The Family of James Sproule of Jamaica and Mellmount

1.    JAMES SPROULE OF MELLMOUNT was born in Tullymoan, Urney, County Tyrone, Ireland. He was the son of Andrew Sproule of Tullymoan and Martha Sproule of Coolnacruniagh. James was born about 1776 and died on 1st Aug 1840 in Jamaica. His lady was CHARLOTTE TAYLOR, the illegitimate daughter of the Honourable Simon Taylor. She was born in 1795 in Jamaica and she died on 17th Apr 1849 in Mellmount, Strabane, Tyrone. They were not legally married.

The children of James Sproule of Mellmount and Charlotte Taylor:

1.1   MARGARET MADDEN SPROULE was baptised on 25 Jan 1814 in Jamaica. She married her first cousin, Samuel Sproule MD, son of James’ brother  William Sproule and Ann Knox, on 16 Jan 1836 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland (Aged 22). Samuel was born on 15 Oct 1814 in Glentimon, Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He died on 28 Aug 1848 in Marseilles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (Aged 34). Margaret Madden Sproule died on 18 Aug 1846 in Mellmount, Strabane, Tyrone, aged 32.

1.1.1.    WILLIAM KNOX SPROULE was born on 04 Jul 1838 in Bombay, India. He lived in Mellmount, Strabane after the death of his parents, and went to America in 1856, to Marion, Indiana, where his Uncle Robert lived. He set up a business selling retail liquor and William Knox married Caroline Fahnestock, daughter of Obed S Fahnestock and Christiana Konigmacher, on 15 Mar 1865 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, USA. She was born on 7 Feb 1837 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. She died on 7 May 1926 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, USA (Crown Hill Cemetery). They had two children, James Edward Sproule (1866-1937) and William Knox Sproule (1876-1938) who became a banker in Indianapolis.

1.1.2.    CHARLOTTE ANN SPROULE was born on 30 Nov 1836 in Byculla, Bombay, India. She died in 1874 in Strabane, Ireland (Age: 37).

1.1.3.    ANNE JANE SPROULE  was born on 06 Nov 1841 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. She died on 3rd July 1846 in Mellmount, Strabane, Ireland, aged 4 years.

1.1.4.     DAUGHTER SPROULE was born in 1842 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

1.1.5.     ELLEN MATILDA SPROULE was born on 30 Aug 1843 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.She died on 08 Jul 1844 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. (10 months).

1.1.6.     JAMES EDWARD SPROULE was born in Mar 1845 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, and he lived in Mellmount, Strabane after the death of his parents.  He went to America in his early 20s and married Missouri K Fahnestock, daughter of Obed S Fahnestock and Christiana Konigmacher, on 17 Apr 1878 in Chicago.  She was the sister of his brother William's wife and she was born on 24 May 1839 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. Missouri died on 26 Jul 1932 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana. James E Sproule died in 1906 in Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana, USA (Crown Hill Cemetery), they had no children.

1.2   WILLIAM TAYLOR SPROULE OF ILLINOIS was baptised on 22 Jan 1816 in Jamaica. He went to America in the mid 1840s with his brother Robert Samuel Sproule. He lived first in Rush, Indiana, then in Clinton, Decatur, Indiana. Finally, he settled in Sumpter, Cumberland, Illinois, where he had a large farm. He married Paulina Ballenger on 18 Apr 1847 in Rush, Indiana. She was born on 14 Feb 1822 in Kentucky. She died between 1857-1865 in Indiana. William Taylor Sproule died in 1902 in Coles Co., Illinois.

1.2.1.    CHARLOTTE SPROULE was born in Jan 1848 in Decatur County, Indiana. She died on 12 Apr 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA (Age: 89).

1.2.2.     ELEANOR SPROULE was born in 1854 in Decatur County, Indiana.

1.2.3.     MARY SPROULE was born in May 1850 in Decatur County, Indiana. She died in Illinois.

1.2.4.    MARGARET L. SPROULE was born in Nov 1852 in Indiana. She married Thomas H. Miles, son of Harmon Miles and Catherine Henderson, in 1878. He was born in Oct 1851 in Indiana.

1.2.5.    ROBERT E SPROULE was born in Feb 1855 in Indiana. He died in 1912 in Arkansas. He married Lena Mona Rigsby, daughter of Samuel Rigsby and Harriet A. Rigsby, in 1891. She was born in Feb 1869 in Tennessee.

1.3   MATILDA ANN SPROULE was baptised on 11 Oct 1819 in Jamaica. She died on 12 Oct 1905 in Bowling Green, Strabane, County Tyrone, aged 84. She married William Smyth of Bowling Green on 11 Jun 1842 in Urney, Tyrone, Ireland. He was born in 1812 and died on 17 Jun 1889 in Strabane, Tyrone, Ireland.

1.3.1      CHARLOTTE ANN SMYTH was born on 27 May 1843 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland.

1.3.2      ROBERT SAMUEL SMYTH was born on 22 Jan 1845.

1.3.3      DR JAMES SPROULE SMYTH was born on 08 Nov 1846 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland. He died in Oct 1886 in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, United Kingdom (Age: 36).

1.3.4      WILLIAM BEATTIE SMYTH was born on 11 May 1850 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland. He was on General Robert's Staff in the Indian Medical Dept in Bengal, and was killed in the Afghan war of 1879. William died on 29th June 1879 in Chappri, near Thull, Afghanistan. He was 29 years old and had not married.

1.3.5      MARGARET LOUISA SMYTH was born on 03 Jun 1851 in Strabane, County Tyrone,

1.3.6      ROSS VINCENT BEATTY SMYTH was born about 1861 in Tyrone, Ireland. He died on 12 Feb 1917 in Hertfordshire, England. He married Emilie B Smyth in 1888. She was born in 1863 in Bray, County Dublin, Ireland.

1.4   ELLEN MADDEN SPROULE was baptised in Apr 1822 in Jamaica. She died on 6 May 1849 in Mellmount, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, aged 27.

1.5   ROBERT SAMUEL SPROULE was baptised on 18 Sep 1826 in Jamaica. Robert went to America in the mid 1840s, and lived in Rush, Indiana near his brother William Taylor. He married Mary F Campbell on 19 Jun 1849 in Cass, Texas, USA. Mary was born in 1826 in Ohio. They later moved to Marion, Indiana. Robert was a lawyer and a newspaper editor.  He died in 1873 in Indianapolis, USA.

1.5.1      WILLIAM S SPROULE was born in 1857 in District of Columbia. He died in 1931. William was living with William Knox Sproule in 1880.

1.5.2      GERTRUDE SPROULE was born in Sep 1860 in District of Columbia. She died in 1937 in Fulton, Callaway County, Missouri, USA (Age: 77). She married Dr Noble Butler McKee, son of David McKee and Jane B Patterson, on 22 Apr 1886 in Marion County, Indiana. Noble McKee was born on 21 Sep 1853 in Indiana and he died on 20 Jun 1911 (Age: 57).

1.5.3      ANNA M SPROULE was born about 1862 in District of Columbia. She died in Feb 1938.

1.6   Jane Nugent Sproule was born about 1831 in Jamaica, she did not marry and died on September 1919 in Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland where she was living with her sister Sarah Charlotte.

1.7   SARAH CHARLOTTE SPROULE was born about 1834. She married Andrew Nichol Reid on 21 Jul 1859 in Camus-juxta-Mourne Church of Ireland, Strabane, County Tyrone. He was born about 1830 in County Antrim and he was a bank manager. The family moved to Monaghan and then to Ballyshannon, County Donegal. Andrew Reid died in 1910 in Ballyshannon. Sarah Charlotte moved to Kilkeel, County Down to be with her sister, Jane Nugent Sproule, and she died there in December 1920, aged 86.

1.7.1     RALPH HALL REID was born on 13 Dec 1864 in Donegal, Ireland. He died in 1939 in Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland (Aged 75). His wife was Jane Elizabeth and they married in 1895 in Castlederg, County Tyrone. She was born about 1870.

1.7.2     CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH REID was born on 13 Jan 1867 in Kilmore, Monaghan, Ireland.

1.7.3     KATHLEEN MAUD REID was born on 14 Feb 1869 in Monaghan.

1.7.4     NORA NUGENT REID was born on 05 May 1870 in Monaghan.

1.7.5     ELLA MARGARET REID was born on 28 Sep 1872 in Monaghan. She died in Dec 1943 in Monaghan.

James Sproule of Mellmount had the following illegitimate children:

1.       JANE SPROULE was born in 1807 in Jamaica. She had a son, James Sproule Wilson, in 1830, born in Bath, Jamaica. She died in Jamaica.

2.       ELEANOR SPROULE was born in 1813 in Jamaica.

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* The Story of James Sproule of Mellmount and Charlotte Taylor - The Beginning of the BIG Story
* The Family of James Sproule - Sproules of Tullymoan

The Mellmount Girls

There were five daughters and two sons in the family of James Sproule of Mellmount and his lady Charlotte Taylor. They had such an unusual start in life that I was quite curious to know how the children had fared.  Margaret Madden Sproule, the eldest daughter of James and Charlotte,  had the most remarkable life of all the children. She traveled thousands of miles, produced seven babies and left a trail of sadness behind her right across the world!

Margaret and Samuel

In 1835 Margaret’s future looked bright. She was already a seasoned traveller, having sailed over 6,000 miles from her birthplace in Jamaica to England, and then on to Strabane, County Tryone. In January 1836, at 22 years old, she set off with her new husband, first cousin Samuel Sproule, to make the long journey to Bombay. They left from Portsmouth on May 15^th sailing via the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived in Bombay on September 11^th, a journey time of 4 months!¹

Samuel Sproule was taking up a position as a Surgeon in the East India Company in Bombay. He had two illustrious sponsors, his late uncle Samuel Sproule of Tullymoan, who had been President of the Medical Board in Bombay, and Sir James Rivett-Carnac, who was Governor of Bombay at that time. Despite all of this support, it seems that Samuel had some financial problems. I found a little entry in the Bombay Times of 1837 which said that Samuel Sproule MD was found to be bankrupt and he was actually thrown in gaol!² 

Margaret and the Children

Margaret, meanwhile, was producing children. Her first daughter, Charlotte Anne, was born in India in November  1836, another child arrived in 1837, and William Knox Sproule was born on June 3rd 1838. William Knox was named after Samuel’s parents who were William Sproule of Tullymoan and Ann Knox of Glentimon.² 

Margaret Madden then decided she wanted to nip home and visit her mother! In October 1838, when William Knox Sproule was just five months old,  Margaret and the three children set sail for a visit to Ireland. The round trip would have taken the best part of a year.

Margaret returned to Bombay, and continued to have children. Over the next four years, she had three more daughters and a son, James Edward Sproule. Three of her seven babies died very young, the last of these being Ellen Matilda who died in 1844 at 10 months old. Following this bereavement, Margaret obviously needed to go home again. She set sail for Ireland in 1845 with her four remaining children including six month old infant, James Edward Sproule.

Tradgedy At Mellmount

Poor Margaret never left Ireland again, and over the next three years there was a litany of tragedies in this family:

1846	-       July 3rd, Margaret Madden Sproule’s four year old daughter, Ann Jane, died at Mellmount.
	-       Just six weeks later, on August 18th Margaret Madden Sproule herself died at Mellmount, she was only 32 years old.
1848	-       On June 20th Samuel Sproule set sail from Bombay to Aden undoubtedly to collect his three remaining children.  They were still at Mellmount with their grandmother, Charlotte Taylor, and her daughters.
	-       August  26th Samuel Sproule died at Marseilles, France aged 34 years. I believe he had travelled in a steam packet  through the Middle East and was then sailing through the Mediterranean.
1849	-       April  17th Charlotte Taylor, Margaret Madden’s mother, died at Mellmount, aged 54
	-       Six weeks later on May  6th Ellen Madden Sproule, another daughter of Charlotte Taylor, died at Mellmount aged 27 years.

The Remaining Family 

The children of Samuel and Margaret Madden Sproule were now orphans - Charlotte Ann Sproule aged 13, William Knox Sproule aged 11, and James Edward Sproule aged 4. I believe that the two unmarried daughters of James of Mellmount, Sarah Charlotte and Jane Nugent, reared the three orphans at Mellmount until they reached adulthood. 

As soon as they were old enough, Margaret Madden's two boys set off for America. When he was only 20 years of age, William Knox Sproule was living in Marion, Indiana, where his Uncle Robert Sproule had set up home. William began working life in the retail liquor business and he seems to have done well for himself.

James Edward, his brother, also lived in Indiana, and they obviously stayed close. The brothers married two sisters from the Fahnestock family in Indiana, who I believe were quite an affluent family. James E. married the interestingly named Missouri Fahnestock and William K. married her sister Caroline.

The Mellmount Girls

The three remaining daughters of Charlotte Taylor and James Sproule of Mellmount lived out their lives in Ireland. Matilda Ann had married William Smyth, a bank manager in Strabane, in 1842 and she eventually produced six children at her home in Bowling Green, Strabane. 

Sarah Charlotte Sproule, the youngest daughter of James of Mellmount, was just sixteen years old when her mother died. At 25, she married a man named Andrew Nichol Reid in Strabane, and she had her own family there.

Jane Nugent Sproule did not marry, and she ended up living in Kilkeel, County Down where she died at aged 88. She was the last remaining child of James Sproule of Mellmount and his lady, Charlotte Taylor.

The sons of James and Charlotte were trickier to find, and without the help of my colleague, Jack Elder, they would have stayed lost forever!

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For More Information:

* The story of James of Jamaica and Charlotte Taylor - The Beginning of the BIG Story

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 Entry from Arrivals from Bombay Calendar 1832 – 1836; Families in British India Society (FIBIS)

² Thanks to FIBIS for all records relating to this family in India.

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 

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* 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 Beginning of the BIG Story

The story of James Sproule of Mellmount and Jamaica is the BIG story that I found in my family history. It's a good story, with scandal, tragedy, romance and a twist at the end! Over the next few posts I will attempt to piece it together.

The Will

I was at a very early stage in my genealogical research when I first came across the last Will and Testament of James Sproule of Mellmount. It was up on the Tyrone Genealogy Website and it captured my attention straight away with its intriguing insight into a very different world.

James Sproule had written his Will in 1840 in his home called Mellmount, on the outskirts of Strabane, County Tyrone. The Will begins gently enough with a brief legacy to Brother Andrew, and then another equally brief mention of the wife of his late Brother William and their children. Then, without any preamble, he goes straight into more detailed legacies:

“To my reputed Daughter Eleanor Sproule three hundred pounds sterling or fifteen pounds annually...”  

Followed by:

"To my reputed Daughter Jane Sproule of Bath Jamaica I bequeath the remaining part of my freehold of land in Jamaica named Rose Mount now partly occupied by my late negroes for her sole use & her son James Sproule Wilson ..."

Charlotte Sproule 

My first thought was, of course, of his wife Charlotte. Her husband had died in a shipwreck off Morant Bay in Jamaica in December 1840. Charlotte and the seven children were at home in Ireland. I imagined her sitting in a big drawing room in her mansion, with her seven grieving children gathered round. Then she hears the Will - not one, but two ‘reputed’ daughters, and one of them is to get a plantation in Jamaica! What kind of man was this James Sproule to do that to his family?

My Uncle!

After some months I made the rather shocking discovery that yes, this same James Sproule of Mellmount and Jamaica was my great, great granduncle! He was one of five brothers born on the Tullymoan farm in Urney, County Tyrone in the 1760s. Now I had to go back to the Will to find out more about this degenerate relative! How did he get from Urney farmer to father of ‘reputed’ children in Jamaica?

When I re-read the will, now with more interested eyes, it actually got worse! From my reading of it, ‘reputed’ daughter Eleanor is currently living with them in Mellmount:

“...should she wish to remain with the family to get her board gratis and five pounds annually for nothing in lieu of interest”

Is this possible? James had brought an illegitimate child into the family under the roof of poor Charlotte, his wife! When did she arrive? James had lived in Jamaica since the early 1800s. He seems to have returned to Ireland with his family in the late 1830s. Did James arrive with wife Charlotte, seven children and reputed daughter Eleanor?

The Penny Drops

It didn't take long before the next thought penetrated. James Sproule owned plantations in Jamaica, and those plantations had slaves. Was the mother, or perhaps mothers, of the two reputed children actually slaves?

I now had a mission. I wanted to trace my two cousins, Eleanor Sproule and Jane Sproule, both born in Jamaica, and both possibly the children of slaves.

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* EPISODE 2 of this story-  In Jamaica - James and Other Sproules

For More Information:

1. The will of   James Sproule of Mellmount and Jamaica  
2. James Sproule and his four brothers - The Amazing Journeys of The Adventuring Sproules
3. Brother of James Sproule - Samuel Sproule, President of the Medical Board of Bombay