay? In that case, Young Samuel’s father, William Sproule, would be another Tullymoan brother! This would be three brothers, Andrew, William and Samuel.

The Jamaica Connection

At the other side of the world was a different strand of Sproules with a more tenuous connection to my family. One of the first pages that I had looked at in the County Tyrone Genealogy Website concerned a James Sproule of Mellmount. The page contained a full transcription of his will written in 1840. It made fascinating reading! Mellmount is near Strabane in County Tyrone, but the will of James Sproule was full of ‘reputed children’ and plantations in Jamaica!

This rang a bell for me, as we had a story in our family lore about Jamaica.  It was said that an Andrew Sproule, an uncle of ours, had gone to Jamaica and that he had made his fortune there. I thought the Jamaica connection might be worth investigating!

I began to research in Jamaica. James Sproule was recorded as a landowner from 1817, in a parish called St Thomas in the East. His property was Rose Mount, and he is recorded there right up until his death in 1840.

But James was not the only Sproule landowner in Jamaica, there were two of them.  The story almost mirrors the Bombay situation with the two overlapping Sproules. The second Sproule here was a Robert Sproule, and he seemed to be younger than James. Robert was in a different parish of Jamaica, one called St George, and he had his own plantation there from 1838. Since he was in a different plantation, I thought it unlikely that this Robert was a son of James of Mellmount. Could Robert be yet another County Tyrone Sproule, again possibly a nephew or another relative? 3

Are They the Same Family?

At this point, I began to believe that all of these adventuring Sproules were from the same family! It looked to me as if James, William, Samuel and Andrew of Tullymoan could well be brothers, and that Robert and Young Samuel could be the children of these brothers. It was an amazing conclusion to reach! Simple farmers in County Tyrone in the late 1700s, senior medical personnel in Bombay and affluent plantation owners in Jamaica – all of the same family! 

I had no firm proof as yet, but there was one piece of evidence that had led me to this ‘definite maybe’!

It came when I had learnt the identities of my great, great grandparents, and I cross checked these with the will of James of Mellmount. In his will, James names his brother Andrew, Brother Andrew’s wife Rebecca, and their son, James. The first box was ticked! My great, great grandfather was Andrew, his wife was Rebecca and their son, my great grandfather, was James!

The second box was only half ticked! In his will, James of Mellmount tells us that he did indeed have a brother named William.  Could this be the same William Sproule who was the father of Young Samuel? But disappointment here!  In James Sproule’s will, Brother William’s wife was called Mary, and I knew that Young Samuel’s mother was definitely Anne.  On the other hand, James of Mellmount was in Jamaica, a long way from Ireland. Could he simply have got his sister-in-law’s name wrong? Or was this a completely different family? 4

Brothers or not brothers? That was the question,  and it was driving me crazy!

And then I got the will of Samuel Sproule, Head of the Medical Board of Bombay. All was revealed!

References:

1   FIBIS, Families in British India Society, Database

²   The Londonderry Sentinel 1829 – 1869

³   Jamaica Family Search, Genealogy Research Library, collection of Almanacs

⁴   County Tyrone Genealogy Website The Will of James Sproule of Mellmount


For more information:

• Samuel Sproule, Head of the Medical Board of Bombay

Next Chapter

• The Amazing Journeys of The Adventuring Sproules

The Reputed Son of Samuel Sproule

This is the sad tale of my cousin Harry Robertson Sproule, a story that I still find thought provoking.

My great, great uncle Samuel Sproule, former First Member of the Medical Board of Bombay, had spent some thirty years working in India.  When he left India in 1827 he settled in Cheltenham, England, home of so many retired East India Company folk that it became known as the city of Colonels and Curries!

Samuel brought with him from India his wife Eliza, their only child Ann Jane and his ‘reputed son’ Harry Robertson Sproule. Harry was his illegitimate son and Samuel had taken him into his family.

Eurasian Children in the East India Company Culture

Samuel Sproule was from Ireland where, in the 1800s, having a child out of wedlock was condemned.  However, in the East India Company culture of that time, it seems that having a ‘reputed child’ with a local Indian lady was quite acceptable. In its early days, the East India Company actively encouraged Anglo-Indian liaisons and marriages. Surprisingly, inter-racial marriages were socially acceptable to the British, and the offspring, official or otherwise, were favoured by them. I wonder if the same could be said of the Indian culture? How did they view these relationships?

This was the situation when Samuel arrived in Bombay, India, in 1797. So it is likely, but of course not certain, that Harry’s mother was an Indian lady.

Harry Robertson Sproule

Harry Robertson Sproule was born on 25^th September 1809, nine years before Samuel married his wife Eliza. Harry was baptised in Bombay five years later, on 30^th December 1814 and Samuel Sproule is the only parent named on the baptism certificate.  

Bhema, the Indian Lady in the Will

Samuel wrote the first draft of his will on 30^th of January 1828 when Harry was 18 years old.  He tells us that Harry is now living with him in Cheltenham in England. There is no mention of Harry’s mother in the will. However, Samuel does leave a bequest to an Indian lady:

“The sum of twenty five rupees a month to be paid during her life to a Native Woman of India by name Bhema now residing at Surat”

Samuel does not give an address for Bhema, a way to contact her regarding her inheritance. We can assume, therefore, that either the Executors knew this lady or that Bhema was indeed Harry’s mother, and he would know how to find her. Bhema was living in Surat near Bombay, and Samuel was stationed there for some time. Was Bhema Harry's mother, or could she have been simply his long-term housekeeper?

Harry’s Inheritance

In his will, Samuel leaves a trust fund of £2000 to his 'reputed son' Harry Robertson Sproule. This is a large sum of money, and Harry is to receive the interest on this annually during his lifetime. Samuel leaves the bulk of the estate to his only legitimate child, Ann Jane, who was only nine years old at the time of the will. However, he states that should Ann Jane die before the age of 21 or without issue, his estate is to go to the eldest son of Harry Robertson Sproule.

Samuel obviously sees Harry as his second heir. However, why leave the money to Harry’s son and not to Harry himself? Harry was just 18 years old at this time. It could well be that Samuel was already having doubts about his reputed son Harry.

The Codicils to the Will

During the period between the first writing of the will in 1828 and his death in 1829, Samuel added two codicils to his will that concerned Harry. In the first of these, there are indications that poor Harry is not excelling in the English education system:

“I intended my reputed son Harry Robertson Sproule to be brought up to Law or Medicine, but this plan for several reasons I have relinquished. Therefore I think some retail kind of business such as a grocer or being a clerk in an office would be best suited for him.”

He requests that his son should go to a Commercial School for a year, and he provides money so that Harry can then set up his own business. Samuel cautions his Executors that they must approve the said business, otherwise Harry is not to be given the money. He adds a brief insight into his view of his son:

“The youth I believe possesses upright moral principles but is at present free from any serious habit.”

The End of the Story

Sadly, we know the end of this story, for it is in the last codicil to Samuel's will. Here Samuel tells us that his reputed son Harry Robertson Sproule has died, and that his legacy should go to Ann Jane.

Harry died on the 22^nd July 1828 in Brighton, England. He was still just 19 years old and he had died a long way from his home in India.

Those were strange times indeed. Did Samuel do the right thing by Harry? Would he have been better off at home in India? I am sure that Samuel himself pondered on these questions. But what was definitely important to Samuel was to recognise that Harry was a member of his family, a member of our family. Harry Robertson Sproule was my first cousin three times removed, and he belongs in our family tree.

Thanks to FIBIS, Families in British India Society,  for their super database which helped in tracing this story.

The story of Samuel is in Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay

The Family of James Sproule of Tullymoan (1816-1897)

James Sproule was born about 1816 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland. James was son of Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan and Rebecca Mackey of Lismontigley, Raphoe, County Donegal. James Sproule married MARY MCGLINCHY in 1869 when he was 53 years old. Mary was from Laghtmorris, Termonamongan, County Tyrone  and was born in 1838.

James died on 10th March 1897 in Tullymoan, County Tyrone, aged 81. 

Mary  died in 1923 in Tullymoan, Tyrone.

Mary and James Sproule had nine children:

1.    ANDREW WILLIAM SPROULE was born on 15th  Nov 1870 in Tullymoan. He died in 1909 in Strabane aged 38.

2.    SAMUEL SPROULE was born on 17th Feb 1872. Samuel Sproule became the owner of Tullymoan when his mother died in 1923 and his family are there to this day.

3.     REBECCA JANE SPROULE (BECKY) was born on 7 Jul 1873

4.    CATHERINE SPROULE (CASSIE) was born on 20 Jan 1875.  Cassie married PHILIP MCNULTY

5.    MARGARET MATILDA SPROULE (TILLY) was born on 15 Apr 1876.  Tilly married James Loughlin on 8 Sep 1913.

6.    THOMAS SPROULE was born on 24 Aug 1877. Thomas worked as policeman in Dublin from approximately 1897 to 1922. He was offered a position with the Garda but he took early retirement and went back to Doneyloop in Donegal to farm. He married Catherine Gallagher from Castlederg in August 1938 when he was 61 years old and they had two boys. Thomas died on 8th of September 1970 aged 93.

7.    HENRY SPROULE was born on 31 May 1879. He married SARA ANN MCCLOSKEY in Sep 1916.

8.    ROBERT SPROULE was my grandfather. He was born on 31st May 1879 with his twin Henry  in Tullymoan, County Tyrone. He died in 1966 in Derry. He married Sara Dreenan, daughter of Owen Dreenan of Ardmalin, Malin Head, County Donegal and Annie McLaughlin, in Dec 1908 in St Eugenes Cathedral, Derry. Sara Dreenan was born about 1892 and she died on 10th  Mar 1938. 

Robert was a policeman in the Royal Irish Constabulary and, at the time of his wedding, he was stationed in Athenry.

Robert retired from the RIC at the time of independence in 1922. 

In the 1911 Census, Robert and Sara are living in 43, Argyle Street, with their baby Veronica. They lived there till they moved to Westland Avenue.

9.       Richard Sproule was born in 1881 and he died in 1882

For more information:

• Little Richard and the Reason for it All!
• The Story of Big Henry Sproule
• Mary McGlinchy Matriarch of Tullymoan
• Tales of Tullymoan in the 1920s
• The Dreenans, the end of the Line

Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay

It is a long, long way from the green fields of the Sproule farm in County Tyrone, Ireland to the hot, humid streets of Bombay. In 1797, when the 21 year old Samuel Sproule of Tullymoan first made the journey, it would have taken over three months in a rolling sailing ship to travel the four and half thousand miles from Liverpool to Bombay.

The young Dr Samuel Sproule, recently qualified Member of the Royal College of Physicians, was a cadet in the service of the East India Company. He was going to take up his first position in the Bombay Medical Service.¹  Samuel Sproule, brother of my great, great grandfather Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, was to finish his career at the very top of the medical world there, as President of the Medical Board of Bombay.²

Samuel's Early Career

The Honourable East India Company began as a co-operative of powerful merchants who eventually controlled all of the trade on the Indian sub-continent. It was a private Company that grew to become ruler of India with its own armies and with control of all administrative functions. The Directors of the East India Company were the elite, and they became rich and powerful men.

It was into this world that young Dr Samuel Sproule arrived as an assistant Surgeon in 1797. In June 1803, he was promoted to Surgeon³, and in 1808 he distinguished himself by driving a major campaign to test small pox vaccination in the area of Kattywar, in Gujarat.⁴  The expedition to Kattywar was led by a Major Alexander Walker, from Scotland,  who was to become one of Samuel’s life-long friends.⁵

Mixing with the Elite

Despite having come from a modest farming background in County Tyrone, Samuel Sproule seems to have survived well in the social world of the East India Company Raj. He was a member of the Literary Society of Bombay and of the Asiatic Society.⁶  His friend Alexander Walker had become an influential General and another friend, Major James Rivett-Carnac, became a Director of the East India Company.

General Alexander Walker retired in 1812 and went back to live on his recently purchased estate called Bowland, near Edinburgh in Scotland.⁷  Alexander Walker had in his charge Eliza Walker, daughter of his late brother William. Samuel Sproule travelled from Bombay to marry Eliza, the niece of his friend, at the Bowland Estate on 10^th November 1818 ⁸.  The newly married couple returned immediately to live in Bombay. Eliza and Samuel had several children but only one survived, Ann Jane Sproule born in 1819 in Surat, India.

The Summit of Dr Sproule's Career

By 1821 Samuel was  on the Medical Board of Bombay, and that year was appointed ‘Third Member’.¹⁰  The East India Company had divided India into three ‘Presidencies’, and Bombay was one of these. So effectively, the Medical Board of Bombay controlled one third of British India.

Samuel Sproule became first Member of the Medical Board of Bombay on November 11^th 1826, with the title of President¹¹. He was at the top of the tree, he had achieved the most senior medical position in the Presidency of Bombay.

Unfortunately, Samuel’s career at the top was a short one. Within a year of his appointment, in November 1827, his wife Eliza died at just 31 years old.¹²  She was at their home in Cheltenham in England at the time of her death and I can only speculate that they had left for England due to her illness. It was in Cheltenham just 18 months later that Samuel himself died on 30th May 1829, aged 53. ¹³

The Legacy of Samuel Sproule

The only daughter of Samuel and Eliza, Ann Jane, went on to live in Bombay. Samuel’s good friend James Rivett-Carnac became Chairman of the East India Company and then Governor of Bombay.  Ann Jane Sproule married his son, Sir John Rivett-Carnac on 19^th December 1840. ¹⁴  

The grandson of Dr Samuel Sproule was the heir, Sir James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac, the 3rd Baronet.

References:

¹  Joined Bombay Medical Service, 10^th March 1797, British Library, Bombay Med Svce; bond & covs 30 Mar 1797; O/1/4 ff.4-7

²  The Oriental Herald and Colonial Review [ed. by J.S. Buckingham].‎ - Page 429 James Silk Buckingham - 1826

³  The Asiatic Annual Register, For the Year 1804 By Lawrence Dundas Campbell p.166

⁴  S. Sproule, Surgeon, Report Relative to the First Introduction of Vaccination in Kattywar, 22 February, 1808.

⁵ The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register, Volume 7, p206 – Major Alexander Walker in Kattywar

⁶  Glimpses of old Bombay and Western India, with other papers (1900),   by Douglas, James, 1826-1904,  reference Asiatic Society in August, 1823

    Transactions of the Literary Society of Bombay. - London, Longman 1819-23 p.553

⁷  The East India Company Man: Brigadier-General Alexander Walker by Ken Hall 

⁸  The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany, Volume 82, July to Dec 1818

⁹  Bombay Almanac    1820 Birth date 29 Sep 1819 . FIBIS, Families in British India Society

¹⁰  The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany, Volume 11‎ - Page 192 Asia – 1821

¹¹  The Oriental Herald and Colonial Review [ed. by J.S. Buckingham].‎ - Page 429 James Silk Buckingham – 1826

¹²  Gentleman's Magazine (Bombay) Date Nov 1827

¹³  Gentleman's Magazine (Bombay) Date June 1829

¹⁴  The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 97, Part 2; Volume 142, p 475

Other Chapters:

• Sir James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac
• Family history of the Rivett-Carnacs
• Family history of Eliza Walker

The Hunt for the Next Level Up - the First Surprise!

The history of my Sproule family had so far centred on the Tullymoan farm, in Urney, County Tyrone. I was now looking at the generation who were born at the end of the 1700s, and it was here that the surprises began!

I had gathered quite a bit of information on my great grandfather James Sproule and his family.  But who were the parents of James Sproule? I knew that James was born in 1816, but I had no hint as to James’ parents or his peers. Now began the serious searching.

First Steps in Family History Research

The wonderful County Tyrone Genealogy website was my tutor.¹  It not only provided me with valuable pieces of information, but it taught me how to find more. It was on this site that I learnt about  the 1857 Griffiths Valuation, a type of census which listed households, tenants  and land owners. I located James Sproule and he had 187 acres of leased land in Tullymoan at that time.

I found out about the earlier tax, the Tithe Applotment tax,  in roughly 1825. James Sproule was only a child at that time, so it was unlikely that he would appear on this list. Sure enough, there was a different Sproule in Tullymoan in 1825, an Andrew Sproule. Surely, this must be the father of James?

Indeed, it proved to be so. I had found for the first time, Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, my great, great grandfather.

Births, Marriages and Deaths

There were a lot of names and dates on the County Tyrone Genealogy website coming from two local Newspapers  of the eighteen hundreds, The Londonderry Sentinel, and The Strabane Morning Post. The births, marriages and deaths sections of these Newspapers were available for sale, so I purchased a copy of each.  

There were lots of Andrew Sproules in these lists! The Sproules in Tyrone all used the same first names, and they repeat them in every generation to this day. I have lists full of Roberts, Andrews, Samuels and Williams - very confusing!  I narrowed the search, looking for  both ‘Sproule’ and ‘Tullymoan’.

I found no Sproules from Tullymoan in the birth sections, nor in the lists of marriages. I found just four entries in the deaths sections:

DIED Sproule,  January 15, 1833

On Friday, the 4^th inst. Miss Sproule of Tullymoan, aged 30.
The Strabane Morning Post 1812 – 1837

DIED Miss Sproul, February 28th 1835

On the morning of the 19th inst., Miss Sproul, daughter of Mr. Andrew Sproul, of Tullymoan, near Strabane.
The Londonderry Sentinel 1829 – 1869

DIED Matilda Sproule, May  5^th 1838

At the residence of her father, on the morning of Sunday, the 29^th ult., Matilda, youngest daughter of Mr. Andrew Sproule, of Tullymoan, near Strabane.
The Londonderry Sentinel 1829 – 1869

Three daughters of Andrew Sproule, three sisters of James Sproule,  all died within 5 years. They were adults, not children. What happened? Another mystery for another day.

I had found no record of Andrew Sproule himself, not his birth, marriage nor death. Many months on now, I have files and files of information on the Tullymoan Sproules and their connections,  but  I still don’t have this basic data on my great, great grandfather. 

The Wife of Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan

For a long time,  I could also find no record of Andrew’s wife. But then I had the idea to go back to the list that I had compiled of the Sproules from  the newspapers of that time. I didn’t do a search on this occasion. I worked meticulously through every Sproule entry, line by line. I am not sure what I was looking for,  I was just fishing.

And then I found it! Hello, great, great grandmother!

DIED Rebecca Sproule, February 5^th 1858

At Tullymean, in the neighbourhood of Strabane, on Monday, the 1^st inst., Rebecca, relict of the late Mr. Andrew Sproule, aged 84 years. ³

This was my first meeting with Rebecca, wife of Andrew Sproule. Since then I have learnt that she was Rebecca Mackey, born in 1774 in Lismontigley, Raphoe, County Donegal. I now had the next layer up in the Sproules of Tullymoan, Rebecca and Andrew.

The Door that Flew Open - The Fourth Entry

On that very first foray into family history research, there was one other entry that jumped out and bit me! There amidst the lists of farmer Sproules, doctor Sproules and tradesmen Sproules of Tyrone was a very strange Sproule indeed.  It was as if the door of County Tyrone had just flown open and the farming Sproules of Tullymoan had started walking out!

This was the  fourth entry that I had found in the death sections of the newspapers:

DIED, Samuel Sproule,  June 16, 1829

On the 30th of May, at Cheltenham, Samuel Sproule, Esq. recently First Member of the Medical Board at Bombay, and formerly of Tullymoan, Parish of Urney.

The Strabane Morning Post 1812 – 1837

Next Chapter - Great Uncle Samuel, President of the Medical Board Bombay

^{1 The County Tyrone Genealogical Research Website}

² The Strabane Morning Post 1812 – 1837

³ The Londonderry Sentinel 1829 – 1869

Painting

Ploughing with Two Horses by J. Michael Benington; National Museums Northern Ireland