The End of the BIG Story

I will end this story where it began. Charlotte is in her drawing room in Mellmount, Strabane, County Tyrone. She learns of the tragic death of James Sproule, the man who everyone believes is her husband. The Will is read. I had imagined Charlotte being shocked to find that James Sproule had two ‘reputed’ children. Now I know that this was far from strange to Charlotte Taylor, and indeed she was a ‘reputed child’ herself.

Like many retired folk, James and Charlotte had hoped to live out their lives in peace and comfort in Ireland, but it was not to be.

From Jamaica to Ireland

The move from Jamaica was essential for the future of their large family. Although slavery was abolished in 1834, the negative attitudes to mixed race people were deeply embedded, and it would be a long time before they were treated as equals. In all likelihood, Charlotte’s children looked like any other white people, but they were recorded as 'mestees' on their legal documents and in Jamaica, they would not have the same rights or opportunities as their white neighbours.

1835 was the right year for James and Charlotte to make their move to Ireland. Following emancipation, there were many white people who were selling up and moving back to their homelands. James would receive a large amount of compensation for his slaves from the government, and he had begun to sell off his assets. The family packed up, made the long sea journey to Ireland,  and settled in their leased mansion at Mellmount, Strabane, County Tyrone.

Charlotte in Mellmount

The transition for Charlotte must have been huge, though I am sure she appreciated at least one great benefit of living in County Tyrone. Charlotte had lived as 'Charlotte Taylor free quadroon' up to this point in her life. Now, at last, she could call herself Charlotte Sproule, wife of James Sproule of Mellmount.

Today we might recognise Charlotte’s appearance  as  that of a mixed race person, as did Lady Nugent when she met Charlotte in Golden Grove.  Anyone who had been to Jamaica at that time would certainly do so, and James was taking a huge risk in taking her to live in Ireland. However, the local people in Tyrone may well have believed that this was simply what people in Jamaica looked like, and it is quite possible that they did not question her appearance at all!

The Wedding of Margaret and Samuel Sproule

In January 1836 James and Charlotte celebrated the wedding of their eldest daughter, Margaret Madden Sproule. Margaret was marrying her first cousin, Samuel Sproule, the son of James’ late brother William. It was a good marriage for her, as Samuel had already qualified as a doctor, and he had great prospects in the East India Company.  He was just applying for the position of Surgeon in Bombay, but he was being sponsored by the powerful Sir James Rivett-Carnac who was Governor of Bombay and an old friend of Samuel’s late uncle. His future looked certain.

The Death of James Sproule

It would appear that it was necessary for James Sproule to make one more journey to tidy up his affairs in Jamaica. James wrote his will in April 1840 as he was planning this last trip.  In a tragic twist of fate, James Sproule died on August 1^st 1840 as his ship was pulling in to port. The ship, the New Grove, went down on the rocks at Morant Keys, just off Port Morant, and James Sproule was no more.¹

In Ireland Without James

Charlotte was now alone in Ireland, and it must have felt very strange. Her eldest daughter was in India, and I believe that shortly after the death of James,  both of their sons, William Taylor and Robert Samuel,  sailed for America.  However, she had her four younger daughters there to comfort her.

One of these, Matilda Ann, married the local bank manager in Strabane, William Smyth of Bowling Green, in 1842. Charlotte soon had little Smyth grandchildren visiting her home in Mellmount. Her three youngest daughters, Ellen Madden, Jane Nugent and Sarah Charlotte, lived at home with her until her death.

On the 17th of April 1849, Charlotte died at Mellmount, she was 54 years old. For most of her life, she had been Charlotte Taylor, prohibited from the benefit of legal marriage.  But in death, she had acquired the status that she deserved:

“Mrs Sproule, relict of the late James Sproule, Esq., of Mellmount.” ¹ 

____________________________________________________________________

* Episode 1 of this story - The Beginning of the BIG Story

* Episode 2 - In Jamaica - James and Other Sproules

* Episode 3 - The Sproule Children of Stokes Hall Jamaica

* Episode 4 - As One Door Closes… Another one Explodes!

* Episode 5 - Charlotte Taylor - Quadroon

* Episode 6 - Finding Charlotte Taylor

* Episode 7 - Simon Taylor and the Golden Grove Child

* Episode 8 - Light on the Last Mysteries

Next Episode - The Children of James and Charlotte

The FAMILY TREE of James Sproule of Jamaica and Charlotte Taylor

The FAMILY TREE of James' father, that of  Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan and Rebecca MacKay

References:

¹ Death Notices The Londonderry Sentinel 

²Samuel Sproule, brother of James of Mellmount, see Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay

The Big Breakthrough on the Sproule Family Tree

19^th November 1805. This is the date that gave me the biggest breakthrough in my genealogical research so far. This date appeared on two different documents. One ‘19^th November 1805’ was on a deed that concerned the family of Thomas Sproule of Golan, who died in 1761. The other appeared on the will of Robert Sproule known as ‘The Nabob’ who died in 1807. Two documents, one date -  and a family tree completed! Oh, how I wish I could tell Jack Elder the great news!

Thomas Sproule of Golan

Thomas Sproule of Golan appears on a lease in 1733 where he acquires half of the townland of Altamullan in Termnamongan, County Tyrone.¹  Thomas already owns land in Golan, just south east of Castlederg, and now he bought 507 acres in Altamullen. This 1733 lease is important for the family history as the land was passed from one person to another down through the generations, giving us names and dates at each stage.

When this deed was registered in 1733, it was stated that Thomas of Golan was son of Samuel Sproule of Golan. Thomas also names two sons, Robert and James. His son Robert died just a year later, in 1734, according to a will in the name of Robert of Drumnabeigh (Just next to Golan).  In 1761 Thomas of Golan dies and he leaves his freehold lands to his three sons James, Samuel and John –‘share and share alike’.² 

The Three Sons of Thomas of Golan

In 1763, the three sons register an agreement where they divide up the lands left to them by Thomas of Golan. James, now called James of Newton Stewart, agrees to take the north part of the freehold land in Altamullen.³  Samuel, now called Samuel of Coolnacrunaght, gets the southside of Altamullan. A different piece of land in Meenacheeran and Pollygerrybane goes to the third son, who is named as John Sproule the Apocethary of Strabane.

Now we focus on the son Samuel. The lease tells us that in a will dated 4th June 1779, Samuel dies and leaves his quarter of Altamullan to his son Robert.⁴ The next event on this lease is dated 19^th November 1805 where son Robert dies and leaves his freehold farm in the townland of Altamullan to his nephew, Robert Sproule of Bridgehill.

Hold that thought!

Robert Sproule the Nabob

Jack Elder produced a family tree of ‘The Nabob Sproules’. The central figure was Robert Sproule, known as 'The Nabob', and I am descended from his sister, Martha.  We know a lot about Robert the Nabob - I will be talking about him a great deal in later posts. What Elder didn’t know was that Robert the Nabob’s uncle was John Sproule the Apocethary of Strabane (1713-1787) son of Thomas of Golan. We know this from the Abercorn Papers, where there are references to John the Apocethary and his nephew Robert in India – Robert's India adventures won him the nickname of ‘The Nabob’.

Who Were the Parents?

John the Apocethary was Robert the Nabob’s uncle, which means that Thomas of Golan was his Grandfather. But who were the parents of the Nabob? Elder thought that the father of the Nabob was Thomas, or possibly Robert, but he was never sure. If we look again at the leases of Thomas of Golan, and there are several of them, he never mentions a son Thomas and there was no son Thomas named in his will. His son Robert died in 1734, and left only one son, Oliver. So the Nabob’s father was not a Robert or a Thomas, son of Thomas of Golan.

It looked to me at this point as if the line came down through the mother of the Nabob. That is, Robert the Nabob’s mother was the daughter of Thomas of Golan, and she had married another Sproule – very common in those days!

The Will of Robert the Nabob

In the last few weeks, I got hold of the will of Robert the Nabob, thanks to a fellow researcher – very exciting!⁵  It turns out that there were eight children in this family, so a lot of people out there are trying to find out who were the parents of Robert the Nabob!

Robert the Nabob names his older, and only, brother as Thomas Sproule. The Nabob leaves money in his will to the eldest son of brother Thomas, Samuel of Bridgehill, and to Samuel’s son, Robert of Bridgehill. Robert the Nabob also states that he leaves ‘my freehold farm in Altamullan’ to his nephew, Robert of Bridgehill.

Bridgehill is not an area, it is a house with a large farm south east of Castlederg, County Tyrone. It is likely, therefore, that there could only be one Robert of Bridgehill.

Two Uncle Roberts

Now we have Robert of Bridgehill receiving two ‘freehold farms’ in Altamullan from two uncles, both named Robert Sproule. One Uncle Robert died in 1805, and he is the son of Samuel who is son of Thomas of Golan. The other uncle is Robert the Nabob, who died in 1807, and who is definitely grandson of Thomas of Golan.

Two ‘freehold farms’ in Altamullan, this had to be rare in those days. This week, I decided to go to the Registry of Deeds and see if I could get more information on the deeds of Altamullan. I also wanted to check out Bridgehill, to see if there were deeds from there. You have to have the right townland to find a deed and I wasn’t sure about Bridgehill – it might be in Drumgallen. I contacted my favourite group in the Tyrone area, the Castlederg Family History Society, and asked the question – which townland is Bridgehill in? Some agreed Drumgallen.

And then a knowledgeable lady said “From my findings it could be that Bridgehill is in Coolnacrunaght”.

Joining the Dots

Coolnacrunaght. In the 1663 Altamullan deed, Samuel, son of Thomas of Golan, had been called Samuel of Coolnacrunaght. This means that his son, one of the Uncle Roberts, had to have come from Coolnacrunaght. With the other Uncle Robert, his older brother lived in Bridgehill, which is in, or near, Coolnacrunaght. They had to be the same person. Robert the Nabob had to be Robert son of Samuel, son of Thomas of Golan!

Now the fact that one had died in 1805 and one in 1807 was a slight hiccup! I checked the dates. I knew for certain that Robert the Nabob had died in 1807, so there had to be something fishy regarding the other Robert’s death in the records of the deeds. The PRONI records were the same as the Registry of Deeds,  and there was no mistake:

"Will, 4 June 1779, Samuel, deceased, to son Robert. Southside will, 19 November 1805, Robert, deceased, to nephew Robert Sproule, Bridgehill, Co. Tyrone"

On 19^th November 1805 Robert Sproule, son of Samuel, is deceased. Or is it possible that he is not deceased – that this is the date that…

And there it was, the same date!  19^th November 1805 - the date that Robert Sproule the Nabob had written his will! Robert Sproule son of Samuel son of Thomas of Golan was not deceased. He was in fact Robert Sproule the Nabob. They had used the date that he had signed his will as the date of death on the Altamullan deed! They were definitely the same person.

The Family History Robert Sproule The Nabob

This proves for the first time the parentage of the Nabob, and puts a missing link for many Sproule family historians! Robert Sproule the Nabob (1746 -1807) was son of Samuel of Coolnacrught, who was son of Thomas Sproule of Golan (c. 1685 -1761) who was son of Samuel Spreull of Golan!

It also allows me to proudly give MY family tree:

My Family Tree

• Kate Tammemagi daughter of Robert Sproule of Derry
• Who was son of Robert Sproule
• Who was son of James Sproule of Tullymoan, County Tyrone
• Who was son of Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan
• Who was son of Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan who married Martha Sproule
• Martha was daughter of Samuel Sproule of Coolnacrught
• Who was son of Thomas Sproule of Golan
• Who was son of Samuel Spreull of Golan

______________________________________________________

References:

¹ Deed Registered 5 November 1733, Registry of Deeds Dublin, 44 484 52279

² Will of Thomas Sproule of Golan 14th April 1761, Registry of Deeds Dublin abstracts of wills vol. ii 1746–1785, (3 vols 1954–84)

³ Sproule to Sproule Agreement 28^th Oct 1763  Registry of Deeds Dublin 223 566 149281

⁴ Fee Farm Grant by Sir Robert Alexander Ferguson PRONI Ref: D847/5/21

⁵ Will of Robert Sproule of Saint Leonard , Devon; UK National Archives Ref: PROB 11/1456/235

For Jack Elder's tree 'The Nabob Sproules' see -Elder's Tree of the Family of 'The Nabob'

Elder's Tree of the Family of 'The Nabob'

This is Jack Elder's tree of the family of  Robert Sproule, known as 'The Nabob'. I am descended from a sister of the Nabob, who Elder calls Matilda. In fact, her name was Martha Sproule, and she married Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, who was son of William Sproule of Tullymoan.

The 'James' who is brother of the Nabob, was in fact Thomas Sproule who was father of Samuel Sproule of Bridgehill. See later posts for more details on this family.

The Amazing Journeys of The Adventuring Sproules

There were five of them! There were five Sproule brothers, five sons of Tullymoan, born between 1765 and 1780 on the farm near Clady, County Tyrone. From there, they made great journeys - the mileage covered by some of the brothers and their children was astounding!

The stories of their travels were largely lost to us over time, and it is great to be able to bring them back to life.

The Family in Samuel's Will

It was the will of Samuel Sproule that confirmed that the adventuring Sproules were, in fact, brothers. Samuel was a meticulous man, bless him! In his will of 1828, Samuel made sure that his fortune would always have a home – if this person dies, then the money should go to that person;  if that person dies then the money should go to the other person ; and so on. In doing so, he bequeathed us an invaluable list of his immediate family members!

He names his four brothers and some of their children.  I have added some details which will give you an idea of some of the journeys undertaken by this family.

1. “Brother Robert of Strabane”

Robert is the first brother mentioned in Samuel’s will. He died in 1834 in Strabane, County Tyrone. Samuel names two of Robert of Strabane’s children:

·     Matilda Sproule - Matilda married William Gwynne in March 1828 in Strabane. She is also mentioned in the will of James of Mellmount.

·   “My Nephew Robert Sproule of Jamaica”  This is the Young Robert that I had found on the plantation in the parish of St George in Jamaica.  

Young Robert lived in Jamaica for most of his life, however he made an amazing journey in 1855. He went from Jamaica to Australia to attend the wedding of his daughter. He then returned to Jamaica and on to Ireland! Robert of Jamaica died in Mulvin, County Tyrone in 1862. 
This is the line of Sproules where the eldest son is called Robert to this day.

2. “My late brother William” 

Brother William had died prior to 1828, the date of Samuel's will. Samuel leaves money to the widow and to her son:

·  “My Nephew Samuel Sproule” This is Young Samuel who I had found working as a Doctor in Bombay. Samuel Senior was fond of his nephew and he left £200 for his education and advancement in the first draft of his will.

Later Samuel added a codicil to his will specifically about Young Samuel:

“I have a particular wish to have my young nephew Samuel Sproule, only son of my late Brother William, to be provided for,  whom I entertain a favourable opinion of”

He requests that Young Samuel is moved from his school in Strabane to a school in London for a year or two.  He asks “my esteemed and proven friend Major Carnac” (James Rivett-Carnac) to get Young Samuel an appointment in the East India Company, and he provides money for this purpose.

No wonder the second Doctor Samuel Sproule did so well in Bombay!

3. “Brother James of Jamaica”

Samuel mentions Brother James of Mellmount and Jamaica only briefly, but it is enough to confirm that James was indeed one of the five brothers!

Here is just a taste of the mileage sailed by these folk.
James of Mellmount's eldest daughter was called Margaret Madden Sproule. Margaret was born in Jamaica in 1814 and she traveled to Ireland where she was married in 1836. Her spouse was her first cousin, Young Samuel Sproule, son of the late brother William. Young Samuel had gone to Glasgow to University, then to Bombay to work, but he traveled back to Ireland for the wedding. They then both sailed to Bombay, where he was stationed. Young Samuel died in a shipwreck in Marseilles, France in 1848, and Margaret died in Tyrone. Their son, William Knox Sproule was born in Calcutta, lived in Ireland, and became a big banker in Indianapolis. I got dizzy just writing that!

4. “Brother Andrew of Tullymoan” - my great, great grandfather

Samuel names two sons of Andrew of Tullymoan:

·         “My nephew William John Sproule of Tullymoan (son of my brother Andrew)”.

This was the first I had heard of a William John, a completely new find! 

·         James Sproule of Tullymoan -  my great grandfather

5. Samuel Sproule – Samuel, the author of this will,  was of course the fifth brother.

Samuel had gone to Bombay in 1797, travelled to England to marry Eliza Walker in 1818 and returned to Bombay to work as Head of the Medical Board there. In 1827 Eliza and Samuel travelled from Bombay to live in Cheltenham in England, where they both died.

Problem Solved – But Wait!

I was thrilled to have this confirmation! They were indeed all brothers from the home farm in Tullymoan, County Tyrone. For two whole days I basked in the rosy glow of a job completed. But wait! There were a couple of loose ends. Who was the Uncle Andrew Sproule who had been in Jamaica and had left the money? There was no mention of him. He had died in 1801. Was he from an earlier generation of travelling Sproules?

And who was the Robert Sproule in the entry from the Strabane Journal?

DIED July 22, 1828
On Friday last, at Castletown, Mrs Sproull, relict of the late Robert Sproull, Esq. of Bombay, at the advanced age of 80 years.

Who was this Robert Sproule? He must have been in Bombay in the mid 1700s! There had to have been an earlier generation of them, and they had to be related!

On the third day I cranked up my trusty laptop and got stuck in again!


For more information:

• Part 1 of this story
• Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay

Next Chapter:

• The Beginning of the BIG Story

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 Family History of Eliza Walker, Wife of Samuel Sproule (1776-1829)

1. ALEXANDER WALKER was born in 1667 in Fife, Scotland. He died in 1723 in Fife, Scotland. He married Jean Jeone Fleeman Fleming in 1696 in St Fort, Fife, Scotland,. She was born on 6 Mar 1659 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. Alexander Walker and Jean Jeone Fleeman Fleming's son was Alexander Walker.

2. ALEXANDER WALKER was born on 02 Oct 1697 in Forgan, Fifeshire, Scotland. He died on 01 Mar 1744. He married Isabel Miller in 1723 in Edinburgh Canongate, Midlothian, Scotland. She was born in 1699 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. She died in Warrington, Lancashire, England. Their son was Alexander William Walker.

3. ALEXANDER WILLIAM WALKER was born in 1724 in Forgan, Fifeshire, Scotland. He died on 14 Nov 1771 in Collessie, Fife, Scotland. This Alexander was a Church of Scotland Minister He married Margaret MANDERSTON on 31 Oct 1762 in Scotland. She was born in 1736 in Forgan, Fifeshire, Scotland. She died on 02 Dec 1810 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. Alexander William Walker and Margaret had 5 children, two of whom were Alexander and William.

4.1. ALEXANDER WALKER OF BOWLAND was born on 12 May 1764 in Collessie, Fife, Scotland. He was the eldest of five children, and the father died when Alexander was just seven years old. He was in the military of the East India Company in America, Bombay and St Helena. Alexander married Barbara Montgomery on 12 Jul 1811.  They had two children. He had retired in 1812 to Bowland, near Edinburgh, but was coaxed back in 1822 to become Governor of St Helena, still owned by the East India Company. This was 2 years after Napoleon’s death there. Brigadier General Alexander Walker  died on 05 Mar 1831 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland.

4.2.WILLIAM WALKER was born on 15 Jan 1768. He died in 1799.  William Walker died when his child ELIZA WALKER was just a baby.

        

5. ELIZA WALKER was born in 1796. Eliza was a baby when her father William Walker died. She was in the care of her uncle Alexander Walker when she married Samuel Sproule MD, son of Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan and Matilda Sproule on 10 Nov 1818 in Bowland, near Edinburgh, Scotland. They lived in Bombay, where Dr Samuel Sproule was Head of the Medical Board. He died on 30 May 1829 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,  England. Eliza Walker died on 6 Nov 1827 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England (Aged 31). Samuel Sproule and Eliza Walker had the one surviving child Ann Jane Sproule.

      

6. ANN JANE SPROULE was born on 29 Sep 1819 in Bombay, India. She died on 02 Sep 1876 in Elham, Kent, United Kingdom (Age at Death: 56). She married SIR JOHN RIVETT-CARNAC, son of James Rivett-Carnac (1st Baronet) and Anna Maria Richardes on 19 Dec 1840 in Bombay, India. John Rivett-Carnac was born in 1818 in Baroda, Madhya Pradesh, India. He died on 11 Aug 1883 in Farleigh House, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent, England. Sir John and Ann Jane had four children, one of whom was James Henry Sproule.

           

7. JAMES HENRY SPROULE RIVETT-CARNAC, the 3rd Baronet, was born in Sep 1846 in Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. He died in 1909 in Kensington, London, United Kingdom (Age at Death: 62). He married MARY JEANNIE HENDERSON. She was born about 1856 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England. She died on 05 Apr 1927 in 24 Chester Terrace, Eaton Square, Westminster. James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac and Mary Jeannie Henderson's son was Claud James. 

8. CLAUD JAMES RIVETT-CARNAC, 4th Baronet, was born in March 1878 in Kensington, London, United Kingdom. Claud disappeared in 1909 when he should have inherited his father’s title. There was much searching and there were newspaper advertisements asking him to come forward. He was officially declared dead in 1924.

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

The Family History - Sproule / Rivett-Carnacs

1. THOMAS RIVETT was son of Thomas Rivett of Derby, England. He died in 1763. He married Anna Maria Sibley who was born in 1730 and died in 1807. Their son was James Rivett.

2. JAMES RIVETT was born in 1759. He died on 16 Jul 1802 in Bombay, India. He married Henrietta Fisher on 4th February 1783 in Bombay, India. She was born in 1765 and she died on 23 Dec 1837 in London, England.

James Rivett took the name Carnac by royal charter on 8th May 1801. His sister Elizabeth had married John Carnac, a General in the East India Company, and he had died without issue. James Rivett was his heir and took the name Carnac. Their son was James Rivett-Carnac

3. JAMES RIVETT-CARNAC (Baronet) was born in 1784 in Bombay, India. He married Anna Maria Richardes, who was born in 1790, and died in 1860. James Rivett-Carnac died on 4 Feb 1846 in Milford, Hampshire, England. His son was John Rivett-Carnac.

4. SIR JOHN RIVETT-CARNAC BART was born in 1818 in Baroda, Madhya Pradesh, India. He died on 11 Aug 1883 in Farleigh House, Cheriton Road, Folkestone, Kent, England. He married ANN JANE SPROULE, daughter of Samuel Sproule MD and Eliza Walker on 19 Dec 1840 in Bombay, India. Ann Jane Sproule was born on 29 Sep 1819 in Bombay, India. She died on 02 Sep 1876 in Elham, Kent, United Kingdom (Age at Death: 56).

SAMUEL SPROULE’S parents were both Sproules. His father was Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone Ireland. His mother was Matilda Sproule, granddaughter of Thomas Sproule of Golan, County Tyrone, and daughter of Thomas Sproule. 

Ann Jane and John Rivett-Carnac's son was James Henry Sproule

5. JAMES HENRY SPROULE RIVETT-CARNAC, the 3rd Baronet, was born in Sep 1846 in Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom. He died in 1909 in Kensington, London, United Kingdom (Age at Death: 62). He married Mary Jeannie Henderson who was born about 1856 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England. She died on 05 Apr 1927 in 24 Chester Terrace, Eaton Square, Westminster. Their son was Claud James Rivett-Carnac.

6. CLAUD JAMES RIVETT-CARNAC, 4th Baronet, was born in March 1878 in Kensington, London, United Kingdom. Claud disappeared in 1908 prior to his father’s death.  There was much searching and there were newspaper advertisements asking him to come forward. He was officially declared dead in 1924, and his death date was designated as 31st December 1909.

For the Sproule / Rivett-Carnac story see Sir James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac

 and Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay

Sir James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac, Spendthrift Extraordinaire

I was really very surprised to find that one of my Sproule uncles had been in Bombay in the early 1800s, and that his daughter had become Lady Rivett-Carnac. It was totally unexpected! Up to that point I had been researching a County Tyrone farming family and this new finding really put spice into the search for the family history.

How did the Sproule Rivett-Carnac connection fare, I wondered? I would love to be able to report that this injection of Sproule farming blood had proved a successful addition to the Rivett-Carnac family. Alas, no! For the duration of the Sproule Rivett-Carnac bloodline, the family took an unfortunate turn for the worse!

The Successful Rivett-Carnacs

The Rivetts, as they were first known, were a very old English family and they had a history of public life. Thomas Rivett was mayor of Derby in 1715 and his son was MP for that same town in 1748.¹ The “Carnac” name was added by James Rivett in 1801. James was living in Bombay, as was his brother-in-law, General John Carnac. General Carnac had no children, and he made James Rivett his heir, with the request that he adopt the name Carnac, hence the Rivett-Carnacs.²

Sir James Rivett-Carnac

The newly named James Rivett-Carnac had a son, also called James, who was born in Bombay in 1784. This James was close friends with my great, great uncle Samuel Sproule. They were cadets at the same time in the East India Company in the very early 1800s.  In his will of 1828, my uncle talks fondly of James Rivett-Carnac and he referred to him as “my esteemed and proven friend”. 

James Rivett-Carnac seemed to have been successful in everything he touched.  He had a

distinguished career in the military, and he then became a Director of the East India Company. He was elected Chairman of the Company in 1836 and was made a Baronet in the same year. Sir James was elected Member of Parliament for Sandwich in England, and was appointed Governor of the Bombay Presidency in 1839.³

The Rivett-Carnac’s star was still rising when his son John married Samuel Sproule’s daughter, Ann-Jane, in 1840. Then in 1846 it all went horribly wrong! Their son, James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac was born.

The Exploits of James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac

At the tender age of 23, my cousin James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac was in the bankruptcy court in London!  The famous jewellers Emmanuels were suing him for non-payment of a quantity of jewellery.  James Henry is reported to have said that he was not sure what had happened to the purchased jewellery, some of it he gave away and some was pledged.  He argued that he would be coming into money when his mother died. Not only was mother Ann Jane only 44 years old and not planning to die, but James Henry had already borrowed heavily on the strength of this inheritance.  He was actually put in jail, but later released.⁴

Since there is no mention of his affluent parents at this event, I would guarantee that this was not the first time that James Henry was in financial trouble! Did he settle down? Not at all!

James Henry was back in the bankruptcy court again in 1888.⁵  Both of his parents were dead at this stage and he was now Sir James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac. He had come into his inheritance. However, I believe that both of his grandfathers had left their money in the form of trust funds. James Henry could only get hold of a limited amount of the fortune, and he had no difficulty at all in spending all of this!

The Grab for the Family Silver

Sir James Henry went to Court in 1885 to try to get his hands on the family silver!  He asked if he could sell a vast quantity of plate and other items that had been presented to his grandfather, Sir James Rivett-Carnac. Those opposed to him argued that all of this should be owned by the Baronetcy and that James Henry had no right to sell it. Sir James Henry won his case, and presumably he stripped the cupboard bare!⁶

I did get a moment of hope when I found that Sir James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac had written a book! Perhaps my profligate cousin had some redeemable qualities! But my excitement was brief. The book was called “Fans and Fan-painting on Silk and Satin” and it was 26 pages long.⁷ 

The End of the Line

Sir James Henry had only one son, Claud James, and therein lies another tale for another time! Claud died without issue. The Sproule bloodline in the Rivett-Carnac family was now at an end.  Let both families breathe a heavy sigh of relief!

References:

¹ The assembled Commons; or, Parliamentary biographer, with an abstract of the law of election, by a member of the Middle Temple 1838; London Scott, Webster and Geary p. 49

² Debrett’s The Baronetage of England revised, corrected and continued by G.W. Collen; London William Pickering; 1860 p. 102

³ Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland (Volume 1865) p.163

⁴ Morning Chronicle of Halifax Nova Scotia Nov 10th 1868  under ‘Fashionable Bankrupts’

⁵ The London Gazette Nov 9th 1888 Petition for Bankruptcy

⁶ The Teesdale Mercury Wednesday 8th July 1885, “The Carnac Heirlooms”

⁷ Fans and Fan-painting on Silk and Satin by James Henry Sproule Rivett-Carnac (Sir.) 1877 26 pages

Painting: Sir James Rivett-Carnac by Henry William Pickersgill, British Library

For more information:

• Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay
• The Family History, Rivett-Carnacs
• Family Hisory of Eliza Walker
• The Reputed Son of Samuel Sproule

Next Chapter

• Tyrone, Bombay and Jamaica - Family Connections

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