Following are notes continued from those of her husband, Matthew Sparksat SQ p.563:
"Following the death of Matthew Sparks in 1793, the family continuedto live in what is now Clarke County, Georgia, for a number of years. In1802, Matthew's son, Absolom Sparks, still a resident of Georgia, madethe following sworn statements:
"State of Georgia, Clark Co. - Personally appeared before meAbsolom Sparks and made oath that sometime in 1793 about the firs [sic]week in November in said year he the Sd Sparks Lost one horse and inMay 1794 he Lost one horse which property was taken by the Creek Indianswhich Creatures was taken upon the warters [sic] of the Oconee FranklinCounty Sparks fort Which property he has never recd. any sattisfactionfor also his mother Sarray Sparks Lost about the year 1794 in the springthree head of horses which was taken on Shole Creek warters of OconeFranklin County & which property he the said Sparks has Jus [sic] Reasonto believe was taken by the Creek Indians & has Recd. no satisfaction forthe same. Sworn to and subscribed befor me this 14th 1802 [month notgiven, his
signed, AbsolomX Sparks
Pr. by Jesse & Wm Sparks mark
"Although, as seen in the above statement, sufferers from the CreekIndians made claims against the State as early as 1802, it was not untilmany years later that provision was made by the Federal government to paythese claims. By that time, the heirs of Matthew Sparks were scatteredand some of the sons had completely lost track of some of the others.(This was by no means an unusual situation in the early nineteenthcentury when distances were greater, letter- writing more difficult., andmail service less dependable.) Five of Matthew's sons, Isaac, Hardy,Bailey, Jesse, and Nathan, along with their mother, Sarah, had settled inwestern Tennessee by 1828, in which year these heirs decided to make aserious attempt to collect their father's claims. Jesse Sparks, who wasliving in Hickman County, and Nathan Sparks, who was a postmaster inWilson County, agreed to journey to Georgia in order to present theirclaims. Jesse Sparks was appointed administrator of his father's estateon September 14, 1829. By the following document (now in the possessionof J. Kent Sparks, great-grandson of Jesse Sparks), Jesse and Nathan wereappointed the lawful attorneys of their mother and the other threebrothers. This document reads as follows:
Know all men by those present that we Sarah Sparks, Isaac Sparks,Hardy Sparks, & Bailey Sparks have this day nominated constituted andappoint and do by these present nominate constitute and appoint JesseSparks of the County of Hickman and State of Tennessee, and Nathan Sparksof the County of Wilson and State aforesaid, our true and lawfullAttornies in fact for us and in our names and for our use and benefit, todemand and receive any sum or sums of money which may be due or coming tous or either of us, under or by virtue of any act of Congress inconsequence of the destruction or loss of the property of Mathew Sparksby the Creek Nation of Indians and any sum or sums ol money that may bedue or coming to us or either of us, in way from the Government of theUnited States or the agent there of, for the destruction of the propertyaforesaid or for the use of the same by the officers and soldiers of theUnited States in the year 1787 or at any other time, and we do herebyauthorize and empower them or either of them to execute and deliverreceipts and acquittances for the same . . . .
In witness where of we hereunto set our hands and affix ourseal this the llth day of Sept. 1828
her
signed Sary X Sparks (Seal)
Test. signed, Isaac Sparks mark
Bailey Sparks Isaac Sparks (Seal)
Hardy Sparks (Seal)
Bailey Sparks (Seal)
"The following agreement was then drawn up regarding the expenses ofthe journey of Nathan and Jesse Sparks (document in the possession of J.Kent Sparks):
Know all men by these present that we Sarah Sparks, Isaac Sparks,Hardy Sparks and Bailey Sparks do jointly agree hereby to give unto JesseSparks and Nathan Sparks for the trouble and expense in seeking after theproperty that was stolen and destroyed on the frontier of Georgiabelonging to their father Mathew Sparks to give them one half of whatthey can got out their expenses paid out of our part and if they getnothing they bear their own expenses and we do agree to pay the attorneythat they employ as counsel for their fixing all these papers respectingto get pay for said property for which we bind ourselves and each of ourheirs for that sum that they shall give said counsel and said fee to bepaid out of our part. In witness we have hereunto set our hand and sealsthis 11 day of September 1828.
signed. Isaac Sparks (Seal) Hardy Sparks (Seal) Bailey Sparks (Seal)
"Nathan and Jesse Sparks were unsuccessful in their attempt to collectfor their claims in 1828. In 1832, a member of Congress, RepresentativeCave Johnson, presented a petition to the House of Representatives fromJesse Sparks. (See Journal of the House of Representatives of the UnitedStates, 22d Congress, page 293. This brief record, dated February 6,1832, reads as follows:
"Mr. Cave Johnson presented a petition of Jesse Sparks,administrator of Matthew Sparks, deceased, praying indemnity fordepredations committed on his own property, and on the property of hisintestate, by Creek Indians.
Ordered, That the said memorials and petitions be referred to theCommittee on Indian affairs.
"On March 13, 1834, it was ordered "That the Committee on Indianaffairs be discharged from the further consideration of the ease of JesseSparks, and that it lie on the table." On September 22, 1835, CaveJohnson wrote on behalf of Jesse Sparks to the Commissioner of IndianClaim in Milledgeville, Georgia, as follows:
Dear Sir,
Two claims have been filed sent on from Washington City--agreat part of which is on the Books of the Georgia Commissioners oneclaim in the name of the admr. of Mathew Sparks & one in the name ofJesse Sparks--Jesse Sparks has the control of the claims as Admr. ofMatthew & in his own right--he is verry anxious to know what has been thedecision & the amount allowed and desires me to ask of you the favor ofinforming him -what has been done--he is now advanced in life & desiresto avoid an useless trip & will be greatly obleged to know when the moneyis ready--be pleased to address Jesse Sparks Esqr. Duck River furnace,Hickman County, Tennessee.
I am very respectfully
Your friend
C Johnson
"The letter notifying Jesse Sparks that settlement had at last beenmade has been preserved by J. Kent Sparks. It reads as follows:
Executive Department, Georgia
Milledgeville, 20 Nov. 1835
Sir, Your letter to Gov. Lumpkin dated 4th inst. reached thisdepartment today. About the tade of your letter Gov. Lumpkin's officialterm expired and he has retired. Gov. William Schley directs me to giveyou the information requested in your letter.
By the report of the commission appointed to adjust the claimsagainst the Creek Indians, Jesse Sparks is entitled to $70.00 principaland $ 17.25 interest making $87.25 and Mathew Sparks is entitled to$1,112.00 principal and $316.10 interest making $1,428.10. If you applyin person, you will bring with you legal and satisfactory evidence thatyou are the administrator on the estate of Matthew Sparks dec., whichwill entitled you to draw the money due him. If you should not come inperson, you should send a duly executed power of attorney authorizing theperson to draw your money and also one made by you as admr. of MathewSparks , and in this case be sure to send the evidence to show you arethe admr.
Respectfully, Your obt. serv. R. A. Green, Secretary.(N.B. The money will be paid when called for.)
"At about the same time that Cave Johnson wrote on behalf of JesseSparks, he wrote also on behalf of Sarah Sparks (widow of Matthew) andher son, Absolom. This claim pertained to Sarah's losses following herhusband's death in 1793, and to Absolom's own losses. This was the claimmade in 1802 and quoted earlier. Cave Johnson's letter, written atClarksville, Tennessee, was dated July 13, 1835, and reads as follows:
John A. Cuthbert, Esqr.
Dr. Sir,
Sarah & Absalom Sparks are claimants under the late lawauthorizing Georgia to pay for Indian Depredations prior to 1800 & theirnames on the Books of the Georgia claimants & their papers also forwardedfrom Washington they are desirous of knowing what time the claims willbe acted on & whether the money could be paid to me for them atWashington City, so as to same them the trouble of coming to Georgia --if it be necessary for them to come or send, be pleased to write me thetime, they should be there.
I am verry respectfully
Your obdt. Servt
C. Johnson.
"No records have been found regarding the settlement of the claim ofSarah and her son, Absolom, but in all probability their claim was paid.Our knowledge of Sarah Sparks, widow of Matthew, is limited to thereferences contained in these claims and to Bettie Smith's statement thatshe was "buried at Old Pleasant Grove; the piece of shirt the ball wentthrough when her husband was killed, was buried with her." We have notsucceeded in locating "Old Pleasant Grove," but it was probably inCarroll County, Tennessee. The date of Sarah's death is not known. Shewas still living on September 11, 1828, when she signed (by mark) thedocument making her sons Jesse and Nathan the family lawful attorneys.Although from the above letter it would appear that Cave Johnson thoughtshe was still living in 1835, it seems doubtful that she was, for shewould have been close to 100 years old. She probably made her home withone of her children, but which one is not known."
END OF ARTICLE
*****************************************************
SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1991, No. 154, pp. 3752-2786 at page 3768:
"A map of the Forks of the Yadkin appears on pages 3495 and 3769.There we show the exact location of a tract of the 372 acres whichWilliam's brother Matthew Sparks, had purchased from Lord Granville'sagent on April 4, 1761 for 10 shillings sterling. As shown, this tractlay at the very point where the South Yadkin River joins the (North)Yadkin. The tract which Matthew's cousin, Solomon Sparks (356), purchasedalso in 1761, lay on the North or Main Yadkin.
"It was not until 1836 that the area between the two rivers was cutoff from Rowan County to become Davie County. (The name "Forks of theYadkin" is often used for this area, but it has sometimes been used, alsofor a larger area, even including parts of what are now Iredell andDavidson Counties.)
"We believe that Matthew Sparks, who was about five years younger thanWilliam, had "squatted" on his land for a number of years before heactually purchased it, this being a custom followed by most of the earlysettlers on Granville lands. We believe that William Sample Sparks,father of William and Matthew, made his home on Matthew's land. We knowfrom court records that it was in his home that he had a license to 'keepan ordinary, (that is, a tavern to accommodate travellers), beginning in1762. The seat of justice for Rowan County, the town of Salisbury, islocated only nine miles further down on the Yadkin River, so Matthew'sland would have been a strategic spot for an "ordinary." His house nodoubt stood near the river which formed a natural highway. It is quiteprobable that William Sample Sparks, his wife (whose name, we believe,was Rachel, although she was surely a second or even third wife), and hisyounger children, lived near his son Matthew. (An article about MatthewSparks and his family appeared in the QUARTERLY of June, 1961, WholeNumber 34, pp. 556-66, although at that time we had not determined thathe was a son of William Sample Sparks and a younger brother of theWilliam Sparks who is the subject of this article.)
"On the map appearing on page 3769, we show the location of other landowners living (or at least owning land) near Matthew's and Solomon'sgrants prior to Lord Granville's death in 1763, that is, before the landoffice was closed. While it was assumed at the time that Granville'sheirs would soon begin selling vacant land again, for a variety ofreasons this did not happen, and it was not until the state of NorthCarolina confiscated Granville's estate did land sales commence again in1778. From 1763 to 1778, the only way that an individual could acquire alegal title to a tract of land in the Granville District was to purchaseit from someone who had obtained a grant prior to 1763. Familiescontinued to "squat" on vacant land, however, many of whom expected tobuy their tracts eventually.
"It can be assumed that Matthew and Solomon Sparks had more neighborsthan suggested by this map because of the presence of squatters.Regarding the squatters, Jo White Linn has written: "Possessing no legaltitle to the land on which they lived, they remained virtually invisiblein the records, their names not appearing on tax lists, in deed books,nor in will books, since they lacked ownership of real property." (SeeMrs. Linn's 'Prolegomenon' for Rowan County, North Carolina, Vacant LandEntries 1778-1789 abstracted by Richard A. Enocho, 1988.)
"It was to the Sparks home(s) on Matthew's land that William (IV) andAnn went with their family in 1764. (For more detail on life in this areaat that time see a complete reprint of this article under William Sparks(199)).
Skipping to page 3772, we continue:
"From surviving tax records and the testimony of two of Matthow's sonswhen they applied for pensions for their service in the AmericanRevolution (William 333 and Matthew 529) it appears that Matthew and hisfamily continued to live in the Forks of the Yadkin until 1773. Perhapshe and William Sparks formed a partnership in cultivating William's 200acres, or Matthew may have rented the land he had sold to Haden forseveral years. In the words of Matthow's son named William (born April3, 1761), his father had moved from his home on the Yadkin across theBlue Ridge to a place on New River in what was then Surry County. Thisarea was cut off to form Wilkes County in 1777 and then Ashe County in1799. Matthew Sparks was taxed there for the first time in 1775."
[According to the World Family Tree, file 3767 Vol 1, the mother ofSarah Thompson was Elizabeth Sudurth born in 1723. No additionalinformation is given.]
**********
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, pp 5605-5630 foran article entitled: TWO SONS OF MATTHEW SPARKS (ca.1730-1793) ANDHIS WIFE, SARAH (ca.1739-1831)
Baily Sparks (born May 3, 1788) & Isaac Sparks (bornJuly 15, 1780)
[JS Note: The beginning of this article repeats much of the aboveconcerning Matthew and Sarah, and contains a summary of informationconcerning each of their twelve children; all segments contain referencesto earlier articles relating to the persons referred to in thosesegments. The summaries relating to the children are included in thenotes for those children.]