SQ p. 4645:

"Walter 0. Sparks, son of Garrett and Betsy (Boggs) Sparks, was bornabout 1840. On October 10, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, 14th RegimentKentucky Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army at Catlettsburg, Kentucky,to serve for three years. He was given a Disability DischargeCertificate on April 12, 1863, at Louisa, Kentucky, because of "lungfever" which had destroyed his left lung. At the time of his discharge,he was 21 years old. He held the rank of sergeant; he was 6 feet, 2inches tall; he had blue eyes, light colored hair, and a fair complexion;and he was a farmer by occupation. His home address was Blaine,Kentucky. The certificate was signed by Captain James H. Davidson, C.O.of Company B; S. D. Richards, Assistant Regimental Surgeon, and Col.George Gallup, Regimental Commander."

"Walter Sparks's discharge from the army is the last record we havefound of him. Relatives say that he died shortly after reaching hishome. He was never married."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pps 4470-71: Walter Scott Sparks was born on January 21, 1874 , inLampasas County and was a fair-sized lad when his parents move d to thegeneral area where the present-day states of Nevada, Utah, a nd Idahomeet. It was probably in this area that he grew to maturity . He wasnot quite eighteen years old when his father died, but he t ook over themanagement of the ranch. The 1901 Idaho Gazetteer liste d him with 1,865 acres of land valued at $8,770. His post office wa s American Falls,Idaho.
Walter Scott Sparks was married twice. His first marriage was t oFreda Herrera about 1899. She died on September 4, 1914. After he rdeath, he was married (2nd) to Mrs. Zulema "Zula" Clark, a widow . Hedied on April 23, 1931, at American Falls, Idaho. He had fou r children,all by his first marriage.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had two children, Conan and Helen.

See SQ pp. 4049-50:

"Walter Winfield Sparks was born on December 22, 1853. He was thesecond of the twelve children of Edwin and Priscilla (Spurgeon) Sparks....The parents of Edwin Sparks were Levi and Zulima Craig (Moore) Sparksof Adams County, Ohio, and Dubuque County, Iowa. The parents of LeviSparks were Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas) Sparks, also of AdamsCounty. Ohio. Levi's [JS Correction: Solomon's] parents were George andMary Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania. For further details ofthis branch of the family , see the June and September 1963 issues of theQUARTERLY, Whole No.s 42 and 43 respectively; also the issue for March1971, Whole No. 73, and that for March 1984, Whole No. 125.

"The place of birth of Walter Winfield Sparks was near Dubuque, Iowa.He left Iowa in 1873 and went to Clark County, Washington, where he livedfor a short time with his uncle, Matthias Spurgeon. He taught schoolwhile he studied law, and he bacame an attorney in 1891. According to ACENTENNIAL SALUTE TO CLARK COUNTY, he was married three times. His firstmarriage was to Emma Jane Goddard on August 15, 1877. She had been bornin February 1858 and was a daughter of Joseph and Hester Ann (Hendricks)Goddard. She died on June 19, 1878.

"The second marriage of Walter Winfield Sparks was to Mary Elizabeth(Poe) Spurgeon on June 6, 1883. She had been born on May 2, 1855, andwas the widow of Henry Spurgeon by whom she had had two children, MarthaMatilda Spurgeon and George Henry Spurgeon. Mary Elizabeth was a memberof the Christian Church. She and Walter had one child, Ernest RaySparks, born April 4, 1886. She died on January 22, 1925, at Vancouverand was buried in the Old City Cemetery there.

"The third marriage of Walter Winfield Sparks was to Metta (Durgan)McCafferty on February 10, 1927. She had been born on February 7, 1878,and was a daughter of Simeon and Georgianne (Nye) Durgan. Walter becameinterested in genealogy during his later years and traveled across theUnited States several times searching for his family's records. He diedon February 12, 1937, and was buried beside his second wife, Mary, in theOld City Cemetery in Vancouver.

"Ernest Ray Sparks, only child of Walter Winfield Sparks was born onApril 4, 1886, at Vancouver. (His mother, Mary Elizabeth, was the secondwife of Walter Winfield Sparks.) Ernest Ray became a veterinariansurgeon. On August 18, 1909, he was married to Agnes M. Whetsell. Shehad been born on April 17, 1881, at Vancouver and was a daughter ofGeorge Henry and Mary Elizabeth (McCollum) Whitsell. She was a teacher.She and Ernest moved to Pomona, California, in 1920. There, Ernestengaged in veterinary practice until his retirement in 1948. Agnes diedat Pomona on April 21, 1941, as the result of an automobile accident.Ernest died at Upland, California, on March 28, 1949. They had onechild, Ernest Whetsell Sparks (Colonel, USMCR Retired), a long-timesustaining member of our Association.

"In reviewing the photostats of Judge Sparks's research on thedescendants of Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas) Sparks, we have thoughtthat it would be of interest to our readers to provide a listing of theirchildren and grandchildren. In preparing this list, we have used manyrecords besides those of Judge Sparks which have come to light since heprepared his twenty-five charts.

"Judge Sparks began his record with the Solomon Sparks who was born onNovember 15, 1767, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2002, Whole No. 198, p. 5695:

Whitfield M. Sparks was identified in Allen Sparks's will as his youngestson; he was born on April 23, 1842, and died on September 5, 1914. He wasburied in the Bear Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Mitchell County,North Carolina. He was married to Elizabeth Buchanan who died in 1918 atthe age of 76. Whitfield served, first, as a conscript in the ConfederateArmy, later, as a volunteer in the Union Army. His pension applicationfor the latter service, along with his application for reimbursement fora horse that he claimed to have turned over to a Union officer with thepromise of a voucher delivered, has been abstracted and may be foundbeginning on page 5699 and following of the present issue of theQUARTERLY.

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

SQ pp. 5699-5705:

WHITFIELD M. SPARKS, CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION

WHITFIELD M. SPARKS, son of Allen Sparks, was born in Yancey County,North Carolina, on April 29, 1842; he died in Mitchell County, NorthCarolina, on September 5, 1914. He was married to Elizabeth Buchanan onNovember 20, 1859. He served in Company C, 13th Regiment TennesseeCavalry. File Designations: Inv.Cert. No 291,362; Wid.Cert. No. 788,652.

[Editor's Note See page 5695 of the present issue of the QUARTERLY forfurther information regarding Whitfield M. Sparks; in earlier pages wegave a record of his Sparks ancestry. To better interpret the abstract ofthe pension file of Whitfield, we begin with noting documents from hisearlier application for compensation for his loss of a horse that he hadrelinquished to a U.S. Army officer, with an unfulfilled promise of avoucher from the Federal Government.

[Following the end of the Civil War, a goodly number of individuals whohad lived in the South during the conflict claimed that they had actuallybeen loyal to the Union, often stating that as a result they not only hadsuffered insults and prejudice from their Confederate neighbors, some hadbeen conscripted into serving in the Confederate Army and had even lostproperty taken by the U.S. Army for which they now sought reimbursementfrom the U.S. Congress. Hearing their appeals,

Congress responded on March 3, 1871, by creating a Commission of Claimsto determine the validity of these appeals and to recommend a faircompensation.

[Under this Act of Congress, not only was a claimant required to provethat he had actually lost the property he claimed, but also that he had,indeed, been loyal to the Union before and during the Civil War. A filenumber was assigned to each applicant's claim, and these applications andsupporting documents are preserved at the National Archives. Among theapplicants was Whitfield M. Sparks of Mitchell County, North Carolina, towhose claim the number 16,305 was assigned.

[Before submitting a claim for the loss of a horse, Whitfield M. Sparkshad engaged the services of a law firm in Bakersville, North Carolina,called Rollins & Nichols to assist him in presenting his case to theCommissioners of Claims.

[Sparks's loss was "one first class cavalry horse ... valued at $140 thathad been taken from him, for the use by the Army of the United States forwhich payment is claimed." This had occurred on September 15, 1863, atStrawberry Plain, Tennessee. (This date was altered later in Sparks'sappeal.) To prove his loyalty, Sparks identified four individuals, all ofBakersville, who could testify on his behalf: George W. Emmert, James M.Sparks, George Sparks, and Starlin Buckhamm. For persons who couldtestify that the horse had been taken, he named Stephen Collins, WilliamPitman, and Robin Pitman, likewise living in or near Bakersville. As inall other instances that we have seen pertaining to Whitfield M. Sparks,he signed this document by making his mark, witnessed by his twoattorneys.

[The above information, doubtless prepared for Whitfield by hisattorneys, was incorporated in a statement signed by G. M. M.cDowell, whoidentified himself as the "Special Commissioner of the Commissioners ofClaims & Notary Public for North Carolina." Dated July 9, 1873, thisstatement begins:

It is hereby certified, that on the 3 & 5th day of June 1873, atBakersville, in the county of Mitchell and State of North Carolina,personally came before me the following persons, viz: Whitfield M.Sparks, Claimant; Rollins & Nichols, Council, or Attorney; and OliverBurleson, C. C. McKinney & William Blalock, Claimant's Witnesses, for thepurpose of a hearing in the above entitled Cause... the testimony of eachdeponent was written out by me, or in my presence, and as given before meand subsequently read over to said deponent, by whom it was subscribed inmy presence.
[Among the documents included in this file (16,305) is the deposition ofWhitfield M. Sparks consisting of his answers to questions put to him byMcDowell. Unfortunately, the questions asked were not included, but fromSparks's answers, we can usually guess what the questions had been:
Deposition of Whitfield M. Sparks

My name is Whitfield M. Sparks, my age is 31 years, my residenceBakersfield in the State of North Carolina and my occupation, a farmer.My home is in Mitchell County ...I have always lived on my own land whichamounts to 65 acres which lyes in said county. I had about twenty acresin cultivation [when] I was conscripted into the Confederate army. Iremained there about twelve months & then left & went to the U. S. Army &joined the 13th Tenn. Cav. & remained there until the close of the war.(He answered "no" to three of McDowell's next questions; without knowingthe questions, we canonly guess from his answers that they pertained tohis conscription into the Confederate Army.) They theatened [sic] to Killme, or send me off, if I did not go.

(Regarding his desertion from the Confederate Army, Sparks stated thatafter about a year he left, i.e., deserted, riding the horse that heowned.) I went through in Sept. 1864 for the purpose of joining the U.S.army. At the close of the war I returned to my home in Mitchell County. Iwas arrested by Maj. Thomas Watson; he kept me under arrest for 8 days. Iran away from him; I was never arrested by the U.S. government. I wasthreatnened [sic] by Maj. Walton & Capt. Keebler who said they was goingto burn my house down & kill me if they could find me. (These men namedby Sparks were probably members of Mitchell County's Home Guards underthe Confederacy who had not yet surrendered to the Union Army.)

Apparently it was to a question regarding how he had succeeded in gettingpast the Confederate line to join the Union Army that Sparks responded: Igot passes to transact my own business from Capt. Wilson--I did not takeany oath to get such passes. I sympathized with the Union cause & alwaysvoted the union ticket; used all my influence for the said cause [and] Inever took the Bankrupt Law. I was borned (sic) in Yancy County N.C.

his

(signed) W.M. X Sparks

mark
Sworn to & subscribed to the 3d of June 1873

(signed) G. M. McDowell
SpecialCommissioner & Notary Public for N. C.

[A second deposition was taken of Whitfield M. Sparks, also on June 3,1873, consisting of his answers to questions put to him by McDowell.Again, we do not have the questions themselves, but it is obvious fromSparks's answers that they pertained to the horse that he lost and thecircumstances of its being taken by the United States Army.

Second Deposition by Whitfield Sparks on June 3, 1873

I was present & saw my property taken at Johnson City, Tenn., by Capt.David Jenkins of Co. C, 13th Tenn. Cav. in the year 1864 in June, do notremember the day [or] time. Sergent Buckhoman & Capt. David Jenkins,Jenkins Co., were all present. I went to Join the U.S. Army & road [sic ]my horse. When I got there I told Capt. Jenkins I wanted to turn my horseover to the U. S. He told me all right, that I would get pay for it. Hepromised me a voucher which I never got. After I turned over the horse Isaw him [the horse]. He was being used as a Cav. horse in the 13th Tenn.Cav. I knew the horse. A soldier was riding him. I was a soldier in the13 th Tenn. Cav. I have never received any for this property. A goodsorel [sic] mare 6 y's old, good condition-worth one hundred & fiftydollars, $150.00.

his
[Signed]Whitfield X Sparks

mark
Sworn & subscribed to June 3rd1873

[signed] G. M. McDowell

[The three witnesses present at the hearing on June 3, 1873, conducted byG. M. McDowell, Special Commissioner & Notary Public for North Carolina,all made depositions on behalf of Whitfield M. Sparks regarding hisloyalty to the Union. Oliver Burleson stated that he was 28 years old anda resident of Yancey County, adding that] "I have known the Claimant for14 years & had frequent conversations with him during the war. He alwaysexpressed himself as a Union man, both privately & publicly. I residewithin 4 miles of said Claimant. I regard the claimant as a loyal man andall his loyal neighbors regarded him as a loyal man. He regarded me astrong union man. If the Southern Confederacy had succeeded I know thatthe Claimant could not have lived in this country, or at least with anysafty [sic]. I have no interest in this claim.

[signed] Oliver Burlesen.

[C. C. McKinney stated in his deposition that he was 33 years old and aresident of Mitchell County, and that he was a farmer. He stated that hehad known Whitfield Sparks for 20 years and knew him as a loyal man, asdid his neighbors, adding that he had heard him called "a Tory &Linconite." He indicated that he had lived within 6 miles of him, addingthat "I have heard the claimant threatened in consequence of his unionsentiments."

[In the deposition of William Blalock dated June 5, 1873, he gave his ageas 35 and stated that, knowing Sparks's "general character, it is [suchthat] any statement he makes is worthy of belief."

[At the close of the testimony before him, G. M. McDowell made his ownstatement to the Commissioners of Claims regarding Whitfield Sparks:

There is no question in my mind as to the loyalty of the Claimant, thatis, his character among all of his neighbors. I think his claim hasmerit. What he states is entitled to belief.
(Signed) G.M. McDowell

Special Commissioner

Notary Public, N.C.

[Editor's Note, continued: Because Whitfield M. Sparks seems always tohave signed his name by making a mark (an X) before a witness, we canassume that he could not write. His father, Allen Sparks, having died in1849 when Whitfield was only seven years old, may account for hisapparent lack of education, even though Allen had left property for thatpurpose. Whoever it was that wrote a statement in Whitfield's name, wasusually also the witness to his making his mark to represent hissignature. It later proved to be significant that, as shown on thefollowing photocopy of the closing of Whitfield's first deposition (page5701), G. M. McDowell wrote his name as W. W. Sparkes.

(See Whitfield's scrapbook for this document.)

[It is not surprising that in 1876, when attention was finally given atthe Washington headquarters of the Commission of Claims, a clerk namedCharles F. Benjamin assumed that Whitfield's name was William M. Sparks.He also believed that, while there was sufficient proof of Sparks'sloyalty to the Union, more was needed regarding his horse having beentaken by the Union Army. Regarding this, Benjamin wrote on April 28,1876, to John B. Brownlow who had served as a cavalry officer inTennessee and was now, like McDowell, a Special Agent for the ClaimsCommission in Nashville. Benjamin asked Brownlow whether he might be ableto locate Capt. David Jenkins, or any other officer, such as SergeantBuckhouse mentioned by Sparks in his testimony, who had served with the13th Tennessee Regiment, and who might remember "Wm. Sparks." Brownlowlater returned Benjamin's letter with a response added by a man namedHendrix, known to both Benjamin and Brownlow. Note that both of these menthought that they were investigating a William Sparks. Hendrix wrote:

Learned from S. Phillips who was a member of 9th Pa. Cav. that Mr. Sparksdied a few months ago in Mitchel Co., N.C. Saw Capt. Jenkins whoremembers nothing about the circumstances of the Horse; says there wassuch a man in his Co. is all he can remember about it.
[In his covering letter for the return of Benjamin's letter to him, withthe statement added by Hendrix, dated January 19, 1877, John B. Brownlowwrote:
... from the end endorsement on the memorandum by Hendrix, it will beseen that Capt. Jenkins remembered that claimant was in his Company. TheRegiment to which Claimant belonged was in the Brigade with which I wasconnected as Lieut. Col. Commanding, the 9th Tenn. Cavalry and for awhile was under my command. I personally know that many of the men ofthat regiment, as well as the other Tennessee regiments, furnished theirown horses. I think it probable that the Claimant did, though I have norecollection of him.

[Whitfield M. Sparks had not died in 1876, of course. From the abstractof his pension application that follows, we know that he lived untilSeptember 5, 1914.

Whitfield probably never learned the reason he received no compensationfrom the Quarter Master General for his horse, although an undatedmemorandum in his File 16, 305 explains the reason:

Whitfield M. Sparks - File No. 16,305

The Claimant testifies that he was conscripted and served twelve monthsin the Confederate army and then deserted, and enlisted in the UnionArmy. He says that he turned the horse into the Regiment and a Soldierrode him... We think it likely such was the case. If so, the Statuteprovides for compensation on satisfactory proof before the Q. M. General.At all events, we cannot recommend payment on the evidence before us. Itseems the Claimant has died since filing the claim and that noadministration has been substituted....
[signed] A. O. Aldis Com.
"J. B. Hansel of
"O. Ferris Claims
[Indeed, there was no administration to be found in Mitchell County forthe estate of Whitfield M. Sparks in 1877--he did not die until 1914.]

An abstract of the "Selected Papers" from Whitfield M. Sparks's pensionfile follows:

On May 28, 1912, Whitfield M. Sparks, a resident of Spruce Pine, MitchellCounty, North Carolina, made a declaration for pension benefits under the1912 Act of Congress. He stated that he had enlisted in the Union Army onSeptember 1, 1864. [The U.S. Adjutant General's Office later correctedthis date to October 2, 1864.] He had enlisted as a private but was soonpromoted to the rank of corporal, in Company C, 13th Regiment ofTennessee Cavalry. He stated that he had been born on April 29, 1842, inYancey County, North Carolina; that he was then 5 feet and 10 inchestall; that he had a fair complexion, brown eyes, and dark hair; and thathe had been a farmer by occupation at the time of his enlistment. Hestated that he was already receiving a pension under Invalid CertificateNo. 291,363 under an earlier Act of Congress but was now applying foradditional benefits under the most recent Act. J. M. Peterson and BessieSparks witnessed him sign the declaration by making his mark; thedocument was notarized by L. A. Berry, notary public.

Although a copy of Whitfield M. Sparks's original application was notincluded in the "selected papers" from his file that we received from theNational Archives, it appears that he made his first application about1882, for on February 27, 1883, the adjutant General's Office hadconfirmed his military service for the Bureau of Pensions.

According to the 1883 report from the Adjutant General's Office to theBureau of Pensions, Sparks had enlisted on October 2, 1864, in CarterCounty, Tennessee, as a private in Company C, 13th Regiment TennesseeCavalry, for a period of three years, He had been mustered out with hiscompany as a corporal on September 5, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee.While there was no evidence in his military record of any injury ordisability, the Adjutant General's Office noted that the 13th RegimentalHospital Records were not on file. A pension had been approved forWhitfield.

Sparks responded to a questionnaire from the Bureau of Pensions on August13, 1912, as follows: he stated that he had been married to ElizabethBuchanan on November 20, 1859, in Mitchell County, North Carolina, byJames Collis. It had been a first marriage for both. His wife was stillliving in 1912, and they had five living children: Nancy M., age 53;Jane, age 51; Delia, age 49; Eli, age 46; and Susie, age 40. Whitfield,himself, had been born in that part of Mitchell County that was thenYancey County, North Carolina. He had served in the Confederate Army fora short while. He had two identifying marks on his body, a dislocatedwrist and a scar about the size of a dollar. He lived at Spruce Pine, avillage in Grassy Creek Township, Mitchell County, North Carolina. Hestated that he had never been known by any name other than WhitfieldSparks. J. M. Peterson and Belle Peterson signed as witnesses toWhitfield's making these statements.

Whitfield Sparks died on September 5, 1914, and was buried in the BearCreek Baptist Church Cemetery where there is a monument for his father,Allen Sparks. There is a tradition that it had been erected by the Churchlong after Allen's death because he had been the first member buriedthere. Elizabeth Sparks, Whitfield's widow, made application for awidow's pension on October 12, 1914. She stated that she lived at SprucePine; that she had been married to Whitfield on November 20, 1859; andthat they had had five children. W. McWilson and Retta B. Tappanwitnessed her application which was sworn to before David H. Tappan, anotary public. With her application was an affidavit by Jonathan W.Duncan, 82 years of age, stating that he had known Whitfield andElizabeth Sparks for more than sixty years; that they were never marriedexcept to each other; and that they had never been divorced.

Elizabeth Sparks died on October 20, 1918, and she was buried beside herhusband in the Bear Creek Baptist Church cemetery. At the time of herdeath, she was receiving a pension of $25.00 per month under Widow'sCertificate No. 788, 652. Eli Sparks, her and Whitfield's only son, age54, applied for reimbursement for expenses paid during her last illnessand burial. There is nothing among the "selected papers" from her pensionfile to reveal whether or not this claim was allowed.

[Editor's Note: Whitfield M. Sparks, born April 29, 1842, was the tenthand last child of Allen Sparks, a resident of that portion of YanceyCounty, North Carolina, that had been part of Burke County until Yancey'screation in 1833. Whitfield died in Grassy Creek Township, MitchellCounty, North Carolina, on September 5, 1914. His death certificate,recorded in Book 1, p.393, in Mitchell County, gives the names of hisparents as Allen Sparks and Susan Buchanan. On page 5691 of the presentissue of the QUARTERLY, in a sketch of the life of Allen Sparks, we notedthat the identification of Whitfield's mother as Susan Buchanan on hisdeath certificate, in the opinion of this writer, is probably in error.In his will, see page 5692, Allen Sparks referred to his wife as "BashebaSparks," Basheba probably being a nickname for Beersheba. When the 1850census of Yancey County, North Carolina, was taken, she was shown asBeersheba Sparks, age 54, and as head of her household. Living with herwere Allen's four youngest sons, George, Allen, Reuben, and Whitfield,whom this writer is certain were Beersheba's sons as well. Hopefully,there is a record somewhere that will provide documentary proof whetheror not Beersheba was a second wife of Allen Sparks.

[Whitfield M. and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Sparks are believed to have beenthe parents of six children. When Whitfield responded to a questionnairefrom the U.S. Bureau of Pensions in 1912, he stated that he and Elizabeththen had "five living children:" Nancy M. Sparks, age 53; Jane Sparks,age 51; Delia Sparks, age 49; Eli Sparks, age 46; and "Susie" (Susan)Sparks, age 40. Not included in this list, however, was a sixth child,Buna V. Sparks, who was identified as a daughter of Whitfield on the 1880census, the first U.S. census to identify each household member'srelationship to the household head.

See SQ p. 333 for birth information where his name is given as MilburnSparks.

SQ pg. 4067:

"Wilburn Sparks, son of John L. and Polly (Hay) Sparks, was born onJuly 15, 1859, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He grew up in Scott County,Virginia, and it was probably there that he was married to RachelVirginia Brickey about 1880. She had been born in December 1858 and wasa daughter of William C. and Mary (Flannery ) Brickey. Wilburn is saidto have "studied" medicine under a medical doctor attached to the CoeburnHospital at Coeburn, Virginia; however, at least one descendant says thathe did not have a diploma or license to practice medicine. Whatever thecircumstances, we know for certain that he practiced medicine as acountry doctor, riding on horseback and dispensing pills from a saddlebag.

"Wilburn and Rachel had six children, including an unnamed child whodied shortly after birth. Wilburn died on April 11, 1934, at Kingsport,Tennessee, and Rachel died there sometime during the following July."

SQ p. 100:
"Wiley Sparks, born 3 March, 1808; married 1832, Sintha Holbrook."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822-1865):
Wiley Sparks & Sintha Holebrook, August 20, 1832. (Box 3) Married byStephen Wheeler Baptist minister. Bondsman: John Holebrook.

SQ p. 4652:
"Wiley Sparks, son of Levi and Sarah (Lyon) Sparks, was born on March3, 1808, according to a Bible entry made many years ago. (See p. 241 ofthe September 1957 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 19.) He was born inWilkes County, North Carolina, and was a teenaged boy when he accompaniedhis parents to Lawrence County, Kentucky. It was there that he wasmarried to Cynthia Ann Holbrook on June 21, 1832, by Stephen Wheeler, aBaptist Minister. She had been born on January 6, 1814, and was adaughter of John and Mary (Lyon) Holbrook, natives of North Carolina.

"Wiley and Cynthia Sparks went to housekeeping on Wiley Branch, astream in southeastern Lawrence County that was named for him. It issaid that he settled there to be near the bear hunting which was good onnearby Wallow Hole Creek. This area had several mineral springs in whichthe bears liked to bathe (or wallow) after their hibernation and whichgave the stream its name. It was on Wiley Branch that Wiley and Cynthiareared seven children. Wiley died there on February 19, 1890, and wasburied on the George Washington Sparks homesite."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2002, p. 5372:

"Wiley Alexander Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, wasborn in Surry County, North Carolina, in or about 1818. He died onJanuary 25, 1885, in Dayton, Washington. Prior to 1841, he had gone toGeorgia and had been married there to Nancy M. Smith on December 23,1841, according to a land claim that he made in Oregon. He and his familymoved to Missouri prior to 1850 and were on the census of that year inCass County, quite near the household of his parents. He and his familyappear to have moved with his parents to Polk County, Oregon Territory,in 1851. On both the 1860 and 1870 censuses, Wiley Sparks was shown withhis family in Lane County, Eugene Precinct, Oregon. A descendant, PatHigley of Westport, Washington, tells us that Wiley moved to Dayton,Columbia County, Washington,in 1872 where he remained until his death.

The children of Wiley Alexander and Nancy M. (Smith) Sparks,according to Mrs. Higley, were:"
(See their individual sheets.]

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

Below we will find several quotes from the SPARKS QUARTERLY from articlespublished for a 50 year period, each adding new information and somecorrecting earlier data. In the issue for December 1992, Whole No. 160,from pg. 4025 through page 4034, several corrections or augmentationswere published. Rather than copy this whole article as written, relevantportions will hereinafter be inserted near the earlier data which itcorrects or supplements. Such information will be in brackets [ ], andwill bear the notation "No. 160, p. xxx".

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Dec 1970, Whole No. 72, pg 1362: IMMIGRANTSNAMED SPARKS WHO CAME TO MARYLAND BEFORE 1675.

"That part of North America now called Maryland was first settled bywhite people in 1631 when William Claiborne came over from the colony ofVirginia and established a trading post on Kent Island. He remainedwithout neighbors until 1634 when the first colonists, led by LeonardCalvert, arrived from England in the vessels called the ARK and the DOVE,and founded the county of St. Marys. The future of the colony (namedTerrae Marie or Maryland in honor of Queen Henrietta Marie) was assured.Thereafter, settlers from England poured in by shipload after shipload."Each freeman who came to Maryland was given 100 acres of land forhimself, his wife and each child over age sixteen. In addition, he wasgiven 50 acres for each child under age sixteen and for each "servant" hebrought with him. "Servants" were persons brought in for hire andobligated to work or in some other manner pay for their transportation.In general, these persons were farmers, mechanics, masons, carpenters,shipbuilders, and often they were educated clerks and teachers.

"Generally speaking, the lot of a servant was not especiallyunpleasant. The indenture usually lasted from two to six years and atthe end provision was made to give him or her a degree of independence.In the case of a male servant, he was given fifty acres of land, an ox, agun, two hoes, and a modest amount of clothing. If the servant were afemale, she received a skirt, waistcoat, apron, smock, cap, shoes andstockings, and three barrels of Indian corn.

"This provision for encouraging new colonists proved so popular thatseven years after the colony was established the land allowance wasreduced from 100 acres to 50 acres for adults and to 25 acres for eachchild under age sixteen. In like manner, the early liberal allowance ofland for transporting colonists was tightened. Initially thetransportation of five men was worth 2000 acres, but in 1636 this waschanged to require the transportation of ten men for this amount of land,and in 1641 it was again changed to require twenty men and women to beworth 2000 acres.

"In many cases, the servant paid for his transportation by simplytransfering the acreage he was to receive as a new colonist to the personwho transported him. In turn, the person who provided the transportationmight transfer his right to the land to another person who had n o actualpart in arranging or providing the transport- ation. The system wasfinally abolished in 1683.

[See SQ No. 160, p. 4026: after repeating the above information takenfrom the article published in December 1970, No. 72, (commencing on page1362), see the following: "Our reason reason for including thisdescription of immigration to Maryland during much of the seventeenthcentury is because we believe, although we cannot prove beyond any doubt,that the William Sparks who died in 1709 in Queen Annes County was thesame William Sparks who had been brought to Maryland in 1662 by a mannamed Thomas Skillington. (On page 1363 of the December 1970 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No . 72, we mistakenly copied his name as ThomasSkillingham, and this error was repeated on page 1381 of the March 1971issue, Whole No. 73.)]

[Dr. Sparks noted in his 1970 article, cited above, that the recordsof the assigning of land to persons transporting themselves or others toMaryland are preserved at the Maryland Hall of Records in Annapolis . Wehave obtained a photographic copy of each of the two records pertainingto William Sparks who came to Maryland in 1662. The first of these isfound in Liber 6, called "Patents," page 71, entry #359, and reads asfollows:

I Thomas Skillington of the province of Maryland do assign untoGeorge Richardson all my right and Title of these following Rights ofLand first For Thomas Skillington and Mary his wife, William Sparks,Servants in all Six Ann Powell, Mary Webb, John Green as wittness myhand this 2d of the 10 Month 1663.
[signed] ThomasSkillington]

[From the wording of this transfer of Skillington's claim for land, itis difficult to determine the status of William Sparks. It appears thatAnn Powell, Mary Webb, and John Green were definitely "servants," butWilliam Sparks may not have been a servant, but was simply one of the sixpersons entitled to land. The manner in which Skillington wrote the dateof this transfer of his "Rights of Land" to Richardson is significant. Inother entries on this same page, as well as on preceding and succeedingpages, the name of the month is given. Members of the Quaker faith,however, refused to use what they considered pagan names for the monthsin the Julian calendar, and substituted numbers. Under the Juliancalendar, which would continue to be used in England and her coloniesuntil 1752, March 25th was designated as the beginning of each new year.March was thus considered to be the first month while February wasconsidered to be the twelfth month . Thus, when Skillington dated histransfer of land rights to Richardson as "this 2d of the 10 Month 1663,"he substituted the number 10 for the month of December. The date of thistransfer under the Julian calendar was thus, December 2, 1663.]

[Although we have found no further references to Thomas Skillington inrelationship to William Sparks, there is further reason to believe thatSkillington was a Quaker. An entry appears in the minutes of the ThirdHaven Meeting of the Quaker denomination in Maryland which reads :"Kenellam Skillington of Talbot County, planter, and Lydia Craxtill, lateof Barbados, speinster, married 20 8th month, 1692, at home of ThomasSkillington."]

[The next entry (#372) among Maryland's land patents in Liber 6containing a reference to William Sparks is dated January 5, 1663. Underthe Julian calendar, the year 1663 extended from what would, under theGregorian Calendar, have been March 25, 1663, through March 24, 1664.Under the Gregorian Calendar (in use in England and America after 1752) ,entry #372 was made just a month and three days after entry #359, quotedabove.]

[Entry #372 reveals that George Richardson obtained a warrant for 1300acres of land based on his being credited with transporting himself and aMary Richardson, who may have been his wife, along with twenty-fourothers. These included the six individuals whose transportation had been"assigned" to him by Thomas Skillington, plus six others that had beentransported by Robert Blurkhorse and likewise assigned to him, along withfour individuals transported by John Edmondson and also assigned toRichardson. We can assume that Richardson rewarded rewarded Skillington,Blurkhorse, and Edmondson in some manner for transferring these landrights to him. In the transcription of the entire text of entry #359which follows, it will be seen that the name of Thomas and MarySkillington was mistakenly spelled "Skillinson" and that William Sparkswas called "William Sparke."]

[[Liber 6, Entry #372, dated 5th January 1663 (i.e. 1664 under theGregorian Calendar) Punctuation has been added for clarity in thistranscription. Then came George Richardson and demands Land for thetransportation of himself in Anno 1661, Mary Richardson in 1663, ThomasHayward in 1662, Elizabeth Clarke 1661, Anthony Willson 1659; JohnSkitters 1656 ; Thomas Skillinson 1653; Mary Skillinson 1660, WilliamSparke [and] Ann Powell in 1662, Mary Webb 1661. John Green 1663, JohnGary 1660, Jno Morfett[?] 1663, were Entered by Robert Blurkhorse, dittodie, assigned unto the said Richardson. Francis Devine [and] Mary Devine1660, Edward Goodman 1656, Robert Stapleford 1661, Richard Richardson1663, Elizabeth Cordrass 1661 . Ditto Richardson Enters more rights,Viz: William Lile 1653, Priscilla Lile 1656; John Cooke, James Graner,John Housmond, and Susanna Eastneck, these four assignd him from JohnEdmondson as per assignment. Warrant Issued, ditto die, in the saidRichardsons Name for 1300 Acres, being for all the above mentionedRights, returnable 5t h July next.

[While George Richardson spelled Thomas and Mary Skillington's name as"Skillinson," and William Sparks as "William Sparke," there can be nodoubt that the six immigrants whose land rights he had acquired fromThomas Skillington (Entry #359) were among those for whom he subsequentlyobtained his warrant for 1,300 acres of Maryland land. It should benoted that Entry #372 also identifies the precise year (1662) thatWilliam Sparks came to America. Again, we must emphasize, however , thatwe have no compelling proof that he was the same William Sparks (died1709) for whom we have many subsequent Maryland records. Their being thesame person, however, seems highly probable. {Here ends the insert fromWhole No. 160, at p. 4027}]

"In the index which follows, the names of many colonists have beenomitted and in cases where there were many names, only those settlersnamed SPARKS have been included in the interest of brevity. In futureissues of the QUARTERLY, we hope to be able to trace further the recordof these Sparks immigrants to Maryland. The book and page numbers whichappear in the following list refer to the bound volumes at the Hall ofRecords in Annapolis, MD, entitled INDEX OF EARLY SETTLERS, MARYLAND,1633-1680. (Here find list of names.)

SPARKS QUARTERLY March, 1971, Whole No. 73, SPARKS FAMILIES IN KENT,TALBOT AND QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTIES, MARYLAND, pp. 1372-1374:

"The history of the Colony of Maryland begins with the first LordBaltimore (George Calvert), convert to the Roman Catholic faith, whoprevailed upon King James I to grant him a colony along the Atlanticcoast which would serve as an asylum for Englishmen seeking religiousfreedom. Although the first Lord Baltimore died before his dream couldbe realized, the King granted the promised charter to his son , CeciliusCalvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore, on June 20, 1632.

"Leonard Calvert, brother to Cecilius, became the Colony's firstgovernor. Although the 2nd Lord Baltimore never visited his colony, hesupervised its development until his death in 1675 and has often beenreferred to as the First Lord Proprietor. [JS Note: Leonard Calvert isthe twelfth great-grandfather of James J. Sparks through James's paternalgrandmother, Mary Theresa (Stone) Sparks.]

"Before Lord Baltimore could arrange to send the fist colonists to hiscolony, a Virginian named William Claiborne had established a tradingpost on Kent Island. For many decades thereafter there was conflictbetween the Virginia traders and settlers on Kent Island (which is nowpart of Queen Anne's County) and the settlers brought from England to theColony by Lord Baltimore. There were also agree ments with William Pennregarding the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania and with theDuke of York regarding the boundary between Maryland and Deleware. Therewere also Indian uprisings and civil strife but religious freedomprevailed through all of these troubles.

"In the article appearing (above) Dr. Paul Sparks described the systemby which large numbers of settlers were brought to Maryland from Englandin the 1600's. Many of the settlers came as "indentured servants,"individuals and who had traded a term of service, (from two to six yearsfor adults and longer for children), for the cost of passage to America.The individual who wished to emigrate but could not afford the passagewould get in touch with a ship master or his agent and a contract wouldbe drawn up in which the passenger agreed to serve the ship master or hisagent for a stated term of years. When the passenger, now an "indentured servant", reached his destination, his master was free to sellthe passenger's services to any purchaser in order to recoup the expenseof passange. The "servant" then went to live with and work for the newfor the number of years specified in the contract. (The number of yearsof service varied from one "indentured servant" to another because theirskills varied--the skilled artisan brought a highter price than anordinary laborer; thus the agent would have to demand longer service ofthe laborer in order to his indenture and recover the cost of thevoyage.) Many of the early immigrants to Maryland settled on the easternshore of Chesapeake Bay in the area that is now Queen Anne's County. Itwas here that the branch of the Sparks family settled which is traced inthis Article.

"Kent County, comprising what is now the counties of Cecil, Kent ,Queen Anne's, Talbot and a portion of Caroline, was created officially in1642. In1661,Talbot County was cut off from Kent, although Kent Islandremained as part of Kent County until 1695. In 1706, Talbot County wasdivided to form Queen Anne's County. (Queen Anne's accession to theEnglish throne had occurred four years earlier and the new county wasnamed for her. ) The Sparks family in whom we are currently interestedlived in what became Queen Anne's County in 1706. Edward Sparks lived onKent Island (that portion of Queen Anne's County which extends into theBay. ) William and John Sparks, believed to have been brothers, bothowned property in "West Chester Towne", believed to have been the westernpart of what is now the town of Chester; their land holdings were on theChester River (which forms the northern boundary of Queen Anne' s and thesouthern boundary of Kent County) near the present towns of Centrevilleand Church Hill. Island Creek and Southeast Creek are mentioned in thedeed describing the land of William Sparks. There was also a ThomasSparks who was a servant of Richard Tilghman in 1671 who lived on ChesterRiver.

"It is important to keep in mind that records of this branch of theSparks family are found in Kent County up until 1661 when Talbot Countywas set apart from Kent County. From 1661 until 1706, the records ofthis family were recorded in both Kent and Talbot because their land layin both counties and the boundary line was often uncertain. Furthermore,Kent Island remained part of Kent County until 1695. After 1706, recordsof the family are found chiefly in Queen Anne's County , which was carvedout of Talbot County. In 1706 Kent Island also became a part of QueenAnne's County. [nd of article at page 1374.]

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1971, No. 73, pp. 1381-1389; SPARKSFAMILIES IN KENT, TALBOT AND QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTIES, MARYLAND; WILLIAMSPARKS (d . 1709):

"Our earliest reference to a William Sparks in Maryland is dated 1663when Thomas Skillington sold to George Richardson the land which he hadbeen granted by the Lord Proprietor for having transported six settlersto the Province, one of whom was William Sparks. The other five werehimself, his wife Mary, Ann Powell, Mary Webb and John Green. A littlelater the same year George Richardson, in making claim for the land soldto him by Thomas Skillington, Richardson gave William Sparks's name asWilliam Sparke and the date of his coming to Maryland as 1662 . Neitherthe name of Thomas Skillington nor George Richardson has been found amongthe records of Kent, Talbot, and Queen Anne's County ; perhaps thisWilliam Sparks was not the William Sparks who died in Queen Anne's Countyin 1709. Further research will probably determine this.

"Our first definite record of the William Sparks who died in 1709living in the area that is now Queen Anne's County, Maryland, is a deedby which he and a man named Thomas Heather purchased jointly a tract of100 acres from Richard Pernes on July 17, 1672, for 5,60 0 pounds oftobacco. This deed was recorded in Talbot County (Deed Book I, p. 213).The land was described as "Lying and being on the North Side of St.Michaels River beginning at a marked Oake Standing at the head of a Smallbranch Running North West & Runing for breadth down the branch East Southeast 50 poles to a marked gumme tree then North East up the River forLength 320 poles being formerly laid out for Francis Martin." Thewitnesses were James and Mary Murphy.

"Apparently William Sparks and Thomas Heather were businessassociates, perhaps even partners, because five years later, on October16 , 1677, Heather publicly acknowledged that he owed Sparks 20,000pounds of tobacco. In this document, Heather's wife was identified asAnna; the document was witnessed by Ralph Elston, Jr., and RichardDuddley. (Talbot County Deed Book 3, p. 93) Tobacco was the chiefmedium of currency at that time in Maryland and Virginia and remained ascurrency until sometime after the Revolutionary War.

"There is no evidence that William Sparks ever lived on the land inSt. Michael's River, located in what is now the sourthern portion ofQueen Anne's County. On July 21, 1696, William Sparks (called WilliamSparks Senr .) and his wife Mary sold this tract to Alexander Ray for10,000 pounds of tobacco. Apparently he had acquired Thomas Heather'sportion of this land earlier. (See Talbot County Deed Book 7, p. 224.)

[See No. 160, p. 4028]: "When we published the March 1971 article, wehad not discovered the Talbot County deed dated September 17, 1677(Talbot Co. Land Record GG#:85:87) by which Thomas Heather (spelled"Hatherd" in the deed), with the consent of his wife, Anna, sold toWilliam Sparks his share (50 acres) of this 100-acre tract. In thisdeed, both Sparks (spelled Sparkes) and Heather were described as thenbeing residents of Talbot County, but what is especially interestingabout this 1677 deed is that it reveals that it was on this same 100-acretract that "the said Sparkes now liveth." The tract, as we have noted,was located on "the north side of St. Michaels River. " Today, thisriver is called "Miles River". It is in what is now the southern portionof Queen Annes County.]

["As we noted on page 1381 of the March 1971 issue of the QUARTERLY,there is a Talbot County record dated October 16, 1677, which was just amonth after Heather sold his interest in the land to Sparks, in whichHeather acknowledged a debt to Sparks of 20,000 pounds of tobacco. HowHeather became indebted to Sparks for this sizeable amount we do notknow. It seems probable, however, that what was described as a "valuableconsideration" as Heather's compensation when he sold his share of the100-acre tract to Sparks was actually in the form of a reduction of hisdebt to Sparks. Thomas Heather and William Sparks were obviouslyneighbors and close associates over a period of many years. We wonderwhether there might have been a family relationship.]

[cont. The finding of the September 17, 1677, deed disproves ourstatement at the bottom of page 1381 that "there is no evidence thatWilliam Sparks ever lived on the land on St. Michaels River." We n owknow that he and his family were, indeed, living there in the autumn of1677 and probably had been living there since 1672.

[cont. As noted on page 1381, William Sparks and his wife Mary, soldthis tract of 100 acres for 10,000 pounds of tobacco to Alexander Ray onJuly 21,1696. However, it must have been considerably before 1696 thatWilli am Sparks had moved his family a few miles north to the 250-acretract of land called "Sparks Choice" on the east side of Chester River .We do not have the exact date of his purchase of this larger tract , forwhich he chose the name, but it was about 1681.]

(Continuing in the SPARKS QUARTERLY, pg 1382:)

"During the years from the early 1670's until his death in 1709,William Sparks's name was frequently recorded in the official records ofKent, Talbot, and Queen Anne's Counties. We cannot, however make manystatements of fact regarding his personal life. He was probably bornabout 1640 in England. His wife's name was Mary and they had at leastfive children, four sons and one daughter. William Sparks graduallyacquired a considerable amount of land. At one time he owned nearly 1,000acres on Island Creek, a tributary of Southeast Creek, which in turn is atributary of Chester River. He was a member of the Anglican faith.

"On August 16, 1681, William Sparks purchased a tract of 100 acresfrom Michael Hackett and his wife Mary of Talbot County for 5,000 poundsof tobacco. This tract had originally been granted on October 16, 1670,to John Mitchell at which time it had been given the name "Adventure."Mitchell had later sold it to Hackett, who sold it to William Sparks.This deed of 1681 (Book 4, p. 68) and the rent rolls describe the tractas lying on the south side of Chester River and on the south-east side ofIsland Creek, and adjoining land owned by John Hawkins. The deed bywhich William Sparks purchased this tract was witnessed by HenryWillcockes and John Parsons. On June 1, 1691, William Sparks sold thistract along with 100 additional acres to Samuel Withers (Book 5, p. 336). (John Hawkins, who owned land adjoining William Sparks's "Adventure ,also owned land on Coursey's Creek; in 1706 the Assembly passed an act toestablish the county-seat of Queen Anne's County on a tract of 100 acres"upon the plantation of Major John Hawkins, in Coursey 's Creek to becalled Queens-Towne." After the Revolution, however, the county seat wasmoved to Centreville. John Hawkins was a vestryman of the parish churchat Chester; when he died in 1718 he was succeeded by Augustine Thompson,another close friend and neighbor of the Sparks family.

"At about the same time that William Sparks purchased "Adventure "from Michael Hackett, he also acquired a tract of 250 acres which hadbeen originally as part of a 450-acre tract for Michael Hackett o n July18, 1681. This 250-acre tract was known as "Sparks Choice" and waslocated on the "east side of Chester River near the head of a smallbranch of Island Creek." Although we have not found the actual patent bywhich he acquired this important tract, we know from the Rent Rolls andsubsequent deeds that this was the land on which Wil liam Sparks and hisfamily actually lived. Anthony Ivy owned the remaining 200 acres in theoriginal tract of 450 acres of Michael Hackett.

"On September 10, 1684, William Sparks obtained a patent from theProvince of Maryland for another tract of land adjoining his homeplantation comprising 100 acres. It had been surveyed for him on June21, 1683 ( Rent Rolls, Queen Anne's County, p. 242). To this new tract,he gave the name "Sparks Own", or "Sparks Oune" as it was first recordedin Talbot County Deed Book A, p. 507, although it had been previouslyowned by Anthony Ivy and his wife Anne. William Sparks purchas- ed thistract from William Coursey, Jr., assignee for Col. Vinceant Lowe who hadobtained it as part of a tract of 3,000 acres granted to him on March 20,1683. The description of William Sparks's tract reads as follows on thepatent dated Septem- ber 10, 1683: "...all that tract or parcell of landcalled Sparks Oune lying in the county of Talbott on the east side ofChester River beginning at a marked oake standing neere the head of abranch on the north side of Island Creeke and running north north-westparallel with a line of a tract of land he ld by Michaell Hackett toCapt. Hide one hundred perches untill it intersects an east and by southline of a parcell of land formerly lai d out for John Mitchell and thenrunning with the said line two hundred perches untill it come to aparcell of land called Sparks Choice and running thence south south-eastone hundred perches untill it comes to a parcell of land called MountHope lately taken up by Henry Wilcocks and from the end of that said linewest and north to the first tree two hundred perches containing...onehundred acres..." For this grant William Sparks agreed to pay the LordProprietor "Rent of four Shillings Sterling in Silver or Gold." (TalbotCounty Land Records, Book SD #A, p.507.)

"Island Creek, mentioned in the patent for "Sparks Own", has itssource about four miles northeast of Centreville, the county seat ofQueen Annes County. It meanders nearly due north as a gentle streamthrough fairly level land until it reaches Southeast Creek, nearly ninemiles away. There , Southeast Creek empties into the Chester River aboutthree miles west of the community of Church Hill. The surrounding areais low and inclined to be marshy. It was, and is, an agricultural area.One of the roads serving the area today is Sparks Mill Road.

"On October 22, 1687, a tract of 114 acres known as "Sparks Outlet "was surveyed for William Sparks. The patent for this tract was issued onJune 12, 1688 (Talbot County Deed Book 2, p. 625). According to thispatent, this tract was assigned to Sparks by Thomas Smithson who was anassignee of Daniel Walker, all being of Talbot County . Walker hadacquired this tract as part of a grant of 1,200 acres on June 13, 1687.In the patent, it is described as "that tract or parcel of land calledSparkes Outlett lyeing in Talbott County neare Chester River betwixt theLand of the said William Sparkes and the Land of John Hawkins beginningat a marked Red oake standing in or near the line of John Hawkins and--?-- runs thence south-west most eighty perches to another marked Redoake thence southeast forty perches to a marked blacke oake att theCorner of a little pocoson, thence east and by south one hundred sixtyperches, and from the end there of Running north and by east towards theLand of John Hawkins one hundred and fourteen perches and from the end ofthe north and by east line runing west and by north to the first Red OakeContaining within the sd lines and now laid out for one hundred andfourteen Acres be it more or less according to the Certificate of surveythereof taken and Returned into the Land office att the City of St.Maries being date the twenty second day of October one thousand sixhundred eighty seaven..." For this tract William Sparks promised to paythe Lord Proprietor "Rent of foure shillings and seven pence sterling insilver or Gold..."

"A near neighbor of William Sparks was John Hamer. On May 12, 1689,William Sparks was named by Hannah Hamer, wife of John Hamer, as her"true and lawful attorney" in connection with the sale of some land.(Tal. Co. Deed Bk 5, p 232)

"On June 1, 1691, William Sparks sold lot No. 6 in the Town of WestChester to John Salter, Joyner, "for a valuable consideration by me inhand already received." (Talbot County Deed Book 7, p. 53). As on otheroccasions, William Sparks signed this deed by mark. The witnesses wereJohn Hamer and William Godinge. John Salter appears to have been a closefriend of William Sparks. He was a prominent man in the area that becameQueen Anne's County in 1707 and was a member of the House of Delegatesfrom 1708 to 1711. He was also a member of the Probate Court and avestryman of St. Paul's Parish. John Salter was a witness along withJohn Hamer, Jr., to William Sparks's will when it was probated in 1709.As noted earlier in the sketch on John Sparks who died in 1700, this sameJohn Salter purchased a lot in West Chester from John Sparks in 1695.There is little doubt that John Sparks (died 1700) and William Sparks(died 1709) were brothers."

"On October 20, 1691, William Sparks purchased from Robert and AnnSmith a tract of 200 acres for 8,500 pounds of tobacco. This tract waspart of a larger tract called "Wrights Choyse" and was located on thesouth side of Chester River "and on the North Side of the South Eastbranch of a Creek in the Said River called Island Creek." In the description of this tract, there is a reference to an adjoining tract "formerly Layde out for Robert Smith." It must have been located very nearWilliam Sparks's other holdings. The witnesses to this deed were ThomasBeckles and Sollomon Wright. (Talbot County Deed Book 5, p. 328) (RobertSmith died about 1703 and Anthony Ivy and Renatus Smith were theexecutors of his estate. They sold his land on Island Creek (150-acres)to John Fowler and it was noted in the deed that it adjoined land ownedby John Hawkins, John Singleton, and Thomas Norris . (See Emory'shistory of Queen Anne's County, p. 39.) Solomon Wright, whose wife'sname was Anna, was a member of a large and prominent family in QueenAnne's County; he was a church warden in 1698. We believe that therewere family connection between the Wright and Sparks families.) "Theday following his purchase of this 200-acre tract, William Sparks and hiswife Mary sold 200 acres of their other land to Samuel Withers for 8,000pounds of tobacco. In all probability, William Sparks increased thevalue of his other holdings through this purchase and sale. As part ofthe 200 acres which he sold to Withers was "Sparks Own" which he hadacquired in 1684. The other 100 acres was a portion of his 250 acretract called "Sparks Choice" which he had acquired in 1681. Thewitnesses to this deed were Solomon Wright, John Salter, and John Chafe.(Talbot

(For limitations of space these notes are continued in notes forWilliam's wife, Mary.)

!NOTES:
SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1974, No. 88, p. 1701:
"William Sparks was probably born about 1700. He died on January
15, 1730/31, as recorded in the Register of St. Luke's Parish, (Queen
Anne's County, Maryland) leaving at least one child, Sarah Sparks,
who was mentioned in her grandfather's will. At the present, we have
no information about her."
SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1988, No. 142, p. 3230:
34. William Sparks. Son of John Sparks. Born ca. 1705. Married Anne-- -,
probably ca. 1728. Names of children: Sarah, others?

SQ 3231: Married Ellinor Brooks on 30 Aug 1738. Children William ,others? The marriage is recorded at page 44, records of St. Luke'sParish, Queen Annes County. See citation under William's brotherGeorge. There is a possible reference to William, son of this Williamin Maryland
Records, Vol 2, pg. 204, census of the Queen Anne's Hundred, 1776referring to William of William. He is included with his wife, and fourchildren,
two males and two females, all under 12. FHL 975.2 D29b.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, pg 4036-4040:

William Sparks, probable son of George and Mary (----- ) Sparks, wasborn about 1715. He was probably the William Sparks who was married toEllinor Brooks on August 30, 1738, in Queen Annes County. They appear tohave had at least one child, William Sparks, who was born about 1740 andwho was listed on the 1776 census of Queen Annes County as "William ofWilliam."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 154, pgs 3752-3798;

"WILLIAM SPARKS - BORN IN QUEEN ANNES COUNTY, MARYLAND,ca.1725 - DIED IN SURRY COUNTY , NORTH CAROLINA, 1801/02 -

Son of William Sample Sparks"

(and fourth great-grandfather of James Joseph Sparks)

[Author's preliminary note: As was true with the article on WilliamSample Sparks appearing in the December 1989 issue of the QUARTERLY, No.148, so with that which follows here about his son: this is a promiselong in the keeping. I fear that many members of the Association havingan interest in this William Sparks may have given up hope that I wouldever compile in narrative form the bits of information that I and othershave collected about him over a period of nearly half a century. It is myhope, however, that they will recognize that my having waited until nowmeans that the story is more complete than if I had compiled it earlier.There still remain many gaps in the story of William Sparks's life;however, but considering that no personal records pertaining to him orany of his children appear to have survived in the hands of any of hismany descendants, it is quite remarkable that the many references to himexisting in official records have filled out the story of his life aswell as they have.

[Many people have contributed to our search for information regardingWilliam Sparks, the principal contributor having been the president ofour Association, Dr. Paul E. Sparks. Another researcher who uncoveredfacts regarding our subject in the early years of our search was the lateWilliam Perry Johnson. While it is not possible to name all who haveassisted, it is appropriate to mention also Frank R. Russell ofMoorestown, New Jersey; George Horvath, Jr. of Eldersburg, Maryland;Margie M. Bertie of Titusville, Florida; and Dr. Carson Gibb ofAnnapolis, Maryland. I am greatly indebted to the local historians whohave copied and published texts, abstracts, and indexes of and tocourthouse and other archival records. Among those to whom I amespecially grateful are Jo White Linn whose abstracts of court and otherrecords from Rowan County, North Carolina, are invaluable, and Mrs. W. O.Absher who has produced a wealth of information from land, court, andprobate records in Wilkes and Surry Counties, North Carolina. Mrs. Linnalso very kindly edited this article before its publication here.]

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

In the QUARTERLY of December 1989, Whole No. 148, we published an articledevoted to the life of William Sample Sparks who was born about 1700 inQueen Annes County, Maryland, and who died in Rowan County, NorthCarolina, about 1765. In that article, the present writer noted that wehave convincing evidence that the eldest son of William Sample Sparks wasalso named William, although he had no middle name. It is this WilliamSparks who is the subject of this article.

It had become a tradition in this branch of the Sparks family for thefirst son to be named William. Our present subject's father usually usedthe middle name "Sample" to help distinguish himself from his own fatherand several cousins also named William Sparks. We believe that he addedhis middle name after becoming an adult.

The Sparks family of Queen Annes County, Maryland, were members of St.Paul's Parish. When St. Luke's Parish was formed in 1728, their land wasfound to lie in the new parish, for which many records survive. A mapshowing that area appeared on the cover of the March 1971 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 73. We also included in that issue a biographicalrecord of our present subject's greatgrandfather, the first WilliamSparks to appear in Queen Annes County; he died there in 1709. (See pp.1381-89)

As explained in that article, land records in Queen Annes County provethat this first William Sparks had come to Maryland from HampshireCounty, England, at least as early as 1670, as had also his brother, JohnSparks. Recent research strongly suggests that they were sons of Thomasand Joane (Davis) Sparks who had been married in Fareham Parish inHampshire County, England, on October 19, 1635. Among the children ofThomas and Joane was a son named William Sparks, baptized on August 6,1646, and a son named John Sparks, baptized on December 3, 1649. Theyalso had two other sons baptized in the Fareham Parish Church: FrancisSparks, baptized on July 20, 1641, and Richard Sparks, baptized onDecember 10, 1658.

The oldest son of the immigrant William Sparks (died 1709) was also namedWilliam; he was called "William Sparks, Jr." in official records duringthe time that his father was living. William, Jr. was born about 1674.From the will and estate records of the elder William Sparks (died 1709),we know that there were also sons named George, born about 1679; John,born about 1684; and Joseph, born about 1690. An article about JohnSparks and his family appeared in the December 1974 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 88, pp. 1699-1704, and one devoted to Joseph Sparksand his family (he was born about 1690 and died in 1749), appeared in theQUARTERLY of March 1990, Issue No. 149, pp. 3554-61.

William Sparks, Jr., grandfather of our present subject, was born about1674 and died in Queen Annes County sometime after 1734. He did not leavea will, and no records have been found pertaining to the settlement ofhis estate. He was married twice. His first wife, to whom he was marriedsometime prior to March 1696, was Margaret Hamilton, daughter of JosiahHamilton of New Castle, Delaware. She died prior to 1729, and WilliamSparks, Jr. was then married to Anne ------ who died on December 16,1730. William Sample Sparks was, we feel confident, a son of the firstmarriage. As noted above, he was born about 1700.

As was noted in the article appearing in the December 1989 issue of theQUARTERLY, we believe that William Sample Sparks was married more thanonce, possibly even three times. The marriage of a William Sparks and aMary Courmon (or Corman) dated August 24, 1732, and recorded in St.Luke's Parish register [page 41), may have been that of William SampleSparks, but, if so, it could not have been his first marriage. There canbe little doubt that his son William was a child of an earlier union.

We can be sure that William Sparks, subject of this sketch, was at leasttwentyv one years old when he became owner of his first tract of land inFrederick County, Maryland, on July 11, 1749.

It was in or about 1736 that William Sample Sparks moved his family fromQueen Annes County, Maryland, across the Chesapeake Bay and beyond thesmall town of Baltimore, to what was then the western frontier ofMaryland. He settled in that part of Prince Georges County that is nowthe western part of Carroll County (Carroll County was not formed until1837 when it was cut off from Frederick County; Frederick County had beencut off from Prince Georges County in 1748). William Sparks, subject ofthis sketch, accompanied his father as a lad of perhaps ten or elevenyears. (For further details regarding this move, the reader is referredto pages 3487-88 of the December 1989 QUARTERLY. A map showing the areaof the family's settlement near Big and Little Pipe Creeks is shown alsoon page 3488.)

William Sample Sparks always signed his name by mark, doubtlessindicating that he had never learned to write. This does not necessarilymean that he could not read. It appears that his children, likewise,never learned to write.

No record has been found giving us a list of the children of WilliamSample Sparks, but strong circumstantial evidence supports our beliefthat, in addition to his son named William, he was the father of MatthewSparks, born in the 1750s. (See the QUARTERLY of June 1961, Whole No. 34,pp. 557-58, for a biographical record of Matthew Sparks who was killed byIndians in Georgia in 1793; we had not determined that he was a son ofWilliam Sample Sparks, however, when that article was published.) Theremay have been still other sons of William Sample Sparks whom we have notyet identified; he had at least one daughter named Rachel.
After spending about eighteen years in that part of Prince Georges Countywhich, in 1748, had been cut off to form Frederick County, Maryland,William Sample Sparks, now a man in his fifties, made one more major moveto a new land.

As explained in our article in the December 1989 issue of the QUARTERLY,he went from Maryland to the Forks of the Yadkin in North Carolina, anarea that was then within Rowan County, in or about 1754. He wasaccompanied by most members of his family with the exception of hisoldest son, William Sparks, subject of the present article. Three cousinsof William Sample Sparks, sons of his uncle, Joseph Sparks who had diedin Frederick County in 1749, also made this journey.

(These cousins, Solomon, Jonas, and Jonathan Sparks, were a generationyounger than William Sample Sparks. See the QUARTERLY of March 1990,Whole No. 149, pp. 3554-61, for an article about Joseph Sparks, died1749, and his family.)

A probable reason why William Sparks did not accompany his father andsiblings to North Carolna in or about 1754 was the fact that he hadbecome a land owner; in all likelihood, he was also married by that time.It was on July 11, 1749, that William Sparks acquired his first tract ofland in Frederick County, Marylnad. Before discussing this, however, wemust say a few words about land ownership in Maryland in the colonialperiod in order to understand the nature of William's purchase in 1749.

Maryland had been established as a "Proprietary Colony" in 1633 by aRoyal Charter from King Charles I to Lord Baltimore and his heirs andsuccessors. This charter gave only to the Proprietor, through hisresident agent, the right to confer land upon Maryland settlers. From thecharter, it would seem that the Proprietor (Lord Baltimore) was the soleand absolute landlord while the settlers or planters were his lawfultenants. In reality, however, a grant of land from the Proprietor carriedwith it most of the same rights that would be those of a landowner today,except that a yearly quit-rent was required (a rather modest amount,actually), and another tax, called an "alienation fine," was charged whenthe "owner" sold his land or when it passed to an heir. This fee was paidby the new owner. The system remained in effect in Maryland until theAmerican colonies won their independence from England.

By 1749, even as far west as Frederick County, "vacant land," i.e. , landthat had never been granted by the Lord Proprietor, was becoming ratherscarce, although an enterprising individual might still find such tracts.Upon receiving a claim, the colony's land office would investigate todetermine if it were true that no one else had been granted all or partof the tract. If no prior claim were found, a warrant would be issued tothe claimant and a survey taken. There was one other condition, however:the grantee had to prove himself to be a solid citizen who could becounted upon to pay the annual quit-rent. In 1749, the quit-rent was onepound sterling for 500 acres or less.

So it was that on July 11, 1749, the colony's land office accepted theclaim that William Sparks had made for fifty acres of vacant land andissued him a "certificate of survey" or warrant. Since William Sparks wasquite a young man in 1749, and the fact that his father was not a landowner, we wonder whether he may have married about this time and whetherhis father-in-law might have "backed" him in this enterprise.Unfortunately, we have found no record revealing the name of William'swife other than the fact that her first name was Ann.

Four months later, on November 4, 1749, the colony's deputy surveyor forFrederick County, a man named Isaac Brooke, measured William Sparks'sclaim.

The system used throughout the colonial period for measuring anddescribing tracts of land was called "Metes and Bounds." The "RectangularSystem" in use today, based on the Principal Meridians, which run northand south, and the Base Lines running east and west, was adopted byCongress in 1785. Under the "Metes and Bounds" system, a known land-markwas required for a place of beginning, and then lines would be followedaccording to the compass-needle (or magnetic bearing), or the course of astream, the track of a path or road, or the boundary line of a grantpreviously made to someone else. Because the place of beginning such asurvey might be a tree or even a pile of stones, and the pointsidentified along the way were usually of equal impermanence, one canimagine the confusion that often followed over the years as land ownerstried to determine where a fence belonged or a road should be laid out.Farms usually had strange shapes under the "Metes and Bounds" system.

There was another interesting custom in land ownership in Maryland whichhad been brought from England. Each tract of land was given a name by itsfirst owner, and this name usually continued in use even after the tractpassed into the hands of another person. It is interesting to speculateupon the message that a landowner intended to give when he chose a namefor his tract.

The document produced by a surveyor was called a patent and was recordedby the Proprietor's agent in the colony's land office. These are foundtoday in the Commissioner Land Office in Annapolis. A copy of thatpertaining to William Sparks's fifty acres was obtained a number of yearsago from Liber BY & GS, folio 25, and is given below as an illustrationof the "Metes and Bounds" system of surveying. As will be seen, Williamchose the name SPARKS DELIGHT for his tract, obviously expressing hispleasure at becoming a landowner.

The Patent (or survey) of SPARKS DELIGHT reads as follows:

Frederick County ss: By virtue of a Warrant granted out of his LordshipsLand Office of this Province to William Sparks of said County for Fiftyacres of Land bearing date July 11th 1749 I therefore Certifie as DeputySurveyor under his Excellency Samuel Ogle Esq Governor of Maryland I havecarefully laid out and in the name of said Sparks all that Tract of Landcalled SPARKS DELIGHT Beginning at two Bounded Spanish Oaks standing atthe foot of a hill between the said hill and the Beaver Pond and on theEast side of Monocacy [River] running thence South three degrees Eastthirty six perches then South eighty seven degrees West eight perchesthen North thirty nine degrees West sixty two perches then North seventyfour degrees West sixteen perches then North five degrees West sixtyperches then South eighty five degrees East twenty six perches then Souththirty eight perches then South fifty five degrees East eighteen perchesthen North nine degrees East forty two perches then South fifty sixdegrees East sixty perches then North eighty three degrees East fortyperches then South sixty perches then by a straight line to the BeginningTrees Containing and now laid out for Fifty Acres of Land to be held ofConococheague Manor Surveyed November 4th 1749

Pr Isaac Brooke DtY Surv
10 August 1750 Examined and passed
Ross Examr
It should be noted that when William Sparks obtained this land, it was inFrederick County, but that when, in 1837, that portion of FrederickCounty that lay east of the Monocacy River became Carroll County, SPARKSDELIGHT was included in Carroll County.

The description and measurements found in this survey were typical of thesystem called "Metes and Bounds." A "perch" was 16.5 feet in length, thesame as today's rod. The mention of "Conococheague Manor" refers to thefact that Cecilius Calvert, the Second Lord Baltimore and the firstProprietor of Maryland, had set aside this, along with several otherlarge tracts of land, each called a manor, in which it was his plan thatthe land therein would be leased but not sold. The manor calledConococheague was the one nearest William Sparks's tract of land, but itsmention here apparently had only some administrative meaning.

On the same day that the survey of SPARKS DELIGHT was recorded inMaryland's land office (November 4, 1749), a deed was also issued toWilliam Sparks that was signed by Samuel Ogle, whose impressive title was"Lieutenant General and Chief Governor of our said Province of Maryland,Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal thereof." This document (thedeed) specified that, while William Sparks and his heirs might hold hisland "forever," he would be required "at our City of St. Marys at the twomost usual feasts in the year, viz. the feast of the Annunciation of theBlessed Virgin Mary [March 25] and St. Michael the Arch Angel [September29] by even and equal portions the Rent of two shllings in Silver orGold." This was the quit-rent required of each Maryland landowner, set atthe rate of one pound sterling per 500 acres.

As was the custom, the deed also specified that there would be "a fineupon every Alienation of the said Land or any part or parcel thereof." Ashas been noted, this would be the fee that was required from thepurchaser or heir when land passed to a new owner. The amount of such a"fine" was not specified because it could vary in amount as theProprietor should see fit. It was usually equal, however, to one year'squit-rent.

A plat of this tract, with its complicated measurements, has been drawnfor us by George J. Horvath, Jr. whose Olde Map Shop is located inEldersburg, Maryland. His plat is shown on the page 3756. [See ScrapbookItem 2]

Taneytown is the nearest town to SPARKS DELIGHT today, being about eightmiles southeast. The Taneytown Pike (Highway 140) passes through thetract's southern tip.

Four months after William Sparks acquired his SPARKS DELIGHT, SolomonSparks, a first cousin of William's father, obtained a warrant for atract of land comprising ninety-three acres located on the opposite (thewestern side) of the Monocacy River on Beaver Dam Branch, in what isstill Frederick County today. Beaver Dam Creek is a small stream flowingfrom south to north and joins Little Pipe Creek about two miles west ofUnion Bridge.

Solomon Sparks's land was a tract that had been granted originally to Dr.Joshua Warfield, who had named it COLD FRIDAY. Warfield apparentlytransferred his warrant to Solomon Sparks who then had it surveyed in hisown name [see Liber BY & GS #4, p. 406]. Three years later, on June 20,1753, Solomon Sparks and his wife, Sarah, sold this same tract to MatthewHoward for thirtyfive pounds sterling [Frederick Co. Deed Book E, pp.194-95]. Solomon Sparks was one of the cousins of William Sample Sparkswho accompanied him the following year to North Carolina. (Solomon was ason of Joseph Sparks who died in Frederick County in 1749.)

Another son of Joseph Sparks (died 1749), Joseph Sparks, Jr., obtained awarrant for 150 acres of vacant land on October 31, 1751. It was surveyedfor him by Isaac Brooke on November 10, 1741 [Liber Y & S, Folio 131-33].Like COLD FRIDAY, this tract lay on Beaver Dam Branch on the west side ofthe Monocacy. It is curious that Joseph named his land also SPARKSDELIGHT, the same name chosen by William Sparks for his fifty-acre tracton the east side of the Monocacy. For two tracts of land in the samegeneral area to be given identical names was highly unusual.

William Sparks probably built a cabin on SPARKS DELIGHT shortly afterobtaining his deed and began farming the land. His principal crop wassurely tobacco. Whether his marriage had come shortly before acquiringhis fifty acres or soon thereafter; we do not know, and, as we havenoted, our only knowledge of his wife is that her name was Ann.

It appears that William prospered because six years after his first landacquisition, he was able to add to his fifty acres. One wonders whetherhe may have been assisted by a helpful father-in-law. In any case, onAugust 13, 1755, he purchased from a wealthy land owner named JamesBrooke a tract comprising seventy-one acres which lay on the east andnorth sides of SPARKS DELIGHT. This was a small part of a huge tract ofland (9,078 acres) that had been obtained by James Brooke in 1754 and wasnamed ADDITION TO BROOKE DISCOVERY ON THE RICH LAND. These 9,078 acresstretched out in what is now both Frederick and Carroll Counties "on theBranches of Monocacy River." As a land speculator, James Brooke, likeother members of the Brooke family in Frederick County, acquired landprimarily to hold it until the desire of small farmers to own land oftheir own grew to the point that they were willing and able to pay aprice that Brooke would find acceptable. He would then sell hisinvestment in small parcels.

William Sparks paid Brooke "three pounds [and] Eleven Shillings Sterlingmoney of Great Britain" for his seventy-one acres, and it was William,not Brooke, of course, who was required to pay the "alienation fine" (2shillings and 10 pence, sterling) to the agent of the Lord Proprietor,Edward Lloyd, Esquire. The deed was witnessed by Thomas Beatty and JosephWood [Frederick Co. Deed Book E, page 8241. Both of these men had figuredin settling the estate of Joseph Sparks, William's grand-uncle, in 1749.With the addition of these seventy-one acres, William's farm now had theshape shown on the following page. [See Scrapbook Item 3]

Seven years passed before William was able to enlarge his farm again.During that time, Brooke had sold parcels of his 9,078 acres to severalmen who had thus become William's neighbors. Included among theseneighbors were men named Peter Tanner, John and Isaac Everhart, AbrahamHayter, George Geree, Richard Brooke, John McKorkel, John Wimer, GeorgeSmith, Andrew Row, and William Currans. By 1762, however, there stillremained unsold some of Brooke's land that adjoined that of WilliamSparks, and on April 3 of that year he was able to purchase two tracts.The larger of these, comprising 104 acres, lay largely on the west sideof the Monocacy River, between tracts owned by William Currans and JohnEverett. For this tract, William paid Brooke twenty-five pounds; he alsopaid the "alienation fine" of four shillings and two pence, sterling. Thewitnesses to this deed were Charles Jones and David Linn, both of whomwere then justices of the peace [Frederick Co. Deed Book G, pp. 463-641.

On the same day, April 12, 1762, William Sparks purchased still anothertract from James Brooke comprising forty acres [Deed Book G, pp. 460-61].This tract lay on the east side of the Monocacy, in what is now CarrollCounty, and adjoined SPARKS DELIGHT on the south. What is especiallyinteresting about this purchase is the price--only "Five shillingssterling." This was no more than a token payment. The explanation forBrooke's generosity was included in the text of the deed--it was "for thegood will which he [Brooke] beareth unto the said William Sparks and fordivers other good causes and considerations."

We can only speculate regarding the basis for Brooke's "good will" towardWilliam Sparks. Perhaps it was because he had been paid a good price forthe larger tract which Sparks purchased from him on the same day. Perhapsthese forty 40 acres were of poor quality. There is also the fact thatwhen Peter Tanner had bought a tract of 103 acres from Brooke in May1756, these forty acres had been left surrounded by Tanner's land andSPARKS DELIGHT. Brooke may have concluded that no one else would everwant this small parcel which had only the river as an outlet. There isalso the possibility that William's wife, Ann, may have been related insome manner to James Brooke, and that he did her husband a favor for thisreason. William Sparks paid the "alienation fine" in the amount of "oneshilling and seven pence half penny sterling." (James Brooke died in1767, and in his will mentioned his wife, Hannah, a son named Amos,daughters named Deborah and Elizabeth, and brothers Roger Brooke, RichardBrooke, and Basil Brooke [See Frederick Co. Will Book Al, pp. 299-392].

William Sparks was able to enlarge his farm one more time. He discoveredthat there was a small parcel of vacant land lying along the west side ofthe Monocacy River, across from SPARKS DELIGHT and adjoining the tractthat Brooke had sold to William Currans in 1761; it had not been includedin Brooke's large grant in 1754. The fact that this was "vacant land"must have come to light in connection with his acquisition of theforty-acre parcel, for on the very next day, April 13, 1762, Williamobtained a warrant for the eighteen acres which it comprised. On June 2,1762, a survey was made on behalf of William Sparks, thus giving him theprivilege of choosing a name for this addition to his farm. The name hechose was WILLIAM AND ANN, his own and his wife's forenames. One maywonder whether possibly Ann could have played a roll in obtaining thiswarrant. The grant was made official on June 9, 1762, with a patent thatwas recorded in the Commissioner Land Office, Liber BC & GS #17, Folio642.

William Sparks agreed to pay a yearly quit-rent to the Lord Proprietor of"Nine Pence Sterling in Silver or Gold" on the same two feast days asspecified in his patent to SPARKS DELIGHT in 1749. (Actually, allquit-rents were due on those days throughout the province.) Horat:oSharpe signed the patent for WILLIAM AND ANN as "Lieutenant General andChief Governor of said Province of Maryland and Chancellor and Keeper ofthe Great Seal thereof."

With the additions that William Sparks made to his farm in 1762, he nowowned a total of 283 acres. (This has been platted for us by GeorgeHorvath, Jr., and we have reproduced his outline on page 3761.) [SeeScrapbook Item 3] While he could not have qualified as a major landownerin Frederick County in 1762, William Sparks surely ranked as a prosperousfarmer, for he owned considerably more land than did the typical farmerof his day. He could not possibly have cultivated all 283 acres byhimself, however. He may have hired men to work for him, or he may haverented portions of his land to his neighbors.

Few records from Frederick County dating from prior to the AmericanRevolution survive today, except those pertaining to land ownership,court decisions, and and the settling of estates. We have no knowledge ofwhether William Sparks was a member of any church during his years inFrederick County. The only newspaper published during this period inMaryland was the Maryland Gazette in Annapolis, and the only occasionthat William Sparks was mentioned in that was in the issue of August 23,1759. This was in connection with the settlement of the estate of IsaacBrooke, the man who had surveyed William's first land grant, SPARKSDELIGHT, in 1749. Brooke had died suddenly "in the Prime of Life"according to the Gazette of November 18, 1756, and Richard Brooke becamethe executor of his estate. Richard Brooke advertised for sale a tract ofland in Frederick County that had belonged to Isaac Brooke calledFRENCHMAN'S PURCHASE which lay on the west side of the Monocacy River,about three-quarters of a mile north from SPARKS DELIGHT. In his notice,Richard Brooke directed interested parties to "Apply to William Sparksliving near the land."

A frequent type of notice appearing in colonial newspapers pertained tostray livestock. Joseph Sparks, a cousin of William's father who nowlived near William on land he had purcahsed from Raphel Taney on PineyCreek in 1760, was noted in the Gazette of June 13, 1754: "Joseph Sparks,near Piney Creek in Frederick County [now Carroll County], has a straymare." Then, in the issue for September 3, 1761, his name appeared again:"Joseph Sparks, near Piney Creek ... has a stray mare at his plantation."Custom required that livestock which had strayed onto a farmer's landshould be described in an advertisement in order to remove any questionthat the animal might have been stolen. If the owner then appeared toclaim his stray, he was expected to pay for its keep as well as the costof the advertisement.

(Article above on page 3761 continues under notes for William's spouseAnn Sparks)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1963, Whole No. 42, pp. 728-734:

"GEORGE SPARKS AND WILLIAM SPARKS OF WASHINGTON CO.PENNSYLVANIA".

Portions relating to both men or specificially to William are copiedbelow:

"According to separate statements made by George Sparks and WilliamSparks in 1780, they had both settled in what is now Washington County,Pennsylvania, in the year 1773. They had come as pioneers to what wasthen the West . There is little doubt but that they were natives ofMaryland, probably the county of Frederick." (JS: Later it is proven thatthey were sons of Joseph (344 ) and grandsons of William I (204).)

"A descendant of William Sparks stated many years ago that WilliamSparks had lived near Fredericksburg, Maryland. There was never a townnamed Fredericksburg in Maryland, however, and he doubtless intendedFredericktown which is now called simply Frederick and is the county seatof Frederick County. Another descendant of William Sparks stated manyyears ago that the family had lived near Baltimore before immigrating toPennsylvania. Baltimore is about 20 miles from Frederick County.

"George and William Sparks were probably brothers---at least we can besure they were closely related. They chose tracts of land which almostadjoined (see cover), although on a modern map George Sparks's land islocated in Hopewell Township in Washington County while William's tractis just over the line in Independence Township. Only a few milesseparate these tracts from the line separating Washington County,Pennsylvania, from Ohio County, West Virginia.

"When George and William Sparks settled in western Pennsylvania in1773 it was the custom for a newcomer simply to choose a tract of landwhich he liked and which had not been claimed by anyone else, to deaden afew trees around the edge or at the head of the spring which watered it,and to chop his initials in one or more of the deadened trees. Thiscrude method of registering one's claim came to be called a "tomahawkright." A descendant of William Sparks recalled many years ago that therewas a family tradition that William Sparks had taken up a "tomahawkright" in Pennsylvania, although this descendant did not know the meaningof the term.

"We can only speculate upon the dates of birth of George and WilliamSparks. We know that George's eldest son, Salathiel Sparks, was born in1756 while William's oldest son, James Sparks, was born in 1759. Itseems probable, therefore, that George and William were about the sameage and were probably born in the early 1730's. George's wife's name wasMary and she was still living in 1803 when he made his will. Since oneof their sons was named William Bostwick Sparks (at a time when middlenames were unusual) it is possible that her maiden name was Bostwick.According to descendants, William Sparks married Martha Moore.

"The area in which George and William Sparks settled in 1773 was thenclaimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia. (William Perry Johnson hasprepared a detailed history of this famous controversy for this issue ofthe QUARTERLY.) Since each commonwealth believed the area to be a part ofits domain, each attempted to govern, tax, and protect its own settlers.From later records it is apparent that George and William Sparks, comingas they did from Maryland, considered themselves to be citizens ofVirginia, as did the other settlers in their immediate area. The sectionin which the Sparkses lived was designated by Virginia as comprising apart of West Augusta County, then in 1776 as Ohio County. Pennsylvania,on the other hand, included this section in its county of Cumberlanduntil 1771 when it formed a part of Bedford County; in 1773 Pennsylvaniamade it a part of Westmoreland County. Finally, in 1781, this areabecame a part of Washington County, Pennsylvania. Thus, recordspertaining to George and William Sparks are found in both Virginia andPennsylvania.

"The most important Virginia record pertaining to George and WilliamSparks has to do with the final settlement of this controversy betweenPennsylvania and Virginia. Virginia agreed in 1780 to give up her claimto western Pennsylvania with the understanding that she could issuecertificates to her settlers for their land claims which would be honoredby Pennsylvania. About 400 settlers in what is now Washington Countyapplied to Virginia for certificates. To obtain a certificate, it wasnecessary for the applicant to state the year in which he made his firstsettlement in the disputed area. Both George and William Sparks statedthat they had settled on their claims in the year 1773. (The officialcopy of these certificates retained by Virginia is now preserved in thelibrary of the University of West Virginia, a microfilm of which wasloaned to the present writer.)

"George Sparks received two certificates in 1780--one for the tractoriginally settled by him, the other for a tract which he had purchasedfrom another settler. The first of these, dated January 29, 1780, wasfor 400 acres "on the waters of Buffalo and Cross Creek to include hisSettlement made in the year 1773." The other certificate also datedJanuary 29, 1780, was also for 400 acres and was for land which had beensettled originally by William Bailey in 1775, but which George Sparks hadpurchased. This latter tract, which adjoined the first tract, wasdescribed as being "on the waters of Cross Creek." (These references toBuffalo Creek and Cross Creek did not mean that these tracts necessarilyadjoined the creeks, but that these were the nearest large streams ofwater.)

"The Virginia certificate issued to William Sparks was dated February5, 1780, and was for 400 acres "on the waters of Buffaloe to Include hisSettlement made in the year 1773."

"A good many years passed before Pennsylvania issued patents for theseVirginia certificates, although they were surveyed in 1786. In mostinstances, the surveys revealed that the tracts were smaller than theyhad been described originally. George Sparks's home tract was found tocontain 353 acres, while that which he had purchased from William Baileycontained only slightly over 258 acres. It was then a Southern custom,especially in Maryland, for the original owner to give to each tract aname by which it would be known thereafter in land and tax records.George Sparks gave the name "Sparta" to the tract on which he had settledin 1773., while the tract he had acquired from Bailey was called"Elenoroon." It was not until April, 1798, that George Sparks finallyobtained a permanent Pennsylvania title to his land, and then he had topay a fee of 2 pounds, 18 shillings and 8 pence for "Sparta" and 2pounds, 3 shillings and 4 pence for "Elenoroon."

"When William Sparks's tract was surveyed in 1786, it was found tocontain slightly over 323 acres. Prior to 1786, however, Thomas Bineshad purchased this tract, probably from William's heirs since it seemsprobable that William Sparks had died prior to 1786. When Thomas Binesobtained a patent from Pennsylvania for this tract in 1787 it was called"Benington', probably having been given that name originally by WilliamSparks.

"While Virginia and Pennsylvania were engaged in their conflict overwestern Pennsylvania, about 2000 inhabitants signed a petition askingthat the struggle be settled simply by creating a new state out of thedisputed area. This petition, which is preserved among the papers of theContinental Congress, is undated, but was prepared sometime between 1776and 1780. This list of signers was recently published by Raymond MartinBell of Washington & Jefferson College--it contains the signature ofWilliam Sparks but not that of George Sparks. At about the same timethat this petition was being circulated, the state of Virginia asked thatall settlers sign "An Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth ofVirginia." A man named William Scott, who was a militia captain andwhose land nearly adjoined that of George Sparks, was charged withobtaining these oaths in his district. On February 2, 1778, Scottreported to the clerk of the County Court of Ohio County, Virginia, thaton October 6, 1777, George Sparks had given his oath, but that inDecember, 1777, William Sparks (among many others) had refused. Thisprobably means that, while George Sparks wished to remain a subject ofVirginia, William Sparks favored the forming of a separate state out ofthe disputed land.

"In 1782, this same William Scott commanded a company in the 4thBattalion of Washington County Militia and a William Sparks was listed asa private in his company. This probably refers, however, to WilliamBostwick Sparks, son of George Sparks, or to William Sparks, Jr., son ofWilliam Sparks. George Sparks, Jr., son of George Sparks, was also amember of this company. (See the Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol.2, pp. 138, 158, and 159.) According to a biographical sketch of AllenSparks (grandson of William Sparks) which was written by Elijah Sparks(great-grandson of William Sparks) for the History of Clinton County,Indiana published in 1886, William Sparks served in the American armyduring the Revolution "and was at the storming of Stony Point, the battleof Brandywine, and surrender of Cornwallis." According to JosephClaybaugh's History of Clinton County, Indiana, published in 1913., in anarticle on James Allen Sparks-(another great-grandson of William Sparks),it was William's son, James Sparks, who served in the AmericanRevolution. Since William Sparks was at least 45 at the time of theRevolution, while his son James was a young man of 17 when the war began,it would seem more probable that it was James who fought the Britishrather than his father. He was probably the James Sparks who was amember of Capt. Zadook Wright's company of the 2nd Battalion of theWashington County Militia in 1782. (Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series,Vol. 2, pp. 27, 33, and 61.)

"The Ohio County, Virginia Court records contain a number ofreferences to George and William Sparks. (These records were published inthe Annals of the Carnegie Museum, Vols. 1-3, Pittsburgh, 1902-05; InezR. Waldenmaier prepaired an index in In 1780, for example, a referencewas made to a lawsuit involving a man named Miller vs. George Sparks andhis wife, Mary. Unfortunately, the record does not reveal the nature ofthe suit. On June 2, 1777, during a meeting of the Ohio County Court,William Sparks took the oath of office as Ensign of the Militia--hisColonel was named David Shepherd. At a meeting of the court held October4, 1779, William Sparks was ordered along with Samuel Teter, JosephWorley and John Fergusson to "view the nearest and best way for a roadfrom John Boggs Mill to Alexander Wells, on Cross Creek, and make reportto next Court." All of those persons named lived in what is nowIndependence Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. On November 1,1779, William Sparks was called to serve on a grand jury in Ohio County,and on March 7, 1780, he was ordered, along with John Doldridge, ArthurMcConnel, John Huff, and Thomas Uri to settle a dispute betmen JohnCarpenter and James Kerr. The latter lived on a farm adjoining that ofWilliam Sparks.

"The most intriguing reference to William Sparks among these VirginiaCourt records is that dated March 3, 1777, when it was recorded thatHenry Nelscn "came into Court and complains that William Sparks had in anillegal manner taken away his child and unjustly detains the same withouthis consent." William Sparks was then summoned to appear at the nextCourt to answer this complaint, which he did on April 8, 1777, when itwas recorded: "William Sparks appeared before this court, and having nothad an opportunity of convening his evidence ordered that it lay overunto the next Court & that the child continue in the care of WilliamSparks until that time." There is no further record of this dispute, soperhaps it was settled out of court. There can be little doubt, however,that this Henry Nelson was the same Henry Nelson who, on February 9,1773, had been allowed 45 pounds by the Orphans Court of Bedford County,Pennsylvania (which then had jurisdiction under Pennsylvania law overthat area which became Washington County), for "clothing, educating &maintaining the following children of Charles Sparks, decd.:
"For Absolm Sparks for 1 year at 3 £ per annum --- £3-0-0
"For Phebe Sparks for 3 years at 6 £ per annum & one quarterschooling ------ £18-5-0
"For Charles Sparks for 3 years at 8 £ per annum -- £24-0-0

------------

£45-5-0."

"Only two other records have been found pertaining to this CharlesSparks, father of Absolom, Phebe, and Charles, Jr. One is a BedfordCounty Court record dated July 22, 1771, granting letters ofadministration on the estate of Charles Sparks to Robert Moore. Then, in1773, Robert Moore was taxed, as administrator of the estate of CharlesSparks consisting of 100 acres of land in Providence Township, BedfordCounty. (Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22, p. 261). CharlesSparks must have been related to William and George Sparks, and it my besignificant that a Robert Moore was administrator of Charles Sparks'sestate while William Sparks had married Martha Moore. (A Robert Moorereceived a Virginia certificate in 1780 to a tract of land that is nowRobinson Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.) The child whom HenryNelson accused William Sparks of taking from him may have been one ofthese children of Charles Sparks. Both Charles Sparks, Jr., and AbsolomSparks, sons of Charles Sparks, served in the Revolution. Charles, Jr.,served as a Ranger on the Frontier between 1778 and 1783 (PennsylvaniaArchives,, 3rd Series, Vol. 23, pp. 214 @@ 218.) Absolom Sparks was amember of Capt. William Scott's company in the 4th Battalion ofWashington County Militia and later in Lt. Harned's company.(Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 2, pp. 158-59 and 242.)

"Washington County, Pennsylvania, was created in 1781, having beencarved out of Westmoreland County. The first tax list for the new countyhas been preserved; it is dated 1781 and was published in thePennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22. Both William and GeorgeSparks were taxed in Hopewell Township; William's taxable propertyconsisted of 340 acres of land, 2 horses., 4 cattle, and 8 sheep; whileGeorge's consisted of 400 acres, 2 horses, 4 cattle, and 8 sheep. WhenIndependence Township was cut off from Hopevell Township in 1856, thedividing line separated the land once belonging to George and WilliamSparks, so that today William's tract is in Independence Township whileGeorge's is still in Hopewell Township. For a map showing how Virginia'scounty divisions compare with Pennsylvania's see the cover of the SPARKSQUARTERLY for September, 1954 (page 39).

"After 1781 it is impossible, with the records which we have been ableto gather thus far, to trace William Sparks further. (We have not beenable to have a detailed search made of court house records in WashingtonCounty.) We know that sometime prior to 1786 the land once owned byWilliam Sparks had passed into the hands of Thomas Bines. The name ofWilliam Sparks does not appear on the extant tax lists of HopewellTownship for 1785 or 1793. A William Sparks was taxed in FallowfieldTownship, Washington County, in 1784 but not in 1793; a William Sparkswas taxed in Stabane Township in 1793 but had not been there in 1784. Inboth instances this was probably either William Bostwick Sparks, son ofGeorge, or William Sparks, Jr., son of William. It seems probable thatWilliam Sparks died in the 1780's. Only one William Sparks was listed onthe 1790 census of Washington County--this was probably either WilliamBostwick Sparks or William Sparks, Jr. (William Sparks, who came toWashington County in 1773, must not be confused with the William Sparkswho died in Payette County, Pennsylvania, in 1788; this latter WilliamSparks, whose wife's name was Rachel, named the following children in hiswill: Isaac, Am, William, James, Rachel, Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah, andJohn.)

"So far as we have been able to learn, William Sparks of WashingtonCounty did not leave a will. According to descendants, he and his wife,Martha Moore, had the following children:

1. James Sparks
2. William Sparks, Jr.
3. Richard Sparks.
4. Pernina Sparks.
5. Marjory Sparks.
6. Martha Sparks.
7. Margaret Sparks."
(JS: This article continues on p. 732-34 regarding George Sparks (d.1806) that is found under notes for George.)

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

SQ 3231: Married Martha Moore on March 12, 1761. Children: James ,William, Richard, Pernina, Marjorie, Martha and Margaret.

***************
See SQ p. 3249 for an article entitled PROOF OF MARRIAGE OF WILLIAMSPARKS & MARTHA MOORE which, for space reasons has been copied under thenotes for William Sparks, Jr.

***************
SQ 3489 refers to William's baptism in the St. Luke's Parish Church inQueen Anne's County, MD. It was shortly after that that his fatherJoseph moved the family to the Monocacy River area in Prince George'sCounty, MD and died when William was 11 years old. They lived nearJoseph's cousin, William Sample Sparks in the Pipe Creek area.

***************
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1999, Whole No. 185, pp. 5116-5129:

"WHERE DID THE SPARKSES OFEARLY LEWIS COUNTY, KENTUCKY, COME FROM?"

By Paul E. Sparks and Russell E. Bidlack

"The preceding article in this issue of the QUARTERLY (pp.5106-5115)about John Sparks (1816-1899) of early Lewis County, Kentucky, affords usan opportunity to conjecture about his Sparks lineage. Unfortunately, atthe present time, we can only conjecture; however, there is fairly goodevidence that his great-grandfather was William Sparks, Sr., who was inBourbon County, Kentucky, as early as 1786." (JS: According to thisarticle, John Sparks was the son of Joseph and Ann (Wilson) Sparks,grandson of William and Martha (Moore) Sparks, great-grandson of Josephand Rachel Sparks and 2nd greatgrand-son of William I and Mary Sparks.]

"In order to consider the first Sparkses in Lewis County, we must notethe parent counties from which Lewis County was formed. Bourbon Countywas created in 1785 and embraced almost all of present-day easternKentucky. Mason County was next created; it was taken from BourbonCounty in 1788. Lewis County was form-ed from Mason County in 1806;thus, a family could have settled on land in Bour-bon County in 1785 andhave been a resident of Lewis County twenty years later without havingmoved.

"There can be little doubt that most, if not all, of the Sparkses whowere early settlers in the Kentucky counties named above (Bourbon, Mason,and Lewis) were descendants of William Sparks, Sr. He was in BourbonCounty in 1786 where he and his son, William Sparks, Jr., were among thepetitioners to have a new county formed that would be more convenient forthem. He and William Sparks (Jr.?) paid property taxes in Bourbon Countyin 1787. (One was listed as "William Sparks" and the other as "Wm.Sparks" by the tax collector in 1787.) By .1795, William Sparks, Sr. waspaying taxes in Bourbon County along with five other men named Sparks whowere, we believe, sons of William Sparks, Sr. They were: William Sparks,Jr.; George Sparks; Michael Sparks; John Sparks; and Joseph Sparks. Fourof these men were married in Bourbon County between 1791 and 1797. Weestimate that they had been born in the 1770s. William Sparks, Sr.continued to pay taxes in Bourbon County until 1797.

"Recently we received a copy of a document, "The Daly Family," writtenin 1930 by Henry Daly and published in the June 1988 issue of apublication of the Ventura [California] Genealogical Society. Mr. Dalymade several references to an ancestor named Sarah (Sparks) Morrow ofearly Bourbon County, Kentucky. Here is what he wrote about her:

"Grandma Morrow was Sarah Sparks. She had 5 brothers in theRevolution[ary] War. She died at the home of her youngest son, SamuelMorrow, at Roachport, Boone Co., [Missouri] in August 1851, while nursingher grandson, Robert Morrow, 3rd, with the cholera. The Sparks familywas a large one, 15 children. The father and 4 brothers took sides withthe British while the other 5 sons supported the colonists. The Morrowsobjected to their son marrying one of the girls but he married the 4thdaughter of Cul (or Cal) Sparks and moved to the wilds of Kentucky;settled 6 miles east of the now city of Paris, Ky. She was a noble womanand raised all of the 10 [sic] children up to be respected.

"The size of the family of William Sparks, Sr., and its presence inBourbon County, tends to make us believe that this is the Sparks familythat Henry Daly wrote about. We wonder whether the "Cull" or "Call"Sparks to whom Daly appears to state was Sarah's father might have beenthe nickname for Michael Sparks taxed in Bourbon County in 1795. If so,we wonder whether Henry Daly, writing from childhood memory, may haveconfused the name of Sarah (Sparks) Morrow's father's name with that ofher brother.

"Paris, six miles from which Daly stated that Sarah and her husbandhad settled, is the county seat of Bourbon County. Sarah's husband'sname was Robert Morrow, according to Henry Daly, and their children'snames were: John, Riley, Jeptha, Delilah, Robert, Isabella, D.[daughter], Hiram, Irene, and Samuel.

"Where had William Sparks, Sr. and his family lived prior to his andWilliam Sparks, Jr.'s appearance as taxpayers in Bourbon County,Kentucky, in 1786? There are a few clues. At least one descendant hasstated that his pioneer ancestor named Sparks had come to Kentucky fromVirginia. An eminent genealogist, Dr. William N. Talley, lecturer atMcGill University, Montreal, Canada, wrote that the majority of the earlysettlers in Lewis County had come there from the southwestern part ofpresent-day Pennsylvania. This area had been claimed by both the colonyof Pennsylvania and that of Virginia prior to 1782 when the disputedboundary between the two states was finally settled by Congress in the"Decree of Trenton." Persons born before 1782 in what became WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania, for example, could later disagree on the state oftheir births, whether Pennsylvania or Virginia. (See the article entitled"Virginia Claims in Southwest Pennsylvania" in the June 1963 issue of theSPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 42, pp. 735-37.)

"Another tentative clue regarding where William Sparks, Sr. may havebeen before coming to Kentucky is found in Vol. I, 1788-1810, of theFederal Land Series, edited by Clifford Neal Smith and published by theAmeri an Library Association in 1972. On p. 149 is the text of adocument at the National Archives identified as:

"Item 2524, dated November 30, 1785 (D/164/161. Report of the housessituated between Yellow Creek & the mouth of the Muskingum [River] on theOhio destroyed by a detachment under the command of Capt. JohnDougherty....

"A photocopy of the original document referred to above has beenobtained from the National Archives and is reproduced on the followingpages (in the Sparks Quarterly, pp. 5118-19). It will be noted thatWilliam Sparks is named as occupying a cabin at Mingo Bottom (second fromthe last name on the first page). We believe that he was probably theWilliam Sparks, Sr. who migrated to Bourbon County, Kentucky.

"Why did the Federal government order that these settlers' houses onthe upper Ohio River be destroyed in 1785? It was because they,including William Sparks, had, in the terminology of the time, "squatted"on land without obtaining titles to it. The Federal Government hadrecognized this land as belonging to Native Americans. Thus, these"squatters" were violating agreed upon Indian rights and thus could wellignite the flames of an Indian war. On September 23, 1783, theContinental Congress had issued a proclamation forbidding "all personsfrom making settlements on land inhabited or claimed by Indians, without[i.e. outside] the jurisdiction of any particular state."

"An excellent article devoted to this fascinating incident in Americanhistory by Randolph C. Downes appeared in the Ohio Archaelogical andHistorical Quarterly, Vol. XLIII, July 1934, No. 3, pp. 273-F2.- inthis, Mr. Downes tells how these "squatters" on the Upper Ohio River evenattempted to form a separate state within the Union to be governed by aman named William Hoglund.

"In his report to Col. Josiah Harmar [see following pages] after hissquad's destruc-tion of the settlers' houses in November 1785, CaptainDougherty added a private note: "Notwithstanding which I am firmly ofopinion that many will be re-built, for the poor devils have nowhere togo." Indeed, some did remain and rebuilt their cabins, but William Sparkswas not among them. When another military unit went in April 1786 againto drive out the "squatters" by destroying their homes, William Sparks'sname was not on list. Mr. Downes noted in his article that it was notuntil 1789 that the last of the "squatters" left the Upper Ohio when anIndian war did actually begin. He noted: "Then and then only did thisnameless state cease to exist as its citizens fled, some back toPennsylvania and Virginia, others down the Ohio to the fertile lands ofKentucky.

"Was William Sparks one of those who, after the first burning of theirhomes in 1785, fled "down the Ohio to the fertile lands of Kentucky?" Webelieve there are reasons to suggest that he was.

"If the William Sparks who had "squatted" on land at Mingo Bottom onthe west side of the Ohio River was the same William Sparks, Sr. who wasin Bourbon County, Kentucky, as early as 1786, where had he been beforecoming to the Upper Ohio? Again, we have clues amounting tocircumstantial evidence, but no specific documents to support them, butit seems highly probable, that he had come there from Washington County,Pennsylvania. Following is a summary of our knowledge of the WilliamSparks who, in 1773, had "squatted" on land in what would becomeWashington County, Pennsylvania, following the Degree of Trenton acceptedby Congress to become effective in 1782.

"William Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania, with his brother,George Sparks, were subjects of an article that appeared in the June 1963issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 42, pp. 728-34, although at that timewe had not yet found documentary proof of where they had lived prior to1773. Although we then thought it likely that they were brothers, wecould not be sure. Likewise, we had no knowledge of William Sparks'swhereabouts after 1781; we even thought that he may have died aboutthen. We had succeeded in finding several Interested descendants ofWilliam through his son, James Sparks, born about 1865, but they couldtell us little about James's parentage. We had considerably moreinformation about George Sparks, however, when we prepared the June 1963article. George had remained in Washington County for the rest of hislife, making his will there on July 9, 1803; he died in the spring of1806. George Sparks's wife's name had been Mary, and on page 734 of theJune 1963 QUARTERLY we gave a list of their children: Salathiel, George,Jr., William Bostwick, Solomon, James, and Mary.

"Our research since 1963 has proven that William and George Sparkswere, indeed, brothers; they were sons of Joseph Sparks who died inFrederick County, Maryland, in 1749. An article devoted to Joseph Sparksappeared in the QUARTERLY of March 1990, Whole No. 149, pp. 3554-61.Joseph Sparks was born about 1690 in Talbot County, Maryland, and was theyoungest son of William Sparks, who had been an immigrant to Marylandfrom Hampshire County, England, in or about 1662. William Sparks underconsideration here was thus a grandson of the immigrant and had doubtlessbeen named for him. This elder William Sparks made his will on June 21,1709, in Queen Annes County, Maryland; it was probated there in October1709. In his will, William Sparks had indicated that his son Joseph hadnot yet come of age. Two articles in the QUARTERLY have been devoted toWilliam Sparks (died 1709).

"The first appeared in the issue for March 1971, Whole No. 73, pp.1381-89; the second was in the issue of December 1992, Whole No. 160, pp.4025-34. We believe that William Sparks (died 1709) is the ancestor ofmore persons named Sparks in the U.S. today than of any other Sparksimmigrant.

(For lack of space, notes are continued under those of William'sspouse Martha (Moore) Sparks. )

SQ pg 3847: William Sparks, son of Millington and Mabel (Ruth) Sparks, was born about 1750. The only record we have found of him is t hetax assessment list of 1783 for Queen Annes County on which he i sidentified as "of Millington."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1991, No. 154, WILLIAM SPARKS (IV) at p. 3794:

"William Sparks, Jr.(V), born in Frederick County Maryland, about1750. He was a lad of thirteen or fourteen when he accompanied hisparents to the Forks of the Yadkin in 1764. We believe that in thefamily's next move to the then new county of Surry, William Jr. precededby his parents by a year or two. He settled on Brushy Mountain, which isnow in Yadkin County, near where his parents lived in the 178Os and179O. In or about 1798, he moved to Burke County, North Carolina, wherehis name appeared on the 18OO census. We have not found the name of hiswife. From census records, it appears that he and his wife may have hadas many as ten children, eight of whom seem to have been living at homein 1800. His name did not appear on the 181O census of Burke County;whether he had moved or died by then we do not know. We cannot identifypositively a single one of his children. From Census records, their datesof birth are suggested below:

(1) Son, born ca. 1775. His name may have been John Sparks.
(2) Daughter, born ca.1778.
(3) Daughter, born ca.1781.
(4) Son, born ca.1784. His name may have been Larkin Sparks.
(5) Daughter, born ca.1787.
(6) Daughter, born ca.1790.
(7) Son, born ca.1792. His name may have been William Sparks. (VI)
(8) Daughter, born ca.1794. Her name may have been Elizabeth Sparks.
(9) Daughter, born ca.1796.
(1O) Son, born ca.1798."

SQ March, 1996, Whole No. 173, p 4603:

"John Sparks was born about 1775 in Surry County, North Carolina . Hisfather, whom this writer believes was William Sparks, Jr. (521) , hadbeen born about 1750 in Frederick County, Maryland. As a lad of aboutthirteen or fourteen, William, Jr. had accompanied his parents (Williamand Ann Sparks), with several siblings, in their move from Maryland tothe Forks of the Yadkin in Rowan County, (now Davie County) North Carolina, in 1764. Then, in or about 1771, William Sparks, Jr. moved from theForks of the Yadkin to Surry County, North Carolina. His parents andsiblings made the same move a little later. (See lengthy article on theelder William Sparks in SQ of June 1991, Whole No. 154.[mentioned above]).

"Surry County had been created in 1770 from a portion of Rowan Countyand was thus within the vast land holdings of Lord Granville in England.Prior to 1763, tracts of one hundred or more acres of this la nd could bepurchased from Lord Granville's agent in North Carolina f or a relativelysmall amount of money, although there was an annual q uit rent that alsohad to be paid. Lord Granville died in 1763, howe ver, and because ofthe unrest in the colony that was leading up to t he American Revolution,his heirs never reopened the Granville land office. Like a great manyother pioneering settlers , William Sparks Jr., and later his father andsiblings, simply "squatted" on vacant land of their choice in SurryCounty, hoping that the time would come when they could acquire itlegally. This opportunity came with the end of the Revolution when thestate of North Carolina acquired the power to sell the land in what hadbeen Lord Granville's domain . Our earliest record of land owner- shipby William Sparks, Jr. is thus dated September 17, 1778, when he obtaineda grant from the stat e of North Carolina of 340 acres located where hehad been living for several years and on which he had made improvements,on "the top of Brushy Mountain." He paid the state at the rate of fiftyshillings per 100 acres, and there was no annual quit rent required. (Hisgrant was Surry County Grant No. 734.)

"On October 24, 1782, William Sparks, Jr. obtained another grant f romthe state of North Carolina at the same rate. This tract was described as being also "on top of Brushy Mountain near Rich Knob" in Surry County.(Se e Surry County Deed Book B, p. 245.) On August 9, 1787, WilliamSparks, Jr . obtained from the state still another tract of 100 acres forwhich he paid "fifty shillings." That, also, was located on "the richknob of Brushy Mountain." (Grant No. 1467, also recorded in Surry CountyDeed book D, p. 236. ) Other members of the Sparks family obtainedsimilar grants in Surry County.

"When the 1790 census was taken of Surry County, William Sparks, Jr.was shown as living very near his father and his brothers, George andThomas. Besides himself, his household in 1790 consisted of one male whowas over sixteen, another male under sixteen and five females. Thenumber of slaves in each household was also recorded--William Sparks, Jr.had no slaves in 1790.

"One of the five females in the household of William Sparks, Jr. in1790 was doubtless his wife, although we have found no clue regarding hername. We believe that the male enumerated as over sixteen (in additionto William, himself) was his son John Sparks, born about 1775, whoprobably turned sixteen in 1789; the male under sixteen may have been ason name Larkin Sparks, born ca. 1784. The four females, in addition toWilliam 's wife, were probably their daughters.

"We know that William Sparks, Jr. moved from Surry County to BurkeCounty, North Carolina, sometime before the summer of 1798. On August10, 1798, he sold to David Weatherspoon for "six hundred spanish milledsilver dollars" the 340-acre tract to which he had obtained a legal titlein 1778; in this deed, William Sparks, Jr. was described as a resident ofBurke County. Whereas it was customary for the person selling the landto appear personally before the county court to acknowledge the sale andpay a fee of six shillings, it was Hyman Russau, a subscribing witnesswhen the deed had been signed who appeared and paid the six-shilling feeon behalf of William Sparks, Jr. (Recorded at the meeting of the SurryCounty Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions on November 12, 1800.) It hadbeen three years earlier, on August 1 , 1793, that William Sparks, Jr.had sold his 100-acre tract to Hugh McAlyea for fifty shillings. (SurryCounty Deed Book F, p. 146) This deed was not acknowledge before thecounty court until November 12 , 1794, at which time Jeremiah Sparks,brother of William Sparks, Jr. , who had been a witness when the deed hadbeen signed in 1793, acknowledged it on behalf of his brother, paying thesix-shilling tax for him. (Jeremiah later followed his brother to BurkeCounty.)

"John Sparks, whom we believe was the was the oldest son of WilliamSparks, Jr., was probably married to Elizabeth ??? shortly before hisfather moved to Burke County. Although he would later follow his fatherthere, he was still in Surry County when the census of 1800 was taken.John's household was enumerated in 1800 as consisting of one male(himself) aged between 26 and 45; one female (doubtless his wifeElizabeth, whose maiden surname we have not discovered) aged between 16and 26; and two boys under ten years of age.

"(A United States Census has been taken every ten years since 1790,each one providing for a more detailed enumeration of each householduntil 1850. In 1850 and thereafter, each member of each household hasbeen named, along with his/her age and place of birth.)

"We believe that John Sparks followed his father to Burke County,North Carolina, soon after 1800. Two Sparks households were shown on the1800 census of Burke County. One was headed by William Sparks, Jr. andthe other by his brother, Jeremiah Sparks.

"Before many years passed following John Sparks's move to BurkeCounty, he died as a relatively young man, leaving Elizabeth a widow withfour young sons. She was listed as head of her household in Burke countywhen the 1810 census was taken. Her name appeared as "Eliza Sparks,"Eliza probably being intended by the census taker as an abbreviation forElizabeth. She was enumerated as aged between 16 and 26, and her fourboys were all shown as under ten. From other records that will be notedfurther in this sketch, it would appear that she had been born between1775 and 1785 -- she could neither read nor write, and she likely becameuncertain of her exact age in later years. The only record indicatingher place of birth was the 1850 census, which gave the state as Virginia.

"Genealogical research in Burke County, North Carolina, is extermelydifficult because in 1865 most of the county's records were burned. Theexact cause of this distruction is unclear -- it happened after the UnionArmy forces had left Morganton, the county's seat of justice. (BurkeCounty had been created in 1774 from a portion of Rowan County; SurryCounty had been created aout of Rowan County in 1770.)

" While Burke County's land and probate records prior to 1865 havebeen lost, (although some residents arranged to have their deedsre-recorded), some of the county's court records did survive. Fromthese, we learn that when the county court met in April 1812, it wasordered that 14-year-old William Sparks, who was described as an "orphanof John Sparks," be bound (i.e. apprenticed) to a man named Jesse Hall.(This was a common practice by which orphans could learn a trade.) At anearlier sitting of the court, in January, 1812, it had been ordered thatAbsalom Sparks, who was identified as an orphan aged 12 years, be boundto Crispin D. Gibbs. Absolom's father was not identified in this January1812 court entry, but there can be little doubt that he was a brother ofWilliam Sparks, and like William, also an orphan son of John Sparks.Malone Sparks, born about 1802, another of the children of John andElizabeth Sparks, appears, because of his youth when his father died, tohave remained with his mother. We have found no clue regarding the nameof the apparent fourth son of John and Elizabeth Sparks."

(The balance of the article is found under the notes for John and hischildren.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1964, Whole No. 45, pp. 797-98:

"William Sparks, son of Jonas Sparks, was probably born during theearly 1760's since he had a daughter who was married in 1801. His wife'sname was Mourning -- the earliest record that identifies her as his wifeis a deed dated 1812. She was still living at the time of his death in1822 or early in 1823
"As noted earlier, on October 29, 1789, William Sparks purchased fromhis father for £40, a tract of 82 1/2 acres on the Yadkin River whichJonas Sparks had purchased from Solomon Sparks the year before. (RowanCounty Deed Book 11, p. 835) Until 1805, this seems to have been theonly land William Sparks owned in Rowan County. It was located in thatsection that is now Davie County. The 1802 tax list of Rowan County hasbeen preserved and indicates that William Sparks was taxed that year for82 1/2 acres of land and one slave. On May 3, 1805, only a short timebefore he died, Jonas Sparks sold another tract on the Yadkin (120 3/4acres) to his son William for 600 pounds. On November 9, 1811, WilliamSparks sold both of these tracts to Nathaniel Markland of Stokes Countyfor $1,250 (Rowan County Deed Book 22, p. 3 17). Shortly after sellingthis land William Sparks moved to Kentucky, set tling in what is nowOldham County, then a part of Jefferson County.

"On June 15, 1812, William Sparks purchased for $945, a tract of landin what is now Oldham County, Kentucky, from Joseph Oglesby and his wifeAnn. (See Jefferson County Deed Book 9, p.376) This tract was located onFloyd's Creek. On the same date, William Sparks mortgaged a part of thisland for $322 to William Taylor, Charles Ellis, and Wilson Mallen ofShelby County , Kentucky. (See Jefferson County Deed Book 9, p.376)Mourning Sparks signed this deed with her husband. On March 1, 1816,William and Mourning Sparks sold 61 acres of this tract to their son,Hampton Sparks, for $120. (See Jefferson County Deed Book K, p.146) Onthe same date they also sold a similar portion to their son EphriamSparks (also recorded in Deed Book K, p.147)

"William Sparks made his will on November 18, 1822, and died sometimeprior to April 14, 1823, when his will was probated in the countycourthouse at Louisville. This document reads as follows: (FromJefferson County, Kentucky, Will Book 2, page 220.)

I, William Sparks, of the County of Jefferson and State of Kentucky,being in a perfect state of health and of sound mind and memory, thanksbe to God for the same, I do ordain and declare this my last will andtestament in form and manner following:
1. Item. It is my will and desire that my just debts and funeralexpenses be paid.
2. Item. I give and bequeath to my loved wife, Morning Sparks, myplantation with sufficient timber for her support during her life; alsotwo feather beds and furniture; also two heffers and one rone mare with acauld face; also my kitchen furniture; also my flock of sheep.
3. Item. I do give to my son, Hampton Sparks, the tract of landwhere he now lives containing of sixty-two acres.
4. Item. I do give to my son, Ephraim Sparks, the tract of landwhere Molen Pain now lives containing one hundred two acres.
5. Item. I do give to my son, David Sparks, the balance of my landwhere I now live containing one hundred fifty one acres, and also onerone calf.
6. Item. I do give to my daughter Fanny one pided filly.
7. Item. I do give to my daughter Nancy one cow and calf.
8. Item. It is my desire that at the death of my widow all therest of my property should be ecally (sic) divided among my daughters. Ido hereby ordain and appoint my son, Hampton Sparks, and son-in-lawRowland Hampton, my whole and sole exrs. to this last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 18thday of November, 1822.
Attested, signed and William Sparks(seal)
sealed and delivered to:
John Brown (seal)
Joseph Wilhite (seal)
his
Willis X Griggs
mark

"State of Kentucky: At a County Court held in Jefferson County inthe state aforesaid at the Court House in Louisville on the 14th day ofApril 1823, the within instrument of writing was produced in Court andproved to be the last will and testament of William Sparks, deceased, byoaths of John Brown and Joseph Wilhite,subscribing witnesses thereto andordered to be recorded and it is recorded in my office.

Test: Worden Pope, Clk.

"An inventory of the estate of William Sparks was made on June 5.1823, by William Brown, William P. Rodman, and David Hampton. A sale ofthis personal property took place soon after the inventory was made; itwas not recorded at the courthouse until July 3, 1826, however. Thislist of property provides an interesting insight into the way of life atthis period of history - - note that Mourning Sparks, widow of William,purchased several items: (From Jefferson County Court Records, Book 6, p.187)

List of Sail (sic) of Property of William Sparks,deceased.

Benjamin Wilhoite ------ 1 Axe ---------------------------- $ 1.43 3/4
John Brovn ------------- 1 Pare of sheep shares -- 1.67 1/4
William Brown--------- 1 Pare pinchers--------------- .50
Hampton Sparks--------- 1 Bell and other---------------- 1.37 1/2
Benjamin Wilhoite ------ 1hoe ----------------------------- 1.671/2
Blueford Noel---------- 1Axe ----------------------------- .433/4
Blueford Noel---------- 1Pare cumperses----------- 5.29
Hampton Sparks----- 1Wedge--------------------------- 2.00
Blueford Noel---------- 1Log chain----------------------- 3.00
Hampton Sparks--------- 1Log Saw ------------------------ 3.621/2
William Brown---------- 1Flax Chackle --------------- .31
Benjamin Wilhoite------ a saw ----------------------------- .50
Joseph Wilhoite-------- 1Large auger ------------------ .62 1/2
John Brown ------------- 1cooper adze ----------------- 2.00
Hampton Sparks --------- 1Pare of shears-------------- 1.25
David Hampton ---------- 1 Broad Axe ------------------- 2.00
Henry Snyder ----------- 1Grass Scythe -------------- 1.62 1/2
Henry Snyder ----------- 1 lot tools ----------------------- .371/2
Wiley Gregg ------------ 1Shovel Plow ----------------- 5.00
Joseph Wilhoite -------- 1shovel plow ----------------- 2.00
William P. Rodman ------ 1collar ---- ---------------------- 1.75
Joseph Wilhoite -------- 1hoe ---------------------------- .621/2
Blueford Noel ---------- 1Pare of Doubletrees --- 3.37 1/2
Hampton Sparks-------- 1 lot of Tobo.- -------- 26.62 1/2
Hampton Sparks--------- 1 empty Hogshead------- 1.50
Rowland Hampton ------ 1cutting box --------------- 2.25
John Brown ------------- 1hogshead preped tobacco, -------11.37 1/2
Blueford Noel ---------- 1 horse ------------------- 20.00
Blueford Noel ---------- 1 half bushel------------------- .25
Widow Sparks---------------- 1 Sow and pigs------------ 2.00
Widow Sparks ----------- 2 steers ----------------------- 10.00
William P Rodman ------- 11 geese ------------------------- 4.58 1/2
Fanny Sparks ----------- 1 Saddle and Bridle ------ 8 .1 2 1/2
Widow Sparks ----------------- 1 table -------------------------- 8.00
Widow Sparks ----------- I cupboard ------------------- 5.00
Benjamin Wilhoite ------ 1 wheel i.e. spinning wheel ------- .413/4
Fanny Sparks ------ ----- 1 Loom------------------------- 5.00
Total amount of sale of property of William Sparks,
deceased ----- 149.18 1/2

signed= Hampton Sparks
Rowlan Hampton

At a County Court held for Jefferson County in the state aforesaidat the Court House in Louisville on the 3rd of July 1826, the foregoingsale of the estate of William Sparks, deceased, was returned to saidCourt and ordered to be recorded and it is recorded.
Test: Worden Pope, Clk.

"William Sparks did not name all of his children in his will; heomitted the names of four daughters. However, when his son, HamptonSparks, died Without issue and his estate was divided among his brothersand sisters, or their heirs, we find what is doubtless a complete list ofWilliam Sparks's children. In all probability, Mourning was William'sonly wife and was the mother of his children, although we have no proof.Since a son was named Hampton and a David Hampton was one of those whotook inventory of his estate, Mourning's maiden name may well have beenHampton. Their daughter, Sarah, married Rowland Hampton. Following is alist of the children of William Sparks; we cannot be certain of the orderof their birth: (see their family sheets)."

This man is a first cousin of James Sparks (189) and a grandson ofWilliam Sample Sparks.

See the article in the SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1954, Whole No. 5, p 29entitled

SPARKSES IN THE AMERICANREVOLUTION:

"William Sparks - North Carolina- File No. 9960 - Rejected:

"Nacogdoches County, Texas -- 14 September 1846 - Application ofWilliam Sparks, "a resident of Spark's settlement in said county," aged85 years the 3 day of April last. Shortly before this applicant enteredthe service his father Matthew Sparks removed with him from the YadkinRiver in the County of Wilkes and State of North Carolina across the BlueRidge to a place on New River in the said County of Wilkes, which is nowabout two miles from the County Seat of Nash County, North Carolina. (Heintended ASHE County, N.C. - WPJ.) Also shortly before I entered theservice the Cherokee Indians had committed depradations and murdered fivepersons, I think, three children and two women, near the head of theCatawba River, at least, above John's River, at a place then, I think, inBurke county, North Carolina.

"In the part of the country in which I lived, after the war had lastedseveral years, all of us capable of bearing arms were divided into fourclasses, as well as I remeber, by lot. I fell into the fourth class.About this time it came to the turn of my class to enter the service; andwhile we were making prepa- rations to do so, Capt. John Cleaveland(Nicknamed as Devil John) son of Col. Benjamin Cleaveland, who afterwardsfought at King's Mountain, and who resided near our former residence onthe Yadkin, came over to our settlement on New River, and proposed to myclass to volunteer to go with him against the Cherokee Indians, sayingthat this tour would be accounted the same as the same length of serviceagainst the British, against whom we were then preparing to go. Four ofmy neighbors of my class viz. John Baker, Israel Campbell, John Watersand George Humphreys, with myself accepted John Cleaveland's proposition,and in obedience to his order rendezvoused at Wilkes Court-House(Wilkesboro) and entered the service under the said John Cleaveland asour Captain on the 15th day of August--from old age and consequent lossof memory this applicant cannot state positively in what year this was,but he does recollect, that it was when he had just entered hisseventeenth year, and several years before the battle of King'sMountain. (Since William Sparks was born on 3 April 1761, then it was inthe year 1778 when he joined up with Capt. John Cleaveland; the battle ofKing's Mountain was in 1780. WPJ)

"(The article is continued in the June, 1954 issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY, Whole No. 2 at page 36 titled SPARKSES IN THE AMERICANREVOLUTION:)

"At Wilkesboro, which was the place of general rendezvous for theNorth Carolina raised for this expedition, Capt. Cleaveland's Company wasfilled to the number of about sixty, and about one thousand in allrendezvoused here. We were all mounted gunmen, and nearly all armed withrifles, tomahawks, and butcher knives, each man, and myself amongst therest, furnishing his own horse arms and equipment. At the end of abouttwo days we took up the line of march by Pleasant Gardens on the Catawba,crossed John's River, then by Cathey's Fort to Turkey Cove on theCatawba, a distance, I supposed, of about one hundred miles in all fromWilkesboro. At Turkey Cove we remained a bout two weeks collecting Beefand other provisions for the Campaign . Here we were joined by the restof the North Carolina forces, making our number from twelve to fifteenhundred, and here the Command-in -Chief was taken by Genl. CharlesMcDowell of Pleasant Garden, Burkes County, North Carolina, in which hecontinued throughout the Campaign. At this place my Capt. JohnCleaveland was informed by letter that his wife was dangerously ill, andwent home, and did not again return to us. Myself and my New Riverneighbours, Bake , Campbell, Waters and Humphryes, at the request ofCapt. Cleaveland were then permitted to join Capt. John Beverley'sCompany, in which we remained to the end of the Campaign.

"I do not remember positively what disposition was made of the rest ofCleaveland's company, but I believe that as Beverly had not before a fullcompany they all joined him. My Regiment was commanded by Colo. BenjaminHiorn [?] of Wilkes County. [This was, I believe, Benjamin Herndon , ofWilkes Co., N.C. - WPJ] The Captains under him were as far as Iremember, John Cleaveland and John Beverly and I think others whom I donot recollect. Colo. Joseph McDowell brother of our Genl. commanded theBurkes County Regiment. There was also a Maj. McDowell in under Colo.Joseph McDowell. I think his given name was Joseph, and that he was acousin of the General and the Colonel. I do not remember any of theother North Carolina officers.

"At the end of about two weeks we marched from Turkey Cove up theCatawba on the East side of an old Indian Trace, and crossed themountains through a gap the name of which I do not recollect--struck thewaters of the Swano River, went down the same and crossed French BroadRiver just above the mouth of Swanano--Here the food company from WilkesCounty in which was my uncle James Sparks (3 great-grandfather of JamesJoseph Sparks), and which marched behind us built a station, and remainedto guard the frontier until our return from the Indian Country. (Here Isaw my uncle on my return.)

"From the mouth of Swanano we proceeded across Richland Creek , andthen Hominy creek. Here we met and were joined by twelve or fourteenhundred mounted gun-men from South Carolina. I do not remember theircommander, or any of their officers except a Maj. Lytle, an d him Irecollect only from his afterwards in the course of the Campaignaccidentally killing one of his own men by the name of Morrison in anIndian skirmish. The whole Army then proceeded across another ledge ofmountains and then crossed Tuckasegea River.

"The night of the day we crossed this River a scouting party of thirtyor forty of our men under Maj. McDowell were attacked by a party ofIndians of whom they killed two or three, and made prisoners of a womanand child , an old man and two or three boys. The old Indian was shotthe next day by a friendly Indian, servant of Colo. Miller, N.C. who Ithink was with us, but in what capacity I do not recollect. I regret tosay that I believe all the prisoners were murdered except one or twoboys. We then marched on to the Tennessee River a distance of some 20 or30 miles, here we found several Indian Villages on the South East side ofthe River, which gave every indication of having been but recentlydeserted. We remained some two weeks destroying the houses, corn, beansand everything of utility in an about these villages, we then receivedorders one evening that on the next morning we were to march to theValley Towns some 70 or 80 miles further on, but in the morning, theseorders were countermanded, I have never known why.

"We next proceeded about a day's march up a River, the name of which Iforget, on the South-East side of the Tennessee, to a large townsurrounded by villages where we spent several days more in destroying thetown and Villages and everything in and about them. Rumor afterwardsstated, and I believe truly, that the devastation committed by us on thiscampaign was the cause of the death of many hundreds of Indians fromstarvation.

"After spending a week or two more in endeavoring through our scoutsin vain to find the Indians we commenced our return march, and retracedthe same route as well as I can recollect. When we repassed the stationnear the mouth of Swanano the foot company were still left there toprotect the frontier, and remained there for some time afterwards. Tothe best of my recollection the South Carolina troops parted from us atHominy Creek where they had joined us. The North Carolina troops thenmarched on and returned to the Yadkin at or near Wilksboro where we weredisbanded.

"From this service I received a writted discharge from Capt. JohnBeverly which I kept for many years, but at length not deeming it of anyuse it was long since lost or destroyed. On this tour we marched adistance which we deemed about five hundred miles and back; and I servedin it as a Private Mounted Rifle-man (furnishing my own horse andequipments) for at least four months, and I believe longer for I feelconfident that I did not return home untill after Arnstmess [Armistice?],and I know I returned home as soon as I was discharged. On thisexpedition I know I received no pay but to the best of my recollectionthe privates were promised twenty Dollars pr months each, and the sameremarks will apply with truth to all my revolutionary services; for Ireceived no pay for any of them.

"Upon my return from this campaign the militia company, in the boundsof which I resided, was organized into a company of mounted minute menunder Andrew Baker as Captain and my Brother John Sparks as Lieutenant.In this company I served till the close of the revolution . We furnishedour own horses arms and equipments. Our part of the country was almostconstantly infested with robbing and murdering parties of tories, britishand Hessians, and I was constantly either out in pursuit of such parties,or, in obedience to the orders of my Captain, held myself in readiness tomarch at a moment's warning.

"Of the many and almost constant scouting parties, pursuits, andexpeditions in which I was engaged during this period from my great ageand infirmities I can recollect but one, so as to be able to state theparticulars and that only from the personal interest of my family in it,I will proceed to state it. In less than a year after my return from theCampaign against the Cherokees above detailed a party of tories, about150 in number, robbed my Father, taking a horse saddle and bridle, sixguns, all our pewter (we had no delf ware in those days) [He refers todelf or delftware, a brown pottery covered with an opaque, decoratedwhite glaze, made in Delft, Holland; in England, a common glazed potteryfor table use , etc. WPJ] and whatever else they could carry. My companywas immediately called out and others amounting in all to about onehundred and fifty mounted Gun Men under the command of Colo. BenjaminCleaveland.

"We pursued the above named tories a distance of between 60 and 70miles and overtook them in Boxe's settlement near the Virginia line .They were feasting, frolicing and many of them drunk. We killed andwounded 25 or 30 of them in a fight, made prisoners of nearly all therest, of whom hung five or six, the ballance of the prisoners weredischarged by Col. Cleaveland upon their promise not to molest thepatriots for the future. In this expedition I was engaged three weeks. Ireceived no written discharge during the war except the one from Capt.Beverly above mentioned.

"I have no documentary evidence of my service, and I know of no personwhose testimony I can procure who can testify to my service. Thisapplicant further states on oath that by reason of old age and consequentloss of memory he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of hisservice, but according to the best of his recollection, he served notless than three years as a private volunteer mounted Rifleman, alwaysfurnishing his own horse, Arms and Equipment, and for service he claims apension.

"This applicant was born in Rowan County near Sallisbury in the Stateof North Carolina on the 3rd day of April A.D. 1761. He has no record ofhis age, but he believes his brother Jessee Sparks residing in HickmanCounty in the State of Tennessee has a copy of the record of his age, theoriginal have been lost. When called into service this applicant livedin Wilkes County North Carolina, and remained there till the close of theRevolutionary War when he removed with his father to what was thenFranklin County afterwards Jackson, and now Clark County in the State ofGeorgia and settled about four miles from Athens in that State. Therethis applicant resided till the year 1811 when he removed to LauerenceCounty Mississippi, thence to Holmes County in that state were he livedtill March 1836 when he removed to this county and vicinity , where hehas ever since resided.

"In his service he was at all times a volunteer. He herebyrelinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except thepresent; and declares that his name is not on the pension Roll of theagency of any state.
William his X mark Sparks
Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 14th September, 1846
R. Pannalu CSC by H. Nelson Depty."

"In an obvious effort to "trap" the applicant in a falsehood, WilliamSparks was questioned regarding some of the pertinent facts given in hisapplication. Some of his answers, it will be noted, were even moreinformative than those appearing in his application. WPJ

Question: "Where & in what year were you born?"
Answer: "I was born within one mile of the town of Salsbury in theCounty of Roan, State of North Carolina on the 3rd day of April, in theyear 1761."
Question: "Have you any record of your age & if you have were is it?"
Answer: "I have no record of my birth--but my brother who lives inHickman County Tennessee he furnished me with a copy which I lostSeverall years Since with a trunk of papers near Natchez Mississippi."
Question: "Where were you living when called into Service" Wherehave you lived Since the revolutionary War--and where do you now live ?"
Answer: "I was living in Wilkes County North Carolina. My fatheremigrated from Wilkes County to Georgia Shortly after the revolutionarywar, and Settled in what was then Franklin County, now Clark County ,near Athens, where I remained till about A.D. 1811 when I moved to theTerritory of Mississippi on Pearl River now Lawrence County. I remainedthere a number of years and then removed to Holmes County where Iremained until I moved to the Republic of Texas. I Stoped in NacogdochesCounty where I have lived ever Since."
Question: "How were you called into Service were you drafted, did youvolunteer, or were you Substitute, if a Substitute for whom?
Answer: "I volunteered and regret that I am not able to do soagain. I was not a Substutt, nor was I drafted."

(Editor's Note: The application for a pension by William Sparks wasrejected for lack of evidence of service, despite his good character andneed of financial assistance being amply vounched for by several reliablecitizens of Nacogdoches, Texas.)

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1985, Whole No. 130, pg 2738:

DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM SPARKS (1761-1848),
SON OF MATTHEW AND SARAH (THOMPSON) SPARKS:

"William Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, was bornon April 3, 1761, in Rowan County, North Carolina. When he was aboutfourteen years old, his parents moved to Surry County, North Carolina,where they settled on the New River in an area which became part ofWilkes County in 1777 and of Ashe County in 1799. It was there thatWilliam, when about age seventeen, joined a military unit which conducteda campaign against the Cherokee Indians during the Revolutionary War. Hecontinued to serve in that organization until the close of the war. (Seeabove)

"At the close of the Revolutionary War, William Sparks went with hisparents to Georgia where they were among the first settlers in the landseast of the Oconee River which, prior to the Revolution, had belonged tothe Creek Indians. The Georgia Legislature had opened these lands forsettlement in February 1784 and had formed two counties, Franklin andWashington. The settlers met with resistance from the Creeks, who underthe leadership of the Indian Chief Alexander McGillivray, kept up aseries of depredations for several years. As a consequence, everyneighborhood had its fort, or blockhouse, to protect the women andchildren while the men worked in the fields.

"Members of the family of Matthew Sparks, Sr. were caught up in thisconflict (referred to as the Oconee War), and several of them sufferedproperty losses. In a report made in 1789, the commander of the WilkesBattalion, a man named Freemans, reported "A return of all Depredationscommitted by the Indians in my Battalion since January 1st, 1787."Included In this list were William Sparks, who had lost three horses, andMatthew Sparks who had lost one horse.

"The most tragic loss for the Sparks family, however, occurred in thefall of 1793 when Matthew Sparks, Sr. was killed in an Indian raid. Afterhis death, his family apparently broke up, and at least two of his sonsleft and went to neighboring South Carolina; however, some of the familycontinued to live in the area that became Clarke County in 1801. WilliamSparks was one of those who remained, probably because he was now marriedand had a young son. He had married Mary ("Polly") Fielder, probably ca.1791. She had been born about 1770 and was a daughter of William Fielder.

"In 1802, William Sparks filed a claim against the state of Georgiafor a horse which he had lost during the Indian depredations. He madethe follow ing sworn statement:

State of Georgia, Clarke County, formerly Greene. Personallyappeared
Wm. Sparks and made oath that sometime in 1793 about the first weekin
November, he the said Sparks lost a mare which was taken by theCreek
Indians which creature was lost at Sparks Fort upon the waters ofthe
Oconee, Franklin County, which property the the said Sparks had just
reason to believe was taken by the same Indians and that he hathnever
received any satisfaction for the same. Sworn and subscribed before
me this 14th of June 1802. (signed) r. Traylor, J. P."
Proved by: Benjamin Rice his
Jesse Sparks William X Sparks
mark
"On September 19, 1797, William Sparks sold land to Randolph Traylorin Jackson County, Georgia. He also witnessed a property claim of hisbrothers, Absalom Sparks and Jesse Sparks, in Clarke County.

"Sometime prior to 1811, William Sparks moved his family across theOconee River into Morgan County, Georgia. From there he decided to movewestward to the Mississippi Territory where a land boom was underway;thus it was that, in the early fall of 1811, he and several other menwere granted a "passport" by the State of Georgia to travel through thelands belonging to the Creek Nations. The complete record of thegranting of the passport was as follows (the document has been punctuatedand the spelling corrected):

"Monday, 16th September 1811. On application, ORDERED, that passportsbe prepared for the following persons to travel through the Creek Nationsof Indians, to wit: One for Messrs. Stephen Nobles with his wife, sevenchildren and seventeen Negroes; Jacob Carter with his wife, four childrenand five Negroes; William Sparks with his wife, five children and twoNegroes; Henry Askue with his wife, one child and one Negro; HowellHolley with his wife, seven children and five Negroes; Jeremiah Farlowwith his wife and four children; Minor Joh nson with his wife, eightchildren and sixteen negroes; Bird Smith w ith his wife and one child;and Lodewick Henderson with his wife and two children - all from theCounty of Morgan in this State; and one for Messrs. Obadiah Dumas andEdward Avery Lucy, both from the County of Jones in this State.

"William and Polly Sparks traveled to Marion County, which had justbeen formed in the Mississippi Territory, where they settled near thevillage of Silver Creek on the east side of Pearl River. It was therethat their son Richard Sparks, married Elizabeth Cooper the followingsummer.

"William Sparks and his family were in a portion of Marion Countywhich became a part of Lawrence County in 1814. On January 19, 1815, heand his son, Richard, were among the inhabitants of the two counties tosign a petition to Congress asking that body to declare a moratorium onthe payment for government lands because of the war with the British. Bythis time , Richard Sparks had become an officer in the TerritorialMilitia.

"William Sparks was undoubtedly a deeply religious man. He heldpositions of leadership in the Baptist churches wherever he lived, and herepresented his church at statewide conventions. In October 1818, whenthe Mississippi Baptist Association convened at the New ProvidenceBaptist Church in Amite County, he and William Stamps represented theSilver Creek Baptist Church. The following summer, he and Stamps, alongwith William Martin, received permission to organize the Bethany BaptistChurch at White Sands. On September 11, 1819, William Sparks with hiswife Polly, were among those dismissed from the Silver Creek Church to goto the new Bethany Church. Five years later, he was named as a trusteeof the Bethany Church.

"William and Polly continued to live near Silver Creek in LawrenceCounty, Mississippi, for several years and were enumerated there on the1820 and 1830 censuses. According to those censuses, it appears thatthey had seven children--five sons and two daughters.

"In the fall of 1830, William and Polly Sparks sold their land inLawrence County. The following is an abstract taken from the deed whichwas recorded on November 19, 1830, on page 222 of Deed Book B. Williamand Mary Sparks sell two tracts of land except for six acres previouslydisposed of - a parcel of 159 acres out of which two acres were deededto the Bethany Baptist Church as a gift on May 17, 1823
(page 257 of Deed Book A) and another parcel of land of 159 acres out ofwhich four acres were sold to Adam Tyrone (no date). The remainder ofthis land was sold on the above date to John Martin.
Witnesses: their
Wm. L. Pickins William and XX MarySparks
Wm. Bishop marks

"There can be little doubt that William and Polly sold their land as astep in joining their sons in Yazoo County. On the third Sunday inNovember, 1830, the clerk of the Bethany Baptist Church wrote in theminutes : "Brother William Sparks, beloved deacon, and his wife appliedfor a letter of demission." Years later, in his pension application,William Sparks also testified that "he moved to Lawrence County in 1811,thence to Holmes County where he lived until March 1836 when he moved toNacogdoches County, Texas. " Since Holmes County was not formed until1833, he probably went to that portion of Yazoo County which becameHolmes County. He and his sons, John, James H., and William M., paidtaxes there in 1833.

"William Sparks went to Texas in March 1836 just at the time thatTexas announced its independence from Mexico. Extant tax records showthat he paid taxes in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in 1837, 1839, 1840, and1845. When the 1840 census was taken of the Republic of Texas, he had2,214 acres of land and two slaves. As stated above, he applied for apension for his military service during the Revolutionary War, but hisrequest was denied. In all probability, he failed to qualify as a personwho needed financial assistance.

"On January 9, 1847, William Sparks made gifts to three of hischildren. To his daughter, Sarah (Sparks) McAnulty, he gave a femaleslave, Mary, aged 4 years. To his daughter, Edy (Sparks) Simmons, hegave a female slave, about two months old. To his son, John Sparks, hegave a male slave , Norton, aged 40, and a female slave, Lizzie, aged25. At the same time, he also gave a grandson, James Sparks, a femaleslave, Dolly, aged 40 years.

"No record has been found of the death of the wife of William Sparks,Mary ("Polly") (Fielder) Sparks, but we know that she died sometime afterNovember 1830. William died in 1848 at the age of 87 years. Somedescendants believe that he was buried in the "Sparks Cemetary" at theOld North Church near Nacogdoches, Texas, and that his grave was markedby a plain field stone.

"Descendants of William and Polly Sparks are not agreed on the numberof their children--some saying that they had five; others believe thatthey had seven. The writer of the major part of this article (Paul E.Sparks ) believes that they had seven children. He bases this on (1) thepassport William was issued to travel through the Indian Territory an d(2) the 1820 and 1830 censuses of Mississippi.

"When William Sparks was issued a passport in September 1811, he hadfive children. All descendants agree that these were: (1) Richard, (2)Sarah, (3) John, (4) James H., and (5) Eady. All were born prior toAugust 1810 , the year Eady was born. When the 1820 census was taken,William had two males in his household who had been born between 1804 and1810, and a female and two males born between 1810 and 1820. (His sonRichard, and his daughter, Sarah, had been married before the census of1820 was taken.) When the 1830 census was taken, William had two males inhis household who were born between 1810 and 1820. (His son John, as wellas his daughter, Eady, had married before 1830; his son James, did notfit in this age group.) For these reasons, we believe that William andPolly Sparks had seven children and that they were:

A. Richard Sparks, born ca. 1793
B. Sarah Sparks, born January 1, 1798
C. John Sparks, born ca. 1804
D. James H. Sparks, born ca. 1808
E. Eady Sparks, born August 15, 1810
F. Levi N. Sparks, probably born ca. 1812
G. Eli G. Sparks, probably born ca. 1814

(End of Article at page 2741 in Sparks Quarterly)

See also articles in Whole No. 131, September 1985, and Whole No. 134 ,June, 1986.

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, pp 5605-5630, p.5608:

"William Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, was born on April 3,1761, in what is now Davie County, North Caroilna, although it was thenpart of Rowan County. He died in 1848, age 87, near Nacogdoches, Texas.He was married to Mary [ "Polly"] Fielder, daughter of William Fielder,about 1791. He served in the Revolutionary War, and in 1846, he madeapplication for a pension based on that service , which had involvedprimarily his fighting the Cherokee Indians. His pension application wasnot approved because he could not present evidence of his service otherthan his own memory of it . (See the QUARTERLY of March and June 1954,Whole Nos. 5 and 6, for a copy of his application.) He stated that hehad accompanied his father in his move to Georgia " shortly after theRevolutionary War, " and that he had remained there until "about A. D.1811, when I moved to the Territory of Mississippi on Pearl River , nowLawrence County . . . . " A record of his life and his seven childrenappeared in the QUARTERLY of June 1985, Whole No. 130; September 1985,Whole No. 131; and June 1986, Whole No. 134."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1965, Whole No. 50, p. 910-11:
SPARKSES IN THE WAR OF 1812 -- BOUNTY LAND AND PENSION APPLICATIONS

WILLIAM SPARKS, born May 1, 1782, in Wilkes County, North Carolina; diedDecember 25,1857, in Franklin County, Alabama. Bounty Land Warrant File41 652-80-55.

"On November 30,, 1850, William Sparks, aged 68 years and a residentof Franklin County, Alabama. appeared before a justice of the peace namedE. C. Harris to make application for bounty land. He swore that he wasthe identical William Sparks who had been a private in Captain ManlyFord's company in a regiment commanded by Col. Hugh Means, in the War of1812. He stated that he had been drafted at Spartanburg District inSouth Carolina about October 1, 1814, for the term of 6 months, but thathe served only 5 months and 20 days and was honorably discharged atOrangeburg, South Carolina, on March 12, 1815. He signed his applicationin a clear hand as "Wm. Sparks.'

"With his application, William Sparks submitted his hand--writtendischarge which read$ as follows: "Orangebargh, March the 12th 1815. Thisis to Certify that Wm Sparks, a private in my Company of So. Car.Militia in the U. States Service has faithfully and honorably served hisCountry five Months & twenty days is by order of Majr. Wm Fieldshonorably Discharged from the service. csigned, Manley Ford., Capt.'

"The application of William Sparks was approved and he was issued awarrant for 80 acres of bounty land.

"On August 25., 1855, William Sparks, still a resident of FranklinCounty, Alabama, appeared before a justice of the peace named James H.Trimble to make application for additional bounty land under the new lawof March 3, 1855. He stated that he was now 74 years old, and that hehad previously received a warrant for 80 acres which he had "located inthis county." Again he signed his name as "Wm. Sparks." Tandy Russelland A. A. Hughes, both residents of Franklin County, signed aswitnesses. William Sparks received a warrant for 80 additional acres ofbounty land as a result of this application.

(Editor's Note: William Sparks was a brother of Enoch Sparks, whoseapplications for bounty land were abstracted in the Quarterly ofSeptember, 1960 (Vol. VIII, No. 3, Whole No. 31) pp. 502-03. They weresons of John and Mary (Parmely) Sparks and were grandsons of Matthew andSarah Sparks (see the Quarterly of June, 1961, Vol. IX, No. 2, Whole No.34) pp. 556-66.) William Sparks was born on May 1, 1782, in WilkesCounty, North Carolina, and died December 25, 1857, according to histombstone in the Sparks Cemetery west of Russellville ! Franklin County,Alabama. As a young man he moved from Wilkes County, North Carolina, toSpartanburg District, South Carolina, and in 1820 moved with his familyto Franklin County, Alabama. His wife's maiden name was Eunice Woodruffwho was born August 25, 1786, and died September 25, 1842. They were theparents of the following children:
(1) John Sparks.
(2) Polly Sparks (probably nickname for Mary).
(3) Riley Sparks, born in Spartanburg County, S.C., Oct. 22, 1811,died near Frankfort, Ala., on Dec. 29, 1892. He married, first, NancyBenson on Dec. 20, 1832; she was born in White County, Tenn., Jan. 15,1815. She died Jan. 12, 1857, and Riley married, second, Nancy Malone,born 1862, died 1944. There were no children by the second marriage. Byhis first wife, Riley Sparks had the following children:
William Benson Sparks;
Mary Jane Sparks;
Daniel Remy Sparks;
John Adams Sparks;
James Madison Sparks,
Martha Ann Sparks,
Christopher Columbus Sparks;
Riley Franklin Sparks;
Lemuel Nelson Sparks, and
Nancy Virginia Sparks.
(4) Rebecca Sparks.
(5) Artamesa Sparks.
(6) Willis Sparks, born in S. C. about 1815; married Martha ----and by 1850 had a son named Marion Sparks.
(7) Anna Sparks
(8) Saleta Sparks
(9) Jerry Sparks
(10) Elisha Sparks (twin)
(11) Elijah Sparks (twin)
(12) Elvira Sparks
(13) Permelia Sparks
(14) William Sparks, born about 1830.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1966, Whole No. 53, p 963:

"William Sparks, son of John and Mary (Parmely) Sparks, was born May1, 1782, in Wilkes County, North Carolina; he died on December 25, 1857,in Franklin County, Alabama. He was one of the pioneers of FranklinCounty, arriving in Russellville on December 20, 1820. Before moving toAlabama, he seems to have lived in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

"He married Eunice Woodruff, who was born August 25, 1786, and diedSeptember 25, 1842. (On September 13, 1810, Joseph Woodruff, Sr., soldtwo tracts of land in Spartanburg County to William Sparks for $100; onetract of 50 acres and one of 40 acres. Joseph Woodruff may have beenEunice's father.)

"Robert Leslie James, who wrote the book called DISTINGUISHED MEN,WOMEN AND FAMILIES OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, ALABAMA, stated that WilliamSparks lived "west of Russellville toward Frankfort." He described himas a "planter and workman" and mentioned that his parents had "a cooktable which is said to have been made by him, William Sparks." He added:"He is said to have possessed a passionate temper, but so far as we know,he was a good , law abiding citizen." During the war of 1812, WilliamSparks served five months and twenty days as a private in a companycommanded by Manly Ford in Col. Hugh Mean's Regiment. In 1850, WilliamSparks applied for bounty land on the basis of this service and recalledthen that he "had been drafted at Spartanburg District in SouthCarolina." (For an abstract of these bounty land papers, see theQUARTERLY of June, 1965, Whole No. 50, pp 910-911, reproduced above.)

"William and Eunice (Woodruff) Sparks were the parents of fourteenchildren. [See details of their children and grandchildren at pp 963-967and individual sheets for each.]

This son of James and Mary Sparks is brother to Solomon Sparks Sr. andthus is a great-great-grand uncle of James J. Sparks.
See article SQ pg 2453-2457 which lists all of his 12 children andprovides some details regarding each. His sons Ephriam (228) and Jacob(254) are the two Sparks shown in the 1850 census of Washington County,Virginia, residing next to Solomon Sparks Sr. and Solomon Sparks Jr.

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SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1982, Whole No. 19, pp. 2453-55:

WILLIAM SPARKS (ca.1783-1869)

(Editor's Note: The December 1956 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, WholeNo. 16, contained an article about a "Tree-of-Life Quilt" which was madeof "quilting blocks" on which were stitched the names of William andRhoda Sparks and a large number of their descendants. (A photograph ofthis quilt, then owned by Mrs. Clare Coffelt, appeared on the cover ofthat issue of the QUARTERLY; we have reproduced it here to accompany thisarticle.) This William Sparks was also named, along with his brothers andsisters, in an application for War of 1812 bounty land which waspublished in the March 1961 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 33. He wasborn about 1783, probably in Wilkes County, North Carolina; he lived fora time in Washington County, Virginia, and then moved to White County,Tennessee. Census data indicate that he and Rhoda had twelve children.

The article which follows tells of the search for the names of thesechildren. Since it also reveals the way in which a person can becomeinvolved in the fascinating hobby of genealogy, it is published as it waswritten. The writer, Donald Pugh, is a great-great-grandson of Williamand Rhoda (Pennington) Sparks. He invites correspondence from otherdescendants of this couple. His address is Route 12, Box 504, Crossville,Tennessee, 38555.)

The Search by Donald Pugh

The first of March 1981 was about the time I decided to find out about myancestors. I went out to my mother, Nancy Melissa (Sparks) Pugh, and askher, "Who was my great-grandfather?" She said, "Sol Sparks." She hadsomething about the SPARKS family that a daughter of George Welch (Mrs.Mildred Wolfe) had given her. She found it and gave it to me. I looked atit and noticed that she had given me THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, dated December1956. A picture of a Tree-of-Life quilt was on the front page and therein the middle of the quilt was the name "Sol Sparks."

I came back home and immediately sent a letter to the Sparks FamilyAssociation at the address shown on the December 1956 issue. The letterwas returned and marked "Unknown." I thought, "This Quarterly is over 24years old, so I guess the Sparks Association is out of business." Iexamined the Quarterly again and noticed the address of Paul Sparks,President, was also listed. I got his telephone number from informationand called his number. A strong friendly voice answered. I knew at oncethat I was talking with "kinfolks." I told him that mygreat-grandfather's name, Sol Sparks, was on a Tree-of-Life quilt. Heknew about the quilt, about Sol Sparks, in fact he knew about fifty ormore Sol Sparkses. He told me that he and I may have the same 4thgreat-grandfather, also a Solomon Sparks.

Paul sent me a letter with a lot of information about my branch of theSPARKS FAMILY. He listed William Sparks, Sr. as Sol Sparkses father, andRhoda (Pennington) Sparks as Sol's mother. He wrote, "We believe we canidentify seven of the children of William and Rhoda (Pennington) Sparksas follows: Ephraim Sparks, James Sparks, Jacob Sparks, Levi Sparks,William Sparks, Jr., Sarah Ann Sparks, and Solomon Sparks."

He asked me to try to find the names of the other five children, fourfemales and one male.

[Here appears a photograph of the "Tree of Life" quiltwithout caption.]

I kept looking at the picture of the Tree-of-Life quilt trying to reasonout an orderly way the names could have been stitched on the quilt. Icopied the names of the persons named SPARKS who appeared on the quiltand put these names on separate pieces of paper. I moved these pieces ofpaper around on the picture of the quilt until I decided that the bottomrow of squares running from the left edge of the quilt to the right edgecontained the names of William and Rhoda Sparks and perhaps their entirefamily. From left to right these names were:
Eaf Sparks, James Sparks, Pecy Bumbalow, Rebeckey Randolf, WilliamSparks, Sol Sparks, William Sparks, Sean., Rhody Sparks, Poly Suthird,Feby Scarbrough, Joe Sparks, and Levi Sparks.

The quilt obviously was made after the death of Rhoda (Pennington) Sparksin October 1871.

I decidedided that maybe I could find a graveyard with some of thesenames on markers, so I drove west on U.S. 70 through Monterey and stoppedat the Sand Springs cemetery and at the Dry Valley cemetery, but I had noluck. I drove on further west and turned left at the old sawmill site inDry Valley and drove up Phifer Mountain and stopped at the Pleasant Ridgecemetery, but I still had no luck. I stopped a man who told me that if Icontinued on this road I would go down into Board Valley where they weretwo cemeteries, Upper Board Valley and Lower Board Valley.

I stopped at Upper Board Valley, or Clouse Cemetery, which is in PutnamCounty, Tennessee, and the first gravestone I saw was marked "PhoebaScarbrough, born Mar. 31, 1821; died Nov.15, 1898." (Phoeba was stitchedon the Tree-of-Life quilt as "Feby.") Next to Phoeba's grave was herhusband's tombstone inscribed as follows: "James Scarbrough, born Oct.20, 1820; died Dec. 9, 1908." I found no other names in this cemetery.

I drove on through this very picturesque valley down a steep part of themountain to another beautiful valley called Lower Board Valley which isin White County, Tennessee. In the Lower Board Valley Cemetery I found atombstone marker, "Margaret Bumbalough, born May 19, 1814; died July 4,1883." (Her name was stitched on the Tree-of-Life quilt as Pecy Bumbalow.Pecy was the way the quilter spelled Peggy, a nickname for Margaret.)Next to Margaret's grave was her husband's gravestone marked "IsicBumbalough, born May 5, 1813; died Aug. 22, 1897." (Isic was amisspelling of Isaac.) I also found a tombstone marked "Rebecca Randolph,born Oct. 24, 1815; died Dec. 1, 1891." (On the Tree-of Life quilt hername was stitched as "Rebeckey Randolf.") The graves next to her wereunmarked and I could find no marker for her husband.

I drove through Lower Board Valley and down another steep part of themountain to the fertile, scenic and historic Calfkiller River valley,noted for the Civil War battles and underground caves. It was in thisvalley that William Sparks bought 101 acres of land on October 24, 1843.He reserved one acre for a church building and for a cemetery. I stoppedat Sparta, the county seat of White County, where I found the followingmarriage records at the Sparta Public Library:

Phoebe Sparks to James Scarbrough, October 14, 1839
Mary Sparks to Alfred Southard, October 2, 1838
Jacob Sparks to Minerva Jay, December 29, 1841
Levi Sparks to Mary Hennessee, February 19, 1850
William Sparks, Jr. to Rachel Lee, March 30, 1851

The librarian also gave me the printed volume of the 1850 census for thestate of Tennessee in which I found the family of James Sparks inHamilton County. I also found Rebecca (Sparks) Randolph on the 1880census of Putnam County. She was listed as 65 years of age. Her husband,Lania Randolph, was 76 years of age.

I had now accomplished my mission. I had found the names of WilliamSparks's daughters and of their spouses. According to my findings, andfrom the information furnished by Paul Sparks, we could now name withcertainty the twelve children of William and Rhoda (Pennington) Sparks.Only two names had been omitted from the Tree-of-Life quilt. One wasJacob Sparks who, after marrying Minerva Jay in 1841, returned toWashington County, Virginia, where he lived next door to his uncle,Solomon Sparks, when the 1850 census was taken. Theother name was that ofSally Ann Sparks, youngest child of William and Rhoda. Perhaps she haddied before the quilt was made. " (End of Article)

**********

Also William Sparks is listed on page 3796 in lengthy article abouthis father William (199) and the family history in Maryland and NorthCarolina.

The SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p 4270-71:

"William Sparks, son of James Sparks, Sr., was born about 1783,probably in North Carolina. (On the 1860 census, his birthplace was givenas Virginia.) He paid taxes on his personal property in WashingtonCounty in 1806, and it was about this time that he married RhodaPennington. She was born about 1789 in North Carolina. The young coupleapparently followed James Sparks, Sr. , to Ashe County, North Carolina,for they appeared there on the 1810 census.

"William Sparks did not remain long in Ashe County, but returned toWashington County where he paid taxes from 1811 to 1824. He alsoappeared on the 1820 census of that county. By that time, six childrenhad been born to the marriage, three sons and three daughters.
(There were two William Sparks listed on the 1820 census of WashingtonCounty Virginia. William Sparks, son of James Sparks, Sr., was the oneshown with a son born prior to 1810.)

"On March 28, 1816, William Sparks, now "of Lee County," bought 100acres of land, located on the West Fork of Blackwater Creek side ofPowells Mountain, from John and Prudence Williams, also of "Lee County."The land was about seven miles southwest of the Lee County courthouse andwas probably near the present-day village of Blackwater . Theconsideration was $300.

"William Sparks may have moved to this property, but, if so, he didnot remain there very long. On November 11, 1819, he sold the tract toWilliam Chumley, of Green County, Tennessee, for $230. Records indicatedthat Chumley did not finish paying for the land until 1841, and thatSparks retained title to the land and also paid the taxes, although mostof the time he was a resident of Tennessee.

"As above stated, William Sparks was in Washington County, Virginia,when the 1820 census was taken, but about 1825, he moved his family toWhite County, Tennessee where he paid taxes that year. It was also therethat he was listed on the 1830, 1840, and 1850 censuses, and it is wherehe bought land in 1843. According to these census enumerations, he andRhoda had twelve children.

"Putnam County, Tennessee, was formed in 1852 from parts of White ,Smith, and DeKalb Counties, and the part of White County in which WilliamSparks lived became a part of the new county. When the 186O census wastaken of Putnam County, he was listed as 77 years of age and Rhoda' s agewas given as 71 years.

"It is obvious that Rhoda and William Sparks are the persons whosenames were stitched on the Tree-of-Life quilt which was pictured anddescribed in the December 1956 Issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No.16 , and in the September 1982 issues of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No .119. According to the data preserved on the quilt, William died on March2, 1869. Rhoda survived him by two years, dying on October 26, 1871.(Article then lists and provides information on each of their twelvechildren, for which see child's notes.)
Also see SPARKS QUARTERLY September 1982, Whole No. 119, p 2453 forfollow-up article on efforts of Donald Pugh to identify names on blanket.

[The persons named on the quilt are the great-great-grand-aunts anduncles of James J. Sparks and include Solomon Sr., hisgreat-great-grandfather.]

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1987, Whole No. 138, pg. 3060:

"William Sparks, probable son of Joseph Sparks, was born between 1780and 1790. When the 1820 census was taken of Franklin County, Tennessee,he and his wife had five children living in their household, all bornbetween 1810 and 1820. Sometime between 1820 and 1830, William Sparksmoved his family to neighboring Jackson County, Alabama, where he waslisted as the head of his family on the 1830 census. An analysis of theenumerations of his household on the 1820 and 1830 censuses suggests thathe probably had eight children, five sons and three daughters. We haveno further record of William Sparks."

**********

Also see SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1989, Whole No. 145, pp 3355-65 , THESPARKSES OF EARLY JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS.

"William Sparks, head of the above enumerated household, [referring tothe 1820 census of Franklin County, Tennessee] was born between 1780 and1790 and was probably a son of Joseph Sparks (365), the eldest son ofSolomon (356) and Sarah Sparks, who had moved from Frederick County,Maryland, to North Carolina about 1755. Joseph was born probably about1751 in Maryland. He was listed on the 1790 and 1800 censuses of SurryCounty, North Carolina, but by 1820 he was in Franklin County,Tennessee. (He may have been there earlier but we have found no recordof him. The 1800 and 1810 censuses of Tennessee have been destroyed.)Joseph Sparks apparently had six sons: John, Abel, William, George,Solomon, and Jonathan. He probably died between 1820 and 1830 inFranklin County, Tennessee. (See pages 3057-3060 of the June 1987 issueof the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 138, for a more detailed sketch of JosephSparks and his family.)

"Sometime between 1820 and 1830, William Sparks, probably son ofJoseph, moved his family to Jackson County, Alabama. It probably was notmuch of a move, for Franklin County, Tennessee (formed in 1807) andJackson County, Alabama (formed in 1819) have a common boundary abouttwenty-five miles long. When the 1830 census was taken of Jackson County,the family of William Sparks consisted of 1 male, born 1825-30; 1 male,born 1820-25; 2 males, born 1815-30; 1 female, born 1815-20; 1 femaleborn 1820-15; and 1 female born 1790-1800. Living nearby was JonathanSparks, born 1780-90, and his family. He was probably a brother ofWilliam Sparks.

"From these census records, it seems apparent that William Sparks wasprobably born about 1785 and that his wife was born about 1790. Theywere probably married about 1810, and they had eight children, five sonsand three daughters, all born between 1810 and 1830. We have no furtherinformation about this couple, they may have died before the 1840 censuswas taken.

"During the 1830s, the family of William Sparks apparently scatteredleaving few, if any, records in either Franklin County, Tennessee, or inJackson County, Alabama. Son, John Sparks married, probably in Tennesseeabout 1834, and his first two children were born there, but by 1839 , hewas in Texas. Son, Solomon Sparks went to Hardeman County, Tennessee ,where he married in 1841. His first two children were born in Tennesseebefore he, too, started southward. He stopped for a while in Louisianawhere his third child was born about 1846, but by 1850, he was in Texas.Son, Daniel Sparks married about 1844, probably in Louisiana, and he wasin Natchitoches Parish in 1850. Son Jacob Sparks was in JeffersonCounty, Texas, in 1850, but shortly afterwards he married and moved toColorado County, Texas.

"We have no further information about William Sparks, nor have welearned the name of his wife. As can be readily seen, we have used agreat deal of conjecture in trying to identify his sons. In spite ofconjecture, however, we feel that there are pieces of substantialevidence in the paragraphs written above. Perhaps some of our feelingscome from the similarity of the given names, such as Solomon, Joseph,John, George, William, and Jacob. These are the same names that we findin the Maryland Sparkses and were carried to North Carolina. We believethat they were also carried across the mountains to Kentucky, Tennessee,Alabama, and on west."

[The article continues with information on his children.]

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1974, Whole No. 87, p. 1690:

"It is known that this Solomon Sparks was taxed for "one whitetithable" in Harrison County (West Virginia -- then Virginia) in 1817,1818, 1819, 1821, and 1824. A William Sparks was taxed there also for"one white tithable" in 1824; he was probably also a son of GeorgeSparks, Jr. and Rachel (Norris) Sparks. He was also probably the WilliamSparks who appeared on the 1850 census of Monongalia County, Virginia(now West Virginia) aged 60 years, with birthplace given asPennsylvania. Living with him was Sarah Sparks, age 48, Margaret Sparks,age 15, and Mary Sparks, age 13, all born in Virginia."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1959, Whole No. 26, p386:

"WILLIAM SPARKS. William Sparks, the third son of Solomon and CharitySparks,
was listed in the tax records of Surry County, North Carolina, between1813 and 1818 as living on 150 acres of land which his father hadpurchased in 1808. His name did not appear in the tax lists after 1818,however, and he was not listed on the 1820 census of either Surry orWilkes County."

SQ p. 5310:

William Sparks, third son of Solomon, Jr. and Charity Sparks according tothe order given for their six sons in Solomon, Jr.'s will of 1817. He wasborn about 1790. Surry County, North Carolina, tax lists show him livingon a tract of 150 acres of land that his father had purchased in 1808. Hewas taxed there only between 1814 and 1818, however, nor does his nameappear on the 1820 census of either Surry or Wilkes County. We can onlyconjecture that William died in or after 1818, or, more probably, that hemoved out of the area after his father died.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1961, Whole No. 36, p. 600 for the1850 census of Burke County, NC for the family of William Sparks. Williamis shown as 57 born in NC, a farmer; his wife is listed as Rachel, 56,born in NC, John 19, NC, and Mary Ann (sic) 16, NC. Their sons Erwin 20,NC, a miner, and James, 24, NC, a miner, are living with their brotherand sister in law, George and Nancy Sparks nearby.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1972, Whole No. 79, p. 1499:

"William Sparks, son of John and Katharine (Waddefl) Sparks, was bornon July 30, 1793, and died on March 20, 1864; he was married to CatherineKnox (called Caty) in 1820 (Nicholas County marriage bond dated May 18,1820). She was born December 3, 1797, and died January 11, 1845. (Thesedates are taken from Dr. Robert Peter’s History of Bourbon, Scott,Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky, published in 1882. There areseveral deeds dated 1818 and 1819 by which William Sparks purchased landon Hinkston Creek in Nicholas County. (Hinkston Creek forms most of theboundary between Bourbon and Nicholas Counties; it flows northwestward toempty into the South Fork of the Licking Creek.) On August 21, 1821, CatySparks purchased for $33.25 from Lydia Swearington a tract of 33 acres onHinkston Creek (Book E, p. 627); whether this was William’s wife or hismother cannot be determined since they both had the nickname "Caty."

William Sparks and his brother Jonas appear to have been in someform of partnership. On October 22, 1836, for example, they purchased for$2800 a tract of 113¼ acres in Nicholas County from John and NancyFugate. (Book L, p. 199) On December 19, 1851, they purchased a tract of69 acres for $2 ,094 in Nicholas County from John Crouch (Book P, p.377). On March 16, 1852, they purchased a tract of 514 acres for $1771from Daniel and Rachel Thomas (Book P, p. 1406). Apparently it was thisproperty that Clara (Bramlett) Sparks recalled in 1943 that the familieslater had difficulty dividing.

From a deed in Book 1, page 76 in Nicholas County, Kentucky, datedMay 14, 1864, we know that William and Catherine (Knox) Sparks had thefollowing children: (See family sheet)

!NOTES:
SQ pg 2925 states: "William Sparks, son of James and Nancy (Rogers )Sparks,
was born about 1799 in Bedford County, PA. He married Susan A. --- ,probably
about 1830. She was born about 1806 in Pennsylvania. William and Su sanwere
listed on the 1840 and 1850 censuses of Bedford County, and, accordin gto these
sources, they were parents of five children. William apparently die dprior to
1870, and Susan died sometime after 1880."

SQ pg 2590:

"William Sparks, son of James and Margaret (Ray) Sparks, was born onDecember 29 1802, according to the information recorded by his brother,Joseph Sparks, in the Atlas Map of Fulton County, Illinois, referred toin his father's notes; however, according to the information inscribed onhis tombstone, he was born on January 1, 1801. In view of the dates ofbirth of his three older sisters , we are inclined to accept the daterecorded by his brother as correct. He was probably named for hispaternal grandfather.

"William grew to manhood in Washington County and accompanied hisparents to Richland County, Ohio, in the latter part of1820. It wasprobably there that he married Catherine Huckley, probably about 1828.She was born on January 24, 1808, in Pennsylvania. When the 1830 censuswas taken of Richland County, she and William had one child, a daughter,born about 1829.

"Four more children (all sons) were born to William and Catherinebefore they decided to move westward to Indiana. Their decision to movewas probably prompted by encouragement from William's brother, Allen, whohad gone to Clinton County, Indiana, where he purchased land in 1833.William arrived in Clinton County in time to purhcase a 52-acre tract ofland in March 1837 and to get it ready for spring planting. Another sonarrived that fall.

"William Sparks added a 21 acre tract to his farm in the spring of1844, but in the fall of 1846, he and Catherine sold it to JohnHenderson. It is quite likely that they were getting ready to moveagain, this time to neighboring Tippecanoe County. It also seems likelythat William was getting ready to quit farming, for when he moved toTippecanoe County, he settled in the town of Lafayette where he became abrick-mason. A descendant has a letter which he wrote to a daughter inwhich he referred to his son building a kiln.

"Some unusual events happened in the family of William Sparks duringthe next decade. Robert, the oldest son, died in 1854, shortly after his23rd birthday. Son, Francis, married and named his first child William,after his father. It was the second grandchild for William andCatherine---their daughter, Mary, had a son, Benjamin, born in 1847. Twosons, James and Peter, joined the Union forces in 1862 , and James waskilled in the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia.

"Sometime in 1876, William and Catherine made their last move, thistime to Missouri where they settled in Moniteau County. Catherine diedon March 24, 1877, shortly after they arrived there. She was seventyyears of age. William survived her by eleven years, dying in a mosttragic manner. As published by the California (Missouri ) Democrat onFebruary 9, 1888, the account of his death was given a s follows: "Mr.William Sparks, who was quite old and feeble, living 2 1/2 milessouth-east of this place, disappeared Friday from the sight of his familyabout 11 A.M. A son, Israel, came to the house so on after his fatherleft, and started in pursuit of him, but looking in the wrong directions,as he did, did not find him. The old gentleman not returning at night,the family became alarmed and calling several neighbors, continued thesearch until 11 P.M., but without success. He was seen some three mileswest of his home near dark coming toward this place. On Saturdaymorning, it was generally known that Mr. Sparks was missing and the wholeneighborhood started out its search of him. About 11 A.M., Mr. W. C.Francis found him in Mr. A. D. Snyder's pasture, lifeless. He hadevidently been standing by a post for some time, as there was a hole nearit where he stood and stamped his feet. He was only 25 or 30 rods fromAbner Brisendine's house and the folks at the house heard his cries of"Oh! Lordy!" but did not go to his relief, as they thought it was somewild "varmint. " Esquire Tising held an inquest on the body and theverdict of the jury was that "he came to his death from exposure andfatigue and that he was found by W. C. Francis."

"William and Catherine (Huckley) Sparks were buried in Gray's Cemeterynear High Point, Missouri. Their tombstones bear the followinginscriptions:

(William Sparks)
"Kind friends, beware as you pass by
"As you are now, so once was I.
"As I am now so must you be;
"Prepare therefore to follow me."

(Catherine Sparks)
"She's gone to that world above
"Where saints and angels meet;
"To realize our Saviour's love
"And worship at His feet."

"William and Catherine (Huckley) Sparks had eleven children. Thefirst five were born in Ohio, probably in Richland county. The other sixwere born in Indiana."

"There is in the Family History Library, a volume entitled SparksFamily History by Betty L. Sparks 929.273, Sp26a who descends throughthis William and his son Francis. The book goes on to include hundredsof members of this branch of the family. Betty's address, as of 1987 wasgiven as Rt 1 Box 88, Chicago Heights, Ill 60411. Tel (312) 474-2656.

SQ pp. 373-4 for the following article:

QUERY - WILLIAM SPARKS, SR. (ca. 1809-1860)

Mrs. B. W. Chandler, 1040 Burlington St., Dallas 8, Texas, is seekinginformation regarding the family and ancestry of her great-grandfather,William Sparks, Sr., who was born about 1809 and died in 1860. On the1850 census, his birthplace was given as North Carolina, but on the 1860census it was given as South Carolina. He spent most of his adult life inTennessee. When the 1850 census was taken, he was living in McNairyCounty, Tennessee. It is believed that he had lived earlier in HardemanCounty, but this has not been proved conclusively. Shortly before hisdeath, he moved with his family to Prairie
County, Arkansas. He is known to have been a member of the Baptist Churchand to have been married twice. His first wife was Emiline Moore (calledEmily on the 1850 census), who was born about 1820 in Alabama. His secondwife was a widow, Mrs. Lucinda Davis.

When the 1850 census was taken of McNairy County, Tennessee, the familyliving on the farm adjoining that of William Sparks was that of DavidSparks, who was born about 1808. Likewise, on the 1860 census of PrairieCounty, Arkansas, the two families were living very near to each other.Since William and David were so nearly the same age and appear to havemoved from Tennessee to Arkansas at about the same time, it seemsprobable that they were brothers. David Sparks's wife's name was Comfort(an aunt of Mrs. Chandler's remembers her parents speaking of an "AuntComfort"), who, according to census records, was born about 1810 in NorthCarolina. From the census records, it appears that David and ComfortSparks were the parents of the following children, all born in Tennessee:(1) Julia A., born about 1829; (2) Fonety, born about 1831; (3) Sarah,born about 1833; (4) Spencer, born about 1836; (5) Comfort, born about1838; (6) John, born about 1842; (7) William, born about 1845; (8)Almeda, born about 1849; (9) Amanda, born about 1852; and (10) James D.,born about 1854.

~David Sparks was listed on the 1840 census of Hardeman County,Tennessee. Near him was living David Sparks, Sr., who was still living inHardeman County in 1850. On the 1850 census he was listed as being 82years old, a farmer, born in North Carolina. With him in 1850 was living"Minus" Sparks (male), aged 39, also born in North Carolina. As will bepointed out below, it is believed that this was intended for 'Miner'Sparks, but the writing of the census taker is difficult to decipher.

This David Sparks, Sr., who was 82 years old in 1850, was the son ofJonas Sparks of Rowan County, North Carolina, who referred to “my sonDavid Sparks” in his will dated May 11, 1805. Many years ago a JudgeCooledge of Buchanan, Michigan, who descended from David Sparks, wrotethat David’s father (Jonas), married, as his second wife, a Dutch womannamed Little who was a widow. David disapproved of his father’s secondmarriage, but eventually married the Dutch woman’s pretty daughter, MaryLittle. Judge Cooledge descended from Cornelius Sparks, eldest son ofDavid and Mary (Little) Sparks.

Cornelius Sparks migrated to Indiana from Tennessee as a young man andlater settled in Michigan. According to Judge Cooledge, David and Mary(Little) Sparks were the parents of the following children: (Note sonsWilliam and David.)
(1) Cornelius Sparks, born 1793
(2) Joseph Sparks
(3) John Sparks
(4) William Sparks
(5) Daniel Sparks
(6) David Sparks
(7) Jonas Sparks
(8) Miner Sparks (probably the "Minus" Sparks living withDavid in 1850)
(9) Betsy Sparks
(10) Folly Sparks
(11) Sally Julina Sparks

On the 1850 census of Hardeman County, Tennessee, living next door toDavid Sparks, was Julila [Julia?] Birkhead, age 36, apparently a widow,born in North Carolina. Living with her was William Birkhead, age 15,also born in North Carolina, Eleaser Birkhead, age 14, David Birkhead,age 12, and Mary Birkhead, age 10, the latter three born in Tennessee.This was probably the Sally Julina Sparks whom Judge Cooledge listed asDavid Sparks's youngest child.

William and Emiline (Moore) Sparks, Mrs. Chandler's great-grandparents,are said to have been the parents of eight children, although from censusrecords only six can be clearly identified. It is believed that Emilinedied soon after the youngest child, Mary Ann, was born. Following are theknown children of William and Emiline (Moore) Sparks: (1) Rufus Sparks,born about 1839, lived in Prairie Co., Arkansas; married Em (some say hername was Mary), and had at least two children, Mary and Flora; (2) DanielSparks, born about 1841; (3) Albert Sparks, called John on the 1860census, born about 1842; (4) Martha, born about 1844, married SamFerguson, both died at Denton, Texas; no children; (5) William Sparks,Jr., born July 9, 1846; and (6) Mary Ann Sparks, born about 1849, marriedSam Orrick in Prairie Co., Arkansas, and had children named Ida, Hubert,and Lily.

William Sparks married, as his second wife, Mrs. Lucinda Davis. It isknown that Mrs. Davis, when she married William Sparks, had a son by herformer husband named James H. Davis. On the 1860 census of PrairieCounty, Arkansas, James was listed as living in the Sparks household, butwas mistakenly listed as "James H. Sparks". Also listed were Marandy, age11; Ellen, age 4; Cordelia, age 3; and Virginia, age 1. These four girls,like James, were listed by the census taken as named Sparks, but it seemsprobable that they were all Mrs. Davis' children by her first marriage.

Wi1liam Sparks, Jr., son of William and Emiline (Moore) Sparks, was Mrs.Chandler's grandfather. He was born in McNairy County, Tennessee, on July9, 1846. He grew up in Prairie County, Arkansas, where in 1861 heenlisted in the Confederate Army, Smith's Artillery, Polk's Division,later joining Whitfield's Legion, Army of the Tennessee. He fought atShiloh as well as in other famous engagements. In 1863 he came west ofthe Mississippi River and served in Arkansas and Missouri until the endof the conflict. He was married in Prairie County, Arkansas, on February15, 1864, to Miss Frances Elizabeth Gatewood, born January 21, 1842, inCarroll County, Mississippi. She was a daughter of Peter Gatewood, bornin Virginia in 1813, and Nancy Hoover (Smith) Gatewood, born in Tennesseein 1818. In 1874, William Sparks, Jr., moved with his family to Texas,where he followed farming until 1879, when he was appointed deputysheriff of Denton County, Texas. In 1886 and again in 1888, he waselected sheriff of Denton County. William Sparks, Jr., died in DentonCounty on December 4, 1893; Frances Elizabeth died in Dallas, Texas, onApril 11, 1936. They were the parents of the following children: (1)William Sparks, born 1866, died 1883; (2) Thomas J. Sparks, born 1867,died 1931, married his cousin, Molly Sparks, daughter of John and MittySparks of Arkansas; they had one son; (3) James N. Sparks, born 1869,died 1921, married Louvisa Elizabeth Smith; they had three children; (4)Virginia Ann Sparks, born 1872, died 1933, married J. W. Durbin; they hadsix children; (5) Della Jane Sparks, born 1877, died 1953, married ClaudMay; they had three children; (6) Martha Elizabeth Sparks, born 1879,married J. H. Davis who was the son of Mrs. Lucinda Davis, second wife ofWilliam Sparks, Jr.; they had no children; and (7) Samuel Sparks, born1882, died 1955, married Mary Williams; they had no children.

Should anyone have additional information on any of the Sparksesmentioned in the above sketch, please write either to Mrs.
Chandler or the editor, Dr. Bidlack.

SQ 805:
"William Sparks, son of David and Mary (Little) Sparks, was born about1808 in Rowan County, North Carolina. He moved to Tennessee with hisparents and in 1850 was living in McNairy County. He moved to PrairieCounty, Arkansas shortly before his death, which occurred in 1860. Hemarried, first, Emiline Moore, who was born about 1820 in Alabama anddied about 1851 in Tennessee. His second wife was a widow named Mrs.Lucinda Davis. It is believed that William and Emiline (Moore) Sparkswere the parents of eight children, but we have the names of only six:[here lists]"
"It is not believed that William Sparks had children by his secondwife, Lucinda. See also SQ Whole No. 25, pp. 373-4 for more informationon this family."

SQ 398:

"William Sparks, oldest child of solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks,was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on December 10, 1809. Hemarried Hester (Hettie) Miller in Wells County, Indiana, on December 27,1838. She was born 6 Aug 1821. He was a farmer by occupation and whenthe 1850 census was taken was living in Huntington County, Indiana. Hedied 14 Apr 1901 and his wife, Hester, died April 14, 1901. Both wereburied in the Sparks Cemetery, set aside in Solomon Sparks's will, inRock Creek Township, Wells County. William and Hester (Miller) Sparksare known to have had the following children, there may have been others:(here are names of children for which see their family sheets.)

SQ 4486:
William Sparks is shown in the 1860 census of Huntington County,Indiana with Hettie, Moses, Henry, John, and Rachel.

SQ 5292:

William Sparks, oldest child of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, wasborn in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on December 10, 1809; he died onMay 18, 1872, and was buried in the Sparks Cemetery in Rock CreekTownship, Wells County, that had once been part of his father's farm.Solomon Sparks had specified in his 1854 will that these two acres shouldhenceforth serve the public for a burying ground,....
William Sparks was married in Wells County on December 27, 1838, toHester ["Hettie"] Miller. She had been born on August 6, 1821, and diedon April 14, 1901; she was buried, also, in the Sparks Cemetery. Williamwas a farmer by occupation and in 1840 was living near his brother, MosesSparks, in Huntington County. (Huntington and Wells Counties adjoin andit is important to note there is a Rock Creek Township in both counties--these two townships actually adjoin.) A biographical sketch of a grandsonof William and Hester Sparks named Jacob Sparks appeared in A StandardHistory of Kosciusko County, Indiana, by Lemuel W. Royse and published inChicago in 1919 contains the statement that William and Hester were theparents of six children: Moses, Henry, James, K. P., John, and Rachel.Our further knowledge of these children, based on census records, isquite limited:
(1) Moses Sparks was born about 1839 and died in Wells County, Indiana,on October 9, 1874. He was married to Hannah A. Bane on February 14,1861, in Huntington County.
(2) James P. Sparks was born about 1846.
(3) Henry Sparks was born about 1848.
(4) K. P. Sparks.
(5) John Sparks, born about 1854.
(6) Rachel Sparks, born about 1858.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1997, Whole No. 179, p 4862:

"William ["Bill'] Sparks, son of Robert and Margaret (Pigg) Sparks,was born about 1812, probably in Wilkes County, North Carolina. He wasnearly grown when he accompanied his brothers, Wesley Sparks and ReubenSparks, to Lawrence County about 1828. He was married to Mary ["Polly"]Lyon on May 3, 1832, in Morgan County, Kentucky. She had been born about1816 and was a daughter of John and Mary (Holbrook) Lyon, natives ofWilkes County, North Carolina. Polly and Bill lived near the village ofHalcom on Wallowhole Creek, a small stream in the southeastern part ofpresent-day Elliott County.

"We have found only a few records pertaining to Bill Sparks. He paidtaxes from 1833 to 1856 in Lawrence County, and was enumerated there whenthe 1840 census was taken. On May 17, 1848, he was granted a LawrenceCounty warrant for 200 acres of land located on the Little Fork of LittleSandy River. He was head of his household when the 1850 census was takenof Lawrence County. Members of the household were his wife, a daughter,and seven sons. His property was valued at $100.00.

"No record has been found of Bill Sparks after 1856. The lack ofrecords is still a mystery. Two versions of his disappearance have beenhanded down by his descendants. One story is that he was returning froma trip to North Carolina, but he never arrived home. The other tale isthat he and his youngest son had taken timber to Cincinnati, Ohio, wherethey had sold it for a good price. As they were returning home on anOhio River steamer, Bill and the money disappeared near the mouth of theLittle Sandy River.

"After the disappearance of William Sparks, his family apparentlybroke up. When the 1860 census was taken, two of his children, NancySparks and Reuben Sparks, were married and were living in their ownhouseholds in Lawrence County. No record has been found of any of theother children until the 1870 census was taken of newly-formed ElliottCounty. On that census, six of Bill's sons and his daughter wereenumerated.

"Polly (Lyon) Sparks did not appear on the 1870 census; she may havedied or remarried. According to descendants and census records, she andBill Sparks had nine children, one daughter and eight sons."

See SQ p. 465 to find this family in the 1850 Census of Monroe County,Indiana.

SQ March 1969, Whole No. 65, p. 1206:

3. William Sparks, son of Hardy and Susannah (Brown) Sparks, was born inNorth Carolina about 1820. He married Nancy - - - - - in North Carolinaand it was there that their first three children were born. They moved toIndiana about 1846 and were living in Monroe County, Indiana, when the1850 and 1860 censuses were taken. From these census records, it appearsthat they were the parents of the following children:
(a) Leonard J. Sparks, son of William and Nancy Sparks, was born in NorthCarolina about 1842. (twin of John T.)
(b) John T. Sparks, son of William and Nancy Sparks, was born in NorthCarolina about 1842. (twin of Leonard J.)
(c) James H. Sparks, son of William and Nancy Sparks, was born in NorthCarolina about 1845.
(d) Elizabeth J. Sparks, daughter of William and Nancy Sparks, was bornin Indiana about 1847.
(e) Nancy H. Sparks, daughter of William and Nancy Sparks, was born about1849, in Indiana.
(f) Susan Sparks, daughter of William and Nancy Sparks, was born inIndiana about 1854.

SQ p 5375:

William Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was born inSurry County, North Carolina, about 1823. In 1854, he was one of theheirs of his father for whom his brother, Richard Sparks, was responsiblefor locating. We have no further information regarding him.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1999, Whole No. 187, pp 5115-16for the 1860 Census of Falls County, Texas:

Post Office: Alto Springs
Page 164. Census taken by J. C. Billingsley on August 20 & 21, 1860
279-279

Name Age Sex Occupation Born
Sparks, Wm. 28 (M) Farmer - $158 AR
" M. A. 28 (F) TN
" M. J. 1 (F) TX
" J. M. 9/12 (M) TX

Note: William Sparks, born about 1832 in Arkansas, was a son ofWilloughby and Mary ("Polly") (Harrell) Sparks. He was a first cousin ofWillis Sparks who was living in Clay County, Texas, when the 1860 censuswas taken (see page 5212). William's father, Willoughby, and Willis'father, Elsberry, were brothers, sons of Absolom Sparks. William Sparkswas married about 1832 in Arkansas to Martha A. Erskine, who was shownabove on the 1860 census as "M. A. Sparks." See the article by MarshaWharton entitled "Additional Information About Wmoughby Sparks, BornAbout 1802, Died About 1860, and Some of His Descendants," in theQUARTERLY of September 1989, Whole No. 147, pp.3463-72.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1992, Whole No. 158, p. 3945:

"William Sparks, son of Elijah and Sally (Evans) Sparks, was bornabout 1833 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He was married to Louisa Blevinson September 15, 1855, in Johnson County, by Hardy Williams, a Baptistminister. William was 22 years of age and Louisa was aged 16 years. Herfather, Eli Blevins, gave his consent to the marriage. [JS Note: SQ p.817, marriage register for Johnson County states that the Oath was givenby Daniel Blevens.]

"On October 27, 1863, William Sparks enlisted in Company I, 47thRegiment Kentucky Infantry of the Union Army and served until the end ofthe civil war. (See page 3966 of this issue of the QUARTERLY for anabstract of the papers in his pension file [reproduced below].) Hereturned to his home near Flat Gap, Kentucky, and it was there that hedied on May 16, 1879. Louisa died near Bonanza, Kentucky, sometime after1900. They were the parents of seven children."

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION:

WILLIAM SPARKS (ca. 1833-1879), son of Elijah and Sarah (Evans) Sparks,was born about 1833 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. On September 15, 1855,he was married to Louisa Blevins in Johnson County, Kentucky. He died onMay 16, 1879. He served in Company I, 47th Regiment Kentucky Infantry.File Designation: Wid. Appl. No. 489,680.

"William Sparks died on May 16, 1879, at his home at Flatgap,Kentucky. His widow, Louisa (Blevins) Sparks, remained a widow until1885 when she was married to a man named Hill. On January 21, 1896,Louisa Hill, aged 56, a resident of Bonanza, Kentucky, applied for awidow's pension, using as her claim the military service of her late(first) husband, William Sparks. She stated that Sparks had served inCompany 1, 47th Regiment Kentucky Infantry. She and Sparks had beenmarried on September 15, 1855, in Johnson County, Kentucky, by HardyWilliams, a Baptist minister. She and Sparks had had five children whohad been under the age of sixteen years at the time of his death in1879. These were:

Sarah Catherine Sparks, born May 15, 1865
Elijah Sparks, born March 5, 1867
Eli Sparks, born November 29, 1871
Merida Green Sparks, born October 27, 1874
Eddy Cornelius Sparks, born March 8, 1877

"Mrs. Hill declared that she had remained a widow until 1885 when shehad been married a second time. She appointed Edgar T. Gaddis,Washington, D.C., as her attorney. Wm. W. Anderson and W. H. Robinsonwitnessed her make her mark on her application.

"On March 4, 1896, the War Department confirmed the military serviceof William Sparks. He had been enrolled on October 27, 1863, in CompanyI, 47th Regiment Kentucky Infantry, and he had served until he had beenmustered out with his company on April 12, 1865, at Lexington, Kentucky.He had been hospitalized at Paris, Kentucky, on February 29, 1864, andhad remained there until April 30, 1864, when he had been returned toduty.

"Six affidavits were filed on July 27, 1896, to support Mrs.Hill'sapplication. James A. McKinnon, 64, and Nancy J. McKinnon, 45, both ofFlatgap, Kentucky, testified that William Sparks had left his widowwithout any means of support and with a family of small children.Lafayette McKenzie witnessed the McKinnons' signatures. Angeline Sparks,44, and Jane Estep, 48, both of Flatgap, Kentucky, swore that they hadbeen present at the birth of Meredith Green Sparks in October 1874. Hewas a son of William and Louisa Sparks. William M. Conley and LafayetteMcKenzie witnessed these women make their marks on their affidavit.

"May Ann McKenzie, 61, of Flatgap, Kentucky, testified that she hadbeen present when her brother, William Sparks, had been married to LouisaBlevins about five years before the late war. She stated that they hadbeen married at the home of 'old Billy Blevins, grandfather of Louisa. Ithad been the first marriage for each of them. Wm. M. Conley andLafayette McKenzie witnessed her make her mark.

"Nancy E. Sparks, 39, of Bonanza, Kentucky, testified that she knewthe birthdates of the children of William and Louisa Sparks by being inthe home when they were born. She said the children had all stayed athome until they were fifteen years old. She gave the dates of birth ofSarah Catherine Sparks, Elijah Sparks, Eli Sparks, Merida Green Sparks,and Eddy Cornelius Sparks just as they had been stated on the originalapplication of Louisa Hill. William W. Anderson and C. T. Gillespiewitnessed her signature on her affidavit.

"On August 8, 1898, J. M. Preston, clerk of Johnson County, sent acopy of the marriage record of William Sparks and Louisa Blevins to thePension Office. The license had been issued on September 19, 1855, byJohn Howes, clerk of Johnson County. Eli Blevins, father of LouisaBlevins, had given his permission to the marriage.

"On March 5, 1900, the claim of Louisa Sparks, now Hill, was sent bythe Bureau of Pensions to the chief of the Southern Division with thefollowing notation: "The date of remarriage on the Claimant's declarationof Jan. 21, 1896, is not very plainly written and 1895 may have beenintended. Claimant seems to be neglecting both of her claims. It issuggested that final action be delayed to await such further evidence asshe may furnish in regard to remarriage."

"The final statement from this pension file was written on December23, 1904. It stated: "Clmt. & Atty. notified in regard to Rejection."

SQ June 2001, Whole No. 194, p. 5546:

William Sparks died in the town of Lafayette in Tippecanoe County,Indiana, in April 1860 from "Liver Complaint, following an illnless of120 days. He had been born in Ohio and was 24 years old when he died. Hewas single and by occupation a brick mason. [Editor's Note: WilliamSparks was a son of William and Catherine (Huckley) Sparks; he was agrandson of James and Margaret (Ray) Sparks. See the QUARTERLY of March1984, Whole No. 125, p.2596, for further information regarding thisfamily.]

SQ p. 817: Marriage record of William and Martha (Salyer) Sparks,December 13, 1859, Johnson County, KY.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1992, Whole No. 158, pps 3939-40:

"William Sparks, son of Elisha and Susanna (Pridemore) Sparks, was bornin September 1836 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. On December 14, 1859, hewas married to Martha Salyer in Johnson County Kentucky. Witnesses wereElisha Sparks and Martin McKenzie. Martha had been born on May 1, 1843,in Virginia and was a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth ( ) Salyer,natives of Virginia.

"On October 6, 1861, William Sparks went to Catlettsburg, Kentucky,where he enlisted in Company B, 14th Regiment Kentucky Infantry, UnitedStates Army. He served in this unit until January 1865; he wassubsequently granted a pension for his service. (See below for anabstract of the papers in his pension file.) Mrs. McC arty wrote thefollowing regarding his military service: "My father remembered hisgrandfather Sparks quite well. He was with Gen. Sherman on his campaignto take Atlanta, but he never got there because he was wounded in earlyAugust 1864. The bone in his right foot was badly shattered by a bullet,and he remained a cripple for the rest of his life. His toe nails grewquite funny, and he couldn't cut them himself, so he hired hisgrandchildren to cut them."

"William Sparks, son of Elisha and Susanna (Pridemore) Sparks, diedon October 18, 1913, and Martha died on December 15, 1915. They wereburied in the Sparks Cemetery on Sparks Branch. Of this cemetery , Mrs.McCarty has written: "The cemetery where William and Martha (and all butone of their children) are buried is also on Kentucky State Road 1092.Sparks Branch turns off the road and goes up a hollow a nd the cemeteryis located about one-half mile up the hollow and high on a hill. Thereis a road which is passable provided it hasn't rained the night before.William's headstone is the typical Civil War one, with his name and Co.D., 14th Ky. Inf. carved on it.

"In passing, I would like to say that my father's generation tookalmost fanatical care of that cemetery," Mrs. McCarthy continues . "Theymet faithfully every year at 10 a.m. on Decoration Day (now calledMemorial Day), regardless of the day of the week. They mowed the grass;cleaned up the fence row; and whitewashed the stones. Sunken graves werefilled in and fresh flowers were placed upon the mounds. In the absenceof fresh flowers, artificial flowers were made from crepe paper andplaced upon the graves. It was an all-day family affair which,unfortunately, is fast disappearing as a custom."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1992, Whole No. 158, pps 3963-5:

ABSTRACT OF PENSION APPLICATION FILE FOR WILLIAM SPARKS:

William Sparks, son of Elisha and Susanna (Pridemore) Sparks, was born onSeptember 17, 1836, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He died on October 18,1913. He was married to Martha Salyer on December 14, 1859. He servedin Company D, 14th Regiment Kentucky Infantry. F ile Designations: Inv.Cert. No. 166,375; Wid. Cert. No. 769,506.

"On June 3, 1865, William Sparks, age 27, a resident of Hoods Fork[now known as Hood Creek] in Johnson County, Kentucky, made applicationfor an invalid pension. He said that he had enlisted in Company B, 14thRegiment Kentucky Infantry, commanded by Col. George W. Gallup, onOctober 6, 1861, at Catlettsburg, Kentucky, and had served until January30, 1865. On August 3, 1864, his company had charged the skirmish linenear Atlanta, Georgia, and he had received a musket ball in the upperpart of his right foot which had shattered the bone and rendered him acripple and unable to perform any work as a farmer. He appointed J. F.Stewart, Louisa, Kentucky, as his attorney, and E. H. Conley and IraHale, both residents of Louisa, witnessed his signature. Conley and Halealso made an affidavit that they knew Sparks's statements were true forthey had been fellow soldiers of his. Judge John M. Clayton and Clerk R.F. Vinson, Lawrence County, Kentucky, officials, certified theapplication. Sparks was issued a pension under Invalid Certificate No.166,375.

"On November 19, 1981, William Sparks made a request for increasedpension benefits under the provisions of the 1890 Act of Congress. Hewas now 55 years of age and lived at Flat Gap, Kentucky. He stated thathe was unable to earn his support because of sore eyes, kidney disease,rheumatism, and chronic bronchitis brought on by military service. Heappointed B. H. Harris as his attorney, and M. H. Pack and R. M. Rosswitnessed his signature.

"On April 10, 1895, the Bureau of Pensions asked the Adjutant-Generalto furnish Sparks's medical history. Verification was received on April11, 1895. Sparks had served in Company D, 14th Regiment Kent uckyInfantry from October 20, 1861, until January 31, 1865. He ha d enteredthe General Hospital at Knoxville, Tennessee, on August 31 , 1864, with amusket wound in his right foot and had remained there until December 31,1864, when he had been sent to the hospital in Ashland, Kentucky. Otherperiods of medical treatment were for camp fever, March 7-18, 1863, andfor conjunctivitus, October 27-December 21, 1863. The Adjutant-Generalsaid the latter records had been found after an earlier report had beensent on September 25, 1871.

"William Sparks responded to a questionnaire from the Bureau ofPensions on December 29, 1897. He stated that he had been married toMartha Salyer on December 14, 1859, and to this marriage twelve childrenhad been born (here follows a list of the children and their birthdates.)

"William Sparks died on October 18, 1913, and his widow, Martha(Salyer) Sparks, made a declaration for a Widow's Pension under the 1908Act of Congress. She was 66 years of age and lived at Flat Gap,Kentucky. She furnished evidence that she and Sparks had been married onDecember 14, 1859, by a minister of the Church of Christ. it had beenthe first marriage for both. Henry Daniel and John Borders witnessed hermake her mark, and E. E. Crislip notarized the application. MarthaSparks was issued a pension under Widow's Certificate No . 769,506. Whenshe died on December 15, 1915, whe was receiving a pension of $12.00 permonth.

"On February 14, 1916, Samantha (Sparks) Murry, age 51, a resident ofFlat Gap, Kentucky, and a daughter of William and Martha (Salyer )Sparks, applied for reimbursement for nursing care that she had providedfor her mother. Four neighbors, Samuel Cordial, Garland Frazier, F. M.Lyon, and Rhoda Lyon, testified that the claim was true and just. Dr. P.O. Meade, the attending physician, also supported the claim. Whether shereceived payment is not known." (End of Abstract)

SQ p. 1317:

"William Sparks, son of James and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks, was bornabout 1833. Although he was not listed with the family on the 1850census of Clayton County, Iowa, he was listed as 18 years of age andliving with his mother in Olmsted County, Minnesota, when a special statecensus was taken there in 1857. "

.

!NOTES:
THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4273: "William
Sparks, son of Solomon and Susan Sparks, was born about 1837 in North
Carolina. We have no further information about him."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1999, Whole No. 185, p. 5110:

"William Sparks, son of John and Caroline (-----) Sparks, was born onJuly 2, 1842, in Lewis County. (His photograph and that of his wifeappear on the cover page of the present issue of the QUARTERLY.) Helearned the trade of blacksmith from his father and worked with him inhis shop in Concord, Kentucky. William was married to Susan P. Sanbornin 1863. She had been born on March 14, 1845, in Meigs County, Ohio, andwas a daughter of Alexander and Mary G. (-----) Sanborn. She and Williamlived in Concord, and he died there on February 19, 1895. Susan survivedhim for over thirty years, dying on April 29, 1931. They were buried inthe Concord Cemetery. According to census records and descendants, theyhad ten children."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1986, Whole No. 135, p. 2951:

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION OF

WILLIAM SPARKS, son of John and Barbara (-----) Sparks, was born in May1845, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. There he married CatherineBarnes on March 3, 1870. He served in Co. D, 101st Regt.Pennsylvania Infantry. File Designation: Inv. Cert. No. 592,590.

"On July 18, 1890, William Sparks, aged 45, a resident of Portage,Cambria County, Pennsylvania, applied for an invalid pension. Ile statedthat he had enrolled on February 4, 1864, in Company D, 101st RegimentPennsylvania Infantry and had served until he was discharged at NewBerne, North Carolina, on June 25, 1865. He was now suffering fromBright's Disease and from rheumatism brought on by his military service.He appointed W. Wallace Hill of Washington, D.C., as his attorney. JohnH. Kennedy and Peter Seymour witnessed his signature.

"Sparks was asked to appear before an examining board on March 11,1891.
The board consisted of J. C. Sheridan, D. W. Evans, and T. J. Davison.
They found him suffering from a severe rheumatism and anchylosis of theleft hip and recomended that he receive a pension. He was issued InvalidCertificate No. 592,590 and placed upon the pension roll.

"On July 5, 1898, Sparks responded to a questionnaire from the Bureauof Pensions. He said he had been married to Catherine Barnes on March 3,1870, by J. Rodgers in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It had been thefirst marriage for both of them. They had one child, Hugh Sparks, bornon April 28, 1870.

"William Sparks applied for increased pension benefits on May 27,1912, under the provisions of the 1912 Act of Congress. He stated thathe had enlisted in January 1862 in Company D, 101st Regiment PennsylvaniaVolunteers. He was taken a prisoner at Plymouth, North Carolina, onApril 20, 1864, and was released on March 3, 1865, and was mustered outwith his company on June 25, 1865, at New Berne, North Carolina. He hadbeen 6 feet tall, with fair complexion, blue eyes, and dark hair, and hewas a laborer at the time he was enrolled. He had been born in May 1845near Bloody Run, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and in Cambria County,Pennsylvania.

"When William Sparks died on January 10, 1915, he was receiveing apension of $19.00 per month.

SQ pg 2649: He is said to have been killed while serving in theConfederate States Army.

SQ 1358: "William (Bill) Sparks, born March 27, 1852, in Arkansas anddied on March 10, 1943. He married (1st) Elizabeth Sells on Sept. 3O,1870. She was born in 1860 and died in May 1932, the daughter of WilliamMacDonald and Eleanor (Champion) Sells. He married (2nd) Alice (Swaim)Sanders , a widow, in 1892; she was born about 1865 and died in 1954.(Here lists children )"

In May, 2001, I received a letter from Jean Frederick (email address:fred0727@@netzero.net) of 3785 Byhalia Rd., Hernando, MS 38632. Itcontained three pages copied from the family bible. The first page beganwith the children of Jacobsen and Cynthia (Champion) Sparks. The oldestentry was: William Sparks was borned March 27 th 1852. (Could be24th). The first page of the record continued:
Eleanor C. Sparks was bornd February the 20th 1852
Moses Sparks was bornd June the 30th 1855
Fanny Sparks was bornd July the 21st 1857
Jonathan Sparks was bornd October the 26th 1859
Jacob Sparks was bornd October the 27th 1861

The record then recorded the births of William's children by his wifeElizabeth (Sells) Sparks as follows:

Albert S. Sparks was Born December the 18th 1871
James E. Sparks was Born May the 6th 1873
Margret Sparks was Born June 6th 1875
Allen A. Sparks was Born aug 12th 1878
Ben Sparks was Born aug 28th 1881
Jacob Sparks was Born December 23 1884

Beginning on the second page of the record we find information relatingto the children of William and his second wife Alice (Swaim) Sanders asfollows: (Data relating to the surname Elliott is omitted.]

Liz Sparks was born Aug 30, 1893
Pat Sparks was born May 3, 1894
Lucy Sparks was born Dec. 24 - 1900
Lever Sparks was born Nov. 29 - 1897
Hugh Sparks was born July 23 - 1904
Catharine Sparks was born Aug 3 1906
Horace Sparks was borned June 16 1908

Beginning on the third page the record is as follows:
James E. Sparks departed this life Sept the 25th 1887
Lever Sparks departed this life July 7 1899
Jake Sparks departed this life Aug 10 1908 (Jacob)
Pat Sparks departed this life March 19, 1916
Horace Sparks departed this life Dec 22 1926
Bill Sparks departed life March 10, 1943
Bud Sparks died Oct 20, 1932
Eliza Sparks died Feb 20 1936
Alice Sparks died April 23, 1954

See SQ p. 333 for birth information. In this record his parents arelisted as Wesly Sparks and Nancy Kisee.

See SQ p4855:

"William ["Bill"] Sparks, son of Wes and Nancy (Kozee) Sparks, wasborn on May 1, 1853. He was married to Malinda J. Stephens on October 2,1873, in Carter County. She had been born about 1856. She and Billlived on Warowhole Creek. They were buried there in the Bill SparksCemetery in unmarked graves. They had ten children."

SQ p 4878: "William Sparks, son of Reuben and Margaret (Pruitt)Sparks, was born in or about 1858, according to the censuses of 1870 and1880, although his nephew, William Reuben Sparks, stated in 1955 that hehad been born in 1854. He was probably the son of Reuben and MargaretSparks who was recorded as Nathan Sparks on the 1860 census of WashingtonCounty, Arkansas, age 3. Perhaps William's middle name was Nathan,although on the 1880 census, he was shown as William M. Sparks. He wasstill living with his parents ( "works on farm") in Crawford County,Kansas, in 1880, age 22."

SQ pg 4067: He was married to Mary Hamilton, and they had twochildren, Lenora and William.

SQ 2780: "William Allen Sparks was born on April 9, 1889, in RockSprings, Texas. He was married to Mollie Frances Rambin on December 12,1909, in Appleby, Texas. She had been born on March 10, 1893, and was adaughter of James and Anna L. (King) Rambin. William Sparks died onApril 19, 1968. He was a successful pioneer in egg and broiler chickenproduction. He and Mollie had six children: William C., James V., IrisL., Lester B., Ruby K. and Mary H."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1995, Whole No. 170, pg 4457:
"William Sparks, son of Millington and Rebecca (Brooks) sparks, wasborn on January 3, 1801, probably in Maryland. Few records have beenfound pertaining to him. Descendants say that his full name was W illiamAndrew Sparks. He may have been married twice. Apparently he was theWilliam Sparks, born 1800-1810, who was shown as head of a household onthe 1830 census of Lauderdale County, Alabama; however, there were nochildren enumerated in his household. With him was a female, presumedlyhis wife, born 1810-1815, and another female who had been born 1780-1790.
"Sparks may have been the William A. Sparks who was married toCordelia Thomas on June 30, 1840, in Lauderdale County. (The license hadbeen issued on June 20, 1840.) He may have been the W. Sparks shown onthe 1840 census. If this is correct, however, the census taker wasapparently given incorrect age information. This record is the lastofficial record we have found of this man; however, we have receivedfurther information from his descendants.
"A descendant, Mrs. Mildred (Sparks) Singleton of San Angelo, Texas,wrote in 1964 that William's middle name had been Andrew. She alsostated that he had a son named William Andrew Jackson Sparks who had beenborn about 1824. She shared the following account which had been givento her by her father, Emmette Elwood Sparks:
"We were always told that grandpa had the middle names AndrewJackson. As far as we knew, his name was that of William AndrewJackson Sparks. The William Sparks, son of William Millington Sparks andRebecca (Brooks) Sparks, is my great- grandfather. He was only sevenwhen his father married Ann Swanway; that is why he called her his motherto his children, this leading to the belief that his mother was AnnSwanway Sparks. I have always known that my great-great-grandfather wasWilliam Millington Sparks. I have been told that as long as I canremember , and that my great-great-grandmother was a Swanway before theymarried.
"I can remember, even though I was a little kid, Martin Van BurenSparks. I also remember that his brother was John Sparks, a Governor.Uncle Reuben Sparks said that Governor John Sparks came to see them whenthey lived in Thorndale in Milam County, Texas, and got grand-daddy tosign some papers that he would move to Nevada and settle on some land ,but grand-daddy didn't want to move to Nevada."
"Several years ago, another relative of William Andrew Sparks, namedJohn Baxter Sparks (1869-1958), stated that William Andrew Sparks and hisbrother, Samuel Sparks, had left Mississippi together and had moved toArkansas. They had lived near each other there until Sam left to go toTexas about 1857. William stayed in Arkansas until a bout twenty yearslater when he, too, moved to Texas. There he rented land from hisnephew, John Sparks (later to become Governor of Nevada) in WilliamsonCounty.
"From the statements given above, we believe that William AndrewSparks had at least one son, William Andrew Jackson Sparks."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1995, Whole No. 170, pg 4458:

"William Andrew Jackson Sparks, son of William Sparks , was born about1824 in Alabama, probably in Lauderdale County. He accompanied hisfather to Mississippi and then on to Arkansas. He was living in Texaswhen the Civil War broke out. He joined the Confederate forces, givinghis residence as Austin, Texas. A record preserved in the NationalArchives in Washington, D.C., states the following:

W.A.J. Sparks, private, Capt. Carrington's Company of Giddings'Cavalry Battalion. Residence: Austin, Texas. Appears on a Roll ofPrisoners of War of W.H.D. Carrington's Co. Giddings' Battn . Cav'y,Confederate States Army, commanded by W.H.D. Carrington , surrendered atNew Orleans, La. by General E.K. Smith, C.S.A . to Major General E.R.S.Canby, U.S.A. May 26, 1865. Roll not dated and parole not stated.

"Prior to the Civil War, W.A.J. Sparks had been married to Jackie AnnJoyner about 1854. She had been born about 1830 in North Carolina .After her husband returned from the war, they settled in Caldwell County,Texas. It was there that they were listed on the 1880 census, and it wasthere that W.A.J. Sparks died on March 10, 1900. We have found no recordof the death of his wife. They had six children.

SQ p. 5434:

"William Ashley Sparks, born June 24, 1841, served in the Army of theConfederate States in the Civil War, having enlisted in Company H of the12th Infantry Regiment of South Carolina. He was wounded in the battlecalled "Second Manassas" by the Confederates and "Second Bull Run" by theFederals, on August 29, 1862. He was discharged because of his woundsand died on March 5, 1863, from disease. He was unmarried."

See Sparks Quarterly pg 2662 for information on this family.

Paul Sparks refers to a 4 volume History of Kentucky, 1928, whichincludes a
biography of William Ballard Sparks, born 1869 listing Francis and MaryAlice as his parents and Solomon and Margaret (Simms) Sparks as hisgrandparents.
(See his letter to Dr. Russell Bidlack cc JJS dated Dec 1, 1990.)

DEATH:
See UNION COUNTY, KENTUCKY DEATH RECORDS 1911-1950, FHL 976.9885 V 38hat page 89: SPARKS, William Ballard, (b) April 22, 1869, (d) April 27,1940;
(father) Francis (Sparks), (mother) Alice Thomas, (buried) St. Anns.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1995, Whole No. 172, pp. 4567-8:

"William C. Sparks, son of Nathan and Nancy (Hancock) Sparks, was bornon October 6, 1815, in Tennessee. He was married to Sarah Justiss (orJustin) on May 16, 1848, in Wilson County, Tennessee, by the Rev. J. B.Moore, M.G. Sarah had been born on December 16, 1821, in Tennessee.William Sparks was an ordained Presbyterian minister. He and Sarah werein Wilson county when the 1850 census was taken, but after sellingWilliam's share of his father's estate to Samuel H. Porterfield on May27, 1850, they moved to Arkansas.

"William and Sarah remained in Arkansas until about 1858 when theymoved northward to Union County, Illinois, where they were enumerated onthe 1860 census of that county. William was described as a farmer withreal estate valued at $6,000 and personal property valued at $600. Thefamily remain- ed in Union County until about 1862 when they moved toAtchison, Kansas. Many years later, in 1937, Samuel Nathan ["S.N."]Sparks, a son of William and Sarah, reminisced about their next move. Hewrote:

'We remained in Kansas until 1870 at which time the family pulled upstakes again and facing toward the south, settled in Paris, Texas.Remaining there but a few months, we moved in the same year to BrownCounty and went into the cattle business with some little farming on theside. The closest settlement to us at that time was Brownwood, fortymiles away with its little log courthouse and a few adjacent logbuildings. Our nearest post office was at Comanche, twenty-five milesaway. Our nearest neighbor was no closer than six miles. We lived inconstant fear of an Indian attack.'

"Sometime prior to 1896, William and Sarah moved to the OklahomaTerritory where they settled in the area that became Carter County in1907. Sarah died at Springer, Oklahoma Territory, on August 4, 1896, andWilliam died a year later, on September 7, 1897, at Ryan. They were theparents of four children."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1955, Whole No. 12, p 103:

"George Washington Sparks and his brother John Sparks (sons of Reubenand Phoebe Sparks), were killed in service in 1863 in the Army ofConfederate States of America. Their brother, William C. Sparks, foughtwith the Union Army, serving with Company H, 10th Regiment of Cavalry,Tennessee Volunteers.
His honorable discharge, dated 1 Aug. 1865, gives his description asfollows:

"Said William Sparks was born in Wilks County in the state of NorthCarolina, is twenty years of age, Six feet -- inches high, faircomplexion, blue eyes, Black hair, by occupation, when enrolled, aFarmer." The following is taken from a newspaper clipping dated 1863,from THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE, printed in
Washington, D. C. Some of the account is said to have been left out ,but here is what remains and, although incomplete, it gives aninteresting account of how William C. Sparks escaped and avoided captureduring the War.

"William Sparks also belonged to the company of stampeters, but beingsick, he was in the house when the excitement occurred in the yard, andhe asked Mrs. Bell to conceal him. She immediately raised a plank fromthe kitchen floor, and he crept under the kitchen, where he remaineduntil the rebels had finished their bloody work and returned to burn thehouse, which they first commenced by piling up clothes in the center ofthe floor, and setting them on fire, just over the cellar where the sickman had been concealed. The clothes not burning fast enough, theyprocured a straw-bed, and, placing it on the floor, they put a chunk offire into it: the smoke began to ascend in clouds, when they werecompelled to go out into the front yard to obtain fresh air. There weretwo rebels, which gave Sparks an opportunity to make his escape from thehouse. He crept out of the cellar through the smoke, and went throughthe back yard about ten steps from the house and concealed himself undersome dry weeds and vines in the garden where he remained until thebuildings were consumed, suffering intensely from the terrible heat ofthe fire.

"The rebels now went up the valley among their murdered victims forthe purpose of stripping them of their clothing. Miss Elizabeth Morrison, who lived in the neighborhood, and was at Bell's house during the wholetime of the dreadful excitement, procured a lady's dress, took it to thegarden where Sparks was concealed, and told him to put it on, and therebymost admirably disguised his sex. She then told him to walk along slowlyacross the fields and go to her father's house, telling him when he gotto the house her father would conduct him to a place of safety. She saidall of her family would at once know her bonnet, and that would furnishthem sufficient evidence that he was not a traitor.

"Sparks went on as the kind lady directed him, and was concealed andsaved; but he had been so terribly frightened that he did not recover hisproper faculties of mind for several days. the horrid scenes hewitnessed on that dreadful day surely can never be erased from his memoryuntil death shall have closed his earthly existence."

- - - - - - - - -

The following article appeared in THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1976, WholeNo. 94, pp 1825-26:

UNION SOLDIERS, PENSIONS FOR SERVICE IN THE CIVILWAR

WILLIAM C. SPARKS,
son of Reuben and Phoebe (Blackburn) Sparks, wasborn on May 1843, in Wilkes
County, N.C. He died on May 30, 1930. He marriedPhoebe McCann on Dec. 19,
1878. He served in Company H, 10th RegimentTennessee Cavalry. File
Designation: Inv. Cert. No. 347,120 .

On Aug. 31, 1881, William C. Sparks, age 35, a resident of Traphill,N.C., made application for an invalid
pension. He said he had enlisted on March 1, 1864, in Company H, 10thRegiment Tennessee Cavalry
commanded by John Q. A. Bryant and was discharged at Nashville, Tenn., onAug. 1, 1865. At the time of his enlistment, he was 6 feet tall; he had afair complexion, blue eyes and black hair; and he was a farmer byoccupation. During the spring of 1865, while stationed at Pulaski, Tenn.,he contracted asthma and a disease of the heart and lungs for which hewas treated at the Washington Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. He was also takento the Gayoso Hospital where he stayed from Feb. 16, 1865, until June1865. Since his discharge from the service, he had been treated by Dr.Tyra York. He appointed A. B. McSebb & Co., Washington, D.C., as hisattorneys. Wesley Joines and Joseph P. Pruitt attested his application.

The War Department confirmed Sparks's military service on Aug. 22, 1883.He had enlisted for a period of three years at Nashville, Tenn., inCompany H, 10th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry and had been mustered out withhis company at Nashville on Aug. 1, 1865. He had been hospitalized fromFeb. 17, 1865, to April 30, 1865, at Memphis, Tenn., but the nature ofhis illness was not stated.

On Aug. 19, 1886, William V. Smoot, age 40, a resident of Traphill, N.C.,made an affidavit to support Sparks's claim. He said he was a comradesoldier of Sparks and that in October 1864, Sparks was stricken withchronic diarrhea for which he was treated in the regimental hospital.Then, in February 1865, Sparks took what the doctors called asthma andlung disease and was sent to Washington Hospital, Memphis, Tenn. Smootsaid that Sparks developed a severe cough and the right side of hisbreast sunk in with what the doctors said was a collapsing of the rightlung.

Sparks was issued Invalid Certificate No. 347,120 and placed on thepension rolls.

On May 4, 1898, William C. Sparks responded to a questionnaire from theBureau of Pensions. He said his wife, Phoebe F. Sparks, had died on May30, 1896. They had five living children. They were:

Annie Bell Sparks, born Dec. 7, 1879
Cora E. Sparks, born May 9, 1883
George W. Sparks, born April 14, 1886
Tyra Clifton Sparks, born Feb. 14, 1891
Leftridge Blaine Sparks, born April 6, 1895

Sparks responded to another questionnaire on April 15, 1915. He said hewas born at Traphill, N.C., on May 25, 1843. He was married to PhoebeMcCann on Dec. 19, 1878, by J. F. Gentry, a justice of the peace. Afterthe death of his wife in 1896, he had not remarried.

On Oct. 20, 1924, William C. Sparks, now 80 years of age, made anapplication for additional benefits under the 1920 Act of Congress. Hesaid he was suffering from a gall bladder disease, which was probablymalignant, and from general debility due to old age. Dr. Ira G. Gambill,Elkin, N.C., and Annie B. Wilson, Traphill, N.C., witnessed his signatureand C. G. Arnfield notarized the application.

When William C. Sparks died on May 30, 1930, he was receiving a pensionof 90.00 per month.

(Editor's Note: For further details about William C. Sparks and hisbranch of the Sparks family, see the
December 1955 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 12.)

- - - - -

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2782: He married Ina Chatham. She was born on Jan 4, 1881 .After his death, Ina married a man named Dawson. She died in 1948.

A photograph of William Calvin Sparks appears in THE SPARKS QUARTERLYon page 4068.

SQ p.2619:

"William Carlos Sparks was born on April 10, 1863. He worked for amining company, and he was killed in a snow slide in Montana. He nevermarried."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3693:
"William Carroll Sparks, son of Isaac and Frances (Higginbotham) Sparks, was born on May 7, 1840, in Mississippi. He accompanied his parents to Texas and was living with them in Red River County when th eCivil War broke out. He served in the 9th Regiment Texas Cavalry , andafter he returned from the service, he was married to Susan Man nStephenson about 1865, probably in Titus County. She had been bor n onSeptember 28, 1848, in Texas, and was a daughter of William Man n andAmerica Jane (Riddle) Stephenson, natives of Campbell County, K entucky.Susan apparently died in the fall of 1866 when their only c hild was born.
"After the death of his wife, Carroll Sparks (as he was generall yknown) married her sister, Arelda Jane Stephenson, on July 1, 1867 . Shehad been born on May 14, 1846, in Texas. She and Carroll ha d ninechildren. She died on January 15, 1929, in Titus County.
"On August 14, 1905, William C. Sparks applied to the state of Tex asfor a pension based on his military service in the Confederate Sta tesArmy. He said he had enlisted at Mt. Pleasant, Texas, on Octobe r 14,1861, in Capt. Stewart's Company of the 9th Regiment Texas Cava lry andwas discharged in 1863. Since 1860, he had lived in Titus Co unty wherehe was a farmer. He was not (1905) unable to work becaus e of rheumatismand an old leg wound. His application was approved a nd he received apension until his death on April 6, 1923, in Titus C ounty."

William Curtis Sparks was born on May 17, 1880. He was a young man whenhe was killed in a logging accident.

Both being great-grandsons of William Sample Sparks, William D. Sparks isa first cousin of Solomon Sparks, Sr. born 1788, and a first cousinfourth removed of James Joseph Sparks.

SQ 3795: His wife's name was given as "Priscitta" on the 1850 census ofCooper County, Missouri.

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for December, 1965, Whole No. 52, pgs. 951-953:

SPARKSES IN THE WAR OF 1812
BOUNTY LAND AND PENSION APPLICATIONS

WILLIAM D. SPARKS, born in Surry County, North Carolina, about 1790; diedin Cooper County, Missouri, prior to 1860. Bounty Land Warrant File 54795-120-55.

On November 21, 1850, William Sparks, a resident of Cooper County,Missouri, appeared before a justice of the peace named Thomas M. Campbellin Cooper County to make application for bounty land. William Sparksstated that he was 52 years old, but from other records, including hisown later application, we know that he was actually 62 years old in 1850.He swore that he had served as a private in Capt. John Witcher’s Companyof the 5th North Carolina Regiment of detached infantry commanded by Lt.Col, Sam Hunter in the War of 1812. He swore that he had been drafted inSurry County, North Carolina, on or about July 15, 1814, for the term ofsix months and that he had continued in such service until he washonorably discharged at Norfolk, Virginia, on February 22, 1815. He addedthat it had not been until November 28, 1814, that he had been ordered toactive duty. He signed his name to the application as "William Sparks."

With his application, William Sparks sent his certificate of dischargewhich reads: "“n conformity to General Orders received the 22d of Feb.1815, William Sparks, a Private in Captain John Witcher’s Company of the5th North Carolina Regiment, in the Service of the United States, atNorfolk, is hereby honorably discharged from his tour of duty, he wasdetached to perform, under General Orders of the 28th November, 1814.[~signed] John Witcher, Captain
5th Regiment, North Carolina Militia
[signed] Sam Hunter, Lt. Col."

His application was approved and William Sparks was issued a bounty landwarrant for 40 acres.

On April 14, 1855, William Sparks appeared before Henry C. Lewis, Clerkof the County Court of Cooper County to make application for additionalbounty land under the new Act of March 3, 1855. He stated that he was now65 years old and still a resident of Cooper County. He gave the sameinformation about his service as he had in 1850 except he gave theregimental commander’s name as Col. Atkinson instead of Hunter.Apparently Atkinson commanded the regiment from which he had beendetached. He again signed his name in a clear hand as "William Sparks."Two men named Michael Son and Joseph H. Moore signed his application aswitnesses. Again his application was approved and William Sparks wasissued a warrant for 120 additional acres of bounty land.

(Editor’s Note: William D. Sparks was born about 1790 in Surry County,North Carolina. He was a son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks and a grandsonof William Sample Sparks who came from Frederick County, Maryland, toNorth Carolina, about 1760. Matthew Sparks made his will in Surry Countyon March 26, 1819, and named the following children: (1) Joel Sparks, (2)George Sparks, (3) Matthew Sparks, Jr., (4) William Sparks, (5) JohnSparks, (6) Nancy Smith, (7) Sally Bray, and (8) Peggy West. JoelSparks, son of Matthew and brother of William, also served in the War of1812 (see the September, 1961, issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 35, Vol.IX, No. 3, pp. 579-80 for an abstract of Joel’s pension application.)

When Joel Sparks applied for bounty land, William Sparks made a swornstatement dated March 27, 1857, that he and Joel had served in the samecompany but that "Joel became so disabled on account of a rising in hisleft leg near the ancle as to be unable to continue in service." Headded that Joel had been discharged in Hillsboro, Orange County, NorthCarolina.

William D. Sparks signed both of his applications for bounty land simplyas "William Sparks." On many other occasions, however, he signed hisname as "William D. Sparks." He may have added the middle initial "D"after he became an adult to avoid confusion with the several otherWilliam Sparkses in Surry County - - there was a William S. Sparks and aWilliam Z. Sparks. On the 1818 tax list for Surry County, he was listedas William D. Sparks with 55 acres of land valued at $60 and located onNorth Hunting Creek adjoining his father’s land.

In March, 1819, probably in anticipation of his aprroaching death,Matthew Sparks gave land to a number of his children. On March 26, 1819,he deeded 70 acres to his son William "in consideration of the naturallove and affection that a parent hath towards a child." This land wasdescribed as being on the north side of Hunting Creek in Surry County andadjoining a tract that Matthew gave on the same day to his son George. Italso adjoined the Wilkes County line. By the time the tax list was madefor Surry County (Capt. Denney’s District), Matthew Sparks had died andWilliam D. Sparks was taxed on 115 acres valued at $260 on Hunting Creek,which was described as adjoining the land owned by his mother, UnicySparks. He was listed regularly on the Surry County tax lists through1839, and he was always listed with the middle initial "D".

On August 11, 1827, William D. Sparks sold the land he had received fromhis father, along with 30 additional acres from an adjoining tract he hadacquired earlier, to Wilie Felt for $250. He signed the deed as "WilliamD. Sparks." On September 24, 1827, he sold 5 acres to Philip Holcomb; hesigned this deed as "W. D. Sparks." On November 2, 1832, he purchasedfrom David Chappel for $1.00 per acre 65 acres "on the head waters ofHunting Creek near the Brushy Mountain," adjoining the land of CharlesJohnson. In this deed he was named was William D. Sparks. On September22, 1839, he sold this tract to David Money and signed the deed as "VVm.D. Sparks." His brother, Joel Sparks, signed both of these deeds as awitness. This deed of 1839 is the last deed on file for William D, Sparksin Surry County and it is belived that he moved about this time toMissouri.

There is no marriage bond on record in Surry County for William D.Sparks. (Only about one third of the marriages in North Carolina at thistime were legalized through a bond, a much more common practice beingthat of crying banns, in which cases no record of the marriage was madein the courthouse.) Possibly he was the William Sparks who marriedLethey Speer in 1816 (bond dated August 1, 1816) or the William Sparkswho married Elizabeth Gentry in 1813 (bond dated January 4, 1813). On the1850 census of Cooper County, Missouri, however, his wife’s name wasgiven as Priscitta Sparks (perhaps intended for Priscilla).

On the 1850 census of Cooper County, Missouri, William D. Sparks islisted as aged 52, whereas he was actually aged 62. It is curious that inthis census and well as in his application for bounty land of 1850 heshould have made this mistake. According to this census, he was a farmerand owned land valued at $500. His eldest son, Richard M. Sparks, wasmarried by this time and living on a nearby farm, but his other childrenwere still at home. His wife’s age was given as 48.

William D. Sparks died sometime prior to 1860. He is known to have beenthe father of the following cnildren:
(1) Richard M. Sparks, born May 4, 1829; married Mary C. Duncan. He diedApril 17, 1893.
(2) Martin Sparks, born about 1832.
(3) Almeda Sparks, born about 1836; she married Mark Kelly.
(4) Edmond Jones Sparks (called Jones Sparks on the 1850 census) bornOctober 12, 1837.
(5) Louisa Sparks, born about 1839.

Abstracts of the applications for bounty land and pensions made by otherSparkses who served in the War of 1812 will be continued in the nextissue of the Quarterly.

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2000, Whole No. 190, pp. 5379-5386:

"William D. Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks, was born in SurryCounty, North Carolina, about 1790. This estimate is based on the factthat, late in his life, he gave his: age on two documents that he signedunder oath before the clerk of the Cooper County, Missouri, Court--thathe was 65 in an affidavit dated April 14, 1855, and 67 in another datedMarch 27, 1857. Being under oath when he signed his name on theseoccasions, we believe that he would have been certain of his age, thusplacing his year of birth as about 1790. Following his death on August 7,1858, in Cooper County, Missouri, a tombstone was carved for him indicating that he had died in his 71st year (i.e., age 70). This wouldplace his year of birth as 1788 or 1789. These affidavits and histombstone will be described in greater detail later in this article.

"At the outset of this sketch of William D. Sparks, this writer mustacknowledge the research done by Carol Hodge March of Los Altos Hills,California, and her generosity in sharing her findings.

"We are handicapped in our searching for and identification of William D.Sparks in Surry County records because of the popularity of the name"William" in this branch of the Sparks family. It is a tradition amongsome descendants of William that his middle name was David, but in norecord contemporary with his life, have we found a middle name for him;he often signed his name as "William D. Sparks," but on other occasionshe signed simply as William Sparks. In his father's will of 1819, he wascalled simply "William Sparks."

"There were two other men named William Sparks in Surry County, NorthCarolina, with whom William D. Sparks can be easily confused. A distantcousin of William D. Sparks, known simply as William Sparks, was bornalso about 1790. He was a son of Solomon, Jr. and Charity Sparks; he evenlived in the same militia and tax district as did William D. Sparks. (Seethe March 2000 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No.189, p.5310.) AnotherWilliam Sparks, who was sometimes called William Z. Sparks and sometimesWilliam S. Sparks, and who had been born about 1791, lived nearby on DeepCreek. There can be little doubt that he was a son of George Sparks,brother of Matthew Sparks, and thus a first cousin of William D. Sparks.An article on this William Z. [or S.] Sparks will be included in theSeptember 2000 issue of the QUARTERLY.

"The earliest tax list in Surry County on which the name "William D.Sparks" appeared was that for 1818. In Capt. Ely Denney's District he wasshown as owning 55 acres of land located on North Hunting Creek adjoiningland owned by his father and valued at $60.00. He was taxed as one poll(himself). Unfortunately, we can find no deed in Surry County by whichWilliam D. Sparks had acquired these 55 acres.

"On March 26, 1819, Matthew Sparks signed deeds giving each of his fivesons a portion of his 752-acre plantation, having reserved 352 acres forhis wife during her widowhood. It seems apparent that Matthew knew thathe did not have long to live when he made these gifts; he made his willshortly after signing the deeds. To his son, William, he gave a tract of70 acres which was the north west corner of his plantation, bordering onits east side the 60 acres Matthew gave to his son named Matthew Sparks,Jr. as well as a portion of the land reserved for his wife, EuniceSparks. The south side of William's land adjoined the tract Matthew gavehis son George, while the west side bordered the Wilkes County line. Onthe north, apparently, lay the 55 acres he had acquired before, perhapsthrough marriage. (Surry Co. Deed Book 0, pp.370-1)

"Eight years after receiving his 70 acres from his father, William D.Sparks sold the tract to a neighbor named Wiley Felt (or Felts). However,the tract was now described as comprising 100 acres. Apparently the 30acres that had been added were taken from the 55-acre tract on which hehad been taxed in 1818. As noted above, we can find no record to accountfor William's acquiring the 55 acres. A possible explanation could bethat he had acquired this tract through marriage. There can be littledoubt that William D. Sparks was married in Surry Count since that iswhere his children were born, but there is no record of a marriage bondfor him, meaning that his marriage must have been through the crying ofbanns," for which no official record was customarily made. On the 1850census, William's wife's name was given as Priscilla, but we have no clueregarding her maiden name. She could have been a second wife. The oldestchild of William D. Sparks was born in May 1829; his second child was notborn until 1833.

"Six weeks after selling the 100 acres of land on North Hunting Creek(Book 6, p.146), William D. Sparks sold 5 acres to Philip Holcomb for$15.00. This small plot was described as beginning at a red oak at thecorner of George Sparks's "Red Oak on the Old Line." This must havereferred to the strip of land that his brother, George, had acquired in1824 (see p.5368), the "Old Line" meaning the original dividing linebetween Surry and Wilkes Counties that was moved slightly west in 1792.Joel Sparks, brother of William D. and George, witnessed the deed, as didWilliam Cook. Curiously, this deed was not proven in the Surry CountyCourt until November 1850, nearly a quarter century later. (Book 7, p.96)At that time, Wiley Felts appeared before the Court and testified underoath that he recognized Joel Sparks's signature on the deed. Neither ofthe Sparks brothers was still living in North Carolina in 1850.

"William D. Sparks's name does not appear on the 1830 census of NorthCarolina as head of a household, yet we believe that he was still inSurry County at that time. People were sometimes missed when a census wastaken, but his non-appearance as head of a household may have beenbecause he, along with his youngest brother, John Sparks, were livingwith their mother in 1830, managing her large farm and slaves for her.Eunice Sparks was shown as head of her household, age between 70 and 80,and there were two males, both in the 30 to 40 age category, as well as afemale between 20 and 30. The latter may have been the wife of William.We know how ever that the first child of William D. Sparks had been bornin May 1829, and no infant male was enumerated in Eunice Sparks'shousehold.

"During the May 1831 meeting of the Surry County Court, William D. Sparksfound himself in a highly embarrassing situation which must have broughtdistress to his aged mother and other family members. uring that Courtsession, an unmarried woman named Sally Ladd had been brought before theCourt charged with either being pregnant with, or having given birth to,an illegitimate child. (The child may have been a year or two old; seethe explanation of North Carolina law pertaining to this kind ofsituation on page 5391 of the present QUARTERLY.) When placed under oathand ordered to name the father, Sally Ladd identified William D. Sparksas that person. Rarely could a man defend himself when so accused by awoman naming him under oath. Sparks was served with a warrant orderinghim to post bond, agreeing with the Court that the child should neverbecome a financial burden to the county. Because William D. Sparks didnot have much wealth, a fellow bondsman was required; James Mack (orMonk) became his co-bondsman. We may wonder whether a first wife mighthave died following the birth of William's son, Richard M. Sparks, in1829, and that William might have been unwed at the time of this incident.

"It is of interest to note that on the 1830 census of Surry County, thehousehold enumerated immediately following that of Eunice Sparks washeaded by Happy Ladd; she was one of the females therein between the agesof 20 and 30; another female was enumerated as between 15 and 20, andthere was a boy under 5 years of age. Twenty years later, when the 1850census was taken in Surry County, Happy Ladd, then 51 years old, stillheaded her own household, which included Sarah Ladd, age 44. Living withthem in 1850 was a young man named Franklin Ladd, age 18, called a"laborer."

"On November 2, 1832, William D. Sparks again purchased land in SurryCounty, North Carolina, a tract containing only 65 acres for which hepaid David Chapel $65.00. (Deed Book U, pp.374-5) Located on the headwaters of Hunting Creek near the Brushy Mountains," it adjoined land landowned by Charles Johnson, husband of a distant cousin of William. Hisbrother, Joel Sparks, also lived near by. (On today's map of YadkinCounty, Yadkin having been cut off from Surry County in 1850, this65-acre tract would be found in Knobs Township, a large portion of whichcomprises the Brushy Mountains, sometimes spelled in the singular.)

"Eunice Sparks died in either late 1837 or early 1838. As noted earlier,Joel Sparks, as executor of his father's estate, sold the 352 acresremaining of his father's plantation to Miles Wells for $700 on May 28,1839. William D; Sparks's share of his father's estate probably amountedto about $200. On September 22, 1839, William sold to David Money for$200 the land near the Brushy Mountains that he had purchased in 1832from David Chapel. Although the description of the tract was the same in1839 as in 1832, a new survey gave the acreage as 76. William's brother,Joel Sparks, signed the deed as a witness, as did Wiley Felts. It wasWiley Felts's testimony in November 1841 that enabled David Money to havehis deed proven in Court and recorded in Book 2, pp.45-6, both of theSparks brothers having moved away from Surry County by that time.

"With his inheritance and the $200 realized from his sale of land,William D. Sparks set off with his family for a new frontier in CooperCounty, Missouri. He and his household were shown on the 1840 censusthere, with his own name appearing as "W. D. Sparks." His familyconsisted of himself (age 40 to 50) and his wife (age 30 to 40), and atotal of five children: a boy between 10 & 15; a boy and a girl between 5& 10; a boy and a girl both under 5.

"By December 1843, William D. Sparks had purchased a 50 x 150 foot citylot, #14, on Sun Street in the town of Palestine, Missouri (later calledOld Palestine and now nonexistent) for which he paid $50. Earlier,William D. and Priscilla Sparks had apparently acquired other acreage inCooper County for in June 1844 they sold 40 acres in the S.W. part of theS.E. Quarter of Section #10, Township 47, Range 18. Then in November thatsame year, William D.Sparks bought 80 acres located just west of PetiteSaline Creek in Cooper County. He sold 20 of these acres in December 1852.

"When the 1850 census was taken, it being the first U.S. census in whichthe name of each household member was included, with age, birthplace,etc., William D. Sparks was shown as age 52, although we believe he wasmore nearly 60. He was a farmer with real estate valued at $400. Hiswife was shown as Priscilla Sparks, age 48, a native of North Carolina.William's oldest son, Richard M. Sparks, was living with his wife a shortdistance from his father. His age was 21; his four sibflngs still withtheir parents were: Martin Sparks, age 18; Almeda Sparks, age 14; JonesSparks, age 13; and Louisa Sparks, age 11.

"William D. Sparks had served in the War of 1812 in the same NorthCarolina Regiment as had his older brother, Joel Sparks. It was not untilSeptember 23, 1850, that the U.S. Congress passed an Act granting freeland (called "bounty land") to all veterans of that war who had served atleast 14 days, regardless of their financial need. Proof of service wasrequired and if approved by the War Department, a warrant for "vacantland" in certain western territories was issued for from 40 to 160 acres,depending upon the veteran's length of service. Then, on March 3, 1855,Congress authorized all veterans who had served at least 14 days to beeligible to receive the full 160 acres; for those who had alreadyreceived fewer than 160 acres, an amount could be added to make 160 inall, upon their reapplication.

"On November 21, 1850, William D. Sparks appeared before a justice of thepeace in Cooper County, Missouri, to apply for bounty land based on hisservice as a private in Capt. John Witcher's Company of the 5th NorthCarolina Regiment of detached infantry (militia) commanded by Lt. Col.Sam Hunter. He swore that he had been drafted in Surry County on or aboutJuly 15, 1814, for the term of six months, but had not been ordered toactive duty until November 28, 1814. He had been discharged at Norfolk,Virginia, on February 22, 1815. With his application, he enclosed thesmall discharge that he had received, and it is preserved with hispension papers at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. A photo copyfollows: [Here apppears a photograph]

"The justice of the peace, Thomas M. Campbell, who drew up theapplication, gave Sparks's age as 52, which would place his year of birthas about 1898. This was surely an error, even though Sparks signed theaffidavit. His application was approved, and William D. Sparks was issueda bounty land warrant for 40 acres.

"On April 14, 1855, William D. Sparks appeared before County Clerk HenryC. Levens in Cooper County to apply for additional bounty land under thenew Congressional Act. On this document, his age appears as 65. Thiswould place his birth in or about 1790. William gave the same informationregarding his service as he had in 1850, except he stated that it hadbeen a Col. Atkinson rather than Lt. Col. Hunter who had commanded theregiment in which he had served, Michael Son and Joseph H. Moorewitnessed him sign the application. As in 1850, he signed his name simply"William Sparks." He received a warrant for 120 additional acres ofbounty land. We imagine that he, like most of his fellow veterans, soldhis warrant or gave it to a relative interested in going to a newfrontier. (His bounty land file at the National Archives has the number54-795-120-55.)

"Joel Sparks, William's brother, now living in Cass County, Missouri,bordering the state of Kansas, had not applied for bounty land under theAct of 1850, probably because he doubted that his very brief period ofservice was sufficient for him to qualify, but with the more generous Actof 1855, and, perhaps learning of the success of his brother, he now didso. Unfortunately, however, he had lost the written discharge that he hadreceived when his sore leg caused him to leave the service after only twoor three weeks. Furthermore, the record of Capt. John Witcher's Companyon file at the War Department did not include Joel's name. Hisapplication was rejected. Joel appealed his rejection, however, and askedhis brother to
make a statement on his behalf. William consented and because hisdeposition contains interesting information about himself as well as hisbrother, we quote it here in full. William again went to the CooperCounty Clerk, Henry C. Levens, to prepare the document in proper legalform.

State of Missouri )
County of Cooper ) On this 27th day of March AD 1857personally appeared before me the Clerk of the County Court within andfor the County of Cooper aforesaid, William Sparks who having been by mefirst duly sworn on his oath states that he is the identical WilliamSparks now aged sixty seven years--Who was a private in the Companycommanded by Captain Witcher, in the 5th Regiment of North CarolinaMilitia commanded by Col. Atkinson in the War with Great Britain,declared by the United States on the 18th day of June 1812: that he wasdrafted in or about the month of July AD 181 [sic] for the time of sixmonths and continued in actual service in the said war for the term ofmore than fourteen days.

This affiant further states that at the time he was drafted inthe County of Surry and state of North Carolina' his brother whose claimNo. 207,286 for bounty land is said to be suspended--was drafted and tothe Certain Knowledge of this afflant served as a private in the sameCompany, same Regiment and same war for a period of more than fourteendays: And that whilst said service was being performed the said JoelSparks as aforesaid, he said Joel, became so disabled on account of arising in left leg near the ancle [sic] as to be unable to Continue insaid service. And that on account of said disability said Joel Sparks washonorably discharged by said Commander of said Regiment. This affiant waspresent and saw said Joel Sparks honorably discharged for the reasonaforesaid, in the town of Hillsboro in Orange County, and State of NorthCarolina, and that he saw the said discharge afterwards in the possessionof said Joel Sparks. And that he has no interest in this claim of saidJoel Sparks for bounty land and further this afflant saith not. Swornand subscribed to before me on the day and year above written: and I theClerk aforesaid do certify that I have long known the said William Sparkspersonally and that he is a credible person, and that I have no interestin this application for Bounty Land...

[Signed] William Sparks
(followed by the signature of the County Clerk,Henry C. Levens)

(This article is continued under the notes for the spouse of WilliamD. Sparks)

SQ p. 1978: His middle name is believed to have been Darius.

SQ pg 3905:
"William D. Sparks, eldest child of John Henry and Bertha (Pack)Sparks, was a highly successful educator and attorney in easternKentucky. He was elected Lawrence County Attorney while still in thearmy in Europe during World War II. Subsequently, he was elected asCommonswealth's Attorney (State Attorney General?). In 1955, he was elected as judge of the 24th Judicial District of Kentucky, a position heheld until his retirement in 1976. He and his wife, the former Mary LouBranham, had four children: Martha, William, Janie, and Daniel . Hedied on October 16, 1988. His photograph appears at the top of page3906, SQ.

SQ 2524:

"William David Sparks, son of George and Elizabeth (Morgan) Sparkswas born on November 3, 1874, in Georgia. He died on November 2, 1948.He married Belle Weisome and they had eight children:

(1) Frank Sparks. He was married twice. His first marriage was toCarrie
--- by whom he had one child, Daniel Sparks. He married, second, Mary DeLila
(Sparks) English (widow of Henry English and daughter of John HenrySparks,
brother of William David)
(2) Tyne Leroy Sparks. He married Roberta Nichols and they had fourchildren: Samuel, D. Tyne, Jr., Marion R. and Truman M. Sparks
(3) Dollie Sparks. She died at the age of eighteen years.
(4) Lorne Sparks. She married and had a daughter, Cora Bell.
(5) Grady Sparks.
(6) Nora Sparks. She married Earl Shanchez and they had a daughter,Erlene.
(7) Anna Bell Sparks. She married and had a son Patrick.
(8) George Sparks. He married Ruth---.

A Wedding Picture of William David Sparks and Belle (Weisome) Sparksappears
on page 3313 of the QUARTERLY.

The variations above from the QUARTERLY article referred to werecorrected by the above Truman M. Sparks by email received on Feb. 10,2000 (tmsparks@@flash.net).

SQ 2785: "William Doyle Fielder Sparks, son of Thomas and Milly(Smith) Sparks, was born on September 25, 1862. He married JosieFlorence Tubbs, probably about 1884. She had been born on July 4, 1871,and was a daughter of Joe C. and Nancy Jane (Lockhart) Tubbs. Joe Tubbsis said to have been a full-blood Indian. William Sparks died onNovember 27, 1898, at the age of 36 years, and Josie married (2nd) Bero("Nib") Shaw. She died on June 17, 1937. She and William had fivechildren.
(1) Walter Thomas Sparks was born on January 27, 1885.
(2) Etta Lee Sparks was born on April 30, 1889.
(3) Willie Neva Sparks (daughter) was born on April 15, 1893.
(4) Millie Marie Sparks was born on August 29, 1895. She wasmarried twice. Her first marriage was to J. E. Beard on January 26,1913, and her second marriage was to J. Y. Slayden on August 28, 1935. By her first marriage she had, she had five children: Samuel, J. E .Jr.; Hazel M.; Eunice L.; and Wilson A.. She had no children by hersecond marriage.
(5) Audie Ophelia Sparks (son) was born on October 11, 1897. Hedied on March 23, 1960, and was buried in Bosqueville Cemetary."

SQ p. 3911:

DEATH TAKES WILLIAM E. SPARKS

It is with deep regret that we report the death of William E. Sparks, whopassed away on August 17, 1991, in Sacramento, California. He was a longtime member of the Association, and we shall miss him. He is survived byhis wife, Eva; a son, William Harry Sparks, a step-daughter, Beverly SueKulink; and a step-son, Warren R. Hart.

William Earl Sparks was born on November 17, 1918, and was a son of HarrySpooner and Lillian (Black) Sparks and a grandson of William Palmer andAnna Minerva (Harding) Sparks. For further details of this branch of thefamily, see the June 1973 and December 1985 issues of the QUARTERLY,Whole Nos. 82 and 132, respectively.

We extend our sincere sympathy to his wife and other family members.

SQ p. 4641:

"William Edison Sparks was born on May 16, 1874. He was a veteran ofthe Spanish-American War. He was graduated from the Louisville[Kentucky] Medical College in 1907 and practiced medicine at Sandy Hook,Kentucky, for more than forty years. He was married three times;however, we have learned nothing about his third marriage. His firstmarriage was to Tabitha ["Bithy"] Moore in 1894, in Lawrence County. Shehad been born in July 1875. She and William had at least three childrenbefore they were divorced. The children were: Oscar Sparks, WilliamEdison Sparks, Jr., and Mary Sparks.

"William Edison Sparks's second marriage was to a woman named Skaggs.They were divorced after a short marriage. William was a member of theSandy Hook Methodist Church and had just returned to his home on Sunday,May 4, 1947, after attending a church service. As he stepped up on tohis porch, he was shot by a man he hardly knew but had treated one timeas a patient. Sparks lingered for about four weeks, but never recoveredfrom the shooting. He died on May 31, 1947, and was buried in the familycemetery at Martha, Kentucky. (See also page 17 of the September 1993issue of the East Kentuckian.)

SQ pg 4557: They had one child: Hollie Sparks. See SQ p. 4669 for aphoto of William and three siblings.

SQ p. 2633:

"William Ellsworth Sparks was born on July 10, 1873; he died about1937. On May 26, 1892, he was married to Millie Ferrier. She was born onMarch 9, 1873, and was a daughter of John and Mary Jane (Shaffer)Ferrier. William and Millie lived in Cutler, Indiana. They are known tohave had five children, with the possibility of a sixth (perhaps namedOrval) who probably died young."

SQ pg 2594: They had two children: Chester Eugene and Mary Margaret.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3408: He was married (1st) to Emma Baker in 1939, and the y hadthree children: William Sparks, Jr., Lloyd and Patricia Sparks . Williammarried (2nd) Bernadette Rondrel in 1969, and they had thr ee children:Collette, Cheryl, and Stephen Sparks.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1955, Whole No. 10, which features anarticle about Colonel William Crane Sparks and his Descendants. Col.Sparks was born on June 14, 1798 and died on October 10, 1857 in BellCounty, Texas. It is quite certain that Col. Sparks was related toWilliam F. Sparks but the relationship has not been established. Thearticle about Col. William C. Sparks includes, on page 70, the followinglanguage:

"In 1834 members of the Crain and Sparks families came to Texas, mostof them settling near San Augustine and Nacogdoches. Future researchwill doubtless reveal the relationship between the various persons namedSparks who came to Texas in 1834, but at present we can only speculatethat they were close relatives. There was a Captain Dick Sparks of SanAugustine in 1840 (See The West Texas Frontier by J. Carrill McConnell,p.206) and in 1844, William C. Sparks deeded land to a James H. Sparks ofNacogdoches. There was also a Stephen Franklin Sparks, born April 7,1819, in Mississippi, who emigrated to what is now San Augustine Countywith his parents in 1834 (see Heroes of San Jacinto by S. H. Dixon and L.W. Kemp, p. 350), and a William F. Sparks (see below) born in LawrenceCounty, Mississippi, in 1814, son of Richard and Elizabeth Sparks, joinedhis parents in 1834 and lived two miles south-west of Douglass, inNacogdoches County (see The Handbook of Texas, 1952, Vol. 2, p. 649.)"

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1985, Whole No. 130, pg 2745:

DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM SPARKS (1761-1848):
"William (Billy) Fielder Sparks, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Cooper)Sparks, was born on January 22, 1814. He accompanied his parents toTexas and was a member of their household when the 1835 census was takenof Nacogdoches County. It was probably there that he married MinervaFrances McKay about 1838. She was born about 1816 in Louisiana. Theystarted house-keeping about two miles southwest of the village ofDouglass.

"When the Texas-Mexican War began, Billy Sparks first joined Capt .Bryant's Company of the Texas Army of the Republic. He then became anorderly-sergeant in Robert Smith's Company and was in the Battle ofKickapoo. His company arrived too late to participate in the Battle ofSan Jacinto.

"Sparks returned to Nacogdoches County after the war ended, and in1839 he moved to Robertson County where he was listed on the 1840 censusof the Republic of Texas. In 1841, he was elected to represent RobertsonCounty at the Seventh Texas Congress, and, after Texas became the 28thstate of the United States in 1845, he returned to Nacogdoches County.

"War between the United States and Mexico broke out in May 1846, andon May 16, Billy Sparks enrolled as a captain in Company E (Capt .Sparks's Company) of the 2nd Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers atNacogdoches to serve for a period of six months. He was mustered intoservice at Port Isabel, Texas, on June 22, 1846, and was present for dutyuntil October 2, 1846, when he was mustered out with his company atMonterrey, Mexico. He returned to Nacogdoches for a brief stay, and in1848 he went to Houston. His stay there was also short, and when the1850 census was taken, he and his family were in Fort Bend County, Texas.

"On August 7, 1863, Billy Sparks joined the Confederate States Army inJ. M. Weston's Company as a lieutenant. At the close of the Civil War,he went to Johnson County where he was elected tax assessor for 1879-1880.

"When the 1800 census was taken, the family of his son, Thaddeus , wasliving in the Billy Sparks household.

"Billy Sparks died on July 13, 1900, in McLennan County, Texas. Hiswife Minerva, survive him by only two months, dying on September 3, 1900. They were buried in the Oakwood Cemetary at Waco, Texas. Thefollowing obituary of Billy appeared in a Waco newspaper:

'There died in this city last night, one of the surviving soldiersof the War of Texas Independance and a veteran of the Mexican War . Capt.William, better known as "Uncle Billy," Sparks was a soldier in the TexasArmy in 1836, but did not participate in the Battle of San Jacinto. He,with others attempted to join General Sam Houston, but did not reach himuntil after the famous battle was fought. He was born in Mississippi in1814 and was at Nacogdoches when the Alamo fell. He was a strong,vigorous man up to a few years ago, and traveled over the country a greatdeal. He was associated in the early days with Col. Rip Ford, MajorGeorge B. Erath and Capt. Shapley P. Ross, and fought with them againstmarauding bands of Mexicans and Indians.

"He leaves a wife, with whom he has lived more than sixty years,three daughters, Mrs. E. J. Parrent of this city, Mrs. W. A. Mudd ofLaredo, and Mrs. W. P. Hennessy of Houston, and a host of grandchildrenand great-grandchildren. The remains will be buried at Oakwood, thiscity, as soon as his daughters arrive.'

"According to descendants and census records, Billy and Minerva(McKay) Sparks had five children."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1999, Whole No. 187, p 5216 forthe 1860 Census of Fort Bend County, Texas and additional comments:

Fort Bend County, Texas --1860 Census
Post Office: Pittsville
Pages 365 & 366. Census taken by C. M. Martin on July 7, 1860.
143-131
Name Age Sex Occupation Born
Sparks, Wm F. 40 (M) Farmer $10,000 -$21,000 MS
" Minerva 40 (F) LA
" Amanda Endress 22 (F) TX
" N. 17 (F) TX
" M. 15 (F) TX
" T. 11 (M) TX
" Missouri 8 (F) TX
Ganner, H. T. (?) 40 (M) Overseer AL

Note: The following four Sparks children were marked as attending schoolwithin the year: N. Sparks; M. Sparks; T. Sparks; and Missouri Sparks.According to the slave schedule of 1860, Wm. F. Sparks owned 10 slaves,and he had 4 slave houses. The slaves were enumerated as follows:
Age Sex Color
1. 32 M B
2. 28 F B
3. 24 F M
4. 22 F B
5. 22 M B
6. 10 F B
7. 8 M B
8. 6 M B
9. 5 F B
10. 3 F B

The middle name of William F. Sparks was Fielder; his grandmother'smaiden name had been Fielder. He was born in Mississippi on January 22,1814, a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Cooper) Sparks. His paternalgrandparents were William and Mary ["Polly"] (Fielder) Sparks. Detailedinformation regarding this branch of the family is contained in anarticle entitled "Descendants of William Sparks (1761-1848), Son ofMatthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks," in the QUARTERLY extending overthree issues: June 1985, Whole No. 130; September 1985, Whole No. 131;and June 1986, Whole No. 134. Biographical information pertaining toWilliam Fielder Sparks can be found within that article on pp.2745-47 inthe June 1985 issue. He was married to Minerva Frances McKay. Accordingto family, records, their children's names were: Amanda E. Sparks; NaomiSparks; Matilda B. Sparks; Thaddeus C. Sparks; and Missouri ElideSparks. In the above census record, Amanda' s middle name appears as"Endress" .

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

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2593: William Francis Sparks, son of Francis and Mary Jan e(Lamb) Sparks, was born on April 27, 1860. He was a farmer. On Ma rch1, 1888, he married Mrs. Mary Ann (Fishpaugh) Gilliam at Buck Cre ek,Indiana. She was born on Christmas Day, 1861, at Champaign, Illi nois,and was a widow, with a six-year old daughter, Rene Clarissa Gi lliam.William died at the home of his son, William Jr., on Novembe r 23, 1934,at San Pierre, Indiana. Mary Ann was killed by a train w hile crossingthe tracks in Lafayette, Indiana, on August 15, 1937 . They were buriedin the cemetery at San Pierre. They had two chil dren.

SQ 2773: "William Franklin Sparks was born on August 18, 1874, inHill County, Texas. On September 14, 1896, he was married to ElizabethEffie ("Libbie") Peets at Rockport, Texas. She had been born on Junary 9, 1867, in Refugio County, Texas, and was a daughter of Edward andElizabeth (Becker) Peets. She died on February 11, 1928; William died onApril 15, 1941. They were buried in the Seaside Cemetery at Rockport.They had five children including an unnamed baby girl who died at birth.The four children were: Effie Jewel, Alta May, Thelma E., and WilliamForrest."

SQ p 5437:

William Franklin Sparks, son of John Calvin and Nancy Dulcina (Allison)Sparks, was born July 16, 1881, and died on July 22, 1959. He was marriedto Laura Virginia Sims, daughter of Thomas M. and Mary Jane (Sutton)Sims. She had been born on May 4, 1886, in Waxhaw, North Carolina; shedied on December 16, 1966.

SQ pps 3701-2: William G. Sparks, son of Hardy and Mary Sparks, wasborn about 1824 in Hickman County, Tennessee. He accompanied his parentsto Mississippi and it was probably there that he met and was married toManerva Powell about 1846. She had been born about 1847 in Georgia (JSNote: The 1850 Census of Washburn Township, Scott County, Arkansas, showsher birthplace as Virginia.). The first child of William and Manerva wasborn about 1847 in Mississippi, but by 1850 they were in Scott County,Arkansas, where their second child was born in January. They were stillin Scott County when the 1860 census was taken; on this census Williamwas listed as a farmer. By this time, his household included sevenchildren.

The last record that we have found of William G. Sparks is in a listof persons from Arkansas who served in the Union military forces duringthe Civil War. The entry for William G. Sparks reads as follows:"William G. Sparks, enlisted September 28, 1863, as a private in the 2ndRegiment Arkansas Cavalry at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was aged 42 yearsand a native of Hickman County, Tennessee. He was a farrier when he wasdischarged."

Manerva (Powell) Sparks died in January 1869 in Scott County,Arkansas. According to her death record, she was 46 years old; she was anative of Georgia; and she died from pneumonia. We have found no recordof the death of William G. Sparks. According to census records, theywere the parents of seven children.

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See the Sparks Quarterly, September 1955, Whole No. 11, pps 85-86:

"OBITUARY OF WILLIAM GRANVIL SPARKS

"Again we must report the death of a member of the Sparks Family. OnJune 7, 1955, William Granville Sparks died at his home in Scottsbluff,Nebraska, being eighty-six years, five months and twelve days of age.

"William Granvil Sparks was born on December 26, 1868, nearBloomington, Indiana. When he was a small boy of about ten years, hemoved with his parents and brothers and sisters from Indiana to Nebraska,settling on a farm near Beatrice where he grew to manhood. On March 7,1894, he was united in marriage with Estella Morse, daughter of Wallaceand Eliza (Sharman) Morse, at Beatrice. To this union eight childrenwere born: Mrs. Alta Crook (b. 1895) and Mrs. Lucile Miller (b. 1897),both of Scottsbluff; Mrs. Edith Wallin (b. 1899) of Grant, Nebr.; Chester(b. 1902) of Kearney, Nebr.; Ralph (b. 1905) of Ft. Collins, Colo.;Wallace (b. 1908, d. 1930); Norbert (b. 1913) of North Platte, Nebr.; andMainard (b. 1919) of Denver. At the time of his death, William G. Sparkshad twelve grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.

"In 1915 William G. Sparks moved with his family to a farm south ofPaxton, Nebr. He spent the next seventeen years on farms in Perkins,Keith, and Lincoln Counties, near Wallace and Sutherland. In 1932 heretired and moved with Mrs. Sparks to North Platte, Nebr. For four yearsduring World War II he served as custodian at Cody School in North Plattewhere he endeared himself to many children in the community.

"He made his covenant with God and was baptized into the MethodistChurch. He and his wife both had their membership in the MethodistChurch at Scottsbluff, where they moved three years ago. Mr. Sparks wasa man of intellect and was deeply interested in world affairs. His keensense of humor made him many friends. He was a kind and loving husbandand father, and he was loved by all who knew him. He will be greatlymissed by his family and friends.

"The parents of William Granvil Sparks were William Riley and Barbara(Carter) Sparks. He was the eldest of nine children, his brothers andsisters being: Steven Douglas and Alvin, both of Beatrice; Charlie ofNOrth Platte; Murrell of First View, Colo.; John (deceased); Joseph W.(deceased); Mrs. Luala Rossiter of Beatrice; and Mrs. Purmela Craig ofBeatrice.

"The grandfather of William G. sparks was Calvin Sparks (b. Dec. 3,1923, d. July 3, 1903, Hoag, Nebr.) who married Mahala Carmichael (b.Apr. 7, 1824, d. Mar. 5, 1910) on January 1, 1846, in Monroe County,Indiana. Moving later to Nebraska, Calvin Sparks was the first countycommissioner in Perkins County. The children of Calvin and Mahala(Carmichael) Sparks were: William Riley; Tilda Jane; Diella; Lizzie; andJoseph. The daughter Lizzie (Mrs. Lizzie Thompson) is still living nearElsie, Nebraska. She is ninety-four years old.

"The great-grandfather of William G. Sparks was Hardy Sparks who was anative of North Carolina. [see rest of article under notes for HardySparks.]"

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See also Sparks Quarterly, March, 1969, Whole No. 65, pg. 1207:

"William Granvil Sparks, born December 26, 1868, near Bloomington,Ind. When he was about 10 years old, he moved with his parents toNebraska, settling on a farm near Beatrice where he grew to manhood. OnMarch 7, 1894, he was married to Estella Morse, daughter of Wallace andEliza (Sharman) Morse. He died on June 7, 1955, at Scottsbluff, Nebraska.(see page 85 of the September 1955 issue of the QUARTERLY for hisobituary, above. The wife of William Granvil Sparks, Estella Sparks, diedon June 22, 1956. (see page 160 of the September 1956 issue of theQUARTERLY for her obituary.) They were the parents of the followingchildren: Mrs. Alta Crook, born 1895; Mrs. Lucile Miller, born 1897; Mrs.Edith Wallin, born 1899; Chester Sparks, born 1902; Ralph Sparks, born1905; Wallace Sparks, born 1908, died 1930; Norbert Sparks, born 1913;and Mainard Sparks, born 1919."

SQ 3869: William Greenville Sparks was married to Pricie Smith about1878. She had been born on August 16, 1852. William died on July 16,1932, in Wayne County, West Virginia, and Pricie died on July 17, 1935.They had at least four children: Alie, Hensley, Mary and Daniel.