SQ pg 3902: Fernando and Anna had six children before Anna's death:William, Goldie, John Henry, Albert, Ida May, and Charles Sparks.
Fernando and Laura had five children: Samantha, Earnest, Lester ,Nathan, and Alberta Sparks.

***************
SQ pg 1551:

ADDITIONAL SPARKS MARRIAGES IN KENTUCKY, continued:

BOYD COUNTY, KENTUCKY, MARRIAGE BONDS (1860-1905)

Copied by Paul E. Sparks

Fernando Sparks and Annie Horn, March 22, 1900. (Book 17a, page 136)He single, age 21, born Johnson County, Ky. She single, age 19, bornin Scioto County, Ohio. Nathan Sparks, witness.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, pp. 4730-31:

"Flora Hulette Sparks was born on November 15, 1887, in Texas. Herfirst child was named Sherwood and he was reared by her parents. (Seepage 3123 of the September 1987 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 139,for an account of the life of Sherwood Sparks.) Flora was married toHenry Lee Williams on November 27, 1911, in Lawrence County. He hadbeen born in 1883 and was a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Workman)Williams, natives of West Virginia. Lee was a miner and was killed bya slate fall in 1933. He and Flora had six children: Edith Williams,Robert Williams, Roy Williams, Leo Williams, Freda Williams, andCharlotte Williams."

[JS: The family sheet for Sherwood E. Sparks is found under "othermarriages" for Flora H. Sparks]

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2615: Florence Sparks married a man whose surname was Lee a ndthey lived at Mathersville, Illinois.

SQ 3184:
"Florence Amoretta Sparks was born on September 11, 1865. She wascalled "Etta". On March 2, 1884, she was married to John AlfredAllison. He had been born on December 11, 1862, at Guelph, Canada. Hedied on July 1923 and was buried in the Memorial Cemetary at NewMarket, Iowa. Florence died on August 18, 1943, and was buried besideher husband."

SQ p. 3937:
(Repeats above and adds the names of their children.)

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2619: She married Horace Oakes, a native of England. The ywere both buried in Silver City, New Mexico. They had three children.
1. Ernestine Oakes married T. B. Saner, and in 1964 they were livi ngin South Pasadena, California. They had a son and twin daughters ,one of whom ws named Barbara.
2. Ethel Oakes married George J. Harbauer and in 1964 they were living in El Cahon, California. They had one child, Jack, who lived i nKansas.
3. Muriel Oakes married M. J. O'Boyle, and they lived in Santa Ros a,California.

SQ 4736:
Flossie Marie Sparks was born on September 13, 1910. She was marriedtwice. Her first marriage was to Campbell, and her second marriage wasto Stidham. She died on October 4, 1982.

SQ p. 4043:

"Frances Sparks, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Kelley) Sparks, wasborn in May 1751. We have learned nothing further about her."

SQ 3796: "Called 'Franky' in her father's will; she was unmarried whenher
father made his will in 1833."

SQ p 2445:

"Frances ("Fanny") Sparks, daughter of Absalom and Lydia (Elsberry)Sparks, was probably born about 1796. She may have been named for hermaternal grandmother, Francina Elsberry. On June 6, 1814, she marriedHiram Tidwell in Gallatin County, Illinois. Apparently this couplefollowed the migration of their respective families through Arkansasand into Texas where Fanny died. She and Hiram had at least twochildren, William Tidwell and Wesley Tidwell. They were living inJohnson county, Texas, in 1874 when they sold their mother's share ofthe estate of Fanny's sister , Edy Sparks. We have no furtherinformation about this family."

SQ 3075: "Frances Sparks, daughter of Abel and Sarah (Cochran) Sparks,was born October 27, 1803, probably in North Carolina before thefamily moved to Tennessee. (Some of Frances' descendants have longbelieved that she was born in Davidson County, Tennessee; we know,however, that Abel Sparks was still in Wilkes County, NOrth Carolina,as late as 1807; furthermore, her place of birth was given as NorthCarolina on the 1850 and 1860 censuses.) She was married to FrancisCreswell Kirkpatrick on October 10, 1822, in Jackson County, Missouri. He had been born on February 4, 1803, and died on June 3, 1877.Frances was called Frances Kirkpatrick in the papers settling theestate of her brother, Solomon Sparks, in 1880, thoughs he is known tohave married a man named Scott as her second husband. She died onJanuary 19, 1881. The children of Frances Sparks and her husband,Francis Creswell Kirkpatrick were: George A. Kirkpatrick, JamesCochran Kirkpatrick, George W. Kirkpatrick, Sarah J. Kirkpatrick,William Dennis Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth A. (Kirkpatrick) Jones, Vance L.Kirkpatrick, Martha E. (Kirkpatrick) Bull, Elvira Vie (Kirkpatrick)Pauley, Frances Creswell Kirkpatrick, and Frederick C. Kirkpatrick.(Some detail is provided as to each of the above children and some oftheir issue.)

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriageinformation from Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822-1865):
Frances Sparks & Reuben Keesee, December 1, 1836. (Book I, p. 134)

SQ 3856: "Frances Sparks, daughter of Joseph and Martha (Edwards )Sparks, was born about 1818 in North Carolina. She was married toReuben Kozee (or Keesee) on December 1, 1836, in Lawrence County, KY.They had four children when the 1850 census was taken of that county.We have no further in formation about this family:
a. John Kozee was born about 1838.
b. Arena Kozee was born about 1840.
c. Malinda Kozee was born about 1842.
d. Lucinda Kozee was born about 1845.

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

"Frances ["Fannie"] Sparks, daughter of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland)Sparks, was born on March 3, 1819. She was married to Thomas KnoxTyson and died on May 11, 1880. Thomas Knox Tyson had been born onNovember 30, 1815, and died on December 4, 1879. These dates are fromthe tombstones of this couple in Pebble Grove Cemetery located a fewmiles east of Maysfield in Milam County, Texas. We do not know whenthis couple moved to Texas from Tennessee, nor have we learnedanything about their children.'

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3194: "Francis ["Fannie"] Sparks was born about 1858. She marr ied
James G. Absher, probably about 1879. He was born in September 185 8and
was a son of Edmond and Katherine (Holbrook) Absher. Fannie died o nNov-
ember 23, 1889, at Swords Creek, Virginia, shortly after their fift hchild
was born. James died on March 29, 1937, in Tazewell County, Virginia."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3693: "Frances "Fannie" Lee Sparks was born on October 16 ,1869, in Titus County. She was married twice. Her first marriag ewas to William George Holland on September 3, 1885, in titus County .He and Fanny had nine children: Eva Arelda, Neddy, Barbara Lee, Mack, Nora, Jessie, Hattie, Scott, and Sidney. William Holland died on February 27, 1909, in Fisher County, Texas, and on November 3, 1916, Fannie was married, second, to J. M. Hitt. He died on March 9, 1938, and Fannie died on March 25, 1958.
"Hattie Holland, named above, was married to Frank Turner, and the ywere the parents of four children: Olan, Frankie, Wannette, and Jackie."

SQ p. 5601:

"Steven Porter has provided the following information about hisancestor, Almira Sparks, daughter of Matthew Jefferson and Mary["Polly"] Sparks. Almira was born in Pulaski County , Arkansas , onJanuary 9, 1830. Although she was cailed Almira in her father's willand was known as Almira in her family, she had been named originallyFrances Elmira Sparks. She was married in Saline County, Arkansas, onJanuary 4, 1846, to Joel Turner Porter, son of Ridley and Edith(Johnson) Porter. Usually called by his middle name, Turner, he hadbeen born on June 4, 1825, and died sometime after June 1900, in GrantCounty, Arkansas. During the Civil War, he served in Logan's Brigade,Captain Miller's Company, 11th Cavalry Regiment of the ConfederateArmy . He and Almira lived near Hurricane Creek (pronounced "HairkinCrick"), two miles east of Sheridan, Arkansas.

"Almira (Sparks) Porter died on February 18, 1896, in Grant County,Arkansas. (Grant County was not created until 1869, from portions ofHot Springs, Saline, and Jefferson Counties.) A record of the eightknown children of Joel Turner and Almira (Sparks) Porter follows: "[JS Note: For information concerning the children of Almira (Sparks)Porter, see their individual sheets.]

SQ 3867: She was married to Sherman Lyon in 1894 in Lawrence Coun ty,KY.

SQ pg 2592:

(See his photograph on page 2592.)

"Francis Sparks, son of William and Catherine (Huckley) Sparks, wasborn on January 30, 1833. He was a small lad when he accompanied hisparents to Clinton County. He was about fourteen years old when hisparents moved to Tippecanoe County. It was there that he met andmarried Mary Jane Lamb on May 22, 1857. She was born on May 1, 1840,in Indiana, and was a daughter of James and Elizabeth Lamb, natives ofNew York and Ohio, respectively. Francis was a brick mason,specializing in building flues in houses under construction. He was amember of the United Brethern Church.

"In 1861, Francis Sparks and his brothers, James Sparks and PeterSparks, bought an 80-acre tract of land in Tippecanoe County. OnApril 11, 1864, James and Peter sold their shares to Francis for$1,333.33. Both James and Peter were in the military service at thattime, but James was killed just two months later. Francis sold theland in 1873, but reserved the right to remove his bricks, corn, andany personal property from the land.

"Mary Jane (Lamb) Sparks died on March 7, 1879, and was buried in theFink Cemetery in Tippecanoe County. Francis died on May 28, 1918, atthe home of his son George, near West Point, Indiana. He was buriedat Pyrmont, Indiana. He and Mary Jane had seven children, all of themborn in Tippecanoe County except the last one who was born inMissouri."

!BIRTH:
See UNION COUNTY, KENTUCKY BIRTHS 1852-1878, FHL 976.9885 V28b, pa ge61:
17 Jan 1875, Francis Lee Sparks, male, alive, born Union County, (father)
Francis M. Sparks, (mother) Alice Thomas, white, (father born) Virginia,
(mother born) Marion Co., KY, (presently reside) Union County.

!BAPTISM:
See BAPTISMAL RECORDS OF SACRED HEART CHURCH, FHL 976.9885 D2h a tpage 129.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1969, Whole No. 68, p. 1283 fo anabstract of his military record in the Civil War:

FRANCIS M. SPARKS

Our only record of Francis M. Sparks is a company muster-roll for theperiod from September 19 to
December 1863 on which he is listed as a Second Lieutenant in CompanyI, 2d Regiment Texas
Cavalry. There is the note that he enlisted for a period of six monthsat Camp Buford. He was paid
$20.80 for the use of his horse and was ?Elected 2d Lt. Sept. 18,1863.? The 2d Regiment Texas
Cavalry, State Troops, was organized in 1863 with ten companies, A toK. Some of the companies
appear to have served in an organization known as the 13th BattalionTexas State Troops prior to the
formation of this regiment and some of the men subsequently served inBourland?s Regiment Texas
Cavalry and Capt. Jones? Company Texas Cavalry.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, No. 127, p 2659:

MATTHEW J. SPARKS (1759-1841) & HIS DESCENDANTS

"Francis Marion Sparks, son of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks, wasborn on February 4, 1818, in Jasper County, Georgia, and was aboutfifteen years old when his parents moved to Tallapoosa County,Alabama. He had just passed his 18th birthday when he enlisted, alongwith his father and brothers, on Mary 7, 1836, in the Tallassee Guardsto fight in the Creek and Seminole Indian War. (See page 2669 for anabstract of his pension file.)

"Francis M. Sparks was a farmer. His nickname was "Doc"; however noone knows why. The nickname was later given to his first son,Lawrence Jackson Sparks, but the reason remains a mystery. OnNovember 11, 18 41, Francis M. Sparks ("Doc") was married to RebeccaJ. Holman in Tallapoosa County. Apparently she died shortly aftergiving birth to their only child in 1842; many years later, Nathan F.Sparks, brother of Doc Sparks, journeyed from Johnson County, Texas toFranklin County, Texas, to make an affidavit that he was present whenRebecca Sparks died in 1842.

"On October 30, 1845, Francis M. Sparks was married (2d) to MaryCatherine Brown in Chambers County, Alabama, by Francis ("Frank")Callaway, a Baptist minister. Actually the license was issued inChambers County, but was recorded n Tallapoosa County, indicating thatthe couple lived near the county line. Many years later, Mary (Brown)Sparks applied for bounty land based on her husband's military serviceand testified that they had lived in Chambers County until they movedto Texas in 1848. (Her application was denied because her husband hadalready received bounty land; however, she was granted a pension onJuly 27, 1892.)

"When the 1850 census was taken of Texas, Francis ("Doc") and MarySparks were living with their family in Cass County. He was shown as33 years old and born in Georgia; she was aged 25 and born in Alabama.With them were Mary C. Sparks, aged 6 (daughter of the first wife); L.J. Sparks, aged 4; and William B. Sparks, aged 2. Doc was listed as ahouse carpenter. In all probablility, he had a hand in building someof the beautiful old homes which make Jefferson, Texas, a modern-daytourist attraction.

"In May, 1857, Francis ("Doc") Sparks bought a 124-acre tract of landfrom his brother William Sparks, in Titus County for $1.00 per acre.The land was located in that portion of Titus County that became apart of Franklin County in 1875. That fall, Doc sold the land to G.S. Templeton for $300. Two years later, he bought another tract fromhis brother, William, consisting of 160 acres. This tract was locatedon the north side of Main Cypress Creek about thirty miles southwestof Mt. Pleasant and about a file and one-half from the county line.It was in this general area that Francis M. ("Doc") Sparks spent mostof his remaining days, although he sold this particular tract of landin February, 1862 to N. S. Penn.
"Francis M. Sparks served in the Confederate States Army during theCivil War, but only one record of his service has been found in theNational Archives. It is a muster roll of his company in the 2ndRegiment of Cavalry, Texas State Troops, for the period September 18,1863, until December 21, 1863. He was elected 2nd lieutenant onSeptember 18th and was pid $20.80 for the use of his horse during theperiod. A record in the Texas Archives shows that he enlisted atCypress Church in a military unit called the Cypress Blues. (See page1283 of the December 1969 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 68, for anabstract of his military record.)

"After selling his land in Titus County in February 1862, Francis M.and Mary Sparks bought a 160-acre tract in eastern Hopkins County fromMinyard and Metita Brown. It was located on Stouts Creek of theSulphur Fork of Red River about 16 miles southeast of Tarrant. Theywere living there when the 1870 census was taken, and this is whereFrancis M. ("Doc") Sparks died on March 14, 1876. Mary Catherinesurvived him nearly 34 years, dying on January 18, 1910. They wereburied in the Cypress Cemetary. A Masonic emblem is inscribed uponhis tombstone. They had ten children. (A photograph of his tombstoneappears on the cover page of this issue of the QUARTERLY).

"The names of his children were Mary C. Sparks; Lawrence Jackson("Doc") Sparks; William B. Sparks; James A. Sparks; Nathan F. Sparks;Sarah J. Sparks; Francis M. ("Frank") Sparks; Martha E. Sparks;Benjamin Sparks; Lucy A. Sparks; Ella Sparks." (Here follows detailsabout the children and their descendants) END OF ARTICLE.

See also SQ pg 2669 for the following abstract:

"FRANCIS MARION SPARKS, son of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks, wasborn on February 4, 1818, in Jasper County, Georgia. He married (1st)Rebecca Holman on November 11, 1841, in Tallapoosa County, Alabama,and (2nd) Mary Catherine Brown on October 23, 1845, in ChambersCounty, Alabama. He served in the Alabama Militia during the Creekand Seminole War in 1836. File Designations:
Bounty Land Warrants Nos. 13,385 and 149,529; Wid. Appl. No. 2504.

"On December 3, 1850, Francis M. Sparks, aged 33, a resident of CassCounty, Texas, appeared before Charles Westmoreland, a Justice of thePeace, and applied for any bounty land to which he might be entitledfor giving militaryservice to the United States. He said he hadenlisted in the early part of May 1836 for an indefinite period inCapt. John Broadnax's Company, known as the Tallassee Guards of theAlabama Volunteers. He served for four months in the War of the CreekIndians and was discharged at Tallassee, Alabama, on or about thefirst day of September, 1836. To the best of his remembrance, he didnot receive a discharge, but if he had received one, it was now lost.(War Department records proved that he served from May 7, 1836, untilSeptember 7, 1836.) He signed the application as F. M. Sparks. ThomasJ. White, Cass County Clerk, certified that Charles Westmoreland was ajustice of the peace of Cass County. Francis M. Sparks was issued awarrant for 40 acres of bounty land.

"On May 5, 1855, Francis M. Sparks applied for additional bounty landto which he might be entitled under the 1855 Act of Congress. He wasnow a resident of Hopkins County, Texas. He made the applicationbefore R. J. Holbrook, a notary public of Titus County, Texas. Hesigned the application as
"Francis M. Sparks." Thomas C. Montgomery and Thos. H. Turnerwitnessed his signature. Sparks was issued 120 acres of bounty land.

"On October 27, 1892, Mary C. Sparks, aged 66, a resident of Pickton,Texas, applied for a Widow's Pension. She said she was the widow ofFrancis M. Sparks who had died ond March 14, 1876, in Franklin County,Texas. He had enlisted under the name of Francis M. (or Doc) sparkson May 7, 1836, at Tallassee, Alabama, in Capt. John h. Broadnax'sCompany of the Alabama Infantry, commanded
by Gen Jessup, in the war with the Creek Indians, and had served untllhe was discharged on August 1, 1836. At the time of his enlistment,he was 18 years of age; he was 5 ft. 11 inches tall; he had blue eyes,dark hair and a light complexion; he was born in Jasper County,Georgia, and was a farmer. She had been married to Sparks on October30, 1845, in Chambers County, Alabama, by the Rev. Frank Callaway.She was married under her maiden name of Mary C . Brown. Francis M.Sparks had been previously married, but his first wife had died in1842. Mrs. Sparks went on to say that she and her husband lived inChambers County for two years after their marriage and then had movedto Texas in 1848.

"She appointed John Wedderburn, Washington, D. C., as her attorney. J. H. King and J. T. Banister witnessed her sign her name as M. C.Sparks. In an undated affidavit, Nathan F. Sparks of Johnson County,Texas, brother of Francis M. Sparks, testified that he was wellacquainted with his brother's
first wife and was present when she died about 1842 in Dadesville,Alabama.

"On February 27, 1893, V. C. Black and E. B. Cowan testified that theyknew Francis M. Sparks had died on March 14, 1876, because theyattended his funeral. His widow had not remarried. The Bureau ofPensions approved the claim of Mary C. Sparks on July 17, 1895, andshe was placed upon the pension roll at the rate of $8.00 per month.This amount was increased to $12.00 per month on April 19, 1901.

"On April 29, 1910, W. B. Sparks informed the Bureau of Pensions thathis mother, Mary C. Sparks, had died on January 18, 1910, and had beenburied in the Cypress Church Cemetery in Franklin County, Texas."

CHURCH:
Baptism Register of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church inMorgantown,
Union County, KY., for the year 1867 states: "July 18, BaptizedFrancis Marion Sparks son of Solomon Sparks, Margaret A. Brim, SponsorJohn B. Wathen. 24 years old. (signed) E. J. Durbin (priest)."Photocopy in possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, Ca. FHL571711.

DEATH:
Photocopy of Certified Copy of Death Certificate of Francis M. Sparkswho died May 10, 1925, in Union County, KY. His birth date is blurredand looks like May 9, 184?; the certificate states that he was 82years 1 day old on the date of his death which would confirm abirthdate of May 9, 1843. It states that he was born in Virginia, theson of Solomon Sparks, born Virginia, and Margaret Simes (blurred) ofVirginia. The name of the informant is blank. He was buried May 12,1925 in the Catholic Cemetery (St. Ann's) in Morganfield.

TAX LIST:
Records of Union County, KY., town of Morganfield: 1868, 1869, (FH L8253); 1870-74, (FHL 8254)

CENSUS:
United States Census for 1870, Union County, KY. Entry #1419. SPARKS,Francis, 26, Male, White, Farmer, born Virginia, wife Alice, 20,Female, White, Housekeeper, born Kentucky; Children: William, 1, MaleWhite, born Kentucky.

DEEDS:
1891 Many deeds are recorded from Francis Marion Sparks and Mary AliceSparks in Union County, KY. (FHL 562129)

COURT RECORDS:
See notes for Solomon Sparks, Jr. (28) showing the appointment ofFrancis Marion Sparks as Administrator of his estate, 11 March, 1889.

MISC. RECORDS:
Book UNION COUNTY KENTUCKY GENEALOGY, 976.9885 D2h, Family HistoryLibrary, Salt Lake City, Utah; lists persons buried in St. Ann'sCemetery, Morganfield, KY and includes, Sparks, Francis M. 1843-1925.
See also UNION COUNTY KENTUCKY DEATH RECORDS 1911-1950, FHL 976.98 85V38h at page 38. Gives mother's name as Margaret Givens.
See "An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Henderson and Union Counties,Kentucky, published by D. J. Lake & Co., 1880, Philadelphia, Pa., atpage 36: Included under the list of patrons for Union County in theMorganfield Precinct we see "Sparks, F. M. (No. of Acres) 12; (PostOffice) Morganfield; (Occupation) Blacksmith; (Nativity) WashingtonCounty, Virginia; (Date of Settlement) 1865. Also found is anadvertisement stating "F. M. Sparks, Proprietor of (blurred) andDealer in Plows and Farm Impliments. Repairs of all kinds promptlyattended to. Shop 2 1/2 miles on Henderson Road."

CIVIL WAR:
See UNION COUNTY, KENTUCKY IN THE CIVIL WAR 1861-1865 by HEADY, FHL976.9885 M2h. On page 129 under the title Confederate PensionApplications it states SPARKS, FRANCIS M. (Application Date July 15,1912, Pension No. 1917.) There were many Francis Marions in the warand we have no assurance that this is our Francis. There was an F. M.Sparks who fought in the Washington County, Virginia militia (See filmnumber M382 roll 52).

In the SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1966, Whole No. 55, p. 1004, thereis a listing of all men who served in the Confederate Army. There isa listing as follows:
There is an entry involving a Marion Sparks, Pvt. who was enrolled inthe Confederate Army 12 Sept, 1863, mustered in 13 September, 1863 atKnoxville, Tenn for 3 years, mustered out 30 Sept 1865 at Louisville,KY, on page 1004, Sparks Quarterly, In the same issue at p. 100 is anentry involving a Francis. M. Sparks, Private, enrolled in the UnionArmy 9 Dec. 1863, mustered in 19 September, 1863 at Camp Nelson, Ky.for one year. Mustered out 26 Dec. 1864 at Lexington, Ky. It isprobable that Marion was in the Confederate Army in view of hisleaving the area immediately after the war. See note below.

See HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WASHINGTON COUNTY by LewisPreston Summers, Originally published, Richmond, VA., 1903, Reprinted1966, 1971, 1979. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. FHL 975.5h2slp.Commencing at page 543:

"The Federal troops continued their march to the Lead Mines in WytheCounty which they destroyed, and from that point they returned toSeven-Mile Ford and thence to the right to Saltville . When theyreached Saltville, some slight resistance was offered by a number ofConfederate soldiers and reserves who were at the place at that time,but the town was easily captured and the works destroyed (December1864)."

And on page 545 "The close of the war found the people of this countyin as deplorable a condition as could be imagined -- without money,credit, clothing or the wherewithal to eat, with hundreds of woundedand disabled soldiers, their farm houses, fences, and farming utensilsdestroyed, and with grave apprehensions as to the future."

Since Francis Marion Sparks is known to have settled in Morganfield,Union County, Kentucky, in 1865, it is presumed that the conditions inWashington County, Virginia, at that time were such that this 22 yearold blacksmith preferred to leave his family and make a fresh startover 400 miles away in the northwestern corner of Kentucky. Hisfamily was to follow him shortly thereafter. We cannot locate thefamily in the 1870 census of either Virginia or Kentucky thoughFrancis is in Morgantown. By 1872 his father, Solomon Sparks, appearsin the tax records of Union County in the Morgantown area. Francis'youngest brother, David Lilburn Sparks, was about 7 years old at thistime.

CIVIL WAR RECORD:

American Civil War Soldiers American Civil War Soldiers
Name: Francis Sparks
Enlistment Date: 6 May 1862
Enlistment Place: Glade Springs, Virginia
Side Served: Confederacy
State Served: Virginia
Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 6 May 1862.
Enlisted in Company F, 63rd Infantry Regiment Virginia on 6 May 1862.

Sources: 21
Source Citation: Side served: Confederacy; State served: Virginia;Enlistment date: 6 May 1862..
Source Information:
Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [databaseon-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.
Original data: Data compiled by Historical Data Systems of Kingston,MA form the following list of works.
Copyright 1997-2000
Historical Data Systems, Inc.
PO Box 35
Duxbury.

See SQ p 4873: "They were buried in the Nashville [Wisconsin]Cemetery. We have not learned whether they had any children."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had eight children: Kermit, Quinton, Leota, Vel ma,Illene (sic), Reba, Lucille, and Lavern.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2594: He married Emma Hannell in 1916. She was a sister o fCharles Hannell (who married his sister Lena May Sparks [above]).

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2652: He was married to Luvena Smith on December 23, 1933.

SQ pg 2630:

"Franklin Sparks (?), son of Thomas and Martha (Loveless) Sparks, mayhave been born about 1852,
although it is possible that he has been confused with BenjaminFranklin Sparks (4, above). He should
not be confused with Frank Sparks, son of Francis Sparks, and grandsonof William Sparks. (See Item
D, 3, e, on page 2595 of the March 1984 QUARTERLY, Whole No. 125.)"

SQ p. 4729:

"Fred Lee Sparks was born on April 22, 1909, at Blakeley, WestVirginia. He was married to Ethel Lena Newcomer about 1934. She hadbeen born on January 23, 1915. They lived in West Virginia until 1953when they moved to New Mexico. They lived there for 29 years and thenmoved to Salem, Oregon. Fred was living there in 1991. He and Ethelhad four children: (here named)."

SQ p. 2573:

DEATH TAKES FRED W. SPARKS

It is with deep regret that we record the death of Dr. Fred WinchellSparks who died on February 15,
1982, at Claremont, California. He was born on November 13, 1891, inGeorgetown, Texas, and grew
up in Lampasas, Texas. He was a son of Lloyd R. and Lucy Belle(Eubank) Sparks and a grandson of
Martin Van Buren and Susan Louisa (Bull) Sparks. The father of MartinVan Buren Sparks was Samuel
Wyatt Sparks, born July 7, 1803, in Queen Annes County, Maryland, sonof William Millington Sparks,
born about 1775 in Queen Annes County.

Dr. Sparks graduated from Southwestern University and received hisdoctoral degree from the
University of Chicago. He taught mathematics and was the author andco-author of several textbooks in
advanced mathematics. The last 35 years of his teaching career werespent at Texas Technological
College. He retired in 1961 and moved to California. He and his wife,the former Mary Elizabeth
Romans, have one daughter, Mary Romans Sparks, who married Kermit DeanMatthews. The
Matthews' have two children, Fred K. Matthews and Mary Lois Matthews.

(In all probability, Dr. Sparks was a descendant of Millington Sparks,a son of John and Cornelia Sparks
of early Queen Annes County, Maryland. See the March 1971 issue of THESPARKS QUARTERLY,
Whole No. 73, page 1389.)

***************
SQ pps 4465-6:

He became a teacher when he was nineteen years old , and he madeteaching his professional career. HIs teaching experiences rangedfrom the elementary grades to graduate school. He wa s a fullprofessor at Texas Technological college from 1926 to 1961. He earnedhis Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Sparks was best known as the quthor of a series of mathematicstextbooks published by McGraw, Hill & Company. He was honored by manyprofessional organizations, including membership in Sigma Xi.

Fred Sparks served in the United States Army during World War I andwas in France for nine months. When he returned from militaryservice, he was married to Mary Elizabeth "Madge" Romans on January13, 1921. She was a daughter of William M. A. and Ellie E. (Kelly)Romans ; she had been born on May 14, 1894, in Austin, Texas.

Fred Sparks died on February 15, 1982, at La Verne, California. Madge died just two months later, on April 15, 1982. They were burie dat Pomona, California. They had one child, Mary Romans Sparks. Shewas married to Kermit D. Matthews, and they have two children, Fred K.Matthews and Mary Lois Matthews.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1983, Whole No. 123 beginning atpage 2549 for a family history provided by a granddaughter ofFrederick Bryant Sparks Flossie Marie Sparks, daughter of David GroveSparks. [A photograph of Frederick and Mary (Speer) Sparks appears onpage 2549.)

"Frederick Bryant Sparks was born on February 4, 1833, in OldhamCounty, Kentucky; he was a son of
David C. and Mary B. Sparks. He was married to Mary Elizabeth (Speer)Ashby on August 16, 1855, in
Oldham County, Kentucky. She had been born on May 20, 1834, and was adaughter of Dr. John Grove
Speer, M.D. Her birthplace was Decatur, Illinois. Frederick Bryant andMary Elizabeth Sparks lived in
Oldham County for awhile following their marriage, then moved toDaviess County and lived on the farm
with Mary Elizabeth's father for a year or more. They then moved toMasonville, then back to Oldham
County, Kentucky, where Frederick took charge of his Uncle HamptonSparks's farm. Sometime after
this, he went to Baxter Springs, Missouri, but not liking it there,the family moved to Moultrie County,
Illinois, then to Kansas. He was a good farmer, worked faithfully, andknew how to carry on that
business.

The names and birthdates of the children of Frederick B. and Mary E.(Speer) Sparks were as follows:

(1) Ida B. Sparks, born February 25, 1857, in Oldham County, Kentucky.
(2) Eugene L. Sparks, born August 26, 1859, in Daviess County,Kentucky.
(3) David Grove Sparks, born August 2, 1861, in Oldham County,Kentucky.
(4) Lucilla M. Sparks, born August 26, 1862, in Oldham County,Kentucky.
(5) William Hampton Sparks, born March 26, 1864, in Oldham County,Kentucky.
(6) Alberta C. Sparks, born March 26, 1866, in Oldham County,Kentucky.
(7) Henry M. Sparks, born August 18, 1868, in Oldham County, Kentucky.
(8) Bettie Ann Sparks, born April 5, 1870, in Oldham County, Kentucky.
(9) Rose Belle Sparks, born March 4, 1872, in Oldham County, Kentucky.
(10) Leonie F. Sparks, born November 26, 1875, in Moultrie County,Illinois.

Mary Elizabeth Speer Ashby Sparks, wife of Frederick Bryant Sparks,was a daughter of Dr. John
Grove Speer, M.D., and Sarah Eddings Snyder Speer. Dr. Speer wrote abook published in 1900 by
the Blue Grass Printing Company entitled The Speer Book which containsinformation on his daughter,
Mary Elizabeth.

Mary Elizabeth Speer was married first to Richard L. Ashby who wasborn on December 14, 1831, and
died on July 6, 1854. One daughter was born to them on July 4, 1853,named Sarah Jane. On
December 22, 1875, this Sarah Jane Ashby was married to Jessie DanielOglesby who was born on
January 11, 1855, and was a son of John A. and Lucy A. Oglesby.According to my records, Sarah
Jane lived to be past 85 years of age and died in 1938 or 1939. Herhusband had died earlier. Both are
buried in Ballardsville, Kentucky.

Mary Elizabeth (Speer) Sparks died on December 16, 1904, atCoffeyville, Kansas. Frederick Bryant
Sparks died on February 26, 1919, at the home of his daughter, IdaWhite, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Both were buried in Fairview Cemetery, Coffeyville, Kansas.

[JS Note: At this juncture, Flossie M. Welsch provides information onthe children named above, for which see their individual notes. Shethen continues on SQ page 2551 relating her years living in the homeof her maternal grandfather, Mahlon Homer Minton. This story isincluded in the notes for her father, David Grove Sparks, a son ofFrederick Bryan Sparks.]

SQ pps 3409-11:

"Frederick "Fred" Mauk Sparks, son of Nelson and Peggy (Mauk) Spar ks,was born on May 1, 1853, in Carter County. On January 21, 1875 , hewas married to Elizabeth Catherine Kegley in Elliott County. It wasthe first marriage for both. Catherine (as she was called) was bornon April 20, 1855, in Wythe County, Virginia, and was a daughter ofJoel and Delilah (Hounshel) Kegley, natives of Wythe County. When the1880 census was taken of Elliott County, Fred and Catherine were shownas having three children, two sons and one daughter.

"Sometime in the 1890s, Fred Sparks joined the Christian Church,probably during a revival meeting, and his wife persuaded him to leaveElliott County and the temptations set before him by his friends anddrinking companions. Accordingly, in 1897, he bought land at Rice,Kentucky, in Greenup County. (The post office no longer exists. )There he built a log house, and in the late fall he moved his familyfrom Gimlet, Kentucky, to the newly-built home. It was there, onNovember 2, 1897, that the picture was taken of the entire familywhich is reproduced below (see page 3410).

"Frederick Mauk Sparks was a good man in every sense of the phrase .An interesting biographical account of him was written by agranddaughter Anna Musser Bradley (a daughter of Laura Belle Sparks),and she has given us permission to use it here. She wrote:

"All I know of Grandpa Sparks is what my mother and her two youngersisters told me and, naturally, they praised him highly. He died whenI was just a year old. He was converted during a revival meeting inElliott County, shortly after his marriage, and he joined theChristian Church before he moved to Greenup County. Ultimately, hewas ordained a minister of the Christian Church, and it is told thathe preached sermons in the grove near the Sparks Cemetery. This areais now called Happy Ridge because the Sparks family sang the oldtimegospel songs with such a fine spirit that the neighbors would gatherin and sing and rejoice with them.

"Grandpa was an industrious farmer, and he planted an orchard. Healso could do all sorts of handy work and had a blacksmith shop. Hekept seasoned hand-planed walnut boards in the loft of the shop whichhe used to make homemade coffins, and Grandma kept suitable clothmaterials to cover, pad, line, and decorate the coffins for friends ,neighbors, and relatives.

"Grandpa also donated land for a cemetery. He was a good hand to waiton the sick and help the needy, and he was a good father as well. Hisgrave was the second one prepared in the cemetery for which he gavethe land. He died on May 20, 1906, just a few days after he reachedhis 53rd birthday."

After the death of her husband, Catherine Sparks continued to live atHappy Ridge. Most of her children were married, or would soon marry,with families of their own, but she and the youngest children kept thehome place together. (They had 78 grandchildren). She survived herhusband for over forty years, dying on December 23, 1946. She wasburied beside him in the Sparks Cemetery at Happy Ridge. She and Fredhad eleven children, including an unnamed daughter who died at birth."

SQ 100: "Garrett Sparks, (spelled Jarett on his marriage bond) born 15Sept. 1802; married, 1825, Elizabeth Boggs."

See the December 1955 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, whole no. 12 , pg93, for further details of this branch of the Sparks family. [JS: Agrandson, Morton Emerson Sparks 6021, married another Sparksdescendant, Cora Elizabeth Lyon (6020). See SQ pg 3898.]

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1993, Whole No. 161, pp 4065-4073,which is an article about Garrett's half-brother John L. Sparks who,as a member of a guerilla gang of southern soldiers, killed Hugh Boggsand Jim Boggs , who were ex-union soldiers and brothers of ElizabethBoggs, wife of Garrett Sparks. For revenge, their brother Jesse Boggsfollowed John L. Sparks to Virginia where Jesse shot John and left himfor dead. John survived and spent the rest of his live in Virginiaaway from the other members of his family.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1996, Whole No. 174, p. 4634:

"Garrett Sparks, son of Levi and ----- (Walsh) Sparks, was born onSeptember 15, 1802, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. (His name wasalso spelled Jarrett, Jared, Gared, etc.) He had reached maturity whenhe accompanied his father to Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 1821. Thefirst official record we have found of him is a Kentucky Land Warrant,dated May 10, 1824, for 50 acres of land on the right fork of BigBlaine Creek. He probably bought the land in preparation for hismarriage to Elizabeth ["Betsy"] Boggs. They were married on September22, 1825, by the Rev. Stephen Wheeler, a Baptist minister. (Thelicense was issued on September 19, 1825.) Betsy had been born onDecember 27, 1808, in Virginia and was a daughter of John 0. and Nancy(Wells) Boggs. Soon after their marriage, Garrett and Betsy unitedwith the Big Blaine Baptist Church.

"During the period from 1825 to 1850, Garrett Sparks was involved inover a dozen transactions involving the purchase and sale of land onBlaine Creek. On the 1860 census, he was listed with real estatevalued at $1,000 and personal property valued at $500.

"The Civil War had a major impact on the family of Garrett Sparks.Three of his sons served in the Union forces. Garrett's youngestbrother, John L. Sparks, served in the Confederate forces and wasquite likely involved in the ransacking of Garrett's house during thewar. (See the March 1993 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 161,beginning on page 4065.) [JS: Copied in the notes of his half-brotherJohn L. Sparks.]

"Garrett Sparks died on September 25, 1873, in Lawrence County. Betsydied there on December 21, 1873. They were buried in the MortonSparks Cemetery that is located on Kentucky Route 32 between the Forksof Blaine and the mouth of Collier Creek. They had sixteen childrenaccording to census records and information given by descendants."

See World Family Tree, Vol 2, File 5319 for more generations, probablytaken from the Sparks Family Quarterly.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Mar 1991, Whole No. 153, pp. 3927-28 for anarticle on the death of John J. Kitchen on December 28, 1991. Johnwas a great-grandchild of Garrett Melvin and Mary (Miller) Sparks.
"Melvin and Mary lived near the Forks of the Big Blaine Creek wherethey became the parents of eight children." Photograph of Melvin andMary with four of their children on page 3927.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3421: They live in (1989) Wilmington, Ohio, where Gary is employed by the Frigidaire Corporation. They have two children: Debra and Jennifer Sparks.

SQ pg 3404: He served in the Navy during World War II. (JS: But,unless he fabricated his age on enlistment, not for long since heturned eighteen on 22 Sept, 1945, one month after the war ended!) Heworked for a manufacturing company in Mansfield , Ohio. He was amember of the first Wesleyan Church.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3412: They had seven children: Helen, Frances, Joyce, Geor ge,John, Perry, and James Potter.

SQ 3O6O: "George Sparks, probable son of Joseph Sparks, was listed onthe
1812 tax list of Franklin County, Tennessee. We have no furtherinformation
regarding him."

[For the final notes on William Sparks, Sr. (d.1709) carried forwardon the notes for his spouse, Mary ---, and continued below.]

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1989, Whole No. 148, P. 3486:

WILLIAM SAMPLE SPARKS, ca.1700-ca.1765:

"William Sparks, Jr." [JS: father of William Sample Sparks] "hadthree brothers who, along with himself, were named in their father'swill of June 1709. They were: George Sparks , born about 1679; JohnSparks, born about 1684; and Joseph Sparks, born about 1689. Theelder William Sparks also mentioned a deceased daughter in his will,who had married a man named Hynson."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1988, Whole No. 142, p. 3229:

WHO WERE THE GRANDCHILDREN OF WILLIAM SPARKS, died 1709 OF QUEEN ANNESCOUNTY, MARYLAND?, pgs 3229-3231 at pg 3229:

"The following is an alphabetical listing of the thirty-five probable(and known) grandchildren of William Sparks, Sr. No attempt has beenmade to name any of the children of his daughter who married a mannamed Hynson. In the list which follows, we have attempted to estimatethe probable year of birth. We have also included the date ofmarriage, the name of the spouse, and the names of children whereknown." (Included here only are the children of George Sparks):

8. George Sparks. Probable son of George Sparks. Born ca.1702.Married (1st) Elizabeth Ricketts on September 14, 1729, and (2nd) AnnBolton on November 6, 1755. Names of Children: Elizabeth, George,Rebecca, Thomas, others?
12. James Sparks. Probable son of George Sparks. Born ca.1720.Married Rebecca ---, probably ca. 1740. Names of children: Ursula,William, others?
16. Jonas Sparks. Probable son of George Sparks. Born ca.1710.Married Mary Sinnott on August 4, 1731. Names of children: Jemima,Lambert, Mary Ann, others?
19. Joseph Sparks. Probable son of George Sparks. Born ca.1710.Married Elizabeth Kelly on November 18, 1731. Names of children:Ann, David, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Arthur, Frances, and Amy.
28. Sarah Sparks. Probable daughter of George Sparks. Born ca.1725. Married John Offley Collins on February 10, 1746/47. Names ofchildren unknown.
31. Ursula Sparks. Probable daughter of George Sparks. Born ca.1720. Married William Gregory on December 22, 1741. Names ofchildren unknown.
33. William Sparks. Probable son of George Sparks. Born ca.1715.Married Ellinor Brooks on August 30, 1738. Names of children:William, others?

"Again, we remind our readers that this list contains quite a lot ofconjecture, and many items need additional research. We welcomereactions from our readers."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, p. 4035:

GEORGE SPARKS (Born ca.1678) SON OF WILLIAM SPARKS WHO DIED IN 1709
OF QUEEN ANNES COUNTY, MARYLAND By Paul E. Sparks

[Editor's Note: As was noted in the preceding article, the WilliamSparks who died in Queen Annes County, Maryland, in 1709, was theancestor of thousands of Sparks descendants living today in all partsof the United States. Each of his four sons had large families; weknow that there were at least thirty-five grandchildren who reachedadulthood. (See pages 3229-31 of the June 1988 issue of the QUARTERLY,Whole No. 142, for a tentative list of these grandchildren. )

[Articles about William Sparks and three of his sons have already beenpublished in the QUARTERLY. Besides the preceding article, an accountof the life of William Sparks appeared on pages 1381-89 of the March1971 issue, Whole No. 73. In that same issue, pages 1376-81, wepresented information about John Sparks, brother of William, who diedin Queen Annes County, Maryland, in 1700, along with documentary proofthat two sons of John were living in Hampshire County, England, in1717. We are certain that it had been from there that William andJohn had come to Maryland many years earlier. Information regardingWilliam Sparks, Jr., the eldest son of William Sparks (died 1709),appeared in the QUARTERLY of December 1989 (Whole No. 148) as part ofthe article on William Sample Sparks, son of William, Jr., pp.3484-3500. John Sparks, the probable second son of William Sparks(died 1709) was the subject of an article on pages 1699-1704 of theDecember 1974 issue, Whole No. 88, and an account of Joseph Sparks,who was William's youngest son, appeared on pages 3554-61 of the March1990 issue, Whole No. 149.]

[Paul E. Sparks now presents the information that we have foundregarding George Sparks, whom we believe to have been the third son ofWilliam Sparks (died 1709) of Queen Annes County, Maryland.]

"The earliest record that we have found of George Sparks, son ofWilliam and Mary (----- ) Sparks of early Queen Annes County,Maryland, is in a deed made in Kent County, Maryland, on March 25,1707, by which William Sparks gave to his son George, a 150-acre tractof land called "Sparks Choice." The consideration was "in Respect ofthe Love I bear unto my Son, George Sparkes." William had acquiredthis land in 1681, and he may have given it to his son as a weddingpresent. (See also page 1386 of the March 1971 issue of the QUARTERLY,Whole No. 73, for more details regarding this deed.)

"George Sparks had been born about 1678 in Talbot County, Maryland.(Queen Annes County was then part of Talbot and was not cut off as aseparate county until 1706.) George Sparks was married to Mary -----in or about 1700 in what is now Queen Annes County. It seems quitelikely that George and his wife were living on the same "plantation"as his parents when his father made his will in June 1709. In hiswill, William Sparks specified that after his death "my Son George andhis wife and Children Shall have Liberty to live three years with hismother on my now Dwelling plantation in my now Dwelling house to makea crop of Corne and Tobo he laying in five barrens of Indian corneevery year dureing the said time and to take due care of his mothersStock and for so doing to have his and wife and Children's accomoda-tions and to pay no rent during the Sd Time. "

"Apparently, George and his brother, William Sparks, Jr., had shownsome degree of impatience to have control of their father's land, andtheir father may have been aware of their feelings, for, after makinga clause in his will by which he left all of his land to his wife, herequested her "not to protest her Son, William Sparks, but then heShall have the Same Liberty as he has now what is ordered before forGeorge Sparks Excepting that neither the said Wm. nor George do molestor disturb their mother dureing her widowhood."

"We have no way of knowing how long George Sparks and his family livedwith his mother after the death of his father, although, with Mary'ssecond marriage to Thomas Trickey sometime before October 24, 1711,she probably moved from the Sparks "plantation" to that of her newhusband. It was not until February 25, 1719/20, that another recordreveals a legal act by George Sparks. On that date he sold the105-acre tract which had been given to him by his father in 1707. Hesold this land, called "Sparks Choice," to Augustine Thompson, awealthy planter in Queen Annes County, for the consideration of sevenpounds, three shillings, plus 3,000 pounds "of good, sound,merchantable tobacco." Mary Sparks, wife of George, agreed to thesale, having been "first privately examined according to law" as toher feelings about the sale.

"It is interesting to note that a month later, Joseph Sparks, brotherof George, sold his portion of "Sparks Choice" to Augustine Thompson,also, The consideration was 3,000 pounds of merchantable tobacco forthe 100-acre tract of land. In both sales, the deeds were witnessedby John Whittington and James Earle.

"On October 3, 1728, George Sparks was one of a group of citizens fromQueen Annes County who signed a petition to the Assembly of theProvince of Maryland requesting the formation of a new parish from aportion of St. Pauls Parish. The reason for this request was thatmany parishioners of St. Pauls had to travel a great distance toattend church. As a result of the petition, St. Lukes Parish wasestablished in 1728. The church was built in the village of ChurchHill.

"The following year, George and Mary Sparks were involved in anotherland sale when George's brother, William Sparks, sold a tract of landwhich he had inherited from their father. The land was the 114-acretract called "Sparks Outlet" which William Sparks, Senior had acquiredin 1687. This tract was sold by William Sparks, Junior on March 3,1729/30 to Thomas Honey for 6,000 pounds of tobacco. George and MarySparks were witnesses to the fact that George's brother, WilliamSparks, received the tobacco, although the tobacco, itself, wasprobably not delivered to him by Thomas Honey, but rather a documenttransferring ownership to it.

"We have found no further records of either George or Mary Sparks,including any which concern the administration of their estates. Itseems apparent that they both died intestate. It is obvious that theyhad children before 1709 when George's father made his will. By aprocess of elimination, we have set the size of their family as sevenchildren, and we have also made "educated guesses" regarding theirnames and identity. We must remind our readers, however, that whilethese designations are conjectural, nevertheless, the probablechildren of George and Mary Sparks were the following:

1. George Sparks, Jr., born ca.1702
2. Joseph Sparks, born ca.1704
3. Jonas Sparks, born ca.1706
4. James Sparks, born ca. 1710
5. William Sparks, born ca. 1715
6. Ursula Sparks, born ca.1720
7. Sarah Sparks, born ca.1722

CONTINUATION OF NOTES ON WILLIAM SPARKS SR. CARRIED FORWARD FROM NOTESOF WILLIAM'S SPOUSE, MARY ---:

[Continuing on p.4029:]

"The first of these documents, after the will, is dated October 8,1709, and is a bond in the amount of "four hundred pounds Sterlingcurrant Money of England" with John Hawkins, Jr. and John Nabb, bothof Queen Annes County, as guarantors, that "Mary Sparks and WilliamSparks [Jr.], Executors of the last Will and Testament of WilliamSparks, Sen., late of Queen Ann's County, deceas'd, do make or causeto be made a true & perfect Inventory of all & singular the goodsChaitells and credits of the said deceased, appraised in Money ... "Mary Sparks and her son, William, Jr., were given until "the 24th dayof JanrY next ensuing" to complete the inventory, and they were givenone year to pay the debts charged against the estate as well as tocarry out each provision contained in William Sparks's will. BothMary Sparks and her son, William, Jr., signed this bond by mark, Marydrawing the initial I'M" and William the initial "W." (See below aphotographic reproduction of this part of the bond.) The two suretiesfor the bond, John Hawkins, Jr. and John Nabb, signed their names.There were three witnesses as well: Thomas Trickey, Robert Thomas, andJohanna Nabb. Thomas Trickey and Johanna Nabb signed by mark.Johanna was probably the wife of John Nabb. Robert Thomas was acounty official whose title was "Deputy Commissary." Thomas Trickeywas a neighbor of the Sparkses; he had also been a witness to WilliamSparks's mark (signature) when Sparks had made his will in theprevious June. The person who wrote Thomas Trickey's name for himspelled it Tricky, but in most records it appears as Trickey.

"It was on January 25, 1710, that an inventory was taken of thepersonal property that had belonged to William Sparks. The inventorywas made by John Hawkins, Jr. and John Hackett, both of whom wereneighbors of the Sparkses.

"Readers are reminded that the old Julian Calendar was still in use inEngland and her colonies at the time William Sparks's estate wassettled, and it would continue to be used until1752. the GregorianCalendar, however, was then in use in most EuropeanCountries. The newyear began, according to the Julian Calendar, on March 25, hence theperiod from January 1 to March 25, 1710, under the Gregorian Calendar,was still 1709 under the old Julian Calendar. Because of thecommercial intercourse between England and Europe , many legaldocuments in both England and America written between Janu- ary 1stand March 25th prior to 1752 (when England finally adopted theGregorian Calendar) were "double dated," i.e., a slash or line wouldfollow the Julian Calendar year, then the year according to theGregorian Calendar would be added. Thus, the inventory for the estateof William Sparks bears the date "25th day of Janeroy 1709/10."

"This inventory of the personal property owned by William Sparks atthe time of his death in 1709 provides an interesting view of the lifestyle of a prosperous Maryland farmer at the beginning of the 18thcentury. Dr. Sparks has transcribed the list of his possessions a srecorded in the inventory; where he was uncertain of the wordintended, he added a question mark enclosed in brackets. The standardabbrevi- ations were used in the inventory for pounds(£), shillings(s), and pence (d). (The "d" for pence came from the Latin word forpenny , "denarius.")

A Trew and perficke Inventory of all and Singley the goods andChattels
Wrights and credits of Wm. Sparks of queen Annes County Law enfoefdand
Aprisd in Money by we hose hands are under written this 20th day of
Janeroy 1709/10.
£ s d
To: Waring apparell.................................... 2:02: 0
To: a pare of Leather Briches..................... 0:07: 0
To: a parcel of old Books......................... 0:94: 0
To: 11 yrds of ofan brigs [?]..................... 0:05: 6
To: an old Raser.................................. 0:00: 6
To: 7 rds of flannel.............................. 0:14: 8
To: 1 feather Bed and Linin in the new house 4:10: 0
To: 1 feather Bed and furniture in the old house.. 2:10: 0
To: 1 Chist of Drawers............................ 1:00: 0
To: 2 Tables and firens [?]....................... 1:00: 0
To: 1 horse cauld Scott........................... 4:00: 0
To: 1 horse cald [blank].......................... 3:10: 0
To: do cauld Chance.......................... 4:00: 0
To: do cauled Hailor......................... 3:10: 0
To: 6 sickels and hooks........................... 0:07: 0
To: a Small Tub of feathers....................... 0:07: 0
To: a parcell of unbroke flack.................... 0:10: 0
To: 3 old cases of botels......................... 0:10: 0
To: 8 quart botels................................ 0:19:19
To: 2 old ladle................................... 0:02: 0
To: 2 old Lotts of windger etc. [?] 0:05:0
To: 1 old Crescent Saw & file 0:08:0
To: 1 hansaw 0:01:0
To: 1 pare of Stilards & balance 0:04:0
To: 1 chafing dish & Lockett 0:02:0
To: 4 old bands 0:02:0
To: 1 old adz and handel 0: 02:0
To: 1 old augur and hamer 0:01:6
To: 1 old drawing Knife 0:01:6
To: 4 Spike gimbletts 0:00:6
To: 3 Fanting acks 0:01:6
To: 2 old broad acks & cut knife 0:03:0
To: 1 old frow and millpaks 0:01:0
To: a parsell of old iron 0:02:0
To: a set of weeding plow irons 0:04:6
To: 2 old plow shar and colter 0:10:0
To: 1 old hand mill 0:10:0
To: a cask & whole with rings 1:00:0
To: 1 old cart collar & saddle 0:08:0
To: 2 collar and tanse 0:08:0
To: 1 old saddall 0:08:0
To: 1 old Gun 0:05:0
To: 2 putor Chamber potts 0:02:0
To: 15 spoons 0:02:6
To: I putor bason 0:01:0
To: 1 putor Tankard & Tumbler 0:00:1
To: 1 old poringer and Sawsar 0:00:6
To: 5 putor dishes 0:15:0
To: 9 putor plates 0:04:6
To: 1 mustard pott Tin 0:00:6
To: 1 brass drinking glass 0:01:0
To: 1 brass Skillit 0:03:6
To: 1 brass candell stick 0:00:6
To: 1 Boamshall spieomortor [?] 0:03:0
To: 1 Iron candell stick 0:00:6
To: 1 small Smoothing iron 0:04:6
To: 1 seimer 0:00:2
To: 3 Iron Potts 0:15:0
To: 1 Fring Pan 0:01:6
To: 1 Pare of Fier Tongs 0:01:6
To: 1 Pare of Flesh Fork and Ladell 0:00:6
To: 2 Leather Charer [?] 0:03:0
To: 1 Larg Wooden Chaircold 0:05:0
To: 1 wooling Spinning Whell 0:07:0
To: 1 old couch 0:04:0
To: 4 old Chists 0:16:0
To: 1 old Trunk 0:04:0
To: 1 old Cubord 0:10:0
To: 1 Small Looking Glass 0:01:6
To: 2 warming pan 0:04:0
To: a harrow with Iron Teeth 0:07:0
To: 2 Sifters and one straner 0:01:6
To: 2 Sifting Trays 0:03:0
To: 2 pales 1 pign 1"ff cups and 1 chien [?] 0:05:0
To: 9: old bales 0:04:6
To: 2 Erthen Pans a Stue potte and 8 erthen
butter pans 0:03:0
To: 2 new mault bags 1 old do 0:04:0
To: 1 bushall of Salt 0:03:0
To: 7 old Tubs & 2 Ston gars 0:08:0
To: 8 Fifty Gallon Casques old 0:12:0
To: Thirty Gallon Casque old 0:04:0
To: 3 forty Gall Casque 0:07:0
To: 2 pipes old 2 [--?--I 8:08:0
To: 3 runlitts 0:01:6
To: 2 old Whell barrows 0:03:0
To: 1 old lard bag [?] 0:00:8
To: 1 small Iron gug 0:00:8
To: 2 cannews 0:15:0
To: 1 Chospes 0:07:0
To: 6 Cows and Calves 2 heifers and Calves 14:00:0
To: 4 four year old steers 7:00:0
To: 1 four year old bull 1:05:0
To: 2 Three year old heifers 1:05:0
To: 1 five year old steer 2:00:0
To: 3 barein Cows 4:10:0
To: 4 Two year old steers and 2 Two year old
heifers 4:10:0
To: 3 yearlings 2:00:0
To: 1 calf 0:03:0
To: 27 sheep 8:02:0
To: 7 Two year old barrows 3:10:0
To: 6 Sows and 9 Shoats 4:10:0
To: 1 young barrow 0:08:0
To: 1 grater 0:00:5
To: 1 pr of Spaniel & common chains 0:06:0
To: 1 pare of Woosteed Comes [?] 0:07:0
To: 37 bushals of wheat 6:09:3
To: 12 bushels of oatts 1:04:0
To: 8 barils Ingin Corn 4:00:0
To: 750 pd of Tobacco at Id pr 3:02:6
To: 1 Tobacco cask 0:00:6
To: Thomas Honey pr ares 500 [?] 2:01:5
To: atto by the County fore Cathrin Jnoson [?] 6:05:0

Sume Totall 126£ 06s 08d

[signed] John Hawkins Jr
[signed] John Hackett

"The final item on this inventory is as follows: "Inventory ofWilliam Sparks Estate 1709. Recorded in W. B. No. 4. Recorded Libe rC. Folio 220."

"The following document is also part of the probate file for WilliamSparks (died 1709) and has been transcribed by Dr. Paul E. Sparks asfollows:

Qn Annes Co. ss.
The Account of Thomas Trickey & Mary his wife, and William Sparks exrsof the last Will and Testament of William Sparks Late of saidCounty Decd as well of and for Such and so much of the Goods, Chattels& Credits of the Said Deceased as Came to Their hands and Possession, as of the Payments & Disbursements made out of the Same andAllowoth Viz

Imprimus The Said Accomptents Charge themselves with all and Singularthe Goods Chattels and Credits of the said Deceased, Specified andComprised in an Inventory of Goods and Exhibited into the Office forProbate of Wills amounting to the Sum of £126:06:08

And the said Accomptents humbly Crave Allowances for the FollowingPayments and Disbursements made out of the Same as folls, viz:

for Tobacco pd for a Coffin and Funeral Expenses 400
for Tobacco Paid Col. Hynson on Mr. Grahams Acct as
pr Acct proved & Rect 1905

for Money pd Jno Hawkins Junr one of the Apprs 60
for Tobbco pd Robt Wharton as pr acct proved and
Rect appears 208
For Tobbco pd Tho@ Parsons as per acct proved and
Rect appears 500
For Tobbco Pd Edwd. Hambleton as pr acct proved &
Rect appears 211
For TobcO pd the Honble County Genl for fees 840
for TobcO pd the said County for Do 150
For tobco pd do for drawing and posting this Acct 50
And they humbly Crave Allowance for the above
payments at 10 pr cent being 4324 lb Tobco 432
_____
4756
Which 4756 lbs of TobbcO at 4d per pd comes to £19:14:16
Remaining in the Accomptents hands to be Thereafter
accounted for, (as they humblv Pray time may be £lO6:11:20
given them to Exhibit an Addl Acct) the Sum of
£l26:06:08

October the 24th 1711

"Then came the above named, William Sparks & Mary Trickey and madeoath upon the Holy Evangelists that the above is a Just and trueAccount of their Administration on the said Estate So Farr as theyhave administered.
Before Me Robt Thomas DepY Comity"

[A note appears on the reverse of this document indicating that onOctober 10, 1712, this administration had been accepted in thePrerogative Office at Annapolis.]
"The inventory taken of the estate of William Sparks (died 1709)listed only his personal property, not his land. The tract of landwhich William Sparks called his "home plantation" in his willconsisted of two adjoining tracts, one called "Hill' s Adventure" andthe other called "Sparks Outlet." "Hill's Adventure " comprised 100acres that Sparks had purchased from Michael Hackett in 1681, while"Sparks Outlet" comprised 114 acres, the patent for which sparks hadpurchased from Thomas Smithson in 1687. (See notes under WilliamSparks [and SQ 1382-83] for details).

"From the inventory of William Sparks's personal property, we knowthat there was a "new house" as well as an "old house," bothcontaining beds and furniture belonging to William, on his "homeplantation." George Sparks (born ca.1678), son of William and MarySparks, ma y well have been living in the "old house" at the time ofhis father' s death in 1709. (See the article on George Sparks underhis notes and at SQ p.4035.)

"As shown in the transcription on SQ p.4033 of a probate record fromthe file on William Sparks's estate, we know that his creditors paid400 pounds worth of tobacco for his "Coffin and Funerall Expenses. "From this same document, we know that tobacco was then valued at fourpence per pound (weight). Since there were twelve pence in a shillingand twenty shillings in a pound (of money), these expenses wer e theequivalent of 6 pounds, 13 shillings, and 4 pence, or close to thevalue placed on four 4-year-old steers (7 pounds) listed on theinventory of William's personal property. The total cost of settlingWilliam Sparks's estate, including the payment of several debts, cameto 4,756 pounds of tobacco, or the equivalent in money of 19 pounds,14 shillings, and 16 pence.

"The most interesting new information provided in the probate papersfor William Sparks is that within two years following William's deathi n 1709, his widow, Mary, had remarried. No record had been found toreveal the exact date of this marriage, but the accounting of theexpenditures in the settling of William Sparks's estate dated October24, 1711, reveals that Mary's name was now "Mary Trickey." Furthermore, because a married woman in those days could not act in legalmatters without the involvement of her husband, this document clearlyreveals, also, that her new husband was Thomas Trickey. Thomas Trickey had been one of the witnesses to William Sparks's will as well as tothe executor's bond dated October 24, 1709. (His name was sometimesspelled Trickee as well as Tricky.) We can be quite certain that hewas both a near neighbor and a personal friend of the Sparks family.

"We can speculate that Mary, wife and widow of William Sparks, hadprobably been born in the 1650s, since her oldest son, William Sparks,Jr., had been born ca.1674. He youngest son, Joseph, was not yet 21years of age when his father made his will in 1709, placing his birthabound 1690. (See the article devoted Joseph Sparks in SQ of March,1990, Whole NO. 149 , pp. 3554-3561.) It would appear that MarySparks was a woman past her child-bearing years when she was marriedto Thomas Trickey. It seems probable, also, that Thomas Trickey was awidower when he became Mary's second husband. He may have been thefather of a Thomas Trickey of St. Luke's Parish who was married toMary Harrington on February 10, 1736. We have found no record ofMary, widow of William Sparks, after 1711.

"Recently we engaged a professional genealogist living in HampshireCounty, England, to conduct research there in an effort to prove theEnglish origins of William Sparks (died 1709) and of his brother, JohnSparks (died 1700). We hope that in a future issue of the QUARTERLYwe can provide our readers with even more details regarding the lifeof William Sparks (died 1709), ancestor of so many Sparkses in Americatoday."

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

"George Sparks, 14 Sept. 1729, Elizabeth Rickets (sic)" citing 1 QA-37. Citation refers to the records of St. Luke's Parish, p. 37,which were copied in 1904/5 at the Maryland Historical Society.

"George Sparks, 6 Nov. 1755, Ann Bolton, 1 QA-60." I believe that AnnBolton is a sister of Eliza Bolton who married George's cousin, NathanSparks, on 20 Feb. 1759.

SQ 3230: "Married (1st) Elizabeth Ricketts on 14 Sep 1729, and (2nd)Ann Bolton on 6 Nov 1755. Children named Elizabeth, George, Rebecca,Thomas, others?"

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

"George Sparks, probable son of George and Mary Sparks, may have beentheir eldest child, he was probably born about 1702. He should not beconfused with his cousin, George, who was a son of John and Cornelia(Curtis) Sparks. Since both of these men were born about the sameyear, and because we have found no other man named George Sparks inthe area of Queen Annes County at that time, we are fairly confidentthat the George Sparks with whom we are dealing here was a son ofGeorge and Mary Sparks. (See pages 1699-1704 of the December 1974issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 88, for further information aboutthe George Sparks who was a son of John and Cornelia Sparks.)

"On September 14, 1729, George Sparks was married to ElizabethRicketts in the newly-created St. Lukes Parish, and, according to theparish register, they had at least four children born between 1730 and1740. George was a witness to the will of Rebecca Collins in 1749 andto the will of Arthur Miller "of Kent County" in 1750. It was atabout this time (1750), that Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks apparentlydied, and George was married (2nd) to Ann Bolton, on November 6, 1755,in St. Lukes Church. This is the last record we have found of him.The known children of George and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks were:

a. Elizabeth Sparks, born on August 9, 17-- (in or about 1730).
b. Rebecca Sparks, born on May 16, 17-- (in or about 1733).
c. Thomas Sparks, born January 8, 1736.
d. George Sparks, born on October 7, 1738.

!NOTES:
SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1974, No. 84, p. 1702:
"George Sparks was probably born about 1705. He married Sarah
Salisbury on December 3, 1730, and they had at least three children.
SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1988, No. 144, p. 3230:
"George Sparks, son of John Sparks. Born ca. 1705. Married SarahSalisbury on December 3, 1730. Names of children: Ann, Richard,Sarah, others?"
See MARYLAND MARRIAGES 1634-1777, Compiled by Robert Barnes,Baltimore, 1987, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. p. 168:
"Sparkes, George, 3 Dec. 1730, Sarah Salisbury" citing 1 QA-37. T hecitation refers to the records of St. Luke's Parish, p. 37, QueenAnnes County, MD."
It is also interesting to note that in the same record book, 1 QA-3 7a George Sparks married Elizabeth Rickets on 14 September, 1729.

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

"GEORGE SPARKS AND WILLIAM SPARKS OF WASHINGTON CO. PENNSYLVANIA".
(Portions relating to both men or specificially to George are copiedbelow)

"According to separate statements made by George Sparks and WilliamSparks in 1780, they had both settled in what is now WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania, in the year 1773. They had come as pioneers towhat was then the West . There is little doubt but that they werenatives of Maryland, probably the county of Frederick." (JS: Later itis proved that they were sons of Joseph (344 ) and grandsons ofWilliam I (204). "A descendant of William Sparks stated many yearsago that William Sparks had lived near Fredericksburg, Maryland.There was never a town named Fredericksburg in Maryland, however, andhe doubtless intended Fredericktown which is now called simplyFrederick and is the county seat of Frederick County. Anotherdescendant of William Sparks stated many years ago that the family hadlived near Baltimore before immigrating to Pennsylvania. Baltimore isabout 20 miles from Frederick County.

"George and William Sparks were probably brothers---at least we can besure they were closely related. They chose tracts of land whichalmost adjoined (see cover), although on a modern map George Sparks'sland is located in Hopewell Township in Washington County whileWilliam's tract is just over the line in Independence Township. Onlya few miles separate these tracts from the line separating WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania, from Ohio County, West Virginia.

"When George and William Sparks settled in western Pennsylvania in1773 it was the custom for a newcomer simply to choose a tract of landwhich he liked and which had not been claimed by anyone else, todeaden a few trees around the edge or at the head of the spring whichwatered it, and to chop his initials in one or more of the deadenedtrees. This crude method of registering one's claim came to be calleda "tomahawk right." A descendant of William Sparks recalled many yearsago that there was a family tradition that William Sparks had taken upa "tomahawk right" in Pennsylvania, although this descendant did notknow the meaning of the term.

"We can only speculate upon the dates of birth of George and WilliamSparks. We know that George's eldest son, Salathiel Sparks, was bornin 1756 while William's oldest son, James Sparks, was born in 1759.It seems probable, therefore, that George and William were about thesame age and were probably born in the early 1730's. George's wife'sname was Mary and she was still living in 1803 when he made his will.Since one of their sons was named William Bostwick Sparks (at a timewhen middle names were unusual) it is possible that her maiden namewas Bostwick. According to descendants, William Sparks married MarthaMoore.

"The area in which George and William Sparks settled in 1773 was thenclaimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia. (William Perry Johnson hasprepared a detailed history of this famous controversy for this issueof the QUARTERLY.) Since each commonwealth believed the area to be apart of its domain, each attempted to govern, tax, and protect its ownsettlers. From later records it is apparent that George and WilliamSparks, coming as they did from Maryland, considered them- selves tobe citizens of Virginia, as did the other settlers in their immediatearea. The section in which the Sparkses lived was designated byVirginia as comprising a part of West Augusta County, then in 1776 asOhio County. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, included this sectionin its county of Cumberland until 1771 when it formed a part ofBedford County; in 1773 Pennsylvania made it a part of WestmorelandCounty. Finally, in 1781, this area became a part of WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania. Thus, records pertaining to George and WilliamSparks are found in both Virginia and Pennsylvania.

"The most important Virginia record pertaining to George and WilliamSparks has to do with the final settlement of this controversy betweenPennsylvania and Virginia. Virginia agreed in 1780 to give up herclaim to western Pennsylvania with the understanding that she couldissue certificates to her settlers for their land claims which wouldbe honored by Pennsylvania. About 400 settlers in what is nowWashington County applied to Virginia for certificates. To obtain acertificate, it was necessary for the applicant to state the year inwhich he made his first settlement in the disputed area. Both Georgeand William Sparks stated that they had settled on their claims in theyear 1773. (The official copy of these certificates retained byVirginia is now preserved in the library of the University of WestVirginia, a microfilm of which was loaned to the present writer.)

"George Sparks received two certificates in 1780--one for the tractoriginally settled by him, the other for a tract which he hadpurchased from another settler. The first of these, dated January 29,1780, was for 400 acres "on the waters of Buffalo and Cross Creek toinclude his Settlement made in the year 1773." The other certificatealso dated January 29, 1780, was als6 for 400 acres and was for landwhich had been settled originally by William Bailey in 1775, but whichGeorge Sparks had purchased. This latter tract, which adjoined thefirst tract,, was described as being "on the waters of Cross Creek."(These references to Buffalo Creek and Cross Creek did not mean thatthese tracts necessarily adjoined the creeks, but that these were thenearest large streams of water.)

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

"A good many years passed before Pennsylvania issued patents for theseVirginia certificates, although they were surveyed in 1786. In mostinstances, the surveys revealed that the tracts were smaller than theyhad been described originally. George Sparks's home tract was foundto contain 353 acres, while that which he had purchased from WilliamBailey contained only slightly over 258 acres. It was then a Southerncustom, especially in Maryland, for the original owner to give to eachtract a name by which it would be known thereafter in land and taxrecords. George Sparks gave the name "Sparta" to the tract on which hehad settled in 1773., while the tract he had acquired from Bailey wascalled "Elenoroon." It was not until April, 1798, that George Sparksfinally obtained a permanent Pennsylvania title to his land, and thenhe had to pay a fee of 2 pounds, 18 shillings and 8 pence for "Sparta"and 2 pounds, 3 shillings and 4 pence for "Elenoroon."

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

"While Virginia and Pennsylvania were engaged in their conflict overwestern Pennsylvania, about 2000 inhabitants signed a petition askingthat the struggle be settled simply by creating a new state out of thedisputed area. This petition, which is preserved among the papers ofthe Continental Congress, is undated, but was prepared sometimebetween 1776 and 1780. This list of signers was recently published byRaymond Martin Bell of Washington & Jefferson College--it contains thesignature of William Sparks but not that of George Sparks. At aboutthe same time that this petition was being circulated, the state ofVirginia asked that all settlers sign "An Oath of Allegiance to theCommonwealth of Virginia." A man named William Scott, who was amilitia captain and whose land nearly adjoined that of George Sparks,was charged with obtaining these oaths in his district. On February2, 1778, Scott reported to the clerk of the County Court of OhioCounty, Virginia, that on October 6, 1777, George Sparks had given hisoath, but that in December, 1777, William Sparks (among many others)had refused. This probably means that, while George Sparks wished toremain a subject of Virginia, William Sparks favored the forming of aseparate state out of the disputed land.

"In 1782, this same William Scott commanded a company in the 4thBattalion of Washington County Militia and a William Sparks was listedas a private in his company. This probably refers, however, toWilliam Bostwick Sparks, son of George Sparks, or to William Sparks,Jr., son of William Sparks. George Sparks, Jr., son of George Sparks,was also a member of this company. (See the Pennsylvania Archives, 6thSeries, Vol. 2, pp. 138, 158, and 159.) According to a biographicalsketch of Allen Sparks (grandson of William Sparks) which was writtenby Elijah Sparks (great-grandson of William Sparks) for the History ofClinton County, Indiana published in 1886, William Sparks served inthe American army during the Revolution 'and was at the storming ofStony Point, the battle of Brandywine, and surrender of Cornwallis."According to Joseph Claybaugh's History of Clinton County, Indiana,published in 1913., in an article on James Allen Sparks-(anothergreat-grandson of William Sparks), it was William's son, James Sparks,who served in the American Revolution. Since William Sparks was atleast 45 at the time of the Revolution, while his son James was ayoung man of 17 when the war began, it would seem more probable thatit was James who fought the British rather than his father. He wasprobably the James Sparks who was a member of Capt. Zadook Wright'scompany of the 2nd Battalion of the Washington County Militia in 1782.(Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 2, pp. 27, 33, and 61.)

"The Ohio County, Virginia, Court records contain a number ofreferences to George and William Sparks. (These records were publishedin the Annals of the Carnegie Museum, Vols. 1-3, Pittsburgh,, 1902-05;Inez R. Waldenmaier prepared an index in In 1780, for example, areference was made to a lawsuit involving a man named Miller vs.George Sparks and his wife, Mary. Unfortunately, the record does notreveal the nature of the suit. On June 2, 1777, during a meeting ofthe Ohio County Court, William Sparks took the oath of office asEnsign of the Militia--his Colonel was named David Shepherd. At ameeting of the court held October 4, 1779, William Sparks was orderedalong with Samuel Teter, Joseph Worley and John Fergus-son to "viewthe nearest and best way for a road from John Boggs Mill to AlexanderWells, on Cross Creek, and make report to next Court." All of thesepersons named lived in what is now Independence Township, WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania. On November 1. 1779, William Sparks was calledto serve on a grand jury in Ohio County, and on March 7, 1780, he wasordered, along with John Doldridge, Arthar McConnel, John Huff., andThomas Uri to settle a dispute between John Carpenter and James Kerr.The latter lived on a farm adjoining that of William Sparks.

"The most intriguing reference to William Sparks among these VirginiaCourt records is that dated March 3, 1777, when it was recorded thatHenry Nelam "came into Court and complains that William Sparks had inan illegal manner taken away his child and unjustly detalins the samewithout his consent." William Sparks was then summoned to appear atthe next Court to answer this complaint, which he did on April 8,1777, when it vms recorded: "William Sparks appeared before thiscourt, and having not had an opportunity of convening his evidenceordered that it lay over unto the next Court & that the child continuein the care of William Sparks until that time." There is no furtherrecord of this dispute, so perhaps it was settled out of court. Therecan be little doubt, however, that this Henry Nelson was the sameHenry Nelson who, on February 9, 1773., had been allovmd 45 pounds bythe Orphans Court of Bedford County, Pennsylvania (which then hadjurisdiction under Pennsylvania law over that area which becameWashington County), for "cloathing, educating & maintaining thefollowing children of Charles Sparks, deced.:
"For Absolom Sparks for 1 year at 3£ per annum --- £ 3-0-0
"For Phebe Sparks for 3 years at 6£ per annum
& one quarter schooling -------- £ 8-5-0
"For Charles Sparks for 3 years at 8£per annum - £24-0-0
(total) £45-5-0

"Only two other records have been found pertaining to this CharlesSparks, father of Absolom, Phebe, and Charles, Jr. One is a BedfordCounty Court record dated July 22, 1771, granting letters ofadministration on the estate of Charles Sparks to Robert Moore. Then,in 1773, Robert Moore was taxed, as administrator of the estate ofCharles Sparks consisting of 100 acres of land in Providence Township,Bedford County. (Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22, p. 261).Charles Sparks must have been related to Willlam and George Sparks,and it my be significant that a Robert Moore was administrator ofCharles Sparks's estate while William Sparks had married-Martha Moore.(A Robert Moore received a Virginia certificate in 1780 to a tract ofland in what is now Robinson Township, Washington County,Pennsylvania.) The child whom Henry Nelson accused William Sparks oftaking from him may have been one of these children of Charles Sparks. Both Charles Sparks, Jr., and Absolom Sparks, sons of Charles Sparks,served in the Revolution. Charles, Jr., served as a Ranger on theFrmtier between 1778 and 1783 (Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol.23, pp. 214 and 218.) Absolom Sparks was a member of Capt. iam Scott'scompany in the 4th Battalion of Washington County Militia and later inLt. Harned's company. (Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 2, pp.158-59 and 242.)

"Washington County, Pennsylvania, was created in 1781, having beencarved out of Westmoreland County. The first tax list for the newcounty has been preserved; it is dated 1781 and was published in thePennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22. Both William and GeorgeSparks were taxed in Hopewell Township; William's taxable propertyconsisted of 340 acres of land, 2 horses, 4 cattle, and 8 sheep; whileGeorge's consisted of 400 acres, 2 horses, 4 cattle, and 8 sheep.(When Indepen- dence Township was cut off from Hopewell Township in1856, the dividing line separated the land once belonging to Georgeand William Sparks, so that today William's tract is in IndependenceTownship while Goorge's is still in Hopowell Township. For a mapshowing how Virginia's county divisions compare with Pennsylvania'ssee the cover of the SPARKS QUARTERLY for September, 1954 (page 39).

"After 1781 it is impossible, with the records which we have been ableto gather thus far, to trace William Sparks further. (We have not beenable to have a detailed search made of court house records inWashington County.) We know that sometime prior to 1786 the land onceowned by William Sparks had passed into the hands of Thomas Bines.The name of William Sparks does not appear on the extant tax lists ofHopewell Township for 1785 or 1793. A William Sparks was taxed inFallowfield Township, Washington County, in 1784 but not in 1793; aWilliam Sparks vas taxed in Stabane Tomship in 1793 but had not beenthere in 1784. In both instances this was probably either WilliamBostwick Sparks, son of George, or William Sparks, Jr., son ofWilliam. It seems probable that William Sparks died in the 1780's.Only one William Sparks was listed on the 1790 census of WashingtonCounty--this was probably either Milliam Bostwick Sparks or WilliamSparks, Jr. (William Sparks who came to Washington County in 1773,must not be confused with the William Sparks who died in FayetteCounty, Pennsylvania, in 1788; this latter William Sparks, whosewife's name was Rachel, named the following children in his will:Isaac, Ann, William, James., Rachel, Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah, andJohn.)

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

1. James Sparks, born in September, 1759, in Maryland. According todescendants,he was 13 or 14 years old when he came with his parents towhat is now Independence Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, in1773. He was probably the James Sparks who served in the AmericanRevolution as a member of Capt. Zadook Wright's company, 2ndBattalion, Washington County Militia. (See Penna. Archives, 6thSeries, Vol. 2, pp. 23, 53, and 61). He was married in Washingtoncounty to Margaret Ray, a daughter of Thomas and Margery (Spear) Ray,who had also emigrated from Maryland to Washington County. MargaretRay was born in May, 1761. James Sparks and his family moved fromPennsylvania to Richland County, Ohio, between 1820 and 1830; helater moved to Clinton County, Indiana, where he died in October,1855, at the age of 97. James and Margaret (Ray) Sparks were theparents of txelve children born between 1799 and 1815: Marthy,Margaret, Sarah, William, James, Marjory, Mary, Joseph., Thomas,Robert, Allen, and Elizabeth.

2. William Sparks, Jr.
3. Richard Sparks.
4. Pernina Sparks.
5. Marjory Sparks.
6. Martha Sparks.
7. Margaret Sparks.

"With regard to George Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania., ourrecords are much more complete. A number of deeds are recorded inWashington County which pertain to him and his wife, Mary. On October10, 1798, they deeded 153 acres from the tract called "Elenoroo" totheir son Solomon (Deed Book 1-0, p. 426). on December 30., 1800, theydeeded to their son William Bostwick Sparks 127 acres and 93 perchesfrom the home place called "Sparta" (Deed Book l-Q, p. 318). Also onDecember 30, 1800, Mary Buxton, their daughter, purchased for 50pounds a small part of "Elenoroon" containing 5 acres and 57 perches"in behalf of her daughter, Mary Buxton junior, Mary Buxton seniorretaining unto herself an estate for life in the land conveyed."(Deed Book l-Q, p. 411). On May 91 1800, George and Mary Sparksconveyed slightly over 14 acres to their son, William Bostwick Sparks(Deed Book l-Q, p. 566).

"On July 9, 1803, George Sparks drew up his will, which reads asfollows-.

"In the Name of God Amen, I, George Sparks of Hopewell township,Washington County and State of Pennsylvania, being weak in body but ofa sound and perfect mind and memory Blessed be Almighty God for thesame do make and publish this my last will and Testament in Manner andform following (that is to say) First I give and bequeath unto myoldest son Salathial Sparks, one Dollar, I give and bequeath unto myson William Bostwick Sparks, one Dollar. I give and bequeath unto myson Solomon Sparks, on Dollar, and I give and bequeath unto mydaughter Mary Buxton, one Dollar, I give and bequeath unto my belovedwife, Mary Sparks, the Bay Mare and Mare colt with three cows, and tensheep, a feather bed with all the household furniture together with myother freehold estate whatever to her my said wife during the time ofher natural life and at her death I give and bequeath unto my sonJames Sparks his heirs and assigns forever all my freehold estatecontaining one hundred thirty seven acres more or less lying and beingin the township County and State aforesaid and further it is my willthat all movable property that is not mentioned above be sold atpublick sale and my debts to be paid out of the monies arising fromthe Sale thereof, and the overplus (if any) to my said beloved wifeMary Sparks, whom together with my son William Bostwick Sparks, Ihereby appoint Executors of this my last will and testament herebyrevoking all former wills by me made.

In witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this ninth dayof July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and three.
his
signed George X Sparks (Seal)
mark
Signed, Sealed published and declared by the above named George Sparksto be his last will and Testament in the presence of us who havehereunto subscribed as witnesses in the presence of the Testator."

signed James Heney
John Buchanan
Jacob Walter

"On May 23, 1806, John Buchanan and James Heney, two of the witnessesto the above Will, appeared before the Register for Probate inWashington County, and swore that they "were personally present andheard and saw the within named Testator Gecrge Sparks sign Sealpublish pronounce and declare the within Instrument in writing as andfor his last will and Testament, That at the time of the executionthereof he the said Testator was of a sound and disposing Mind Memoryand understanding That they signed their Names thereto as witnesses inthe presence of the Testator and at his request and in the presence ofeach other and that they saw Jacob Walter the absent Witness sign hisName thereto."

"From the above statement, it is apparent that George Sparks died in1806, probably a few days prior to May 23rd.

"George and Mary Sparks were the parents of the following children:

1. Salathiel Sparks, born 1756; he moved to Adams County, Ohio, in1804
where he died at the town of West Union on July 20, 1823. He marriedand had children named Levi, John, Delilah, and George.

2. George Sparks, Jr., born in the 1750's; he married Rachel Norrisin 1785
and moved to what is now Taylor County, West Virginia, where he diednear Proutytown in 1802. He served in the American Revolution and wasa prisoner of the British in New York in November, 1782. George andRachel (Norris) Sparks were the parents of the following childrenSolomon, Polly, William, Betty, George, and Anna. Following the deathof George Sparks, Jr., in 1802, his widow Rachel married Thomas Littleand had children named Jane, Amos, and Lydia Little.

3. William Bostwick Sparks, born about 1765. According to censusrecords,
he was still a resident of Hopewell Township,, Washington County, aslate as 1820. He married and had at least three sons and fivedaughters.

4. Solomon Sparks, born November 15, 1767. Like his brother,Salathiel,
he moved to Adams County, Ohio,, where he died March 19, 1838 atWinchester. He married Catherine Hillegas; they were the parents ofthe following children, born between 1793 and 1820: John,, Ezra, Levi,Elizabeth, Solomon, Catherine, James, Mary, Abner, George, JonathanBoston, and John Oliver.

5. James Sparks. It is said that he went to Mississippi Territory inan
early day.

6. Mary Sparks, married Jacob Buxton of Washington County,Pennsylvania. She had at least one daughter, named Mary".

SQ 3230: Married Mary Bostwick(?) abt 1755. Children: Salathiel ,William
Bostwick, Solomon, Mary, George and James.

George Sparks is listed in the DAR Patriot Index which lists allpersons whose pedigree has been cleared for inclusion of descendentsinto the association . See page 635 for the following entry: "Sparks,George: bc1730 dp7-9-1803 m Mary
Bostwick PS VA."

See his pension application on SQ pg 757

SQ 4050: SOLOMON AND CATHERINE (HILLEGAS) SPARKS - THEIR CHILDREN ANDGRANDCHILDREN. This article stops at pg 4056.

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

"George Sparks, son of George and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks, wasborn on October 7, 1738. He was married to Rachel ----- about 1763.She had been born about 1740. George died sometime between April 1786and March 1787. He had made a will on April 7, 1786, in which henamed his wife and his nine sons. The will was probated on March 10,1787, and recorded in Will Book SC, p. 62. The original, bearing theactual signature of George Sparks, has also been preserved at theMaryland Hall of Records at Annapolis, and it is a copy of thatoriginal which follows, the only change being the addition ofpunctuation for clarity.

"Will of George Sparks, son of George and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks:

In the name of God, Amen. I, George Sparkes of Queen Anns County &State of Maryland, Farmer, being sick & weak in Body but of soundMind, Memory & Understanding do make & publish this my Last Will &Testament. First, I Recommend my Soul unto the hands of God that gaveit hoping thro the Merits of Jesus Christ to Inherit Eternal Life & myBody to be buried at the discretion of my Executors herein Mentionedand my Real & personal Estate to be divided in manner & formfollowing.

First I give & bequeath unto my son William Sparkes one Black HorseColt Known by the name of Fox, 3 years old next spring --

Item I give & bequeath unto my son John Sparkes one Bay horse Colt 2years old Next Spring Known by the name of Little John, the said JohnSparkes to have the said Colt when he the said John Sparks shallarrive at the age of twenty one years.

Item I give & bequeath unto my beloved Wife Rachel Sparkes all myremainEstate Both real & personal during her life a Widow, but if itshould happen that the aforesaid Rachel Sparkes should Marry, then thesaid Rachel Sparkes to be put to her thirds; the aforesaid RachelSparkes during her Widowhood is hereby Bound to Keep together & totake the best care she can of all my Children & to give them thefollowing Board, Schooling To Wit-- To my son John Sparkes one & halfyears Board & Schooling to Commence on the 1 day of JanY 1787 & Expirebefore the arrives at the age of twenty one. To my son George Sparkesone years Board & Schooling to Commence on 1 Day JanY 1787 & to Expirebefore he arrives at the age of twenty one. To my son Thomas Sparkestwo years Board & Schooling to Commence on the 1 Day JanY 1788 & toExpire before he arrives at the age of twenty one. To my sons Joseph& Isaack Sparkes two years Board & schooling each to CommenceImmediately after my discease & to Expire as soon as Circumstanceswill admit. To my sons Nehemiah, Lodowick & Allen Sparkes two yearsBoard & Schooling each to Commence when they Arrive at Ten years & toExpire by the time they arrive at the age of fourteen years. If theaforesaid Rachel Sparkes Depart this her Natural Life or should sheMarry, then the whole of my Remaining Real & personal Estate I give &bequeath unto my son William Sparkes during his Natural Life and theaforesaid William Sparkes to Comply in full with every Lagacy given tomy sons which they have not received from my Beloved Wife, RachelSparkes, that is to say their Board & Schooling as specified & to Keepthem together in the best Manner he can, and after My Beloved WifeRachel Sparkes & my son William Sparkes Depart this their Natural Lifethen the whole of my Estate, Real & personal to be sold to the mostadvantage and one Equal Share of the profit arisising [sic] from thesale I give & bequeath unto each of my sons whose names are Inserted,that May be living when the sale takes place, reserving one Equalshare for my son William Sparkes Lawful begotten heir should he haveone. Lastly I hereby nominate & appoint my Loving Wife Rachel Sparkesto be my Executrix & My son William Sparkes Executor of this my LastWill and Testament, Jointly, Hereby revoking all former Will or Willsby me heretofore Made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand& seal this 7th Day April One Thousand seven Hundred & Eighty six.

[signed] Georg Sparks (Seal)

Signd seald Publishl'd & declarl'd by the within named GeorgeSparkes to be his last Will & Testament in the presence of us who havehereunto subscribed our Names as Witnesses thereto in the presence ofthe Testator and at his Request
Test:
[signed] Benjn Garrette
his
William ( X ) Sparkes
mark
[signed] John Allen Langston"

[The following documentation was added by the register of deeds forQueen Anne's County.]

"Queen Ann's County Ct Then came Rachel Sparkes andWilliam Sparkes the l0th Day of March 1787 and made Oath on the holyEvangels of almighty God that the within Instrument of writing is thetrue and whole Will and Testament of George Sparkes, late of QueenAnn's County, deceased, that hath come to their Hands or Possession.and that they do not know of any other -- Certified:
Sol Clayton, Regr of Wills
for Queen Ann's County

Queen Ann's County Ct Then came Benjamin Garrettand William Sparkes the l0th Day of March 1787 two of the subscribingWitnesses to the within last Will and Testament of George Sparkes lateof Queen Ann's County, deceased, and severally made Oath on the holyEvangels of almighty God that they did see the Testator therein named,sign and seal this Will and that they heard him publish, pronounce anddeclare the same to be his last Will and Testament, that at the timeof his so doing, he was to the best of their Apprehensions of soundand disposing Mind, Memory and Understanding and that theyrespectively subscribed their Name and Mark as Witnesses to this Willin the Presnce and at the Request of the Testator and in the Presenceof each other, and that they saw John Allen Langston subscribe hisrespective Name as a Witness to this Will in the Presence and at theRequest of the Testator.
Certified:
Sol Clayton, Regr of Wills for Queen Ann's County"

"It appears that this will was written for George Sparks by John AllenLangston, who, throughout the document, spelled the name Sparks asSparkes. When George Sparks signed his own name at the end of thewill, however, he clearly spelled his name "Sparks," although heomitted the final "e" of George.

"It is of interest to note in connection with George Sparks'sprovisions for the education of his sons, that as early as 1723 theAssembly of the Province of Maryland had established one school ineach county, located as near to the center of the county as might beand "as may be most convenient for the boarding of children. 11 Theschoolhouse in Queen Annes County was located on the main road fromCentreville to Queenstown. Students were taught reading, writing,arithmetic, and grammar for which their parents or guardians paid afee of 25 shillings, or 300 pounds of tobacco per annum. See Emory'sHistory of Queen Annes County, published in 1950 by the MarylandHistorical Society.)

"Rachel Sparks, widow of George Sparks, did not remarry, and sheapparently held the family together until her death in 1805. We haveno way of knowing, of course, whether she was able to send her sons tothe boarding school as directed by her husband's will. She was thehead of her household when the 1790 and 1800 federal censuses weretaken. It seems likely that she had been pregnant when her husbanddied, for she named a daughter, Mary Sparks, in her will. GeorgeSparks had made no mention of a daughter in his will.

"Rachel made her will on February 21, 1805, in Queen Annes County, andit was proven on November 12, 1805. Two sons, George Sparks andThomas Sparks, who had been named in her husband's will, were notmentioned in her own will. They may have died or had moved away. Asabstracted several years ago by the present writer, here are theessential parts of the will of Rachel Sparks:

Beneficiaries: Sons, Nehemiah Sparks, Lodowick Sparks, Allen Sparks,John Sparks, William Sparks, Isaac Sparks, and Joseph Sparks.Daughter: Mary Sparks.

Executors: Sons, Lodowick Sparks and Allen Sparks.

Witnesses: Nathan Sparks and William Elliott.
(End of article on page 4040).

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1997, Whole No. 178, pp. 4809-4826:

"For many years we have pondered over the parentage of a George Sparkswho made his will in Newberry County, South Carolina, on October 20,1795. Because his will was entered for probate on March 2, 1796, wecan be certain that George Sparks died either late in 1795 or early in1796. From its wording, we can also deduce that he was a relativelyyoung man when he died.

"Our primary clue in tracing George Sparks's origin has been theprovision in his will for his young son, Reuben Sparks, to be rearedby his [JS: George's] sister, Rachel Bicknell, who lived in NorthCarolina. The fact that George Sparks also referred to "my affairs inthe North State," leaves no doubt that he and his sister were membersof the branch of the Sparks family that had migrated prior to theAmerican Revolution from Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks ofthe Yadkin, then included within the boundaries of Rowan County, butnow within Davie County, North Carolina.

"Following is the full text of the will of George Sparks:

Will of GEORGE SPARKS
State of South Carolina, Newberry County.

Be it remembered that on the Twentieth of October in the Year of ourLord
One thousand Seven hundred and Ninety Five that I GEORGE SPARKS
being Sick and Weak in Body, I thought it Proper after my body is laidin the
Grave that my Worldly Affairs Should be Honestly Settled, for Which Ileave
my friend George Powell to do this in State aforesaid and AfterSettling my Affairs aforesaid According to law he to makea true Return of all to my sister
Rachel Bicknel in North Carolina and she to receive it and use it asher own
untill my Son REUBEN SPARKS is Come to the Age of Twenty One Years, as
this I assert my Last Will.
his
Witnesseth [signed] George X Sparks

Volentinee Braswell mark
Redson Davis

"This will was recorded in Newberry County Will Book A, page 355, andwas marked as "Proved March 2nd 1796" by Fred Nance, County Clerk.

"When it was that George Sparks went from North Carolina to NewberryCounty, South Carolina, is not known, except that he was there at thetime the 1790 census was taken. On the 1790 census, as would be trueof each federal census taken prior to 1850, only the head of eachhousehold was actually named. Free white males in 1790 in eachhousehold, including the head, were then enumerated in two categoriesfollowing the name: those 16 and over, and those under 16. Whitefemales were also counted and recorded, but with no division by age.

"George Sparks was shown in Newberry County, South Carolina, stillconsidered part of the "Ninety-Six District," in 1790, as over age 16.In his household was a male under 16, who was doubtless his small son,Reuben Sparks, and one female who was surely his wife, of whom we haveno knowledge. Two other men named Sparks were also shown as headinghouseholds in Newberry County in 1790, John Sparkes and StephenSparks, but we are certain that they were unrelated to George Sparks.

"The only record that we have found in Newberry County, SouthCarolina, pertaining to George Sparks, other than his will, is hispurchase of fifty acres of land there on April 6, 1795. He paid fiftypounds sterling to Herman Davis, Sr., who was called "Planter," also aresident of Newberry County. (See Newberry County Deed Book C, page814.) According to this deed, George Sparks's fifty acres were part ofa grant of 200 acres that had been made earlier to Davis, located inthe fork between the Enoree and Saluda Rivers. The witnesses toGeorge Sparks' purchase of his fifty acres were William Finney, AndrewSpence, and Josiah Elliot. This deed was not proven and recorded inNewberry County until July 28, 1796, by which time George Sparks haddied, his will having been entered for probate on March 2, 1796.

"It seems apparent that George Sparks's wife had died before he wrotehis will, in which he left all of his property to his sister, Rachel(Sparks) Bicknell, with which to rear his son, Reuben. We have foundno record pertaining to this Reuben Sparks other than his mention inhis father's will. [JJS Note: But see the pension application for aReuben Sparks born about 1777 in the Quarterly for June, 1962, WholeNo. 38, pp. 651-653.]

"It is the will of George Sparks that enables us to fit his sister,Rachel, into the branch of the Sparks family that came to the Forks ofthe Yadkin in North Carolina in 1754.

"A rather detailed account of the migration of members of the Sparksfamily of Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin inNorth Carolina, was included in an article on the life of WilliamSample Sparks published in the Quarterly of December 1989, Whole No.148, pp. 3484-3501. This writer and Dr. Paul E. Sparks, theAssociation's president, have become convinced, partly through aprocess of elimination, that William Sample Sparks was the father ofGeorge Sparks and of Rachel (Sparks) Bicknell, the subjects of thisarticle.

"William Sample Sparks had been born about 1700 in Queen Annes County,Maryland; he was a grandson of the William Sparks who died there in1709. His father, we are certain, was William Sparks, Jr.(ca.1674-ca.1735), who was the eldest son of the William who died in1709. An article about this early immigrant from Hampshire County,England, to Maryland with his brother, John Sparks (died 1700),appeared in the Quarterly of March 1971, Whole No. 73, pp. 1371-1389;a more detailed account, based on later research, appeared in theissue for December 1992, Whole No. 160, pp. 4025-4034.

"We have no knowledge of the first wife of William Sample Sparks, butit appears that she was the mother of his first two sons, William,born about 1725, and Matthew, born about 1730. We believe that thefirst wife of William Sample Sparks died and that he was the "WilliamSparks" who was married in St. Luke's Parish in Queen Annes County onAugust 24, 1732, to Mary Courmon (or Corman). It is probable that theson of William Sample Sparks named James was a son of Mary, if we arecorrect regarding his father's second marriage.

"In or about 1736, William Sample Sparks left Queen Annes County withhis family and migrated to an area of western Maryland that is drainedby the Monocacy River and its tributaries; this area was called"Monocacy" by the Indians long before the appearance of the white man.(See the map showing the Big and Little Pipe Creeks, where Sparkssettled, along with other streams flowing into the Monocacy River, onpage 3488 of the December 1989 Quarterly.) This area was included inPrince Georges County when William Sample Sparks moved there, but itbecame part of Frederick County when Frederick was created in 1748.

"A few years after William Sample Sparks settled in Monocacy, he wasjoined by an uncle, Joseph Sparks, and Joseph's large family. JosephSparks died in 1749, at which time William Sample Sparks and RachelSparks both signed as "next of kinn" when the inventory of Joseph'spersonal property was prepared. (See the article on Joseph Sparks whodied in 1749 in the Quarterly of March 1990, Whole No. 149, pp.3554-3561.)

"When a property owner died, Maryland law then required that two closerelatives of the deceased, with the two chief creditors of the estate,sign the inventory of his personal property as part of the probatingprocedure. There can be little doubt that this Rachel Sparks was, in1749, the wife of William Sample Sparks. Apparently she was his third-wife, by whom, we believe, he had the son named George and thedaughter named Rachel, who are the subjects of the present article.

"When Joseph Sparks died in 1749, he left a wife named Mary andchildren named Solomon, Joseph [Jr.], Charles, Jonas, Jonathan,William, George, Merum, Mary, Ann, Rebecca, and Sarah. Because JosephSparks had been the youngest son of the William Sparks who died in1709, while William Sample Sparks's father, William Sparks, Jr., hadbeen his oldest son, Joseph's older sons were considerably youngerthan their first cousin, William Sample Sparks.

"It was in the spring of 1754, we believe, that William Sample Sparks,with members of his own family, and accompanied by three of the sonsof Joseph Sparks (Solomon, about 27 years of age; Jonas, about 20; andJonathan, about 18) left Frederick County, Maryland, for the Forks ofthe Yadkin in North Carolina. The eldest son of William SampleSparks, named William, born about 1725, remained in Frederick County,but he would join his father and other family members in NorthCarolina a decade later. As can be seen from the frequent repetitionof the same given names for the grandchildren and great-grandchildrenof the immigrant, William Sparks (died 1709), one can become easilyconfused in trying to identify the parentage of each one. We believethat William Sample Sparks, himself, chose "Sample" as a middle namesimply to identify himself from his father and from his cousins namedWilliam, for which his descendants can be grateful.

"The Sparkses who went to the Forks of the Yadkin were part of arather large migration from Maryland to North Carolina beginning inthe 1750s. These pioneers were in the search of fertile, butinexpensive, land in a mild climate. This they found in what wasknown as "Lord Granville's Domain." (See pages 3492-93 of the December1989 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 148, for a detailed explanationof how Lord Granville acquired his "domain," and how his agents soldportions to settlers prior to the American Revolution.)

"We have known for many years that two sons of William Sample Sparksaccompanied their father in his 1754 migration to the Forks of theYadkin. Matthew Sparks, then about 34 years of age, was married andhad several children, while James Sparks was about 20 years of ageand, we believe, unmarried. As noted above, the son named,William,born about 1725, did not join his father and siblings until 1764. Wehave assumed, however, that there were probably daughters and,perhaps, other sons, of William Sample Sparks of whom we had norecord. We have now concluded, in part through a "process ofelimination," that George and Rachel Sparks, subjects of this article,were surely, also, children of William Sample Sparks, and that theirmother was surely the Rachel Sparks who co-signed with her husband theinventory of Joseph Sparks's personal property in 1749. It was acommon practice to name a daughter for her mother.

"Very few records survive in Rowan County, North Carolina, from thisearly period. Until recently, we had found no record of WilliamSample Sparks in Rowan County's land records, although there arecounty court records pertaining to his receiving a license in 1762 andin 1764 to keep an "ordinary," the name then used for an inn or tavernserving travellers, There is also a record of his serving on a jury in1764. With the publication in 1995 of Vol. 5 of Margaret M. Hofmann'sThe Granville District of North Carolina, 1748-1763, we know now wherehe lived in the Forks of the Yadkin.

"Immigrants to Lord Granville's District, which included the Forks ofthe Yadkin, regularly "squatted" on vacant land that appealed to themuntil such time as they were able, or found it convenient, actually topurchase the tract from Lord Granville's agent. In some instances,years passed before actual ownership was gained or the "squatter"moved to a different site. There was always the danger, however, thatsomeone else would purchase the "squatter's claim," in which case theoriginal settler might lose whatever "improvements" he had made.William Sample Sparks's son, Matthew Sparks, as well as his youngcousin, Solomon, made their initial purchases in 1761. Matthew bought372 acres while Solomon bought 250 acres. In 1762, Solomon bought 290additional acres that adjoined his first purchase, although he latersold a portion to his brother, Jonas. (See the map on page 3495 of theDecember 1989 issue of the Quarterly.)

"William Sample Sparks, however, never acquired a legal title to landin the Forks of the Yadkin, although from Vol. 5 of Ms. Hofmqnn'sabstracts of Lord Granvifle's land records (p.272), we now know thathe had "squatted" on a tract very near that of his son, Matthew. OnMay 30, 1761, however, a settler named James Andrews purchased a tractof 700 acres that included the "improvements" that had been made thereby William Sample Sparks. The warrant authorizing a survey to be madeof Andrews' purchase described the tract as 11700 acres in RowanCounty on the South Side of the South Yadkin, joining the Mouth ofSecond Creek, including the improvements where William Sample Sparksformerly Lived." The exact location of this tract can be identified onthe map appearing on page 3495 of the Quarterly, cited above. PerhapsSparks moved to a portion of the nearby tract purchased by his son,Matthew, and established his ordinary there. It is even possible thatAndrews had purchased from William Sample Sparks the "improvements"Sparks had made on his "squatter's" site.

"Unfortunately, William Sample Sparks did not leave a will, nor havewe found any record of the settlement of his estate. Since no RowanCounty record bearing his name after 1764 has been found, we believethat he died soon after 1764.

"In her pension application made many years later that will be quotedlater in this article, Rachel (Sparks) Bicknell indicated that she hadbeen born on December 12, 1757. This means that she was born in NorthCarolina about three years after her parents' arrival there. Becauseit was to his sister, Rachel, that George Sparks left the care of hisyoung son with whatever property he had, rather than to one of hishalf-brothers, it is logical to speculate that George was of an agesimilar to that of Rachel Bicknell, who was then a widow with sixchildren of her own.

"In our earlier efforts to identify the parents of Rachel (Sparks)Bicknell and her brother, George Sparks, we were confused by the factthat Jonas Sparks, son of the Joseph Sparks who had died in FrederickCounty, Maryland, in 1749, had a son named George and a daughter namedRachel. The Rachel Sparks who was a daughter of Jonas Sparks wasmarried, however, to a man named Minus Griggs, and they subsequentlymoved to Kentucky. (A record of the family of Minus and Rachel[Sparks] Griggs also appears in the present issue of the Quarterly,beginning on page 4829 .) The George Sparks who appeared on a taxlist of Rowan County believed to date from 1775, was a son of JonasSparks; he was not the George Sparks who died in Newberry County,South Carolina, in 1795/96. In his will dated May 11, 1805, JonasSparks made no mention of his son, George Sparks, which suggests thathe either died young or had moved to a different part of the country.

"As was noted earlier, it was in 1764 that the son of William SampleSparks named William, who had been born about 1725, made the journeywith his family from Frederick County, Maryland, to join his Sparksrelatives in the Forks of the Yadkin. (See the Quarterly of June 1991,Whole No. 154, pp. 3752-3898, for an article about William Sparks[ca.1725-1801/02.1) On April 10, 1765, William Sparks purchased fromhis brother, Matthew Sparks, 200 of the 372 acres that Matthew hadacquired from Lord Granville in 1761.

"As has been noted in other articles in the Quarterly devoted to theSparkses of the Forks of the Yadkin, members of the older generationat the time of the American Revolution tended to be Tories (i.e., menwho maintained their allegiance to the English crown.) As the feverof rebellion against King George III intensified in the Colonies,pressure mounted to force the Tories either to declare theirallegiance to the rebellion or risk having their lands confiscated.It was in 1778 that Captain Johnston prepared a list of the names ofsome 152 men in his district who had either failed or refused topledge allegiance to the state of North Carolina. The two Sparksesappearing on this list were William and George, sons of Jonas.Solomon Sparks, with the sons of William Sample Sparks named Williamand Matthew, would probably have appeared, also, on Johnston's listhad they still been residents of Rowan County.

"Early in 1773, William Sparks and his brother, Matthew Sparks, sonsof William Sample Sparks, sold their land in the Forks of the Yadkinand moved their families to Surry County, North Carolina. SurryCounty had been cut off from Rowan County in 1770. Matthew settled inthat part of Surry that eventually became Ashe County, while Williamchose a spot in what is now Yadkin County, near the Wilkes Countyline. This was near where William's cousin, Solomon Sparks (son ofJoseph), had moved two years earlier. William's oldest son, alsonamed William, had either accompanied or followed Solomon--both wereshown on the oldest extant tax list for Surry County, that for 1771.The land on which these Sparkses settled was also part of LordGranville's vast domain, but his land office had been closed followinghis death in 1764, and his family had not reopened it because of theunrest leading up to the Revolution. Settlers simply "squatted" onvacant Granville land that pleased them, marking their proposedboundaries with an axe mark on corner trees. This was called a"tomahawk survey." Their hope was, of course, to purchase the landwhen the Granville land office opened again. It did not open again,of course, and the state of North Carolina, while respecting earlierGranville sales, took over land-granting authority at the end of theRevolution.

"We believe that Rachel Sparks, daughter of William Sample Sparks,accompanied her half-brother, William Sparks, in his 1773 move toSurry County, and we think it likely that her brother, George Sparks,did likewise. The 1774 poll tax list for Surry County survives, andon the portion prepared by Benjamin Cleveland appears the name ofWilliam Sparks and that of his son, Matthew (named, obviously, forWilliam's brother). White males between 16 and 60 were considered tobe "taxables" in Surry County in 1774, proving that William's son,Matthew, was at least 16. Solomon Sparks was also shown as a taxableon this same list, with his sons, named John and Joseph. WilliamSparks's older son, William, Jr., was included, as was James Sparks,the younger brother (or half-brother, in all probability) of William,Sr.

"Although George Sparks did not appear as a taxable in Surry County in1774, we believe that he was there, but he probably had not yetreached the age of 16. We know that his sister, Rachel, was therebecause on October 22, 1774, she was married to Thomas Bicknell inSurry County according to her own sworn statement. She made thisdeposition on December 3, 1845, shortly before her 88th birthday, whenshe applied for a widow's pension based on her husband's service inthe Revolutionary War. She stated that her marriage had beenperformed by a justice of the peace named Squire Riggs, following the"publication" of their marriage banns "in Church as the custom was inthose days." This type of marriage procedure was more common in earlyNorth Carolina than that through the "marriage bond," but it was onlya marriage bond that became an official county record. Rachel was 16years of age at her marriage, or, as she stated, she was in herseventeenth year. Her seventeenth birthday would fall on December 12,1774.

"Thomas Bicknell's surname was spelled variously in the 1700s andearly 1800s, often as Bicknel, Becknel, or Becknell, other times asBeicknell, and even as Bucknell or Begnell. In this article, exceptin direct quotations, we will use the spelling that Thomas used whenhe signed his will in 1780 in his own hand, Bicknell.

"The earliest record that we have found of Thomas Bicknell in NorthCarolina is his name on the 1772 "List of Taxables of Surry County."Shown, also, on the same list is that of his brother, Samuel Bicknell.Samuel, but not Thomas, had also appeared on the 1771 tax list ofSurry County, it being the oldest such list known to exist. Researchinto the Bicknell family by a number of descendants points to Samueland Thomas being sons of a William Bicknell, born ca.1714/15, who diedin 1780 or 1781, in Amherst County, Virginia. His wife's name wasHannah. According to William Bicknell's will, he had sons namedSamuel, William, Thomas, John, and Micajah, and daughters named Ruth,Anna, and Mary Ann. At an earlier time, the family had lived inAlbemarle County, Virginia.

"The tax list for Surry County for 1774 shows how the county had beendivided into militia districts, which also served as tax districts.Benjamin Cleveland was captain of the district that later becameYadkin County in 1850; also included in his district was a portion ofwhat became Wilkes County when it had been cut off from Surry in 1777.Included in Captain Cleveland's 1774 list were Thomas and SamuelBicknell (spelled "Becknall"), as well as William Sparks (with hisson, Matthew), and Solomon Sparks (with his sons, John and Joseph);also James Sparks, half-brother of William, and William Sparks, Jr."

(See balance of article under notes for Rachel Sparks.]

SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1983, Whole No. 122, pp 2519-24:

THE FAMILY OF GEORGE SPARKS JR. (BORN CA. 1805) OF SURRY COUNTY, NORTHCAROLINA AND UNION COUNTY , GEORGIA, p 2520:

"Among the Sparkses who were listed on the 1850 census of Georgiawhich was published in the December 1982 issue of the QUARTERLY, WholeNo . 120, there was family in Union County headed by George Sparks.He was born about 1805; his wife Fanny was born about 1812; and theywere natives of North Carolina. They were probably born in SurryCounty for it was there that their marriage license was issued onDecember 1, 1829, with Charles Johnson, Jr., as their surety. J.Cowles performed the ceremony, probably a few days later.

"George Sparks [Jr.] was a son of George Sparks, Senior, and agrandson of William Sparks [IV]. William Sparks, with wife Ann, andtheir children, had left Frederick County, Maryland, about 1764 andhad moved to Rowan County, North Carolina. A few years later theymoved to the newly-formed county of Surry, and it was there thatWilliam Sparks died between 1800 and 1802. He and Ann apparently hadnine children, among whom was a son George.

"George Sparks, Sr., was born about 1760, probably in FrederickCounty, Maryland. He was a young lad when his parents moved to SurryCounty , NC, about 1772. According to testimony given by James Morganin 1834, George served as a lieutenant in the Colonial Militia duringthe Revolutionary War. (See page 2787, NORTH CAROLINA GENEALOGY,Fall-Winter Issue, 1972, No . 66.) He married, probably about 1785,but we have not learned the name of his wife. He was listed as thehead of his family on every census from 1790 to 1830, and, accordingto these records, he had seven children: 3 sons and 4daughters...George Sparks, Sr., died in Surry County in the fall of1842, probably at the home of his son, George Sparks, Jr. He made awill on November 18, 1833, which was probated at the November 1842term of the Surry County Court. Here is the text of the will as itwas probated:

"Know all men that I George Sparks Senior of Surry County and State of North Carolina do make this my last Will and Testament in mannerand form following, towit:
1st Item. First I give and bequeath unto my son George Sparks , Junr. all my land lying in two separate Tracts containing three Hundredacres be the same more or less with all the improvements in any wasbelonging thereto.
2nd Item. I give and bequeath unto my son George named above my Stilland Stand and all that pertains to my dystilery in any way.
3rd Item. I give and bequeath unto my son George named above all myfarming tools and my Rifle gun with everthing mentioned
4th Item. I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Franky that portion of my pewter furniture that my other Married Daughters have had.
5th Item. And all the Ballance of my household and Kitchen furnatureI give and bequeath unto my son George to him and his Heirs forever.
6th Item. and I further will that all my stock of Horses Cattle Sheepand Hogs that I may happen to die possessed of be sold and after myjust debts are paid that the ballance of the money be equally dividedbetween all my children except my son George and will that my twogrand children James and Wilson Edwards an equal share of the moneyarising from the sale of my stock to be paid into the Hand of SamuelEdwards for the Purpose of Helping to schooling my two grand childrennamed above.
7th Item. And lastly I do appoint Richard H. Parks Executor of thismy last Will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set myHand and seal this 18th day of Nov. 1833.
Witness: his
John Shore jurit George "X" Sparks
Ellot Hall, his mark X mark
[here follows clerks certification]

"In all probability, George Sparks, Sr., made his will in favor of hisson George, Jr., as a part of an arrangement whereby George Sr., wouldlive with his son for the rest of his natural life. When the 1840census was taken of Surry County, there was a male between the ages of70 and 80 years in the household of George Sparks, Jr. This wasprobably his father. George Sparks Sr., bequeathed to his son GeorgeJr., a tract of land which he (George, Sr.), had obtained from hisfather, William Sparks, on March 6, 1800. The 200 acre tract waslocated on Fox Knob of the Brushy Mountains in the northwestern partof present-day Yadkin County, NC, near the town of Jonesville."

***************
SQ 3310 presents another article on the descendants of George SparksJr.

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

SQ 3796:
"George Sparks [Sr.], son of William and Ann Sparks, was born about1758/60 in Frederick County, Maryland, before his parents moved toNorth Carolina. He lived near the present site of the town ofJonesville in Yadkin County. His wife, whose name we have not found,apparently died about 1830. He made his will in 1833; it was probatedin 1842. (See above for the entire text of this will.) He had thefollowing children:

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

(2) Daughter, born ca.1793). [SQ p. 5399: She may have been namedAugathee (Agatha) who married Wiley Craft in 1812.]

(3) Daughter, born ca.1797. She may have been the daughter known tohave been married to Samuel Edwards and who died before her father.

(4) Son, born ca.1799.

(5) Martha Sparks, born September 9, 1801. She was married to CharlesRussell.

(6) Frances Sparks, born ca.1803. Called "Franky" in her father'swill; she was unmarried when her father made his will in 1833. (7)George Sparks Jr. born ca.1805. He is believed to have been marriedto Fanny Lindsay in Surry County in 1829. Shortly before 1850, hemoved his family to Union County, Georgia. An article about GeorgeSparks, Jr. and his family appeared in the June 1983 issue of SQ,Whole No. 122 , pp. 2519-2524."

US CENSUS, 1790, North Carolina, Salisbury District, Surry County:
George Sparks, 1 male, 1 female.

__________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________
The following article referenced in the notes of William Sparks IV hasbeen placed here for reasons of space limitations:

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1996, Whole No. 173, p. 4620:

CHRISTIAN NEWSWANGER - - PURCHASER OF LAND FROM WILLIAM SPARKS(ca.1725-1801/02)

"In the article on William Sparks (ca.1725-1801/02) in the QUARTERLYof June 1991 (Whole No. 154), we gave the text of the deed dated April26, 1764, by which William Sparks sold to Christian Newswanger his283-acre farm in Frederick County, Maryland (see page 3764). Sparksdisposed of his farm in preparation for moving, with his family, tothat part of Rowan County, North Carolina, that is now Davie County,in the Forks of the Yadldn. We had no knowledge of ChristianNewswanger when we prepared this article, but we speculated that hewas probably a member of the German community in Frederick County.

"Recently we learned that Jay Lipps, 1539 Sandpiper Ct. , Sunnyvale,California, 94087-5045, has done research on the Newswanger family,and he has been able to identify Christian Newswanger for us.

"Mr. Lipps uses the spelling "Neiswanger" for the family to whichChristian "New-swanger" belonged, observing that very few names inAmerica have as many variants as does this name, "Newswanger" beingone of them.

"The Christian Neiswanger (or Newswanger) who purchased WilliamSparks's land in 1764 had been born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,on January 23, 1735, and had been baptized in the Trinity LutheranChurch in Lancaster. His first name was Johann, but, as was oftentrue in German families of that time, he was known by his middle name,Christian. His father, also named Christian, had been one of eightyPalatine male immigrants who arrived in Philadelphia in 1728. He diedin Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1762, his only heir being hisson, Christian, who was married (lst) to Mary Catherine Hany (orHarry) in 1753 and (2nd) to Anna Margaret Good in 1761. He moved withhis family from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to Frederick County,Maryland, in 1764, the same year that he purchased William Sparks'sfarm there. Christian Newswanger died in Frederick County, Marvland,in 1802.

SQ, p. 1319:

GEORGE SPARKS OF LEWIS AND NICHOLAS COUNTIES, KENTUCKY

"George Sparks was born about 1767 and died prior to 1840, probably inNicholas County, Kentucky. He was probably the George Sparks whomarried Rachel McClenahan in Nicholas County, Kentucky, on April 18,1805. (This may have been his second marriage since a George Sparksmarried Elizabeth Wells on June 14, 1790, in Bourbon County.) It isquite possible that his widow was the female aged between 70 and 80who was enumerated among the family of George Sparks on the 1840census of Nicholas County; this latter George Sparks is belived tohave been a son of George and Rachel (McClenahan) Sparks.

"George Sparks paid taxes from 1787 to 1799 in Bourbon County, butapparently was in that portion of Bourbon County which became FlemingCounty in 1798 because he paid taxes in Fleming County from 1802 to1804. He was in Lewis County from 1809 to 1817, but went to NicholasCounty where he lived until is death prior to 1840.

"George Sparks was an Ensign and then a Lieutenant in the FlemingCounty Regiments (Cornstalk Militia), first in the 30th Regiment andthen in the 58th Regiment in 1803-4." (Article here lists 10 childrenby sex and approximate birth-dates, no names.)

"Some descendants believe that they can identify four of the tenchildren of George Sparks as George Sparks, Jr.; John Thornton Sparks;Cytha Ann Sparks; and Wiliam Sparks. More positive proof is needed tomake this claim a certainty; however, in the hope that the publishingof these records will stimulate the uncovering of additional data, weare giving the records of these four persons as probable children ofGeorge and Rachel (McClenahan) Sparks." (here follows information onthe four children named for which see their family sheets.)

SQ, p. 5128: "George Sparks, born ca. 1764, died ca. 1835. He wasmarried (1st) to Elizabeth (Betsey) Wells, and (2nd) to RachaelMcClanahan in 1805. Information regarding him and his family can befound in the QUARTERLY of June 1970, Whole No. 70, p. 1319; andDecember 1970, While No. 72, p. 1370."

SQ 3795: He was probably the George Sparks who was married toElizabeth Armstrong in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in 1814.

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

See the Sparks Quarterly for June, 2000, Whole No. 190, pp. 5367-68:

"George Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks, was born about 1785.One Of the reasons for arriving at this approximate date of his birthis the fact that his father, in his 1819 will, named him second amonghis sons. Two other men named George Sparks who lived in theSurry/Wilkes Counties area in North Carolina can be confused withGeorge, son of Matthew and Eunice. One was George G. Sparks, born onNovember 9, 1796, who was a son of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks ofWilkes County, North Carolina. George G. Sparks moved to Georgia priorto 1816. (See the QUARTERLY of December 1996, Whole No. 176,pp.4714-55, for a lengthy article about George G. Sparks (1796-1879]and his decendants.) The other was George Sparks, Jr. born about 1805,who was a son of George Sparks, Sr. (ca.1760-ca.1842). This GeorgeSparks, Jr. (born ca.1805) was a first cousin of George Sparks (bornca.1785), the subject of this sketch. His father, the elder GeorgeSparks, a son of William and Ann Sparks and a brother of MatthewSparks, made his will In Surry County on November 18, 1832; it wasprobated ten years later during the November 1842 meeting of theCounty Court of Surry County; we know that he died in 1842. His son,George Sparks, Jr. (born ca.1805) was married to Fanny Lindsay in1829. This couple moved to Union County, Georgia. (See the QUARTERLYof June 1983, Whole No. 122, pp.2519-24, for the article: "The Familyof George Sparks, Jr. [Born ca. 1805] of Surry County, North Carolina,and Union County, Georgia.")

"We believe that it was George Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice, whowas married to Elizabeth Armstrong in Wilkes County in 1814. Amarriage normally took place in the county in which the bride lived.The Wilkes County marriage bond and license for this couple were datedOctober 24, 1814, with Wesley Armstrong as bondsman. Because ourinformation on George Sparks is quite limited at this time, we givehere a record of his purchasing and selling land in Surry County withthe hope that it may come to the attention of a descendant who will beable to share with us further information regarding George and hisfamily.

"George Spatks, son of Matthew and Eunice, first appeared on a SurryCounty, North Carolina, tax list in
1813; he was taxed for 5 acres of land located in Capt. Halley's taxdistrict which covered an area near the present town of Elkin in whatis now Yadkin County, not far from the Wilkes County line. George andhis father, along with three of his brothers (Joel, Matthew, Jr., andWilliam), were all recorded by Capt. Halley as living near one anotherin 1813.

"As noted earlier, Matthew Sparks, before writing his will on March26, 1819, gave a portion of his
plantation to each of his five sons. To George he gave 100 acres (deeddated March 26, 1819, Surry Co.
Deed Book 0, pp.372-73), "in consideration of the natural love andaffection that a father hath towards a
child and for the better support and maintenance of the same...".

"When the 1820 census was taken in Surry County, George Sparks's household was enumerated with five individuals: George, himself, was shownin the 26 to 45 age category; the female who was surely his wife wasshown in the 18 to 26 age group; and there were two boys and one girlall under 10 years.

"In 1824, it was discovered that there was a narrow strip of land onlyten chains (660 feet) wide but extending the full length, 96 chains,on the south end of the Matthew Sparks plantation (now controlled by"Nicy"Sparks) that still belonged to the state of North Carolina. Itamounted to 200 acres of "vacant land." George made a claim to thisoddly shaped tract on June 5, 1824 and a grant from the state wasawarded to him on December 3, 1825. The description (as recorded inSurry Co. Deed Book T, p.98) states that the tract was "on the Watersof Hunting Creek Beginning at a pine on the Nicy Sparks Corner..."George Sparks paid the state the required fee of only $10.00 for thistract, but four months later he sold it to James Tulbert for $500.(Surry Co. Deed Book T, pp.119-120)

"On February 11, 1825, George Sparks sold to James Jones the part ofhis 100-acre farm given to him by his father in 1819 lying "on thesouth side of Hunting Creek." This comprised 71 acres, leaving Georgewith only 29 acres. We have found no record of his disposing of thisremaining portion.

"When the 1830 census was taken in Surry County, George Sparks waslisted immediately before his mother. His household included a maleunder 5 years of age and another between 5 and 10; a female wasenumerated, also, in the 5 to 10 age category and another in that of10 to 15. George, himself, was shown as between 30 and 40 as was thefemale whom we can assume was his wife.

"On April 14, 1834, George Sparks sold to James Armstrong for $200"his whole Sare [share] & his portion arising to him the sd. Sparksthe whole of his father's Estate that may be arising to him the sd.Sparks after his Mothers death..." From this we may wonder whetherGeorge Sparks was about to move from Surry County. We have found nofurther record of his buying or selling land, nor does his name appearon the 1840 census of Surry County.

"The fact that George Sparks sold his anticipated share of hisfather's estate (that he could expect to inherit at the death of hismother, Eunice Sparks) to James Armstrong may suggest that he had,indeed, been the George Sparks who had been married to ElizabethArmstrong in 1814. This James Armstrong was probably the JamesArmstrong who had obtained a license to be married to Elizabeth Swaim,daughter of Michael Swaim, in 1818 (with a marriage bond dated June 7,1818, the bondsman being James Chappel).

"George Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks, has been found in noSurry County, North Carolina, record after 1834. From census recordscited above, it appears that he had children, but we have found norecord reveal ing their names. We would welcome any suggestions orassistance in discovering further information regarding George andmembers of his family."

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

See SPARKS QUARTERLY June 1959, Whole No. 26, p385:

"GEORGE SPARKS. From the order in which the children of Solomon andCharity Sparks were listed in Solomon's nuncupative will, it wouldappear that George was the oldest. He was probably born about 1788.He is known to have married Delila ----- in Wilkes County, NorthCarolina, and to have migrated to Randolph County, Indiana, in 1830.He died in Wells County, Indiana, in 1843. (continued on p387)

"George Sparks, eldest son of Solomon and Charity Sparks, was bornabout 1788. He married, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Delila----- about 1806. Since no marriage bond has been preserved, it isprobable that George and Delila were married following the publicationof their banns. (See Mr. Johnson's article entitled "Sparks MarriageBonds from North Carolina," in the Quarterly of December, 1954, Vol.II, No. 4, pp. 54-55.) On the 1810 census of Wilkes County, GeorgeSparks was listed with his wife and one male (son) and one female(daughter), both aged under ten years. He was a farmer by occupation.

"At least one deed pertaining to his purchase of land is on record--onNovember 24, 1810, he bought for $200 a tract of 100 acres in WilkesCounty "on the waters of Hunting Creek." He purchased this land fromAbednego Sanders; the witnesses to the deed were Henry Martin, LeonardSale, and Daniel Wilcoxen. George Sparks appears as a grantor in onlyone deed preserved in Wilkes County. This was dated August 14, 1828,and was a deed of trust. He owed Richard J. Cook., formerly of WilkesCounty "but now of Rowan County, North Carolina," $236.22, and hedeeded the 100 acre tract which he had purchased in 1810 to JohnMartin in trust against his debt. Apparently he gave up the landrather than pay the debt. George Sparks owned other land besides this100 acre tract however, because in 1829 he was taxed on 330 acres inWilkes County valued at $800.

"All but one of the eleven children of George and Delila Sparks wereborn in North Carolina. Their daughter Delila, who was the next tothe youngest child, is known to have been born on January 26, 1830,and on the later census records her birthplace was given as NorthCarolina. By the fall of 1830, however, George Sparks had migrated toRandolph County, Indiana, and was listed as a resident of that countywhen the 1830 census was taken, probably late in the year. Althoughwe have not been able to search Randolph County records, it wouldappear from the marriage records of two of the daughters of GeorgeSparks, dated 1832 and 1833, that he settled in West River Township.A descendant of Solomon Sparks, supposed brother of George Sparks,states that Solomon settled in Nettle Creek Township which todayadjoins West River Township on the east. About 1836 George Sparksmoved to Wells County, Indiana, and, according to Biographical Memoirsof Wells County, Indiana, by B. F. Bowen, 1903, page 28, he was one ofthe first settlers of Liberty Township. George Sparks lived in WellsCounty until his death in 1843.

"George Sparks did not leave a will, but among the documents whichhave been preserved in connection with the settlement of his estateare several interesting items. The earliest is a note which GeorgeSparks had signed on March 9, 1830, but which he had never paid offand which was collected from his estate. It reads as follows: "March9, 1830. Twelve months after date I promise to pay or Caus to bee paidunto William West or order the Just and full sum of Three Dollarsbeing for Value receved of him as witness my hand and seal attest."Another similar note, dated November 13, 1838, reads : "Twelve monthsafter date I promise to pay to Bowen Hale or order sixty dollars withinterest from the 13th day of March next value received 13 Nov. 1838 . The above note may be discharged in corn at market price."

"A record on file which reveals the approximate date on which GeorgeSparks died is a bill submitted by his doctor, N. C. Burson. Dr.Burson charged $2.50 per visit on each of the following dates: October26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, November 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, and 23,1843. In all probability , George Sparks died either on November 23,1843, or a few days later.

"On January 18, 1844, Delila Sparks, widow of George Sparks, signedthe following document: "State of Indiana, County of Wells. I, DelilaSparks, of County of Wells, State of Indiana, widow of George Sparks,late of said county, deceased, have renounced and do by these presentsrenounce, release , and forever quit claim all my rights and title tothe administration of the estate of said decedent and I Desire thatthe same be committed to my son, Aaron Sparks or to such person orpersons as the Honorable Probate Court may think proper to appoint.Witness my hand this 18th day of January A.D. 1844.
/S/ Delila Sparks (her mark)
Witness: James Johnston.
"The witness to the above document, James Johnson, sometimes spelledJohnston, was Delila's son-in-law, the husband of her daughter Sally.

"On February 3, 1844, Aaron Sparks signed the administrator's bond ,with James Johnson as his bondsman, in the amount of $400.00.

"Since George Sparks did not leave a will directing the manner inwhich his estate should be divided, and since he left a number ofdebts, it was necessary that his belongings be sold at auction soonafter his death. A sale was held on March 8, 1844, and the reportlisting all the items sold gives an excellent picture of life on anIndiana farm in 1843. The names of those who purchased goods alsoreveal the identity of his neighbors. [Inventory on SQ pp 388-90]

"Numerous claims against the estate of George Sparks were presented,some not until several years following his death. For example, onNovember 11, 1850, John Studebaker presented a bill for "6 yardsshrouding" in the amount of $1.50, plus 52 cents "interest for 6 years11 months." Note that the period for which interest was charged, ifexact, would indicate that George Sparks died on December 11, 1843,but this probably does not represent an exact calculation.

"On February 11, 1845, Aaron Sparks, as administrator of the estate ofGeorge Sparks, submitted to the Probate Judge a petition whichidentifies the heirs of George Sparks. As was the custom at the time,married daughters' husbands were designated as heirs along with thedaughters themselves . This document reads as follows:

"To the Honorable William H. Parmilu, Judge of Wells County ProbateCourt, sitting, Your Petitioner, Aaron Sparks, administrator of theestate of George Sparks, late of said county, deceased, humblysheweth to your Honor that the personal assets of the said estateamounts only to the sum of $219.75; that $35.00 of said assets wasapplied in payment of a bill to Dr. Burson incurred in the lastillness of the intestate; $2.50 paid to John Douglass and $1.50 paidto Enoch Robinson in satisfaction to claims against the estate, making$39.00 and leaving $180.75 of the personal assets of said estate inthe hands of your petitioner.

"Your petitioner further sheweth to your Honor that the debtsoutstanding against the estate is $422.41 leaving $241.66 of a deficitand exhausting the personal assets of the said estate. Yourpetitioner further sheweth to your Honor that the said George Sparksdied seized in fee simple of the West half of the southwest quarter ofSection 2, Township 27 , North of Range 11 East consisting of 80acres; also the Southwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of Section2, Township 27, North of Range 11 East, consisting of 40 acres,supposed to be worth $3.00 per acre and amounting in vale to the sumof $360.

"Your petitioner further sheweth to your Honor that it will benecessary to make sale of the above described land and that theproceeds thereof be made assets in the hands of your petitioner tocomplete payment of the debts of said estate. Your petitionertherefore prays your Honor to make an order for the sale of said landsfor that purpose and that Richard Vernon and Dicey Vernon, AaronSparks, Mordecai Samuels and Elizabeth Samuels, James Johnson andSara h Johnson, Thomas Brown and Lydia Brown, George Sparks, JacksonGrant and Matilda Grant, heirs at law of the said intestate; also AbelSparks, Delila Sparks, and Mary Sparks, minor heirs of the saidintestate; also Delila Brown and William Brown, infant heirs ofFaribee Brown, deceased , to be made parties to this petition, andthat your Honor do appoint a guardian ad litem to appear to thispetition for the minor heirs of said intestate and such other reliefand take such other steps touching the matters set forth in thispetition as may Seem Just and right all of which is RespectfullySubmitted to your Honorable.

/S/ Aaron Sparks, administrator of the estate of
George Sparks, deceased; by I. P. Greer , his
Solicit.
"On August 19, 1846, Aaron Sparks reported to the Probate Court thaton May 9 he had tried to sell the land at auction, but that "the samecould not be sold for want of bidders." In February, 1848, he wasordered by the court to sell the property and in May, 1849, hereported as follows: "Aaron Sparks, administrator of the estate ofGeorge Sparks, deceased, respectfully reports that in pursuance ofthe order of his Honorable Court made at the last May term thereof heagreeable to the direction of said court did on the 12th day of April,1849 sell the West half of the Southwest quarter and the South quarterof the Northwest quarter of Section 2, Township 27, North of Range 11, East in Wells County, containing 120 acres to Harrison Griffin forthe sum of $580 which sale he prays may be confirmed.
/S/ Aaron Sparks

"Meanwhile, on September 18, 1848, Delila Sparks, widow of GeorgeSparks, received "$150.00 in full of her demands upon the estate ofGeorge Sparks." On October 11, 1853, the final settlement sheet wasfiled in open court. There are numerous scraps of paper in the fileproving claims against the estate of George Sparks. The names of hiscreditors were [here lists].

"The date on which Delila Sparks, widow of George, died is unknown .In 1850 she was living with her son, Abel Sparks, in Huntington County. She was then 62 years old, according to the census, and her daughterMary, 16 years old, was living with her.

"From the records cited above, it has been possible to compile a listof the children of George and Delila Sparks. Although some may havedied in infancy of whom we have no record, those who were living in1844, or who had died and left issue, as was true of the daughterFaribee, are known . The order of the birth of these children isunknown, except the last three. Perhaps they were listed in the orderof their birth in the petition by Aaron Sparks quoted above. They arelisted in this order below, with the daughter Faribee, deceased in1844, inserted following Sarah, since Faribee was married one yearafter Sarah. [Here lists details on each child for which see theirnotes]

See also SQ 1831 for "Further Data on the Descendants of SolomonSparks Jr. of Wilkes County, North Carolina". and SQ 5287 for "SomeDescendants of Solomon Sparks, Jr. (Died 1817) of Wilkes County, NorthCarolina who moved to Indiana." This article appears in the notes forMary Ellen Sparks

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1960, Whole No. 31, p. 504:

"GEORGE SPARKS, born May 16, 1794, died Dec. 30, 1839, of AdamsCounty, Ohio; MARY (DECAMP) SPARKS, born 1806, widow of George Sparks. Bounty Land Warrant File 75 601-120-55.

"On May 30, 1851, Mary Sparks, widow of George Sparks, of AdamsCounty, Ohio, applied for bounty land. She gave her age as 51 years.She stated that George Sparks had been a private in Lt. Hayslip'scompany, Captain John Campbell's battalion of Ohio Cavalry "in theexpeditions commenced by Gen. McArther" in the War of 1812. Shestated that George Sparks had volunteered on Sept. 15, 1814, in AdamsCounty, served 3 months and was honorably discharged at Detroit on orabout Dec. 15, 1814, but that his certificate of discharge had beenlost. She further stated that she and George Sparks had been marriedin Adams County on Aug. 11, 1823, by one John Patterson, a justice ofthe peace, and that her maiden had been Mary Decamp. She stated thather husband had died in Adams County on Dec. 30, 1839, and that shewas still his widow. She signed her name as Mary Sparks.

"Also on May 300 1851, J. R. Coekerill, Clerk of the Court of CommonPleas of Adams County, Ohio, certified that, according to the marriagerecords of Adams County, on Aug. 11, 1823, George Sparks procurred alicence to marry Mary Decamp; that, although there was no return ofthe marriage record made, he knew from personal knowledge that theyhad been married and 'have raised a large family of children.'

"On May 30s 1851, Joseph W. Lafferty of Adams County swore "that hewas acquainted with George Sparks in his lifetime and that he died atsaid Adams County sometime during the year of our Lord 1839."

"The official record of the service of George Sparks gave his periodof enlistment from Sept. 20 to Nov. 19, 1814. Mary Sparks was granted40 acres of land.

"On April 3, 1855, Sparks applied for additional land under the act of1855. She gave her age as 55 and stated that she was a resident ofAdams County, Ohio. She gave essentially the same information as shehad in her earlier application, although she added that it was in thetown of West Union in Adams County that her husband had volunteered.She signed her name in 1855 as "My Sparks'--the witnesses to herstatements were George Sparks (her son) and C. W. Stevenson.

"(Editor's Note: Mary (Decamp) Sparks was born Feb. 20, 1806. GeorgeSparks Mae born in Penn. on May 16, 1794, and was a son of SalathielSparks (1756-1823) who came to Adams County, Ohio, with his familyfrom Washington County, Penn., in 1804. Salethiell's father wasGeorge Sparks of Hopewell Township, Washington County, Penn., who diedthere in 1806. George and Mary (Decamp) Sparks had five children: JohnSparks, born May 27, 1824;
Mary Ann Sparks, born March 21, 1827;
Salathial Sparks, born Nov. 20, 1829;
George Sparks, born Sept. 29, 1832; and
Gracy Jane Sparks, born July 3. 1835.)"

[JS Note: This George was a first cousin of my great-grandfather,Solomon Sr. (173). His father George Sr. (534) was a brother of mygreat-great-grandfather James Sparks (189). ]

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1983, Whole No. 122, p. 2520:

"Among the Sparkses who were listed on the 1850 census of Georgiawhich was published in the Dec 1982 issue of the SQ, Whole No. 120,there was a family in Union County headed by George Sparks. He wasborn about 1805; his wife Fanny was born about 1812; and they werenatives of North Carolina. They were probably born in Surry Countyfor it was there that their marriage license
was issued on December 1, 1829, with Charles Johnson, Jr. as surety .J. Cowles beformed the ceremony, probably a few days later.

"George Sparks was a son of George Sparks, Sr. (534), and a grandsonof Wm. Sparks [IV] (199). William Sparks, with wife, Ann, and theirchildren had left Frederick County, Maryland, about 1764 and had movedto Rowan County , NC. A few years later, they moved to thenewly-formed county of Surry, and it was there that William Sparksdied between 1800 and 1802. He and Ann apparently had nine children,among whom was a son, George." (JS comment: 'and a son James!')

SQ 2522: "After the death of his father and prior to 1850 (probablyabout 1848) George Sparks, Jr., moved his family to Union County,Georgia . It was there that he was listed with his wife and eight oftheir children on the 1850 census. (Apparently their two oldest sonshad moved away from home or had
died.)" (Here the eight are named) See SPARKS QUARTERLY Dec 1988,Whole No. 144, pp. 3307-3226 for much info on this family anddescendants. "George Sparks, Jr. and Fanny Lindsay obtained
a marriage bond in Surry County, North Carolina, on December 1, 1829 . A cousin of George named Charles Johnson, Jr., served as his suretyfor this bond. We can assume that the marriage took place within afew days of the date of this marriage bond."

SQ 3796: "He is believed to have been married to Fanny Lindsay inSurry County (NC) in 1829. Shortly before 1850, he moved his familyto Union County, Georgia. An article about George Sparks Jr. and hisfamily appeared in the June 1983 issue of SQ, Whole No. 122,pp.2519-2524."

SQ pg 2649: George Sparks, son of William and Nancy (McAlister) Sparks, was born about 1838 in Alabama. He served in the ConfederateStates Army. He was probably the George J. Sparks who entered into acattle partnership with William Sparks (probably his father) in 1862in Cooke County, Texas. He should not be confused with George W .Sparks, son of Thomas (4510) and Hanna (Weeks) Sparks (4508).

SQ pg 3367: (correction) George Sparks is believed to have died as aCivil War Casualty.

!NOTES:
SQ pg 2524: "George Sparks, son of George and Elizabeth (Morgan) Sparks, was
born on October 26, 1862. He married Ida Morgan. He is said to hav emoved to
Mexico, but later went to Walla Walla, Washington, where he died on October 2,
1948. He and Ida had five children: Roy, Florence, Pearl, Taff and Cody."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4067: He was married to Cleo Sellers.

SQ pg 2596:

"George Alvester Sparks, son of Francis and Mary Jane (Lamb) Sparks,was born on May 21, 1874, at Manchester, Missouri, and was only sixyears old when his mother died. He was cared for by his sisters untilthey married. He became a farmer and generally rented farms in thenorthwestern part of Indiana. He married Edith Pearl Guinn on February25, 1900. She was born on August 20, 1882, and was a daughter ofIsaiah M. and Catherine A. (Elzy) Guinn.

" About 1923, George Sparks moved his family to Chicago Heights,Illinois, near Dyer, Indiana, where he contracted to buy a farm. Hedied shortly afterwards on March 15, 1925, and his sons took over theresponsibilities of running the farm and helped their mother to rearthe family. George's son, Wilber Sparks, still lives on the farm, andhis brother, Leonard Sparks, lives only a short distance away.

"Edith (Guinn) Sparks died on October 15, 1968, and was buried besideher husband in the Pyrmont Cemetery. She and George had sixchildren."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3327: George Andrew Sparks, son of "Colonel" and Bernetta (Berry)
Sparks, was born on August 19, 1921. He was killed in November 194 4in Italy
while serving in the armed forces in World War II.

George Festus Sparks was born on March 16, 1896. He is said to havebeen shot and killed by a jealous husband.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1955; Whole No. 12, p.102:

"George Sparks, son of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks, was born 9November, 1796, in Wilkes Co., N.C.; died 11 May 1879 in Elliott Co.,KY.; married, first, about 1815, in Wilkes Co., N.C. ---Mainer ; hemarried second, 7 Aug 1822 (date of Lawrence Co. Marriage Bond ) NancyShort, daughter of Aaron Short, born 7 April 1800, died 11 Jan. 1879.This couple resided in Lawrence County, KY., and weregreat-great-grand-parents of Paul E. Sparks, President of the SparksFamily Association.
Children:
a. Lucinda Sparks, b. ca. 1816; m. James Hanks in 1838.
b. John W. Sparks, b. 5 Nov. 1823; m Almeda Green.
c. Nancy Sparks, b. ca. 1825; m. John Hutchinson.
d. Cynthia Sparks, b. 16 July 1827.
e. Hugh S. Sparks, b. 21 May 1829, m. Nancy Carnutte
f. Levi H. Sparks, b. 31 May 1829. m. Nancy Lawson.
g. Emma Sparks, b. 16 Jun 1839; m. John Harper.
h. Colby Sparks, b.ca. 1842.
i. Mary (Polly) sparks, b.ca. 1844; m. John Lawson.
The ancestry of Paul E. Sparks follows:
George Sparks b. 1796, d. 1879, Elliott Co., KY.
Hugh S. Sparks, b. 21 May 1829, d. Civil War?
Colby Sparks, b 1857, d. 1951, Lawrence Co. KY.
James B. Sparks, b. 1880
Paul E. Sparks, b. 1910."

"George Sparks, eldest son of Solomon and Charity Sparks, was bornabout 1788. He married, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Delila----- about 1806. Since no marriage bond has been preserved, it isprobable that George and Delila were married following the publicationof their banns. (See Mr. Johnson's article entitled "Sparks MarriageBonds from North Carolina," in the Quarterly of December, 1954, Vol.II, No. 4, pp. 54-55.) On the 1810 census of Wilkes County, GeorgeSparks was listed with his wife and one male (son) and one female(daughter), both aged under ten years. He was a farmer by occupation. At least one deed pertaining to his purchase of land is on record--onNovember 24, 1810, he bought for $200 a tract of 100 acres in WilkesCounty "on the waters of Hunting Creek." He purchased this land fromAbednego Sanders; the witnesses to the deed were Henry Martin, LeonardSale, and Daniel Wilcoxen. George Sparks appears as a grantor in onlyone deed preserved in Wilkes County. This was dated August 14,, 1828,and was a deed of trust. He owed Richard J. Cook, formerly of WilkesCounty "but now of Rowan County, North Carolina," $236.22, and hedeeded the 100 acre tract which he had purchased in 1810 to JohnMartin in trust against his debt. Apparently he gave up the landrather than pay the debt. George Sparks owned other land besides this100 acre tract however, because in 1829 he was taxed on 330 acres inWilkes County valued at $800.

"All but one of the eleven children of George and Delila Sparks wereborn in North Carolina. Their daughter Delila, who was the next tothe youngest child, is knovm to have been born on January 26,, 1830,and on the later census records her birthplace was given as NorthCarolina. By the fall of 1830, however, George Sparks had migrated toRandolph County, Indiana,, and was listed as a resident of that countywhen the 1830 census was taken, probably late in the year. Althoughwe have not been able to search Randolph County records, it wouldappear from the marriage records of two of the daughters of GeorgeSparks, dated 1832 and 1833, that he settled in West River Township.A descendant of Solomon Sparks, supposed brother of George Sparks,states that Solomon settled in Nettle Creek Township which todayadjoins West River Township on the east. About 1836 George Sparksmoved to Wells County, Indiana, and, according to Biographical Memoirsof Wells County, Indiana, by B. F. Bowen, 1903, page 28, he was one ofthe first settlers of Liberty Township. George Sparks lived in WellsCounty until his death in 1843.

See also THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1960, Whole No. 32, pps525-6:

SPARKSES IN THE WAR OF 1812---BOUNTY LAND AND PENSION APPLICATIONS:

"GEORGE SPARKS, of Wilkes County, North Carolina, and Elliott County,Kentucky; born November 9, 1796, died May 11, 1879. Bounty LandWarrant File 50 353-120-55.
"On June 17, 1854, George Sparks made application for bounty land. Hewas a resident of Carter County, just over the line from ElliottCounty, Kentucky, and gave his age as 58 years. He stated that he hadbeen a private in Capt. Ambrose Catton's (or Carlton's) company in aNorth Carolina regiment; that he was drafted at Wilkesborough , WilkesCounty, North Carolina, on November 1, 1814, for 6 months; shortlyafter being drafted he went with his company to join the VirginiaMilitia at Norfolk, but when they got to within 3 or 4 miles ofHillsborough, North Carolina, the company was informed that therequisition had been filled and he returned home where he remaineduntil about January 20, 1815, when his company again marched fromWilkesborough to Wadesborough in Anson County, North Carolina, adistance of 270 miles; that he arrived at Wadesborough about Feb. 20,1815, and he was mustered into service; that on the same day news ofthe peace arrived and he was honorably discharged at Wadesborough. Heremembered that one of the officers was a Major Allen. He also statedhe had lost his certificate of discharge. He signed his name as"George Sparks." The witnesses were Robert Rose and Abijah Whitt,both of Carter County, Kentucky.
Official records revealed that George Sparks had served under Capt .A. Carlton from November 24, to December 8, 1814, and from Feb 19 toMarch 9, 1815.
On April 7, 1855, George applied for additional bounty land under thenew act. He was still a resident of Carter County, Kentucky, and gavehis age as 58 years. He gave no information besides that which hegave in his first application. The witnesses were John B. Whitt andAllen Harper of Carter County.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriageinformation from Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds(1822-1865):
"George Sparks & Nancy Short, July 31, 1822. (Book I, p. 12) Marriedby Stephen Wheeler, Baptist Minister.

See also THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1996, Whole No. 176, pp.4713-4755:

GEORGE G. SPARKS (1796-1879)
SON OF JOHN AND SARAH (SHORES) SPARKS
WITH A RECORD OF HIS KNOWN DESCENDANTS TO ABOUT 1900
By Paul E. Sparks

"[Editor's Note: John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks of early WilkesCounty, North Carolina, had eleven children, eight sons and threedaughters. (See pp. 94-104 of the December 1955 issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY (portion reproduced above) and pp. 2269-2272 of the March1981 issue, Whole No. 113, for additional information about theirfamily.) An article about their oldest son, Levi Sparks, waspublished in the June 1996 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 174 (forwhich see notes for Levi Sparks). We now present an article devotedto another son, George Sparks, and his desdendants to about 1900.This record has been compiled by the Association's president, Paul E.Sparks. Dr. Sparks is a great-great- grandson of George Sparks.Articles about other children of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks willbe published as space permits in future issues of the Quarterly.]

"George G. Sparks, son of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks, was born onNovember 9, 1796, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Some descendantssay that the initial "G" in his name stood for Graham, but no recordhas been found to prove that this is correct. Few records have beenfound pertaining to his youth. It can be assumed that he was a goodhunter and fisherman for most of the lads of that period of timelearned to provide food in this manner. It can also be assumed thathe received the usual schooling of that period of time for he couldread, write, and cipher. A preserved record shows that his father,John Sparks, bought four spelling books at the Fisher River storelocated near his home at Traphill, North Carolina.

"George was a lad of sixteen when the second war with Great Britainbroke out In 1812, and when he reached his eighteenth birthday, he wasenrolled in the North Carolina Militia to fight the British. Herecalled his military service forty years later when, in 1854, heapplied for bounty land as a veteran of that war. (See pp. 525-526 ofthe December 1960 Issue of The Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 32, for anabstract of his bounty land file.[JJS: See also above])

"According to information furnished by descendants, George Sparks wasmarried about 1815 to a woman named Mainer (or Maynard); however, norecord has been found of this marriage. There is a record of themarriage of George Sparks to Elizabeth Armstrong in Wilkes County onOctober 24, 1814. We have not found the parents of this GeorgeSparks, and there is a possibility that he was the George G. Sparks,son of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks, who is the subject of thisarticle.

"Shortly after his marriage, George Sparks and his bride, along withsome other Wilkes Countians, went to Georgia, probably to settle onsome undeveloped land that was opening up in that state. Prior togoing to Georgia, however, he had received some money from a neighbor,as is shown by the following note which has been preserved by adescendant of his brother, Reuben Sparks. The note reads as follows:

"Mr. Daniel Wilcockson, slr, plese to pay George Sparks twenty-sevenand half for me and my order shall be a receit for you. October 15,1815. [signed] Francis Kerby. Test: [signed] John Sparks.

"It was In Georgia, on March 21, 1816, that George's oldest child,Lucinda Sparks, was born; shortly afterwards, his wife died. We canonly imagine his feelings! In a strange land, bereft of his youngwife, and burdened with a helpless baby girl, he surely becamedespondent and homesick, and so he returned to Traphill. When the1820 census was taken of Wilkes County, he and Lucinda appear to havebeen living with his parents according to the enumeration of JohnSparks's household.

"Sometime about 1820, news was apparently received in the Wilkes-SurryCounties area of North Carolina that reasonably priced land wasavailable in the Big Sandy River valley of Kentucky, and severalfamilies decided to migrate there. These families had intermarried inNorth Carolina, and some were quite closely related, includingSparkses, Gambills, Holbrooks, and Lyons. They may have traveled as acavalcade, arriving in Kentucky just about the time that LawrenceCounty was formed in 1821.

"The Sparkses settled generally on the headwaters of Big Blaine Creekand on the Little Fork of the Little Sandy River. They constituted asizeable group. There was Thomas Sparks and his nine sons from SurryCounty. A brother of Thomas Sparks, James Sparks, joined the group,probably in Lee County, Virginia, along with the family of his son,Jesse Sparks. Wesley Sparks and William Sparks, sons of RobertSparks, were in the company, along with their uncles, Levi Sparks,George G. Sparks, Reuben Sparks, and Colby Sparks. And finally therewas a cousin, Jonathan Sparks, son of Solomon Sparks of Surry County.

"They did not all stay in Kentucky. Jonathan Sparks went back toSurry County while Reuben and Colby returned to Wilkes County wherethey married and reared large families. When the federal census wastaken of Lawrence in 1830, there were nine heads of households namedSPARKS, constituting the largest surname group of all the familieslisted on that census. (See p. 421 of the September 1959 issue of theQuarterly, Whole No. 27, for this census record.)

"George Sparks left Wilkes County owing a neighbor $5.00 which hisfather paid. A preserved document reads as follows:

'Mr. John Sparks, Please to pay John Brooks Five Dollars that yourson, George, promised to fetch to me at Court. In so doing you willoblige your friend, &c. This is the first of November 1821, and thisshall be your receipt in full. [signed] John Johnson.

"Whether George ever repaid his father, we shall probably never know.

"George met, courted, and was married to his second wife, Nancy Short,soon after he arrived in Kentucky. They were married on August 7,1822, in Lawrence County by the Rev. Stephen Wheeler, a Baptistminister. (The license was issued on July 31, 1822.) Nancy had beenborn on April 7, 1800, in Kanawha County, Virginia, now West Virginia,and was a daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth (Chaffin) Short, bothnatives of Virginia.

"In 1825, George was involved in a land transaction of short duration. He bought fifty acres of land on the Left Fork of the Keaton Fork ofBlaine Creek from his father for 100 pounds. We have not found howJohn Sparks had acquired the land, but a story has been handed downthat it had been given to him for his Revolutionary War service.John's signature was witnessed by two of his friends in Wilkes Countynamed John Johnson and Jesse Johnson, and the deed was recorded inLawrence County on October 28, 1825. On the same day, George G.Sparks resold the land to John Lyon for $150.

"About 1826, George Sparks returned to North Carolina with theintention of bringing his daughter, Lucinda (now ten years old), toKentucky to live with him. He was unsuccessful in persuading her toreturn with him; in fact, she did not even recognize him. She was socomfortable and contented living with her grand-parents and her UncleReuben Sparks, who also lived with them, that she remained in WilkesCounty where she was married to James Hanks in 1838.

"On February 26, 1827, George Sparks bought 100 acres of land on theLittle Fork of the Little Sandy River. Here, he and Nancy settleddown with their growing family consisting of John, born in 1823, andNancy, born in 1825. It was here that their third child, Cynthia, wasborn a few months later, and by the time that the 1830 census wastaken, a fourth child, Hugh, had been added.

"The section of the Little Fork of Little Sandy River where George andNancy Sparks lived is best identified as the general area wherepresent-day Lawrence, Carter, and Elliott Counties join. CarterCounty was formed from Lawrence County in 1838, and Elliott County wasformed in 1869 from portions of both Lawrence and Carter Counties.Thus, records of George Sparks can be found in all three counties. Heand his household were enumerated on the 1850 census of LawrenceCounty, and on the 1860 census of Carter County.

"George and Nancy Sparks sold their 100-acre farm on Little Fork toAlfred Sparks and Nelson White on February 9, 1854, for $550, andshortly afterwards, they bought 400 acres of land on Lick Branch nearthe mouth of Big Gimlet Creek. It was here that they lost theiryoungest son, Colby Sparks, in 1858. The 16-year-old lad cut himselfseverely while sharpening an axe, and the wound became in-fected. Hedied on February 27, 1858, in a Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital.

"On March 27, 1866, George and Nancy sold 100 acres of their land totheir newly married daughter, Mary Lawson, for $250. They may havebroken up housekeeping at that time for, when the 1870 census wastaken, Nancy was living by herself in Carter County.

"Nancy died on January 11, 1879, in Elliott County. George died therefour months later, on May 11, 1879. They were buried in theLawson-Sparks Cemetery in Elliott about one mile north of the old postoffice of Ibex. Photographs of their tombstones appear on the coverof this issue of the Quarterly.

"George G. Sparks had nine children, one by his first marriage andeight by his second. They were:

A. Lucinda Sparks, born March 21, 1816.
B. John W. Sparks, born November 5, 1823.
C. Nancy Sparks, born ca.1825.
D. Cynthia Sparks, born July 16, 1827.
E. Hugh S. Sparks, born May 21, 1829.
F. Levi H. Sparks, born May 31, 1834.
G. Emmaella Sparks, born February 23, 1839.
H. Colby Sparks, born ca.1842.
I. Mary Sparks. born June 7, 1844."

******************************
I received the following account of the life of George Sparks from anunknown email contact in 1997:

GEORGE G.6 SPARKS (JOHN5, SOLOMON4, JOSEPH3, WILLIAM2, THOMAS1) wasborn January 09, 1796 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, and died May11, 1879 in Elliott County, Kentucky. He married (1) UNKNOWN MAINERAbt. 1815 in prob North Carolina. She was born in Georgia. Hemarried (2) NANCY SHORT June 08, 1822 in Lawrence County, Kentucky,daughter of AARON SHORT and ELIZABETH CHAFFIN. She was born April 07,1800 in Virginia, and died January 11, 1879 in Kentucky.

Notes for GEORGE G. SPARKS:
George G. Sparks, was the tenth of twelve children born to John Sparksand Sarah Shores Sparks, He was born in Wilkes County, NorthCarolina. Descendents say the G stands for Graham. Few records havebeen found of the growing up of George Sparks. We presume he became agood hunter and fisherman, for his father was both, and all boys ofthat time learned to provide food in this manner. We also assume hereceived a "good" education for that day for he could read and writeand cipher. A preserved record shows that his father, John Sparks,bought four spelling books on one occasion at the Fisher River storeseveral miles from his home at Traphill, North Carolina.

George was a lad of sixteen when the second war with Great Britainbroke out in 1812, and when he reached his eighteenth birthday, heenrolled in the North Carolina milita to fight the British. Herecalled his military service forty years later, when on June 17,1854, he appeared before Richard P. Whitt, a Justice of the Peace ofCarter County, Kentucky, to ask for bounty lands to which he wasentitled as a veteran of the War of 1812. He said he had joined acompany of North Carolina militia, commanded by Captain AmbroseCarlton, on November 1, 1814, at Wilkesboro, North Carolina, for aterm of six months. His company was then ordered to Norfolk,Virginia, but when they reached Hillsboro, North Carolina, theylearned that the military quota had been reached, so they returnedhome. He remained at home until January 20, 1815, when hs company wasordered to Wadesboro, North Carolina, about 170 miles away. Uponreaching their destination on February 20, 1815, they learned thatpeace had been declared, and again they returned to their homes. Hesaid he had lost his discharge certificate, but he felt sure thecompany rolls would support his statements. His signature waswitnessed by Robert Rose and Abijah Whitt, and his application wassworn to before Elias P. Davis, Clerk of Carter County. Theapplication was approved and George received 160 acres of land whichhe eventually sold.

According to information from kinsmen in North Carolina, after Georgereturned from the military service, he married a Miss Mainer about1815, but the marriage records have not been found. George and hisbride, along with some other Wilkes Countians, went to Georgia;probably to settle some undeveloped lands which were just opening inthat state. Prior to going to Georgia, however, he received somemoney from a neighbor as is shown by the following note which has beenpreserved by descendents of his brother, Reuben Sparks, of Traphill.The note reads as follows: "Mr. Daniel Wilcockson, sir, please to payGeorge Sparks twenty seven dollars and half for me and my order shallbe a receit for you. October 15, 1814. Francis Kerby. Test: JohnSparks"

It was in Georgia, on March 21, 1816, that George's oldest child,Lucinda Sparks, was born and shortly afterwards his wife died. We canonly imagine his feelings. In a strange land, bereft of his youngwife, and burdened with a helpless baby girl, he probably becamedespondent and returned home to Traphill. When the 1820 census wastaken of Wilkes County, he and Lucinda were living with his parents.

Sometime about 1820, news was received in the Wilkes-Surry Countiesarea that reasonably-priced land was available in the Big Sandy Riverarea of Kentucky and several families decided to migrate there. Thesefamilies had intermarried in North Carolina and some were quiteclosely related; such as the Gambills, Holbrooks, Lyons, and Sparkses. They probably traveled as a cavalcade following a route whichprobably paralled present-day US Route 421 from Wilkesboro to Bristol,Virginia then US Route 58 to Gate City, Virginia, and then Route 23northward to Lawrence County, Kentucky. They arrived just about thetime when the new county of Lawrence was formed form parts of Floydand Greenup Counties in 1821.

The Sparks settled fenerally on the headwaters of Big Blaine Creek andof the little fork of the Little Sandy River. They constituted asizable group. There was Thomas Sparks, and his nine sons from SurryCounty; Jesse Sparks from Lee County, Virginia; Wesley and WilliamSparks, sons of Robert; and George Sparks and his brothers; LeviSparks, Jonathan Sparks; Reuben Sparks, and Colby Sparks.

They did not all stay in Kentucky. Reuben and Colby returned toWilkes County to marry and rear families. Jonathan went to FranklinCounty, Tennesee, to join another brother, Solomon Sparks. When thefederal census of 1830 was taken of Lawrence County, there were ninepersons named Sparks who were heads of families, constituting thelargest surname group of all the families listed.

George Sparks left Wilkes County, owing a neighbor five dollars whichhis father paid. A preserved document reads as follows: "Mr. JohnSparks. Pleas to pay John Brooks Five Dollars that your son Georgepromised to fetch to me at Court in so doing you will oblige yourfrind, & This is the first of November 1821 and this shall be yourreceipt in full. John Johnson." We'll probably never know whetherGeorge ever repaid his father.

George met, courted and married his second wife, Nancy Short, soonafter he arrived in Kentucky. They were married on August 7, 1822 byRev. Stephen Wheeler, a Baptist minister. Theirs was the first Sparksmarriage recorded in the county of Lawrence. Nancy was born on April7, 1800 in Virginia. Her parents were Aaron and Elizabeth ChaffinShort, both born in Virginia.

In 1825, George was involved in a land transaction of short duration.He bought 50 acres of land on the left fork of the Keaton Fork of BigBlaine Creek from his father for 100 pounds. Tradition says Johnacquired the land for his Revolutionary War service. John's signatyrewas witnessed by two of his friends in Wilkes County, North Carolina;John Johnson and Jesse Johnson, and the deed was recorded at Louisa,Kentucky on October 28, 1825. On the same day, George resold the landto John Lyon for $150. (Kenton Fork is in the heart of the Blaine oiland gas field.)

George was a member of the Lawrence County Grand Jury at the April1826 term. Other members of the jury were: Robert Carter, HiramChadwick, Archibald Rice, Isaac Conley, John Ross, John Van Horn,Samuel White, Joshua Jones, Barry Lambert, Thomas Auxier, Elijah Rice,John Morgan, William Evans, Berry Fugate, George Grubb, James Wellman,and James Edwards.

George returned to North Carolina in the fall of 1826 with theintention of bringing his daughter, Lucinda (now ten years old) backto Kentucky to live with him. He carried with him a power-of-attorneyfrom his brother Jonathan Sparks to act for him in collcting andforgiving debts in Surry County. Whether George was successful as hisbrother's attorney is uncertain, but he failed in persuading Lucindato return with him to Kentucky. In fact, she did not recognize him.She was so comfortable and content with her grandparents and UncleReuben that she continued to live with them in Wilkes County. Shemarried James Hans in 1838 and they raised a large family.

After his return from North Carolina, George bought 100 acres of landon the Little Fork of the Little Sandy River from Walter Caldwell,John L. Elliott, and Stephen Hughes on February 26, 1827. George andNancy settled here with their growing family; consisting of John bornin 1823 and Nancy, born in 1825. Their third child, Cynthia, was borna few months later in July 1827. A fourth child, Hugh, had been addedby the time of the 1830 census.

The section of Little Fork where George and Nancy lived is bestidentified as the general area where Lawrence, Carter, and ElliottCounties join. Carter County was formed in 1828 and Elliott Count wasnot formed until 1869. Thus, records of George Sparks can be found inall three counties. He was in Lawrence County when the 1830 censuswas taken; he did not appear on the 1840 census as far as can bedetermined. He was still in Lawrence County in 1850, but he was inCarter County in 1860. In 1870, he was in Elliott County wherehe diedon May 11, 1879. Nancy had died just exactly four months earlier onJanuary 11, 1879. They are buried in the Lawson Cemetery in ElliottCounty.

The Lawson cemetery is on a high knob, a mile or two north of the oldpost office of Ibex. The area is generally drained by Big GimletCreek which empties into
the Little Sandy River not too far away. It can best be found byinquiring of someone living near Ibex and the last few hundred yardsmust be traveled on foot.

Notes for NANCY SHORT:
marriage date may be August 7

Child of GEORGE SPARKS and UNKNOWN MAINER is:
6. i. LUCINDA7 SPARKS, b. May 21, 1816.

Children of GEORGE SPARKS and NANCY SHORT are:
7. ii. LEVI HANSFORD7 SPARKS, b. May 31, 1834, Carter County,Kentucky; d. May 20, 1911, Kentucky.
8. iii. JOHN W. SPARKS, b. November 05, 1823, Kentucky; d. November17, 1895, Elliott County, Kentucky.
iv. CYNTHIA SPARKS, b. July 16, 1827.
v. NANCY SPARKS, b. Abt. 1825.
9. vi. HUGH STOKES SPARKS, b. May 21, 1829, Lawrence County, Kentucky;d. Abt. 1863.
10. vii. EMMA ELLA SPARKS, b. February 23, 1839, Kentucky.
viii. COLBY SPARKS, b. Abt. 1842; d. February 27, 1858, Cincinnati,Ohio.

Notes for COLBY SPARKS:
Colby was named for an uncle, Colby Sparks, who was a well-knownBaptist preacher in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Young Colby wasaccidentally stabbed when he was sixteen and died in a Cincinnati,Ohio hospital on February 17, 1858.

11. ix. MARY SPARKS, b. June 07, 1844, Kentucky; d. April 17, 1902,Kentucky.

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

Email information: (Not verified)

2. GEORGE G.6 SPARKS (JOHN5, SOLOMON4, JOSEPH3, WILLIAM2, THOMAS1)was born January 09, 1796 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, and diedMay 11, 1879 in Elliott County, Kentucky. He married (1) UNKNOWNMAINER Abt. 1815 in prob North Carolina. She was born in Georgia. Hemarried (2) NANCY SHORT June 08, 1822 in Lawrence County, Kentucky,daughter of AARON SHORT and ELIZABETH CHAFFIN. She was born April 07,1800 in Virginia, and died January 11, 1879 in Kentucky.

Notes for GEORGE G. SPARKS:
George G. Sparks, was the tenth of twelve children born to John Sparksand Sarah Shores Sparks, He was born in Wilkes County, NorthCarolina. Descendents say the G stands for Graham. Few records havebeen found of the growing up of George Sparks. We presume he became agood hunter and fisherman, for his father was both, and all boys ofthat time learned to provide food in this manner. We also assume hereceived a "good" education for that day for he could read and writeand cipher. A preserved record shows that his father, John Sparks,bought four spelling books on one occasion at the Fisher River storeseveral miles from his home at Traphill, North Carolina.

George was a lad of sixteen when the second war with Great Britainbroke out in 1812, and when he reached his eighteenth birthday, heenrolled in the North Carolina milita to fight the British. Herecalled his military service forty years later, when on June 17,1854, he appeared before Richard P. Whitt, a Justice of the Peace ofCarter County, Kentucky, to ask for bounty lands to which he wasentitled as a veteran of the War of 1812. He said he had joined acompany of North Carolina militia, commanded by Captain AmbroseCarlton, on November 1, 1814, at Wilkesboro, North Carolina, for aterm of six months. His company was then ordered to Norfolk,Virginia, but when they reached Hillsboro, North Carolina, theylearned that the military quota had been reached, so they returnedhome. He remained at home until January 20, 1815, when hs company wasordered to Wadesboro, North Carolina, about 170 miles away. Uponreaching their destination on February 20, 1815, they learned thatpeace had been declared, and again they returned to their homes. Hesaid he had lost his discharge certificate, but he felt sure thecompany rolls would support his statements. His signature waswitnessed by Robert Rose and Abijah Whitt, and his application wassworn to before Elias P. Davis, Clerk of Carter County. Theapplication was approved and George received 160 acres of land whichhe eventually sold.

(Additional emailed notes continued under file for Nancy Short Sparks)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 176, p. 4731:

"George Graham Sparks, son of Hugh and Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks, wasborn on July 10, 1860, in Carter County, Kentucky. He was a coalminer. He began his career as a miner on Nats Creek near Peach Orchardin Lawrence County, and when that coal field was "mined out," he wentwith the company to Jellico, Tennessee. He held mining jobs inKentucky in Whitley, Knox, and Perry Counties, and when he retired, hewas superintendent of a mine at Butterfly, Kentucky.

"George was married three times. His first marriage was to ElizabethPainter (or Sexton ?) about 1881. She had been born on March 12,1866, in Virginia. She and George had eleven children before herdeath, which occurred on September 26, 1904, when she gave birth toher eleventh child. George's second marriage was to Gertrude["Gertie"] Magdalene Woods, probably about 1906. She had been born onMarch 27, 1888. She and George had eleven children. She died onAugust 7, 1925. George's third marriage was to Ella/Ethel Baker about1930, and they had one child.

"George G. Sparks died on March 12, 1934, and was buried in thecemetery at Butterfly, Kentucky, where his second wife, Gertie, and ason, Damon, were also buried. He was the father of twenty-threechildren. (See his photograph on the following page {4732}.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Dec 1992, Whole No. 160, p 4054-5:

"George Hillegas Sparks, son of Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas)Sparks, was born on November 15, 1814, in Adams County, Ohio, and diedon November 16, 1887, at Gamma, Montgomery County, Missouri. He was afarmer and carpenter. He was married by Lawrence Rose, J.P., inHighland County, Ohio, on April 11, 1839, to Jane Ann Davidson. Shehad been born on November 6, 1821, and died on January 3, 1902.

"The following sketch of George H. Sparks, son of Solomon andCatherine (Hillegas) Sparks, was written by Esther Vernatti (Mrs. W.J., Jr.), of 702 NOrth 11th Ave., Ozark, Missouri 65721-9309. She hasalso provided the photograph of George H. and Jane Ann (Davidson)Sparks shown above (p. 4055). Mrs. Vernatti's husband's father,William James Vernatti, was a grandson of Mary ("Mollie") Sparks,daughter of George and Jane.

"George H. Sparks, Sr. was a thrifty farmer and a fine carpenter.Each week he would walk 60 miles (round trip) to Danville, Missouri,where he built the courthouse soon after the Civil War. It issaid that he and his three older sons served on the Confederate sidein the Civil War, but records of this service have not been found.

"He built a lovely home for his family near Gamma, Missouri. Thelumber was cut and prepared from his own timber land. The interiorwas finished in hand rubbed walnut. The windows had a wide shelf atboth top and bottom, and the floors were six inches thick. George andJane, with their children, attended the Old School Presbyterian Churchat Brush Creek."

See SQ p. 757:
(From an article about their son Solomon Sparks) "This Solomon Sparkswas a son of George and Rachel (Norris) Sparks, who were married in1785 in Washington County, Pennsylvania; they later moved to thatsection of Virginia which is now in Taylor County, West Virginia.George Sparks, father of Solomon, was born in the 1750's and served inthe American Revolution, being taken prisoner by the British in NewYork in November, 1782. George Sparks was a son of George and Marysparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania. For additional data onthis family see THE SPARKS QUARTERLY of June, 1963 (Vol. XI, No. 2,whole No. 42) pp. 728-734. See also the record of Anna (Sparks)Snyder, sister of Solmon Sparks, which appears in this issue of theQUARTERLY, page 759."

SQ p. 1320:

"George Sparks, Jr., believed to have been a son of George and Rachel(McClenahan) Sparks, was born about 1811 in Kentucky and was living aslate as 1874 in Indiana. He married (first) Catherine Stokes inNicholas County, Kentucky, in 1836 or 1837 (the marriage bond wasdated December 30, 1836); she was a daughter of Benjamin and Micha(Sparks) Stokes and she died about 1848. (Micha Sparks, mother ofCatherine, was a daughter of John and Katherine (Waddell) Sparks ofNicholas County and was born about 1795.) Following the death of hisfirst wife, Catherine, about 1848, George Sparks, Jr., married as hissecond wife, Hanna Fishback, who was born between 1819 and 1823 (herage was given as 31 on the 1850 census and as 37 on the 1960 census).About 1852, George Sparks, Jr., moved with his family from Kentucky toMontgomery County, Indiana. According to census records, GeorgeSparks, Jr., had the following children. It is believed that thefirst five were by his first wife, Catherine Stokes, and the last sixwere by his second wife, Hanna Fishback. (See invidual sheets forchildren.)

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

And see this update in the Sparks Quarterly in Whole Number 72 at pg.1370:

ADDED INFORMATION ON GEORGE SPARKS, JR., BORN ABOUT 1811, DIED 1884

In the QUARTERLY of June 1970 (Vol. XVIII, No. 2, Whole No. 70, p.1320) we gave a sketch of George Sparks, Jr., born about 1811 inKentucky, son of George and Rachel (McClenahan) Sparks. From a book byTom Stout entitled Montana, Its Story and Biography published in 1921we have learned that George Sparks, Jr., died at New Ross, MontgomeryCo., Indiana, in 1884. George Sparks,Jr., married twice. A son by hissecond wife, Hannah (Fishback) Sparks, was Charles M. Sparks accordingto this history of Montana - - we gave his name as Charles B. Sparksin the QUARTERLY. Charles N. Sparks was born in 1850; he married EmmaFishback who was born in Bourbon Co., Kentucky, in 1852. Charles M.Sparks died at Advance, Boone Co., Indiana, on Nov. 3, 1919. Theirchildren were:

(1) Nellie M. Sparks, married Charles M. Ray, of Advance, Indiana.
(2) Franklin Forrest Sparks, born Aug. 7, 1882, at Advance, Indiana.He was graduated from Harvard University in 1911, in which year he wasmarried to Helena Nelson, daughter of William and Lena (Donavan)Nelson. He was principal of Broadwater County High School in Townsend,Montana, in 1921. They had four children:
(1) Dixie Sparks, born Sept. 30, 1912;
(2) Blanche Sparks, born Oct. 1914;
(3) Charles Sparks, born Sept. 1915; and
(4) Nancy Sparks, born Dec. 1917.
(3) Lilith Sparks, married Frank Heady of Advance, Indiana.
(4) Anna Gould Sparks, married Russell Wyncoop of Lebanon, Indiana.
(5) Chester Sparks, lived in Indianapolis, Indiana.
(6) Maurice Sparks; died in infancy.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1990, Whole No. 152, p. 3707:

"George Sparks (born 1820), son of George and Delila --- Sparks,accompanied his parents in their move from North Carolina to Indianaabout 1830, and it was probably in Indiana that he was married to MarySusanna --- about 1841. They lived near Markle, a village located inHuntington County, but quite near the Huntington-Wells Countiesboundary line. After the death of his father in Wells County in thefall
of 1843, George Sparks and his wife, Susanna, agreed (along with theother heirs) to sell two tracts of land that had belonged to hisfather in order to satisfy claims against the estate. He and Susannasigned the petition on August 19, 1845, and it was filed in WellsCounty.

"When the 1850 census was taken of Huntington County, George andSusanna Sparks were living in Rock Creek Township. He was then 29years of age and Susanna was 26, according to the census taker. Withthem were two daughters, Elizabeth, aged 8, and Mary Jane, aged 6.

"George and Susanna were involved in at least six land transactions inHuntington County. The first of these was recorded on May 8, 1849,when George bought 57 acres of land from David and Mary Wayne. Hesold that tract on May 17, 1852, to Lemuel Andrews. The lasttransaction was made on April 18, 1857, when George and Susanna soldland to William Austin. George signed his name on one of thesedocuments, but on the others he and Susanna made their marks,according to the
clerk who copied them into the deed books.

"George Sparks was still living near Markle, Indiana, when the 1860census was taken. He was then 39 years of age, a farmer, with landvalued at $1,000. His wife's name was given as Mary--it seemsapparent that her full name was Mary Susanna. With them in 1860 werechildren named Mary, aged 16; Amos, aged 9; Catherine, aged 8; andAmanda, aged 6. George's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, was not withthem in 1860; she may have been the Elizabeth Sparks who was marriedto Lafayette Messler on June 4, 1859, in Huntington County.

"Neither George nor Susanna Sparks appeared on the 1870 census ofHuntington County, Indiana, nor have we found further informationabout them. Can any reader tell us what became of this family?"
END OF ARTICLE.

SQ 3872:

"George M. Sparks was married to Lucy J. Mitchen about 1895. She hadbeen born in September 1870 and was a daughter of John Mitchen.George was involved in Lewis County (KY) Government most of his lifeand served as the county jailer for eight years. He and Lucy hadthree children: Elmer, Catherine and Effie."

SQ p 743 for marriage information.
See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p 4865 for the article about George Sparksand p 4864 for his photo and that of his cousin, Francis Marion White.

SQ pg 3469: He was married to Edna Dean in 1928, and they had fiv echildren: Mack, Lovey, Wanda, Don, and Ted Sparks.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3423: They had one child, Casandra Sparks, who was born o n May25, 1943, at Detroit, Michigan. She was married to Cormac Jose phSean MacDiarmada Rua in London, England, on August 24, 1987. He w asborn on September 18, 1932, in Dublin, Ireland, and was a son of Cornelius and Ellen (Nolan) MacDiarmada Rua.

SQ pg 3320: George Thomas "Tom" Sparks was born on March 5, 1874 , in
Georgia. He was married on September 11, 1901, in Petersburg,Oklahoma (Indian
Territory) to Lola Ollie Barnett. Born March 31, 1881, in Hillsboro ,Texas,
she was the daughter of Francis Marion and Nancy Jane (Gibson)Barnett. In
1906, Tom and Ollie moved to Stonewall County, Texas. In 1909, theymoved
again to Baker, Montana, where they homesteaded 320 acres of land.While
there, Tom also ran a freight line from Baker to Billings, Montana .In the
fall of 1912, Tom and Ollie moved their family of six boys back toTexas. They
settled in the Wright Community of Stonewall County where theypurchased 480
acres of land. At the time of his death, Tom owned 2,050 acres. TomSparks
died on July 25, 1946. After Tom's death, Ollie moved to Rotan,Texas, where
she died on February 18, 1955.

NOTES:
SQ 2568-9: "George W. Sparks, son of Levi Sparks, was probably bornabout 1812. He was married twice. His first marriage was to HarrietLea on April 26, 1838. When the 1850 census was taken of Wilmington,Delaware, George, aged 37, and Harriet, also aged 37, had no childrenliving in their household. After Harriet's death in August 1858,George married Mary Elizabeth Moore on November 28, 1859. Her niecesand nephews referred to her as "Aunt Dolly."
Relatives say that George and Dolly (Moore) Sparks had severalchildren, but we have found a record of only one of them. A daughter,Harriet King Sparks, was born on March 15, 1861. According to a bookentitled 'Ancestry and Posterity of John Lea' published in 1906,Harriet married Edward Tatnall Betts on May 19, 1881, in Delaware."

See SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1959, Whole No. 26, p. 393:

[The parentage of George W. Sparks was incorrectly attributed toGeorge Sparks (391), son of Solomon (361) and Charity Sparks, andGeorge's wife Delila ---- in this original article. In the December1990 issue, Whole No. 152 , p 3706, his parentage was correctlyattributed to Solomon (392) and Isabella Swaim (474) Sparks.Corrections will be made as typed.]

"George W. Sparks, son of Solomon and Isabella Swaim Sparks, was bornin Wilkes County, North Carolina, on February 16, 1817. He wasmarried in Wells County, Indiana, on August 7, 1838, to SarahMossburg. She was born May 14, 1817, in Ohio and died in WellsCounty, Indiana, on May 26, 1864. (In the settlement of the estate ofGeorge Sparks, father of George W., Sarah's name was given as"Susanna," and in several deeds recording the sale of land by GeorgeW. Sparks, her name was given as Susana; on the 1850 census it wasgiven as "Sally," and on the marriage record and on at least one deedas Sarah."

"George W. Sparks married, second, on July 18, 1865, in Wells County,a widow named Phoebe Jane (Pouless) Light, who was born February 11,1832, in Highland County, Ohio, and died in Wells County, Indiana, onJanuary 18, 1921 . George W. Sparks is said to have been sympatheticwith the Southern cause during the Civil War, although his sonsfavored the Union Side. He died in Wells County on September 14,1892. In his will, dated May 2, 1890, he left his entire estate to hissecond wife, Phoebe. By his first wife, George W.Sparks had thefollowing children: [here lists children for which see their familysheets]."

See INDIANA SOURCE BOOK, Vol I, p. 176 for marriage date of GeorgeSparks and Sarah Mossburg in Wells County as August 9, 1838.

See also SQ p. 5295.

In the SPARKS QUARTERLY for June, 1979, Whole No. 106, at page 2112,we find the Civil War Pension Application of George W. Sparks asfollows:

GEORGE W. SPARKS, son of Isaiah H. and Sarah (Clayborn) Sparks, wasborn about 1837. He married (1st) Martha Jane Cissle and (2nd) Elizabeth Washington Jackson. He served in Company C, 1st Regt. Arkansas Infantry. File Designation: Inv. Cert. No. 422,733; Wid. Cert. No.582,505.

"George W. Sparks applied for an invalid pension prior to August 11,1887, for on that date, the Bureau of Pensions asked the War Department to furnish his service records. Sparks claimed that he hadenlisted on February 12, 1863, in Company C, 1st Regiment ArkansasInfantry and that he was discharged August 10, 1865, at Ft. Smith,Arkansas. While on duty near Ft. Smith in March 1864, he was disabledby a disease of the eyes.

"The War Department verified Sparks's military service. He wasenrolled on February 12, 1863, at Fayetteville, Arkansas, in Company C, 1st Regiment Arkansas Infantry for a period of three years. He waspromoted to corporal on March 15, 1863. He was present for duty untilhe was mustered out with his company on August 10, 1865. George W.Sparks was ill at Ft. Smith on March 24, 1864, but was returned toduty. The regimental hospital records showed a --- Sparks admittedwith an incis wound on November 28, 1864, but he was returned to dutyin December 1864. --- Sparks was admitted in January 1865 butreturned to duty.

"George Sparks was treated on March 10, 1865 and also on April 3 ,1865, but each time he was returned to duty. The report concluded bythis remark: "There are three other members of the company namedSparks and where the Christian names are not stated on the hospitalrecords, it cannot be determined which of the four men was undertreatment."

"George W. Sparks was issued Invalid Certificate No. 422,733authorizing a pension payment of $6.00 per month. November 9, 1895,he as ked for increased pension benefits because of increaseddisability. He was 59 years old and a resident of Chancel, Arkansas.He said , 'my eye-sight is growing dimmer on account of the hard painscaused by neuralgia of the head and eyes." He appointed T. W.Talmadge, Washington, D.C., as his attorney. S. E. Sparks and M. A.Sparks witnessed his signature.

"On July 28, 1997, he again asked for increased pension benefits underthe 1896 Act of Congress. He appointed I. E. Rubenstein, Washington,D.C., as his attorney. B. E. Sparks and Annie Sparks witnessed hissignature.

"Sparks responded to a questionnaire from the Bureau of Pensions onMay 4, 1898. He said he was married to Elizabeth Washington Sparks,formerly Jackson, in September 1866 by E. B. Phenix in Taney County ,Missouri. He had been previously married to Martha Jane Cissle, buthe did not know the date of the marriage. He had two living children: 1. Sarah H. Sparks, born in 1868; 2. Margaret A. Sparks, born in1872.

"He added a remark to the above questionnaire: "this is to the bestof my knowledge. all my records went to texas. i hav none."

"George W. Sparks died on September 24, 1899, and his widow, ElizabethW. Sparks, made application for a widow's pension. She was 66 yearsof age and a resident of Deer, Newton County, Arkansas. She said shehad married Sparks on September 15, 1866, under the name of ElizabethW. Stephenson. She appointed W. H. Wills, Washington, D.C., as herattorney. J. H. Slusher and N. P. Slusher witnessed her signature.

"On June 15, 1901, J. M. Adams, age 66, of Chancel, Arkansas,testified that he had made the coffin in which to bury EdwardStevenson , the former husband of Elizabeth W. Sparks, in the fall of1865 in Christian County, Missouri.

"On January 28, 1903, Lue E. Morrison, age 42, a resident ofLimestone, Arkansas, swore that she was the only living child of J. W.Thompson, the first husband of Elizabeth W. Sparks. She statedfurther that Elizabeth W. Sparks had only been married twice prior toher marriage to George W. Sparks.

"Elizabeth W. Sparks was issued a pension under Widow Certificat e No.582,505. When she died on May 18, 1924, at Stidham, Oklahoma , shewas receiving a pension of $30.00 per month.

(Editor's Note: See the note regarding the family of George W. Sparksunder the abstract of the pension papers of Balis E. Sparks, page2112. George W. Sparks was one of four brothers who served in the samecompany: Balis E. Sparks, Jesse Sparks, Thomas E. Sparks, andhimself.)"

See SPARKS QUARTERLY p. 743 for record of marriage in Elliott County,KY.

See SQ p4853:
"George Sparks was born on July 25, 1870. He was married to Mary["Mollie"] McComas about 1889. She had been born in February 1867 andwas a daughter of George McComas. She and George were living on theEast Fork of Little Sandy River in Lawrence County when the 1900census was taken. They had twelve children. They were: Rose AnnieSparks, Marion Sparks, Richmond Sparks, Monroe Sparks, Rhoda Sparks,Oneida Sparks, Wilma Sparks, Asa Hood Sparks, Richard Sparks, HesterSparks, May Sparks, and Essie Sparks."

SQ 3074:

"George Washington Sparks, son of Abel and Sarah (Cochran ) Sparks,was born October 14, 1800, in North Carolina. He was still livingwhen his brother Solomon Sparks, died in 1880. We know that he cameto Wisconsin Territory, as did his parents, and that he was living inGrant County when the 1850 census was taken At that time, he was aminer with real estate valued at $1,500. Living with him in 1850 wasPhilena Sparks, age 26, whom we assume was his wife, although she wasmuch younger than he, having been born in or about 1824 in Illinois.On the 1860 census, however, his wife's name appears as "TheluraSparks." The one-year-old child, Albert Sparks, on the 1850 censuswas born in Wisconsin about 1849 and was doubtless a son. When the1860 census was taken of Lima, Grant County, Wisconsin, GeorgeSparks's family was: George Sparks 59, born NC; Thelura Sparks, 35,born Illinois; Albert 10, John 9, Sarah L. 7, Benity 3, Mary 2/12, allborn in WI."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 103: George Washington Sparks and his brother John Sparks (sons of Reuben and Phoebe Sparks), were killed in service in 1863 i nthe Army of the Confederate States of America.