Part 3 – The Big Breakthough in Sproule DNA, Using the Mutation

 The Cornet Andrew Mutation, BY105178, had been found in four members of the Sproule DNA Project. Two of those members helped us pin down the time that this mutation had occurred, and this was round the birth of Cornet Andrew Spreull in Tyrone, or very close to that time.

Tommy was another project member who had this Cornet Andrew Mutation.  Like many other people, he had been searching for his roots, and he had invested in Y-DNA testing – and thank goodness he did! Without Tommy and all of the other Sproule DNA project members, we could never have identified something like the Cornet Andrew mutation, or, indeed, the other Sproule family mutations that we have found.

Tommy’s ancestor was a man called James Sproule who lived in Addington, in Canada. James was born in 1788 and in the 1851 Census he is a farmer. Now looking for a James Sproule, who was born in Ireland at that time… well let’s just say that the words ‘needles’ and ‘haystacks’ leap to mind! That name occurs in almost every Sproule family.

But now we know that this James Sproule of Addington had the Cornet Andrew mutation, and we know that he is a close relative or descendant of Cornet Andrew Spreull himself.

We are looking in two areas. The sons of Cornet Andrew were left land in two deeds both dated 10 March 1719. In one deed, Cornet Andrew leaves the townland of Grennan to 3 of his sons, Andrew, James and Charles. The name James occurs everywhere in these three Grennan families - there are loads of them!  A few years ago some of us Sproule researchers worked together at trying to sort them out and it took a while! However, an awful lot of work has been done on the Grennan Sproules, and most, if not all of the James Sproules there  have been identified and accounted for.

The second place to look is the Curraghamulkin Sproules. In the second deed of 1719, Cornet Andrew left the the Curraghamulkin land to his son Joseph. The Curraghamulkin Sproules are  a much better bet to find our James Sproule. They have large families, and many of them ended up in Canada. There are definite gaps in these families.

So let’s look at the family of James Sproule of Addington to see if we can get any clues. In the 1851 census, James is living with, or next to, his son, Joseph. Joseph was born in Ireland in about 1827. This is looking good for the Curraghamulkins – the name Joseph is definitely a Curraghamulkin name.

James has another son, also called James, who is living in Frontenac, and he is an innkeeper. So this family had money. Son James was born in Ireland in 1813.  There seems to be one more son identified, William, and there is a Robert mentioned, but I didn’t find any proof of him. So we have Joseph, James and William, and possibly a Robert. Nothing greatly distinctive there, other than the Joseph.

However, when we look at the children of two of the sons, there is something quite dramatic – well for a Sproule it was dramatic.

Two  of the sons of James Sproule of Addington had named a son Frederick Henry Sproule. This may not seem strange names to the rest of you, but to Sproules at this time, both of these names, Frederick and Henry, were almost unheard of!

Frederick is rare enough, but the name Henry is very striking. There are no Henrys at all in the any of the Grennan Sproule families – none. In my own family tree, which includes all of these families, plus the Tullymoan and the Golan Sproules, there are only 6 Henry Sproules. It really occurs in only 2 families on my tree. The name Henry occurs in the Glenfin Sproules, and in the Curraghamulkin Sproules. So Curraghamulkin get a vote again for our James Sproule of Addington.

But that wasn’t the dramatic thing – it was the two names together, Frederick Henry. For I recognised that name straight away. John Sproule of Ardvarney West, who went with his family to live in Canada, had a son called Henry Frederick Sproule born on 08 Sep 1816.

John Sproule of Ardvarney West is a Curraghamulkin Sproule, the son of John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin. Furthermore, John  ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule of Curraghamulkin married twice, as we now know, and he had a son Henry – the first Henry in any of these families. The name Henry almost certainly came in to the family with his second wife, Elizabeth Edwards.

Henry, the son of John of Curraghamulkin, was unmarried and had no children. We can speculate that this Henry was, in fact, a Henry Frederick, or a Frederick Henry, and that his nephew and /or great nephews were named for him.

Now we know that our James of Addington is right in there in the family of John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule. That is fairly definite. Can we get further? Only a bit.

John Sproule of Addington was born in 1788. Based on his age, he is almost certainly the son of one of the three older sons of John ‘Jack Roe’ Sproule.

And there, in my database was the perfect James! I had him. James Sproule of Curraghamulkin, son of Andrew Sproule of Curraghamulkin who died in 1799. Andrew of Curraghamulkin definitely had a son James, no birth date but the time is right, and we don't know what happened to him.

But this was wrong. When I double checked my data for this James, I found him in my notes of a PRONI document dated 30 May 1835, and this James had died in Ireland before 1835. Sad - it was so perfect.

But from all of this, what we can be definite about is that Tommy’s James Sproule of Addington is a Curraghamulkin Sproule, and that he is in the family of John 'Jack Roe' of Curraghamulkin. We can also say that he is almost certainly the son of either Joseph Sproule of Clover Hill or Robert Sproule of Leganvy.

More research to do.

Part 1 – The Big Breakthough in Sproule DNA

Part 2 – The Big Breakthough in Sproule DNA, the Timeline

The Golan Sproules

This is the family tree of the Golan Spoules of County Tyrone, Ireland.This tree was originally named 'the Nabob Spoules' by Jack Elder. The tree is now updated, with verified information from Deeds and Wills. I have managed to get further back than Elder, so I have changed the family name to reflect the first Sproules of this line in  County Tyrone, Ireland - the Golan Sproules. For more information on this see The Ancestors of The Nabob – the Golan Sproules.

1.       THOMAS SPREULL OF GOLAN was born about 1680 in Golan, south-east of Castlederg in County Tyrone, the son of Samuel Sproule of Golan. Thomas of Golan first appears on a deed in 1718 witnessing a deed for Cornet Andrew Spreull.  He is called a distiller in some documents and as owner of a bleachgreen in others. Thomas Spreull died in 1761 in Golan and left a will naming  his wife MARY and his three sons, James, Samuel and John the Apocethary. The land in Golan and Drumnabeigh had already passed to Oliver, the son of Thomas'  oldest son Robert. The name is spelt ‘Spreull’ on most of the early documents. It is worth noting that the name is spelt 'Sproull' on most of the documents from the 1800s.

Thomas Sproule of Golan and Mary had the following children:

1.1   ROBERT SPREULL OF GOLAN was born about 1700 in Golan, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. He died in 1734. He married MARTHA EDWARDS, born about 1707, the daughter of Robert Edwards of Kilcroagh and Martha La Vie  and they had at least two children:

1.1.1  OLIVER SPROULE OF GOLAN was born in 1723 in Ardstraw, Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In a deed dated 1764 Oliver is confirmed as owning all of the land owned by his grandfather, Thomas of Golan. Oliver’s son Andrew Sproule moved to Spamount and he is the father of all the Spamount Sproules.

1.1.1.1  ANDREW SPROULE OF SPAMOUNT was born on 26 Apr 1741 in Golan, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.  He married twice, first to REBECCA who was born about 1741 and she died on 06 Jan 1776. He then married ISABELLA on 07 Jan 1781. Isabella was born in 1742 and she died on 17 Jul 1812 in Spamount, Ardstraw, County Tyrone (Aged 70).  Andrew of Spamount died on 21 Feb 1798 in Dublin. 

1.1.1.2    ROBERT SPROULE OF GOLAN was born in 1747.

1.1.1.3    SARAH SPROULE OF SPAMOUNT was born in 1747. She married a man named WETHERALL.

1.1.1.4    JAMES SPROULE was born in 1752.

1.1.1.5    UNKNOWN SPROULE She married HUGH KELSO. He was born in Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. He died in 1797 in Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland.

1.1.2  MARTHA SPROULE OF GOLAN was born about 1730 in Golan. She married JOHN "JACK ROE" SPROULE of Curraghamulkin, son of  of Joseph Sproule and grandson of Cornet Andrew Spreull.

1.1.2.1    JOSEPH SPROULE OF CLOVER HILL, Kirlish, County Tyrone was born about 1750 and he married REBECCA PORTER, born in 1756 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland. Joseph was the father of the Kirlish Sproules. His wife Rebecca died in Kirlish 1850 in, County Tryone, Ireland (Aged 94).

1.1.2.2    MARTHA SPROULE OF CURRAGHAMULKIN was born about 15 May 1766. She married George Sproule, son of Charles Sproule of Upper Grennan and Ann Wallace, on 28 Jan 1787. George was born on 17 Nov 1755. They moved to Crillan, County Fermanagh, and they are the ancestors of this line of the family. George  died on 03 May 1838 in Crillan and Martha Sproule died on 22 Apr 1844 in Crillan.

1.1.2.3    ANNE SPROULE OF CURRAGHAMULKIN was born in 1771 and she married three husbands. First she married LEONARD INCH in 1792. He was born in 1770 and died in 1798 in Ederney Bridge, Fermanagh, Irleland. (Buried at Drumquin). She next married WILLIAM JOHNSTON in 1800 and he died in 1801. Anne married JOHN HOLMES on 15 Oct 1802 in St. Marys Church, Ardess, Magheraculmoney. Both John Holmes and his wife Anne Sproule died in 1813.

1.1.2.4    ELIZABETH "BETTY" SPROULE OF CURRAGHAMULKIN was born in 1775 and she married her first cousin, NEHEMIAH EDWARDS of Kilcroagh House, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone who was born in 1761.  Nehemiah died on 05 Apr 1846 in Kilcroagh House (Aged 85). Betty Sproule died on 24 Nov 1859 in Kilcroagh House, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone  aged 84.

1.1.2.5    ROBERT SPROULE OF CURRAGHAMULKIN  married PEGGY WALLACE

1.1.2.6    THOMAS SPROULE OF CURRAGHMULKIN married MARY MCCOLGAN.

1.1.2.7    CAPTAIN EDWARD SPROULE OF GLENVALE DROMORE married ANN HARPER OF AGHADULLA.

1.1.2.8    HENRY SPROULE OF CURRAGHAMULKIN.

1.1.2.9    JOHN SPROULE OF ADVARNEY WEST died between 1851-1855 in Ormstown, Quebec, Canada. He married   a woman called Ann.

1.1.2.10 ANDREW SPROULE OF CURRAGHAMULKIN owned the lands of Curraghmulkin, Screen and Cooel. He died in 1799 and his wife’s name was Ann.  His son Andrew Sproule bought the Magheracrigan land and he became Andrew of Magheracrigan that is on the Elder Tree.

1.2   JAMES SPROULE OF NEWTONSTEWART was born in Golan. I know very little of James as yet. He is mentioned in leases of 1733, also in the Will of Thomas of Golan of 1761, and later when the inherritance was divided up between the three brothers Samuel, John and James. He had a son Edward who is mentioned in a 1733 deed, and is later identified in a deed as having died in America. 

1.3   JOHN SPROULE THE APOTHECARY was born on 11 Oct 1713 in Golan, Ardstraw, County Tyrone. He studied as an Apocethary in Strabane and then went into the Army. He came back to Strabane to his own Apocethary practice. He also was a Provost in Strabane. He died on 21 May 1787. He married REBECCA CUNNINGHAM. She was born on 21 Mar 1720 and died on 06 Nov 1772 in Strabane.

1.3.1   JOHN  SPROULE was born on 09 Jul 1747. He was also a doctor and went to live in Beresford Street, and then Marlborough Street in Dublin where he died in Nov 1814. He married ELIZABETH BOSQUET in 1773 who came from Enniskillen.

1.3.2    JANE SPROULE was born in 1748. She died on 22 Jul 1828 in Castletown, Tyrone (Aged 80). She married her first cousin Robert Sproule the Nabob, son of Samuel Sproule of Coolnacruniagh on 27 Sep 1785.  They had one child, Rebecca Jane born on the 16 December 1790  in India, who died in 1810 in Exeter, England.

1.3.3    MARY SPROULE was born on 16 Oct 1749. Mary did not marry. She lived in Exeter with her sister Jane and Robert the Nabob  when they came home from India.

1.3.4    REBECCA SPROULE was born in 1750 in Strabane, Tyrone, Ireland. She married John Barclay, son of Robert Barclay of Strabane, on 18 Jan 1774. He was born about 1750 in Strabane, Tyrone.

1.3.5    JAMES SPROULE MD was doctor in Omagh. He was born on 28 Aug 1754 in Strabane and he died in 1791. His wife was Ann and she died on 15 Mar 1858 in Omagh (Aged 76).  Based on information on deeds, I believe that they had no children.

1.3.6    CATHERINE SPROULE was born in 1756 in Strabane, Tyrone, Ireland. She married Frederick Porter of Strabane on 16 May 1785. He was born about 1750 .

1.4   SAMUEL SPROULE OF COOLNACRUNIAGH was born about 1711 in Golan, south-east of Castlederg, County Tyrone. He died about 1779 in Coolnacrunaght.

1.4.1   THOMAS SPROULE OF BRIDGEHILL was born about 1730 in Coolnacrunaght, he lived in the nearby Bridgehill farm.

1.4.1.1. SARAH SPROULE (SALLY) was born about 1762 in Bridgehill, Ardstraw, Tyrone. She lived at Bridgehill in her later years.

1.4.1.2.  SAMUEL SPROULE OF BRIDGEHILL was born in 1759 in Bridgehill, Ardstraw, Tyrone and he married FRANCIS LEITCH (Fanny). They  raised 9 children at Bridgehill . Samuel of Bridgehill died on 05 Nov 1845.

1.4.1.3.  JAMES SPROULE OF INCHANEY was born in Bridgehill. He married Sarah in 1800 (From 1802 Robert of Ohio Letter). They had 11 children including Robert Sproule who built the Kildevin House in County Meath. Sarah died on 08 Feb 1840. James of Inchaney died in 1827 in Inchaney, Tyrone, Ireland.

1.4.1.4.  FRANCIS SPROULE was born in 1755 in Bridgehill, Ardstraw, Tyrone.. She married  a man named JAMES HAYS. He was born in 1746 in Tyrone and he had a child called Isabella by his first marriage. They emigrated to America, to  South Carolina.  Here James Hays  died in 1799 in Newberry, South Carolina, USA leaving Francis Sproule with three children, Isabella, James Jn and Sara Hays. Isabella Hays married Robert Sproule, brother of her step-mother Francis. Francis Sproule died in 1811 in Union Township, Ohio, USA.

1.4.1.5.  ROBERT SPROULE OF OHIO was born on 13 Feb 1775 in Bridgehill, Tyrone, Ireland. He married Isabella Hays, daughter of James Hays, on 04 Apr 1801 in Newberry County, South Carolina. Isabella Hays was born on 25 Nov 1782 in Tyrone, Ireland. Robert and Isabella had 12 children and I believe they have the most descendants of all of the Sproules. Isabella died on 02 Apr 1868 in Miami County, Ohio (Age: 76). Robert of Ohio died on 14 Jun 1858 in Elizabeth, Miami, Ohio, United States (Age at Death: 83).

1.4.1.6.  ANN (NANCY)  KERR was born about 1760 in Bridgehill, County Tyrone. She married  JAMES KERR who was born about 1755 in Tyrone. They went to live in Pitsburg, Pennsylvania where he died on 14 Jul 1845 (Age: 90). Nancy Sproule died in May 1850 in Pitsburg.

1.4.2     ROBERT SPROULE THE NABOB was born in 1746 in Coolnacrunaght, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. He married his first cousin Jane Sproule, daughter of his uncle John Sproule the Apothecary  on 27 Sep 1785.  Robert was a surgeon in India and he came back in 1785 to marry Jane. They then travelled back to India. Eventually they retired to a mansion in Exeter in England, but Robert the Nabob died shortly afterwards in 1807. They had one daughter, Rebecca Jane, who was born in India. Rebecca died in 1810 in Exeter. Jane Sproule sold up and came back to Ireland where she lived in Castletown, County Tyrone. She died there on 22 Jul 1828, aged 80.

1.4.3   ELIZABETH SPROULE was born in Coolnacrunaght, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. She married a  MISTER RANKIN.

1.4.4     MARTHA SPROULE OF COOLNACRUNIAGH was born about 1750 in Coolnacrunaght, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. She married ANDREW SPROULE OF TULLYMOAN, son of William Sproule. He was born about 1740 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone. Martha died in 1820 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland. They had five sons.

1.4.4.1.  ROBERT SPROULE OF STRABANE was born about 1773 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone. He died in Jun 1834 in Strabane. He married ANN LECKY who was born in Altamullen, Tyrone, Ireland. They had two children, Robert of Jamaica and Mulvin, and Matila who married William Gwynne of Strabane.

1.4.4.2.  SAMUEL SPROULE MD was born in 1774 in Tullymoan, Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He was a surgeon in the East India Company and was based in Bombay, India. He married Eliza Walker, daughter of William Walker, on 10 Nov 1818 in Bowland (Samuel 42 , Eliza 22).  Eliza  was born in 1796 and she died on 06 Nov 1827 in Cheltenham.  (Aged 31). Samuel died on 30 May 1829 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom (Aged 53). They had one daughter Ann Jane Sproule who married Sir John Rivett-Carnac.

1.4.4.3.  WILLIAM SPROULE was born about 1785 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland. He died about 1827 in Glentimon,  County Tyrone. He married  ANN KNOX who was born in Glentimon, Tyrone, Ireland. She died on 12 Jun 1847 in Glentimon, Tyrone. They had one son Samuel Sproule who became a surgeon in the East India Company. Samuel married his first cousin Margaret Madden Sproule, daughter of James Sproule of Mellmount..

1.4.4.4.  ANDREW SPROULE OF TULLYMOAN was born about 1770 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland. He died after 1840. He married  REBECCA MACKEY who was born in 1774 in Lismontigley, Raphoe, Donegal. She died on 01 Feb 1858 in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland (Aged 84).  Andrew and Rebecca had eight children.

1.4.4.5.  JAMES SPROULE OF MELLMOUNT was born in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland.  He lived most of his adult live as a planter in Jamaica. He met his lady,  CHARLOTTE E TAYLOR, daughter of Simon Taylor, in Jamaica and they had nine children. Charlotte was born in 1795 in Jamaica and she died on 17 Apr 1849 in their home in Mellmount, Strabane, Tyrone. James died on 01 Aug 1840 in a shipwreck in Jamaica.

1.4.5   ANNE SPROULE was born about 1740  and she married Oliver Lecky of Melmount, Strabane, County Tyrone  who was born about 1740.

1.4.5.1  ISABELLA LECKY was born in Mellmount, Strabane, Co Tyrone. She died in Apr 1837 in Sandy Mills, Donegal, Ireland. She married James Mathewson, son of James Mathewson of Ardstraw and Martha Sproule Curraghamulkin, about 1799. He was born in 1770 in Kirlish, Drumquin, County Tryone, Ireland. He died on 08 Oct 1836 in Donegal.

1.4.5.2  OLIVER LECKY was born about 1771 in Mellmount, Strabane, Co Tyrone. He died on 06 Feb 1840. He married  REBECCA PORTER.

1.4.5.3    NANCY LECKY was born in Mellmount, Strabane, Co Tyrone. She died in 1856. She married a man called KILPATRICK.

1.4.5.4    JANE LECKY was born in Mellmount, Strabane, Co Tyrone. She married  RICHARD HENDERSON. He was born in Laught, Donegal. He died on 22 Apr 1835.

1.4.6    REBECCA SPROULE  was born in 1745. She married  ROBERT SPROULE OF UPPER GRENNAN. He was born about 1735 in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone. Rebecca died there in 1815.  

1.4.6.1    ROBERT SPROULE OF UPPER GRENNAN was born in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland (Died unmarried).

1.4.6.2    JOHN SPROULE OF UPPER GRENNAN was born in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland (Died unmarried).

1.4.6.3    SAMUEL SPROULE was born in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland.

1.4.6.4    CHARLES SPROULE OF UPPER GRENNAN was born in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland (Died unmarried).

1.4.6.5   JENNIE SPROULE OF UPPER GRENNAN was born in Grennan, Dromore, Tyrone, Ireland. She married  WALLACE BRATTON.

1.4.7    JANE SPROULE was born in Coolnacrunaght, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. She married a MR LECKY.

1.4.8     MARY SPROULE was born in Coolnacrunaght, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. She married a  MR JOHNSTON.

1.5   REBECCA SPROULE was born in Golan, Ardstraw, Tyrone, Ireland. She married  ROBERT PORTER the postman of Strabane who died in 1772. Their daughter Rebecca (1756-1850) married Joseph Sproule of Clover Hill.

1.6   DAUGHTER SPROULE  married WILLIAM JOHNSTON OF COOLNACRUNIAGH. This Sproule daughter must have died young as her two sons were in the care of their Grandfather Thomas Spreull of Golan – this is mentioned in the 1733 deed. The sons were named as Arthur Johnston and James Johnston

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Elder's Tree - Sproules of Magheracriggan and Carrickamulkin

Jack Elder's first page of the County Tyrone Sproule family tree produced in 1890 contains Sproules from Carrickamulkin, Clover Hill, Crillen, Burrelsfolly, Magheracriggan, Aughee, Dromore and Castlederg.

Part 1 of this Page

Part 2 of this page - appears to the right of the one above

Caution for researchers:

Jack Elder collected a lot of information, however he was not always accurate. For example, Jack Elder had the original settler as Robert Spreul of Castlederg. We now know that Robert was not the original settler. See:Three Scottish Brothers Moving East

For more information:

• For information on the Source of this Family Tree see: John Inch and Jack Elder - Early Sproule Family Historians
• For more of Elder's family trees see the posts immediately before and after this post

John Inch and Jack Elder - Early Sproule Family Historians

Jack Elder worked on the history of the Sproule Family in County Tyrone  and he recorded a series of notes and family trees. Between 1880 and 1930, Jack Elder investigated the family himself, and he also gathered a great deal of information from earlier researchers. Elder also had the help of 40 pages of information left by John Inch, who had died in 1877.

John Inch was born on June 29^th 1795, the son of Leonard Inch and Ann Sproule.¹ Leonard and Ann Inch had lived first in Strabane but soon after their marriage they moved to a place that Inch called “Corough-a-Mulkin” in the parish of Lower Langfield in County Tyrone. Their son, John Inch, emigrated to New Brunswick in Canada in 1820, taking with him his Sproule stories and family histories. 

Jack Elder also lived in New Brunswick, he went there in 1886. A few years later he heard of John Inch and his notes on the Sproule Family of Tyrone. He contacted the nephew of John Inch, and managed to acquire a copy of the 40 precious hand written pages. Elder used the notes to help compile a series of Sproule family trees which were produced in 1890. I will include these in the next few posts.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to establish if John Inch’s original notes still exist. However, in one of his letters dated 1928, Elder gives us a flavour of the John Inch Sproule Family History: 

In his history he ‘nothing extenuates’.   The

Sproules were not all saints: there was occasionally no

marriage tie when there should have been, etc. 

He tells of the number of acres of land that various Sproules owned,

the number of milch cows they had etc.  Of his granduncle

Joseph Sproule of Alta-moo-land (as he spells it), brother

of Martha (who married James Mathewson) he says:

“This man had a son, if not other children, whom he disinherited for

marrying the servant girl, and in his old age sold his farm

at £1,350.” Of his Uncle Joseph Sproule of Clover Hill,

he says:

“This man married Rebecca Porter of Castletown,

near Strabane, and with her received £500 fortune” (This

Rebecca was a first cousin of Jane Porter, novelist). 

He gives even the nicknames of our ancestors.  Andy Sproule

of Grennan was nicknamed ‘Andy Bacach’ (-bacach being Irish

for ‘a lame person’), "and the whole family was designated

sometimes by those few who had an outfall with any of them

‘The Bacach Sproules.’ 

Andy's son Joseph, of Carrickamulkin, “was nicknamed ‘Joseph

Nablugh,’  an Irish word for 'sour milk.'  This arose, it

was said, from his sending milk, at the request of a number

of poor families, into the village of Dromore for sale;

therefore, the whole family was called, when spoken of in

derision by some, and by others in sport, the ‘Buttermilk

Sproules’  But I have said enough about the Sproules for

the present.

Jack Elder calls my line of the Sproule family ‘The Nabob Sproules’ and later posts will explain why!

References:

¹ The Inch Family of Ulster and New Brunswick Canada by Inch, James Robert, b. 1835 Familysearch.org
Extract of Letter from Jack Elder, Ont., Canada to J.F. Caldwell, Belfast.; PRONI T1264/3; CMSIED 9804826 Sunday, April 1, 1928

Sproules in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665

The Hearth Money Rolls of 1665 gives us a fairly good picture of the Sproules present in Ulster at that time. The Hearth Money Rolls was a tax raised to compensate those cavaliers who had lost their estates fighting for Charles I in the Civil War. It was levied at two shillings per year for each fireplace in the household. The names gathered on this tax gives us a fairly good record, therefore, of households in Ulster.

There were 7 or 8 original Sproule families who settled in different parts of Ulster in the early 1600s.

Sproules in the Ulster Hearth Money Rolls of 1665

Location of the Sproule Family Groups in Ulster 1665

The Hearth Roll List was compiled from:

• Bill Macafee, Family and Local History Website
• Donegal Genealogy Resources
• Tyrone Genealogical Research 

James of Cowden - and Tullymoan?

Was James, Laird of Cowden, the father of all Tyrone Sproules? The more I investigated, the more convinced I became that this was true. The early Sproules believed that James Spreull had sold his estates in Renfrewshire in 1622, came to Ireland and settled in Tullymoan, County Tyrone. The records in Scotland definitely supported this story. The evidence is clear, James Spreull of Cowden had sold all of his estates in 1622 and his son, James the Younger, had left Cowden with money in his pocket.

James Spreull in Ireland

I didn’t have far to look to track down James Spreull in Ireland. The very first record of a Sproule is in the Muster Roll of 1631, and there he is, James Spreull in the Barony of Raphoe, County Donegal - only a few miles from the townland of Tullymoan in County Tyrone.¹  He is on the land of Ludovick, Lord Duke of Lennox, the same Duke of Lennox who was overlord of the Cowden lands in Scotland. There were 59 overlords in Ulster, or undertakers as they were known here. Lennox was one of the minor undertakers with only a couple of thousand acres. It is more than co-incidental that the first Sproule arrives on his patch of land! The clues are lining up in the right direction.

The next muster roll of 1642 is even more interesting. James Spreull is mentioned again. This muster was also held in Raphoe, but this fact doesn’t tell us a lot since all of the regiments in the North West were mustered in Raphoe at the time. However, if we look at the regiment to which James Spreull is attached, we can get another glimmer of light on the story. James is now in the regiment of Captain James Hamilton, whose lands were not in Donegal. Hamilton lands were in County Tyrone.¹

On to Tyrone

This would indicate that at some time between 1631 and 1642, James Spreull moved east from Donegal to County Tyrone. Was he in Tullymoan? I have no definite evidence as yet, and the hunt continues. However, everything that I have found so far points to the veracity of the original story. I have found no reason to doubt it.

But was this James, James the Younger, the father of all Tyrone Sproules?  I think not. I am sticking with the version believed by the first Sproules, it was his father James of Cowden who was the ancestor of all Tyrone Sproules.  James Spreull the Younger was not alone when he came to Ireland. He had at least two, possibly three, travel companions!  

References:

¹ Ulster Ancestry, Money Rolls of Donegal 

For More Information:

1. The Original Version of the Tyrone Sproules, Back on the Table!
2. James Spreul of Cowden - Making Sense of the Sale
3. Three Scottish Brothers Moving East to Tyrone
4. The First Sproules in Ulster
5. Sproules in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665

The Grave of Robert Spreull (1628 -1689)

Robert Spreull, who died in 1689, is thought by many Sproule family historians to be the original Sproule settler in Tyrone. His gravestone in Castlederg was recorded in old family histories but the stone itself was thought to be long gone.  Last week the great folk of the Castlederg & District Family History Society assured me that the grave still existed, and guided me straight to it.

The Importance of Robert's Grave

The gravestone of Robert Spreull was for a long time the earliest record of a Sproule presence in County Tyrone. Because of this, most Sproule family historians believed that all branches of the Sproules in Tyrone were descended from this single ancestor. I am not so sure about that, but I will go into this in a later post. 

Indeed, some stories have gone as far as suggesting that this Robert and his brother Captain John Sproule were the ancestors of all of the Sproules in Ireland. This is definitely not the case, as there is plenty of evidence of earlier Sproules, and of several different Sproule families rather than just one. However, Robert Spreull is certainly a vital part of the Tyrone Sproule story.

The Gravestone in Castlederg

The grave lies in a beautiful old churchyard in Castlederg, County Tyrone. The first thing that is striking is that it is a double grave. The stone to the right is Robert, but the stone to the left is also a Sproule grave. The wording on the second stone seems to be gone, but it is worth further visits to explore this.

The Wording on the Gravestone

The gravestone of Robert Spreull is crumbling in places and the wording is fading or missing. It has been recorded in the past as:

SPREULL

HERE LYETH THE BODY OF ROBERT SPREULL WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE THE.......DAY OF SEPTEMBER  ......DM 1689.......OF HIS AGE ... HERE ALSO LYETH......OF JEAN DENISTON.....OF THE SAID ROBERT.......WHO DEPARTED THIS.....THE 8 DAY OF SEPTEMBER ANNO DM 1712 IN.....OF HER AGE 81.....WO.....AW AND ALX..... .ULE .....

Another version was taken thirty years ago when all of the gravestones in this churchyard were recorded in order to preserve the information. The wording was then noted as:

Here lyeth the body of Robert Sproule departed this life …day of September DM 1689 in the year of his age 61 Here also lyeth the body of Jean Deniston wife of the said Robert who departed this life the 8 Day of September D.M. 1712 in the year of her age 81.

On the day we visited, only the last line became much clearer:

AW AND ALX SPROULE

This line was actually very easy to read, and looked as if it had been added much later. It is interesting also that this line has the more accepted spelling of the name, whereas the main text has the Spreull spelling. This supports the idea that the last line was written at a different time period. It is likely that two unmarried sons were interred in this grave, possibly named Andrew and Alexander, and that their names were added after the death of Jean.

Key Facts

The key facts gleaned from this stone are:

·         Robert Spreull was born in 1628 and he died in September 1689 aged 61

·         Jean Deniston was born in 1631 and died on 8^th September 1712 aged 81

Thanks to:

• Castlederg & District Family History Society
• Sheena McClure for guiding me to this grave - thanks Sheena!