The Parents of Lendrick Sproule of Caugherty, Ballyclug, Antrim

 We now have Lendrick Sproule of Caugherty who died on 5 Dec 1896, and we also have his two brothers.

We have his brother Thomas Sproule of Caugherty who died on 29 Aug 1871, aged 75, and his brother John Sproule of Ballycreggy, who died on 20 Jul 1866.

In order to get further back, the place to look is, of course, at the land.

In Griffiths Valuation in the mid 1850s we have the two brothers in Caherty, as it is now spelt. We have Thomas, who has 17 acres of land in Caherty, and Lendrick, who has 16 acres. These two holdings are side-by-side. This often happens if the father splits the land between the two sons.

Caherty in Griffiths Valuation, Ask About Ireland

Now let’s look in the Tithe Applotment of Ballyclug Parish which was carried out in 1825. We can see 'Caugherty' and there appears to be only one person, John Sproule. 

Tithe Applotment for Ballyclug, PRONI FIN/5/30

The numbers on the Tithe record show money paid rather than acres. So John Sproule paid about 12 shillings. However, the first name on the list there above John is William O’Hara, and this is certainly the owner of the land, this can be seen in the Griffiths entry above. So the owner has put his own name for a piece of land that was the same size as John Sproule’s. This piece of land could well also have been being farmed by John Sproule, which would reflect the later Griffiths entry.

So now in 1825, we have John Sproule of Caugherty, and this John Sproule was almost certainly the father of Lendrick Sproule and his two brothers.

It is very rare in Ireland to get definitive proof of anything in the 1700s or early 1800s. But here, in this case, I found very definite proof! John Sproule of Caugherty is the father of Lendrick Sproule of Caugherty and his two brothers.

The Prerogative Wills books of Ireland usually only list a name and a year, and, if you are very lucky, they add a place. I have never seen one that also has the executors of a will, but the record of the probate of the will John Sproule of Ballyclug in 1825 does just that.

Probate Record for John Sproule of Ballyclug

The probate was granted on 29 Jan 1825, so John Sproule of Ballyclug must have died in 1824 or shortly before. The Executors are given in the entry of probate, and they are  Lendrick & Martha Sproule.

So John Sproule of Caugherty, who had the land there in the Tithe Applotment, died round 1824, and his eldest son, Lendrick Sproule, was an executor of the Will.

But who was the other executor, who was Martha Sproule?

Martha was unlikely to be a sister. There were at least 2 other brothers, and the brothers would be named as executors before a sister.

Martha could not be Lendrick’s wife for the same reason – there were male sons.

Martha Sproule has to be the widow of John Sproule of Caugherty!

So now we have both the parents of Lendrick Sproule and his brothers, they were John Sproule of Caugherty, who died about 1824, and his wife Martha.

Will entry for John Sproule, Ireland, Diocesan and Prerogative Wills & Administrations Indexes, 1595-1858, Familysearch.org

Other Posts on this Family:

1. The Mystery Picture - R. Sproule Shop
2. Robert Sproule the Saddler – the Lendrick Connection 
3. The Family of Hugh Sproule of Ballycreggy and Bridge St Ballymena, and Mary Ann