SPROULE (Sprowle), GEORGE, army officer, surveyor, office holder, and politician; b. c. 1743 in Athlone (Republic of Ireland), eldest son of Adam Sproule and Prudence Lloyd; d. 30 Nov. 1817 in Fredericton, N.B. Sproule’s major achievements were in the field of surveying. As a reward for his military service and his surveying work, he was appointed on 2 Sept. 1784 surveyor general of the recently established colony of New Brunswick. In the spring of 1785 Sproule energetically took up his new post, which he would hold until his death.

In 1787 Lieutenant Governor Thomas Carleton asked Sproule to meet with Hugh Finlay of Quebec to discuss the conflicting claims of the two colonies to the Madawaska region, a dispute that was eventually settled in New Brunswick’s favour. That same year Sproule laid out lots for the Acadians who had settled in this region. In 1795 he acted as a surveyor and map-maker in the efforts to determine the Maine–New Brunswick boundary, and three years later he combined the results of surveys done by Dugald Campbell, Thomas Wright, and others into one general map for the use of the commissioners.

He was frequently involved in the construction of roads and bridges, and he helped erect the new House of Assembly building and the Surveyor General’s Office. In 1805 he took on the added responsibility of acting as the province’s receiver general and in September 1808 he was appointed a member of the Council. He was also regularly involved with the military establishment in Fredericton, where he served as keeper of the military stores. A member of the Church of England, he acted as a churchwarden and vestryman.

BAILLIE, THOMAS, colonial administrator and office-holder; b. 4 Oct. 1796 at Hanwell, Middlesex, England, son of Captain William Baillie of the 51st Light Infantry and magistrate at Hanwell; d. 20 May 1863 in Boulogne, France. Thomas was appointed commissioner of crown lands and surveyor general of New Brunswick. New Brunswick had enjoyed nearly 20 years of prosperity when Baillie arrived at Fredericton late in 1824. During these years the timber trade had developed at a rapid rate and the whole well-being of the province now depended on its fortunes. Most of the timber exported to Britain was cut on crown lands, whose extent could be estimated only approximately at 14 to 16 million acres because of the uncertain boundary with the United States. Baillie’s purpose, as defined by the Colonial Office, was to bring efficient control to the timber trade and larger revenues to the crown. These revenues, known as “casual and territorial,” were already enabling the province to facilitate settlement and subsidize schools.