William Ryan Sparks was born on Friday, January 17, 1992 at the ElCamino Hospital at 6:20 p.m. He weighed ten pounds four and one-halfounces and was twenty-two inches long. He was named by his father aftertwo professional baseball stars, Will Clark and Nolan Ryan.

William Sample Sparks is the 5th Great-grandfather of James Joseph Sparks.

See MARYLAND MARRIAGES 1634-1777, Compiled by Robert Barnes,Baltimore, 1987, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. p. 168: "Sparks,William, 24 Aug. 1732, Mary Common (sic)" citing 1 QA-39 which refers torecords of St. Luke's Church, Queen Annes County, page 39. (Entries inthe IGI use both the names Common and Courman on the same date.)

SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1989, No. 148, pps. 3483-3501; WILLIAMSAMPLE SPARKS (BORN ca.1700, DIED ca.1765) at p. 3485:

"(Dr.) Paul E. Sparks and this writer (Dr. Russell E. Bidlack) are nowconvinced that we have identified the parentage of William Sample Sparks,as well as his siblings and three of his children. We have to admit,however, that our proof for these relationships is based on what in thelaw is called "a preponderance of evidence" rather than upon a primarysource document containing this information. In part, our conclusionshave been reached through a process of elimination based on years ofstudy of all members of the Queen Anne's County Sparks family. Much ofour difficulty in this research results from the repeated use of theforename "William" by members of this branch of the family. Not only wasthe grandfather of William Sample Sparks named William (we have his 1709will probated in Queen Anne's County that same year), but this firstWilliam Sparks named his oldest son William, and in turn, not only didthat son (William Sparks, Jr.) name a son William, but each of the otherthree sons of this first William Sparks (who died in 1709) also named ason William, apparently to honor their father. Fortunately, William, sonof William Jr., was either given a middle name at his birth or, what ismore probable, adopted the middle name "Sample." This helps greatly todistinguish him in the records of the time from his father and from histhree first cousins named William Sparks. Unfortunately, there wereoccasions when "Sample" was omitted from his name when a clerk recordedit in an official record.

"Until about a decade ago, we thought that the William Sparks who diedin Surry County, North Carolina, in 1802 was William Sample Sparks. Wegradually came to realize, however, that this William Sparks who died in1802 was actually a son of William Sample Sparks, who had died some 35years earlier. Unfortunately, this erroneous identification was given inseveral early issues of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY . A citation for each ofthese errors will appear at the end of this article.

"In the QUARTERLY of March, 1971, Whole No. 73, pp. 1371-1389,appeared a study of the early Sparks families of Kent, Talbot, and QueenAnne's Counties, Maryland. On pages 3881-3889, we presented abiographical record of the first William Sparks to live in that area andwho wrote his will in June 1709 in Queen Anne's County. This will wasprobated in the County Court when the justices met the following October,which means that he had died in the summer or early autumn of 1709.There we presented documentary proof that this first William Sparks hadcome to Maryland from the county of Hampshire in England. These samerecords prove that he had a brother named John Sparks who lived nearWilliam Sparks in Maryland, dying in 1700. In his will, John Sparksreferred to two sons named John Sparks and George Sparks still inEngland. Another document proves that in 1716 John and George wereliving in Christchurch Parish in Hampshire County. From informationrecently provided us by Susan Sparks LeDuc of Ft. Wayne , Indiana, whoalso descends from this branch of the family, we believe that the aboveWilliam and John Sparks may have been sons of Thomas and Joane (Davis)Sparks who were married in Fareham Parish in Hampshire County, England onOctober 19, 1635. Among their children baptised in that in that parishwere William Sparks, baptized on August 6 , 1646, and John Sparks,baptized on December 3, 1649. While the ages of these two childrenappear to fit those of William and John Spark s who later appeared inMaryland, we must beg our readers to treat these relationships asspeculative until more extensive proof can be obtained. (Thomas Sparksof Fareham Parish had two other sons: Francis Sparks who was baptized onJuly 20, 1641, and Richard Sparks who was baptized on December 10, 1658.)Baptisms in England in the 1600s were usually performed soon after achild's birth.

"William Sparks (died 1709), the first American ancestor of thisbranch of the Sparks family, came to the colony of Maryland in or about1663. During the next 45 years, he accumulated a good deal of propertywhich he passed on to his wife, Mary, and to his children under hiswill. As noted earlier, one of his sons was named William, and while theelder William Sparks was living, this son was called William Sparks, Jr.,in official records. We believe that William Sparks , Jr., was theeldest son of William Sparks and that he was born about 1674. He wasmarried twice, his first wife being Margaret Hamilton , daughter ofJosiah Hamilton, to whom he had been married no later than March 1696 andwho was the mother of William Sample Sparks. (Margaret Hamilton wasidentified as the wife of William Sparks and the daughter of JosiahHamilton in a New Castle County, Delaware, deed dated March 31, 1696, andrecorded in Deed Book B-1, pp. 101-02; Josiah Hamilton had died by thisdate and property in New Castle that had been inherited by Margaret wassold in this deed.)" (JS Note: It was later determined that there wasno such person as Josiah Hamilton. That deed referred to Josyn Hamilton,formerly Josyn (Boyer) Sample, Widow of William Sample, who were WilliamSample Sparks's grandparents. See the December 2000 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 192, pp 5443-5461.)

"Sometime prior to 1729, Margaret (Hamilton) Sparks died, andWilliamSparks, Jr., then married Anne ---, who died on December 16, 1730. (The Julian Calendar was still used by England and her colonies in1730, and Anne's date of death under the Gregorian Calendar adopted byEngland in 1752 would have been on December 27, 1730, according totoday's reconing.) Anne Sparks's death was recorded in St. Luke's ParishRegister in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. William Sparks , Jr. diedabout 1735, we believe, but no probate of his estate has been found amongQueen Anne's County records.

"William Sparks , Jr. had three brothers who, along with himself,were named in their father's will of June 1709. They were GeorgeSparks, born about 1679; John Sparks, born about 1684; and Joseph Sparks,born about 1689 . The elder William Sparks also mentioned a deceaseddaughter in his will, who had married a man named Hynson.

"William Sparks, Jr. and each of his brothers had several children ,resulting in at least 35 Sparks grandchildren for the elder WilliamSparks (died 1709). As mentioned earlier, four of these grandchildrenwere named William in his honor. Dr. Paul E. Sparks, as has been noted,has spent many years studying the records pertaining to this branch ofthe Sparks family, and in the QUARTERLY of June 1988, Whole No. 142, pp.3229-31, he presented a list of these 35 probable grandchildren, withnotes identifying each as best he could. The William Sparks shown asnumber 32 on this list was, we are convinced, the William Sample Sparkswho is the subject of this article. "Middle names were very rarely usedbefore the 19th century, and we suspect that "Sample" was added by oursubject to help distinguish himself in official records from his fatherand his three cousins who were also named William Sparks. When it wasthat he may have added "Sample" to his name, we do not know, nor do weknow why the name "Sample" was chosen. This was a Maryland surname, andit is possible that there was some connection between the Sparks andSample families . Each time that a record was made that had beeninitiated by William Sample Sparks, whether in Maryland or later in NorthCarolina, his full name appeared, but when a clerk recorded his name in acourt or church record, his middle name was usually ommitted. This wasprobably because middle names were so rare in the 17th and 18thcenturies. (See note above re Whole No. 192 revealing the source of thename Sample.)

"In the several instances where William Sample Sparks signed adocument which has been preserved, he signed by mark, as did his fatherand grandfather. Not everyone in those days who signed by mark, however,was illiterate, and even if they could no write, they could often read.

"Prior to the creation of St. Luke's Parish in Queen Anne's County ,the parish which included the area were the Sparks family lived was St.Paul's Parish, the records for which, unfortunately, have not beenpreserved. In 1728, a petition addressed to the Upper and Lower Housesof the Assembly of the Province of Maryland was circulated forsignatures. It requested that a new parish be created because "manysouls have to travel as much as twenty to thirty miles to keep the Lord'sDay." Among the signers of this petition was "William Sparks, Senr."This was surely the William Sparks born about 1674 who had been called"William Sparks, Jr." until his father died in 1709. In 1728, with hisfather having been dead for nearly 20 years and his own son, also namedWilliam, having come of age, it was logical that he now be called"Senior."

"Also among the signers of this 1728 petition were two other menwhose names appeared simply as "William Sparks." We are confident thatone of these was our William Sample Sparks--someone probably obtained hispermission to add his name and omitted the middle name "Sample," or it ispossible that he had not yet begun using it. The second William Sparkson this petition was probably the son of John Sparks and a first cousinfo William Sample Sparks. (William Sparks, son of John, was born about1706.) John Sparks also signed this petition, as did two men named GeorgeSparks. One of these was doubtless the George Sparks, born about 1679,who was a son of the elder Wi lliam Sparks who had died in 1709; theother was either George's son or a nephew.

"The petition was successful, and St. Paul's Parish was divided t oform St. Luke's Parish. The Sparks family was included in the ne wparish. The marriage dated August 24, 1732, which was recorded in St.Luke's Parish register (pg. 41) of a William Sparks and a Mary Courmon(or Corman) may have been that of our William Sample Sparks, but, if so,it must not have been his first marriage. Our reason for believing thatthere had been an earlier marriage date for William Sample Sparks is thefact that his son, William Sparks (died 1801 in Surry County, NorthCarolina) obtained his first grant of land in Frederick County, Maryland,on July 11, 1749. He must have been at least 21 years old in order toqualify for a land grant, which would place his birth at least as earlyas 1728.

"A map showing where the Sparks family of St. Luke's Parish in QueenAnne's County, Maryland, lived, appeared on the cover of the QUARTERLYfor March 1971, Whole No. 73.

"We have found no record of William Sample Sparks ever owning anyland. He must have been a tradesman, perhaps an inn keeper. (As will benoted later, there are records of his having had a license to operate an"ordinary," a term used for an inn or tavern, after he moved to RowanCounty, North Carolina.)

"From our brief records pertaining to William Sample Sparks found inQueen Anne's County and Frederick County, Maryland, it appears that hehad both financial and health problems at different times in his life.For example, on page 236 of the register of St. Luke's Paris h (this wascopied about 1899 from earlier records now in the Library of the MarylandHistorical Society in Baltimore), there is a record dated 1736 indicatingthat he had moved out of the parish without paying his church tax. Infact, he was called a "Runaway Insolvent" in the parish record. At thattime, every adult white male, regardless of his personal religiousconvictions, was required to pay a yearly tax to the Church of England.William Sample Sparks's tax for 1736 was 6 pence, but he left the parishwithout paying it. (In this parish record, his middle name was used.)

"It was in or about 1736 that William Sample Sparks left Queen Anne'sCounty with his family and moved to the western part of the Province ofMaryland. To do so, he would have crossed the Chesapeake Bay andprobably travelled near, or possibly through, the small town ofBaltimore, which had been laid out in 1730, to reach the western edge ofwhat is now Carroll County, although at the time it was part of PrinceGeorge's County. He settled in the area of Big Pipe and Little PipeCreeks, perhaps close to where they join to become Double Pipe Creek,which, after about a mile, flows into the Monocacy River just abovetoday's Millers Bridge, about 5 miles north of the town of Woodsboro.(Little Pipe Creek, which flows north and west, now forms the boundarybetween Carroll and Frederick Counties for several miles.)

"The area in which Sparks settled, which is drained by the MonocacyRiver and its tributaries, was then commonly called "Monocacy," as theIndians had called it before the appearance of the white man . This areacomprised most of what is now Frederick County along with part of today'sCarroll County. This area called Monocacy was a true frontier in the1730s, and William Sample Sparks and his family were true pioneers. Hedoubtless built his own cabin after his arrival. Record keeping was verylimited, except for recording the granting and selling of land. BecauseSparks was not a land owner, nor did he become involved in any majorlawsuit, his name was rarely recorded during the nearly two decades thathe lived there. No church existed there in the 1730's except a smallQuaker meeting-house. He did not join this group, nor did he join theLutheran Church established later by German settlers.

"A map showing the Big and Little Pipe Creeks, along with the otherstreams flowing into the Monocacy River, is given below. (p. 3488)

"When Frederick County was cut off from Prince George's County in1748, it contained all of the western portion of the province, includingWashington County (which was cut off from Frederick in 1776), a s well asAllegany County (which was cut off from Washington in 1789) , and GarretCounty (which was cut off from Allegany in 1872). To the east, FrederickCounty also included, until 1776, Montgomery County , and from 1748 until1837, a portion of Carroll County was included in Frederick.

"This large area that became Frederick County in 1748 had been part ofPrince George's County from the time that Prince George's County had beencut off from Charles and Calvert Counties in 1695. Betwee n 1695 and1748, Prince George's County adjoined Baltimore County and comprised theentire western half of the province.

"Our earliest reference to William Sample Sparks among court recordsof Prince George's County is in the probate file of a man named AllenFarquhar who died in December 1738. Allen Farquhar (he signed his willon November 30, 1738, as "Allen Farquer"), was a miller. He had movedfrom Chester County, Pennsylvania, sometime after 1726 and settled oneither the Big or Little Pipe Creek. He was a man of some means, and hismill served the early settlers for several miles around. Most businesswas conducted on credit in those days, but all bills came due when acreditor died. As part of the inventory of Alle n Farquhar's estate, alist was made of all of those who, according to his account book, were inhis debt for milling services. Over 60 n ames were listed, includingseveral Indians. The fourth name on the list was that of William Sparksin the amount of one pound and 14 s hillings. It is not surprising thathis middle name was omitted in Farquhar's account book since he was theonly Sparks in the neighborhood. (The inventory of Farquhar's estate ispreserved in the Hall of Records in Baltimore, Prince George's CountyInventories, Vol. 24 , pages 8-10; we are grateful to George J. Horvathof Eldersburg, Maryland for discovering this record for us.)

"At some point following his settling in the Monocacy area, WilliamSample Sparks was joined there by his uncle, Joseph Sparks, with hisfamily. We know that Joseph Sparks was still in Queen Anne's County,Maryland in the spring of 1738 when, on April 27, 1738, his son wasbaptized in St . Luke's Parish church. Joseph and his wife, Mary, namedthis son William. It was some time during the decade that followed thatJoseph Sparks and his family joined William Sample Sparks in the Monocacy area, and it was there that he died in 1749.

"Joseph Sparks, uncle of William Sample Sparks, died the yearfollowing the creation of Frederick County. He was a relatively youngman when he died, somehwere in his 50s, and he left his wife, Mary, witha large family. He did not leave a will, which may suggest that he diedsuddenly. The records pertaining to the settlement of his estate are inthe Maryland Hall of Records. As was customary, a detailed inventory ofJoseph Sparks's possessions was taken. It was a Maryland law that tworelatives of the deceased should certify the accuracy of such aninventory by signing their names to it; the two chief creditors of theestate were also supposed to sign. The children and spouse of thedeceased rarely signed such a document, since they would be heirs, soother close relatives where expected to perform this service. So, afterthe inventory of Joseph Sparks's belongings was completed by two of hisneighbors in June 1749, William Sample Sparks signed it (by mark). Hisfull name was given. The other signer was "Rachell Sparks," who likewisesigned by mark. In-laws were permitted to sign Maryland inventories and,while we cannot be certain, it would appear that Rachel may have been thewife of William Sample Sparks.

"If, indeed, the Rachel Sparks who signed with William Sample Sparksas kin of Joseph Sparks in 1749 was the wife of William Sample Sparks, wemust conclude that she was either a third wife or that the marriagerecord cited earlier for a William Sparks and a Mary Courman was not thatof William Sample Sparks. It may well be that his one and only wife wasnamed Rachel. There was not a great deal of dif- ference in the ages ofWilliam Sample Sparks and his uncle, Joseph Sparks. The latter was bornabout 1689 while William Sample Sparks was born about 1700. WhileJoseph's children were first cousins of William Sample, they were nearlya generation younger than he.

"The widow of Joseph Sparks was named Mary - - we have found no clueto reveal her maiden name. She became administratrix of her husband'sestate. The two disinterested parties who prepared the inventory wereJoseph Wood and William Carmack. From a recent book entitled PIONEERS OFOLD MONOCACY, THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF FREDERICK COUNTY , MARYLAND,1721-1743, by Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern, we know t hat Joseph Woodlived on Lingamore Creek about a half-mile south of present dayUnionville. William Carmack (1716- 1776) had moved to the LingamoreCreek area after 1733 from Cecil County, Maryland. The t wo creditorswho signed the inventory of the estate of Joseph Sparks in 1749 wereDavid Young, who claimed that Sparks had owed him "one pound andforpence," and Osborn Sprigg. The about owed to Sprigg was notspecified, although in the final settlement he was identified as"Sheriff" and was paid in tobacco valued at 3 pounds, 14 shillings, and 4pence.

"Recalling that the mother of William Sample Sparks was Margaret (Hamilton) Sparks, it is interesting that a John Hamilton was one of the1749 creditors of Joseph Sparks in Frederick County. (We have notsucceeded as yet in tracing the ancestry of Margaret Hamilton other thanknowing her father's name was Josiah Hamilton.)

"The children of Joseph and Mary Sparks were identified in a FrederickCounty court record dated August 1750 in which Mary was ordered to giveto each of her children his/her proper share of Joseph's estate. Thechildren were named as" Solomon, Joseph, Charles, Jonas , Jonathan,William, George, Merum, Mary, Ann, Rebecka, and Sarah.

"Our next record pertaining to William Sample Sparks is dated 1750 .This was a petition submitted by him to the Frederick County Court at itsJune 1750 sitting. As recorded in Liber 1748-50 of the Frederick County"Circuit Court Judgments," Folio 557, this petition reads:

To the worshipful the Justices of Frederick County Court, nowsetting, the petition of William Sample Sparks, Pipe Creek One Hundred,humbly sheweth that your petitioner has been afflicted many years with asore leg that renders him very incapable to maintain his family; that ifye worships would please make an order to set your Petitioner Levy free,your Petitioner as bound shall pray, etc. Upon reading which petitionand consideration thereof had, it is ordered by the Court here that thePetitioner be levy free for the future.

" From this petition, it appears that William Sample Sparks still hadchildren to support who were still living at home in 1750.

"A key source for genealogical research in Maryland are the landrecords, which are, in some ways, different from those of any otherAmerican colony. The period in Maryland's history with which we areconcerned here, fell into what is known as the "Second Period ofProprietary Rule, 1716-1776." Prior to 1683, land had been granted toindividuals who paid the transportation costs to bring settlers,including them- selves, to the province, but after 1683 individuals couldobtain land grants without bringing in settlers. Because the colony wasgoverned by a "Proprietor," however, annual rent had to be paid to himeven though an individual held title to his land. This all ended, ofcourse, with the American Revolution. Another peculiar feature of landownership in Maryland was the custom of naming each piece of land when itwas initially granted. The first owner chose the name for it by which itwould usually be known thereafter, even when sold to another party. Thismakes tracing of land ownership much easier in Maryland than in otherstates. Sometimes the names chosen for the land had genealogicalsignificance. When land was plentiful, as i t was when William SampleSparks moved to what became Frederick Count y in 1748, individualsoften"squatted" on vacant land until they or another party obtained anofficial grant. This is probably what was done by William SampleSparks. Joseph Sparks probably did the same, but had he not died in1749, it is likely that he would have tried to obtain a land grantfollowing the creation of Frederick County in 1748.

"William Sparks, son of William Sample Sparks, (we feel certain thathe was the oldest son), began acquiring land in Frederick County in 1749.He left Frederick County in 1764 to join his father and brothers in RowanCounty, North Carolina.

"Another son of William Sample Sparks was named Matthew and was bornabout 1730. We believe he was his father's second son. According to adescendant, he married Sarah Thompson, but whether this marriage tookplace in Maryland or after he moved to Rowan County, North Carolina, inor about 1754, we do not know. An article devoted to Matthew Sparks andhis family appeared in the QUARTERLY of June 1961, Whol e No. 34, pp.556-566. At that time, however, we had not identified him as a son ofWilliam Sample Sparks and stated simply that the two men were somehowrelated. We know now that he was the same Matthew Sparks who was shownas a creditor in the inventory of the estate of one Matthew Hopkins whohad died in Frederick County a year or two following the death of JosephSparks. Although undated, this inventory was taken sometime in 1751; itshowed that had owed Matthew 475 pounds of tobacco when he died. (SeeFrederick County Inventories , Book A, No. 2, p. 187.) Tobacco was acommon medium of exchange, and this probably meant that young MatthewSparks had performed some kind of labor for Hopkins for which he had notyet been paid when he died. The other Frederick County record pertainingto Matthew Sparks is a court record dated November 1752 describing aproposed road in the area of Beaver Dam Branch, Great Pipe Creek, andLittle Pipe Cr eek which "has been lately marked by Matthew Sparks." Theperson advocating that this road be built, Dr. Charles Carroll, indicatedthat Matthew Sparks had performed this task at his "instance and charge." It would appear that Matthew Sparks had acquired some surveying skillsin order to perform this service for Dr. Carroll. The court rejected theproposal, however; Dr. Carroll died in 1755. (See Frederick County CourtJudgments, November 1742.)

"Solomon Sparks, son of Joseph Sparks and a first cousin of WilliamSample Sparks, obtained a grant of 93 acres of land on the east side ofBeaver Dam Creek on March 20, 1750. Because, under the old Juli anCalendar, the new year did not begin until March 25, it was on March 31,1751, that Solomon made his purchase according to todays calendar.(England and her colonies adopted our present Gregorian Calenda r in 1752which changed the New Year to January 1 and moved the reconing of daysahead by eleven.) Solomon Sparks was required to pay a yearly "Rent ofThree Shillings and nine pence Sterling in Silver or Golde." (SeeFrederick County Liber GS #1, Folio 116-118.) He chose the name "ColdFriday" for his tract of land. On June 30, 1753, Solomon Sparks, withthe approval of his wife, Sarah, sold this tract for 35 pounds to MatthewHoward. (See Frederick County Deeds, Liber E , Folio 194-95.)

"We believe that the reason Solomon Sparks sold "Cold Friday" inNovember 1753 was that he, along with several other members of the Sparksfamily, including William Sample Sparks, were preparing to move fromFrederick County, Maryland, to the newly formed county of Rowan in NorthCarolina. They probably made the journey in the spring of 1754.

"The destination of these Sparks emigrants wasa the land called "Lord Granville's Domain between the Yadkin and the Catawba Rivers" i nNorth Carolina. North Carolina had been established originally as aproprietary colony belonging to eight English lords. In 1729, however,seven of these lords sold their rights to the colony to the King, butone, Earl of Granville, refused to part with his share which , in 1744,was set apart with specified boundaries. Part of his "domain" consistedof a vast area which had been organized in 1749 as Anson County, but fromwhich Rowan County had been cut off as a separate county in 1753.Shortly after Rowan County had been created, the county seat wasestablished and named initially Rowan Court House, but this was changedlater to Salisbury.

"By 1754, the year in which we believe that William Sample Sparks ,with two of his sons and three of his cousins (sons of his deceaseduncle, Joseph Sparks), set out for North Carolina, a great many othersettlers had already made the journey. Agents for Lord Granville hadadvertised the virtues of this new land, particularly in Irelan d andGermany. Thus, many of the early pioneers were Irish and Germa nimmigrants. How it was that William Sample Sparks and his sons andcousins learned of "Lord Granville's Domain" we shall probably neverknow, and we can only guess why they were attracted to it. A possiblereason was a growing fear that there would be warfare between England andFrance and that this would result in Indian uprisings in westernMaryland. Indeed, what would be called the French and Indian War inAmerica was about to commence. There was also the fact that desirablevacant land was much less plentiful than had been the case a few yearsearlier, and owners of good land in Frederick County were demanding highprices. There was the pleasing prospect of being able not only to obtainnew land in North Carolina at a much lower cost, but also there werereports that the soil there was unusually rich and that the climate wasmore mild than in western Maryland.

"Whether other Frederick County families joined the Sparkses in theirpioneering venture, we do not know, but it seems likely. The men namedSparks in the group besides William Sample Sparks were his sons Matthew(about 34 years old) and James (who was still in his teens ); there werealso three sons of Joseph Sparks; Solomon Sparks (about 27), Jonas Sparks(about 20); and Jonathan Sparks (about 18). One or more daughters ofWilliam Sample Sparks may also have been included as perhaps, also, oneor more of the daughters of Joseph Sparks ( died 1749).

"We can only speculate on the route followed by these pioneers. Thefollowing paragraphs from James S. Brawley's THE ROWAN STORY, 1753 -1953(Salisbury, N.C., 1953, pp. 12-13), helps us to imagine what their pathmay have been.

"At the time Granville's survey was run (1746) people were beginningto fill the valley between the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers. The firstsettlers seem to have followed the river courses from South Carolina,principally the Pee Dee and Santee, and picked up lands in the southernpart of what is now Rowan. Others poured in from Pennsylvania andtraveled down the "Gread Wagon Road" that led them through the ShenandoahValley into the North Carolina Piedmont. A record of one German, JohnRamsour, showed that he traveled 502 miles from Lancaster, Pennsylvania,to Salisbury.
(Continued under Rachel's notes

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1977, Whole No. 98, p.1917 for theabstract of his pension file:

WILLIAM S. SPARKS was born on March 19, 1843, in Kent County, Delaware.He served in Co. G, 4th Regt. Delaware Infantry. File Designation: Inv.Cert. No. 169,605.

On May 13, 1873, William S. Sparks, age 30, a resident of Baltimore,Maryland, made application for
an Invalid Pension. He stated that he had enlisted on Aug. 15, 1862, atWilmington, Delaware, in Co. G,
4th Regt. Delaware Volunteers and had served until June 7, 1865. He saidhe was 5 ft. 6½ in. tall; he
had a light complexion, dark hair and eyes; and he was a farmer byoccupation. He said that on or
about 4 p.m. on June 18, 1864, he received a gunshot wound in his rightarm while charging the
Confederate breatworks in front of Petersburg, Va. He was confined in thehospital at Willitts Point,
Long Island, for five months while receiving treatment. After leaving themilitary service, he had resided
in Kent Co., Maryland. He said he was unable to perform manual labor.

The War Department confirmed Sparks's military service on June 21, 1873.He had enlisted as a
private on Aug. 16, 1862, at Smyrna, Delaware, in Co. G, 4th Regt.Delaware Volunteers and was
present for duty until June 18, 1864, when he was reported as "absent - -wounded." He was carried as
absent - - wounded until he rejoined his unit in November 1864. He wasmustered out with his company
on June 3, 1865.

Apparently no action was taken on Sparks's first application and on Oct.17, 1879, he again applied for
an invalid pension. He was now age 36 and a resident of Galena, KentCounty, Md. He again recited
his military service and added that he had served under Capt. William H.McClary. After he left the
service, he worked as a tin smith in Middletown and Galena, Md. Heappointed George E. Lemon,
Washington, D.C., as his attorney. J. W. Chapman and E. G. Banjaminwitnessed his signature and the
application was sworn to before D. C.Blackiston, Clerk of the Kent County(Md.) Circuit Court. He was
issued an invalid pension under Invalid Certificate No. 169,605.

On Oct. 27, 1883, Sparks applied for an increase in his pension becauseof the increased disability
from the gunshot wound. He said he was receiving a pension of $4.00 permonth. James McDowell and
Henry C. Spruance witnessed his signature. We received no document amongthose selected from his
file at the National Archives which shows the action taken on thisrequest.

On Feb. 25, 1907, and again on July 6, 1912, Sparks applied for increasedpension benefits under the
1907 and 1912 Acts of Congress, respectively. He now lived in JerseyCity, N.J. He stated that he was
born at Smyrna, Kent County, Delaware, on March 19, 1843. He lived inGalena, Md., from 1865 to
1882; in Philadelphia, Penna., from 1882 to 1889; and in Jersey City from1889 until the present (1912).

The last document (in chronological order) that we received from thepension file of William S. Sparks is
his reply to a questionnaire on April 1, 1915. He now lived at Camden,N.J. He drew lines through most
of the spaces provided for answers and simply wrote across the page, "Iam a widower with no children."

See The Sparks Quarterly, March 1996, Whole No. 172, pg 4610 for aphotograph of William Stephen and Mary Carolyn (Knowles) Sparks. Seepage 4609 for this:
"William Stephen Sparks, born april 28, 1849, in Lumpkin County,Georgia. He was married to Mary Carolyn Knowles in 1874. He died onapril 22, 1932, in Terrell County, Georgia. His son George MarionSparks, born April 9, 1882, was the father of Mrs. (Margaret Sparks)Singletary, who was born on June 12, 1912. Another son of WilliamStephen Sparks was John albert Sparks, born april 12, 1885, in chattoogaCounty, Georgia; he died on July 29, 1955, in Norfolk, Virginia. A sonof John Albert Sparks is John A. Sparks, Jr., of Chesapeake, Virginia,born November 29, 1926. He has provided the photograph that appears onthe following page."

.

!NOTES:
The SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, at page 4270 stat es:
William T. Sparks, son of Ephriam and Charlotte Sparks, was born abou t1813 in
Virginia. He was married to Minerva Jane Johnson, and they had nin echildren:
Benjamin, Abby Jane, Margaret, Charlotte, Mary, Ephriam, William, Sylvester and
John.

SQ 3189-90: "William Thomas Sparks was born on January 15, 1865 . Hemarried July Melvina Susan Morris and they had five children:
(a) Nancy Jane Sparks was born on June 15, 1895.
(b) John Thomas Sparks was born in July 1899.
(c) Earl Sparks was born about 1902.
(d) Clarence Hewey Sparks was born about 1905.
(e) Effie Truzilla Margaret Filla Sparks was born about 1908 and diedwhile she was quite young."

!NOTES:
SQ 3867: William Thomas Sparks was married to Tennessee Travis i n1895 in
Lawrence County, and when the 1900 census was taken they had two children,
James and Nora.

!NOTES:
SQ 3873: William Thomas Sparks was married to Edna Francis McGowa n.They
had no children.

SQ p. 4133:

DEATH TAKES WILLIAM THOMAS ("SPARKY") SPARKS

"We have learned only recently of the deaths of two of the most loyaland enthusiastic supporters of our Association, W. T. ("Sparky") Sparksand his wife, the former Blanche Irene Schooley. "Sparky" died on March18, 1993, and Blanche died on June 10, 1993. Funeral services wereconducted in the First Presbyterian Church of Odessa, Missouri, whereboth were members. They were buried in the Odessa Cemetery.

"William Thomas Sparks was born on August 7, 1912, at Odessa,Missouri, and was a son of William Walker and Lou Etta (Proctor) Sparks.His paternal grandparents were John Christian Sparks (1815-1896) andSarah M. (Cobb) Sparks (1831-1882). John Christian Sparks was agreat-grandson of the William Sparks (born ca.1725, died 1901/02) who wasfeatured in the QUARTERLY of June 1991, Whole No. 154, pp. 3751-98.)"[JJS: William was also my 4th great-grandfather.]

" "Sparky" was a longtime funeral director of the Husman-SparksFuneral home in Odessa.

"Blanche Irene (Schooley) Sparks was born on March 24, 1911, nearRobbins, Missouri, and was a daughter of Dr. R. C. and Lena (Morehead)Schooley. She taught school in Odessa for nearly forty years.

"Both "Sparky" and Blanche held memberships in civic and socialorganizations too numerous to mention, and both were vital members oftheir community. They celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary onJanuary 17, 1992. They are survived by a daughter, Brenda (Sparks)Craven, and two grandsons, Lucas and Micah Craven.

"We extend our sympathy to Mrs. Craven and to other family members."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4557: He and Josie had two children: Patsy and Elizabeth Sparks.

SQ pg 3468: They had one child, Jackie Sparks.

SQ p. 5365:
"William W. Sparks, son of Joel Sparks and his first wife, was bornca. 1810 in Surry County, North Carolina. He was married there toLucretia Cornelia Pryor about 1840 and it was there that his only son,Samuel P. Sparks, was born on January 1, 1844. Later in 1844, theymoved to Johnson County, Missouri, where Lucretia died early in life.William W. Sparks lived until February 18, 1876."

SQ 3796: "Son, born ca.1790. This may have been William Z. Sparks (orWilliam S. Sparks) who was married (1st) to Elizabeth Gentry in 1813, and(2nd) to Mary Benge."

***************

Sparks Quarterly, September, 2000, Whole No. 191, pp. 5396-5403:

WILLIAM Z. SPARKS (ca. 1791-1858)

By Russell E. Bidlack

"William Sparks, who died in Queen Annes County, Maryland, in 1709, wasthe progenitor of the branch of the Sparks family that was and is closelyassociated with Rowan County, North Carolina, and the several countiesformed from it (e.g. Surry in 1770, Wilkes in 1777, Burke in 1777,Iredell in 1788, Davidson in 1822, Davie in 1836, and Yadkin in 1850).

"Two grandsons of William Sparks (died 1709) moved with members of theirfamilies from Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin inRowan County (now Davie County) in or about 1754. They were WilliamSample Sparks (ca.1700- ca.1765) who was a son of William Sparks, Jr.,eldest son of William Sparks who had died in 1709; and Solomon Sparks(ca.1720-ca.1790) who was a son of Joseph Sparks (died 1749). Joseph hadbeen the youngest son of William (died 1709). (See the QUARTERLY ofDecember 1989, Whole No. 148, for an article on William Sample Sparks,and the issue for December 1955, Whole No. 12, for information on SolomonSparks.)

"A major problem in tracing the descendants of William Sparks (died 1709)is that the name William was
repeated among most of his sons and grandsons in choosing names for theirchildren, often for their eldest son. Although William Sample Sparks hada middle name, this was unusual in the Eighteenth Century. Middle namesdid not become common in America until the latter part of the NineteenthCentury, although, in order to distinguish between their many cousinsnamed William Sparks, middle initials were sometimes assumed byindividuals bearing the name.

"A son of William Sample Sparks (he was probably the eldest son), wasalways known simply as "William Sparks"; he had been born about 1725 andwas married to a woman named Ann before his father and siblings leftFrederick County, Maryland, for North Carolina in or about 1854. Heremained in Frederick County for another decade, but in 1764 he broughthis young family to the Forks of the Yadkin, also. (For a detailed recordof the life of this William Sparks, who died in 1801/02, see theQUARTERLY of June 1991, Whole No. 154.)

"In either 1770 or 1771, Solomon Sparks moved to a new settlement, thistime from the Forks of the Yadkin to a part of Rowan County that had justbeen cut off to form Surry County. He settled on the North Branch ofHunting Creek. William Sparks, who had joined Solomon and his otherrelatives in the Forks of the Yadkin in 1764, followed Solomon to SurryCounty in or shortly before 1772. (Solomon and William were firstcousins, once removed.)

"When Wilkes County was created from Surry County in 1777, the dividingline ran directly through Solomon Sparks's land. Although his houseremained in Surry County, a readjustment of the line a little later meantthat he then became a resident of Wilkes County, where he died about1790. William Sparks's land remained in Surry County, and it was therethat he died between December 1801 and May 1802.

"It is our goal here to attempt to identify how a Wlliiam Sparks, who wasborn about 1791 and who died in 1858, fits into the Sparks family. Helived near the village of Jonesville, just south of the Yadkin River inwhat became Yadkin County in 1850. In later years, this William Sparksadded the letter "Z"to his name as a middle initial, although it wassometimes written "S," and in many records he was called simply WilliamSparks.

"A study of extant tax and census records for Surry County during theearly 1800s reveals that there were two clusters of the Sparks familyliving in what is now Yadkin County. They were about eight miles apart.The group to which William Z. Sparks belonged lived near the village ofJonesville, with farms located near the waters of Deep Creek, Fall Creek,and Beaverdam Creek.

The other cluster of Sparkses in what became Yadkin County was headed byMatthew Sparks (ca.1752 -1819), who was a son of Wlliiam and Ann Sparks.He and his several sons lived on Hunting Creek and its branches in thesouthwest corner of Yadkin County, about four miles north of the IredellCounty line. Until 1850, this was, of course, in Surry County. Part ofMatthew's land adjoined the dividing line between Surry and WilkesCounties. (See the QUARTERLY of June 2000, Whole No. 190, for a detailedrecord of Matthew Sparks and his family.)

"Just over the line in Wilkes County, but still on the North Fork ofHunting Creek, lived Solomon Sparks, Jr., a son of the Solomon Sparks whohad come to the Forks of the Yadkin in or about 1754. Solomon Sparks, Jr.had purchased land there from William T. Lewis in 1791 and from GeorgeDenney in 1805. (See the QUARTERLY of March 2000, Whole No.189 for anarticle on Solomon Sparks, Jr. and some of his descendants.) Then, in1808, Solomon Sparks, Jr. purchased 150 acres over the line in SurryCounty, and from 1813 until 1818, his son, William Sparks, lived on andwas taxed for this tract of 150 acres. Solomon Sparks, Jr. died in WilkesCounty on December 18, 1817, after which this tract in Surry County wassold. His son, William Sparks, then disappeared from Surry County taxrecords; he was not shown on the 1820 census of either Surry or WilkesCounty. We can only conjecture that he died in or about 1818 or, moreprobably, he moved out of the area after his father died. This WilliamSparks, son of Solomon Sparks, Jr., must not be confused with William Z.Sparks, the subject of the present sketch. Likewise, William Z. Sparksmust not be confused with William D. Sparks (ca.1790-1858), son
of Matthew and Eunice Sparks. (See the QUARTERLY of June 2000, Whole No.190, pp.5379-87 for a sketch of the life of William D. Sparks.)

"From circumstantial evidence, there is good reason to believe thatWilliam Z. Sparks was a son of George Sparks who had been born about1758/60 in Frederick County, Maryland. George had accompanied hisparents, William and Ann Sparks, in their migration from Maryland to theForks of the Yadkin in 1764. Although we have found no clue by which toidentify the wife of George Sparks, we know from census records between1790 and 1830 that he had a family consisting, apparently, of three sonsand four daughters. When the 1830 census was taken, he was enumerated inthe 60 to 70 age category, but there was no female in his household of asimilar age. The further fact that he made no mention of his wife when hemade his will on November 18, 1833, suggests that she had died, probablybefore 1830.

"Although George Sparks referred to "all my children" in his will, henamed only his one unmarried daughter, Franky, and his son, GeorgeSparks, Jr. To George, Jr., he left all his land (300 acres), includinghis "still and stand" and his farming tools. His personal property was tobe sold to pay his debts, with the remainder to be divided among "all mychildren" except George,Jr. Two grandchildren, James and Wilson Edwards,were to receive their deceased mother's share. The name of this deceaseddaughter of George Sparks is not known, but the provision in his willthat the portion received by these grandchildren "be paid into the Handof Samuel Edwards" suggests that Samuel Edwards was probably theirfather. (See the QUARTERLY of June 1983, Whole No. 122, pp. 2520-24, forfurther information regarding George Sparks, including the full text ofhis will.)

"George Sparks, in leaving all of his land to his son, George, Jr.,probably did so with the understanding that George, Jr. would care forhim during his remaining years. Perhaps he had already provided in somemanner for his other two sons, including, we believe, WIlliam Z. Sparks.

"From census records, we know that William Z. Sparks was born about 1791.He lived his entire life in the Jonesville area, and he died there inDecember 1858. His name flrst appeared on the 1812 tax list of SurryCounty; he owned no land then, but he was taxed for one poll (himself).(North Carolina law required at that time that all free males between theages of 21 and 50 pay an annual poll tax.) It was in Capt. Martin'sDistrict that William Sparks paid his poll tax in 1812. (The tax districtat that time was the same as the militia district, and it was known bythe name of the captain of militia in that area.) Two other men namedSparks appeared on Capt. Martin's list: George Sparks with 700 acres ofland and two polls, and Thomas Sparks with 203 acres and one poll.

"This Thomas Sparks, who was taxed on 203 acres of land in 1812, was,like George Sparks, a son of William and Ann Sparks. Thomas had been bornabout 1766. He was married about 1787 to Rebecca ; there is a possibilitythat her maiden name had been Bell. After her death about 1795, Thomaswas married (2nd) to Diana Wilcox about 1800. Thomas Sparks moved about1817 to the area where Lee and Scott Counties, Virginia, adjoin; stilllater he moved, with his brother, James Sparks, to Lawrence County,Kentucky. (For a detailed record of the life and. family of ThomasSparks, see the QUARTERLY of December 1991, Whole No. 156; March 1992,Whole No. 157; and June 1992, Whole No. 158.)

"When the 1815 tax list for Capt. Martin's District was prepared, William[Z.] Sparks, the subject of this sketch, was listed as owning 91 acres onFall Creek, valued at $150. This tract was described as adjoining landowned by "N. Morrison." We have found a deed in Surry County whichaccounts for this 91-acre tract. Although dated March 1, 1818, this deedrefers to the land as having been "delivered" to Sparks in 1815. By thisdeed (see Surry County Deed Book 0, pp. 257-8), Nathaniel Morrison soldfor "50 pounds current money" to "William Sparks," both of Surry County,a tract of 100 acres, being the south portion of a larger tract of whichMorrison had sold a portion to William Jenkins in 1815. The witnesses tothis 1818 deed were Allen Sisk and Joseph Sparks.

"While described in the deed as comprising 100 acres, it appears that,for tax purposes, this tract was judged to be 91 acres in 1815 and 97acres after 1816.

"On January 16, 1817, "William S. [Z.] Sparks" obtained a grant of landfrom the state of North Carolina for 50 shillings per hundred acres. OnDecember 26, 1818, the grant was made official in the Treasury Office.The tract was described as being on Beverdam Creek and comprised 250acres. It adjoined land owned by Wiley Craft, Jonathan Sparks, BenjaminSparks, and Sebastian. (See Surry County Deed Book P, pp. 378-79.) Thatyear (1817), William Z. Sparks was taxed on 347 acres with a total valueof $350. Before the 1818 tax list for Surry County was prepared, however,William had disposed of his 250-acre grant which he had obtained the yearbefore from the state. In 1818, he was shown as owning only 97 acresvalued at $150 and adjoining the land of Allen Sisk. We have found norecord to reveal how he had disposed of his 250 acres.

"When the Surry County tax records were prepared in 1819, what hadearlier been called Capt. Martin's District (identified as "CaptainJoshua K. Speer's District" in 1818), was now called the "District ofJonesville." Again, William Sparks was shown as owning 97 acres of land;its value, however, was increased to $250. Allen Sisk was again shown asowning land adjoining that of William Z. Sparks, although Sisk's land(103 acres) was described as adjoining the land of George Sparks. GeorgeSparks, himself, was shown on this 1819 tax list as owning 320 acresvalued at $600. It was described simply as lying on Deep Creek.

"Four other men named Sparks were taxed in 1819 on land they owned in theJonesville District. They were: Jonathan Sparks, 220 acres valued at $300adjoining Wm. Rose; Benjamin Sparks, 186 acres ($400) adjoining JonathanSparks; Joseph Sparks, 244 acres ($300) adjoining Allen Sisk; and Benja.Sparks, 93 acres ($300) adjoining Jesse Sisk. (Owners of land describedas adjoining land owned by persons named Sparks were: Robert Burcheladjoining Benja. Sparks; John Edwards adjoining George Sparks; Allen Siskadjoining George Sparks; and John Parks adjoining Jonathan Sparks.)

"Wiley Craft, mentioned in the 1817 grant of land to William Z. Sparks asowning adjoining land, had been married in Surry County to Agatha Sparks(spelled "Auga thee") in 1812. The bond for this marriage was datedJanuary 28, 1812, and we can assume that the marriage occurred soonthereafter. Allen Sisk served as bondsman. Wiley Craft then served asbondsman (on January 4, 1813) for the marriage bond for William Sparksand Elizabeth Gentry. Although no middle initial was shown on this bondfor William Sparks, circumstantial evidence leads us to believe that thiswas the first marriage of William Z. Sparks. We wonder whether the AgathaSparks who had been married to Wiley Craft in 1812 may have been a sisterof William Z. Sparks. Another marriage bond of interest is that forJoseph Sparks and Martha Edwards, dated January 28, 1815, with RichardGentry serving as bondsman. Joseph Sparks, who was born about 1790 inSurry County, was, we believe a son of Thomas and Rebecca Sparks. ThomasSparks (ca.1766-ca.1837), like George Sparks, was a son of William andAnn Sparks. (See the QUARTERLY of December 1991, Whole No. 156,pp.3855-58.) It would seem likely that this Martha Edwards was related tothe grandchildren named in the will of George Sparks in 1833 as James andWilson Edwards.

"William Z. Sparks was not listed as heading a household in Surry Countywhen the 1820 census was taken. He was probably just missed by the censustaker, although it is possible that he and his family were living insomeone else's house hold. (Only the heads of household were actuallynamed on census records prior to 1850.)

"When the 1824 tax list for the Jonesville District in Surry County wasprepared, William Sparks's tract of 97 acres was described as adjoiningland owned by William Jenkins. The 1825 tax list seems not to have beenpreserved, but that for 1826 shows William Sparks with 194 acresadjoining James Morrison. This increase in his land ownership isexplained by a Surry County deed (Book T, p.63) dated November 29, 1825.On that date, "William Z. Sparks" purchased from William Jenkins a tractof 91 acres "on the waters of Fall Creek" adjoining his own land. (Thewitnesses to this deed were Richard H. Parks and Richard Guinn, both ofwhom were near neighbors of William Z. Sparks.) In fact, this same tracthad been noted in the deed by which William had purchased his originaltract from Nathaniel Morrison; Morrison had stated in that deed that hehad sold the north portion of his farm in 1815 to William Jenkins and thesouth portion to William Sparks. Sparks now (1825) paid Jenkins $150 forthese 91 acres adjoining his own land, giving him a farm that wasdescribed in subsequent tax records as comprising total acreage varyingas follows: 193, 194, 195, and 197. In 1838, 1840, and 1841, it wassimply called 200 acres.

"While the deed of 1825 clearly identified Sparks as "William Z. Sparks,"in the body of the document he was called simply "William Sparks."

"When the 1830 census of Surry County was taken, William Z. Sparks waslisted as heading a household very near that of George Sparks. In theenumeration of his family, he, himself, was shown as between 40 and 50years of age (thus born be tween 1780 and 1790). A female, doubtless hiswife, was enumerated as between 30 and 40 (thus born between 1790 and1800). There were seven children in their household enumerated asfollows: (Note that their ages would be in agreement with the marnagerecord noted earlier for William Sparks and Elizabeth Gentry in 1813.)

2 males between 10 and 15 [thus born 1815 -1820]
1 male between 5 and 10 [thus born 1820 -1825]
1 male under 5 thus born between [1825 -1830]
1 female between 15 and 20 [born 1810 -1815]
1 female between 10 and 15 [born 1815 -1820]
1 female between 5 and 10 [born 1820-1825]

"Because census takers proceeded from one house to the next in gatheringtheir information, their records reveal who were near neighbors to oneanother. The names on each side of William Z. Sparks on the 1830 censusmay prove useful in further research. They were as follows:

Thomas Pettyjohn, William Cheek, Hannah Brewer, Charles Johnson,Charles Johnson, Jr., James
Jeffrey, Obediah Collins, David Woodruff, Henry Cook, George Sparks,Charles Ray, Charles
Russel, William Casey, William Z. Sparks, James Morrison, RobertsHowel, Benjamin Rose, Robert Perdew, Elizabeth Parks, John Rose,Reuben Johnson, Micajah Becknal, Robert Burchett, ReubenUnderwood, Richard Guynn, Thomas D. Kelly, James Harris, Richard Parks.

"When the 1840 census of Surry County was taken, William Z. Sparks'shousehold was enumerated as follows:

1 male (himself) age 40 to 50 (thus born 1790-1800)
1 male age 15-20 (thus born 1820-1825)
1 male age 10-15 (thus born 1825-1830)
1 male age 5-10 (thus born 1830-1835)
1 female (doubtless his wife) age 40 to 50 (thus born 1790-1800)
1 female age 15-20 (thus born 1820-1825)

"With the enumerations from these two census records for the family ofWilliam Z. Sparks, plus that of 1850 that will be mentioned later, we canspeculate that he was the father of seven children:
(Here lists children for which see their individual sheets.)

(The article continues:)

"William Z. Sparks apparently suffered some financial reverses in thelate 1830s. On March 12, 1838 (according to Surry County Deed Book X,p.62), he was forced to mortgage his farm (described as containing 195acres) on which he lived--also included in the mortgage was his livestock("one roan mare, three head of cattle, nine head of hogs, eight head ofsheep") as well as his furniture, a still, and tubs. The mortgage was tobe held by William C. De Journett and was to cover a note for $110.32 toH. S. Hampton dated October 24, 1837. In this mortgage, which William Z.Sparks signed by mark, his farm was described as adjoining land owned byJames Morrison and Benedict Castevens. Witnesses were Wm. C. De Journettand H. S. Morrison.

"Apparently William Z. Sparks was able to pay off this mortgage, but onFebruary 12, 1841, he again had to mortgage his farm (Surry County DeedBook Y, pp. 374-5) for a variety of debts (a total of $142.78 3/4) owedto Benedict Castephus, T. W. Cowles, Josiah Cowles, and to a partnershipknown as Cowles & Wilcox. Thomas Sparks, who was probably a son ofWilliam Z. Sparks, was identified as a joint-debtor with him for one ofthe notes. William Z. Sparks's debt to Alfred Deniette was shared withAxim Holloman.

"The financial situation of William Z. Sparks apparently worsened, and onSeptember 25, 1841, according to Surry County Deed Book 1, p.363) he wasforced to mortgage his still plus all the brandy that he would be able tomake from his fruit trees during the following fall and winter. In thisinstance, his creditors were identified as Isaac Austil, T. W. Carter,and Josiah Cowles. In connection with one of these debts, Thomas Sparks(doubtless his son) was again named as joint-debtor.

"The 1850 census was the first federal census to list by name all membersof each household, along with their ages, occupations (if males over 16),and places of birth. The household of William Z. Sparks appeared asfollows in Surry County in 1850:

Name AgeOccupation Real Estate Birth
William Z. Sparks 58 Farmer $150 NC
Mary Sparks 37 NC
James Sparks 21 Farmer NC
Uriah Benge 10 NC

"From this listing, it appears that the first wife of William Z. Sparkshad died be tween 1840 and 1850, and that he had remarried, his secondwife's name being Mary. The 21-year-old James Sparks living with WilliamZ. Sparks was doubtless his youngest son, born about 1829.

"The presence of the 10-year-old Uriah Benge in this family provides animportant clue. There is a marriage bond in Surry County dated September5, 1844, for William Sparks and Mary Benge, with George Sparks asbondsman and James E. Hough as witness. We may be quite sure that MaryBenge was a widow with a small son named Uriah at the time she wasmarried to William Z. Sparks. We know that a Benge family lived near theSparkses in the Jonesville area.

"William Z. Sparks died in December 1858. He did not leave a will. InApril 1859 his widow, Mary, requested the County Court to appoint ajustice of the peace and three freeholders (i. e., landowners) "to viewthe personal estate of her said deceased husband and out of the crop,stock & provisions on hand to allow & set apart to your petitioner asufficient support for herself & family for one year..." The documentspertaining to William Z. Sparks's estate are very limited in number. Inthese documents, summarized below, only the name "William Sparks"appears, without any middle initial.

"The Court complied with the widow's request, and a justice of the peacenamed Moses Gross, along with S. S. Arnold, Stephen Evans, and HenryMarshel, were appointed to prepare an inventory of the estate left byWilliam Z. Sparks, with in structions to determine what should be "setapart" for his widow.

"William Z. Sparks obviously had few worldly goods when he died. In fact,when these four men completed their inventory, they noted: "The widow isvery poor in deed; we charge no pay." (Men appointed to perform this taskby the Court were entitled to payment for their time from the estate.) Inthe end, they "set apart" the following items for Mary Sparks:

two beds and furniture
one Small Cupboard and two Chests and one Table
one Lot of Gear and farming tools one Sythe and Cradle
also the present Crop of growing wheat
also one spotted Sow and five Shoats
also Sevinty [sic] Dollars in Cash if to be found.

"When the 1860 census was taken of Yadkin County, which had been "cutoff" from Surry County a decade
earlier, Mary Sparks, 44 years old, was listed as heading a household.Living with her was Uriah Benge, now age 21. A man named Robert Freeman(age 21), called a "Farm Laborer," was also living with Mary Sparks in1860, with his wife, Bethilda (age 17), and their six-month-old son,George W. Freeman.

"We believe that James Sparks, the youngest son of William Z. Sparks byhis first wife, was the same James Sparks who was married to MeliciaHarris in Yadkin County in 1855. Their marriage bond was dated February1, 1855, with B. B. Benham as bondsman. This marriage bond also containsthe record that James Sparks and Melicia Harris were married on February8, 1855, by S. D. Swaim, Minister of the Gospel.

'Melicia Harris' full name seems to have been Mary Melicia Harris, forher name on the 1860 census of Yadkin County appears as "Mary M. Sparks."James Sparks and his household were shown on the 1860 census with theirpost office as Jonesville. This record is as follows:

Name AgeOccupation Birth
James Sparks 30Farm Tenant NC
Mary M. Sparks 29 NC
Elizabeth E. Sparks 5 NC
Thos. Sparks 3 NC
William Sparks 1 NC

'Mary Sparks, widow of William Z. Sparks, did not appear on the 1870census of Yadkin County, North Carolina, nor did James Sparks and hishousehold.

"[Editor's Note: We hope that a descendant of William Z. Sparks may readthis attempt to sketch his life here and share with us furtherinformation about him and his descendants.

*************

***************

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3697: They had three children: Jeanette, Joe and Dale. H ewas a carpenter and also a minister for the Pentecostal Church. H e diedin 1986.

SQ pg 3421: Willis Lanford Sparks was born on March 13, 1885, inElliott County. He died on September 18, 1975. According to hisobituary, he was a school teacher when he opened and operated a theaterof silent movies in Olive Hill. He was also a construction contractor,an oil well driller, and a farmer. He was a member of the Grundy MasonicLodge in Elliott County.

Willis Sparks was married twice. His first wife was Ella Boggs towhom he was married about 1910. They had four children. Ella died in1927, and Willis married (2nd) Grayce Brinegar, probably about 1938. Shewas born on June 3, 1903, and was a daughter of Lillie (Way ) Brinegar.Grayce died on August 28, 1981. She and Willis had two children.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3421: They have four children: Rhonda, Timothy, Theresa, a ndChristopher Sparks.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1982, Whole No. 119 pg 2446:

"Willoughby Sparks, son of Absalom and Lydia (Ellsberry) Sparks, wasborn about 1802 in Georgia. He married Mary ("Polly") Harrell, probablyabout 1825 in Arkansas. She was born about 1809 in Illinois. In 1821,Willoughby joined his father and brothers in presenting a petition to thePresident and Congress asking for their help in keeping possession oftheir land in the Arkansas Territory. When the 1830 census was taken, hewas in Pope County, Arkansas, with his wife and three children.

"On November 5, 1832, Willoughby Sparks and his wife, Polly Sparks ,late Polly Harrell, of Hot Springs County, Arkansas, sold 320 acres ofland which formerly belonged to Polly Harrell. The buyer was EliasRector of Pulaski County, Arkansas. Willoughby Sparks paid taxes in HotSprings County in 1834, and in Sevier County, Arkansas, in 1837 and 1838;however, when the 1840 census was taken, he and Polly were back in HotSprings County with their seven children.

"Willoughby Sparks apparently moved to Tennessee about 1841 where twoof his children were born, but by January 1847, he was in Texas where hesettled in Limestone County. It was there, on September 15, 1849, thathe sold his share of the estate of his sister, Edy Sparks, for one dollarand other considerations. He was listed there on the 1850 census.

"Falls County, Texas, was formed in 1850 from a part of LimestoneCounty and Milam County, and Willoughby Sparks became a resident of thenewly formed county. There, according to the school census of 1855, hewas the guardian of three school children, John Nelson, WilloughbyNelson, and Manerva Jane Nelson, all probably his grandchildren. Heprobably died about 1860 . He and Polly apparently had ten children.

1. Levi Sparks was born about 1825 in Arkansas.
2. An unnamed daughter was born between 1825 and 1830.
3. An unnamed daughter was born between 1825 and 1830. She mayhave married a man named Nelson by whom she had three children for whomWilloughby Sparks was serving as guardian in 1855. (See above)
4. William Sparks wqas born about 1832 in Arkansas. He married M.A. ---, and they had two children when the 1860 census was taken ofFalls County, Texas.
5. An unnamed daughter was born between 1830 and 1835.
6. Tillman Sparks was born about 1836 in Arkansas. He marriedAley (or Alcey) Peaveyhouse in Falls County, Texas, in 1861, and they had at least four children.
7. Clarinda Sparks was probably born about 1840 in Tennessee. Shemarried James D. Erskine in 1858 in Falls County, Texas.
8. Nancy C. Sparks was born about 1842 in Tennessee.
9. Bailey M. Sparks was born about 1847 in Texas. He marriedMandy ---.
10. John Sparks was born about 1848 in Texas. He married RebeccaBrown on December 29, 1870, in Falls County, Texas."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1989, Whole No. 147, pps 3463-3472:

"Willoughby Sparks was born about 1802 in Clarke County, Georgia , andwas a son of Absalom and Lydia (Elsberry) Sparks and a grandson ofMatthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks. Absalom Sparks was in Clarke Countyin 1802 when he gave an affidavit to the Clarke County Court pertainingto the losses he and his mother, Sarah Sparks, had suffered from theuprisings of the Creek Indians in 1793-94.

"Willoughby Sparks accompanied his parents to the Illinois Territoryabout 1807, and it was there that he grew to manhood. He also went withhis parents to the Territory of Arkansas when it was opened up forsettlement in 1819, and it was probably there that he married Mary"Polly" Harrell about 1825. She was born about 1810 in IllinoisTerritory.

"Willoughby joined his father, Absalom Sparks, and his brothersElsberry Sparks, William Sparks, and Matthew Sparks, in Miller County ,Arkansas, in 1825 in presenting a petition to the President and to theU.S. Congress asking for help in keeping possession of their land inLovely County, Arkansas Territory, which lay just north of Miller Countyand which later became a part of Oklahoma Territory. The federalgovernment, in a treaty, had ceded the land to the Choctaw Indians thatincluded the farms belonging to the Sparks families. Willoughby was inCrawford County, Arkansas, in 1829, but by 1830 he was living in PopeCounty. It was there, on October 17, 1830, that he was given replacementland by the federal government. On the 1830 census, he and his wife wereshown has having three children, a son and two daughters.

"On November 5, 1832, Willoughby and his wife, Polly, of Hot SpringsCounty, Arkansas, sold 320 acres of land to Elias Rector of PulaskiCounty, Arkansas. In this deed, Willoughby's wife was referred to as"Polly Sparks nee Harrell." Willoughby paid taxes in Hot Springs Countyin 1834, but by 1837, he was in Sevier County, Arkansas, where he paidtaxes in 1837 and 1838. By 1840, he was back in Hot Springs County, andthen on the 1840 census, he and Polly were listed there with sevenchildren. The following year, he moved over into Tennessee where fourmore children were born. In all probability, he moved to Carroll County,Tennessee, to be near his uncle Isaac Sparks, al though he also had anuncle, Nathan Sparks, in Wilson County, Tennessee, and and uncle, JesseSparks, in Hickman County, Tennessee.

"Willoughby did not remain very long in Tennessee, and by 1845, he wasin Robertson County, Texas, where he paid taxes that year. His move toRobertson County may have been prompted by the fact that he had a brotherand four sisters already there. His uncle, William Sparks, was alsothere, along with several cousins who had participated in theTexas-Mexican War in 1835-36; they had been granted land for theirservices.

"Edy Sparks, sister of Willoughby, died shortly after he moved toTexas, and, since she apparently had never married nor had any children,her estate (consisting of a rather large tract of land) was divided byher brothers and sisters. On September 8, 1849, Willoughby sold hisshare of the estate for one dollar and "other considerations. " He alsoapparently traveled to Scott County, Arkansas, to obtain the releases ofEdy's estate from his brother, Elsberry, and also from Elsberry's son,Willis Sparks. The releases were signed on November 27 1851, but by 1853Willoughby was in Falls County, Texas, where, on March 5th, he witnessedthe release of his sister, Lydia (Sparks ) Boatright, to her share ofEdy's estate.

"The family of Willoughby Sparks was listed on the 1850 census ofLimestone County Texas; however it was in that portion of the county thatbecame a part of Falls County that same year. In August 1850, Willoughbywas one of the petitioners who asked for a voice in locating the newcounty seat. The following year, he served as a juror for the FallsCounty Commissioners Court, and at the December 8th session of the courthe was appointed to "review" the road from Springfield, Texas, to Marlin,Texas.

"Sometime in 1852, Willoughby and Polly Sparks were in Parker County,Texas, where their last child, Rachel, was born on April 7th, but by thespring of the following year they were back in Falls County whereWilloughby witnessed the release of his sister Lydia for her share ofEdy's estate (see above).

"Willoughby was also active in buying and selling land in Falls Countyduring the 1850s; he was a party to at least five transactions. Hebought (and sold) land in July 1854, August 1854, August 1855 , December1857, and March 1858. Among the persons involved in these sales andpurchases were: David Clark and John A. Goudy of Big Creek; James Burtonand John H. Walker of the Pin Oak Branch of Brushy Creek; Samuel D.Barclay, James Cook, James Long, and Isaac Cook of Rocky Creek; and D. F.Garrett.

"When a special school census (called "The Texas Scholastic of 1854-1855") was taken, Willoughby Sparks was in Limestone County. School-agechildren in his household included his own children: Clarinda, Nancy,Bailey, and John, and also three other children with the surname ofNelson: John, Willoughby, and Minerva. The latter three children wereprobably his grandchildren.

"By 1959, Willoughby Sparks was back in Parker County; however, he didnot appear on any 1860 census of Texas counties. He may have been missedby the census- taker because he was making one of his frequent movesbetween Parker County and Falls County. These moves were the result ofthe frequent Indian uprisings during the period 1849-1865, and Willoughbywas following a pattern adopted by the pioneer sett lers in this area ofTexas. Simply stated, these families would settle along the Brazos Riverin the general area of Parker, Palo Pinto , and Jack Counties.Periodically, the Indians would "go on a rampage," and the settlers wouldreturn to the relative safety of Falls and Limestone Counties until orderwas restored, after which they would return to their former homes.

"Willoughby Sparks apparently died between March 1858 (when heparticipated in his last land transaction) and 1862 (when his wife, Mary, apparently received a tax exemption in Parker County, probably becauseof her widowhood.) Mary may have died the following year. She wasburied in an unmarked grave in the Hills Cemetery in Parker County .Some relatives believe that Willoughby was also buried there.

"(A great many years ago, two great-grandchildren of Willoughby andPolly (Harrell) Sparks, Frank Sparks and Segonia (Sparks) Pritchett ,found Mary's (Polly's) grave in Hills Cemetery. It had a headstonemarker then which read "Polly Sparks, 1813." When they revisited thecemetery the following year for the purpose of replacing the marker,someone had removed it.)

"For a photograph of Willoughby and Polly Sparks, see SQ pg 3465.

"They had an unidentified daughter between 1825 and 1835 and anotherbetween 1830 and 1835. She may have been named Minerva. She may alsohave married S. Nelson and perhaps she was the mother of the threechildren who were living in the household of Willoughby Sparks when aspecial school census was taken in 1855. The names of these childrenwere: John Nelson, Willoughby Nelson, and Minerva Jane Nelson . They hadanother unidentified daughter born between 1830 and 1835."

SQ 5619-20:

"Wimoth J. Sparks was born on April 10, 1828, and was, without doubt, adaughter of Bailey and
Martha (Noland) Sparks. She was enumerated on the 1830 census as under 5years of age. She was
married in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, on January 27, 1848, to WilliamGentry. As in the marriages
there for Susan A . Sparks and Martha Sparks, Wilmoth and William weremarried by a justice of the
peace named William M. Pollan , as recorded in Marriage Book A.

Wilmoth J. Sparks was doubtless named for Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks, wifeof Bailey's brother, Isaac
Sparks. Isaac and Wilmoth also named a daughter Wilmoth, but she wasgiven the middle initial "P. "
(See page 5630 of the present issue of the QUARTERLY for furtherinformation regarding Wilmoth P.
Sparks.

Much of the information that we have regarding Wilmoth J. Sparks came tous in 1983 from Margie
Bates Nelson (Mrs. J. H.), of Kingwood, Texas, a great-greatgranddaughter of Wilmoth. From Mrs.
Nelson, we learned that Wilmoth's middle initial, "J.," was for Jane,and that family records reveal
that she had been born on April 10, 1828, in Tennessee. Wilmoth died onMay 17, 1896, in
Limestone County, Texas, and was buried in the Hyden Cemetery nearLimestone. The source for
Wilmoth's birth and death dates were copied by Mrs. Nelson from hergravestone .

William and Wilmoth Jane (Sparks) Gentry moved from Yalobusha County,Mississippi, to Choctaw
County. Mississippi, shortly after their marriage. Apparently it was inChoctaw County that their only
child, Sarah Ann Gentry, was born on December 1, 1849, and it was therethat her father died either
shortly before or soon after Sarah Ann's birth. William Gentry wasrecorded on Mississippi's
Mortality Schedule for 1850 as having died in Choctaw County at the ageof 26, and that he had
been born in Alabama. It was as part of the 1850 federal census that amortality schedule was used
to record the deaths in each county during what was called the "censusyear," i.e., deaths between
June 1, 1849, and May 31, 1850.

Wilmoth (Sparks) Gentry has not been found on the 1850 census of ChoctawCounty, nor on any
other 1850 eensus, but we next find her in Limestone County, Texas ,where she must have gone
with her infant daughter shortly after her husband's death . It wouldseem probable that a relative
assisted her in this move. It was not long after William Gentry's deaththat his widow was married,
second, to a widower with three small children named Alexander Hyden. Wecan imagine that
Hyden needed a wife to care for his motherless children, while Wilmoth, ayoung widow , had need
for a provider and protector. Marriages of convenience were often inthat day a solution to such
problems. Mrs. Nelson copied for us an account of this marriage writtenby a man named Hampton
Steele who recalled that he had gone to school with Hyden's children.His account was published in
A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson,Limestone, Freestone,
and Leon Counties [Texas] published in 1893, as follows:

Alexander Hyden came to the county [of Limestone] about the latter partof 1846. When he came here he
stopped and lived in a cedar log house that William Anglin built, about amile north of Groesbeck. He was a widower and he had three children, aboy and two girls. They were James and Jemima and Lydia. We used to go toschool together. I think he lived there three or four years before hemoved down in the timber below Groesbeck. He was elected CountyCommissioner in 1852 and again in 1854 and again in 1856 and again in1858. About the year 1850, he married the widow Gentry. They had fivechildren, 3 boys and 2 girls. There are now [1893] just two of themliving, Bailey Hyden and Jake Hughes' wife. After Alexander Hyden camehere, he helped Anton Sharp build a gin, the second gin built in thiscounty; hewed out all the timber for the gin and Bailey says he has thatold broadaxe yet. . . "

Mrs . Nelson provided us with a list of the children of Wilmoth JaneSparks by her two husbands , the first, Sarah Ann, by William Gentry, andthe other five by her second husband, Alexander Hyden. They were:" [JSNote: See their individual sheets.]

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, p.5630.

SQ 1984: "Wilson Sparks, son of Cornelius and Susannah (Stevens)Sparks, was born in Berrien County, Michigan, on April 19, 1830. He wasthe second white child born in the county. He died on June 23, 1922. Hewas married in Berrien County on June 5, 1864, to Mary Gray -- both wereidentified as residents of Oronoko, Michigan, in the marriage record.She died on June 14, 1920. In a HISTORY OF BARRIEN COUNTY, written byJudge Orville B. Collidge published in 1908, Wilson Sparks was describedas having 'a vivid recollection of Indians who came to his parents' houseto trade berrys for something to eat . Their papooses were tied to aflat stick. He states that the lot now occupied by the Dean Drug Storewas once offered to his father for fifteen dollars.' A clippingcontaining his obituary has been furnished by Miss Helen Sparks and readsas follows:
'Wilson Sparks, 92 years of age, and one of the first, if not thefirst, white children born in Barrien County, died at his home hereFriday night , June 23 [1922]. He had been unusually active for one ofhis age until last January when he suffered a broken hip in a fall whichconfined him to his home and caused a gradual decline. Mr. Sparks'parents came to Michigan in 1828, settling near Niles where he was bornApril 19, 1830. With the exception of two years, his entire life wasspent in Berrien County. In 1864 he was married to Mary Gray who passedaway two years ago, since when he has made his home with his nieces, Mrs.Nellie Park and Mrs. Fannie Miller, in this village, coming here fromBenton Harbor where he resided for 30 years. He is also survived by oneson, Ralph, in Alaska, whose two daughters reside in the state ofWashington; also C. R. Sparks and Miss Nina Sparks of this villiage[BerrienSprings], grandnephew and grandniece of the deceased. Mr. Sparkswas the last of eleven children, five of whom lived to celebrate theirgolden wedding anniversaries. Funeral service was held Sunday afternoonconducted by Rev. J. M. Jenkins. Interment in Rosehill cemetary.' Censusrecords indicate that Wilson and Mary (Gray) Sparks had the followingchildren (1) Inez Sparks, born about 1865; (2) Ralph Sparks, born about1867; (3) Fred Sparks, born after1870."

See SQ p. 2927:

"Wilson W. Sparks, son of David and Sarah Ann Sparks, was born about1841. He served in Company K, 208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantryduring the Civil War. (See the June 1977 issue of the QUARTERLY for anabstract of his pension file [which is reproduced below].) On February 7,1866, he married Mary C. Williams in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Shewas born about 1842.

"Wilson W. Sparks was one of the original incorporators of the CrystalSpring Camp Meeting Association, an early Methodist Church Camp,established in 1886. He also served as a trustee of the organizationuntil his death. The camp is located just east of the Bedford Countyline in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, about four miles south ofBreezewood. The Association celebrated its centennial in August 1986.

"Wilson W. and Mary C. (Williams) Sparks had at least two children,Bertha W. Sparks, born ca.1867, and Ross A. Sparks, born ca.1875. Wilsondied on November 16, 1898, and Mary died on August 17, 1932. He left hisestate to his wife, Mary C. Sparks, and to his son, Ross A. Sparks, andhis daughter, Bertha W. Sparks who had married ----- Harter.

***************
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for June, 1977, Whole No. 98, pp.1914-15 for thefollowing:

UNION SOLDIERS NAMED SPARKS WHO APPLIED, OR WHOSE HEIRS APPLIED, FORPENSIONS FOR SERVICE IN THE CIVIL WAR:

WILSON W. SPARKS, son of David and Sarah ( ----- ) Sparks, was bornabout 1841 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He died on Nov. 16, 1898.He was married to Mary C. Williams on Feb. 7, 1866. He served inCo. K, 208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. File Designations: Inv.Cert. No. 447,628; Wid. Cert. No. 478,616.

"Wilson W. Sparks, age 47, a resident of Everett, Pennsylvania,appeared before the clerk of the Common Pleas Court of Bedford County,Penna., on Dec. 20, 1888, and made an application for an invalidpension. He stated that he had enrolled as a 2nd Lieutenant on Sept. 12,1864, in Co. K, 208th Regt. Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, commandedby Adam Weaverling, and was discharged on June 1, 1865, at Alexandria,Virginia. While commanding his company at Petersburg, Va., on April 2,1865, he received an injury to his back and spine from a shell, thrown bythe enemy, which burst under him. He said that he was thrown severalfeet and was unconscious for about an hour. Because of his injury, hewas now greatly disabled and unable to perform his job as a farmer.

"During the month of February 1889, three of Sparks's former comrades:Joseph Avey, age 67, and Joseph S. Bussard, age 50, both residents ofEverett, Penna., and William Davis, age 45, a resident of Graceville,Penna., made affidavits to support Sparks's application. They statedthat Sparks was in charge of their company in front of Petersburg, Va.,and on April 2, 1865, he was standing on a platform when a shell, thrownby the enemy, exploded and injured him. They said that Sparks did notstay in the hospital after treatment, but continued to perform hismilitary duties until the company was discharged. All of the men saidthat they had continued to see Sparks after his discharge and that he waslaid up and unable to perform his work as a farmer. G. W. Richey andJames Sparks witnessed the affidavits.

"On March 1, 1889, Sparks made an affidavit to support hisapplication. He said that on April 2, 1865, they had engaged in a battlewith the enemy in front of Petersburg and had captured a small fort. Hewas inside the fort, standing on a platform, and was urging his men to dotheir duty and trying to encourage them when the enemy threw a shellwhich exploded under the platform. The explosion threw him about ten ortwelve feet and rendered him unconscious. When he came to, he was unableto walk and he was examined by the Field Surgeon who ordered him to betaken back to camp. He was able to rejoin his company the next day, butcontinued to suffer, more or less, all the time until he was discharged.When he returned home he was treated by Dr. James Henry until about 1867when he went to Dr. E. J. Miller who had continued to treat him for theinjury until the present. G. W. Richey witnessed the affidavit.

"The following day (March 2nd) Dr. E. J. Miller, age 52, a resident ofEverett, made a supporting affidavit to Sparks's application. He said hehad treated Sparks for an old back injury in 1867 which had graduallygrown worse until he was now what could be classified as a confirmedinvalid. At first, Sparks was able to perform about a half day's work ateasy labor by conforming to a most rigid discipline and with the help offavorable weather, but if he over-exerted himself, he suffered from aparalysis of his lower extremities. At the present time, he was entirelydisabled and confined to his bed most of the time. His back muscles werenow atrophying and he was suffering from curvature of the spine all ofwhich in his (the doctor's) opinion was a direct result of the earlierback injury.

"On March 2, 1889, the War Department confimred Spaxks's militaryservice. He was mustered in at Bloody Run, Penna., as a 2nd Lieutenantin Co. K, 208th Regt. of Pennsylvania Volunteers on Sept. 12, 1864, toserve for one year. He was present for duty until May 20, 1865, when hewas recorded as "present-sick." He was "absent- sick" from May 27 to the29th, 1865, in the Regimental Hospital and then was recorded"present-sick" on May 30 and 31. He. was mustered out with his companyon June 1, 1865. The regiment was in action on April 2, 1865, atPetersburg, Virginia.

"Sparks was issuedInvalid Certificate No. 447,628 and he was placed onthe pension rolls. He died on November 16, 1898.

"On December 29, 1898, Mary C. Sparks, age 55, widow of Wilson W.Sparks, made an application for a widow's pension. She said she had beenmarried to Sparks under her maiden name of Mary C. Williams on Feb. 7,1866, by the Rev. J. W. Leckie at Rainsburg, Penna. It was the firstmarriage for both of them. She said they had no children under the ageof sixteen years. J. H. Appel and J. M. Stailey witnessed herapplication.

"Mary C. Sparks was issued Widow's Certificate No. 478,616 and she wasplaced on the pension rolls. On February 13, 1929, her pension wasincreased from $40.00 per month to $50.00 per month by a special Act ofCongress. She died on August 17, 1932.

(Editor's Note: Wilson W. Sparks was a son of David and Sarah Sparks whoappeared on the 1850 census of Bedford County, Penna., in West ProvidenceTownship. David Sparks (born about 1809, died 1869) was a son of Jamesand Nancy (Rogers) Sparks, and a grandson of Joseph Sparks, Sr. (born ca.1730, died 1809) and his wife, Mary (McDaniel) Sparks, natives ofFrederick County, Maryland. For further details on these families, seethe September 1961 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 35, page 587).

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3404: They had one child, Peggy Ann Sparks.

SQ 2783: "Zora E