Golan Sproules – the Search for the Y-DNA

We really need the Golan Sproule Y-DNA to help with our Sproule family research. This is going to be quite tricky, as there are not many Golan Sproule lines that survived. In this post, I will go through the possibilities, and identify the only two lines where a male Sproule descendant might exist.

If you want to go straight to these two lines, they are descendants of James Sproule of Newtonstewart, and descendants of Robert Sproule of Ohio.

We will begin at Thomas Spreull of Golan who died around 1761. Thomas had 4 sons that we know of:

Robert Sproule of Golan, eldest  son of Thomas of Golan

Robert of Golan or Drumnabey married Martha Edwards of Kilcroagh. He died young in 1734 and he had only one son, Oliver.

1.1 Oliver Sproule of Golan was the heir of his grandfather Thomas of Golan and inherited his distillery business and land. Oliver had three sons that we know of:

1.1.1          Andrew Sproule of Spamount 1741 -1798 – Andrew was ‘The Bleacher’, building on his father’s bleachgreen business, distillery and eventually the linen business.  Andrew had 11 children with 2 wives. However, he was unlucky with his 6 sons.

1.1.1.1    Oliver of Spamount  – died at age 26 in Baltimore on a visit there in 1790, no children

1.1.1.2    William of Spamount – died in childhood

1.1.1.3    Andrew  Sproule ought to have then become the heir following the death of his older brothers, but in Jan of 1804 Andrew handed over all of his interest in the Spamount land, business etc. to his brothers Edward, James and Arthur. He then went off to live in Draper’s Hill near Brookboro, Co Fermanagh. Andrew produced 3 boys who survived to adulthood, but none of these had children

1.1.1.3.1           James Sproule of Skeog, Fermanagh, 1816 -1881 married twice, had no children

1.1.1.3.2           John Sproule of Skeoge, Fermanagh died unmarried in 1858

1.1.1.3.3           Oliver Sproule QC of Blessington St., Dublin died unmarried in 1854

1.1.2          Edward Sproule of Spamount died unmarried in 1851

1.1.3          James Sproule of Spamount died unmarried 1852

1.1.4          Arthur Sproule of Spamount was a lawyer in Dublin, and he married Susan Bennet in 1818 and had one son Andrew Bennet Sproule 1819. Susan, the mother, died in childbirth. Arthur died in 1828 in Nice.

1.1.4.1 Andrew Bennet Sproule died in 1843 at the age of 24 – no children

1.2   Robert Sproule of Golan b.1747 – in a 1764 deed with his age, so we know he was born in 1747. By 1768 he is gone. He would be 21, so he could have died or he could have emigrated.

1.3   James Sproule of Golan b.1752 is mentioned in the same 1764 deed, born in 1752. He was still there in 1768. James of Golan does not appear after this. All of the Spamount Sproules who were very affluent males and females, all left wills where they left money to every known relative – loads of nephews, nieces, grand nephews etc. James Sproule is not mentioned. However, most of them who died in the mid 1800s left money to ‘Eliza and Mary Sproul of Golan’.  These could well have been daughters of James Sproule of Golan. No sign of any sons.

Bottom line on the family of Robert Sproule of Golan & the Spamount Sproules – NO MALE Sproule Descendants.

James Sproule of Newtonstewart son of Thomas of Golan

James Sproule was an Innkeeper / Merchant in Newtonstewart. He is named in the will of Thomas of Golan, and in further deeds concerning the inherited lands. He died before 1774. I believe he had at least three sons, Edward, Charles and James.

Edward Sproule was definitely the son of James, he went to America and he died before 1779. This is stated in a 1779 deed, but where in America is not given.

Charles Sproule of Newtonstewart  was also an Innkeeper  and appears to be an affluent man. He is not named in a deed as son of James of Newtonstewart, but I believe he was and took over his business. It is also likely that the Charles Sproule who lived in Rakelly in the early 1800s and who died there in 1816 is this Charles of Newtonstewart. (The later Rakelly/Rathkelly Sproule family, there in 1900, is a completely different family who just arrived there)

James Sproule was a farmer in Croshballinree, Newtonstewart.  He is in deeds dividing land with Charles – which is why I believe these are two sons of James.

There was also a Robert Sproule of Newtonstewart , who witnessed a Spamount Sproule deed in 1799, and an Edward Sproule in Newtonstewart  mentioned as a buyer in a market in 1816. These are obviously grandsons of James Sproule of Newtonstewart, but I don’t know who they belong to.

The Newtonstewart Sproules were all gone by 1824. No Sproules of this line have been traced so far. They disappeared from the area. They may have moved within Tyrone or out of Ireland.

Bottom line on the family of James Sproule son of Thomas of Golan - POSSIBLE MALE SPROULES, but we don’t know where!

John Sproull the Apothecary son of Thomas Spreull of Golan

John Sproull (1713 – 1787 lived in Strabane, and lectured in medicine in Dublin. He had two sons, John and James.

We know a lot about this family because of the Will of Thomas Spreull of Golan. He left land to his 3 sons James, Samuel and John the Apothecary share and share alike. In 1863 the boys divided up the land in a deed of partition. John the Apothecary got the land Meenacheeran and Pollygeravane. This Meenacheeran land is on a ‘perpetual lease’ with named lives, and as it is  passed down through the generations in a series of deeds we learn about the deaths in the family and the new names added. 

Son Robert Sproule died before 1779 – no children

Son James  Sproule was a doctor in the hospital in Omagh, also died before 1779 no children

Son John Sproule was a lawyer in Beresford St. Dublin, he died Nov 1814 leaving one daughter.

(The Meenacheeran land was by now freehold, and was owned be John’s daughter Elizabeth who married Humphrey Jones on 26 Apr 1817. She is the Mrs Jones in the Griffiths for Meenakeeran.)

Bottom line on the family of John Sproull son of Thomas Spreull of Golan – NO MALE Sproule descendants

Samuel Sproule of Coolnacrunaigh, son of Thomas of Golan

Samuel’s descendants are our only realistic hope of finding a male Golan Sproule descendant. We know a lot about these because of the will of Robert Sproule the Nabob, and also from the letters written to Robert of Ohio from his family in Bridgehill. (I am descended from Martha, a daughter of this Samuel)

Samuel had 8 children, but only 2 boys.

1.  Robert Sproule the Nabob died in 1807, and he had only one child, Rebecca Jane, who died at age 20.

            2.  Thomas Sproule of Bridgehill, born about 1730. Thomas had three sons:

        2.1           Samuel Sproule of Bridgehill. Samuel had 9 children, 3 boys

        2.1.1          Robert of Bridgehill – became Robert Sproule of Kildevin, came to a sticky end in Australia, had no children

        2.1.2          Thomas of Bridgehill – who became Thomas Sproule of Altamullan, married late in life, had no children

        2.1.3          Samuel Sproule MD of the Sappo, doctor in the navy died at age 34 no children 

        2.2           James Sproule of Inchany -  poor James had a large family of 9 with 5 boys, none of whom had children

        2.2.1          Robert of Inchany died in 1829 aged 27 – no children

        2.2.2          Moses lived to age 64, never married, no children

        2.2.3          Samuel died young before 1829

        2.2.4          James Robert died in 1838, no children

        2.2.5          Thomas also died in 1838 no children

    2.3          Robert Sproule of Ohio – Robert was born 13 Feb 1775 in Clare Bridge, County Tyrone. He went first to South Carolina, and then to Miami County, Ohio. He married Isabella Hays on 4 Apr 1801 in Newbery County, South Carolina.  It is here that we have our best chance of finding a male Sproule descendant.

        2.3.1        Samuel Sproule of Ohio 06 Dec 1805 – 1867, was born in South Carolina and had at least 2 sons

        2.3.2        Thomas Abner Sproule 06 Feb 1816 - 12 May 1882, born in Troy, Miami County and  had at least 4 sons

        2.3.3        James Sproul 10 Dec 1817 - 15 May 1891 had at least 4 sons

        2.3.4        Robert D. Sproul 11 Feb 1826 – 13 Oct 1887 no surviving male children

 Bottom Line descendants of Robert Sproule of Ohio are our best chance for finding a Golan Sproule male

The chances of finding a male Golan Sproule are slim. The best chance is with the descendants of Robert Sproule of Ohio. It is possible that there are descendants of James Sproule of Newtonstewart out there  – but they will be difficult to find and validate.