Written by Larry McKay, descendant of John Sproule of Ardvarney West
In the previous post on the family of John Sproule of Ardvarney West, Chateauguay Valley Protestant Church records showed John of Ardvarney West and Mary Toner were parents to a set of twins. They were John and Mary born March 21/1824 in Hemmingford, Quebec and baptised March 23/1824. I found this unusual because it was a very quick baptism, which sometimes indicates the infants didn’t have a long life expectancy. And since there wasn’t anymore records to be found for them I assumed they were deceased.
As genealogists and family history enthusiasts we rely on the research of those that have gone before. Much of that research is based on personal knowledge because they never had internet or access to documents we take for granted today. For example the trees compiled by John Inch and later Jack Elder, who probably referenced John Inch’s tree in his research of the Sproule family.
So I checked Jack Elder’s tree to see if he had anything on the family of John Sproule of Ardvarney West and the twins. John Sr. did appear on the tree with first wife Ann Edwards and an indication of a second wife but no name. It also shows he emigrated to Ormstown, Quebec. The Elder tree shows only one child of John of Ardvarney West. It names son John Sproule, his wife Phoebe Porter and their children Ann, Phoebe and William J. of Montreal.
It stands to reason that John Sr. would name
his first born son John, after his grandfather John “Jack Roe” Sproule. I had
John Sproule and Phoebe Porter in my tree as the son of John Sproule of
Ardvarney West for years just because it seemed the only place they fit. I
didn’t include them in the last post because
there is very little documentation on John and Phoebe Sproule and certainly
none connecting them to John Sproule of Ardvarney West.
There is no documented evidence of when he was born or died, at least that I
can find. John Sr.’s next son is Edward born 1805, so one could guess John Jr.
was born about 1803. I have found a death date of May 18/1848 on more than one
online tree, no documentation, no sources. We all know about online trees, most
have John Sproule of Ardvarney West as the husband of Phoebe Porter, which we
know is certainly not true. Now let’s bear in mind, if this John was born in 1803,
or thereabouts, and John Inch ( his supposed cousin ) was born in 1795, it’s a
very good chance they were known to each other. And if Jack Elder got this
information from John Inch it would be very credible.
So lets try to match this John as the son of John Sproule of Ardvarney West with the little we know about him. Lets start with his marriage to Phoebe Porter. They were married in 1829 in Armagh ( 1 ). You will notice no reference to parents. So John did not move to Canada with the rest of his family in 1823.
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| From Indexes to Wills, Probate Administration, Marriage Bonds and Licences |
The next known record is the 1842 Canada East Census ( Quebec ) ( 2 ). He is living in the city of Montreal listed as John Sproll, non proprietaire de biens-fonds ( renter ) and his occupation is journalier ( day labourer ). The family consists of four members which would include his wife Phoebe, daughter Ann and son James Alexander. This appears to be the only census that John or any of his descendants ever participated in making them very hard to track.
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| From 1842 Canada East Census |
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| The baptism record of James, son of John Sproul and Phoebe Porter |
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| The baptism record of Ann, daughter of John Sproul and Phoebe Porter |
Ann was married May 2/1850 to John Convery (
5 ) at the Congregational Church of Zion in Montreal, Quebec. You will
notice that the names of the parents are not on this document, but there are
some clues as to Ann’s parents. Firstly, she is obviously a minor at 16, and
required her parents consent, which is noted. And it appears her mother is her
only surviving parent, which coincides with the undocumented death date of her
father John in 1848.
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| Marriage record of Ann Sproul and John Convery |
This record also has as witnesses Mary and Margaret Sproul. Some online trees have mistakenly, I believe, added them as sisters of Ann, with parents John and Phoebe. Just a misleading assumption based on this document. There are two Marys and two Margarets that are age appropriate, living in the area that seem to fit. And they all are connected to John of Ardvarney West. Daughter Margaret born 1826 wasn’t married to Alexander Brown until 1856, so she was still a Sproule. The second is Margaret Dundas married to John Sr.’s son Edward. One Mary is Mary Whelon married to John Sr.’s son William. The other Mary could be John and Mary Toner’s twin daughter, if she survived to adulthood. But the most convincing evidence of this Ann being the daughter of John Sproule and Phoebe Porter, is another church record of a marriage. The marriage of William Sutcliffe to Phoebe Ann Convery February 7/1872 in the Congregational Church of Zion in Montreal, Quebec ( 6 ). Clearly Ann Sproule Convery named her daughter after her mother Phoebe Porter.
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| Marriage of Phoebe Ann Convery and William Sutcliffe |
No 695 June 22,
1853 Will John Sproull snr leaves to John Sproull his
son W2 lot 21 3rd concession Ormstown.
So the only John it could be is the twin
born in 1824. If the one twin survived, it is possible that the other twin
survived as well to be a witness at a wedding. There are two many matching names
in Jack Elder’s tree. It had to be correct.
But why two sons named John? Well, If John Jr. of Montreal was born in 1803, by
the time his father married Mary Toner he was a grown man. Perhaps he had a
strong view on the religious difference and he and his father had a huge
blowout. And basically disowned each other. That’s why he stayed behind in
Ireland. Even after he moved to Canada he didn’t seem involved with the rest of
the seemingly close knit family. He didn’t live in the Chateauguay Valley
with the rest of them, he lived in the city. Even William who was left in
Ireland was accepted with open arms.
John and eldest son John got revenge on each other. John Sr. named Mary
Toner’s first son John and John Jr. didn’t name his first and only son John, he
named him James. I don’t see John Sr. or his family holding any animosity
towards the family of John Jr. I can still see Mary and Margaret being
witnesses at the marriage of their niece Ann. It was probably just bad blood
between father and son, who was no longer around.
Sources
/ Illustrations
( 1 ) Ireland,Indexes to Wills, Probate Administration, Marriage Bonds and Licences,1591-1866, Ancestry.com
( 2 ) 1842 Canada East Census for John Sproll, Ancestry.com
( 3 ) Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 : Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, comp., Ancestry.com
( 4 ) Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 : Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Ancstry.com
( 5 ) Quebec, Canada, Vital and Church Records(Drouin Collection), 1621-1968 : Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Ancestry.com
Related Stories
- The Family of John Sproule of Ardvarney West, by Lary McKay
John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin, Part 1 - The Context
Part 2 - John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin, Pieces of the Jigsaw
Part 3 - John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin, the Record of his Death
Part 4 - John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin – and the Second Wife
The Children of John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin and his Two Wives
Part 6 – the Father of Elizabeth Edwards, 2nd wife of John Sproule of Curraghmulkin
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