SQ 3872:

"Anna Laura Sparks was married to a man named Chenault about 1890, andthey moved to Arizona where Anna is said to have died when their sonWilliam, was born. The child was brought to Lewis County, Kentucky ,where he was reared by his maternal grandparents."

The SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 3357-8, lists the children of Fred and Arabella(Sparks) Gentz as follows:
"1. Helen Clara Gentz was born about 1871. She was married toHelmer Court on June 13, 1894, in Jefferson County. (see Item I, A, 6,above.)
2. Arthur Gentz was born about 1873.
3. Wallace Gentz was born about 1875.
4. Stanley Gentz.
5. Earl Gentz."

However, on February 13, 2000, I received an email from Sherry Sharpof Beaumont, Texas (Lumoto@@aol.com). She is a grandaughter of LillianFrances Courts who is a grandniece of Arabella Sparks. She emphaticallyadvised that the 5 people named above were not the children of Fred andArabella (Sparks) Gentz. She supplied the names and dates of the sixchildren whom, she advises, were shown as their children according tocensus records. They have been included rather than those named by theQUARTERLY.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1996, Whole No. 173, pg. 4609:

"According to Margaret Sparks Singletary, writing in 1958, Malone Sparksdied in Lumpkin County, Georgia, in 1863. Shortly before he died, he hadreceived a letter (preserved later in his family Bible) informing himthat his oldest son, Archibald Wimpey Sparks, had been killed in actionas a soldier in the Confederate Army. He had enlisted unter his middlename Wimpey Sparks, on March 4, 1862, in Company E of the InfantryBattalion known as Phillips' Georgia Legion. A document compiled byLillian Henderson, Director of Confederate Pension and Record Department,entitled "Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia," states that theunit in which "A. W. Sparks" of Lumpkin County served was knownofficially as "Co. D, 52nd Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Army ofTennessee, C.S.A." Beside his name in this official record appears:"Private, March 4, 1862; Missing at Atlanta, Georgia, July 22, 1864."(Page 483 of Vol. 5). Another Confederate soldier who served in the sameregiment and company from Lumpkin County has the entry: "Sparks, J. -Private, January, 1863. Sick at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1865." This"J. Sparks" may have been Archibald Wimpey Sparks's brother, Joseph W.Sparks, who was born about 1852 according to the 1860 census.

"The letter informing Malone Sparks of his son's death indicated thatWimpey Sparks had enlisted at Dahlonega, the county seat of LumpkinCounty, Georgia, which was near where Malone Sparks lived. In 1958, Mrs.Singletary owned this letter which informed Malone Sparks that no one hadmade a claim for the amount of wages that had been due Wimpey Sparks whenhe was killed. His company commander had been a Captain Hamilton. Theletter also mentioned the fact that Wimpey Sparks had been killed inaction in an engagement on the Rappahanock River in Virginia.

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 2002, Whole No. 199, pp. 5715-18:

ARCHIBALD WIMPY SPARKS (1843-1882)

By John A. Sparks, Jr.

Archibald Wimpy Sparks, who chose to go by the name of "Wimpy Sparks, "was born in Lumpkin County, Georgia, in 1843. Noting that the name"Wimpy" may be considered to be at least an unusual name, I find that hemay have been named for a family friend or neighbor. Living in the sametown where he was born was an A. G . Wimpy family. Mrs . A . G . Wimpywas the president of the Ladies Aid Society during the Civil War period.(See the History of Lumpkin County for the First Hundred Years,1832-1932by Andrew W, Cain, page 69, the Reprint Company Publishers, Spartanburg,South Carolina.)

Archibald Wimpy Sparks's father was Malone Sparks, born in Burke County,North Carolina, whose wife was Irene Branch, also from Burke County.Malone moved to Georgia in the 1830's; I believe that he was followingthe Gold Rush that occurred in Georgia in that decade. He was listed onthe 1840 census of Habersham County. He and his family were shown on the1850 census of Lumpkin County where his occupation was given as "Miner."They lived in the area of Dahlonega, county seat of Lumpkin County, andit was there that Malone Sparks died in 1863.

Wimpy Sparks grew up in this location and probably had not yet reachedhis eighteenth birthday at the formation date of July 9, 1861, of the"Blue Ridge Rifles" of Lumpkin County, Georgia. He obviously had thedesire to join with his friends, but for some reason he remained behindwhen this company first left Dahlonega.

The unit which Wimpy Sparks would later join was commanded by CaptainJoseph H . Hamilton, a West Point graduate who became a major and onDecember 13, 1862, be came a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army .(See page 144 of the History of Lumpkin County cited above.)

An article appearing in the Dahlonega Signal for July 14, 1861, describesthe departure of the Blue Ridge Rifles:

On Saturday last this company under the command of Capt. Joseph Hamiltonleft here for Camp McDonald to perfect their discipline by the 11th ofAugust. This company numbers about eighty rank and file, made up of thevery best of our citizens, and commanded by a young man of decidedability and determination of purpose. No company from our state isbetter qualified for destruction, as they been from their earliestboyhood used to the rifle and shut one eye when the they shoot, and everytime they pull the trigger a man will fall. The evening before theyleft, Rev . A . M. Thigpen preached them a farewell sermon. He presentedeach soldier with a Testament urging them to read it and. apply itscounsels. They left with prayers and tears of all for their welfare .May the God of Battle bless them.

When the company reached Camp McDonald, they were connected with PhillipsLegion. After remaining at camp a short time, they were ordered toVirginia and united with Wofford's Brigade, Longstreet Corps, accordingto reports on the company muster rolls for Company E.
The Georgia Phillips Legion Infantry Battalion was organized on July 2,1861; it surrended at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9,1865. The first commander and organizational influence was ColonelWilliam Phillips. The Legion also contained a cavalry battalion . Theseunits did not serve together, however; they were used as separatecommands and placed in different theaters of operation until the warended.

When the Blue Ridge Rifles joined with Phillips Legion, they weredesignated Company E, Infantry.

Using the muster roll records for Company E, I have been able to tracesome of the battles to which this unit was assigned. Under Wofford'sBrigade, this company was involved in battles at Fredericksburg,Virginia, Lynchburg, Virginia, and Richmond Ferry, West Virginia. AtFredericksburg on August 7, 1861, Private Jasper Bates was wounded andwould lose his arm as a result of the injury. September 7, 1861, PrivateFountain Davis died at Lynchburg, Virginia, and also on October 6, 1861,Private Samuel London died at Lynchburg. On October 18, 1861, Private G.F. Parker died at Richmond Ferry, West Virginia.

After these costly engagements, the company was returned to camp in SouthCarolina. On February 5, 1862, Private Rice N . Hulsey died nearHarlessville, South Carolina.

I believe that while the troops were in South Carolina, First LieutenantHardy D . Price returned home to recruit replacements for the losttroops. It was during that trip home that Wimpy Sparks would join theArmy.

Wimpy Sparks's Civil War record from the National Archives consists ofonly one page. This is the company muster record for ConfederatePhillips Legion, Georgia. This record states that Private Wimpy Sparkswas present for the months of May and June of 1862, Company E InfantryBatt'n. This report also states that Wimpy Sparks had enlisted on March4, 1862, at Dahlonega, Georgia; signed by S. L. Hardy D . Price, for aperiod of three years .

Records shown on page 165 of the History of Lumpkin County, cited above,indicate that Lieutenant Price was wounded at Fredericksburg,Virginia, onDecember 13, 1862; he later died at Richmond.

A note found in the William Stevens Sparks family Bible states that WimpySparks fought in two battles and died on August 23, 1862, on theRappahannock River in Virginia. William Stevens Sparks was WimpySparks's younger brother.

No one thus far has been able to state with certainty exactly where WimpySparks died. However, with limited Information as support, I can saythat he died in one of the four battles known as Rappahannock Station.These battles were located in Culpeper County and Fauquier County,Virginia. They were in the Northern Virginia Campaign from June toSeptember of 1862. The commanding generals were Thomas J. ("Stonewall")Jackson, C.S.A., and John Pope, U.S.

In early August, 1862, General Lee determined that General McClellan'sArmy was being withdrawn from the Peninsula ' to reinforce John Pope. Hesent Longstreet from Richmond to join Jackson's wing of the ConfederateArmy near Gordonsville, and Longstreet arrived to take command himself onAugust 15. On August 20-21, Pope withdrew to the line of theRappahannock River. On August 23, Stuart's Cavalry made a daring raid onPope' s headquarters at Catlett Station, showing that the Union rightflank was vulnerable to a turning movement. Over the next several days,August 22-25, the two armies fought a series of minor actions along theRappahannock River, including Waterloo Bridge, Lee Springs, Freeman'sFord, and Sulphur Springs, resulting in a few hundred casualties.Together, these skirmishes held Pope's Army along the river whileJackson's wing marched via Thoroughfare Gap to capture Bristoe Stationand to destroy Federal supplies at Manassas Junction, far to the rear ofPope' s Army. Although the results of this campaign were inconclusive,the estimated casualties were 225, total.

At the time of this campaign, Phillips Legion Infantry troops had joinedJackson's forces under Longstreet's command. Private Archibald WimpySparks and Private F . A . McAfee must have been on patrol together asboth were reported killed in an artillery duel along the RappahannockRiver in Virginia on August 23, 1862. We may never know the exactlocation of Wimpy Sparks's death, but I feel that the dates of thesebattles and Wimpy's stated death date are so close that we can assume hewas one of the estimated 225 casualties of this battle. He was onlynineteen, at the most, when he died. This is only a reminder of thecostliest war ever fought on American soil.

[Editor's Note: We are pleased that John A. Sparks, Jr. has shared hisresearch on Wimpy Sparks (sometimes spelled "Wimpey") with us. Wimpy washis grand uncle. Should a member of the Association wish to correspondwith Mr. Sparks regarding his branch of the Sparks family, his addressis: 2420 Ballahack Rd., Chesapeake, Virginia, 23322.

[John wishes to express his appreciation to the Middle Georgia RegionalLibrary's Genealogical and Historical Room; he extends his thanks also toSally McHenry, 14225 Dickens St., No. 7, Sherman Oaks, California, 91423,for her valuable assistance in this project .

(In the QUARTERLY of March 1996, No.173, beginning on page 4603, weincluded an article entitled "John Sparks (Born ca. 1775--Died Prior to1810) of Surry and Burke Counties, North Carolina." This John Sparkswas, with little doubt, a son of William Sparks, Jr., who had been bornabout 1750 in Frederick County, Maryland. As a lad of about 13 or 14 in1764, William, Jr. had accompanied his parents, William, Sr. and Ann, ontheir move from Maryland to the Forks of the Yadkin in Rowan County (nowDavie County) North Carolina. (See the lengthy article on William, Sr.and his wife, Ann, in the QUARTERLY of June 1991, No.154.)

[William Sparks, Jr . moved from the Forks of the Yadkin to Surry County,North Carolina, in or about 1771. His parents and some of his siblingsmade the same move a little later. William Sparks, Sr. died in SurryCounty in either 1801 or 1802.

[By the summer of 1798, William Sparks, Jr. had moved with his familyfrom Surry County to Burke County, also in North Carolina. His twoyoungest brothers, Benjamin and Jeremiah Sparks, followed William, Jr. toBurke County a few years later . (See the article entitled "BenjaminSparks (1769/70-1850), Son of William and Ann Sparks," beginning on page5682 of the June 2002 issue of the QUARTERLY, No. 198.)

[William Sparks, Jr. appeared on the 1800 census of Burke County, but noton that for 1810. We believe that he had died before 1810. We havefound no record to reveal the maiden name of his wife. Genealogicalresearch in Burke County is extremely difficult because the courthousethere burned in 1865, destroying a large portion of the county'srecords. From those that do survive, however, we know that WilliamSparks, Jr. was the father of at least two sons, John, born about 1775,and Larkin, born about 1784. There were also four daughters.

[John Sparks, doubtless the older of William, Jr.'s two sons, had beenmarried for a few years when his father moved to Burke County. Johnremained in Surry until after the 1800 census was taken, but soonthereafter he, also, moved his family there. Before the 1810 census wastaken, however, John also died. William, Jr. was in his late 50's orearly 60's when he died, but John was still in his 30's, leaving his wifewith four young sons, all under the age of 10 years .

[Shown as head of her household on the 1810 census of Burke County,John's widow was recorded by the census taker as "Eliza Sparks, " butEliza was likely an " abbreviation for Elizabeth.

[Fortunately, many of Burke County's court records survived the fire of1865, among which there is a transcript from the meeting of the CountyCourt in April 1812 ordering that 14-year-old William Sparks, called "anorphan of John Sparks, " be bound (i.e. apprenticed to) Jesse Hall to betaught a trade. Earlier, at a sitting of the Court in January, 1812,12-year-old orphan Absalom Sparks was bound to Crispin D. Gibbs. Noapprenticeship was provided for Malone Sparks, son of John; at age 9 or10, he apparently remained with his widowed mother. We have found norecord of thefourth son of Elizabeth Sparks whose household on the 1810census had been enumerated with four males under 10 years.

[On October 17, 1814, Elizabeth Sparks was married (second) to a BurkeCounty widower named George Hodge. Born in 1761, Hodge had been asoldier in the American Revolution and received a pensIon based on thatservice. He died In 1845. When the U. S. Congress passed an act in 1853enabling widows of Revolutionary War veterans to qualify for pensions,even though their marriage had been after the war ended, Elizabethsuccessfully applied. This was before the 1865 courthouse fire in BurkeCounty, so copies of several records burned in that fire are preserved inElizabeth's pension file at the National Archives. For further detailsof how these records have aided us in accounting for the events andrelationships noted above, see the QUARTERLY of March 1996, No. 173,pp.4605-10.
[It is interesting to note that two of the sons of John and ElizabethSparks were married to daughters of George Hodge by his first wife aftertheir bondage ended at age 21. William, who had been bound to Jesse Hall,was married to Rachel Hodge on May 2, 1819, and Absolom, who had beenbound to Crispin D . Gibbs, was married to Esther Hodge on July 19,1823. (Bondage for orphans normally ended when they reached age 21.)

[Malone Sparks was married to Rachel Haney in Burke County, NorthCarolina, on November 16, 1822. Rachel apparently died childless, andMalone Sparks was married, second, to Irene Branch. Based on censusrecords, it appears that Malone and Irene (Branch) Sparks were theparents of nine children, the first three of whom were born in NorthCarolina between 1834 and 1838, while the last six were born in Georgia.These nine were:

l. Rachel Sparks, born about 1834.
2. Valencia Sparks, born about 1836.
3. Judy E. Sparks, born about 1838.
4. Mary Sparks, born about 1840.
5. Archibald Wimpy Sparks, born 1843.
6. Nancy Sparks, born about 1845.
7. William Stephen Sparks, born April 28, 1849.
8. Joseph W. Sparks, born about 1852.
9. Rebecca Sparks, born about 1855.]
* * * * * * * * * * * *

See SQ 5073-74 for a notice of his death.

SQ pg 3944: They had six children: Hoadley, Austin, Nola, Laura ,Forest, and Albert Sparks.

SQ pg 3722:

DEATH CLAIMS DEWEY COCHRAN, JR.

"It is with regret that we record the death of Dewey Cochran, Jr. whopassed away on June 12, 1990, at the Kings Daughters Hospital in Ashland,Kentucky, following a sudden illness. He is survived by his wife, Betty;a daughter, Susan; a step-daughter, Mary Beth; and three sisters,Catherine, Charlene, and Anna Belle. We extend our sympathy to themembers of his family.

"Dewey Cochrane was born on May 29, 1933, in Boyd County, Kentucky,and was a son of Dewie and Laura (see above) Belle (McKenzie) Cochrane.His maternal grandparents were Sargent Newton and Arizona (Sparks)McKenzie and his great-grandparents were Tillman and Susie E. (Murray)Sparks of Johnson County, Kentucky. His great-great-grandparents wereElisha and Susanna (Pridemore) Sparks, and hisgreat-great-great-grandparents were Thomas and Diana (Wilcox) Sparks whocame from Surry County, North Carolina, to Lawrence County, Kentucky,about 1821.

See also on the same page as her brother obituary notice (SQ pg 3722)is the following:

DEATH TAKES CATHERINE (COCHRAN) BROOKS

"It is with regret that we record the death of Catherine (Cochran)(see above) Brooks who died on November 25, 1990 , at Catlettsburg,Kentucky. She is survived by her two sisters, Anna Belle (Cochrane)Dowdy and Charlene (Cochran) Salyers. Her husband , Charles E. Brooks,died in 1988. Catherine Cochran Brooks was born on August 27, 1921, inBoyd County, Kentucky, and was a daughter of Dewie and Laura Belle(McKenzie) Cochran."

SQ pg 3404: Arlie and Juanita lived at Marlette, Michigan. He workedfor the Ford Motor Company. He and Juanita had two children: Carolineand Connie Sparks.

SQ pp. 4042-43:

"Arthur Sparks, son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Kelley) Sparks, was bornon February 17, 1743. He witnessed the inventories of the estates of hisfather and of his brother, David. He was married, apparently about 1763,to a woman named Ruth ------ and they had one child, Hester Sparks, bornabout 1764. Hester died prior to 1769. Arthur Sparks died in the earlypart of 1766, and his wife, Ruth Sparks, was appointed as hisadministrator. She presented an inventory of his estate to the QueenAnnes County Court on June 13, 1766. The estate was appraised by WilliamGould and Abner Dudley, and the total value was a little over fourteenpounds. Elizabeth Russell and Ann Reed, sisters of Arthur Sparks,attested to the appraisal of his estate as the "nearest of kin."

"Ruth Sparks, widow of Arthur, gave a final accounting of herhusband's estate to the Queen Annes County Court on April 6, 1769. Bythis time, she had remarried, and her husband, Absalom Sparks, was herco-administrator. Representatives of Arthur Sparks were his widow, RuthSparks, and their child, Hester, under age and now (1766) deceased.Thomas Graves and David Reed were sureties for Ruth and Absalom Sparks.(Absalom Sparks, who married Ruth Sparks, the widow of Arthur Sparks,was, in all probability, a first cousin of Joseph Sparks, father ofArthur. For further details of Absalom Sparks and his family, see theDecember 1974 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 88.)"

SQ 2783:

"Asa Clarence Sparks was born on October 4, 1888. He was married toSarah Annie Merritt on September 16, 1909. Annie (as she was called) wasborn on December 4, 1885. Asa died on November 8, 1926 , and Annie diedon January 8, 1968. They were buried at Gholson. They were members ofthe Caledonia Baptist Church. They had four children: Ruth, Bryant,Doris, and Blanche."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for June 1989, Whole No. 146, p. 3424 for thefollowing:

ASA HILL SPARKS DIES

"We regret to report the death of Asa Hill Sparks who passed away onFebruary 3, 1989, at his home in
Nashville, Tennessee. He was a prominent minister of the Church of theNazarene and had pastored churches in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia,Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.

"Asa Hill Sparks was born in 1913 and was a son of Asa Garfield andMotie May (Applegate) Sparks. His branch of the Sparks family was headedby Thomas Sparks (1766-1837) who came from Surry County, North Carolina,to Lawrence County, Kentucky, about 1820. Thomas Sparks was a son ofWilliam and Ann Sparks who came to North Carolina from Frederick County,Maryland, about 1765.

"Brother Sparks (as he was called by many who knew him) is survived byhis wife, the former Pansy V. Cooper; two sons, Dr. Asa Howard Sparks andDr. Jonathan D. Sparks; and a daughter, Mrs. Martha M. Trau. We extendour smypathy to them and their families."

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3189: "Asa Virgil Sparks was born on February 26, 1878. He married
Maude E. -----. De died in 1973."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 16, pp 4744-45:

(See the family photograph of the Ashby Fairchild Sparks family takenabout 1910 on p. 4744.)

"Ashby Fairchild Sparks, son of Levi and Nancy Jane (Lawson) Sparks,was born on April 19, 1866. He was a farmer. He also taught "singingschools." (A singing school was made up of adults who subscribed to takea series of singing lessons, usually in a group in the evening at a localchurch or school.) Ashby F. Sparks was married to Amanda ["Mandy"] AnnMauk on February 4, 1892. She had been born on July 26, 1870, and was adaughter of William and Mary America ["Meck"] (Harper) Mauk. Ashby andMandy lived near Stark, Kentucky, and their children attended the BunkerHill School located on Beech Branch of Little Caney Creek.

"In 1916, Ashby and Mandy sold their farm in Elliott County and boughta farm in Carter County, Kentucky, located between the villages of Adenand Gregoryville. There they raised tobacco and cattle. Mandy became alicensed midwife. They attended the Regular Baptist Church at Grahn,Kentucky.

"In 1918, the Spanish flu struck the area, and Ella May, daughter ofAshby and Mandy, died from It on October 20, 1918. Six days later, onOctober 26, 1918, Ora Lee Sparks, 13-year-old son of Ashby and Mandy,also died from the dreaded disease.

"Mandy (Mauk) Sparks died on August 18, 1937. Ashby died on April 3,1947. They were buried in the Newall Cemetery at Grahn, Kentucky. Theywere the parents of nine children."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4469: They had three children: Van, Tol, and Sam Alexander.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2000, Whole No. 190, p. 5371:

Athanasious Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was bornca. 1810 in Surry County, North Carolina. He was doubtless named for hismaternal grandfather, but, like him, he was usually called "Atha." Thereis a marriage bond recorded in Surry County dated April 12, 1836, for himto be married to Sarah ["Sally"] Brinigan. (The spelling of this name wasusually Brinegar; a Paul Brinegar was a landowner in Surry County asearly as 1809; he was 76 years old in 1850 according to the census ofthat year.) Moses Austill served as bondsman for this marriage bond.Moses Austill had been married in 1831 to Elizabeth Elmore (bond datedDecember 1, 1831). Elizabeth ["Betsey"] Elmore was a daughter ofAthanasious Elmore; she was thus a sister of Sarah (Elmore) Sparks,mother of Athanasious Sparks.

When the 1840 census was taken, Athanasious Sparks was living in CherokeeCounty, North Carolina, with his wife and one child. When the 1850 censuswas taken in Georgia, they were in Gilmer County. Called "Althia" on thiscensus record of 1850, he was shown as 40 years old; Sarah's age wasgiven as 28. Their first two children were shown as having been born inNorth Carolina: William A. Sparks, age 10, and Martha Sparks, age 6.Their other two children were shown as having been born in Georgia:Malinda A. Sparks, age 4, and Mary Sparks, age one year.

In the settlement of his father's estate in 1854/56, "Atha Sparks" waslisted as one of the heirs for whom his brother, Richard Sparks, hadresponsibility for locating, as noted above. We have found no laterrecord of Athanasious Sparks.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Sept. 2000, Whole No. 191, pp 5499-5500:

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

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3398: She married a man named Collins. they lived at Sout hWebster, Ohio.

SQ 3272:

"Austin Sparks, son of Timothy and Jane (Lyon) Sparks, was born about1849 in North Carolina. He was married four times according to adescendant. His first marriage was to Mary Mitchell on July 29, 18 68,in Tazewell County, Virginia. She was born about 1847. She apparentlydied about 1871, probably at the time their second child was bornprematurely. Austin married (2nd) Hester Hankins on May 26, 1873. Shewas a daughter of
William and Polly (Mitchell) Hankins. She and Austin had four childrenbefore her death about 1878. Austin married (3rd) Sarah ---, and theyhad one child when the 1880 census was taken of Tazewell County. We havenot learned the name of the fourth wife of Austin Sparks. He had atleast six children:

(1) Joseph Sparks b. Apr 10, 1870
(2) Rebecca Jane Sparks b. Dec 17, 1871
(3) Annie Sparks b. ca. 1874
(4) Mary Sparks b. ca. 1875
(5) James William Sparks b. ca. 1876. He m. Cosby Jane Althizer.
(6) Minnie Sparks was b. ca. 1880."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1978, Whole No. 101, p. 1987:

QUERY - BAILEY SPARKS,born 1760-70

Mrs. Lemuel M. Rathbone, 16413 Fitzhugh Rd., Austin, Texas (78736) isseeking vital statistics and marriage data for Mary H., wife of MichaelF. Fields. She was born about 1813 -1815 and is believed to have been adaughter of Bailey Sparks of Carroll County, Tennessee.

Bailey Sparks, born between 1760 and 1770, who is believed to have beenthe father of Mary H. Sparks, was a son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks whomoved from Frederick County, Maryland, to the Surry-Wilkes County area ofNorth Carolina about 1758. (A sketch of the life of Matthew Sparksappeared in the QUARTERLY of June 1961, Vol. IX, No. 2, Whole No. 34, pp.556-566.) Bailey Sparks accompanied his parents to Georgia following theAmerican Revolution. By 1820 he had married and was living with hisfamily (wife, four females, probably daughters, under 10 years of age andone male also under 10, probably a son) in Humphries County, Tennessee.He was living near his brother, Isaac Sparks. By
1830 he had moved to Carroll County, Tennessee, and on the census of thatyear was called "Baily Sparks Sr." (JS: But see corrections belowpublished in Whole No. 114 at pp 2316-17) From this census record, itwould appear that he had married a second wife by 1830 some 20 years hisjunior. Five males (probably sons) and six females (probably daughters)were enumerated in his household in 1830. He was probably the BaileySparks who obtained a land grant in Carroll County in 1846. A BaileySparks, perhaps a grandson, served in the Confederate Army during theCivil War, enlisting in Marlin Falls, Texas, in 1862 at the age of 17.

Michael F. and Mary H. (Sparks ?) Fields had the following children: (1)Bailey S. Fields, born ca.1830; (2) Sarah A. Fields, born ca.1832; (3)James A. Fields, born ca.1834; (4) Martha E. Fields, born ca. 1836; (5)Mary Fields, born ca. 1838; (6) Sidney Fields, born ca. 1840 and marriedWilliam R. Griffin; (7) Susan Isabel Fields, born 11 Oct. 1845 or 1843,married Andrew Jackson Caraway; (8) Malissa D. Fields, born 9 Sept. 1846and married John Wellington Cleveland; and (9) Daniel R. B. Fields, bornca. 1849.

In 1830 Michael Fields and wife were in Carroll County, Tennessee, but by1840 the family had moved to Carroll County, Mississippi. In 1850 theywere in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, and by the mid-1850's most oftheir children were in Gonzales County, Texas, but no record of the deathof the parents has been found. Michael Field's brother, James Fields,married Matilda Sparks in Carroll County, Mississippi, on June 9, 1838.James Fields was in Carroll County, Mississippi, when the 1840 census wastaken, then they lived briefly in Yalobusha County, andby 1850 they werein Choctaw County, Mississippi. The children of James and Matilda(Sparks) Fields listed on the 1850 census were named: (1) William B.Fields; (2) James A. Fields; (3) Daniel G. Fields; (4) Winney A. Fields;(5) Mary E. Fields; and (6) Martha Fields. Was Miltilda Sparks whomarried James Fields also a daughter of Bailey Sparks?

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1981, Whole No. 114, pp. 2316-17:

CORRECTION

In the QUARTERLY of March 1978 (Whole No. 101) page 1987, we published aquery regarding a daughter (Mary H. Sparks) of Bailey Sparks, who was ason of Matthew and Sarah Sparks of the Surry-Wilkes Counties area ofNorth Carolina. It was stated in this query that Bailey Sparks hadappeared on the 1830 census of Carroll County, Tennessee, with "Sr."following his name; it was speculated that he had married a second time.Your editor made an error in copying this census record. Bailey Sparkswas NOT listed with "Sr." following his name on the 1830 census; rather,it was Isaac Sparks, Bailey’s brother, who was listed as "Sr." BaileySparks did, indeed, appear on the 1830 census of Carroll County as shownin a transcription of that census published in the September 1955 issueof the QUARTERLY (Whole No. 11) page 91.

We now believe that Bailey Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, wasborn about 1777 (his age was given as between 40 and 50 on the 1830census, but there is other evidence to suggest that he was slightly olderthan that). He married Martha Noland, daughter of James Noland, about1829, and, contrary to our statement on Page 1987, we do NOT believe thathe married a second time. We have found no record of Bailey Sparks after1830, but we believe that a number of his children moved from Tennesseeto Mississippi.

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See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, pp 5605-5630, p.5610:

"Bailey Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, was born on May 3, 1778,in what is now Ashe County, North Carolina, but at the time of his birthit was part of Wilkes County. He died sometime after 1832 in CarrollCounty, Tennessee. He was married about 1809 to Martha Noland (alsospelled Knowland and Knowling) who was a daughter of James Noland, and asister of Wilmoth Noland, the second wife of Bailey's brother, IsaacSparks. Bailey and Martha (Noland) Sparks were the parents of elevenchildren according to census records, of whom we have been able toidentify seven. See the present issue of the QUARTERLY, beginning on page5611, for an article about Bailey Sparks and his family ."

and beginning on page 5611, the following:

Bailey Sparks (born 1778,died after 1832)

Son of Matthewand Sarah Sparks

"Bailey Sparks, the tenth child and eighth son of Matthew and SarahSparks , was born on May 3, 1778, near the present-day village ofJefferson on the New River in what, since 1799, has been Ashe County,North Carolina. At the time of his birth, however, the land on which hisparents and nine siblings were living was in Wilkes County, Wilkes havingbeen formed in 1778 from Surry County. It was not until the close of the18th Century, long after the Sparks family had moved to Georgia, that thepart "of the County of Wilkes, lying west of the extreme height of theAppalachian mountains . . . is hereby erected into a separate anddistinct county by the name of Ashe."

Matthew Sparks, Bailey's father, who seems always to have been anadventurer, had moved to this New River site in 1775 from the Forks ofthe Yadkin in what is now Davie County, North Carolina. At the time ofBailey's birth, his father was still "squatting" on a 400-acre tract thathe planned to purchase from the state of North Carolina when it shouldbecome available. Such "squatting" was a common and respected customamong pioneers on the frontier at that time. Happily for Matthew and hisfamily, he succeeded in obtaining from the Raleigh Land Office WarrantNo. 163, for this tract in the fall of the same year that Bailey was born:

Wilkes County, North Carolina. File No. 22, Warrant No. 163:
To Matthew Sparkes 400 acres on the North Side of New River
Beginning on Little Naked Creek , Running Down , Including his
Impt. 5 Nov. 1778."

The abbreviation "Impt . " was the commonly used word "Improvements , "that is, whatever Matthew and his sons had built on the tract while theyhad been "squatting" on it, a log cabin and stable, no doubt , along withsome rail fencing around a portion that they had cleared and beguncultivating .

Upon obtaining his warrant , a settler would then have his tract surveyedto establish the boundaries to enclose the number of acres authorized inthe warrant . Using a compass and a measuring chain 5.5 yards long , alsocailed a pole or rod , the surveyor would begin at the point designatedin the warrant , which usually also included the direction that he shouldproceed , mapping the distances between landmarks . A landmark might bethe boundary of a tract already surveyed, a road or path, a tree on thebank of a stream , or even a stake that the surveyor drove into theground. The surveyor was usually aided by two "chain carriers," oftenbeing young men of the neighborhood. In measuring Matthew Sparks's tract, Surveyor Joseph Herndon engaged 19-year-old Matthew Sparks, Jr., alongwith a James Vaningle, probably a neighbor , as his chain-carriers. Thesurvey prepared by Herndon for Matthew Sparks's tract was published infull in the QUARTERLY of June 1961, Whole No. 34, in the article entitled"Matthew Sparks (died 1793) of North Carolina & Georgia, a BiographicalSketch."

The three oldest brothers of Bailey Sparks served in the AmericanRevolution: John (born 1755), Matthew, Jr. (born 1759), and William (born1761). In 1832, Congress passed an Act authorizing pensions for allveterans of the Revolutionary War who had served for at least six months.Applicants did not have to prove financial need nor a health problem, butthey were required to describe the nature of their service, the period oftime, and written proof of some sort, often consisting of affidavits ofcitizens who had personal knowledge of it. Although John Sparks did notapply, the other two brothers of Bailey did so. In their applications,both Matthew, Jr. and William stated they had been living with theirparents in Wilkes County, North Carolina, when they had been drafted orthey had enlisted in 1778.

It is in the pension applications of Matthew, Jr. and William Sparks thatwe learn of Matthew Sparks's last venture into a new frontier. Inapplying for a pension under the 1832 Act , a veteran was required tostate where he had lived following the war. Both Matthew, Jr. and Williamstated that initially they had returned to their parents' home on NewRiver in Wilkes County.

Sarah Sparks gave birth to her eleventh child, a son named Isaac, on July15, 1780. Less than three years later, she bore her last child, HardySparks, on May 23, 1783. It was in 1783, when Bailey Sparks was fiveyears old, that his father again felt the urge to venture to a newfrontier as word spread that the state of Georgia would open forsettlement the Creek Indian lands east of the Oconee River in 1784. Wemay wonder what Sarah's feelings were as her husband talked of theopportunity this might provide for their older sons, as well as himself,to buy new land.

William Sparks stated in his application for a pension that , with the"close of the Revolutionary ..... . he removed with his father to whatwas then Franklin, afterwards Jackson , and now [1832] Clarke County inthe State of Georgia and settled about four miles from Athens in thatstate." Matthew Sparks, Jr. stated in his pension application that he hadremained in Wilkes County "until three or four years after the close ofthe Revolutionary War" before leaving with his father for Georgia. (Afterhalf a century , veterans differed in their recalling the date that theconflict had actually ended; the surrender of Cornwallis had occurred onOctober 19, 1781, but the peace treaty with Great Britain definitivelyending the war did not take place until September 3, 1783.)

Matthew Sparks last paid taxes in Wilkes County in 1782. We believe thatit was a few months after the birth of Hardy Sparks in May 1783, that thefamily , with the exception of sons John and James , started for Georgia, again to find choice land on which to "squat" until a purchase of itcould be made .

We will not repeat here the story of the Oconee War, during which, in1793, the elder Matthew Sparks was killed by the Indians. Bailey Sparkswas then fifteen years old.

We have only two records from Georgia pertaining to Bailey Sparks. Itappears that he purchased land in Jackson County on August 20, 1798, froma man named William M. Stokes. (Deed Book A & B, page 128.) JacksonCounty had been formed from Franklin County in 1796 and included the landon which the Sparks family had settled in 1783-1784. In 1805, ClarkeCounty was created in part from Franklin and included the Sparkssettlement. Unfortunately, no census record from Georgia has survivedprior to the one for 1820 to assist us in tracing Bailey Sparks, but weknow that he was there on February 22, 1810, when he sold land in ClarkeCounty connected copies of these two Georgia deeds.

From later records, we believe that Bailey and Isaac Sparks, with onlytwo years difference in their ages , were close friends as well asbrothers . Another reason promoting their closeness was the fact thattheir wives were sisters. Isaac's first wife , Sarah Nutt , had died, webelieve, after only a few years of marriage, and in about 1808, Isaac wasmarried, second, to Wilmoth Noland, daughter of James Noland. BaileySparks was married at about the same time to Wilmoth's sister, MarthaNoland. It also seems probable that these two couples moved together toTennessee prior to 1810, as had three brothers of Bailey and Isaac beforethem, Matthew, Jr., Jesse, and Hardy Sparks.

A militia muster roll has been preserved showing that on January 12,1812, a company was formed commanded by a Captain William Teas andcomprised of settlers in the counties of Hickman and Humphreys,Tennessee, which adjoined , "for the pro tection of the frontier of WestTennessee." Both Bailey and Isaac Sparks were included in this roster.

From later records , it seems certain that Baiiey and Isaac had settledinitially in Humphreys County. On the census of 1820, Bailey was shown ashead of a household there, as was Isaac. Now 42 years old, Bailey wasshown as heading a household that included his wife, enumerated in the 26to 45 age category, as was Bailey himself. With them were five children ,one male and four females , all under the age of ten. A female was alsoenumerated with Bailey's family in the "45 and up" category; this mayhave been Bailey's widowed mother, Sarah Sparks, who would then have beeneighty-one, assuming that Nathan Sparks was correct regarding her agewhen she died in 1831, as recorded in his family Bible.

Sometime during the mid-1820s, both Bailey and Isaac Sparks moved west toCarroll County, Tennessee. Carroll County had been created in 1821 fromwhat until then had been what was called the Western District ofTennessee. Until Benton County was created in 1835 from Humphreys andHenry Counties, Carroll adjoined Humphreys County. A researcher who hasexamined the land records in Carroll County has found no record of Baileyacquiring land there, although, as a resident of Carroll County in 1826,he sold land that he still owned in Humphreys County, as shown in thefollowing abstract of this deed (Carroll County Book D, p.111).

This Indenture made this the Twenty fourth July in the year of ourLord Eighteen hundred and Twenty
six between Baily Sparks of the State of Tennessee and CarrollCounty of the one part and William
Blair of the County of Humphreys in consideration of the sum of onehundred and fifty dollars to him
in hand paid by the said Blair , the receipt thereof isacknowledged, hath given, bargained, granted,
sold, aliened, conveyed and confirmed unto the said Blair, his heirsand assigns forever, a certain
tract or parcel of land situated, lying and being in the County ofHumphreys and State afforesaid , on
Hurricane Creek of Duck River bounded as follows, to wit: Beginningat an elm the South West
corner of Isaiah Hammilton's occupant claim on the North bank ofsaid creek. Thence North two
hundred and two poles to a small white oak and double ash . ThenceWest twenty eight and a half
poles to a black gum and red bud . Thence South one hundred and twoand a half poles to a stake
on a hill. Thence East seventy eight and a half poles to theBeginning, containing fifty acres. . . In
testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and fixed my seal theday and date above written.. . .

Witnesses:
Henry Epperson
Benjamin Nolan
[signed] BailySparks

Bailey Sparks often omitted the "e" in signing his name. (A pole is, likea rod, 16 1/2 feet in length.) This deed was also registered inHumphreys County in Book D.

As early as 1802 members of the Sparks family began appealing to both thestate of Georgia and to the Federal government for reparations for theirlosses to the Creek Indians. It was not until the 1820's, however, thatthe Federal Government began giving serious consideration to these claims. In a file entitled "Indian Depredations" at the Georgia Department ofArchives and History in Atlanta, a number of documents pertaining to theSparks claims are preserved. We published several of these in the articledevoted to Matthew and Sarah Sparks in the QUARTERLY of June 1961, WholeNo . 34. Included is an inventory of the losses suffered by Matthew from1786 until his death in 1793. His older sons made similar, but smaller,claims.

Many years ago, the present writer corresponded with a great-grandson ofJesse Sparks (1773-1858), the eighth child of Matthew and Sarah Sparks.This great-grandson was J. Kent Sparks of Pope, Tennessee, who died in1966. Jesse Sparks was living in Hickman County, Tennessee, in the late1820s when the Federal Government agreed to receive reimbursement claimsfrom the victims of the Creek Indian attacks. A number of documents inthis connection had been inherited by J. Kent Sparks , who kindly loanedthem to this writer to copy . Unfortunately , this was before theinvention of photocopying .

Jesse Sparks, himself, claimed that a mare he had owned, worth $70.00,had been stolen. One of the documents in J. Kent Sparks's possession wasJesse's application for letters of administration for his father'sestate, which was approved on September 14, 1829. This gave Jesse thepower to collect the reparations for his father on behalf of all theheirs . A commission had been appointed to determine the amount to whicheach victim, or his heirs, was entitled. In anticipation of a payment toMatthew's heirs, Jesse Sparks and his brother, Nathan, had obtainedauthorization to travel to Milledgeville, "the Executive Department ofGeorgia," to collect and divide this payment among the heirs. Among thedocuments in Jesse Sparks's collection is an agreement dated September11, 1828, signed by Sarah, widow of Matthew, and sons Isaac, Hardy, andBailey Sparks, authorizing Jesse and Nathan to serve as:

. .our true and lawfull Attornies in fact for us and in our namesand for our use and benefit, to demand and receive any sum or sums ofmoney which may be due or coming to us or either of us . . . inconsequence of the destruction or loss of the property of Mathew Sparksby the Creek Nation of Indians. . .

Sarah Sparks signed this document by mark as "Sary Sparks." Her threesons signed their names . Isaac and Bailey Sparks also witnessed theirmother make her mark.

A letter to Jesse Sparks from R. A. Green, Secretary for GeorgiaGovernor, William Schley, dated November 20, 1835, is among the papersowned by J. Kent Sparks in the 1960s. This letter informed Jesse that, atlong last, the reparation funds due himself and the heirs of MatthewSparks were available : " . . . Jesse Sparks is entitled to $70.00principal and $17.25 interest making $87.25, and Matthew Sparks isentitled to $1112.00 principal and $316.00 interest, making $1,428,10..."By this time, Sarah, widow of Matthew, had died.

When the 1830 census of Carroll County, Tennessee, was taken, BaileySparks was shown as head of his family there, as were, also, hisbrothers, Isaac and Hardy. Bailey's age was marked in the 40 to 50category; his wife in the 30 to40 range. The children in their family nownumbered nine , as follows :

1 male 15 to 20
1 " 5 to 10
1 female 10 to 15
2 females 5 to 10
4 females under 5

Sometime prior to September 1832, James Noland, father of Martha Sparksand Wilmoth Sparks, died in Humphreys County, Tennessee. On September10, 1832, Jesse Noland, who was probably a son of James, purchased therights of inheritance to tile land of James Noland in Humphreys Countyheld by Martha and Wilmoth Sparks , as well as that of another daughter,Elizabeth Epperson. The text of this deed follows:

[From Carroll County, Tennessee, Will Book E, p.200.]

This indenture made this 10th day of Sept. A.D. 1832 between BaileySparks and Martha, his wife,
Isaac Sparks and Wilmoth, his wife, and Henry Epperson andElizabeth, his wife, all of the County of
Carroll, heirs at law of James Noland, late of Humphreys County,dec'd of the one part and Jesse
Noland of said County and State of Tennessee of the other part.Witnesseth that. . for and in
consideration of the sum of one hundred and seventy dollars to themin hand paid by the said Jesse
Noland. . have given, granted, bargained and sold. . . unto the saidJesse Noland a certain tract or
parcel of land containing one hundred and twenty two acres be thesame more or less, situated,
lying and being in Humphreys County, aforesaid, on Hurricane Creekand adjoining the lands of
James Teas, Esquire, and others and which said lands came to them bydescent as heirs of the
aforesaid James Noland, dec'd.. .

In testimony whereof the said parties have hereunto set their handsand affixed their seals.

Isaac Sparks (seal)
Baily Sparks (seal)
Henry Epperson(seal) her
Martha X Sparks(seal) mark
Wilmoth Sparks (seal)
Elizabeth Epperson(seal)

State of Tennessee )
Carroll County Court )
September Term 1832

. . . The said Martha Sparks , Wilmoth Sparks and Elizabeth Eppersonthey being privately
examined as the law directs, separately and apart from theirhusbands and having voluntarily
relinquished their right of dower to the estate conveyed withoutcompulsion or coertion from their
said husbands by the said Indenture to be their act and deed andordered to be certified to
Humphreys County for registration and the State tax paid to me. Acopy Test.

Edward Quin, Clerk.

From the above document , it is evident that Bailey Sparks was alive inSeptember 1832, but this is the last record that we have found of him. Aresearcher named Mrs. C. F. Delap of Springfield, Tennessee, who examinedthe court records of Carroll County, Tennessee, a number of years ago,reported that Bailey Sparks had been a member of the Carroll County Courtprior to September 1832, when it was noted that he had resigned his post.We may ponder whether he may have resigned for reasons of health orwhether he was about to move from Carroll County. In no extant censusfor 1840 has a household headed by Bailey Sparks been found.

There is some reason for us to wonder whether he and Martha, in 1832 or1833, moved to Mississippi, possibly with at least the younger members oftheir family, settling in the Carroll , Lafayette . and YalobushaCounties area. These and other Mississippi Counties were part of the"Choctaw Indian Cession" of 1830. As noted below , it appears that someof Bailey's children are found in the records there .

Based on the census records of 1820 and 1830 where Bailey Sparks wasshown as head of a household in Tennessee, it appears that he and hiswife, Martha (Noland) Sparks, may have been the parents of as many aseleven children, but for a number of these we can only speculateregarding their identification .

[JS Note: For information relating to these children, see theirindividual sheets. The following note appears on page 5620 at the end ofthe above article:]

(As noted above, a number of the children of Bailey and Martha (Noland)Sparks moved to Mississippi in their youth and were married there. In thesame "Marriage Book A" that is preserved in Carroll County, Mississippi,in which the marriage of Matilda Sparks and James Fields was recorded(page 140) on June 9, 1838, there is, on the following page , the recordof a William M. Sparks who served as the bondsman for the marriage ofJames J. Brown and Sarah V. Elles. We wonder whether this William M.Sparks might be one of the unidentified sons of Bailey and Martha(Noland) Sparks. Can any reader further identify this William M. Sparks?)

SPARKS QUARTERLY, pg 3471: Bailey Milton Sparks, son of Willoughbyand Polly Sparks, was born in Tennessee in January 1847. He was probabynamed for his great-uncle, Bailey Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah(Thompson) Sparks. He served in Company B, Waller's Regiment, Green'sBrigade of Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army during the Civil Warand received a pension in later years from the state of Texas for hisservice. When the 1880 census was taken of Eastland County , Texas, hewas living in the household of his brother, Tillman Sparks. (Theabstract of his military records is below.)
Bailey Sparks married Julia Antley, probably about 1882, and they hadthree children before her death on April 11, 1887, shortly after theirthird child was born. Bailey married (2nd) Amanda ---, probably about1895. She apparently had a large family by a previous marriage. Baileydied on January 27, 1931, in Wise County, Texas.

MILITARY:
SQ pg 1281: Bailey Sparks enlisted in Capt. Thos. P. Hightower' sCompany, Waller's Battalion, Texas Cavalry, on April 14, 1862, at Marlin,Falls County, Texas, by Thomas P. Hightower. His age was given as 17. Hewas mustered into the service on April 23, 1862, at Hempstead by E.Waller, Jr. A note on one of the records indicates that he was asubstitute for a man named Cornelison. The last record of his being paidwas dated September 1, 1863. HIs name appeared on the muster roll forCompany B of this battalion for January and February 1864 with the note"Absent, In Arrest." Following is a summary of the history of this unit:
Waller's Regiment Texas Cavalry was first organized as the 13th, orWaller's Battalion Texas Cavalry with five companies, A to E. Company Fwas enlisted in Louisiana August 27, 1862. An unidentified comany,Captain Menard's, Captain Goode's and Captain Dunn's Companies TexasCavalry were added from time to time to complete the regiment.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, p.5627:

"Bailey N. Sparks, son of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks, was bornabout 1817. He was still living with his parents in Carroll County,Tennessee, when both the 1850 and the 1860 censuses were taken. Heappears never to have married. At some point, Bailey acquired 87 acres ofland. Like the approximate date (1867) of his father's death, so, also,our knowledge of the approxim ate date of Bailey' 5 death (also 1867) isfound in a deed dated July 31, 1867. By this deed, Bailey's brother,Jesse P. Sparks, sold his own share of inheritance (one-eighth part) notonly of Isaac Sparks's land, but also of the 87 acres "owned by Bailey N.Sparks at his death." Since Bailey N . Sparks had not married and had nodirect heirs at his death , sometime prior to July 1867, his estate wasinherited by his eight living siblings. In the Carroll County deed ofJuly 31, 1867, Jesse P. Sparks sold to J. L. Seawright his anticipatedinheritance , an undivided eighth part of these two tracts of land."

Copied from the June 1979 issue of the SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No .106, at page 2111, is the abstract of his pension file at the NationalArchives:

BALIS E. SPARKS, son of Isiah H. and Sarah (Clayborn) Sparks, was bornon October 27, 1832, in Hickman County Tenn. He married Sarah Jane Joneson February 27, 1862. He served in Co. C, 1st Regt. Ark . Infantry. Filedesignation: Inv. Cert. No. 693220.

"Balis E. Sparks, a resident of Newton County, Arkansas, applied foran invalid pension on or about October 3, 1890, for disabilities he hadincurred as a private in Company C, 1st Regiment Arkansas Infantry. Heclaimed that he suffered from rheumatism which was a result of hardservice during the winter of 1864. The War Department confirmed hismilitary service. He was enrolled on February 12, 1863, at Fayetteville,Arkansas, and served until he was mustered out at Fort Smith, Arkansas,on August 10, 1865. When he was discharged he was 32 years of age; hewas 5 feet, 9 inches tall; he had a dark complexion, black eyes and darkhair; and he was a farmer. He was issued a pension under InvalidCertificate No. 693,220 at the rate of $6.00 per month.

"On May 18, 1896, Sparks made a request for increased pensionbenefits, claiming that he was almost totally disabled from a disease ofthe kidneys brought on by military service while at Fort Smith, Arkansas,in the fall of 1864. He appointed J. B. Cralle & Co., Washington, D.C.,as his attorneys. Mollie Jones and L. R. Sparks, both residents ofChancel, Arkansas, witnessed his signature and the application was swornto before J. B. Sparks, a justice of the peace in Newton County.

"On June 29, 1896, George W. Sparks, age 60, a resident of Chancel ,Arkansas, made a comrade's affidavit to support the claim of Balis E.Sparks. George said that he was also a member of Company C, 1st Regt.Arkansas Infantry and knew that Balis Sparks had been confined to hisbarracks and exempt from duty in September 1864 because of illness. Theaffidavit was sworn to before J. B. Sparks, a justice of the peace.

"Annie Jones, age 74, a resident of Snow, Arkansas, testified inbehalf of sparks on October 1, 1896. She said that she had known Sparkssince 1860 and since that time had seen him about once each week. Whenhe returned from the service, he complained about trouble with hiskidneys and was suffering from fatigue and worry. She said she hadwaited upon him and had given him medicine while he was confined to hishome because of the kidney disorder. W. B. Hefley witnesses her make hermark. The pension of Balis E. Sparks was increased from $6.00 to $12.00per month on November 25, 1896.

"On September 28, 1897, Sparks responded to a questionnaire from theBureau of Pensions. He said he was married to Sarah Jane Jones onFebruary 27, 1862, by the Rev. Aron Owens. He had eight livingchildren. (For children, see their files.)

"On April 13, 1908, Sparks, now a resident of Checotah, McIntoshCounty, Oklahoma, asked for additional benefits under the 1907 Act ofCongress. He said he was born on October 27, 1832, in Hickman County,Tennessee, and was now 75 years of age. He had lived in Newton County,Arkansas, until September, 1907 when he had moved to Checotah . ClaudeNiles, R. P. Rutherford, A. J. Millsaps, and J. V. Millsaps attested tohis application. When Balis Sparks died on September 23, 1910, he wasreceiving a pension of $20.00 per month.

"On November 30, 1910, Lemuel R. Sparks, son of Balis E. Sparks, askedfor reimbursement for expenses incurred in his father's last illness andburial. He said that his father was married only one time and that wasto Sarah Jane Jones. She had died on March 9, 1909. Lemuel said thathis father's final expenses amounted to $239.51 which included thedoctor's fees and undertaker's bills. He said that his father died athis (Lemuel's) home and that he was buried in Mt. Nebo Cemetery elevenmiles east of Checotah.

"Dr. B. J. Vance testified that when Balis E. Sparks took sick on July24, 1910, he had been visiting in Muscogee, Oklahoma, but that he (Dr.Vance) had recommended that Sparks be moved to the home of his son,Lemuel R. Sparks, which was eight miles east of Checotah. Otherattending physicians were Dr. C. T. Rogers and Dr. J. O. Callahan. Therewas nothing sent from the pension file of Balis E. Sparks to indicatewhat action was taken on this request."

(Editor's note: For further details about the family of hisgrandparents, Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, see the December, 1956issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 16, and the June 1961 issue,Whole No. 34.

SQ pg 2922 states: "Barbara Sparks, daughter of Joseph and ElizabethSparks,
was born probably about 1791. She apparently was crippled and nevermarried.
Her father made provision for her care and livelihood in his will in1827. She
survived him several years, dying on May 30, 1838. She was buried besideher
parents at the Indian Springs Cemetary at Everett, PA.

SQ pg 2600:

"Barbara Ellen Sparks married George Bungard. Her husband was buriedbeside her as was a son, born March 20, 1881, who died at birth."

SQ pp. 2680-81:

"Barton Sparks, son of James and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks, was bornabout 1826 in Lewis County, Kentucky. He was married to ChristianaMichael on November 21, 1866, in Putnam County, Indiana. She was born onJune 30, 1827, in Augusta County, Virginia, and was a daughter of JacobMichael, a native of Pennsylvania. The first two children of Barton andChristiana were born in Indiana, but when the 1850 census was taken ofMarquette County, Wisconsin, Barton and Christiana were living in thevillage of Pleasant Valley. By 1860, they were in Parke County, Indiana.According to a descendant, Mrs.
Mildred Haynie, Barton died in Pratt County, Kansas. After his death,Christiana married Joseph Barker on March 25, 1896. He was the father ofElizabeth Barker who married William F. Sparks. (See (a) below). JosephBarker was also the father of Amanda E. Barker who married Benjamin AmiSparks. (See (f) below.) Christiana died on January 13, 1910, in MillerCounty, Missouri. She and Barton had nine children."

SQ pg 4468: Abbott Sparks (as he is called) has shown a remarkableinterest in his Sparks lineage. A book which he co-authored, entitledCattle in the Cold Desert, contains an excellent insight into the cattleindustry and, in particular, the activities of his great-uncle, JohnSparks (RIN 5854) [former Governor of Nevada].

!NOTES:
SQ 1358: "Ben F. Sparks, born Aug. 28, 1881; married Louie Bell Holder, born
June 7, 1885, daughter of John L. and Mary (Anderson) Holder. They h adthree
children: (1) John E. Sparks, born May 23, 19O5, married Grace Fult s andhad
Edgar C., born 1931, and Kenneth C., born 1932; (2) Emily Sparks; an d(3) Mary
Sparks."

SQ 3230 Married Mary Bailey on 18 May 1738. Names of children: Mary Ann,Jonas Hinson Wright, William, Benjamin, Vinson, Elizabeth and Barsheba.

See MARYLAND MARRIAGES 1634-1777, Compiled by Robert Barnes, Baltimore
1987, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. p. 168:

"Sparks, Benjamin, 18 May, 1738, Mary Baley (sic) 1 QA-44." Thecite refers to page 44 of the Records of St. Luke's Parish, QueenAnnes County. Copy made in 1904/5 at the Maryland Historical Society. Seealso IGI for Maryland as of March 1992, 7230711/51 on page 12,451. Also,according to that reference Benjamin was christened on April 22, 1738 atSt. Lukes Protestant Episcopal Parish, Church Hill, Queen Annes County,MD.

SQ 3797: Benjamin Sparks, son of William and Ann Sparks, was born inwhat is now Davie County, North Carolina, about 1769/70. He was marriedto Elizabeth Hicks in 1797 in Surry County, North Carolina. In either1820 or 1821, he moved to Burke County, North Carolina, settling in whatbecame Caldwell County in 1841. He died there between June 1, 1849 andJune 1, 1850. Elizabeth was still living in 1860. From census and familyrecords, we believe that Benjamin and Elizabeth (Hicks) Sparks were theparents of the following:

(1) Son, born ca.1798. We believe that this was Allen Sparks whowas married to Beersheba ----. He died in 1849.
(2) Daughter, born ca.1799/1800.
(3) James S. Sparks, born ca.1802. He was married to Nancy Largentin 1838.
(4) Son, born ca.1804.
(5) Daughter, born ca.1806.
(6) Son, born ca.1808. His name may have been George Sparks.
(7) Elizabeth Sparks, born October 4, 1812; died December 10, 1881. She was married in Burke County, North Carolina, ca.1833 to HenryCraig.

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2002, Whole No. 198, pp 5682-90:

BENJAMIN SPARKS (1769/70-1850)

Son of William and Ann Sparks

By Russell E. Bidlack

Benjamin Sparks was a son of William and Ann Sparks of Maryland and NorthCarolina who were featured in a lengthy article in the June 1991 issue ofthe QUARTERLY, No. 154. Benjamin was, we believe, the ninth of the tenchilden of William and Ann Sparks who had come from Frederick County,Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin in 1763 (then part of Rowan County,North Carolina). William purchased land from his older brother, MatthewSparks (died 1793) in the part of Rowan County that is today DavieCounty, and it was there that Benjamin was born in either 1769 or 1770.In 1773, however, Benjamin's parents moved with their younger children,including Benjamin, to Surry County, North Carolina. This move was notfar, however, because until 1770, Surry had been part of Rowan County.Benjamin Sparks was a lad of only three or four years when the familymade this move.

As was explained in the article on Benjamin Sparks's parents in the June1991 issue of the QUARTERLY, settlers in Surry and other counties in theGranville domain could not purchase tracts in this vast area of rich andlargely unoccupied land after 1763 because there was no one with theauthority to sell it.

The Carolinas had been a single "proprietary colony" created by KingCharles II in 1663 as a reward to eight English noblemen who had helpedhim to regain the throne following Cromwell's rule. In 1711, however, theportion of the colony that became South Carolina (a Royal Colony) hadbeen restored to the Crown, and in 1728 King George II offered 2,500pounds to each heir of the original eight proprietors for his share ofNorth Carolina. Seven agreed to sell, but the Right Honourable John EarlGranville declined to give up his share that stretched from the Virginiaborder on the north to the parallel line on the south, which was thelower level of Rowan County. While he had no role in governing hisportion of North Carolina, Lord Granville alone could sell portions ofhis land and collect quit-rents thereafter. Never leaving Englandhimself, Granville appointed agents to act for him in making these sales.When he died in 1763 amidst the turmoil of the approaching Revolution,however, Granville's heirs did not continue to maintain the land offices.Unable to obtain a legal title, William Sparks, like many otherprospective buyers, simply chose a tract to occupy and improve with theexpectation that the time would come when he could purchase and obtain adeed for it.

The practice of "squatting" on a tract of land until a purchase could bemade was a common practice among American pioneers. The boundary linesmarked by the initial "squatter" were usually respected by his later"squatting" neighbors as they determined their own boundaries.

William Sparks selected a tract comprising 200 acres on the North Branchof Hunting Creek. It was less than a mile south of what would becomelater a little village called Cycle on what is now known as "Old Highway421" in Buck Shoals Township of Yadkin County. (Yadkin County was createdin 1850 from the part of Surry County that lay below the Yadkin River;Yadkin County's southwest corner is Buck Shoals Township and adjoinsWilkes County on the west.) Cycle never consisted of more than a storeand a few houses, and it disappeared after the path of Highway 421 waschanged a number of years ago. It was there that Benjamin Sparks spenthis childhood.

As was noted in the June 1991 article on William and Ann Sparks, thefunds that William Sparks had from the sale of his land in the Forks ofthe Yadkin, enabled him not only to build a substantial cabin for hisfamily but, also, to construct a gristmill on North Hunting Creek for thebenefit not only of his own household, but for his neighbors as well. Agrist mill was essential to every community in those days, providing aservice for which others were glad to pay, although often in kind. Formany years deeds for land near William's mill contained references to the"Sparks Mill Tract."

It was in 1778 that the new state of North Carolina confiscated "theGranville dominion" and offered the land therein, along with propertitles, to settlers for relatively small fees. Preference of occupiedsites was reserved for "squatters" who had built "improvements" on thetracts of land on which they had "squatted." It was required, however,that all tracts be surveyed and claim numbers assigned. There was anotherrequirement, however: each claimant must take an oath of allegiance tothe state of North Carolina, thus renouncing his loyalty to the Crown ofEngland. This William Sparks refused to do, even though "squatters" hadonly until January 1, 1779, to submit their claim to the land on whichthey had been living. Like a number of other Surry County pioneers,William had not hidden the fact that he was a Loyalist.

The refusal of a number of "squatters" to sign the oath of allegiance toNorth Carolina provided an opportunity for aggressive "Patriots" to layclaim to Loyalists' land and improvements. On September 7, 1778, awealthy local Patriot, William Terrel Lewis, entered, in his own name,Surry County Claim #680 for 200 acres "on the waters of Hunting Creek,including William Sparks' mill and plantation." Probably the wealthiestman then living in Surry County, Lewis was also a "bounty hunter" who wasreceiving rewards for capturing deserters from the American Army. He wasmaking other land claims against his Loyalist neighbors at the same timethat he attempted to cheat William Sparks out of his property.Illustrative of his wealth, and, therefore, local influence and power, ofthe 49 slave owners in Surry County when the first census was taken,Lewis owned a total of 58 slaves, twice the number owned by anyone elsein the county.

Having no title to his land and mill, William Sparks could not deed themto his son, Matthew Sparks, who was willing to sign the loyalty oath, soWilliam very cleverly used a simple "Bill of Sale" to accomplish the samepurpose. When the County Court met for its quarterly session in Novemberin 1878, he was granted the right to have it officially recorded in WillBook I, page 121. It reads as follows:

Know all men by these presents that I William Sparks of the Countyof Surry and State of North Carolina for and in Consideration of the sumof one Hundred Pounds to me in hand paid by Matthew Sparks of the Countyand State aforesaid have Bargained and sold unto the Said MatthewSparks One Grist Mill and Improvement of land lying and being in SurryCounty on the North fork of hunting Creek. Which Mill and Improvement Ido warrant unto the said Matthew Sparks from any person or persons Layingany Just Claim thereunto Except the Lord of the Soil.
Given under my hand this 12th day of September 1778.

his
William o Sparks
mark
Test:
William Davis
William Roysdon
The Execution of the within Bill of sale was acknowledged in opencourt by the sd. Wm Sparks and ordered to be recorded

Recorded accordingly & & [signed] JO Williams C.C.

It was his his bill of sale and Matthew's willingness to sign the oaththat saved William Sparks from financial ruin. (We may wonder whether thehundred pounds was actually paid by Matthew to his father.) On March 9,1780, Matthew was able to transfer back to his father the original200-acre tract on which he had "squatted" seven years earlier. Matthewcontinued to operate the grist mill, however.
It does not appear that William Sparks suffered from his Loyalistsympathies after the Revolution ended in 1781. He was able to purchase anumber of tracts of land in the 1780s and 1790s in Surry County.

As readers of the SPARKS QUARTERLY know, the editor makes frequent use ofcensus records in tracing the Sparks family history. The first U.S.census was taken in 1790, with another taken every ten years thereafter.Unfortunately for today's researcher, it was only the head of eachhousehold (family) that was recorded until the 1850 census. Until then,the members of a household were simply enumerated by sex and agecategory, including the head him/or herself. Among women for censuspurposes, only widows could head a household in those days.

In 1790, the age groupings for males were only two: those 16 and over andthose under 16; for females, only the total of all ages in each householdwas reported. William Sparks was named on the 1790 census of SurryCounty, his household consisting of one male over 16 (himself, no doubt)and one male under 16. There were two females. The male under 16 may havebeen a grandson. William and Ann's daughter, Margaret, born about 1764,had been married to William Gibson in 1782; she had died quite young,leaving an infant son who may have been reared by Margaret's parents. Ofthe six sons of William and Ann Sparks, the three oldest were shown asheads of households in Surry County on the 1790 census: William Sparks,Jr., born about 1750; Matthew Sparks, born about 1752; and George Sparks,born about 1758/ 60. We cannot account for the fourth son, James Sparks,on the 1790 census--he had been born about 1762. James was included onthe 1800 census of Surry County, however. Likewise, we cannot account forWilliam and Ann's youngest sons when the 1790 census was taken. Benjaminwould have been about 20 years of age then, while Jeremiah would havebeen about 18. Since they were not living "at home" in 1790 according tothe census, we can speculate that they were employed by a neighbor, inwhich case they would have been enumerated in his/her household. By 1800,Jeremiah had moved to Burke County, North Carolina, while Benjamin wasshown as head of his small family in Surry County when the 1800 censuswas taken; he and his wife had two children, a son and a daughter, bothenumerated in the "under 10" age category. (The age categories used priorto 1850 varied with each census.)

Our earliest official record in Surry County, North Carolina, bearingBenjamin's name is his marriage bond dated January 18, 1797. This bond,signed by a well-to-do neighbor, John Allen, enabled Benjamin Sparks andElizabeth Hicks to be married on a future date of their choosing. Themarriage bond law existed in North Carolina from 1741 until 1868. Thebondsman under this law certified, in effect, that the proposed marriagewould be legal in every sense. The groom was also charged a fee for alicense authorizing a minister or justice of the peace to perform theceremony. A marriage, without securing a bond and paying a fee for thelicense, could be performed after the "crying of the banns" for threeweeks, such as announcing the intended union in church on threesuccessive Sundays or posting a notice in a public place for a likeperiod of time. To a considerable degree, the use of a marriage bondsuggested that the groom was from a family of some means.

Thus far we have been unable to identify the parents of Elizabeth Hicks,wife of Benjamin Sparks. There were three Hicks households in SurryCounty in 1790 according to the census of that year. Because censustakers recorded households in the order that they travelled from onecabin to the next, we have clues regarding the probable nearness to, ordistance from, that families were living in relationship to each other.For example, the names of the three oldest sons of William and Ann Sparkswere recorded in 1790 very near the household of their parents in SurryCounty. It may be significant that a John Hicks was shown as head of ahousehold near those of the Sparkses. A Nathaniel Hicks also headed ahousehold in Surry County in which there were five females. Might one ofthese five have been the future wife of Benjamin Sparks?

As we have noted earlier, Benjamin's father made his will on December 21,1801. The original of this brief document has been preserved and wasreproduced on page 3791 of the June 1991 issue of the QUARTERLY. In hiswill he left a few specific items to Ann, his wife, but directed thateverything else that he owned, "be it Land or Moveable propertie," besold and "the money Equally and peaceably divided amongst my Children andwife, she Taking an Equal Share with One of the Children." Hisson-in-law, William Wilcockson (husband of his daughter, Nancy) wasdesignated by William Sparks to be an executor of his estate, along withthree of his sons: William, Jr., Thomas, and George. His youngest son,Jeremiah Sparks, was a witness,
along with neighbors named Richard Gentry and Major Austil.

William Sparks's will was probated at the May 1802 session of the SurryCounty Court, thus revealing that he had died between December 1801 andMay 1802. A record survives, made at the public sale of his "moveableproperty." listing each of the purchasers, but not the items that theybought. Benjamin Sparks paid 24 pounds and 1 shilling for one or moreitems. When this same record was copied from the original into theCourt's proceedings, the amounts were converted into either "Hard money"or "Currency." Benjamin's payment was shown there under "Hard money" as$24.121. There was also a purchaser at the sale named James Hicks whopaid 1 pound, 6 shillings, and 6 pence in "Currency." He was probably arelative of Benjamin's wife.

On February 3, 1801, in the same year that William Sparks made his will,he sold to his son, Benjamin, a tract of land in Surry County for "fiftyPounds Current money of the state of North Carolina." William had ownedthis 200-acre tract since July 9, 1774, when it was granted to him by thestate. As seen in the description that follows, it adjoined land owned byGilbert Keen that was described in other deeds as located on Beaver DamCreek in what is now Knobs Township of Yadkin County, near the town ofJonesville. (The description in Benjamin's deed reads as follows in SurryCounty Deed Book E, page 179):

. . . a certain Tract or Parcel of Land lying and being in the aforesaidCounty of Surry joining Gilbert Keen's line beginning at the two blackoaks & Post oak, then running North thirty five chains to two Post oaks,then East crossing two Branches fifty seven Chains fourteen links to twoPost oaks, then south thirty five Chains to a Stake, then west fiftyseven Chains fourteen links to the beginning, including two hundred Acresof Land...
The two witnesses to William Sparks making his mark (signature) on thisdeed were his son, George Sparks, and a Richard Gentry, a neighbor. (Inlinear measurement then used in surveying, a chain was 66 feet in length,while a link was 7.92 inches; there were 100 links in a chain.)
Benjamin Sparks, the subject of this sketch, was probably just under theage of 30 when he acquired this land from his father. Care must be takenas we trace the life of Benjamin further lest we confuse him with anotherBenjamin Sparks, fifteen years his junior, who also lived in SurryCounty. Born about 1785, he was a son of Reuben and Cassie Sparks. Notonly were the two Benjamins related, they also knew each otherpersonally, as had their fathers and grandfathers.

The two Benjamin Sparkses were actually third cousins, both beinggreat-greatgrandsons of the William Sparks who migrated from HampshireCounty, England, to Maryland about 1663. (See the QUARTERLY of March1971, No. 73, and December 1992, No. 160.) Their grandfathers (WilliamSample Sparks and Solomon Sparks) had moved from Frederick County,Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin (now Davie County, North Carolina),although not at the same time, and their fathers (William Sparks, whosewife was Ann, and Reuben, whose wife was Sarah), were living near eachother in Surry County, North Carolina, at the time of the AmericanRevolution. There being about fifteen years difference in their ages, theyounger Benjamin, son of Reuben, was sometimes called "junior," as in1818 when both were taxed in Joshua K. Speer's District. It was probablyto help identify these two men that the younger Benjamin seems to havebeen called "Bennie" throughout his adult life. He died in Yadkin Countyin 1876 whereas Benjamin, subject of the present sketch, died in 1850 inCaldwell County, North Carolina.

On the following page is a chart showing the descent of the two Benjaminsfrom their common ancestor.

William Sparks, born in or about 1646 in Hampshire County,England,
died in 1709 in Queen Annes Countv. Maryland

William Sparks, Jr
.born ca.1674,
died after 1734 Brothers JosephSparks
born ca.1690
died 1749
| |
William Sample Sparks
born ca.1705
died after 1764 First cousinsSolomon Sparks
born ca.1725
died before 1800
| |
William Sparks
born ca.1725
died 1801/02 Second Cousins ReubenSparks
born ca.1755
died 1840
| |
Benjamin Sparks
born ca.1769/70
died 1850 Third cousins BenjaminSparks (Bennie)
born ca. 1785
died 1876

For biographical information regarding Benjamin Sparks (ca.1785-1876),son of Reuben and Cassie (Buttery) Sparks, see the QUARTERLY of September1967, No. 59. This Benjamin Sparks was callled "Bennie." He was marriedto Susan Jeffreys (or Jeffrey), daughter of William and Patsey Jeffreys(or Jeffrey), and they were the parents of eleven children listed there.

On July 9, 1808, Benjamin Sparks (1769/70-1850) sold to his brother,George Sparks, the 200-acre tract that he had purchased in 1801 from hisfather. (See Surry County Deed Book M, p.45.) George paid Benjamin $40for this land. The description of the tract in this 1808 deed was thesame as in 1801 except that the measurement on its north side was givenas 32 chains rather than 35, with the same difference on the south side.It is of interest to note in both descriptions of this tract that itadjoined Gilbert Keen's land. In 1795, George Sparks had purchased 200acres from Gilbert Keen described as being "on the waters of BeverdamCreek at the foot of the Brushy Mountain" for "five pounds current moneyof North Carolina." (Surry County Deed Book G, p.280.) In this 1795 deed,Gilbert Keen was identified as of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, the tracthaving been granted originally to Josiah Keen.

George Sparks, to whom Benjamin sold his land in 1808, was an olderbrother born about 1760. He was listed regularly in the Surry Countycensus from 1790 through 1840. He died in the autumn of 1842. (See theQUARTERLY of June 1983, No. 122, pp.2520-22, for information on him andhis family.)

As was noted earlier, Benjamin obtained his marriage bond to marryElizabeth Hicks in January 1795, and when the 1800 census of Surry Countywas taken, he was shown as heading a household that included two smallchildren in addition to his wife. The age categories numbered five forboth males and females in 1800: from 1 to 10; 10 to 16; 16 to 26; 26 to45; and 45 and over. Benjamin, himself, was enumerated in the 45 and overcategory while his wife was shown in the 26 to 45 group; also

in Benjamin's household in 1800 were two small children, doubtless hisand Elizabeth's own, a boy and a girl, both under 10 years. Consideringthe marriage date (1795) of their parents, they were probably no morethan 4 or 5 years old.

(For map of Western N.C. Counties in 1850 and 1860, see scrapbook forBenjamin Sparks.)

Few records have been found in Surry County pertaining to Benjamin Sparksafter he sold his 200-acre tract to his brother in 1808. When the 1810census was taken there, he was shown as heading his household, withhimself in the age category of 26 to 45 as was also a female who wassurely his wife, Elizabeth. Benjamin and Elizabeth were now the parentsof five children: 2 males and 1 female, under age 10; and 1 male and 1female between 10 and 16.

Although our evidence is largely of the circumstantial type, this writeris convinced that the boy shown in Benjamin's household in 1800 as underthe age of 10, and in 1810 as between age 10 and 16, was named Allen.This was a new forename in this branch of the Sparks family, and wewonder whether there was a connection between the Allen and Sparksfamilies, recalling that it had been John Allen who served as bondsman inBenjamin's marriage to Elizabeth Hicks in 1795. It was also in or about1795 that Thomas Sparks (born c.1766), brother of Benjamin, named a sonAllen. This Allen Sparks accompanied his father to Lee County, Virginia,and from there to Kentucky, where in 1822 he was married to ElizabethKozee. (See the QUARTERLY of December 1991, No. 156, for an article onThomas Sparks and his son Allen Sparks (p.3861).

By the time the 1820 census was taken, Allen Sparks, son of Benjamin andElizabeth (Hicks) Sparks, had been married and had moved to Burke County,North Carolina, with his family. Burke County had been created in 1777from Rowan County just as Surry County had been six years earlier. Wilkesand and Iredell Counties lay be tween Surry and Burke, Wilkes having beencreated from Surry County in 1777 and Iredell from Rowan in 1778.Jeremiah Sparks, born about 1772 (the last of the children of William andAnn Sparks) had moved to Burke County before 1820; we can conjecture thatAllen and his Uncle Jeremiah may have gone there together. Allen wasshown on the 1820 census as heading a household in which he, himself, wasenumerated as between 26 and 45 while his wife was between 16 and 26. Thetwo children, a boy and a girl under age 10, were doubtless their own.

Both Jeremiah Sparks and his nephew, Allen, were probably influenced inmaking their decision to move to Burke County by the fact that Jeremiah'soldest brother, William Sparks, Jr. (born about 1750), had gone therefrom Surry County as early as 1798. From later records, it appears that,like William, Jr., the Sparkses that followed him there settled in thepart of Burke County that became part of Caldwell County when it wascreated in 1841.

Benjamin Sparks was still living in Surry County when the 1820 census wastaken. His household was enumerated that year as follows:

1 male age 45 & over (Benjamin, himself)
1 female age 45 & over (Elizabeth, his wife)
2 males & 1 female ages between 16 & 26
2 males & 1 female ages between 10 & 16

We can speculate that the members of Benjamin and Elizabeth's householdin 1820 included a son, possibly two, a daughter-in-law, andgrandchildren. It was shortly after the 1820 census was taken thatBenjamin and Elizabeth, probably with other members of their family,followed Allen Sparks to Burke County.

Genealogical research in Burke County is greatly handicapped by thecourthouse fire there just at the close of the Civil War in 1865. While afew of the County's records were saved, most were destroyed. Thiswriter's inquiry in 1952 addressed to the Clerk of Probate of BurkeCounty regarding Sparks records, prompted the following cryptic response:"NO RECORDS PRIOR TO CIVIL WAR, 1865, DESTROYED BY YANKIES."

As noted earlier, the Sparkses who moved from Surry County to BurkeCounty settled in that part of Burke through which Bear Creek flows, andwhen Caldwell County was created in 1841, they found themselves in thenew county. That Benjamin and Elizabeth's son-in-law had been appointedby the Caldwell County Court to serve as their trustee is proven by theCourt's action during its July 1842 session:

Allowance ordered by the Court that the sum of $20.00 be allowedBenjamin Sparks & Elizabeth Sparks and that the County Trustee pay thesame to Henry Craig as Trustee for the aforesaid Persons,

Henry Craig had been married a decade earlier to Benjamin and Elizabeth'syoungest daughter, named Elizabeth. We have no further record of Benjaminand Elizabeth Sparks in Caldwell County until the 1850 census was taken.Not only was it the first federal census to record the names of all freepersons, but also the age, sex, color, place of birth, and occupation ofeach individual. Other questions asked by the 1850 census taker includedthe identification of anyone deaf, dumb, blind, or insane, whether onecould read and write, if married within the year, etc. Unfortunately, itwas not until the 1880 census that relationships were shown amonghousehold members to the head.

The so-called "census day" for the 1850 census was set as June 1, 1850,meaning that it was on this day that all census takers were to beginvisiting the dwellings in the districts assigned to them to gather theinformation required to fill out the printed forms ("census schedules")provided to each one. Regardless of the num ber of days required to visitevery household assigned to him, the census taker was directed to recordthe family data as they had existed on June 1st. Thus, one's age was tobe given as it had been on June 1st. and if a baby had been born in thefamily after the "census day," he/she was not to be recorded. Likewise, adeceased family member who had still been living on June 1, 1850, was tobe entered. The date on which a census taker completed his "survey" mightbe in the autumn or even the winter of 1850/51.

A feature included in the 1850 census that can prove significant to agenealogist was the requirement that the census taker enquire in eachhousehold whether there had been a death in the family during the yearprior to June 1, 1850, i.e., between June 1, 1849, and May 31, 1850. Ifthere had been such a death, the census taker entered that person on the"mortality schedule" of 1850. Not only was the name of the deceasedperson to be recorded, but also the month in which he/she had died, thecause of his/her death, the number of days of illness before death, theperson's age and, if an adult, his/her marital status.

It is in the 1850 Mortality Schedule for Caldwell County, North Carolina,that we learn it was in May 1850 when Benjamin Sparks died there. His ageat death was 70; he had been born in North Carolina, and he had died of"fits," although the number of days he had been ill was not provided.Benjamin's marital status when he died was erroneously reported as"widowed." Actually, Elizabeth, his wife, lived until after the census of1860 was taken. Her age then was reported as 80. Perhaps Benjamin andElizabeth had been living with different members of their family, and thecensus taker just assumed that Benjamin was a widower.

Elizabeth, widow of Benjamin, age 70, was shown as a member of ahousehold headed by Sarah Sparks, age 50, in Summer's District ofCaldwell County on the 1850 census. In reporting the place of birth foreach person in 1850, the census taker was directed to record simply thename of the state for those born in the U. S. The census taker inSummer's District, however, frequently added the name of the county forthose born in North Carolina. Sarah's place of birth was given as SurryCounty, North Carolina. We have not identified her, although we wonderwhether she might have been the widow of a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth,or possibly an unmarried daughter. Also living in Sarah's household in1850 was 26-year-old Elizabeth Sparks, born in Virginia, who was "insane"and 21-year-old Benjamin Sparks, born in Burke County, North Carolina.The birthplace for Elizabeth Sparks, age 70, was given as Maryland. Thehousehold of Sarah Sparks immediately followed that of James Sparks, age48, on page 8 of the 1850 census whom we are certain was a son ofBenjamin and Elizabeth. (See below for more on James Sparks.)

When the 1860 census was taken, Elizabeth (Hicks) Sparks was living inthe household of her son-in-law and youngest daughter, Henry andElizabeth Craig in Caldwell County, North Carolina. This is our lastrecord pertaining to Elizabeth (Hicks) Sparks.

From census and family records, it appears that Benjamin and ElizabethSparks were the parents of seven children:

1. Allen Sparks, born ca.1797.
2. An unidentified daughter, born ca.1799.
3. James aparks, born ca. 1802.
4. (?) William Sparks, born ca.1804.
5. (?) Susannah Sparks, born ca.1806.
6. (?) George Sparks, born ca.1808.
7. Elizabeth Sparks, born October 4, 1812

(End of Article bottom of page 5690.)

See SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1967, Whole No. 59;

DESCENDANTS OFSOLOMON (356) AND SARAH SPARKS, OF MARYLAND AND NORTHCAROLINA THROUGH HEIR SON, REUBEN SPARKS (ca. 1755-1840) at p.1084:

"Benjamin Sparks, son of Reuben and Cassie (Buttery) Sparks was bornabout 1784 in either Wilkes or Surry County, North Carolina; he lived inthat part of Surry County which was cut off to form Yadkin County in 1850and died there in 1876. He married Sarah Jeffreys, daughter of Williamand "Patsey" Jeffrey (Jeffreys, Jeffries) about 1802. She was born in1785 and died in 1870. His will, dated May 8, 1872, is on file in YadkinCounty (Book 2. p.81). From his will and records supplied by isdescendants, we know that Benjamin and Sarah (Jeffreys) Sparks had thefollowing children (here follows information on those children)."

See also SQ p3265:

"Benjamin Sparks, son of Reuben and Cassie (Buttery) Sparks, was bornabout 1785 in either Wilkes or Surry County, North Carolina. (His agewas given as 63 on the 1850 census of Surry County and as 74 on the 1860census of Yadkin County, North Carolina.) He married Sarah Jeffreys ,probably about 1810. She was born about 1789 in North Carolina and was adaughter of William and Martha ["Patsey"] (---) Jeffreys. (Her age wasgiven as 60 on the 1850 census and as 71 on the 1860 census.) She wasnamed as a daughter in the will of William Jeffreys, which was proven atthe November 1831 term of the Surry County Court. She died in 1870 inYadkin County. Benjamin died there in 1876. They had twelve children,in cluding an unnamed daughter who apparently died at birth.

See SPARKS QUARTERLY Dec 1990, Whole No. 152, pp 3669-3673 titled "DR.SALMONS' FAMILY RECORD" which mentions Benjamin and his wife SallyJeffries Sparks and their several children. The article focuses on oneof the children, Joseph Sparks born 6/12/1817, died 5/8/1902 and his wifeMartha Elvira Dimmitte and their 8 children."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1982, Whole No. 119, p. 2444:

"Benjamin Sparks, son of Absalom and Lydia (Elsberry) Sparks, wasprobably born about 1793 in Georgia. According to the IllinoisAdjutant-General records, he served in the Illinois Territorial Militiaduring the War of 1812. On January 27, 1814, he was married to DiceyTidwell in Gallatin County, Illinois, by the Rev. Reeves Carmack, aMethodist Minister. The license was issued on January 15, 1814, byClerk, J.M.S.

"Benjamin Sparks apparently accompanied his parents to Miller County,Arkansas, and it was there that he, along with his father and brothers,signed a petition to the President and Congress in 1821. He entered landin Pulaski County, Arkansas, in 1836. This is the last record we havefound of him. We do not know whether he and Dicey had any children."

.
!NOTES:
SQ 2591: Benjamin Sparks never married.

See SQ p. 232 for birth information.

See SQ p. 817 for marriage information.

SQ pg 3945: In the 1900 census of Johnson County, Kentucky, Nancy wasshown as a widow with six children (included in the family sheet) andthat she had four other children who were now dead.

SQ p. 2681:

"Benjamin Ami Sparks was born on September 5, 1857. He went by the nameof "Am." On March 19, 1876, he was married to Amanda Emiline Barker inCarroll County, Missouri. He died on November 25, 1935, in Wakenda,Missouri. He and Amanda had six children: Emma Ellen Sparks, WilliamEdward Sparks, John Jacob Sparks, Ida Bell Sparks, Barton Sparks, andGolda Mae Sparks. The last named was the mother of Mrs. Mildred Hayniewho has been most helpful in providing information about this branch ofthe Sparks family."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3944: They had three children: Roscoe, William and Enoch Sparks.

THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1998, Whole No. 143, p.3267:

DESCENDANTS OF REUBEN & CASSIE (BUTTERY) SPARKS

"Benjamin Franklin Sparks, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Jeffreys)Sparks, was born on October 9, 1833. Apparently he was married twice. Hewas probably the Benjamin Sparks who married Elmira Matilda Felts in 1854in Yadkin County. (The marriage bond was issued on May 27, 1854, withElisha M. Felts as the bondsman.) When the 1860 census was taken ofYadkin County, Benjamin, aged 27, and Mira, aged 22, were living in thehousehold of Benjamin and Sarah Sparks. Apparently Elmira died shortlythereafter, for on February 23, 1864, a marriage bond was issued forBenjamin Sparks to marry Amanda Jane Sale. Mandy Sale was born onJanuary 13, 1846, and was a daughter of James and Amelia (Gray) Sale.

"Benjamin F. Sparks was a successful man and acquired nearly 1,000acres of land in Yadkin and Wilkes Counties, including four tracts whichhe purchased from his father in 1872. On November 12, 1899, he made awill (Will Book 2, page 81) by which he left all of his property to hiswife, M. J. Sparks. He died a few months later, on May 13, 1900. MandyJane survived him by several years, dying on December 19, 1907. She hadmade a will (Will Book 3 , page 70) a few days earlier in which she namedeight sons and four of her five daughters. Her daughter, Ellen Dinah,had died in 1904. (Following is a record of the children and descendantsof Benjamin F. and Amanda Jane (Sale ) Sparks.)

a. Ellen Diane "Dinah" Sparks was born in 1865 in Yadkin County ,NC. She was married to John Armstrong on February 20, 1886, in WilkesCounty. He had been born on May 12, 1863, in Yadkin County. Dinah diedon April 23, 1904, at Logansport, Indiana. John died at Bluffton,Indiana, on May 26, 1916. They had five children.

(1) Bessie Pearl Armstrong (see p. 3267)
(2) Joyce Armstrong (")
(3) Frieda Armstrong (")
(4) Mary Jane Armstrong (")
(5) Everett C. Armstrong (")

b. Carrie Sparks was born probably about 1867. she married Virgil M.Swaim, a minister of the Gospel.

c. Mary Sparks was born probably about 1869. She never married . Shedied in 1916.

d. Benjamin F. Sparks, Jr. was born probably about 1871.

e. James Leo Sparks was born on February 21, 1874. He married Mary"Mollie" Savannah Rose. She was born on May 4, 1880. James died onDecember 2, 1946. Millie died on January 8, 1978. They had ninechildren: Nina Virginia, Elmo Savis, Guy DeWitt, Coy Watson, Imogene,Nancy Jane, Vera Louise, Minnie Carolyn, and Mary Rose.

f. Lilly Louella Sparks was born on August 12, 1879. She marriedThomas A. Armstrong. She died on April 9, 1931.

g. Minnie Faye Sparks was born probably about 1880. She marriedCaldwell Dobbins.

h. Everett Clarence Sparks was born on February 5, 1881, nearJonesville, North Carolina. He married Nancy Ann Dobbins probably about1902. She was born on January 9, 1882, at Cycle, North Carolina. Everettdied on April 2, 1966. They had seven children.

(1) Glade Zeno Sparks was born on September 4, 1903. He marriedDina lee Martin on November 11, 1925, and they had five children: VernonZeno, Kenneth, Roland, and Shirley Ann.

(2) Elzie Sparks

(3) Jane Sparks

(4) Roy Sparks

(5) Hubert Sparks

(6) Milas Clarence Sparks was born on June 24, 1918. He died onSeptember 19, 1980.

(7) Ruth Sparks.

i. Marvin Worth Sparks was born on March 9, 1884. He married CoraPinnix. He died on June 29, 1933.

j. Leland Carl Sparks was born on April 3, 1886. He married Etta C.Dobbins. He died on February 10, 1965.

k. Paul Sparks was born probably about 1888. He married BerthaBeherns.

l. William G. Sparks was born probably about 1890. He died in 1917.He
never married.

m. Robert Glenn Sparks was born probably about 1892. He marriedMattie Jones.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4458: He was married to Effie Best in Grimes County, Texas .Apparently they had no children.

SQ 2781: "Benjamin Jackson Sparks, son of Andrew and Mary (Allen)Sparks, was born on April 26, 1857. He was married to Mary Winnie -- -,
probably about 1878, and when the 1880 census was taken of RobertsonCounty, Texas, they had one child, Cynthia D., born in the spring of
1880. In all probablilty, this couple had other children born to them."

See SQ p. 5229. He is included in the 1860 Census for Rusk County Texasliving with the family of W. M. Anderson.

.

!NOTES:
See SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1988, Whole No. 143, pg. 3266:
"Benjamin Sparks was born about 1860. He married Jane Dobbins an dthey
had four children according to a descendant.
(1) Solomon Sparks married to Ida Wells.
(2) Winfield Sparks married Florence Swan (should be Swaim; see below)
(3) Elizabeth Sparks married Hubert Roberts
(4) Lavina Sparks married T. F. Pardue.
Also, Barbara (Sparks) Pinnix advised me (see below) that she ha duncles and
aunts named Hugh Sparks, Winnie S. Pardue, Sudie S. Harrison, Annie S .Gray,
Lucy S. Osborne, and Sedelma S. Pardue. I do not know if these wer eadditional
children of Benjamin, cousins, or in-laws.

!NOTES:
See SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1988, Whole No. 143, pg. 3266:
"Benjamin Sparks was born about 1860. He married Jane Dobbins an dthey
had four children according to a descendant.
(1) Solomon Sparks married to Ida Wells.
(2) Winfield Sparks married Florence Swan (Swaim)
(3) Elizabeth Sparks married Hubert Roberts
(4) Lavina Sparks married T. F. Pardue.

!COINCIDENCES:
Between March 16, 1995 and March 31, 1995, Ellen and I flew to Baltimore,
Maryland for a family history vacation. We travelled through Marylan d to
Queen Anne's County, St. Mary's County, Charles County, and Frederic kCounty to
visit the various areas in which my ancestors had lived. We followe dthe maps
provided by the Sparks Family Association and were able to find SPARK SMILL
ROAD in Queen Anne's County MD., and visit the site of the farm of William
Sparks (d. 1801/1802).
We drove to North Carolina and visited the Forks of the Yadkin an dtried to
locate the last homesites of Joseph's son Solomon, William Sample an dhis son
William and others near the town of Cycle. In spite of the detaile d mapwhich
was provided on the cover of the Quarterly, Whole No. 154, we could n otfind
any such town. We pulled into a small grocery store on Highway 421 a ndasked
for help. The proprietor and a young male customer had not heard o fCycle
although they had a road map showing the place nearby! They suggeste dthat we
drive 1/2 mile south to the county line and turn east for a few hundr edyards
where we would come to Old Highway 421 and a few houses.
We drove as instructed and came to another small grocery store alo nenear
the intersection with some houses in the surrounding area. I went i nand asked
for help finding Cycle. The lady said that "this" used to be Cycle b utthat it
had been assimilated by Hamptonville, North Carolina, 27020. I sai d Iwas
researching my family history and she asked me my name. When I tol d hershe
said "I'm a Sparks." I was quite amazed and, frankly, a little thrilled. She
also became quite interested as her son and grandson showed up. The ytook us
in the back where their home was located and I hooked up my laptop computer
trying to find her oldest known relative, her great-grandfather, Benjamin M.
Sparks.
Unfortunately, I did not have this Benjamin listed. I had input i ntomy
computer long ago, his father Solomon (RIN 2185) and had simply listed
Solomon's four children in his notes. Thus Benjamin did not respon d to a
search. I asked the lady, Barbara (Sparks) Pinnix, to write down th enames
of her relatives and I promised to look them up when I got home. I spent about
an hour without success. One week after we returned home, I tried ag ainand
found this family. I entered this Benjamin, and his four children listed in
page 3266 of the quarterly, and listed by Barbara Pinnix, including h er
grandfather, Marcus Winfield Sparks, married to Florence Swaim. The yare shown
in the quarterly as Winfield Sparks, married to Florence Swan.
The son of Barbara, whose name I failed to note, guided us to a ne arby
cemetary where we were able to get pictures of the gravestones of "M . W.
Sparks, 1/2/1889 - 8/28/40 and D. F. (Swaim) Sparks, 11/15/1888 - 1/24/1980."
I quickly wrote Barbara Pinnix the news and ordered for her a cop y ofThe
Sparks Quarterly for September 1988.

.

!NOTES:
See notes for her grandfather Benjamin Sparks regarding personal meeting
with this lady!

SQ p. 4559:

"Benjamin W. ("Benny") Sparks, son of Martin and Rachel (Marrs)Sparks, was born about 1837 in Illinois. He was married to SophroniaSmith on February 13, 1862, in Hempstead County, Arkansas. Two weekslater, on February 13, 1862, he was enrolled at Centerville, Arkansas, byThomas Rector to serve in Company G, King's Regiment Arkansas Infantry,Confederate States Army, for twelve months. In May 1862, King's Regimentwas reorganized into the 20th Regiment Arkansas Infantry. Benny Sparkswas promoted to the rank of corporal on Jun 20, 1862. He was present forduty on the muster rool and was listed as a teamster. On the muster rollfor January-February 1863, he was reported as "absent- sick" atCarrollton, Mississippi. He apparently died shortly thereafter. Hiswidow, Sophronia (Smith) Sparks, was married (second) to Francis M.Wallace on September 20, 1865, in Hempstead County, Arkansas."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1997, Whole No. 179, p 4865:
"Bennett Franklin "Frank" Sparks was born on March 4, 1869. He wasmarried twice. His first marriage was to Matilda Jane Sparks about1889. She had been born on October 9, 1871, and was a daughter of LeviJ. and Mary (Gambill) Sparks. She and Frank lived in Lawrence County,probably near her parents, and they had seven children before she diedabout 1901 from tuberculosis. (Names children). (See page 4640 of theJune 1996 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 174, for an article aboutthis couple.)
"After the untimely death of Matilda Jane, Frank Sparks was married(second) to Sarah (Rowe/Roe) Marshall on August 9, 1902, in ElliottCounty. She was a daughter of Lorenzo Rowe/Roe and had been married to aman named Marshall by whom she had had two children, Amanda Marshall andNancy Marshall. Frank and Sarah lived on White Creek for a while, buteventually they moved to Greenup County, Kentucky, where they lived nearthe village of South Portsmouth. They had four children. (here names).Frank Sparks died on February 25, 1963, and Sarah Sparks died on February11, 1965."