(Continued at p. 1384 Sparks Quarterly from notes of William Sparks)
County Deed Book 53 p. 336) (Emory, in his history of Queen Anne'sCounty, p. 49, notes that Samuel Withers "erected a brick housesometime prior to 1724 on Island Creek.")
"The first official record of a son of William Sparks was recorded inOctober 1695 when he and his son, William Sparks, Jr., were witnessesto the will of John Ellet in Talbot County. (Maryland Calendar ofWills, Vol. 2, p. 109) From this we may infer that William Sparks,Jr., was the oldest son of William Sparks and was probably borntwenty-one or more years earlier, or at least by 1674. If thisinference is correct, we may speculate that William and Mary had beenmarried about 1670-173.
"In 1696, William Sparks was elected a warden of St. Paul's Parish.The territory of this parish comprised the lower part of what is nowQueen Anne's County and the upper part of Talbot County. This parishhad existed many years prior to 1692 when the act establishing theAnglican Church in the province was passed by the General Assembly,but thereafter records seem to have been kept for the first time.Edward Tomlins was the other warden in 1696. William Sparks wassucceeded in 1698 by Solomon Wright.
"On December 2, 1696, both William Sparks and his son William Sparks,Jr., signed an interesting document addressed to the King of England,William III. In the previous February there had been an assassinationplot to restore King James II to the throne. The plot was betrayed,most of the conspirators were arrested, and eight of them were put todeath. Stating that the news had "here Arriv'd of the horribleintended Conspiracy agains his Royal person," the justices of theprovince along with the civil officers and military officers of eachcounty, sidned an "address" of congratulations to their "DreadSoverain." The signers professed their loyalty to King William andpromised to "Stand by & Assist Each other to the Utmost of our powerin the Support and Defence of Yor Mats Governmt against the late KingJames and all his Adherents..." William Sparks's name appears amongthe 29 "Civill Officers and Magistrates" of Kent County who signedthis address, and the names of both William Sparks and his son,William Sparks, Jr., were included among the 62 "Military Officers ofKent County." (A number of other individuals were listed among boththe civil and military officers, including John Hunter and John Hamer,thus we can be quite sure that the William Sparks in both lists wasthe same person.) Why William Sparks and his son were listed amongthe officials of Kent County rather than Talbot County, we cannot besure. Talbot County had been cut off from Kent County in 1662,although Kent Island remained part of Kent County until 1695.Histories of the province have frequently pointed out, however, thatthe boundaries between the counties were often indefinite during the1600's and early 1700's. This is proven by a deed dated January 27,1701, by which William Sparks and his wife Mary sold to John Hamer for4000 pounds of tobacco the tract of land which Williain Sparks hadpurchased in 1691 from Robert and Ann Smith called "Wright's Choice"located on Ellis Branch of Island Creek. (Kent County Land Records JD#1, P. 79-81) The 1691 deed was recorded in Talbot County but in1701 the deed was recorded in Kent County and William and Mary Sparkswere identified therein as "of Kent County." (The tract was describedas it had been in 1691, except that the "South-East Branch of IslandCreek" was now called "Ellis Branch." The tract was identified as"being lately in the tenure or occupation of the sd. WilliamSparks.") It is possible., of course, that the family had moved overthe line from Talbot County into Kent County, but it seems moreprobable that their land holdings were located so nearly on thedividing line between Kent and Talbot Counties that there was someconfusion regarding their exact whereabouts. Even after Queen Anne'sCounty was cut off from Talbot in 1706, the boundary between Kent andthe new county seems not to have been clearly determined.
"In this 1701 deed., William Sparks was identified as "William Sparks,Senr."; as was his custom, he signed by mark as while his wife Marysigned as "M". The witnesses were Edward Goding and Thomas Hawkins.
"The last time that William Sparks purchased land was on February 2,1707, when John and Elizabeth Hamer of Kent County sold him two tractsin what had just become Queen Anne's County (formerly Talbot County).(Book A, Lieber EF, p. 16) In this deed, William Sparks was identifiedas being a resident of Queen Anne's County. One tract comprised 249acres and the other 199 acres; both were located on the south side ofChester River on Island Creek. Solomon Wright and John Salter signedas witnesses on February 13., 1707. At the same time, in a separatetransaction, William and Mary Sparks (her name appeared in the deed as"Marah", but her signature was clearly "Mary") sold 480 acres in QueenArme's County to John Hamer, Sr., for the same amount, 22,000 poundsof tobacco. (Book A, Lieber EF, p. 12) Frederick Emory, who wrote ahistory of Queen Arme's County in 1950, noted (P. 39) that this deedcontains the earliest reference to Royston's Creek, this being a tractlaid out by Richard Royston.) The witnesses were again Solomon Wrightand John Salter, and since they signed both deeds on February 13, eventhough one was dated February 2 and the other October 3, it isapparent that John Hamer and William Sparks were actually tradingtracts of land.
"Two years later, when William Sparks made his will., he left thetract that he had purchased from Hamer to his son John Sparks.However, he stated that if Hamer should be dispossessed from the landwhich William Sparks had sold to him, then Hamer would have the rightto take back the other tract. It would appear that William Sparks wasuncertain of his title to the tract that he had sold to Hamer, perhaps because of his wife's dower rights. On March 15, 1716, Williamand John Sparks, identified as "Planters of Queen Anne's County ...fulfilling the last Will and Testament of their father William Sparks"gave a new deed to John Hamer, Sr., for those two tracts called"Harden" and "Higate". Then on April 22, 1722, John Hamer, Sr., gaveWilliam Sparks, Jr., a new deed for the 480-acre tract of Royston'sCreek which he had sold to William Sparks, Sr., in 1701; however,William Sparks, Jr., had to give Hamer 700 pounds of tobacco for thenew deed.
"On March 25, 1707, William Sparks gave a tract of land to his son,George Sparks. Perhaps this was a wedding present. In this deed,which is recorded in Kent County (Book C., p. 187) William Sparks wasidentified as "of said County, Planter." He stated that "I, WilliamSparkes as well for and in Respect of the Love I bear unto my SonGeorge Sparkes of said County as also for other divers good Causes andConsiderations me at this time Especiall moving have given ... untothe said George Sparkes one hundred and fifty acres of Land part of atract of Land called Sparks Choice." This tract of 150 acres was theremaining portion of the 250-acre tract Called "Sparks Choice" whichWilliam Sparks had acquired in 1681. He had sold the other 100 acresto Samuel Withers in 1691.
"Our last record of William Sparks disposing of property is a deedrecorded in Kent County dated April 16, 1707 (Book C, p. 227-235). Inthis deed, William Sparks and his wife, Mary, along with John Hamerand his wife Elizabeth, sold a tract of 250 acres To James Wyat for7,500 pounds of tobacco. All parties in this deed were Identified as"of Kent County." We have found no record of Sparks and Hamer havingaccuired this land, although it is probable that it relates to theexchange of tracts between them two months earlier. This tract isdescribed in this deed of April 16, 1707, as "situate and being inKent County on the South side of Chester River and on the upper sideof Royston Creek, Beginning at a bounded pine Tree standing on theRiver side a little below a small Marsh being the Second bounded Treeof the said Land called Royston and running thence South and by Eastthree hundred perches to Royston's branch then by and with the saidbranch down to the River and then by and with the said River up to theafsd (aforesaid) pine containing by Estimation two hundred and fiftyacres more or less." William Sparks signed this deed with his usualmark (an X in a circle) and Mary Sparks signed as "M" as was hercustom. John and Elizabeth Hamer both signed their names, as did thethree witnesses C. Wright, Nathaniel Wright, and Flower Wattes.
"On June 21, 1709, William Sparks made his will, signing by his usualmark (an X in a circle). Four months later his will was probated, onOctober 24, 1709. This proves that he died between June 21 andOctober 24, 1709. From his will, given below, certain inferences canbe made. He was obviously quite ill at the time he made his will,apparently quite certain that he would die. His son William Sparks,Jr., whom he named to serve as executor with his wife, was obviouslyhis oldest son. He probably named his other children in the other oftheir birth. George must have been the second son--he had obviouslymarried and had children by 1709. Apparently the next oldest childwas a daughter who had married a man named Hynson and had a son namedCharles Hynson by 1709 to whom William Sparks willed a heifer. Healso gave a heffer "to the daughter of his son William Sparks, Jr.John Sparks his third son, was apparently at least 21 years old in1709 and to him William Sparks left the land which he had purchasedfrom John Hamer in 1707, although he realized that, there wasapparently some doubt about the title to that land and he provided analternative inheritance for John if that proved to be the case. Tohis eldest son, William Sparks, Jr, and to his youngest son, JosephSparks,who was not yet of age in 1709, William Sparks left theplantation "that I now live on called hills adventure and Sparkesoutlet." It thus appears that William Sparks's home was either on the100 acre tract called "Adventure" (or "Hill's Adventure") which he hadpurchased from Michael Hackett in 1681, or on the 114-acre adjoiningtract called "Sparks Outlet" which he had purchased in 1687 fromThomas Smithson. He made the customary provision for his wife,providing carefully for her so long as she. did not remarry andassuring that her sons should not take any advantage of her.
"FolIowing is the full text of the will of William Sparks:
The Last Will of William Sparks of Queen Anne's County Maryland
Maryland. In the Name of God Amen I William of Queen AnnesCounty being Sick in body but of Sound and perfect, memory but knowingthe uncertainty of Life and being Desirous to --?-- my Estate do makeand Constitute and order this to be my last will and Testament herebymakeing Void all and every will or wills heretofore by me made.
first I bequeath my Soul into the hands of God beleiving by themerritts of Jesus Christ to receive pardon of all my Sins and my bodyto the Earth to be Decently buried in such Decent manner as my Exrshereafter named Shall think of it and as to the worldly good it haspleased God to bestow upon me my will in they be Disposed of in Mannerand forms following --
Item I will that all my Just Debts and funerall Necessary Charges befirst paid
I give to my Son George Sparks one fether bed and bolster two blanketsand one Rugg being the same he use to lye on the same to be Deliveredto him presently after my Decease & that my Son George and his wifeand Children Shall have Liberty to live three years with his mother onmy now Dwelling plantation in my now Dwelling house to make a crop ofCorne and TobO be laying in five barrens of Indian corne every yeardureing the said time and to take due care of his mothers Stock andfor so doing to have his and his wife and Children's accomodations andto pay no rent dureing the sd Time
Item I give to my grandson Charles Hynson one two year old heffer withall her female Increase and the male Increase to them who Shall takeCare and Look after the Same the Said heffer to be marked for himImmediately after my Death
I give to my Daughter that is to say my grand Daughter being theDaughter of my Son Wm Sparks one year heffer with all her femaleIncrease to be marked and
Delivered for her use presently after my Death the males to go to himher or
them that Shall or does take care of the same.
My will is that my Loveing wife Mary Sparks Shall have possess andInjoy my now Dwelling plant with all it's appurts during her widowhood but not to protest her son William Sparks but then he Shall havethe same Liberty As he has now what is ordered before for GeorgeSparks Excepting that neither the said Wm nor George do molest ordisturb their mother dureing her widowhood but if my said wife MarySparkes does marry again then to have no more than her thirds of mySaid Land and plantation dureing her life and the thirds of mypersonall Estate but Dureing her widowhood She Shall have theDisposall of all my personall Estate Except as before Excepted and ifshe does happen to die before she marries then to Dispose of it as shewill but if She marrys my personall Estate Except her thirds to beEqually divided among all of my Children.
Item I give and bequeath to my Son John Sparks that planta and tractof Land with all its appurts thereunto belonging formerly John Hamersto him and to his heires forever
Item I give to my Sons Wm Sparks and Joseph Sparks all my planta andLand there unto belonging that I now live in Called hills adventureand Sparkes out let and my will is that if the planta late John Hamersabove given to my Son John Should be Returned again to the sd JohnHamers as my said Son is obliged to do if John Hamer Shall be LegallyDisposest of the Land he now lives on part of 10'S he had of me inExchange for the said planta then my will is that my Son John ShallCome in with his two brotbers Wm and Joseph and Shall have EquallShare and proportion of the Said Land and Shall be Equally Dividedamong them & Shall have hold & Enjoy the same to them and their heiresforever.
I will that if my Son Joseph Shall happen to die before he comes toage then his part of Land to fall to my Son William and his heiresforever he paying to my Son Geo Sparks his heires and assignes theSume of two thousand pounds of Tobo.
I give to my Son Joseph Sparks one Yearling heffer
I do hereby appoint my wife Mary Sparks and my Son William to be theExrs of this my Last will and Testamt.
In Wittness hereunto I have Set my hand and affixed my Seale theTwenty first day of June 1709.
his
Signed Sealed and pronounced Wm X Sparks (seal)
Declared to be my Last will & mark
Testament in the presents of
(signed) John Salter his
Wm A Boulton
Jno Hamer, Junr mark
his
Thomas O Trickee
mark
Octr 24, 1709
Then came John Salter, John Hamer Junr and Thos Trickey three of theEvidences to the above will made oath upon the Holy Evangelist ahtthey saw the Teste Wm Sparks Seal pronounce and Declare the abovewriteing to be his Last will and Testamt and tht he was at the time ofa Sound & Disposeing mind and memory before me
Evan Thomas Dty County.
The above will has been copied from the copy that was made in the WillBook of Queen Anne's County, Liber 13, folio 4.
As noted earlier in this article, William Sparks and his family weremembers of St. Paul's Parish. Unfortunately, the records of birth,marriages, and deaths of this parish do not survive. In 1729,however, St. Paul's Parish was divided and the descendants of WilliamSparks became members of the new parish known as St. Luke's. Thechurch for this parish was (and is) located at Church Hill; it waslong known as "Up-River Chapel." Its records have been preservedbeginning in 1728 (although some pages have been lost). A carefulsearch of the births, marriages, and death records of St. Luke's hasbeen made for us by John Frederick Dorman, and the Sparks entries fromthis record appear hereafter.
We have found no record of the death of Mary Sparks, widow of William.From his will and other records, we know that William and Mary Sparkswere the parents of four sons and one daughter. In subsequent issuesof the QUARTERLY, we plan to publish additional material on these sonsand their descendants. The names of these children were: (for whichsee family sheet).
[Returning to p. 4028: One of the most important documents found thusfar to provide insight into the life of William Sparks is his willdated June 21, 1709, and probated on October 24, 1709. (From thesedates we know that William Sparks died between June 21 and October 24,1709.) The full text of William Sparks's will was transcribed on pp.1387-88) of the March 1971 issue [and set forth above]. In his willWilliam Sparks provided for each of his four sons (William Sparks, Jr.born about 1674; George Sparks, born about 1678; John Sparks, bornabout 1680; and Joseph Sparks, who was not yet of age when his fathermade his will in 1709.) William Sparks also provided for a grandsonnamed Charles Hynson, who was apparently the child of a deceaseddaughter of William and Mary Sparks. We have not discovered thedaughter's name.
Charles Hynson, grandson of William and Mary Sparks, was probably thesame Charles Hynson who was married to Phebe Carvill on November 30,1739. This marriage was recorded in the register of St. Paul'sParish. The births of five children of Charles and Phebe are alsorecorded in this parish register: (1) Charles Hynson, Jr., bornDecember 11, 1743, called their "first born son"; (2) John CarvillHynson, twin of Charles, Jr., called their "second son" born also onDecember 11, 1743; (3) Mary Hynson, born May 21, 1746; (4) PhebeHynson, Jr., born December 3, 1747; and (5) Richard Hynson, bornFebruary 3, 1749.
We know from a number of sources that the wife of William Sparks hadthe given name Mary, but we have found no clue by which we canidentify her maiden surname. She was living at the time that WilliamSparks made his will, and he provided for her in a way that wastypical at the time.
After the payment of his debts, of which there were very few, and thedistribution of his specific bequests, William Sparks directed thatone-third of his remaining personal estate be inherited by his wife,but she was to have the control and use of all of his personalproperty so long as she remained his widow, that is, so long as shedid not remarry. She was also to have possession of what WilliamSparks described as "my now Dwelling planta[tion], with all itsappurts (i.e. appurtenants) and the Land belonging to the Same ...dureing her widowhood." He added, however, that "if my said wife,Mary Sparkes, does marry again then to have no more than her third ofmy Said Land and plantation dureing her life..." At the close of hiswill, William Sparks appointed "my wife, Mary Sparks, and my Son,William Sparks, to be the Exrs. [i.e. executors] of this my Last willand Testamt."
Since preparing the 1971 article, cited earlier, in which we gave thefull text of the will of William Sparks, we have obtained copies ofadditional documents contained in the probate file of his estate.These papers were maintained originally by the Queen Anne's CountyProbate Court, but they are now preserved at the Maryland Hall ofRecords in Annapolis.
(A continuation of this article at pg 4029 appears under notes forGeorge Sparks for space reasons).