We have learnt a huge amount from this Will of Robert Sproule the Nabob written in 1805. Most importantly, it helped me to discover the parentage of Robert Sproule some years ago, and also to learn more about the brothers and sisters of the Nabob.
These are the key bequests from the Will of Robert Sproule the Nabob, with my own notes added. (Kate Tammemagi) They are in the order in which they appear in the Will, if you would like to cross reference. The Will is here - The Will in full
- To sister-in-law Mrs Catherine Porter of Strabane in Ireland £200
This is Catherine Sproule, daughter of John Sproull the Apothecary, she married Frederick Porter on 16 May 1785. This entry from 16 May 1785 Strabane Journal;
“MARRIED Wednesday last, MR FREDERICK PORTER to MISS CATHERINE SPROULL, both of this place.” Extracted from Directory of Irish Family History Research 1992
These two are first cousins – so common in this family! Frederick Porter was the son of Robert Porter, who was a merchant, post master and politician in Strabane. Robert Porter had married the sister of John Sproull the Apothecary, Rebecca Sproule of Golan, who is also the aunt of the Nabob.Their daughter Mary Porter married Edward Sproule of Burrell's Folly - see previous post. Their daughter Rebecca Porter married her cousin, Oliver Lecky, son of Ann Sproule and Oliver Lecky.
- To Mrs Mary Gamble of the same place (Strabane) £100
Mary Gamble is the mother of John Gamble who wrote ‘Society and Manners in Early Nineteenth Century Ireland’ . She is a cousin of Robert Sproule the Nabob - more on Mary Gamble and her relationship to Robert Sproule the Nabob in a later post.
- To my cousin James Kerr of the parish of Ardstraw, £50
I have not been able to discover how exactly James Kerr of Ardstraw is a cousin of the Nabob, however, I do know who James Kerr is. He married Isabella Sproule, the daughter of Thomas Sproule, the brother of Robert the Nabob. They are talked of in the letters to and from Robert Sproule of Ohio. James Kerr and Isabella went to live in Philadelphia, and died there. James and Isabella had only one child, Sallie, who did not marry.
- To Jackson Goldring of the Central post office City of Dublin £200
I believe this is a friend rather than a relative. Jackson is one of the Trustees of the Nabob's estate
- To John Smyley Barrister at law in Dublin £200
John Smyley was a friend and is a Trustee of Robert Sproule the Nabob's estate
- To Brother Thomas Sproule – £100
Thomas is the eldest son of Samuel Sproule of Golan and Coolnacrunaght, son of Thomas Spreull of Golan. Brother Thomas Sproule was living at Clarebridge at this time, the family eventually moved to Bridgehill. Thomas was married to a lady called Sarah.
- To my Sister Rebecca Sproule £100
Rebecca Sproule married Robert Sproule of Grennan who, according to Elder, is the son of Charles Sproule of Upper Grennan. Robert Sproule of Grennan is a bit of a mystery. He was the eldest son of Charles of Upper Grennan, and yet we know nothing of him or his children – we don’t know what happened to them. (P.S I know exactly who he is - it was right in front of me all the time!)**
- To my sister Elizabeth Rankin - £100
We do not know who Mr Rankin was or where Elizabeth and her family lived.
- To each of the Sons and daughters of my brother Thomas – £100
Thomas had at least 7 children and we know quite a bit about them because of a series of letters between two of his sons, Robert in Ohio and the other in Bridgehill. They are also one of these special families where we have the family bible front page.
- My sister Martha Sproule - sister Martha recieves nothing - “I have not thought it necessary to bequeath anything to my sister Martha, as she has been provided for by the late Mr Robert Sproule."
This is rather a sad tale. Martha is the third of the Nabob’s 3 surviving sisters. She married Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, but he had died before 1801, so she was a widow at this time. Her brother Robert Sproule the Nabob had left her no money because she was to receive a large inheritance from Jamaica. This inheritance was to come not from Robert Sproule, as Robert the Nabob says in his Will, but from Robert’s son, Andrew Sproule of Arnotto Bay, Jamaica. Andrew Sproule was a Tullymoan Sproule who had died in Jamaica in 1801 and he too had left a large fortune. He left money to his aunt Martha in Tullymoan, the widow of his father’s only brother, and also money to all of her sons. However, Andrew’s fortune was stolen by his executors in Jamaica and Martha Sproule, sister of the Nabob, got nothing. The Nabob had also left her nothing, so poor Martha Sproule of Tullymoan had lost out two inheritances!
- To each of the sons of my deceased sister Jane Lecky £100
- To each of the daughters of my deceased sister Jane Lecky £50
We know that the husband of Jane Lecky was ‘Mr Lecky of Altamullan’, but no first name. We don’t know what became of the sons of this marriage, but we know quite a bit about the daughters. The eldest daughter, Ann Lecky, married her first cousin, Robert Sproule of Broomfield, see below. The three remaining daughters of Jane Lecky all lived in Altamullan. Miss Isabel and Miss Mary Lecky were the two spinster ladies that John Gamble went to visit in Termonamongan in his book “Society and Manners”. They had their own land there, and they also managed the Nabob’s land when he was in India. They lived with their other sister, who’s name I don’t know, but she married a Mr Swanston.
- To each of the sons and each of the daughters of my deceased sister Mary Johnston £50
I have not been able to even get a hint of a lead on this family of Nabob’s second deceased sister. The Nabob does not give the name of her husband Mr Johnston, nor does he give us the names of any of the children. He doesn’t give us a hint as to where the family lived. The fact that these children got less than other families suggests that they were less in need – perhaps a more affluent family.
- To Oliver Lecky, son of my deceased sister Ann Lecky £100
- To each of the daughters of my deceased sister Ann Lecky, £100 each
Ann Sproule was the 3rd sister of Robert the Nabob who had died before his Will was signed in 1805. Ann married Oliver Lecky, who's parentage we don't yet know, but Oliver was an affluent man. Their son, also called Oliver Lecky, owned and lived in Mellmount house outside Strabane, which was a home used often by this Sproule Clan. This son Oliver Lecky married cousin Rebeccca Porter, daughter of Frederick Porter and Catherine Sproule.
- To each of the sons of my sister Martha Sproule £50 each.
This is interesting for Tullymoan researchers. The Nabob’s sister Martha Sproule had married Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, but she was a widow by the year 1801. I know that she had 5 sons, but there is no record of any daughters. In this Will dated 1805, Robert the Nabob does not leave money to any daughters in this Tullymoan family, which confirms that were none alive at this time.
- To Robert Sproule, John Sproule and Samuel Sproule all sons of my sister Rebecca Sproule £100 each
- To Charles Sproule and to each of two daughters of my sister Rebecca Sproule £50
Robert, John and Samuel are sons of Robert Sproule of Upper Grennan and Rebecca Sproule, the Nabob’s sister. According to Elder’s tree of this family of Upper Grennan, Robert and John died unmarried. He has Samuel on the tree, but that’s it – no information on him. Again, this Grennan Sproule line is a real puzzle, and it is hard to make sense of it. These 3 boys, or maybe the 4th brother Charles, should have inherited this Grennan land, but there is no sign of them after this Will in 1805. The 4th brother Charles is always separated from the other 3 boys in this Will, and he is always with the two daughters. There could be a number of reasons for that. (I've found these now)
- To the two daughters of my sister Elizabeth Rankin £50
There is no hint as to who this family is – we have no first name for Mr Rankin, none for the two daughters of Mr Rankin and Elizabeth Sproule, and no hint as to where they lived
- To Samuel Sproule eldest son of my brother Thomas £200 in addition to the legacy to which he will be entitled in common with his brothers and sisters (above)
This is Samuel Sproule of Bridgehill, and he is obviously favoured by the Nabob. We know this as Robert the Nabob leaves Samuel his gold watch, chain and seals later in this Will.
The two sons of Samuel Sproule of Bridgehill become residual legatees in the event of the Nabob’s daughter’s death – they share the remainder of the estate with a third cousin, Robert of Inchenny. We know a great deal about this family because of the Ohio-Bridgehill letters – more in later posts.
- To Robert Sproule, the son of Samuel Sproule above, £100
Robert Sproule of Bridgehill, eldest son of Samuel Sproule of Bridgehill inherited vaste fortunes from several different sources – the Nabob was only one of them.When he was a young man, he travelled across America, doing what we would call a ‘grand tour’. Robert of Bridgehill eventually became Robert Sproule of Kildevin, and came to a sticky end! Herein lies another story!
- To Robert Sproule son of my nephew James Sproule of the parish of Ardstraw £100
Nephew James Sproule of Ardstraw is James of Inchany, now spelt Inchenny. It looks from this Will that James was not living in Inchenny in 1805, but was living somewhere in Ardstraw. James was the son of the Nabob’s brother Thomas, one of 3 sons of this family. Robert was the oldest son of James of Inchany, but he died quite young in 1829 aged 27.
- To Robert Sproule son of my nephew Robert Sproule of Broomfield £100
Broomfield house is still there to this day. It is on the road from Clady to Strabane, and is in the townland of Ballylast, land long in the hands of the Tullymoan Sproules. This Robert of Broomfield was the son of the Nabob’s sister Martha Sproule and Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan. Robert Sproule of Broomfield was married to his first cousin Ann Lecky, daughter of the Nabob’s sister Jane. Their son Robert, who is named in the Nabob’s Will, went to Jamaica and made a fortune there. Robert of Broomfield is the ancestor of the Mulvin Sproules
- To Robert Durham son of Mr Andrew Durham of Bovolcan near Lisburn £100
I believe this to be a friend rather than a relative
- To Katherine Cowan, John Cowan and Robert Cowan children of Reverend Thomas Connolly Cowan of Rousden, St Eyres County of Devon £100
Executors of the Will and Trustees
- To my wife I leave and bequeath;
- The lease and interest to Parker’s Well House and also all of the contents of the house, including carriages, horses etc.
- That the yearly rent on the property shall be paid out of the estate and not my wife’s personal stipend
Robert Sproule the Nabob never names his wife in his Will, she is always 'my wife'. She is, of course, Jane Sproull, eldest daughter of the Nabob's uncle, John Sproull the Apothecary of Strabane, so he married his first cousin. Jane died 18 Jul 1828 in Castletown, just outside Strabane where she had lived with her spinster sister Mary following her husband's death:"On Friday last, at Castletown, Mrs Sproull, relict of the late Robert Sproull, Esq. of Bombay, at the advanced age of 80 years." (Strabane Morning Post July 22, 1828) see previous posts.
The remainder and
residue of the estate is placed in a Trust to be managed by Jackson Golding Esquire, John Smyley Esquire both before
mentioned and to the Reverend Thomas Connolly Cowan now of Roulston St
Eyres in the county of Devon as executors.
Out of this Trust is to come the following:
- To my Sister-in-Law Mary Sproule the interest on £1000 to be paid annually for life
Mary Sproule is the sister of the Nabob’s wife Jane Sproule, and both are daughters of John Sproull the Apothecary. John Sproull was an affluent man and he left a detailed Will in 1787 that mentions his other 3 daughters, but his oldest daughter Jane, the wife of the Nabob, is not mentioned. Clearly he felt that Jane was well provided for.
In his Will, John the Apothecary leaves a Trust which provides annual income to his other three daughters, Mary Sproule, Rebecca Barclay and Catherine Porter. He has two sons who he provides for, but the residual legatees are the three daughters.
So Mary Sproule, the only spinster in the family, was well provided for and here she gains an additional annual income from Robert Sproule the Nabob. Mary was an affluent lady. She lived in the house in Castletown that her sister Jane lived in, this from an 1826 deed. In two 1834 deeds we find that Mary Sproule is living with her nephew Oliver Lecky in Mellmount - this is after the death of her sister Jane. In these two deeds, Mary Sproule is selling land to James Sproule of Stokes Hall Jamaica. James of Jamaics is another nephew, who at this time was bringing his family home to Ireland, and he leased the house at Mellmount from Oliver Lecky - becoming James Sproule of Mellmount.
*** Note. Robert Sproule the Nabob provides for his two sisters-in-law in this Will, they are both important to him. The third sister-in-law is not mentioned at all, nor is her family. John Sproull the Apothecary had another daughter Rebecca, who married John Barclay, son of Robert Barclay, in Strabane on 18 Jan 1774. (Londonderry Journal, Fri Jan 21 1774) This daughter, Rebecca Barclay, is named in John the Apothecary's Will dated 5 Mar 1887. But she is not named here, nor is her husband or her children. I have found no trace of this family in Ireland. This Will confirms that the family of Rebecca Barclay were either dead with no children, or that the family had left Ireland.
- To my wife during her life an annuity or yearly stipend £500
Jane Sproule had been left the house in Parker's Well, with all that goes with this, and the expenses on the house were to be paid out of the estate. This yearly stipend was simply her 'pin money'. Jane Sproull would also have been provided for by another Trust on her marriage to Robert Sproule the Nabob - this was the custom at that time. The father John Sproull the Apothecary and also the husband-to-be Robert Sproule the Nabob, would have put income from either investments or from land into a Trust to provide money for the widow should the husband die. So Jane would have had that income as well.
- The Trustees are responsible for providing for the maintenance, clothing and education of my daughter Rebecca Jane Sproule until the age of 21 years or until her marriage
Rebecca Jane had been born in 1790 in Dundalk, Ireland.
- Daughter Rebecca Jane Sproule receives the total of the remainder of Robert Sproule the Nabob’s estate – he appoints her residual legatee, and she receives everything when she reaches the age of 21 or on her marriage
An unusual thing here is that the Nabob tells us the birth date of Rebecca Jane, his only child – born on 16 Dec 1790. I have not seen that in any other Will or document. I can only surmise that the her father, the Nabob, wanted to safeguard any challenges to the Will based on her age. He was clearly thinking in the event that Rebecca Jane should die before her 21st birthday, which was must have been on the cards, for the Nabob gives very detailed provisions for that eventuality. He writes what is, in effect, a second Will which is what exactly is to happen if Rebecca Jane should die before the age of 21.Poor Rebecca Jane did indeed pass away in March 1810 at the age of 19 years. Breandán Mac Suibhne, in Society and Manners, tells us that the report of her death in The Exeter Flying Post of 15 March 1810, said that MissRebecca Jane Sproule of Parker’s Well House died ‘of a decline ... she was enabled to bear the gradual decay of her entire frame, with patience and with resignation, from an unfeigned faith in the merits of a Crucified Redeemer’. P.559
- The Trustees shall apply funds for the maintenance, clothing and education of Robert Sproule and Thomas Sproule, sons of nephew Samuel Sproule and grandsons of brother Thomas
These are the two sons of Samuel Sproule of Bridgehill, and they become the chief heirs with Robert, son of James of Inchenny.
- Also the maintenance, clothing and education of Robert Sproule, son of nephew James Sproule and grandson of brother Thomas
This is Robert, son of James Sproule of Inchenny, the other cheif heir.
***Robert the Nabob leaves much to these 3 grandsons of his brother Thomas. They are from Thomas Sproule’s two sons, Samuel and James. Thomas Sproule had a 3rd son, also called Robert – Robert Sproule who was living in Ohio at this time. Robert of Ohio or his family, is not mentioned at all in this Will.
- The land of Altamullan is left to Robert, eldest son of Samuel, eldest son of his brother Thomas, and his male heirs. Then if Robert has no male heirs on his death, the Atlamullan goes to Thomas Sproule, the brother of Robert, and to his male heirs.
It is the deeds for this piece of Altamullan land that confirmed the parentage of Robert Sproule the Nabob. Prior to me working on this Will some years ago, we did not know who was the father of Robert Sproule the Nabob. John Inch had left Jack Elder with a lovely hand drawn tree which Elder called ‘The Nabob Sproules’. In this he speculates, was the father of The Nabob a man called Thomas, or was it Robert Sproule, who married Martha Edwards?
The latter was closer, for the father of the Nabob was not Robert Sproule of Golan who married Martha Edwards, but his brother, Samuel Sproule of Golan and Coolnacrunaght. So the Nabob was a Golan Sproule, grandson of Thomas Spreull of Golan.The clue to this was in this Will. Here Altamullan land is owned by Robert Sproule the Nabob, and he passes it on. Before this in 1793, Robert Sproule who is then in Dundalk adds two 'lives' to the deed for this Altamullan land. (PRONI REF D 1890/25) So the that 1793 deed lists the history of this Deed right back to the original 1733 deed. So we learn that before Robert Sproule the Nabob, this piece of Altamullan land was owned by Samuel Sproule of Golan who left it in his Will dated 1781 to Robert, and before that, Samuel had been left the land by his father, Thomas Spreull of Golan, who had leased it from Hugh Edwards of Castlegore in a deed dated 5 Nov 1733. I have written about this previously, but you will now see this in this Will - see previous post.
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| The Family of Thomas Spreull of Golan |
In this Will the Altamullan land went to Robert Sproule of Bridgehill after the death of the daughter Rebecca Jane and after the death of Robert's wife Jane. Robert of Bridgehill was by that time already involved in the reclaimation project he had engaged in in Westmeath, and where he finally built his large house, Kildevin House. Robert had no interest in Altamullan, and the land was effectively in the hands of his brother Thomas, who farmed the Bridgehill land and the Altamullan land. Robert of Kildevin had no children and the Altamullan land finally fell to the brother Thomas Sproule, second son of Samuel of Bridgehill. Thomas Sproule left Bridgehill and built a large house in Altamullan, where he died in 1793. He had no children. There are several deeds in which the whole trail is laid out as new names are added to the lease, for those who are interested the 1843 deed is a good one to look through PRONI Reference D847/5/17
- To each of the sons of brother Thomas, £200 in addition to that above
- To each of the daughters of brother Thomas an additional £100
- To each of the sons of my deceased sister Jane Lecky an additional £100
- To each of the daughters of sister Jane Lecky an additional £100
- To Oliver Lecky an additional £200
- To each of the daughters of sister deceased Ann Lecky an additional £100
- To sister Martha Sproule £50
- To William Sproule, son of Martha Sproule an additional £100
William is a Tullymoan Sproule, son of Martha Sproule, sister of the Nabob. She had 5 sons, but only William is mentioned in this Will. William was the youngest and was, I believe, still living on the Tullymoan farm, where he was running the farm with his older brother Andrew. Their brother James was in Jamaica, he later came back and lived at Mellmount. Brother Samuel was a doctor in Bombay at this time, rising rapidly through the ranks there. Brother Robert was living in Broomfield, not far from the Tullymoan farm, but I do not believe Robert was a farmer.William Sproule of Tullymoan died in 1827. He had only one son Samuel who was also a doctor in India, and who married his first cousin, Margaret Madden Sproule, daughter of James Sproule of Mellmount.
- To Robert, John and Samuel Sproule all sons of my sister Rebecca Sproule an additional £200 each
- To Charles Sproule and the daughters of Rebecca Sproule an additional £100 each
Again that strange linking of Charles with the daughters. It looks like Charles may have had some kind of problem.
- To Eliza Sproule, daughter of brother-in-law Dr John Sproule of Dublin £100
Eliza is the only child of Dr John Sproule of Dublin, son of John Sproull the Apothecary, who married Eliza Bosquet in 1773. Eliza is their only child. John Sproull the Apothecary had three sons, as well as the four daughters mentioned above. I believe that two of the sons, James, who was a doctor in Omagh, and Robert, who was mentioned in only one deed, were both deceased by the time of this Will in 1805.
- To Robert Porter and to each of the daughters of my sister-in-law Catherine Porter £50
Robert Porter was son of Frederick Porter and Catherine Sproule, and grandson of Robert Porter and Rebecca Sproule of Golan – these Sproules ladies are aunt and niece. Robert Porter lived at Mellmount in the early 1820s, and by the early 1840s, he is in a very large home, called Carricklee, in Strabane. He was very close to his sisters and their husbands, Mary Porter who married Edward Sproule of Burrell’s Folly, and Rebecca Porter who married Oliver Lecky. Robert figures large in the marriage settlement of sister Mary, and Edward Sproule and their children are the main beneficiary of Robert Porter’s Will when he died in 1862. Robert Porter was married to a lady named Jane and they seem to have had no children.
- To each of the daughters of my cousin Mrs Mary Gamble £50
This is the mother of John Gamble who wrote 'Society and Manners'. Robert leaves money to the daughters, but not to John Gamble. John was a doctor himself and living in Canada. More on this in a later post.
The Residual Legatees in the event of the Death of Rebecca Jane
Robert Sproule the Nabob then declares his residual legatees, that is, after all of the bequests have been made, and after the death of his daugher and after the death of his wife, the entire estate goes to 3 people to be divided equally between them:
- Robert Sproule of Bridgehill eldest of Samuel Sproule, son of Thomas brother of Robert Sproule the Nabob
Robert of Bridgehill was born on 05 Dec 1798, he died in 1859 and had no children
- Thomas Sproule, the second eldest son of Samuel Sproule, son of Thomas brother of Robert Sproule the Nabob
Thomas Sproule of Bridgehill and Altamullan was born on 06 Dec 1802 and he died in Altamullan on 09 Jun 1893, he had no children
- Robert eldest son of James Sproule, so son of Thomas brother of Robert Sproule the Nabob
This Robert is Robert Sproule of Inchenny, son of James Sproule. Robert died on 12 May 1829 at age 27. Robert had no children. He had 3 younger brothers, two of whom died in 1838 without families. The only surviving brother, Moses Sproule and two of his sisters, Rebecca Jane and Elizabeth, inherited the money left to this family. They had no children.
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| The Siblings of Robert Sproule |
Grateful thanks to Marie Maguire for transcribing this particularly difficult Will - a heroic job!
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