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

"J. H. Sparks, son of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks, according tothe late Paul E. Sparks, was their second son, born on January 1,1815, and died on October 7, 1841. Paul and the present writer workedtogether on material included in the QUARTERLY until Paul's death in1999, and it was Paul who recorded the above birth and death dates forJ. H . Sparks a number of years ago. While I have Paul's files, I havenot found among them his source for these dates. Because of Paul'scareful research, I am sure that they are correct, however."

.

!NOTES:
Jacob is a nephew of Solomon Sr. and cousin of Solomon Jr. He als ohad a
brother named Solomon. Jacob's father William (192) was Solomon Sr.'s brother.
Jacob's siblings and parents are mentioned on a quilt in SQ 169 and 2453,
all except Jacob, who had left Tennessee and moved to Va. and siste rSally Ann.
This Jacob was in Washington Co. VA in 1850 Census next to Solomon Sr. and
Solomon Jr.
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 120, pgs 2456-7 for the following:
"Jacob Sparks, son of William and Rhoda (Pennington) Sparks, was b ornabout
1823 in Virginia. On December 31, 1841, he married Minerva Jay in White County,
Tennessee. Apparently, they went to Washington County, Virginia, immediately
afterwards, for it was there that their first child was born in 1842 ,and it was
there that the family was listed on the 185O census. Jacob's brothe rSolomon
(258) (JS: son of William) was also living in the household in 185O .By 186O,
Jacob and Minerva were in Knox County, Tennessee. They were the parents of five
children, William, Catherine, Amanda, Adeline, and Caroline.
THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole NO. 165, p 4272 gives birthdate of
about 1811 (which seems more correct) and lists Jacob's children as William,
Catherine, Amanda, Adeline and Caroline.

!COURT RECORDS:
Register of Washington County 1852-1892, FHL 34388, line 30, 9 Sep t.1855
lists birth of child named "No name", Female

See SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4273 by PaulSparks.

"Jacob Sparks, son of Solomon and Susan Sparks, was born about 1815.He was married to Elizabeth Thomas, and apparently they had twochildren: Solomon and Joseph."

See Washington County Register of Marriages, Book I, pg. 424 formarriage of Jacob Sparks and Elizabeth Thomas on 18 August, 1840.Photocopy of record in possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos,California. FHL 34389.

We have no further specific information on this couple or theirchildren. However, the 1850 census of Washington County, Virginia,lists Jacob's father, Solomon, a widower, as being the head ofhousehold with six of his children and two youngest children, Solomon,born about 1842 (two years after the marriage of Jacob and Elizabeth(Thomas) Sparks), and Joseph, born about 1843, both born in NorthCarolina. It is probable that the census taker assumed their place ofbirth as North Carolina since the other children living in theresidence were born there. It is more likely that they were born inVirginia.

There is a line in UNION COUNTY KENTUCKY DEATH RECORDS 1911-1950 , FHL976.9885 V38h on page 38 as follows:

SPARKS, John B. (b) December 10, 1854, (d) December 13, 1925; (father)Jacob; (mother) Eliza Post b. NJ (buried) IOOF (Cemetery). SinceJacob's wife was Elizabeth Thomas, this John is not a child of Jacob(1815-).

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1997, Whole No. 178, p. 4841 for arecord of servicemen from Louisiana who served during the Civil War,taken from Andrew B. Booth's RECORDS OF LOUISIANA CONFEDERATE SOLDIERSAND LOUISIANA CONFEDERATE COMMANDS, published in New Orleans,Louisiana, in 1920. This record is from Book 2, Vol. III, pp. 654-655:

"Sparks, Jacob M. Pvt. Co. C llth Battn. La. Inf. Roll March andApril, 1863 (only Roll on which borne). En[rolled] April 6, 1863,Bellewood. Roll states Present. Remarks: Entitled to bounty becauseof enlistment under Conscript age. Also borne on Rolls of Co. D,Cons. Cres. Regt. La. Inf., Pvt. Roll Jan. and Feb., 1864 (onlyroll on file), Present. On Hospl. Register, Admitted to C.S.A. Gen.Hospl., Shreveport, La., May 24, 1864. Returned to duty, June 24,1864. Roll Prisoners of War, C.S.A., Paroled at Natchitoches, LA.,June 9, 1865. Res. Natchitoches Parish, La. [He was probably theJacob Sparks shown on the 1850 census of Natchitoches Parish,Louisiana, as a 5-year-old son of Daniel Sparks and Julia Sparks,natives of North Carolina and Louisiana, respectively; see p.2793 ofthe September 1985 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 131, fortranscript of this census record; also p.3360 of the March 1985 issueof the Quarterly, No. 145..]"

!NOTES:
SQ 1359: "Jacob (Bud) Sparks, born Oct. 27, 1861 (?), in Arkansas ,died Oct.
3O, 1932; married Sept. 22, 188O, Eliza Sells, born March 13, 186O, died Feb.
21, 1836, daughter of James T. and Frances (Shipp) Sells. They had the
following children: (a) Tom Sparks; lived in Texas; (b) Jake Sparks ,born 1883;
died June 22, 1959; married Mollie Stubblefield, daughter of Henry and Emma
Morris Stubblefield. Children: Chester, Thomas, James, and Minnie; (c) Will
Sparks; lived in California; (d) Cynthia Sparks; married Luke Summers
(1873-1945); she was his second wife; (e) Fannie Sparks, born 1893; married
Andy Holder; (f) Ben Sparks, married Verdie Stubblefield, daughter o fHenry and
Emma Morris Stubblefield; (g) John Sparks, born 19OO; married Lucy Summers,
daughter of Bob and Callie Willis Summers."

SQ pg 3364: Jacob E. Sparks, probable son of William Sparks, was bornabout 1828 in Alabama. (When he registered to vote in ColoradoCounty, TX , in 1867, he stated that he had been born in Alabama; hadcome to Texas in 1844 ; and had lived in Colorado County since 1854.)the first record we have found of him is in the 1850 census ofJefferson County, Texas. At that time he was living in the householdof his brother, Solomon sparks, and he was 22 years of age.

Willis Sparks, mentioned earlier, tells a most interesting story abouthis great-grandparents, Jacob and Nancy (Johnson) Sparks. He wrote:

"About 1853, Jacob Sparks was working for a freight line which ranbetween Lake Charles, Louisiana, and San Antonio, Texas, probablyfollowing a trail which is present-day U.S. Highway 90. The line usedoxen and wagons to haul supplies. It was at the village of Orange,Texas, that Jake met, courted, and married fourteen-year-old NancyJohnson. They went by the freight line to the San Bernard River inColorado County, Texas, where they started house keeping about threemiles northeast of the village of Mentz. There, they reared theirfamily. Jake died at the age of forty-three, and some descendants sayhe was shot."

Jacob Sparks married Nancy Johnson about 1853. According to censusrecords she was born about 1839 in Louisiana. She and Jacob ("Jake")had seven children.

JJS: I am grateful for information concerning the descendants ofJacob Esau Sparks which was obtained in December, 1999, via theinternet from Kay Gordon Wolniak from Carmichael, California. Ibelieve she is a descendant of Eleanor Francis Hobson, of Lydia AnelieSparks, of Jacob Esau Sparks, of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks.Her internet address was frankay@pacbell.net.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for March 2000, Whole No. 189, pp. 5300-02:

Jacob Esau Sparks, son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, wasborn about 1831 in Randolph
County, Indiana. He was a lad of about five years when his parents andsiblings moved to Huntington County, Indiana, settling near the futuresite of the town of Markle. He was married in Hamilton County onJanuary 24, 1852, to Ellen Jane McCarty, daughter of Patrick and Jane(Bennett) McCarty. She had been born in Indiana about 1837 accordingto census records.

Jacob Sparks was shown as head of his household on the 1860 census ofRock Creek Township in Huntington County; his age was given then as 38and Ellen's as 22. Their daughter, florence, was 4 years old and theirson James was two months. Ellen's mother, Jane McCarty, age 41, whohad been born in Pennsylvania, and Ellen's sister, Lydia McCarty, age7, born in Indiana, were also living in Jacob and Ellen's family. Whenthe 1870 census was taken in Rock Creek Township, Jacob's age wasgiven as 52 and Ellen's as 33. He was a farmer with land then valuedat $2,000.

When the 1880 census was taken, three of the children of Jacob Esauand Isabella (Swaim) Sparks were
still living at home: Mary, age 17; Francis (called Franklin on thiscensus) age 10; and Lydia, age 9. The
two daughters named Helen, born about 1873, and Martha, born about1875, were not included in the
family in 1880. They had either died or, perhaps, because of theirmother's illness, were staying with
relatives.

We are indebted to two descendants of Jacob Esau and Ellen Jane(McCarty) Sparks for much of our
information regarding this family: Kay Wolniak of Carmichael,California, and Leon Keith Sparks of Grand
Junction, Colorado.

It was sometime after 1880 that Ellen Jane, ill with the dreadeddisease then called consumption, went to
Chicago to live with a niece, Lydia Cole Nix, to seek medicaltreatment. Leon Sparks has an undated
clipping from a Markle newspaper telling of her death.

"Mrs. Jacob Sparks, wife of Jacob Sparks, living in Rock Creektownship, left for Chicago sometime
ago, hoping to improve her health. On her return home, she stoppedwith friends in Kosciusko
county, where she grew worse and finally died. The remains werebrought to this place last Monday
evening, and were interred on Tuesday following. The disease wasevidently comsumption, as the
wasted form bore evidence of that dreaded disease."

Leon K. Sparks has written as follows:

After Ellen Jane, Jacob's wife, died, he sold his farm. The twodaughters, Mary Josephine and Lydia
Anelie, moved to Chicago to be with the Peter Nix family, and Jacob,with his two sons, James P.
and Francis A., moved to Upper Alton, Madison County, Illinois, to benear his sister and
brother-in-law, Albert and Rachel Draper. Apparently Albert Draper,executor of the will of Solomon
Sparks, had preceded Jacob in migrating to Upper Alton. James P.Sparks was married in Sadoris,
Illinois, on January 5, 1891, and Francis A. Sparks was married inOuray, Colorado, November 22,
1899. I assume that Jacob stayed in Alton for the remainder of hislife. His sister, Rachel (Sparks)
Draper, died in Upper Alton, Illinois, on November 17, 1896

Children of Jacob Esau and Ellen Jane (McCarty) Sparks:

(1) Florence Ester Sparks, born May 29, 1856. We have no furtherinforma tion about her.

(2) James Patrick Sparks was born on April 20, 1860, in Markle,Huntington County, Indiana; he
died on December 25, 1928, in Decatur, Illinois. He was married onJanuary 5, 1891, to Lucinda
Craw in Sadorus, Champaign County, Illinois. She was a daughter ofEdwin and Julia (Brown)
Craw. They were the parents of three children:

***********

!BAPTISM:
See reference to St. Vincent Baptismal Records in sibling notes, p age23;
sponsor --- Hagan.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1970, Whole No. 72, for an articleentitled THEJ FAMILY OF JONATHAN AND RACHEL (SWAIM) SPARKS beginningat p 1355 at pp 1356-58 :

"Jacobson Sparks (called Jacob Esau in one record), son of Jonathanand Rachel (Swaim) Sparks, was born about 1828; according to censusrecords, it appears that he was born after his parents moved fromNorth Carolina to Tennessee. He married Cynthia Champion, who wasborn in Tennessee about 1822 and died in Franklin County, Tennessee,in 191O; she was a daughter of Randolph and Martha (Wilson) Champion.About 1852 he moved with his brother, John C. Sparks, to DallasCounty, Arkansas. According to Civil War records in the NationalArchives, Jacobson Sparks and his brother, John C. Sparks, both servedin the Confederate Army in Company F of Morgan' s Battalion ofArkansas Infantry; both were enrolled on June 16, 1862, in Tulip ,Dallas County, Arkansas, by Capt. McNeill and traveled 7O miles torendezvous in Little Rock on June 24. Jacobson Sparks (called Jacobin these Army records) was listed as "absent, sick furlough" inJanuary 1863. A document is on file signed by a surgeon named J. N.Thompson on January 27, 1863, which states that a furlough had beenapproved by various officers for Private Jacob Sparks. He stated: "Ihereby certify that I have carefully examined said soldier and find
him incapable of performing the duties of soldier because of diarrheafollowing remet fever. I further certify that in my opinion he willnot be able to resume his duties in a less period than twenty days.Believing that it would be beneficial to his health, I recommend thata furlough for twenty days be granted to him."
"This is the last record of Jacobson Sparks in this Confederate Armyfile. However, a granddaughter of Jacobson and Cynthia Sparks, Mrs.Elizabeth Sparks Summers of Sherwood, Tennessee, has preserved aletter dated August 30, 1863, by John C. Sparks, brother of Jacobson,informing his wife Cynthia of Jacobson's death on August 20, 1863.This letter was written from Camp Prince where John C. Sparks hadreturned following some kind of military action, probably patrol duty,in which both he and his brother had been engaged. Writing to hissister-in-law, whom he addressed as "Dear Sister", he informed her andher family of the tragedy. The individuals whom he referred to asCarter and Garner were obviously fellow soldiers:

" Camp Prince, Aug. 30, 1863
Dear Sister: With a heavy heart I take my pen in hand to inform youof the lamentable death of your husband which occured on the 20th ofthis instant he (sic) Carter and Garner went to the creek afterwater, and when they had got their water they went off a few steps tothe shade and was lying down, Carter and Garner said they didn't knowwhether they all went to sleep or not. When they were awakened by thetree falling. it was a dead oak and it struck in the top of thesycamore that they were lying under, brother Jacob had run 5 or 6steps from where he was lying when Garner went back. He found a limbon him nearly a foot through and took it off of him and he neverbreathed or struggled. It also hurt Carters arm pretty badly butdidn't break it. we got a good strong coffin and buried him as decentas we could on the bank of the Porto River near where we are camping10 miles south of Fort Smith . The grave is on the east side of theriver at what is called the upper ford about 20 steps from the bankunder a burdock tree about 10 inches through, and a large field on theleft of the road as you eye from Fort Smith. The grave is on the leftbetween the corner of the fence and the ford of the river. His nameis cut on a stone and stands up at the head of the grave close to thetree. I didn't tell you where the limb fell on him. It struck himacross from the left hip to the right shoulder. I thought I woulddescribe the place so that if you wanted to send after him that youcould find the place. I will send his clothes and money by first safechance that I have. He had 100 dollars in Confederate and 2 1/2 ingold and 90 cents in silver, I am the worst lost that I ever was in mylife. It appears like every friend that I ever had is gone but thatis only what we all owe our maker and we should not grieve , but wecan't help it when our relations and friends fall around. I want youto write to me as soon as you get this so I will know whether you getthis or not. I
can't give you any news at present.

Yours truly, J. C. Sparks to Cinthia Sparks and family.'

"Following the death of her husband, Cynthia Sparks moved back toFranklin County, Tennessee, with her children. Mrs. Summers owns thefamily Bible containing the births of their children. Jacobson Sparkshad placed a string at the page he had reached in reading through itand that string still remains at the same place." (Here lists their 6children)

Note: See notes under William Sparks, eldest son of Jacobson andCynthia (Champion) Sparks, relating to entries found in the familybible.

We have been unable to determine the parentage of James Sparks(d.1736) and thus, can not link him to William Sparks (d.1709). He isincluded here because a descendant of his granddaughter Sarah Sparks(daughter of James Jr.) was the grandmother of Lucinda Emmalee(Walden) McKay. Lucinda's son Rev. Henry Taylor McKay married LavinaElizabeth Sparks, daughter of Abel Tomlin and Nancy Ann M. (Newsom)Sparks. (See SQ p. 1260)

A lengthy article about James Sparks (d1736) and his children appearsin the Decemer, 1962 issue of the SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 40, pp.680-704.

SQ 3230: Married Rebecca---, Abt 1740. Children Ursula, William,others?

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1983, Whole No. 124, p. 2563, whichgives the precise birthdates of Ursula and William. (Query: Why didthe article in Whole No. 160 provide more ambiguous dates?)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, pg 4036-4040:
James Sparks, probable son of George and Mary ------- Sparks, wasborn about 1713. He was married to Rebecca ----- about 1740, and,according to the register of St. Lukes Parish, they had at least twochildren. James took the Oath of Fidelity in 1778; he died sometimeafter 1778.
a. Ursula Sparks, daughter of James and Rebecca ( ----- ) Sparks, wasborn about 1740 and was baptized on December 13, 1741, in St. LukesChurch in Queen Annes County. She was probably named for her father'ssister, Ursula.
b. William Sparks, son of James and Rebecca Sparks, was born about1750, and was baptized on June 4, 1751, in St. Lukes Church in QueenAnnes County. He was apparently a married man with two children whenthe special 1776 census was taken of Queen Annes County; however, wehave not learned either the name of his spouse nor the names of hischildren. On that census, William was listed as "William of James."

See MARYLAND MARRIAGES 1634-1777, Compiled by Robert Barnes, Baltimore1987, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. p. 168:

"Sparks, James, 9 Feb. 1737/8, Elizabeth Barkhurst" citing 1 QA-43 .The citation refers to the records of St. Lukes Parish, Queen AnnesCounty, p. 43, copy made in 1904/5 at the Maryland Historical Society.

***************
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1983, Whole No. 124, Pages2562-2572 at page 2563:

DESCENDANTS OF JAMES SPARKS (BORN ABOUT 1710-15) OF QUEEN ANNE'SCOUNTY MARYLAND.

"...James Sparks was undoubtedly a grandson of William Sparks who diedin Queen Anne's County (Maryland) in 1709.

"William Sparks (died in 1709) had four sons: William Sparks, Jr.;George Sparks; John Sparks; and Joseph Sparks; thus the James Sparkswho married Elizabeth Barkhurst was a son of one of them. For reasonsset forth below, it appears quite likely that James Sparks was a sonof William Sparks Jr. (See the March 1971 issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY, Whole No. 73, for an article about William Sparks (died1709).

"Item A. James Sparks was not a son of John Sparks, for John made awill in 1731 in which he named all of his children. There was nochild named James. (See page 1700 of the December 1974 issue of THESPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 88, for details of will", also found innotes for John Sparks.)
Item B. James Sparks was not a son of George Sparks, although Georgedid have a son named James who was born about 1720. This JamesSparks, however, married a woman named Rebecca and they had fivechildren, including a daughter, Ursala, born on December 13, 1741, anda son, William, born on June 4, 1751. This James Sparks died sometimeafter 1778.
Item C. James Sparks was not a son of Joseph Sparks, for all of hischildren were named in the settlement of his estate in FrederickCounty, Maryland, and there was no son named James.
Item D. For the reasons set forth in Items A, B, and C, above, itappears quite likely that James Sparks, who married ElizabethBarkhurst, was a son of William Sparks, Jr. and his wife Margaret(Hamilton) Sparks. (See the references to William Sparks, Jr. in theMarch 1971 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73.)

"James Sparks, probable son of William and Margaret (Hamilton) Sparks,was born about 1710-1715. On February 9, 1737/38, he was married toElizabeth Barkhurst in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, and they had atleast one child, Nathan Sparks. Elizabeth apparently died sometimeafter 1740, and about
1760, James Sparks married (2nd) Juliana (---) Marydith, or Meredith ,a widow with a daughter, Sarah. To this union, four children wereborn: John Sparks; Daniel Sparks; Henson Sparks; and a daughter whosename we have not learned. All of these children were apparently bornbetween 1764 and 1770.

"In 1775, James Sparks became ill and on March 21st he wrote thefollowing will. (The spelling, grammar, and punctuation have beenchanged from the original will in order to make a more readabledocument.)

In the name of God, Amen. I, James Sparks, of Queen Annes County inthe province of Maryland, being sick and weak of body but of perfectmind and memory, thanks be to Almighty God for all his mercies, andcalling to mind the uncertainty of ths life, and knowing that it isappointed to all men once to die, constitute and appoint, make andordain this to be my last will and testament, revoking anddisannulling all other wills by me heretofore made, confirming thisand this only to be my last will and testament, that is to say,principally:
ITEM, I recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God, my Maker andRedeemer which gave it to me, and my body to the dust from whence itwas taken, to be entered in a Christian-like manner at the discretionof my executors, hereinafter named, and as for such worldly goods ithas pleased Almighty God to bless me with, I give and dispose inmanner and form following:
ITEM, I leave unto my loving wife, July Sparks, the use of my houseand fifty acres of land on His Lordship's Manor that is under lease,during her natural life or widowhood, or the lease holds good,
ITEM, I give and bequeath to my loving wife, July Sparks, two whitemares known by the names of Flower and Pleasure. I give to my lovingwife, Juley Sparks, two cows, one black and white named Blacky, theother a dark brindle with some white named Pretty. I give also to myloving wife, Juley Sparks, one feather-bed, the tick with broadstripes, and all the furniture there belonging. I also give to myloving wife, Juley Sparks, one bag of feathers containing six or sevenpounds. I give to my loving wife, Juley Sparks, one white sow andseven shoats about four months old. I also give to my loving wife,Juley Sparks, seven hogs better than a year old.
ITEM, I give and bequeath to my loving son, John Sparks, one featherbed with a buckram tick and what furniture belonging to it.
ITEM, I give and bequeath to my loving son, Daniel Sparks, one featherbed with a plain linen tick and all the furniture belonging to it.
ITEM, I give and bequeath to my son, Henson Sparks, one middle-sizedpewter dish and six pewter plates.
ITEM, I give unto my wife, Juley Sparks, one iron pot holding sixgallons. I also give to my loving wife, Juley Sparks, six yoes andlambs.
ITEM, I give and bequeath to Sarah Marydith, daughter of Juley Sparks,an equal part of the rest of my personal estate that is to be devidedamongst all the rest of my children.
ITEM, I leave my loving wife, Juley Sparks, and my loving son, NathanSparks, my whole and sole executors of this my last will andtestament.
In witness whereof I have fixed my hand and seal this 21st day ofMarch,
Anno Domini, 1775.
Signed, sealed and acknowledged in presence of his
James Roppoth, Jamima Roppoth and James |-|- | Sparks
Caleb Sparks mark

"On the back of the foregoing will was written thus:

Queen Anne's County, the 22nd day of April 1775. James Rippoth,Jamima Rippoth and Caleb Sparks, the subscribing witnesses to thewithin will being duly and solemnly sworn on the Holy Evangels ofAlmighty God , do dispose and say that they saw the testator, JamesSparks, sign the same and heard him publish and declare it to be hislast will and testa ment; that at the time of his so-doing, he was,to the best of their apprehensions, of sound and disposing mind andmemory; that they did subscribe their respective names as witnesses tothe same will in the presence of the said testator and at his request.
Before Th. Wright, Depy. Comr.

I, Nathan Sparks, one of the executors appointed in the last will andtestament of James Sparks, late of Queen Anne's County, deceased , dohereby refuse to act as executor of said will by virtue of suchappointment and do therefore renounce all my right, title and claim tosaid executorship accordingly. Witness my hand this 22nd April 1775.
his
Taken before Th. Wright Nathan S Sparks
mark
"Juliana Sparks accepted the responsibilities of executor of the willof her husband, James Sparks, and made an "Inventory Report" of hisestate for the Queen Anne's County Court on March 15, 1776. The valueof the estate amounted to a little over 150 pounds. Shortlythereafter, Juliana married a relative of her late husband, ThomasSparks, son of George and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks, who had beenborn on January 8, 1736.

"We can only conjecture about the reason that Nathan Sparks refused toact as co-executor with his step-mother; however, it seems logicalthat he was not pleased with the terms of his father's will. We doknow that he signed the inventory of his father's estate as "NearestKin" along with John Sparks. We also know that he ultimately becamethe possessor of the 226 acres of land called "Lord Baltimore's Manor"which had belonged to his father."

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

SQ 3230: Married (1st) Elizabeth Barkhurst on 9 Feb 1737, and (2nd )Juliana --- Meredith ca.1763. Names of children: Daniel, Henson, Johnand Nathan.

The James Sparks referred to in this census is not this one and hisidentity is unknown.
Queen Anne's County, Town Hundred, Census of 1776:
Sparks, James F. (sic): 1 white male over 21; 1 white female over 21;1 white male 12-16; 3 white males less than 12; 1 white female lessthan 12; 4 males total; 2 females total.
******************************************

(See below the conclusion of the article about William Sample Sparksat ###)

SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1989, No. 148; WILLIAM SAMPLE SPARKS, c a.
1700-1765, p. 3500:
"The third son of William Sample Sparks whose name was James, was bornabout 1747. It is interesting to note that, when, on December 16,1760, the tract of land purchased by his brother, Matthew Sparks, inthe Forks of the Yadkin was surveyed, James Sparks was one of thechain carriers for the surveyor--this was a task frequently assignedto boys and young men. We know that James paid a poll tax in RowanCounty in 1768; he would have had to have been at least 21 to becounted as a poll at that time. By 1774, James Sparks had followedhis brothers to what was then Surry County. He lived on Deep Creek inwhat is now Yadkin County, just a few miles north of the line dividingDavie County from Yadkin County. (He was mentioned as a resident onDeep Creek in connection with the description of a tract of landgranted to Reuben Shores on September 11, 1778.) In the RevolutionaryWas pension application made by a son of Matthew Sparks (his name wasWilliam (333)) dated September 14, 1846, he recalled that in 1778,while camped on the French Broad River near the modern border betweenNorth Carolina and Tennessee, he saw his "Uncle James Sparks" on twooccasions; he noted that James was then a member of a foot companyfrom Wilkes County. (SQ June 1954, No. 6, p. 36).

(### Here continues and concludes the article on William SampleSparks, Sparks Quarterly, Dec 1949, Whole No. 148, pps 3484-3500)which was started on William's notes, and continued to his wife's(Rachael's) notes:
"The term "ordinary" in this instance was interchangeable with inn ortavern.
It was a place where a traveller could expect to obtain lodging notonly for himself and his family, but for his horses as well, and hecould also expect to find food and drink. Not only was a licenserequired to operate an ordinary, but the county court set the pricesthat the proprietor might charge. Furthermore, the proprietor of suchan establishment was required to arrange for two citizens ofsubstantial means to serve as his securities. One of the men whoagreed to serve in this capacity for William Sample Sparks was hisneighbor, William Giles, who was, himself, a justice of the courtapproving the license. Giles had come to the Forks of the Yadkin fromNew Kent County, Virginia, at about the same time that the Sparksesarrived. The other security was Benjamin Milner who lived on BarshebyCreek and had been sheriff of Rowan County since 1759.

"While our first record of Sparks obtaining a license for his ordinarywas dated January 1762, we suspect that he had been operating it priorto this time either without a license or with one which had not beenrecorded in the extant court records.

"On April 15, 1764, William Sample Sparks again served on a RowanCounty jury. In this instance, his name was recorded in full by theclerk keeping the minutes. Jonas Sparks, his first cousin, alsoserved on the same jury, which involved a case brought by PeterJohnson against John Brandon. (See p. 25 of Vol. II of Mrs. Linn'sabstracts of these court records, 1763-1774.)

"On October 13, 1764, the court agreed to renew William SampleSparks's license to keep an ordinary. In this instance, it was notedthat he maintained his ordinary "at his Own Dwelling House." (Vol.II, p. 554) On this occasion, his securities were Jacob Aaron (orArrant) and Hugh Montgomery. Jacob Aaron was a German immigrant whoalso operated a tavern "at his own dwelling house." Hugh Montgomerywas a merchant from Philadelphia who had bought a lot in Salisbury in1756 and operated an ordinary there.

"As was mentioned above, it was customary throughout the Americancolonies for the prices charged by proprietors of ordinaries, taverns,and inns to be regulated, usually by the county court. Theseestablishments existed primarily to serve travellers and immigrantswho were either passing through or looking for a place to settle.When located in towns, particularly county seat towns, they servedarea citizens who had business or court obligations there. SinceWilliam Sample Sparks's ordinary was probably located on his son'sfarm, he must have served travellers primarily. Hannals River Ferrywas located there. At a meeting of the Rowan County Court of Pleasand Quarter Sessions held on July 25, 1762, the following rates wereset for all ordinaries within the county. (Recorded in Mrs. Linn'sabstracts, Vol. 1, p. 152; these prices were given in shillings andpence, there being 20 shillings in a pound and 12 pence in ashilling.)

Medaira Wine per gallon & sold in proportion 10 shillings
Claret per gallon & sold in proportion 16 "
English Cyder per quart 1 "
Home Cyder per quart 6 pence

Home Brewd Beer per quart 4 "
Whisky & Peach Brandy per gallon and sold in
proportion 8 shillings
Dinner with 2 dishes of flesh meat hot with a
pint of Cyder or Beer 1 "
Breakfast or Supper 8 pence
Stablage for 24 Hours with good Indian fodder
or good Hay 6 "
24 Hours Pasturage 4 "
Indian Corn or Oates per gallon & sold in proportion 6 "
Lodging in a good bed 2 "
Rum punch with 1/2 pint of Rum & Loaf Sugar I shilling & 4 "
Rum Toddy with 1/2 pint of Rum & Brown Sugar 1 "
Whiskey Toddy with I pint of Whiskey & good
Sugar, per gallon & so in proportion 10 shillings

As we have noted earlier, William Sparks, whom we are certain was theoldest son of William Sample Sparks, had remained in Frederick County,Maryland, when his father and brothers moved to North Carolina in1754. During the next decade, William (whose wife's name was Ann) had,through five different transactions, become the owner of 283 acres ofland. On April 26, 1764, he and his wife sold this entire 283-acretract to a German settler named Christian Newswanger for 400 pounds.On the same day that he signed this deed (by mark), William appearedwith his wife, Ann, before the Frederick County Court to declare thevalidity of the deed. (See Frederick County Land Records, Liber J,Folios 305-06.)

The reason that William and Ann Sparks sold their valuable farm in1764 was that they were about to follow William's father and brothersto North Carolina. We can only speculate regarding the communicationthat had existed between William and his father and brothers duringthe decade from 1754 to 1764, but there must have been an exchange ofinformation in order for William and Ann to know that they should goto the Forks of the Yadkin to find them.

We assume that William and Ann, with their children, set out for NorthCarolina shortly after selling their Frederick County land. It islogical to assume that, on their arrival, they took lodging withWilliam's brother, Matthew Sparks. It was on Matthew's 372-acre tractof land that we believe William Sample Sparks also had his home.

According to the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessionsfor Rowan County, on October 11, 1764, the justices appointed WilliamSparks to be overseer of the road that had been laid out from JohnHoward's ferry "up the Forks in Boones Roade & that all theInhabatence within that District Worke under him." John Howard's Ferrywas located on the South Yadkin River just above the northwesterncorner of Matthew Sparks's land and about two miles above the pointwhere the two rivers join. To join Boone's Road, this new road wasonly about half a mile in length, running northeast from Howard'sFerry.

We believe that this court order refers to William Sparks, son ofWilliam Sample Sparks. The latter was now about 65 years old, andprobably because of his age and his lame leg he was not required topay a poll tax. It would seem highly unlikely that he would have beenassigned such a physically demanding task as road building andmaintenance. Furthermore, now that his son was also living in RowanCounty, the elder William Sparks's name was recorded in officialrecords as William Sample Sparks. (This court record is to be found inVol. 11, page 545, of the original; abstracts of these court recordshave been prepared and published by Jo White Linn, an authority onRowan County history and genealogy.)

"By 1764, the best land in the Forks of the Yadkin had already beenclaimed, though not necessarily purchased, which may account for thefact that William Sparks (IV) purchased from his brother, Matthew ,200 of the 372 acres which Matthew had obtained from the Earl ofGranville in 1761. On April 10, 1765, William paid his brother 50pounds for these 200 acres. The witnesses were Thomas and WilliamFrohock . (See Rowan County Deed Book 6, p. 139.) These 200 acreswere at the very southern tip of what is now Davie County, and thusincluded the land between the South Yadkin and the Yadkin (or NorthYadkin) at the very point where the former flows into the latter.These 200 acres extended up the sides of both rivers to a point, asstated in the deed, "on the Bank of the south side of the Main Riverat the Fish Dam ." This was the "Fish Dam" which Matthew had builtand which would now serve the needs of both brothers. (Today thecounty on the other side of the Yadkin is Davidson County, while thatbelow and to the west of where the two rivers join remains in RowanCounty.)

"On September 17, 1767, Matthew Sparks sold the remaining portionofhis original tract to William Haden for 150 pounds. (Deed Book 6 ,p. 482) Since he earlier had sold the 200-acre portion to WilliamSparks for 50 pounds two years earlier, it would appear that he had charged his brother considerably less than he might have received fromsomeone else. (In each of these sales, the pounds were in"proclamation money," and were of much less value than poundssterling.)

"Following his sale of his Rowan County land to his brother and t oWilliam Haden, Matthew Sparks moved northwest to that part of RowanCounty which would later become Surry County in 1770. He settled inthat part of Surry which would later be cut off to form Wilkes Countyin 1777 and which in 1799 would again be cut off to Ashe County .Ashe County today lies on the southerly boundary of Virginia, acrossfrom Grayson County in that state.

"William Sparks did not live on his 220-acre tract at the Forks of theYadkin for more than four years, at which point he followed hisbrother towhat would become Surry County, but not in the sameneighborhood. William Sparks was taxed for one white poll (himself) in1771. On January 27, 1773, William sold his 200 acres in the Forks ofthe Yadkin to William Frohock for 150 pounds in "proclamation money ." William Sparks lived in that part of Surry County which was cut offin 1850 to form Yadkin County; he gradually came to own a ratherextensive amount of land in the Brushy Mountains area near NorthHunting Creek. This is in the northeast corner of today's YadkinCounty , near the boundary of Wilkes County on the west and SurryCounty on the north.

"If we are correct in believing that William Sample lived with or nearhis son Matthew, in the Forks of the Yadkin, it is quite possiblethat, with the arrival of his son William in 1764, William Samplethereafter lived with or near him. We have no record of WilliamSample Sparks, however, after October 13, 1764, when his license tooperate his ordinary was renewed. There is nothing in the RowanCounty Court records to indicate that it was ever renewed again, nordid he again serve on any Rowan County jury after his last service inthis regard on April 15, 1764.

"It is probable that he died in the Forks of the Yadkin sometime after1764, at which time his age at death would have been in the late 60s.While we are convinced that we have identified three of the sons ofWilliam Sample Sparks (William, Matthew and James), there may havebeen others. We assume that William Sample Sparks probably also haddaughters, but we have not identified any of them if he did.
(This ends the article on William Sample Sparks in Sparks Quarterly,Whole No. 148.)

**********

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 200, Whole No. 192, pp. 5443-61:

A MYSTERY SOLVED!

WHERE DID WILLIAM SAMPLE SPARKS GET HIS MIDDLE NAME?

FROM HIS MATERNAL GRANDFATHER, WILLIAM SAMPLE (DIED 1682)

By Russell E. Bidlack

We begin this article with grateful acknowledgement to Joyce Bastasch,a long-time member of our Association, who lives in Palos VerdesEstates, California. It was Mrs. Bastasch who discovered and calledthis writer's attention to information contained in the publishedcourt records of early New Castle County, Delaware, thus enabling usto solve a mystery that has long mystified descendants of WilliamSample Sparks (ca.1700-ca.1765), son of William, Jr. and MargaretSparks. An article about William Sample Sparks was published in theQUARTERLY of December 1989, Whole No. 148, to which further detailsregarding his life were added in the QUARTERLY of June 1997, Whole No.178, as part of an article devoted' to his daughter, Rachel (Sparks)Bicknell. The mystery has pertained to the source of the middle nameof William Sample Sparks. The record noted by Mrs. Bastasch is thewill of William Sample father of Margaret Sample, the future wife ofWilliam Sparks, Jr. Dated December 11, 1682, William Sample's will wasprobated three weeks later, on January 1, 1683. (The old JulianCalendar was then in use, so these dates are slightly different underour Gregorian Calendar used since 1752.) The full text of the will ofWilliam Sample will appear later in this article.

The balance of this long article on William Sample Sparks and theorigin of his middle name appears under the notes for the wife ofJames paternal grandfather's first wife, Anne ???.

SQ pps 2924-2928:
"James Sparks, son of Joseph (428 ) and Mary (McDaniel) Sparks, wasprobably born about 1755 in Maryland. He grew to manhood in FrederickCounty, and when he was about nineteen years of age, he accompaniedhis brothers, Joseph (494) and Solomon (586), to Bedford County, PA.He may have served in the Pennsylvania Militia during theRevolutionary War, but we have found no record of his service. Heprobably returned to Frederick County after the war ended, and he isprobably the James Sparks who was appointed as an ensign in theFrederick County Militia on June 18 , 1794. It is also quite likelythat he married Nancy ("Ann") Rogers there about 1795. She was bornabout 1765 and was a native of Frederick County.

"By 1800, James and Nancy (Rogers) Sparks were in Bedford County wherethey
appeared on that year's US census. James was also listed as the headof his
household on the 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840 censuses of that county .He entered 250 acres of land there on June 20, 1792. He added nearly600 acres of land to his farm in the mid-1830's and at his death heowned nearly 1 ,000 acres of land in Bedford County.

"According to A HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY published in 1884, the earlysettlers placed only a slight value upon their land. The story istold that James Sparks and one of his brothers decided to divide atract of land which they held jointly. When the question arose as towho should have the upper or more valuable part, they settled it bytaking a stick and "choosing up" after the manner of boys playingbaseball.

"Nancy (Rogers) Sparks died about 1835. According to census recordsshe and
James were the parents of six children. James died sometime betweenMay 1841
and March 1842. He made a will on May 22, 1841, and it was probatedon March
3, 1842. Here is an abstract.
Item. The 800 acres of land which I acquired by three patents in the1830's shall be so divided into 200 acre tracts between my foursons: William, Absalom, Daniel, and David, that the shares ofWilliam, Absalom, and David shall include the land on which they nowreside, and Daniells share shall be taken from the north end of the800 acres.

Item. The 190 acre tract which I obtained from James Hamilton in
1833 shall be equally divided between my sons, Daniel and David. Both shall have equal access to the sawmill on the said tract.

Item. To daughter, Elizabeth Sparks, now intermarried with WilsonL. Weeks, I give $300.

Item. To daughter, Mary Sparks, now intermarried with James Sparks (blacksmith), I give one silk dress to be given one year after mydecease.

Item. To son, Daniel Sparks, one good horse, one cow and fivesheep; to son, David Sparks, one good horse, one cow and four sheepand six hogs, to make them equal with the rest.

Item. I have money due and coming to me from Frederick County,Maryland, which shall be divided equally among my four sons, William,Absalom, Daniel, and David, and my daughter, Elizabeth Weeks.

Item. My sons, Daniel and David, shall be my executors.

his
James O Sparks
seal
Witnesses:
Benjamin Martin
John Nagle

James Sparks is the 3rd Great-grandfather of James Joseph Sparks.

Lawrence County, Kentucky, Court Book 1, January 16, 1826, pgs 177-178; record of Pension Application of James Sparks. Carter County,Kentucky, Records of the Clerk of the Court dated June 8, 1846;Application of Siblings of James Sparks, Jr. for Bounty Land.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1991, Whole No. 154, p. 3796:

WILLIAM SPARKS, ca. 1725-1801

"James Sparks, son of William and Ann Sparks, was probably born inFrederick County, Maryland, about 1762, and would have been about twoyears old when his parents moved to North Carolina. He served in theAmerican Revolution. His wife's name was Mary ---. He lived in AsheCounty, North Carolina, then Lee County, Virginia. He and hisbrother, Thomas Sparks, took their families to eastern Kentucky soonafter the 1820 census was taken, settling in what became LawrenceCounty in 1821. He died there about 1826. His children were: (herelists children)."

From a letter from Dr.Paul Sparks, President of THE SPARKS FAMILYASSOCIATION to James Joseph Sparks dated December 1, 1990: "1810Ashe Co. N.C., Rev. War Pension Application, 1826, Lawrence Co. KY.Paid taxes: Grayson Co. VA 1804, 1805; Washington Co. VA. 1806, 1807,1809; Lee Co. VA. 1811-1814. Paid taxes Surry Co. NC: 1785, 1792-1800.To Lawrence Co. KY ca 1821; Pd Taxes there in 1824 & 1825. Rebecca mayhave been a stepdaughter. SEE THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1961, WholeNo. 33, pps. 542-543.

"Paul Sparks letter, op.cit. : "First of all, there is no doubt in mymind that the father of Solomon Sparks, born ca. 1788, was JamesSparks, born ca. 1762, probably in Maryland. James Sparks was a sonof William and Ann Sparks who came to North Carolina from FrederickCounty Maryland, ca. 1764 and settled in the Rowan-Surry-Wilkes Cos.area. A list of loyalists (to North Carolina) in Surry Countyinclude the entry : "James Sparks, Son of William Sparks." [JJS: Ithink Paul Sparks refers to a list of persons who took an oath ofallegiance in North Carolina. See below and the comment on p. 3796 inarticle on his father that James fought in Revolution. Also seeinclusion in article cited below of Sparkses who served in theRevolution.]

"James Sparks had 4 other sons: William Sparks, Ephriam Sparks, JesseSparks and James Sparks, Jr. He also had two daughters: Nancy Sparksand Lela Sparks. It was the early bound-land law that gave us therelationships of these Sparkses. James Sparks Jr. served in theUnited States Army during the War of 1812 and died in the service in1816. Thirty years later, his brother, Jesse Sparks, a resident ofCarter County , Kentucky, applied for bounty land, naming as the heirsof James Sparks, Jr., his siblings. See pages 542-543 of the SQ.Named were:

1. Ephriam Sparks (now a resident ot Owaley County, KY)
2. William Sparks (now a resident of White County, TN)
3. Solomon Sparks (now a resident of Washington County, VA)
4. Nancy Sparks (now the wife of Joshua Pennington and living inJohnson County, KY.)
5. Jesse Sparks, the applicant, a resident of Carter County, KY.
6. Lela Sparks (we have found no records of her.)
7. Rebecca Sparks (I believe she was a half-sister, probably of thewife of James Sparks by an earlier marriage who went by the name ofSparks.)"

**********

"See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1994, Whole No . 165, pp. 4265-4276,for an article written by Paul E. Sparks, titled:

"JAMES SPARKS (ca. 1762-ca. 1827) OF NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA ANDKENTUCKY"
(Doubtless a son of William Sparks [ca.1725-1801/02] )

"Two early Kentucky court records reveal a considerable amount ofinformation about the life of James Sparks (ca 1762-ca. 1827) wholived in North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. The first record waswritten in Lawrence County, Kentucky, Court Book I, on January 16,1826. Here is the document as it was recorded by the County Clerk onpages 177-178:

" "James Sparks, an old Revolutionary soldier, proferred on oath astatement and declaratory relative to his services, praying to beplaced on the pension list of the United States with an affidavit ofhis being in indigent circumstances accompanying the same, all ofwhich are ordered to be recorded and certified to the Secretary ofWar, which is in the words and figures following, to wit:

"State of Kentucky, Lawrence County. On the 16th day of January 1826,personally appeared in open court, it being a court of records; itbeing made so by the laws of the state; it being solemnly adjudged soto be by the other tribunals of this state for the county aforesaid;James Sparks, a resident in said county, aged sixty-four years, whobeing first sworn in according to law, doth on his oath make thefollowing declaration in order to obtain the provisions made by theAct of Congress of the 18th of March, 1818, as the first of May, 1820:

"That he, the said James Sparks, enlisted for the term of eighteenmonths on the __day of June 1780 in the state of North Carolina in acompany commanded by Captain Gordon, in the regiment commanded by Col.Lewis, in the line of the state of North Carolina on the Continentalestablishment; that he continued to serve in said corps until December1781 when he was discharged from the service in Surry County in thestate of North Carolina; that he hereby relinquishes every claimwhatsoever to a pension except the present; that his name is not onthe roll of any state except Kentucky; and the following are thereasons for not making an earlier application for a pension, viz.:

'I have always lived in a new part of the country which was therebyuninhabited and a considerable distance from any county seat and neverbefore this time for ten years past have been at any court where Icould get my business done and never knew what way to proceed to getmyself enrolled on the pension list, and was always too poor to employcounsel to act for me.

"In pursuance of the Act of Congress of the 1st of May 1820 , I dosolemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States onthe 18th day of March 1818, and that I have not since that time, bygift, sale or in any other manner disposed of my property or any partthere of, with the intent thereby to diminish it as to bring myselfwith in the provisions of the Act of Congress entitled, 'An Act toProvide Certain Persons Engaged in the Land and Naval Service of theUnited States During the Revolutionary War,' passed on the 18th ofMarch, 1818.

"And that I have not, nor any persons in trust for me, any property orsecurities, contracts or debts due to me, nor have I any income otherthan what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed and by mesubscribed, to wit:
Two cows, worth not more than seven dollars each..... $14. 00
One yearling, worth not more than three dollars...... $ 3. 00
Three calves, worth not more than two dollars each... $ 6. 00
Nine hogs and 11 pigs worth in all................... $20. 00
Total $43. 00

Signed: James Sparks

"That since the 18th day of March 1818, the following changes havebeen made in my property: At that time I had three cows which are thesame over above mentioned and calves and yearlings above mentioned arethe increase of those cows; that one of the cows not long since diedon the range; that I have sold none since that time; that the hogs Ihave now are the increases of above three sows and pigs that I had atthat time. They have had some pigs occasionally since which I haveraised and killed for meat for my family, the number not nowrecollected; that I have sold none; that I have lived on a small pieceof rented land and made use of all the profits except the rents forthe support of my family ; that my occupation is ------------ (sic)but from age and infirmity, I am unable to pursue; that my familyconsists of myself and wife, aged sixty-four years, named Mary; thatI have no children living with me."

Signed: James Sparks '

"Sworn to and declared on in open court on this 16th day of January1826, before us the Justices of the Peace for Lawrence County, who, byvirtue of our said offices, do hold and constitute this court, andthat this court does certify that it is the opinion of this court thatthe value of the property continued in the foregoing schedule does notexceed $ 43.00, and that this court is satisfied from the evidencebefore us that the applicant has rendered the services to his countryin his declaration set forth and that it is the opinion of this courtthat from the indigent circumstances of the said James Sparks that hedoes stand in need of the assistance of his country for support: Allof which is ordered to be received and certified to the Secretary ofWar.
Signed: Thomas Thomson - Lewis Wellman - Joel Stratton "

"[Editor's Note: As stated by the Lawrence County Clerk, James Sparksapplied for a pension under two Acts of Congress, that of March 18,1818, and that of May 1, 1820. The Act of 1818 had provided pensionsfor Revolutionary War veterans who had served in a Continentalmilitary organization (as opposed to local militia units), for atleast nine months or until the war's end. Veterans who could provetheir service could apply even though they had suffered nodisabilities, but considered themselves to be in need of financialassistance. Many more veterans applied for, and were granted,pensions under this 1818 Act than Congress had anticipated, and itcame to be widely believed that a large number of these pensionerswere not actually in need of financial aid from the federalgovernment. The Act of 1820 was passed by Congress, therefore, in aneffort to eliminate non-deserving veterans from the pension rolls aswell as to prevent others from applying. The 1820 Act requiredeveryone who had been approved for a pension under the 1818 law now tojustify his pension by submitting to the Secretary of War a certifiedlist of his possessions as well as a statement regarding his annualincome to prove his poverty . A large number of veterans who hadbegun receiving pensions under the 1818 law were removed from thepension rolls as a result of the 1820 law. New applicants, such asJames Sparks, were required, of course, to submit this information.This explains why James Sparks described his financial situation insuch detail.]

"It appears that the application of James Sparks for a pension formilitary service in the Revolutionary War was never acted upon, orperhaps it was never actually sent to the Secretary of War, whoseoffice was then in charge of military pensions. The National Archivescan find no evidence of the service of James Sparks. It may have beendiscovered that the military unit with which he had served consistedonly of militiamen and thus not "of the Continental establishment" ,or he may have died shortly after completing his application. Whenthe 1830 census was taken of Lawrence County, James Sparks was notthere, nor was he enumerated as a member of the household of his son,Jesse Sparks who was then living in Lawrence County. He did notappear on the tax roll of Lawrence County after 1825.

"The second court record which pertains to James Sparks was writtentwenty years later, on June 8, 1846, by the clerk of the Carter County(Kentucky) Court, for the purpose of obtaining bounty land for theheirs of James Sparks, Jr., of Lee County, Virginia. James Sparks ,Jr. son of James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827) had served in the UnitedStates Army from 1812 until his death on July 17, 1816. James Sparks,Jr. apparently had no children (he probably never married), and hisheirs, who became entitled to bounty land based on his service in theWar of 1812, were his siblings. Named as heirs of James Sparks, Jr.in this court of record of 1846 were his brothers, Ephriam Sparks,William Sparks, Solomon Sparks and Jesse Sparks; his sisters, LelaSparks and Nancy Sparks; and his half-sister, Rebecca Sparks.Pertinent portions of the bounty land file identifying these siblingsof James Sparks were abstracted and published in the March 1961 issueof the Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 33, pp. 542-43 (JS Note: which maybe seen above).

"There can be little doubt that James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827),subject of this article, was a son of William and Ann Sparks who wentto North Carolina about 1764 from Frederick County, Maryland. Theysettled in Rowan County where William Sparks bought a 200 acre tractof land in the forks of the Yadkin River (now Davie County], NorthCarolina , from his brother, Matthew Sparks, on April 12, 1765.(Matthew and other members of the Sparks family had gone from FredrickCounty, Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin a decade earlier.)

"William Sparks lived there until January 1773 when he moved withseveral of his children to Surry County, North Carolina. There hesettled on Hunting Creek, and it was there that he lived for theremainder of his life. He died during the winter of 1801-1802. Ann,his wife, survived him, but we have no information regarding the dateof her death. Among their ten children was James Sparks, born about1762. (For further details regarding the family of William and AnnSparks, see the December 1989 and the June 1991 issues of theQUARTERLY, Whole Nos. 148 and 154, respectively.)

"James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827) was born in Frederick County,Maryland, and carried as a baby to Rowan County, North Carolina, byhis parents , William and Ann Sparks. He was about eleven years oldwhen he moved with his parents from The Forks of the Yadkin, stillthen a part of Rowan County, to Surry County, in 1773. When theRevolutionary War broke out, he was one of many young men who took anoath of allegiance to North Carolina, marking its separation from theBritish Empire. On a list that has been preserved of those taking thisoath, there is the following entry: "James Sparks , son of WilliamSparks." (See North Carolina Archives File No. 92.701.11 ) It wasalso at about this time that he apparently married Mary ---. She mayhave been a widow with a young daughter.

"James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827) apparently lived near the boundaryline between Wilkes and Surry Counties, and he paid taxes at times inboth counties. He paid taxes in Wilkes County from 1782 to 1786 and inSurry County from 1792 to 1800; however he was not listed on the 1790or 1800 census in either county. On July 23, 1787, the Wilkes CountyCourt ordered him, along with fourteen of his neighbors, to "view "[i.e. work on the road] "from where Oar Road crosses the Surry Countyline near Hunting Creek to the Salisbury Road below the Old Store andalong said road to the county line; likewise the road where new runsat Hunting Creek above Peter Goods to said road between said Goods andthe Old Store." When the Wilkes County Court met on April 19 , 1788,James Sparks was one of sixteen men ordered "to view road through land[of] Thomas Dickson on New River instead of present road."

"When the Surry County Court met on May 12, 1791, James Sparks was oneof eighteen men "to view, mark and lay off a road the nearest and bestway from the end of the Fox Knob to Wm T. Lewis' Mill on Spence'sCreek from thence into whats called Mine Hole Road and from said millto the Iron Works and make report thereof to next court." Alsoserving on this detail was James's father, "Wm Sparks Senr.," and twoof his brothers, William Sparks, Jr. and Thomas Sparks. They madetheir report to the court on August 10, 1791.

"By 1804, James had moved his family to Grayson County, Virginia,where he paid a personal property tax. He also paid taxes there thefollowing year, but by 1806, he was in the Upper District ofWashington County, Virginia. He paid taxes there from 1806 to 1809.

"On August 1, 1808, James Sparks bought 30 acres of land on the NorthFork of New River in Ashe County, North Carolina, from James Hurley.Hurley was described in the deed as "of Sullivan County, Tennessee,"while Sparks was described as "of Washington County, Virginia." Theconsideration was $30.00. Sparks apparently moved to thenewly-acquired land, for he was listed on the 1810 census of AsheCounty. He was shown in the "over 45" age category; his wife wasenumerated as between 26-45. Living in the household were two males,both aged between 16 and 26 (JS Note: probably Solomon Sr., 22 & JamesJr., 20), and one male (probably Jesse 13) and one female (probablyNancy 16), 10-16. Living nearby was W. Sparks, aged 16 to 26, withhis household.

"James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1826), the subject of this article, shouldnot be confused with two of his contemporaries, also named JamesSparks, who lived in this same section of North Carolina. One of themwas his uncle, James Sparks, (355) who had probably been born about1735 in Maryland who had moved to the Forks of the Yadkin about 1754.He served on the May 1756 court in Salisbury, North Carolina. He wasa chain bearer on a survey of a tract of land granted to his brother,Matthew Sparks, on December 16, 1760, in Rowan County. He paid taxesin Rowan County in 1768 and 1772, and in Surry County in 1774 and1776. This James Sparks also served in the Revolutionary War accordingto testimony given by his nephew, William Sparks, in 1846. ( See theJune 1954 issue of SQ, Whole No. 2, pp. 36-38). He probably diedshortly after his military service."

"The other James Sparks with whom our present subject should not beconfused was the James (332) born about 1767 who died about 1835 andwho was a son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks; thus he was afirst cousin of James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827), subject of thisarticle. We have found few records pertaining to James Sparks, son ofMatthew and Sarah Sparks. He was born about 1767, probably in RowanCounty, North Carolina. He was married about 1791, but we have notlearned the name of his wife . He paid taxes on 100 acres of land inSurry County in 1792, 1793 and 1794 and was listed on the 1800 censusof Surry County as the head of his household. He appeared on the 1810census of Wilkes Count y but in 1820 and 1830 he was in Burke County,North Carolina. According to these censuses, he had eight children,five daughters and three sons. There is some evidence that his sonswere named Hardy, Allen, and Absalom. He probably died about 1835 inBurke County.

"By 1811, James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1826), the subject of the presentarticle, now designated as Senior, had returned to Virginia and was inLee County where he paid a personal property tax. There were otherpersons named Sparks who also paid taxes there that year. They wereJames Sparks , Jr., William Sparks and Absalom Sparks. It was in thefollowing year, 1812, that James Sparks, Jr. enlisted in the UnitedStates Army to serve five years. As noted earlier, he died in serviceon July 17, 1816.

"We have found few records of James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827), or ofhis family in Lee County, Virginia. He paid personal property taxesthere from 1811 to 1814. His son, Ephriam, paid personal propertytaxes there in 1813 and 1814, and his son William, paid taxes there in1811 and 1812. We have found no records of marriages, wills oradmininistrations of persons named Sparks in early Lee County, andthere are only two land transactions recorded involving persons namedSparks. The deeds involve William Sparks, son of James, who bought100 acres of land in 1816 and sold the tract three years later.

"The last record we have found in Virginia of James Sparks is the 1820census of Lee County. By the time the census was taken, his son,Jesse Sparks, had been married and had brought his bride into hisparent's home. He was listed as the head of the household. In themeantime, a brother of James Sparks, Thomas Sparks, (born ca. 1766),had moved to Lee County and Thomas' family was enumerated on the 1820census . It was also about this time that the brothers made plans tomove to the Big Sandy River region of eastern Kentucky, a move whichthey made the following year. They settled in the newly-formedLawrence County. (For biographical material on Thomas Sparks, see theQUARTERLY of December 1991, Whole No. 156, beginning on page 3853).

"When James Sparks, Sr., left Lee County, Virginia, and moved with hisson Jesse, to Lawrence County, Kentucky, he was probably accompaniedby his daughter Nancy, and her husband Joshua Pennington. His son,James Jr., had died in the army in 1816, as noted above. RebeccaSparks, named as a half-sister of James Sparks, Jr., left no recordsas far as we have been able to determine, and she may have been astep-daughter, rather than a daughter, of James Sparks, Sr. EphriamSparks, eldest son of James Sparks, Sr., remained in Virginia untilabout 1832 when he moved to Perry County, Kentucky. William Sparks,son of James, continued to live in Virginia until about 1825 when hemoved to White County, Tennessee.

"Solomon Sparks, son of James, apparently remained in WashingtonCounty, Virginia, for the rest of his life. No records have beenfound of Lela Sparks, daughter of James Sparks, Sr." (Here, p. 4269,begins records of each child of James Sparks for which see theirfamily sheet.) END OF ARTICLE.

See SQ p 4964 for an article entitled SPARKSES WHO SERVED IN THEAMERICAN REVOLUTION which includes the following:
James Sparks (Spouse) Mary ------ Pvt.Capt. Gordon's Co.
(ca. 1762-ca.1825) Col. Lewis Regt. NC Militia
Surry County, NC Source NC Archives 92-701-11

See Sparks Quarterly, June 1998, Whole No. 182, pgs 4998-4999:

"James Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, who is thesubject of the present article, was born in Rowan County, NorthCarolina, on April 14, 1778, according to a record in the Bible whichwas apparently owned by his brother, Nathan Sparks; however, webelieve that the year was transcribed erroneously, and that he wasactually born in 1768. The year 1768 for his birth is also concurredin by census and tax records. (See page 4549 of the December 1995issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 172).

"James Sparks was a young boy when his parents moved to Surry County,North Carolina about 1773. The family settled in that part of SurryCounty that would become Wilkes County in 1777, then Ashe County in1799. James was a grown man when his parents decided to move toGeorgia about 1787. As stated above, it appears that he did notaccompany them on this move.

"Perhaps James Sparks was planning to get married at about the timehis parents, Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, moved to Georgia,and for that reason did not accompany them. He was probably marriedabout 1790, but we have found nothing about his wife except that shewas born about 1774. They were not enumerated on the 1790 census as ahousehold, but when the 1800 census was taken, James was shown as headof his household in Surry County. It consisted of himself, his wife,two daughters and two sons. The children had been born between 1790and 1800.

"James Sparks paid taxes in Surry County, North Carolina, from 1792until 1800. He was in Capt. Benge's District from 1792 to 1794, buthe was in Capt. Kilburn's District from 1795 to 1800. He was awitness to the purchase of a five-year-old slave girl named Tamar byhis cousin, Matthew Sparks, on June 14, 1800. He signed the documentby making his mark. Oby Martin was also a witness. James Sparksapparently continued to live in Surry County until about 1808, when hemoved to Wilkes County. It was there, at the August 5, 1808, term ofcourt, that he was summoned to work on a road, along with Samuel Hindsand John Hinds, under the supervision of William Blackburn, overseer.Able-bodied men were frequently required to perform this kind ofcounty service when roads were surveyed, built, or repaired in theirmilitia (or tax) districts.

"James Sparks, subject of this article, may have been involved in aslaying in Wilkes County shortly after he moved there. At a trialwhich culminated on March 22, 1809, a jury found James Sparks "notguilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter." He was sentenced to bebranded with the letter "M." We cannot say with absolute certainty,however, that this was, indeed, the James Sparks who was a son ofMatthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks.

"On August 2, 1809, James Sparks was assigned to work on the ElkspurRoad by the Wilkes County Court. The overseer was William Blackburn.When the 1810 census was taken, James Sparks was shown as heading ahousehold consisting of himself, age 26-45, his wife, age 26-45; oneson and one daughter, ages 16-26; one son and one daughter, ages10-16; and one son and two daughters under 10 years of age. (Familyrelationships were not shown on early census records, but we assumethat these children were sons and daughters of James Sparks and hiswife.)

"The last record that we have found of James Sparks in Wilkes Countyis a marriage bond issued for Hardy Sparks to be married to SusannahBrown. The bond was issued on January 5, 1815, and the marriageprobably took place a few days later. James Sparks was the bondsman,a not unusual role for a father in those days. Samuel Johnson was thewitness to this document.

"Sometime between 1815 and 1820, James Sparks moved to Burke County,North Carolina, where he was enumerated as the head of a household onthe 1820 census. He and his spouse were enumerated as having beenborn prior to 1775. When them were a male and a female between 10 and15, two females under 10 years of age. We assume that these were ason and three daughters of James. He was still in Burke County whenthe 1830 census was taken. It seems obvious that on this 1830 census,he and his spouse were mistekenly enumerated in the 40 to 50 agegroup. With them were two female children, aged 10 to 15, whom weassume to have been their daughters.

"James Sparks was not enumerated on any 1840 census of North Carolina;he had probably died between 1830 and 1840. We have found no recordsof the administration of his estate, nor that of his wife. Only onerecord has been found that might pertain to one of his children,namely the marriage bond mentioned above. From census records, itseems apparent that he had eight children, five daughters and threesons, all born between 1790 and 1810. Some, of course, may have diedin youth. In spite of this dearth of records, we believe that we canidentify two sons of James Sparks." (For remainder of article, seenotes for his children.)

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, pp 5605-5630,p. 5609:

"James Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, was born on April 14,1768, in what is now Davie County, North Carolina, although the Forksof the Yadkin where Matthew's land was located was then part of RowanCounty. He died, probably in Wilkes County, North Carolina, between1830 and 1840. He appears not to have accompanied his parents andsiblings on their move to Georgia in 1783/84, although he was then nomore than sixteen years of age. We have not succeeded in finding thename of his wife , but from census records, it appears that he was thefather of eight children , five daughters and three sons. We believethat we have identified his three sons. See our record of them in thearticle devoted to James Sparks in the QUARTERLY of June 1998, WholeNo. 182, pp.4998-5003. (Unfortunately, at the beginning of thatarticle , we stated that James was one of Matthew and Sarah's "elevensons"; We now feel certain that there were ten sons, not eleven.)

SQ 732:

"James Sparks, born in September, 1759, in Maryland. According todescendants, he was 13 or 14 years old when he came with his parentsto what is now Independence Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania,in 1773. He was probably the James Sparks who served in the AmericanRevolution as a member of Captain Sadock Wright's company, 2ndBattalion, Washington County Militia. (See Penna. Archives , 6thSeries, Vol. 2, pp. 22, 33, 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 twelve children born between 1799 and 1815: Marthy,Margaret, Sarah, William, James, Margory, Mary, Joseph, Thomas,Robert, Allen and Elizabeth."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1984, Whole No. 125, p. 2588:

"James Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania and Clinton County,Indiana.":

"William Sparks, son of Joseph and Mary Sparks, was born on April 27,1738, in Queen Ann's County, Maryland. (See page 1390 of the March1971 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73.) He married Martha Moore,a daughter of Alexander and Margaret Moore. (See Deed Book A, page 134of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.) Among the seven children ofWilliam and Martha (Moore) Sparks was a son, James Sparks, born about1765, in Frederick County, Maryland. We now present an account ofJames Sparks and his descendants.

"James Sparks, son of William and Martha (Moore) Sparks, was bornabout 1765 in Frederick County, Maryland, and was a young lad when ,in 1773, his parents moved by packhorse across the Allegheny Mountainsand settled in that area of Pennsylvania which became WashingtonCounty in 1781. Here James's father acquired 323 acres of land inIndependence Township just a few miles from present-day Ohio County ,West Virginia, and it was here that James grew to manhood and learnedthe trade of carpentry. He was probably the James Sparks who servedin the American Revolution as a member of Captain Zadoc Wright'sCompany of the 2nd Battalion of Washington County Militia.

"James Sparks married Margaret Ray, probably about 1798. She was bornabout 1775 in Talbot County, Maryland, and was a daughter of Thomasand Marjorie (Spear) Ray. (Thomas Ray died in 1807 in WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania, and named in his will a daughter, Margaret ,wife of James Sparks.) A brief account of the family of James andMargaret (Ray) Sparks was given in the June 1963 issue of theQUARTERLY referred to above. Unfortunately, on page 732 of thatissue, there is an apparent error. The year of birth of Margaret(Ray) Sparks was given as 1761. We believe this is incorrect. If shewere the mother of twelve children, all born between 1799 and 1815,she would have been 38 years old when her first child was born and 54years of age when she had her last child. This would have been highlyunlikely, if not improbable.

"Census records of this couple have been preserved for the years 1800,1810, and 1820 of Washington County, Pennsylvania, and for 1830 ofRichland County, Ohio. These records indicate that Margaret was bornbetween 1774 and 1780, and that James was born between 1765 and 1770.We place her year of birth as about 1775 and his year of birth asabout 1765. The latter is confirmed by the 1850 census of ClintonCounty, Indiana, on which James's age was given as 85 years. (SQ p.403]

"James Sparks and his family continued to live in Washington Countyfor nearly twenty years, then about 1820, they decided to move to Ohiowhere they settled in that part of Richland county which would becomea part of Ashland County in 1846. They lived here for several years,but about 1835, James made a final move and joined his sons, Josephand Thomas Sparks, in Clinton County, Indiana. It was there thatMargaret (Ray) Sparks died, probably a year or two after the move .When the 1840 census was taken of Clinton County, James was listed asthe head of his household. Enumerated as living in his household wasa male whom we are certain was his son, William Sparks, along withWilliam's family.

"On April 4, 1840, James Sparks sold 49 acres of land to his son,Thomas Sparks, and a year later, he sold 30 acres to John A.Henderson. When the 1850 census was taken of Perry Township in Clintoncounty, James was listed in the household of his son, Thomas Sparks.He was then 85 years of age. It is told that on his 90th birthday, hechopped and split 100 fence rails. He died in Clinton County inOctober 1855. Descendants say that he and his wife were buried in theLoveless Cemetery near Colfax, Indiana; however, no grave markers canbe found.

"James and Margaret (Ray) Sparks were the parents of twelve children,all of whom where born in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Many yearslater, one of the children, Joseph Sparks, recorded the dates of birthof his brothers and sisters, and in the case of his sisters, he alsorecorded the surnames of their spouses. He used the fly-leaf of anewly-published book, entitled Atlas Map of Fulton County, Illinois,published by Andreas, Lyter & Company, Davenport, Iowa, in 1871. Thenames and dates of birth of the children of Joseph Sparks were alsorecorded in this book, which ultimately came into the possession of agrandaughter of Joseph Sparks, Maude (Sparks) Earnest, a daughter ofThomas J. Sparks. (Here follows the referenced information for whichsee the family page for each child.)"

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

See SQ p. 5128: "James Sparks, born ca. 1765, died in 1855. He hasbeen discussed at some length in the preceeding pages (see the notesfor his father and mother). He may have been the James Sparks who wastaxed in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1790, 1795, and 1796. He mayhave then returned to Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he wasmarried about 1798 to Margaret Ray. Information regarding JamesSparks and his family can be found in the QUARTERLY of March 1984,Whole NO. 125, pp. 2588-2600; and June 1984, Whole No. 126, pp.2612-36. When that record was compiled, however, certain errors weremade that have been corrected in the pages of the present article (seenotes for James's father William Sparks, Sr.). " (Here listschildren)

!NOTES:
SQ pg 2566: "James Sparks died prior to November 1797, and left hi sshare of his father's estate to his brother, Simon Sparks. In al lprobability, he never married."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1960, Whole No. 32, pp. 529-30 forthe Bound Land and Pension Application of James Sparks:

"JAMES SPARKS, of Bedford County, Pennsylvania; born about 1788.Bounty Land Warrant File 13 552-120-55.

"On June 14, 1851, James Sparks, a resident of Bedford County, Penna.,applied for bounty land under the act of Sept. 28, 1850. He statedthat he was 62 years old and that he had been a private in the companycommanded by Capt. Solomon Sparks in the 2nd Regiment of PennsylvaniaVolunteers commanded by Col. William Piper in the War of 1812; thathe volunteered at Bloody Run in Bedford County, Penna., on or aboutSept. 1, 1812, for 6 months and was "dismissed from the service atBlack Rock on the Niagra River to find winter quarters some time inDecember, 1812, being absent from his home about 4 months." He signedhis application as "James Sparks." His application was by JohnSparks, Justice of the Peace.

"Added to this application is a sworn statement by David Fletcher andJoseph Sparks who stated "that the above Declaration is true accordingto the best of their knowledge and Belief they having been volunteersin the Same Company with him and that they marched with him to blackRock and wear [sic] Compeled to seek winter quarters."

"On Dec. 17, 1851, James Sparks submitted another sworn statement tothe effect that he had been "honourably discharged at Black Rock, butnever received any written or printed discharge;" that Samuel Smithand David Fletcher, who had served with him, had already receivedbounty land. John Sparks, Justice of the Peace, again signed aswitness.

"Official records revealed that James Sparks had served in SolomonSparks' s company from Sept. 25 to Nov. 24, 1812. He was granted 40acres of bounty land.

"On March 24, 1855, James Sparks applied for additional bounty landunder the provisions of the act of March 3, 1855. He gave his age as64, a resident of Bedford County. He gave the same information abouthis service as he had in his application of 1851. He signed his nameas "James Sparks"; James Bedford, Justice of the Peace, signed aswitness. Also signing as witnesses were Solomon Hollar and JohnMortimer; the latter signed by mark. James Sparks was granted anadditional tract of 120 acres.

"(Editor's note: We have several records pertaining to SolomonSparks's company of Riflemen of the Second Regiment commanded by Col.William Piper. A pay roll of the company dated Nov. 24, 1812 (see thePennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 7., pp. 737-38) lists thenames of the men in the comptn-y. ames Sparks was listed as ƈndCorp'l.' Three privates named Sparks were also listed: Joseph Sparks,Abraham Sparks, and Joseph Sparks, Jr. (Both of the Joseph Sparksesreceived bounty land and their papers will be published when we reachtheir spot in the alphabet.) The Solomon Sparks who was captain ofthis company was the same Solomon Sparks *io served in the AmericanRevolution whose pension papers for that service were published in theMarch, 1955, issue of the QUARTERLY (Whole No. 9, pp. 59-61). He wasborn in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1758 and was a son of JosephSparks who died in Bedford County, PA., in 1809. Solomon Sparks waseither the father or an uncle of the above James Sparks. (JS Note:Solomon was a brother of the father of this James i.e. James's uncle.)

"There are no records in this file of the window of James Sparksreceiving a pension. In the PENNSYLVANIA ARCHIVES (6th Series, Vol.9), however, Phoebe Sparks, widow of James Sparks, is listed as havingreceived a pension about 1788. This may have been a pension given bythe state of Pennsylvania.)

SQ pgs 2921-2922 state: "James Sparks, son of Joseph and ElizabethSparks,
was born about 1788. He served during the War of 1812 as a 2ndCorporal in a
company commanded by his uncle, Solomon Sparks (586), in the 2ndRegiment,
Pennsylvania Militia. (See pages 529-30 of Whole No. 32, for anabstract of
his Bounty Land file). James Sparks married his cousin, Mary Sparks ,probably about 1823. [JS: Her father James was the brother of thisJames's father, Joseph Jr.] She was born about 1800 and was a daughterof James (495) and Nancy (Rogers) Sparks. James Sparks was ablacksmith. According to the 1830, 1840, and 1850 census records ofBedford County, he and Mary had four children; however, we havelearned the names of only two of them. James Sparks died sometimeafter March 1855.

MILITARY RECORD:
SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1961, Whole No. 33, pp.542-3 refers to thefollowing:
JAMES SPARKS, of Jonesville, Lee County, Virginia, died 1816. BountyLand Warrant File 446-160-12. An abstract of that file reads asfollows:

"The earliest document in this file is a letter dated Jan. 27, 1846,written by A. Trumbo, a congressman from Kentucky, to the PensionOffice asking "whether the name of James Sparks is found upon theMuster Rolls of 1812 or 1813. He served under Capt. Henry, was acitizen of Jonesville, Lee County, Virginia, at the time he went intothe service. He died in the service & his heirs want to get his bountyland if they are entitled to it."

The Treasury Department found proof of the service of James Sparks---he enlisted on July 28, 1812, for 5 years as a private in Capt.Archer' s Company of Artillery and "he served honestly & faithfully to17 July 1816 when he died." This record also states that the pay towhich James Sparks was entitled when he died was paid to S. C.Wooldridge, the administrator of his estate.

On June 8, 1846, at a court held in Carter County, Kentucky,"satisfactory evidence was adduced in court, to prove that JamesSparks enlisted under Captain Henry about the 1st of July 1812 atJonesville, Virginia, for the term of five years and that he has leftthis country & been absent for many years and reported to be dead andthat Ephriam Sparks (191), Jesse Sparks (196), William Sparks (192),Solomon Sparks (173) , Nancy Sparks (194), and Lela Sparks (193); alsoone Rebecca Sparks, a half sister (197) are the brothers and sistersand the only heirs at law in fee to said James Sparks." 160 acres ofbounty land were awarded to these heirs of James Sparks.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4274 for this:

"James Sparks, son of James Sparks, Sr., was born about 1790. He paidpersonal property taxes in Lee County, Virginia, in 1811 and 1812. OnJuly 28, 1812, he enlisted at Jonesville, Virginia, in CaptainArcher's Company of Artillery, United States Army, to serve for aperiod of five years . He served until his death on July 17, 1816.Thirty years later, his heir (brothers and sisters) were granted 160acres of bounty land for his service during the War of 1812. (See theMarch 1961 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 33 for an abstractof his bounty-land file.)" [copied above]

SQ p. 2600:

"James Sparks, Jr., son of James and Margaret (Ray) Sparks, was bornon June 25, 1804. He
accompanied his parents to Ohio and in all likelihood he was marriedthere about 1828. We have not
learned the name of his wife. They had two children before the deathof James Sparks, Jr., which
apparently occurred about 1833 in Ohio."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Dec 1992, Whole No. 160, p. 4053:

"James Sparks, son of Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas) Sparks, wasborn on August 31, 1807, and died on January 10, 1858. He was marriedto Rebecca Ann Shriver by Dyer Burgess, M.D.M., in Adams County, Ohio,on January 1, 1829. Following his death, Rebecca Ann was married(second) to William Robe on November 3, 1858. There is a tombstone inthe Winchester, Ohio, Cemetery for Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas)Sparks which has the inscription: "Erected to Their Memory by RebeccaRobe." Rebecca was a daughter of Peter Shriver.

"James Sparks appeared on the 1850 census of Winchester Township,Adams County, Ohio, age 45. He was listed as a native ofPennsylvania, and his occupation was that of inn keeper. Living withhim in 1850 was his wife, Rebecca A. Sparks, aged 42, a native ofKentucky. Following their names are the names of fifteen residents attheir inn, among whom was a John Sparks, age 25. This John Sparks hadbeen born in Ohio, and under occupation, the census taker wrote"None." Whether this was a son of James and Rebecca Ann (Shriver)Sparks, we do not know. Judge Sparks gave no information regardingany children of James and Rebecca Ann. When James died, his will leftall of his estate to his widow, with no mention of any children. (SeeBrown County Wills, Vol. 3, p. 297.) For a record of Sparkses found onthe 1850 census of Ohio, see the QUARTERLY of December 1977, Whole No.100, pp. 1944-1959.

(The QUARTERLY continues:] "The following sketch is taken fromWinchester Sesquicentennial, 1815-1965, by W. M. Sellman, published in1965, page 8.

"The most noted of the old inns was built by James Sparks about 1839,on lot 27, which he had bought from Eliza Darlinton in 1837. JamesSparks was born in Pennsylvania on August 31, 1807, a son of Solomonand Catherine Sparks. On January 1, 1839, [See correction by theEditor.] he married Rebecca Ann Shriver, a daughter of Peter Shriver.The hotel built by Sparks in 1839 was a two-story structure, with abalcony extending out over the sidewalk. Several stables to the rearof the hotel faced the alley on the north. Sparks operated the innfor sixteen years, and enjoyed an excellent reputation as host. In1855, he sold the property to James W. McIntire and moved to Ripley,Brown County, where he died January 10, 1858. [Editor's Note: The dategiven here for the marriage of James Sparks and Rebecca Ann Shriver isin error; according to the marriage records in Adams County, the dateof their marriage was January 11, 1829. by Dyer Burgess, NDM.]"

THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4271 providesthis: "James Sparks, son of William (192) and Rhoda (227) (Pennington)Sparks, was born about 1810 in Virginia. He married Luvania (orLarena) --- , about 1832. When the 1850 census was taken, they wereliving in Hamilton County, Tennessee with their nine children: Martha,Mary, Andrew, Jane, Charles, Celia, Catherine, Rhoda, Lucinda, andJames, Jr."

.

!NOTES:
The SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, at page 4270, states: James
Sparks, son of Ephriam and Charlotte Sparks, was born about 1810 in Virginia.
He was married to a widow named Temperance (Lusher) Spencer, and the yhad
eight children: John, Phoebe, Charlotte, Nancy, Ephriam, Cordelia, Temperance,
and Eveline.

SQ p. 5366:

"James Sparks, son of Joel Sparks and his first wife, was born about1820. He was married about 1837 to Mary A. Hampton, probably in SurryCounty, North Carolina. They were in Lafayette County, Missouri, whenthe 1850 census was taken." (Here lists children.)

SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4275:
"James Sparks, son of Jesse and Nancy Sparks, was born about 1822 inKentucky. He died in 1855, apparently without having had children .He was probably the James Sparks who married Susan Whitt."

1860 Census, Knoxville, Knox Co., TN., 3rd Dist., page 135, ln 138includes his brother Nicholas (181) at another address, his wife,children, and father Solomon Sr. (173). FHL 805259. Copy in file.

RECORDS:
Register of Births, Washington CO., VA. 18---18--, FHL34388: MargaretS. Sparks Feb 2, 1854; line 21.

THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4273 states:
"James Sparks, son of Solomon and Susan Sparks, was born about 1827 inNorth Carolina. He was married to Julia Ann --- about 1850 and theyhad at least four children: Sarah, Margaret, Harriet, and Minerva."

I think Paul may be wrong on two counts regarding the foregoinginformation. Initially, the 1860 census shows James to be 30 years ofage which would indicate a birth year of 1829 or 1830. Secondly, thecensus in dicates that James was born in Virginia. We know thatSolomon appeared on the tax
list for Washington County in 1815, again in 1818 in the SaltvilleDistrict of Washington County and he paid personal property tax inWashington County from 1818 to 1830.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1986, Whole No. 135, p. 2925:

"James Sparks, son of William and Susan Sparks, was born on March 12,1831. He served in Company K, 208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantryduring the Civil War. (See the December 1985 issue of the QUARTERLY,Whole No. 132, for an abstract of his pension file [reproduced below].On September 15, 1859, he married Margaret Stuckey at Clearville,Pennsylvania. She was born on February 28, 1835, in Pennsylvania.She died on February 12, 1879, at Everett, Pennsylvania. James diedon January 23, 1904. They were buried in the Sparks Cemetery, southof Clearville. They had seven children.

**********

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION OF JAMES SPARKS

JAMES SPARKS,
son of William and Susan (--?--) Sparks, born March 12, 1831, inBedford
County, Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Stuckey on September 15,
1859, at Clearville, Pennsylvania. He served in Company K, 208th
Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. File Designation: Inv. Cert. No.192,892.

"On February 18, 1879, James Sparks, aged 47, a resident of Everett,West Providencetownship, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, applied for aninvalid pension. He stated that he had been enrolled on August 18,1864, in Company K, 208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, commanded byCol. McCalvett, and had served untill he was discharged at Harrisburg,Pennsylvania, on June 5, 1865. At the time he was 5 feet, 10 inchestall, he had a fair complexion, sandy hair and blue eyes, and he was afarmer. On April 2, 1865, he had received a gunshot wound in his leftarm while charging a fort in front of Petersburg, Virginia. He hadbeen treated in the hospitals at City Point, Virginia, and atWashington, D.C. He was now disabled so that he could not earn hissubsistence. He appointed Hayes Irvine, Bedford, Pennsylvania, as hisattorney. J. N. Alsip and Joe W. Tate witnessed his signature.

"The War Department confirmed Sparks's military service on April 14,1881. He had been enrolled on August 18, 1864, at Bloody Run,Pennsylvania, as a private in Company K, 208th Regiment PennsylvaniaVolunteers. He had been hospitalized on April 2, 1865, for a gunshotwound in his left lower arm which he had received in front ofPetersburg, Virginia. He was mustered out with his company on June 5,1865.

"Invalid Certificate No. 192,892 was issued to James Sparks, and hewas placed on the pension roll.

"On February 19, 1886, Wilson W. Sparks, late Lieutenant of Company K,208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, completed an Officer'sCertificate of Disability to support a request of James Sparks forincreased pension benefits. Lieut. Sparks stated that in the fall of1864, while stationed near Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, James Sparks hadbeen afflicted with a severe swelling of the legs and had been unfitfor duty for several days. Prior to this affliction, Sparks had beena sound man free from any disability. Lieut. Sparks said he was wellacquainted with James Sparks since boyhood days since they were raisedabout two miles from each other. [The abstract of the pension file forWilson W. Sparks was published in the QUARTERLY of June 1977, WholeNo. 98, pp. 1914 -15.]

"On September 25, 1886, the War Department again reported to theBureau of Pensions on the military records of James Sparks. With theexception of the gunshot wound, Sparks had been in the GeneralRegimental Hospital only one other time and that had been on December21, 1864.

"Affidavits concerning the general health of James Sparks prior to andafter returning from the military service were made in his behalf forseveral years after 1886. Among those making affidavits were:Elizabeth Foor, aged 54; Charles Mortimer, aged 43; James Avey, aged67; Thomas Weaverling, aged 43; and John Clark, aged 56; allresidents of Everett, Pennsylvania. Other affidavits were made byWilliam H. Gates, aged 59, a resident of Yellow Creek, Pennsylvania;James H. Everhart, aged 52, a resident of Tatesville, Pennsylvania;and Abram Stuckey aged 57, a resident of Clearville, Pennsylvania.Nothing was sent from the pension file of James Sparks to indicatewhether or not these affidavits had any effect on his request forincreased pension benefits.

"On July 4, 1898, James Sparks returned a questionnaire to the Bureauof Pensions. He stated that he had been married to Margaret Stuckeyon September 15, 1859, near Clearville, Pennsylvania, by the Rev. B.A. Cooper. She had died on February 12, 1879, near Everett,Pennsylvania. Children born to the marriage were:

1.Matilda Sparks, born September 26, 1860. She was now MatildaMortimer.
2.Maria Ann Sparks, born December 6, 1862. She was now Maria AnnKoontz.
3 Jonas Sparks, born April 13, 1865.
4. Ruth Sparks, born September 24, 1867. She was now Ruth Weimer.
5. Daniel Sparks, born February 17, 1870.
6.Henrietta Sparks, born January 18, 1873. She was now HenriettaHorton.
7. William Sparks, born in 1876, now deceased.

"James Sparks died on January 23, 1904. A check payable to him forhis pension, in the amount of $12.00, was returned to the Bureau ofPensions on January 4, 1904, and marked as "Unclaimed."

(Editor's Note: James Sparks was a grandson of James and Nancy ("Ann")(Rogers) Sparks. See pages 585-87 of the September 1961 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 35, for further details about this branch of theSparks family.)

SQ 2601 is abstract of James's pension application file. He waskilled as a result of a gunshot wound suffered in the Battle of Kenesay Mountain, GA on June 27, 1864.

The abstract follows:

JAMES SPARKS, son of William and Catherine (Huckley) Sparks, bornabout 1835 in Ohio and died on July 22, 1864. He married Sarah J .Shell on January 27, 1859, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. He serve din Company D, 40th Regiment Indiana Infantry. File Designation: Wid.Cert. No. 42,600; Minor Cert. no. 68,391.

On August 2, 1864, Sarah J. Sparks, age 32, a resident of WabashTownship, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, made application for a pensionunder the 1862 Act of Congress. She stated that she was the widow ofJames Sparks who had been a private in Company D, 40th RegimentIndiana Infantry, under the command of Lieut. --- Coleman. On July 22, 1864, James Sparks had died at Nashville, Tennessee, from a woundreceived in the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, on June 27, 1864.

Sarah Sparks stated that she and James Sparks had been married onJanuary 27, 1859, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and that after hisdeath she had remained a widow. She and her husband had one child, adaughter, Olive Celestine Sparks, who had been born on September 8,1860, and who was living with her. Levi J. Northcut and Page B .Severson attested to the application which was notarized by David P .Vinton. The application was accompanied by a copy of the marriagelicense confirming the marriage on January 27, 1859, of James Sparksand Sarah Jane Shell in Tippecanoe County by John S. Allen, a justiceof the peace.

On March 8, 1865, the Adjutant General's Office confirmed the militaryservice of James Sparks to the Bureau of Pensions. When Sparksenlisted on August 30, 1862, he was 26 years, 11 months of age; he was5 feet 10 inches tall; he had a dark complexion, dark hair and blueeyes. He was a brick mason by occupation. He died in a militaryhospital in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 22, 1864, from a gun-shotfracture of the inferior maxillary. The report was made by Lt. SamuelC. Wait. The application of Sarah J. Sparks was approved and she wasplaced on the pension rolls at $8.00 per month to be paidretroactively to July 22, 1864.

On September 2, 1865, Sarah J. Sparks married Robert A. Weathers inTippecanoe County, Indiana. Three weeks later, on September 28, theCommon Pleas Court of Tippecanoe County appointed Page B. Severson theguardian of Olive Celestine Sparks, daughter of James and Sarah J.Sparks. Apparently, Severson then made an application for a pensionfor his ward, for on November 10, 1865, Dr. David Jennings, aphysician in Lafayette, Indiana, made an affidavit that he was presentprofessionally at the birth of a female child, born to James and SarahJ. Sparks, on Septermber 8, 1860, and who was afterwards named OliveCelestine Sparks. William R. Ellis, Clerk of Tippecanoe County,witnessed the affidavit. Although there is no document in the pensionfile of James Sparks, a Minor Certificate No. 68,391 was issued toPage B. Severson, guardian of Olive Celestine Sparks.

On April 26, 1915, the widow of James Sparks, now Sarah Wainscott,again applied for a pension based on the service of James Sparks .From the papers presented in support of this new application, we learnthat Sarah had obtained a divorce from her second husband, Robert A.Weathers, on December 23, 1865, in Tippecanoe County. On March 18,1868, she was married in Tippecanoe County to her third husband, JamesW. Wainscott. Wainscott, who had been born on August 17, 1825, died inCoal Creek Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, on November 15, 1914. Apparently, Sarah and her third husband had lived in MontgomeryCounty following their marriage in 1868 because the file containsstatements by residents of Montgomery County (William E. Howard andArmilda Wainscott that they had known Sarah since 1868. A pension of$12 per month was awarded to Sarah J. Wainscott (R.R. 4, Wingate,Indiana) and was paid until her death on February 20, 1916.

!NOTES:
See note on James father Ephriam (228) containing reference to th edeath of
James in the civil war.

SQ p 3186: "James Sparks and Stephen Sparks, sons of Billie and Sallie
(Jennings) Sparks (twins) were born on March 7, 1844. They died onthe
same day they were born."

For the full rendition of the following, see notes under his fatherEphriam Sparks:
Lewis Pembrook Sparks also remembered in 1954 that his father HenryClay Sparks, had two brothers, James Sparks who was a fiddler and waskilled in the Civil War, and Solomon Sparks who had also fought in theCivil War . He recalled the story of how James Sparks had beenkilled: "It was raining and James was behind a log and wanted torecharge his gun with dry powder ; he raised up and was shot."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had nine children: Denver, Pearl, Eunice, Darce ,Eltra, ardus, Boyle, Wilma, and Delmar.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1970, Whole No. 70, p. 1315:

"James Sparks, son of Joseph Sparks, was born about 1800. He marriedElizabeth Gilman. From census records, we know that Elizabeth wasborn about 1807 in Pennsylvania. According to a biographical sketchof her grandson, James Harvey Sparks (see Jesse W. Weik's history ofPutnam County., Indiana, published in 1910., P. 374), Elizabeth was adaughter of Henry Gilman who was a soldier in the Revolution underGeneral Wayne. She died sometime after 1880. James Sparks lived onCabin Creek in Lewis County., Kentucky, near his father until about1838 when he moved to Putnam County, Indiana. Subsequently, he wentto Clayton County, Iowa., where he is listed on the 1850 census.

"His portrait appeared on the cover of the December 1959 QUARTERLY - -at that time we were uncertain of his name. He apparently died before1857, in which year his widow, Elizabeth, was living in OlmsteadCounty, Minnesota, near her son Albert Cyrus Sparks. In 1870 she wasliving with her son John in the same place; when the 1880 census wastaken she was also living with this son. Records indicate that Jamesand Elizabeth Sparks were the parents of thirteen children. Theywere: " (see their individual sheets)

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1984, Whole No. 128, pp. 2679-82:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FAMILY OF JAMES SPARKS (ca.1798-1856)
OF LEWIS COUNTY, KENTUCKY, PUTNAM COUNTY INDIANA
AND CLAYTON COUNTY, IOWA

"On pages 1315-1318 of the June 1970 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No.70, an article was published about the descendants of Joseph Sparks(ca.1777-1838) of Lewis County, Kentucky. Since the publication ofthat article, we have received additional information about a son ofJoseph Sparks. The son was James Albert Sparks (ca.1798-1856] whomarried Nancy Elizabeth Gilman on March 3, 1820; they were married inAdams County, Ohio, right across the Ohio River from Lewis County,Kentucky. She was a daughter of Henry Gilman. This couple continuedto live in Lewis County until about 1838 when they moved to PutnamCounty, Indiana, where they settled at Cloverdale. They stayed thereonly a few years and then moved to Clayton County, Iowa, where Jamesdied on March 6, 1856. His picture appeared on the cover of theDecember 1959 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 28.

"Shortly after the death of her husband, Nancy Elizabeth Sparks (shewent by the name of Elizabeth) moved to Olmsted County, MinnesotaTerritory, taking with her her two youngest children, William Sparksand Mary Sparks. In all probability, Elizabeth made this move to benear her daughter, Martha (Sparks) Yates, and her sons, Joseph Sparks,and Albert Cyrus Sparks. She was living near these children when aspecial census was taken in 1857 of Olmsted County shortly beforeMinnesota became the 32nd state in 1858.

"Elizabeth Sparks did not remain long in Minnesota, and when the 1860census was taken of Iowa, she was living at Farmersburg in ClaytonCounty. With her were three sons: William Sparks, Henry Sparks, andJohn Sparks. The following year, on May 28, 1861, her son, HenrySparks, enlisted in Company C, 3rd Regiment Iowa Infantry. Hecontracted acute bronchitus in the early part of 1863, and on April27, 1863, he received a medical discharge. He returned to his home atFarmersburg, Iowa, where he died on June 10, 1863. (See pages2694-2696 of this issue of the QUARTERLY [copied in the notes for herson Henry Sparks] for an abstract of his pension file.)

"On August 15, 1878, Elizabeth Sparks applied for a Mother's Pensionfor her son's military service. She was issued Mother's CertificateNo. 198,491, and she was placed upon the pension roll. According toaffidavits which she made prior to her death, she sold her farm inIowa in 1866 and returned to Olmsted County. She remained there until1881 when she again returned to Iowa where she settled at McGregor.On May 2, 1882, at the age of 80 years, she made her final affidavitto support her pension status. She died on September 13, 1885, inClayton County.

"James and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks were the parents of thirteenchildren. All of them were listed on pages 1315-1318 of the June 1970issue of the QUARTERLY; the information presented on those pages willnot be repeated here. We shall, however, continue to use the samenumbering system we used on those pages with the added informationthat we are now able to provide. " (See notes for each child)

SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, Whole No. 127, p. 2663:

"James A. Sparks (the initial may have been H.), son of "Doc" and Mary(Brown) Sparks, was born
about 1852, probably in Cass County, Texas. He is probably the JamesSparks who married Allice A.
Mitchell on January 30, 1876, in Hunt County, Texas. She was bornabout 1854 in Alabama. When the
1880 census was taken of Cooke County, Texas, they had a daughter,Mary B. Sparks, born about
1878. This family is thought to have moved to Oklahoma in later years."

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

SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1991, Whole No. 153, pps 3724-5:

[Editor's Note: The September 1984 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY ,Whole No. 127, contained an article about Matthew J. Sparks (RIN 52 9)(1759-1841) and some of his descendants. Since the publication ofthat article, we have received further information about James AlfredSparks, a great-grandson of Matthew Sparks, who was listed as "Item d"on page 2663 of that issue. Our readers are asked to take appropriateaction to add this information to their copies of that issue.. .]

"James Alfred Sparks, son of Francis Marion "Doc" and Mary Catheri ne(Brown) Sparks, was born on April 21, 1851, in that portion of Cas sCounty, Texas, that became Marion County in 1860. He was married t oAlice A. Milstead on January 30, 1876, in Hunt County. She had bee nborn on December 29, 1855, in Alabama. When the 1880 census was taken, James and Alice were in Cooke County, Texas, with theirtwo-year-old son, Marion B. Sparks. Also living in the household wasAlice' s brother, Benjamin F. Milstead, aged 32.

"Sometime between 1886 and 1890, James and Alice moved to the OklahomaTerritory where they settled in present-day Grady County. It seemsquite likely they were accompanied there by James's cousin, JamesBuchanan "Buck" Sparks (RIN 4526). (See the September 1984 issue ofthe QUARTERLY, Whole No. 127, pp. 2650-52.)

"James Sparks was living near Silver, Oklahoma, when he filed on a"homestead claim" on January 29, 1892. The claim was a 160-acre tractof land located in what became Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma , thatyear. According to testimony given before Fred S. Goodrich, U.S. LandCommissioner, on March 21, 1900, Sparks was then 49 years old; he wasa native of Texas; and his post office was McLoud, Oklahoma Territory. He stated that he had built two log houses on his claim, one inFebruary 1892 and the other in 1898. The land was now fenced and hehad a well, a smokehouse, a double barn made of logs, and an orchard.His family consisted of himself, his wife, and four children. (Theword "wife" was scratched out -- Alice had died only ten daysearlier.)

"To other questions, Sparks replied that he had 60 acres undercultivation, but some of the land was timbered with scrub oaks. Hehad seen no evidence of coal or any other minerals on the land, and hehad not sold any portion of the claim. Commissioner goodrich approvedSparks's application, and Sparks paid the requisite fee of $240 onMarch 27, 1900.

"As stated above, Alice (Milstead) Sparks died on March 11, 1900 . Shehad had surgery for an abdominal tumor and died from complicationsfollowing the operation. On March 28, 1901, James Sparks was married(second) to a 33 year-old widow, Norma Williams, in PottawatomieCounty. He had four children still at home, and Norma brought"several" more children to the marriage, according to relatives.

"The marriage of James and Norma was not a successful one, and Normaleft the home sometime before January 1902. A child was born to heron January 15, 1902, and although James Sparks acknowledged the childas his own, the child grew to maturity under the name of LesterWilliams. A divorce was granted on September 22, 1903.

"On November 26, 1921, James A. Sparks, now 73 years of age, wasmarried to 53-year-old Virginia "Jennie" Page at Tecumseh, Oklahoma .She brought three children to the marriage. By this time, James wassuffering from cardio-vascular disease from which he never recoveredand which finally overcame him on March 19, 1943. He was buried inPilgrims Rest Cemetery beside his first wife, Alice. It is therealso, that most of his eight children were buried."

SQ pg 2626:

"James Allen Sparks, son of Thomas and Martha (Loveless) Sparks, wasborn on August 11, 1838. He served in the 105th Regiment IndianaState Militia for a short time in repelling the raid of the Confederate General John Hunt Morgan into Indiana and Ohio. (His abstract isbelow) On April 26, 1866, he was married to Mariah Wainscott in Clinton County. She was born on December 23, 1841, and was a daughter ofL. and Hulda (Bean) Wainscott, early settlers of Clinton County."

"James was reared on the old farm of his father and was educated inthe common schools. According to the biographical record referred toin the notes of his father, he was (in 1895) "one of the leadingfarmers in his township, cultivating 72 acres of land located aboutthree miles east of Colfax. He is a general farmer and stock-raiserand a lover of good horses and keeps excellent ones. He takes anactive part in the Republican party and is a member of the MasonicOrder. He and his wife are members of the United Bretheren Church.Having no children of their own, they adopted a child, Samuel J. Gher,when he was only eight months old, whom they have yet, and are stillfondly caring for at the age of nineteen."

(The Samuel J. Gher referred to in the biography quoted above was anephew of James Sparks and a son of his sister, Margaret M. (Sparks)Gher. Samuel was born about 1875; his mother died shortly after hisbirth.)

James Allen Sparks died on February 26, 1917, in Clinton ClintonCounty and was buried beside his wife in the Plainview Cemetery atColfax, Indiana.

The following is an abstract if the military record of James AllenSparks copied from his widow's application for his pension benefits:

JAMES ALLEN SPARKS, son of Thomas and Martha (Loveless) Sparks, wasborn about 1838 in Clinton County, Indiana. He married MariahWainscott on April 12, 1865, at Frankfort, Indiana. He served inCompany G, 105th Regiment Indiana Infantry. File Designation: Wid.Appl. No. 1,204,464.

On April 19, 1923, Mariah Sparks, aged 81, a resident of Frankfort ,Indiana, made a declaration for a Widow's Pension under the 1916 Actof Congress. She said she was born on December 23, 1841, in Clinto nCounty, Indiana, and that on April 12, 1865, she was married to JamesA. Sparks at Frankfort, Indiana, by Allen Sparks, a justice of thepeace. Her husband, James A. Sparks, had served in Company G, 105t hRegiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry from July 10, 1863, to July 18,1863. He died February 26, 1917. They had no children. FlorenceTompkins and William Zumwalt witnessed her make her mark and thedeclaration was sworn to before Nelson W. Casner, a justice of thepeace.

The Indiana State Roster (military) showed that James A. Sparks wasmustered into Company G, 105th Regiment Indiana Infantry (minute men)State Service on July 10, 1863 and mustered out on July 18, 1863.

On May 17, 1923, the declaration of Mrs. Sparks was rejected for thereason that "the organization in which her husband served, Co. G ,105th Indiana Infantry, was not mustered into the service of theUnited States during the period of the Civil War."

A photograph of James A. Sparks and his sisters Elizabeth and Emelinetaken in their old age, appears on the cover of the September, 1988,edition of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 143, p. 3261.

SQ p. 4641:

"James Alonzo ["Jim Lon"] Sparks was born on July 20, 1880. He taughtschool for a while, but then went to college where he became adentist. He was married to Mary ["Mollie"] Dobyns, and, according to arelative, they had at least two children. Jim Lon practiced dentistryin Oklahoma. He died on October 1, 1931, at Huntington, WestVirginia. We have no further information about him."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3944: They had seven children: Estia, Molly, Hazel, Essie ,Nancy, James, and John Sparks.

!NOTES:
SQ 2571: "He married Martha Mead on September 28, 1876, in Davies sCounty.
They had no children."

See SQ p. 332 for birth information.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, No. 127, p. 2653:

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

"James Brooks Sparks, son of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks, was bornon January 31, 1809, in the Territory of Illinois; he was atwo-year-old child when his parents decided to return to Georgia. Hewas named for his maternal grandfather. He grew to manhood in Putnamand Jasper Counties, Georgia, and it was in the latter county that hemarried Mary Ann Cook on June 20, 1830. She had been born in SouthCarolina on September 3, 1812. She died on May 31, 1857. They werethe parents of seven children who grew to maturity.

"By 1836, James and other members of his family had settled inTallapoosa County, Alabama. Like his father and brothers, he servedin the Alabama Militia in 1836 during the Creek and Seminole IndianWar as a lieutenant in Webb's Battalion. He also served as a soldierduring the Mexican War, and he may have been in the military servicewhen he went to Texas about 1850. He was not enumerated with hisfamily on the 1850 census of Tallapoosa County.

"Like other members of his family, James Sparks settled in thesouthwestern portion of Titus County, Texas, about 1852, in that partwhich became Franklin County in 1875. He was granted a patent for 320acres of land just north of Big Cypress Creek on October 27, 1859. Hecontinued to live in Franklin County until his death on January 3,1899. Mary Ann had preceded him in death, dying on May 31, 1887. Theywere buried in the Cypress Cemetary. A picture of his tombstoneappears on the cover of this issue of the QUARTERLY.

"The children of James Brooks and Mary Ann (Cook) Sparks, were:William James Sparks; Sarah A. Sparks; John Napoleon Bonaparte Sparks;Idris Louisa Sparks; Allison Woodville Sparks; Mary M. Sparks; andAngeline C. Sparks." (See sheets for individual children.) END OFARTICLE.

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

BOUNTY LAND APPLICATION FOR JAMES BROOKS SPARKS, SQ pg 2670:

"James Brooks Sparks, son of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks, was bornon January 31, 1809, in Illinois Territory. On June 30, 1830, hemarried Mary Ann Cook in Jasper County, Georgia. He served in theAlabama Militia during the Creek and Seminole Indian War in 1836, andin the 1st Regiment Alabama Volunteers during the war with Mexico in1846-47. File Designations : Bounty Land Files: Nos 8055 and 43,522;Pension Cert. No. 368.)

"On November 28, 1852, James B. Sparks, aged 45, a resident ofTallapoosa County, Alabama, applied for bounty land to which he mightbe entitled under the 1850 Act of Congress for performaing militaryservice to the United States. He said that he has served as a 2ndsergeant in Capt. William H. House's Company of the Battalioncommanded by Major John C. Webb in the War with the Creek Nation ofIndians in 1836. He had volunteered at Lafayette, Alabama, on May 15,1836, and had been discharged on Septermber 1, 1836. His applicationwas sworn to before Luke Davenport, a justice of the peace. Marcus C. Lane, Probate Judge of Tallapoosa County, certified that Davenportwas a justice of the peace. Bounty Land Warrant No. 7295 was issuedto Sparks for 40 acres of land.

"On September 7, 1854, Sparks again applied for bounty land. He wasnow a resident of Titus County, Texas. He said that he had served asa private in Capt. Sumeral Dennis' Company of the 1st Regiment AlabamaSix-Months Volunteers commanded by Major Goode Bryan in the War withMexico in 1846. He had volunteered at Dadesville, Alabama, on May 21,1846. He had continued in service about fourteen days and was thenmustered out with his company by order of the War Department. Heappointed John A. Jordan, Dadesville, as his attorney. William B.Wylie and William Sparks witnessed his signature, and the applicationwas sworn to before Joseph Morris, a justice of the peace of TitusCounty, Texas.

" A month later, on October 9, 1854, Sumeral Dennis, a resident ofTallapoosa County, Alabama, appeared before Luke Davenport, a justiceof the peace, and swore that James B. Sparks had served in his(Dennis') company which was a unit of the 1st Regiment AlabamaSix-Months Volunteers in the War with Mexico in 1846. On the sameday, in a letter written from Dadesville, Alabama , John A. Jordanasked the Commissioner of Pensions to send any allowance given toSparks to him (Jordan) at Henderson, Texas, "to which place I ampreparing to go."

"Apparently no warrant was issued to Sparks for on January 12, 1856 ,here applied for bounty land. He testified before Robert J. Holbrook,a notary public in Titus County, Texas, that he had served with Capt.Sumeral Dennis in the 1st Regiment Alabama Volunteers commanded byMaj. Good Bryant "in the war with Mexico declared on February 11,1847, for three months and continued in actual service for thirtydays." Thos. F. Bryarly and Joel Arrington witnessed his signature. On August 14, 1856, Thos. R. Hill, clerk of Titus County, Texas,certified that R. J. Holbrook was a regularly commissioned notarypublic. Two days later, Holbrook wrote to the Commissioner ofPensions that if necessary he would forward a certified copy of hiscommission as notary public, but he pointed out that five bounty landclaims had been delayed because the Titus County Clerk had notforwarded the certificate. The delayed claims to which he referredwere made by : Jas. B. Sparks, Campbell English, William Sparks,Benjamin H. Elder, and William Spicer.

"Bounty Land Warrant No. 84,260 for 80 acres of land was issued toJames B. Sparks on October 10, 1856.

"On September 14, 1892, James B. Sparks appeared before J. J. Morris,clerk of Franklin County, Texas, and applied for a pension under theIndian War Pension Act of 1892. He was now 83 years of age and aresident of Purley, Texas. He said that he had enlisted at Lafayette(or Ft. Henderson), Alabama, on June 1, 1836, in Capt. William House'sCompany of the Battalion of Alabama Infantry commanded by Arnold Sealsin the Creek Indian War of 1836 . He had been discharged at Lafayetteon or about September 1, 1836. At the time of his enlistment, he hadbeen 27 years of age; he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall; he had blue eyes,dark hair, and a light complexion; and he was a farmer. He had beenborn in the Illinois Territory. From 1836 to 1852 he lived inAlabama, and from 1852 to the present he had lived in Texas. Hiswife, Mary Ann Sparks, had died at Purley, Texas, on May 31, 1887. Hehad previously obtained 160 acres of bounty land, but he had neverapplied for a pension. T. H. Turner , Sr. and J. E. Brooks witnesseshis application. On January 13, 1893, Certificate No. 368 was issuedto Sparks and he was placed upon the pension roll at the rate of $8.00per month. According to the certificate, he had held the rank of 2ndSargeant in Capt. William H . House's Company of Alabama Militia. Hedied on January 4, 1899."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 176, p. 4727:

"James Buchanan Sparks, son of Hugh and Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks, wasborn on November 18, 1855, in Carter County, Kentucky. He went toWest Virginia when he was a young man, and he remained there for therest of his life working in and around the coal mines. He was marriedthree times. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Evans about 1875,and they had four children before her death, which occurred about1882, probably after the birth of their fourth child. Jim wasmarried, second, to Mary Jane Taylor, and they, too, had four childrenbefore her death, which occurred about 1892. Jim's third marriage wasto Nora Belle James on March 16, 1893, in Braxton County, WestVirginia. She had been born on May 20, 1874, and was a daughter ofJoseph P. and Margaret (Cunningham) James. They had ten children.

"Jim Sparks died on June 7, 1941, and was buried at Cedar Grove, WestVirginia. Nora died on March 21, 1958, and was buried beside herhusband."

SQ pg 2234:

1900 census of Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

E.D. 153, sheet 35. Vol. 9
SPARKS, James B. W M stock-raiser Oct.1858 41 Texas
" May A. F wife Oct. 187326 "
" Nellie M F dau. Dec. 1886 13 Indian Terr.
" Lacy G. F dau. Aug. 1893 6 " "
" James C. M son July 1896 3 " "
Washington, Louise F boarder May 1880 20
" "
(He married 7 years; parents born in Texas. Wife, May A., mother of 2children, living. Editor's note:
Census is in error: his father was born in Georgia, his mother wasborn in Illinois. James B. Sparks
was born, we believe, in Titus County, Texas; he was a son of Williamand Hannah (Weeks) Sparks - -
see note regarding his brother, Andrew R. Sparks, on page 2233. JamesB. Sparks was James
Buchanan "Buck" Sparks; he was born, according to a family record, onOctober 13, 1856 and died
December 7, 1932.)

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

SQ pg 2650:

"James Buchanan ("Buck") Sparks, son of William and Hannah (Weeks)Sparks, was born on October 18, 1856. He died on December 7 , 1932,at Chickasha, Oklahoma. He was a well known cattleman and ownedseveral ranches in the Oklahoma Indian Territory, the last one locatedjust east of Chichasha. He was married twice. His first marriage wasto Nona Criner in March 1883. She was part Chickasaw Indian. She andBuck had two children before her death about 1890. From her, BuckSparks inherited land just outside the City of Chickasha which she hadreceived as her tribal allotment. (But see SQ pg 3367 for acorrection: "Nona (Criner) Sparks, did not die in 1890 - - that wasthe year she and Buck were divorced. After the divorce, Nona went toPurcell, Oklahoma, where she lived for a time with her sister, Mrs.Robert Love. She apparently took her two daughters with her. OnDecember 12, 1894, she was married to James R. Shannon, a liverystable owner. He died in Purcell on March 4, 1907. Ultimately, Nonawent to San Diego, California, where she died. She was buried in theGreenwood Cemetery, probably in March, 1936.")

"After the death of (divorce from?) his first wife, Buck Sparksmarried (2nd) May Dora Owen on September 1, 1892. She was born onOctober 1, 1874, at Sherman, Texas, and was a daughter of John W. andBetta (Sacra) Owen. According to a souvenir edition of the ChickashaDaily Express published in 1898, Buck and May Dora got their marriagelicense at El Reno, Oklahoma Territory, and their minister declined toperform the ceremony at Chickasha for it was in Indian Territory.Accordingly, the "party repaired to the center of the Canadian Riverwhere, with the glittering sands beneath their feet and the midnightmoon and stars as silent witnesses, the marriage vows were taken. Fewmodern ceremonies can equal such a romantic setting!" (But see SQ pg3367 for a correction: "Buck Sparks married his second wife, May DoraOwens, on September 25, 1892, in the territorial county of Pickins,Chickasaw Nation, which was located in the southern part of theNation. It is believed by the family that the (above) story refers toBuck Sparks's first marriage and that the river referred to was theRed River which divided Texas from the Indian Territory, rather thanthe Canadian River.")

"May Dora (Owen) Sparks died on January 11, 1953. She and Buck hadfour children. Buck Sparks was thus the father of six children.

SQ pg 2655:

"He was a physician and practiced medicine in Lamb County,Texas, wherehe died on February 23, 1930. He is said to have married three times.His first marriage was to Elizabeth Henley on Jun 5 1892, inHopkinsCounty. They had at least three childre: two daughters, Ibbyand Doo lie, and a son, Tip. Elizabeth died in 1909 in Smith County,Texas , and Buck married (2nd) Mrs Fannie Goodlet. They had nochildren. Buck's third marriage was said to have been to a womannamed Willeford."

SQ p. 4636:

"James Cecil ["Jim Cecil"] Sparks was born on April 4, 1875, atMartha, Kentucky. He was graduated from the Louisville [Kentucky]College of Medicine in 1906 and began his practice of medicine atPaintsville, Kentucky. In 1924, he moved to Ashland, Kentucky, wherehe continued to practice medicine until his death in June 1954. Hewas a leader in the development of medical and hospital services innortheastern Kentucky, particularly in Ashland. He was a Baptist anda member of the Masonic Order.

"On April 23, 1899, Jim Cecil Sparks was married to Nora Holbrook inLawrence County. She had been born in September 1882 and was adaughter of Campbell C. and Ellen (Grimsley) Holbrook. She died inAugust 1951, and Jim Cecil died in June 1954. They were buried in theAshland Cemetery. They had two children, Clyde C. Sparks and ChilesE. Sparks.

A photograph of Dr. Jim Cecil Sparks appears on the following page."[JS: p. 4637]

SQ pg 2652: He was married to Ruth List on March 28, 1936.

SQ 3872:

"James Daniel Sparks was born about 1876. According to relatives, hedisappeared at Memphis, Tennessee, when he was a young man, apparentlya
victim of foul play."

SQ p. 3632:

"...After his father died, his mother made her home with him until herdeath. He and Maggie had two children, Susan and Charlie."

James Earl Sparks was born on August 10, 1913, at Blue Diamond,Kentucky. He was married to Zola , and they had three daughters. Hedied in 1980 in Perry County, Kentucky

.

!NOTES:
SQ 2777: "James Emmett Sparks, son of Newell and Laura (Fetzer) Sparks,
was born on October 1, 1 895. He married Ruby Thelma Poulter and they had
children named James and June. James Emmett Sparks died on April 3 ,1936."

SQ pg 3326: Frank Sparks and his sons own the Seven-Up Ranch in FallonCounty, Montana, on Lame Jones Creek, consisting of about 4,000 acres.The spring southwest of the buildings was used by the freightershauling hay for General Custer's horses between Camp Cook, SouthDakota, and Terry, Montana. The wagon trail can still be seen in a fewplaces on the ranch. One of the horse camps and a pistol range areabout six miles northwest of the Seven-Up headquarters.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1986, Whole No. 134, p 2875:

"James H. Sparks, son of William and Mary (Fielder) Sparks, was bornin Georgia, probably about 1809, and was an infant when he was carriedby his parents to the Territory of Mississippi. He grew to manhoodthere and it was probably there that he married Massy C. Wadlingtonabout 1835. She was born about 1815 in South Carolina and may havebeen a daughter of Jesse Wadlington. James and Massy apparentlyaccompanied his father's family to Texas in 1836, for it was therethat their first child was born in 1837.

"In the spring of 1838, James Sparks died after a brief illness. Heleft Massy with two sons, one a little over a year old, the other anewly born baby. He also left her with a considerable estate, bothreal and personal. The Nacogdoches County Court appointed Massy andher brother-in-law, John Sparks, as administrators of the estate. OnDecember 7, 1843, she married her second husband, Robert F. Millard,and he became guardian of her sons. The estate was not completelysettled until about 1866.

"(An account of the marriage of Massy C. Sparks to Robert F. Millardappears in the diary of Adolphus Sterene who performed the ceremony.As reported in the Southwestern Historical Review, Vol. 36, pp.314-15, it reads: "7 December 1843. In the afternoon, Mr. R. F.Millard requested me to go out 4 miles to the widow Sparks to marryhim to the said lady which I accepted and at 5:00 p.m. left for thesaid place, performed the rites of matrimony between Robert F. Millardand Mrs. Massy C. Sparks according to law, partook of a splendidsupper and returned by 8 1/2 p.m.")

See SQ p. 264 (Article on Family of Albert Cyrus Sparks, James'sbrother) contains this on p. 264:

"It would seem probable that there was a close relationship betweenAlbert Cyrus Sparks and James Harvey Sparks of Putnam County, Indiana.According to a history of Putnam County by Jesse W. Weik (1910), JamesR. Sparks was born in Lewis County, Kentucky, on February 8, 1826, theson of James and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks. (Elizabeth Gilman was thegranddaughter of Henry Gilman, a soldier in the Revolution underGeneral Wayne.) According to Mr. Weik's account, the family moved fromLewis County, Kentucky, to Putnam County, Indiana, about 1838,locating near Mt. Meridian. It seems probable that Albert C. Sparkswas a member of this family. James Sparks, father of James HarveySparks, was listed on the 1840 census of Putnam County, Indiana, asfollows:

himself, between 40 and 50 years
wife, between 30 and 40
2 sons under 5
2 sons between 5 and 10

1 son between 10 and 15
2 sons between 15 and 20

1 daughter between 5 and 10
1 daughter between 10 and 15

"Mr. Weik stated that James H. Sparks learned the blacksmith trade inGreencastle and on February 27, 1851, was married to Emily JaneCoffman, daughter of John and Mary (Williams) Coffman of FountainCounty, Indiana. She died February 7, 1920 at the age of 69. JamesH. Sparks was still living in 1910 and was a member of the ChristianChurch. He served in Company I, 43rd Indiana Volunteer Infantryduring the Civil War. On the 1850 census of Putnam County, CloverdaleTownship, James H. Sparks was listed as "Harvey Sparks," which was hismiddle name. He was living with the family of Greenburg and LucindaLyon. Greenburg Lyon was also a blacksmith. The only other Sparksliving in Putnam County in 1850 was Elizabeth Sparks, age 22, born inIndiana, who was living with the family of David C. and Elizabeth A.Allen in Floyd Township.

SQ p. 1316:

"James Harvey Sparks, son of James and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks, wasborn February 8, 1830. According to a biographical sketch of JamesHarvey Sparks in Jesse W. Weik's history of Putnam County, Indiana,published in 1910, James H. Sparks was 12 years old when the familymoved to Putnam County from Lewis County, Kentucky. They settled nearMt. Meridian. When he was 18 years old, he went to Greencastle andlearned the trade of blacksmith. When the 1850 census was taken hewas listed as "Harvey Sparks" and was living in the family ofGreenburg Lyon in Putnam County, Jefferson Township. He served inCompany I, 43rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.

"On Feb. 27, 1851, he married Emily Jane Coffman, daughter of John andMary (Williams) Coffman of Fountain Co., Ind. They were natives ofKentucky. According to Weik's history, John Coffman was a soldier inthe War of 1812 under Gen. William Henry Harrison and was in theBattle of Morgantown on the River Thames. Emily Sparks died on Feb.7. 1902; James H. Sparks was still living in 1910. He was a member ofthe Christian Church and was a Mason."

SQ p. 2681:

"James Harvey Sparks, son of James and Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks, wasborn on February 8, 1826. His biography appeared on pages 1316-1317 ofthe June 1970 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 70. In that account,his year of birth was given as 1830, but this was apparently an error.

See THE SPARKS FAMILY QUARTERLY, June 1985 Whole No. 130, p. 2747:

DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM SPARKS (1761-1848)

"James Hawkins ("Hawk") Sparks, son of Richard and Elizabeth (Cooper)Sparks, was born on May 28, 1815. According to information publishedin a HISTORY OF MCLENNAN COUNTY, TEXAS, he was married three times.His first marriage was to Penelope Mann, probably about 1833 inMississippi. (James H. Sparks and his wife, Penelope, sold land in thetown of Franklin in Holmes County, Mississippi, on December 21, 1833.) She apparently died the following year. They had no children. JamesHawkins Sparks married (2nd) Rebecca --- by whom he had one child,also named Rebecca, who was born about 1837. (James H. Sparks and hiswife, Rebecca, sold lots in the town of Franklin, Mississippi, inSeptember 1837.) The third marriage of James Hawkins Sparks was toElizabeth E. McKnight on December 20, 1838, in Nacogdoches County,Texas. (A grandson believed her name was actually Eleanor ElizabethMcKnight.) She was born on August 20, 1822, near Murfreesboro,Tennessee, and was a daughter of James and Susannah (Palmer) McKnight. She and "Hawk" Sparks had seven children.

"James Hawkins Sparks probably did not accompany his parents to Texasduring the winter of 1833-34, and we have found no evidence that heserved during the Texas-Mexican War. He was there, however, by 1837when his first child was born. He was listed on the 1840 census ofthe Republic of Texas as the head of his household, and extant taxrecords of Nacogdoches County indicate that he paid taxes there in1846 and 1847.

"According to a HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS, James Hawkins Sparksleft a store that he had established at Douglass, Texas, and moved toMcLennan County, Texas, about 1850. There "he established the firstdrug store in Waco employing an experienced man to conduct it. Healso engaged in general merchandising, having stores at Douglass andMarshall, Texas. During that period he made his home at Douglass butsubsequently he went to western Texas and settled in McLennan Countywhere he opened a general mercantile store upon his farm. It wasabout this time that he established the first drug store in Waco. Hehad a wide acquaintance throughout the state and was liked by all whoknew him because of his reliability in business, his genial manner,kindly disposition and interest in the welfare of others."

"James Hawkins Sparks died on September 12, 1885, at Bosqueville ,Texas. He was a presbyterian and a member of the Masonic Fraternity.His wife, Elizabeth, died on February 3, 1892, also at Bosqueville.They were buried in the Bosqueville Cemetary. He was the father ofeight children."

See SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1985, Whole No. 131, DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM
SPARKS, (1761-1848), pg 2772:

"James Hawkins ("Hawk") Sparks, son of Stephen and Emily (Whitaker)Sparks, was born on July 29, 1844. He was attending school atBosqueville, Texas, when the Civil War broke out, and he enlisted onSeptember 18, 1861, in Company A, 7th Regiment Texas Infantry,Confederate States Army. He
served until he was discharged in May 1865. After he returned fromthe service, he was married to Mary Ann ("Mollie") Davis on December4, 1866, in McLennan County. She had been born on September 16, 1846,at Nashville, Tennessee, and was a daughter of G. W. and Eliza T.(Richey) Davis.

"Hawk Sparks was a rancher and also a farmer. He is said to havebuilt houses, and a descendant has furnished a picture of a house heis alleged to have built in Portland, Texas, which is still standing(see pg. 2773). An excellent account of the life of a rancher-farmerin that section of Texas in the late 1800's was given on pages 904-907of the June 1965 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 50, in an articleentitled "Memories of a Texas Childhood." The article was based uponan autobiographical book written by Dr. John E. Sparks, a son of HawkSparks.

"Hawk Sparks received a Texas Confederate Pension for his serviceduring the Civil War. See pg 1286 of the December 1969 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 68, for an abstract of his military service(which follows below). "Hawk Sparks died on November 20, 1923, andMollie died three years later on February 22, 1927. They were buriedin the Seaside Cemetary at Rockport. They had nine children.

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

ABSTRACT OF MILITARY SERVICE OF JAMES HAWKINS SPARKS:

J. H. SPARKS (born about 1844)
J. H. Sparks enlisted on October 1, 1861, at Marshall, Texas, as aprivate in Capt. H. B. Granbury's Company, 7th Regiment TexasInfantry, for 3 years. He was enlisted by Capt. H. B. Granbury andhis hage was given as 17. He joined the company on October 2, 1861,and was enrolled by John Gregg. He traveled 210 miles to rendezvous.This company was also known as Company B, Bailey's ConsolidatedRegiment of Infantry. It was formed by the consolidation of CompaniesA , D, F and G, 7th Regiment Texas Infantry. Bailey's ConsolidatedRegiment of Infantry was a temporary field organization which wasformed in October 1862 by order of Gen. Tilghman and consisted ofeleven companies A to L. Companies A and B were composed of a remnantof the 7th Regiment Texas Infantry. The other companies came from twoother regiments.

The organization appears to have been broken up on January or February1863, and the men returned to their former commands.

J. H. Sparks was listed as Present in a company muster roll forOctober 1, 1861, to August 1, 1862. He was captured with his companyon February 16, 1862, and was listed as one of 1021 prisoners of warsent from Camp Douglas, Illinois, to Vicksburg to be exchanged onSeptember 3, 1862. On October 31, 1862, he was listed on a companymuster roll for the Consolidated Company B of the 7th Regiment TexasInfantry. He was listed as having been last paid on July 31, 1862 .Another record in his file indicates "Discharged & final statementgiven Nov. 23, 1862."

The last record states: "Discharged Dec. 1, 1862; Not paid hisbounty."

Note: Joe Neal Garrett shows that James Hawkins Sparks died inPortland, San Patricio County, TX.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1986, Whole No. 135, p. 2926:

"James Henry Sparks, son of Absalom and Mahala (Grubb) Sparks, wasborn on Jun 2, 1841. He served in Company K, 208th RegimentPennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War. (See the December 1985issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 132, [and below] for an abstract ofhis pension file.) He married Elizabeth Gibson on April 12, 1864, inBedford County, Pennsylvania. She was born on December 18, 1840, andwas a daughter of George Gibson, Sr. James Henry Sparks died onOctober 13, 1917, and Elizabeth died on January 3, 1927. They hadthree children: (for which see the family page.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1985, Whole No. 132, pp.2816-17:

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION FOR:

JAMES H. SPARKS,
son of Absalom and Mahala (Grubb) Sparks, was born on June 2,
1841, at Everett, Pennsylvania. He married Elizabeth Gibson on April
12, 1864, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.He served in Company
K,133rd Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry and in Company K, 208th
Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. File Designations: Inv. Cert. No.
419,679; Wid. Cert. No. 840,153.

"On March 26, 1879, James H. Sparks, aged 35, a resident of WestProvidence Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, applied for aninvalid pension. He said that he had been enrolled on August 18,1864, in Company K, 208th Regiment Pennsyl- vania Infantry and hadserved until he was mustered out with his company on June 1, 1865, atAlexandria, Virginia. He was 5 feet, 6 inches tall; he had a faircomplexion, sandy hair and blue eyes; and he was a farmer when heentered the Union Army.

"Sparks went on to state that on December 11, 1864, while stationed atPetersburg, Virginia, he had contracted rheumatism from exposure tothe cold and wet weather. His command made frequent marches duringthe night and on one occasion he had been so tired from supporting acomrade that he went to sleep in the mud and nearly froze to death.As a result of this exposure, his left leg was now "drawn up and muchshorter than my right leg." He had remained with his company on lightduty which he preferred rather than going to the Regimental Hospital.He said he had also served in Company K, 133rd Regiment Pennsylvanialnfantry, but that he had been discharged on May 26, 1863. Heappointed D. Stewart Elliott, of Everett, Pennsyl- vania, as hisattorney. J. N. Alsip and Joe W. Tate witnessed him make his mark.

"On June 29, 1882, Sparks made an affidavit that he had enlisted inCompany K, 133rd Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry on August 29, 1862,and that his name had appeared on the roll of that company without thesecond initial letter, but simply as "James Sparks." After hisdischarge on May 26, 1863, he had afterwards reenlisted in Company K,208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, but had been carried on the rollof that company as "James H. Sparks" since there had been anotherJames Sparks in that said company. [This other James Sparks was theone whose pension papers have been abstracted beginning on page 2815of this issue of the QUARTERLY.] It was while he was a member of thelatter company that he had incurred his disability.

"On December 11, 1882, the War Department sent a report to the Bureauof Pensions which obviously confused the military service of the twoJames Sparkses in Company K, 208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry.Both men had been enrolled at Bloody Run, Pennsylvania; both hadsimilar physical descriptions; and both had been stationed atPetersburg, Virginia. Apparently because of the confusion of the tworecords, no action was taken on the application of James H. Sparks.

"On January 5, 1885, Joseph Williams, aged 55, and a resident ofEverett, Pennsyl- vania, testified that as a former comrade of Sparksin Company K, 208th Regiment, he had been present when Sparkscontracted rheumatism in his left hip. Sparks had been lame until hehad been mustered out of the service, but his injury was much worsenow.

"Williams was supported by testimony from James W. South, aged 46, anda resident of Masonville, Iowa. South said Sparks had been soseverely affected by the forced marches that he had had greatdifficulty in simply walking around the company area.

"Apparently the testimony of Sparks's comrades was successful, forInvalid Certificate No. 419,679 was issued to him and he was placedupon the pension roll.

"Sparks returned a questionnaire to the Bureau of Pensions on December30, 1897.
He said that he had been married on April 12, 1864, to ElizabethGibson by the
Rev. Pollsgrove in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. They had had threechildren:

1. Mary A. Sparks, born June 3, 1867.
2. Sarah J. Sparks, born August 2, 1869.
3. Curtis G. Sparks, born September 21, 1873.

"James H. Sparks was receiving a pension of $30.00 per month when hedied on October 13, 1917, at Everett, Pennsylvania. According to theCertificate of Death filed by Alice M. Leonard, he had been born onJune 2, 1841, and was a son of Absalom and Mahala (Grubb) Sparks. Hewas buried in the Sparks Graveyard at Everett, Pennsylvania. It wasalso stated that he was "widowed," but this was an error.

"On October 17, 1917, Elizabeth Sparks applied for a widow's pension.She stated that she had been born on December 18, 1840, in BedfordCounty, Pennsylvania, and that she had been married to James H. Sparkson April 12, 1864, in Bedford County by the Rev. J. B. Polsgrove. Ithad been the first marriage for both. She asked for the accruedpension of her late husband and for a pension as his widow. Frank D.Leonard and Harry E. Leonard, both residents of Everett, Pennsylvania,witnessed her make her mark.

"On October 24, 1917, Jacob Gogley, aged 75, William W. Whisel, aged77, George W. Gibson, aged 62, and L. H. Peck, aged 73, all residentsof Everett ' Pennsylvania, made affidavits that they had been presentwhen James H. Sparks and Elizabeth Gibson were married, and that theyhad lived together as man and wife until his death on October 13,1917.

"On January 28, 1918, Robert J. Allen, pastor of the Everett MethodistEpiscopal
Church, sent the Bureau of Pensions a church record showing that onApril 12, 1864, James Sparks of West Providence Township and ElizabethGibson, Snake Spring Township, had been married in the bride's home bythe Rev. J. B. Polsgrove. Witnesses had been George Gibson, Sr. andElizabeth Amick.

"Widow Certificate No. 840,153 was issued to Elizabeth Sparks, and shewas placed upon the pension roll. When she died on January 3, 1927,she was receiving a pension of $50.00 per month.

(Editor's Note: James H. Sparks was a grandson of James and Nancy(Rogers) Sparks. See pages 584-7 of the September 1961 issue of THESPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 35, for further details about this branchof the Sparks family.)

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3727: He was a soldier in World War I and was killed in action while fighting in the Argonne Forest in France. His death occurred on November 11, 1918, after the truce had been signed to cease fighting, but before the news had reached his sector. He was buried i nFrance.

See SQ p. 332 for birth information. This records gives his date ofbirth as 20 Oct., 1861.

SQ pg 3940: James J. Sparks was born on October 2, 1861, just a fewdays before his father enlisted in the Union Army. According to adescendant, he was married to Elizabeth Caudill about 1880. She hadbeen born in October 1862. When the 1900 census was taken of JohnsonCounty, James and Elizabeth were shown with six children: Kenis,Thurman, Sarah, Stella , William and Martha Sparks.

SQ pg 4482: They had ten children. (In addition to the six namedabove) The other four children were Hobart, Viola, Bessie, and Walter.

SQ pg 4545: Our earlier information about this family indicated thatthey had ten children, but the names of only six of them were known atthat time. Thanks to Nancy (Sparks) Phillips, a great-grandaughter ofJames and Elizabeth (Caudill) Sparks, we now have the full names anddates of birth and death for seven of these children, and, for thefive who survived to adulthood, the names of their spouses. Theseseven were (see family group sheet).

SQ 3865:

"James Jarvis "Jay" Sparks, son of Daniel Sparks (959) and Elizabeth(Sparks) Sparks (217) was born on March 25, 1869. He was married toMargaret Sparks on January 25, 1892, in Elliott County, KY. She hadbeen born on May 30, 1868, and was a daughter of Solomon Sparks (209)and Helen (Birchfield) Sparks and a granddaughter of Jesse (196) andNancy (---) Sparks. (JS note: James was also a grandson of Jesse andNancy.)

[Sparks Note: James Jarvis is descended from William Sparks IV (199)through both parents. Here are the family trees:

William Sparks (ca1725-ca1801)
¦
Thomas Sparks_________________________¦_________________James Sparks
¦ ¦
Allen Jesse
¦ ___________________ ¦____________________
¦ ¦ ¦
Daniel Elizabeth Solomon & Helen
¦________________M__________________¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
James----------------------------------------------M--------------------------- ------------------Margaret

James Jarvis (990) Daniel (959), Allen (541), Thomas (536), William(199)
Elizabeth (217), Jesse (196), James (189), William (199)
Margaret (10420), Solomon (209), Jesse (196), James (189), William(199)

(Summary: James' parents were second cousins and James and Margaretwere first cousins i.e. James' mother and Margaret's father werebrother and sister. They were also third cousins i.e. James' fatherand Margaret's mother were second cousins.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1968, Whole No. 62, at page 1158 forthe following article:

QUERY

ARE THERE DESCENDANTS OF JAMES JEFFERSON SPARKS (born 1808)

OF PERRY AND HUMPHREYS COUNTIES, TENNESSEE?

Bill R. Linder, 1370 Bryan Ave., Salt Lake City, Utah (84105) wouldlike to get in touch with descendants of James Jefferson Sparks, whowas born in Georgia on April 14, 1808. He was a son of Jesse andElizabeth (Jones) Sparks and a grandson of Matthew and Sarah Sparks.(See the QUARTERLY of June 1961, Whole No. 34, Vol. IX, No. 2, pp.556-566, and also of September 1966, Whole No. 55, Vol. XIV, No. 3, p.1017.)

James Jefferson Sparks came with his parents to Hickman County,Tennessee, about 1810. He married Rhoda Murphree of Hickman County,Tennessee. She was born on December 19, 1813, and was a daughter ofDaniel and Elizabeth (Brown) Murphree.

When the 1850 census was taken, James Jefferson Sparks was living inHumphreys County, Tennessee. From this census record, it appears thathe and his wife, Rhoda, had the following children by 1850, all bornin Tennessee:

1. Martha Sparks, born about 1834.
2. Mary Sparks, born about 1837.
3. Daniel Sparks, born about 1840.
4. Jesse Sparks, born about 1841.
5. Sarah Sparks, born about 1845.
6. James Sparks, born about 1847.

Both your editor and Mr. Linder would be very pleased to obtain a morecomplete record of the family of James Jefferson and Rhoda (Murphree)Sparks.

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

See SQ 3550-3552, Whole No. 149, for details on this family: 7children and many grandchildren.

SQ p. 3551: He was married to Julia (Kelly) Lewis on November 221893...James died on October 19, 1902, after being shot by hisstepfather-in-law (JS: His wife's step- father?) on October 16, 1902.Julia died on January 20, 1948. She and James had five children,including a child who has not been identified.

James Joseph Sparks was born in Long Beach, California in 1927. Heattended parochial school through the 6th grade and public schoolsthrough high school. On August 7, 1945, shortly after graduation,while he was still 17 years of age, he enlisted in the navy. Aftertesting, James was transferred to the V5 naval aviation trainingprogram and was sent to Colgate University in New York for hisfreshman year of college as an Apprentice Seaman in uniform. Heattended Occidental College in Pasadena, California, for his sophmoreyear and reported for preflight training at Pensacola, Florida, inSeptember, 1947. He received his naval aviator's wings in July, 1949,and was commissioned an Ensign, USN in September. He joined FighterSquadron 192 at Alameda Naval Air Station, California, flying F8FBearcat fighters. He deployed with the squadron in January 1950aboard the U.S.S. Boxer, an Essex Class aircraft carrier. His tour ofthe Pacific ended in mid-June, 1950, and shortly thereafter, he wasdischarged at Treasure Island, California.
In September, 1950, he was accepted at UCLA's School of BusinessAdministration as a junior and was graduated cum laude in finance inJune, 1952. In August, he and Ellen Mary Sherriffs, a fellow UCLAgraduate in the class of 1952 and a future elementary school teacher,were married in Westwood, California. In September of that year hebegan law school studies, also at UCLA, and Ellen began to teach.He graduated from law school in 1955 with a Bachelor of Laws degreelater converted to a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. He passed theCalifornia bar examination in the fall of that year, and was admittedto practice law in January, 1956.
Ellen and James moved to San Carlos, California, in January, 1956,where they continue to live at the present time. James practiced lawin the San Francisco bay area for 36 years, specializing in businesslaw, wills and trusts. He served as pro-tem Judge in both theSuperior and Municipal Courts of San Mateo County. He retired in 1991but continued to act on appointment by the Superior Court as a SpecialMaster, Arbitrator, and Referee for several years. James served onthe San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury in 1993. Ellen and James arethe parents of three children, James T. Sparks, Asst. Deputy Directorof the Department of Public Works for Los Angeles County; Timothy J.Sparks, an attorney, and Susan (Sparks) Thompson, a past Director andVice-President of Franklin Templeton Funds in Foster City, CA. Jamesand Ellen have nine grandchildren ranging in age from 8 to 18 years(as of March, 2008).
The following cousins have been met through James' websitesparksfamilytree.net:

First Cousins Once Removed:

Sherry Slagle/Helen Frances Quicksell/Martha Ann Sparks/David L.Sparks (SherrySlagle@hotmail.com)

Elizabeth (Berkholder) Harding/Virginia Mae Quicksell/Martha Ann(Sparks) Quicksell/David L. Sparks

Harry Hegger/Agnes Sparks Bowling/David L. Sparks

Second Cousins:

Diane (Dunn) Swanson/James Dunn/Mary Pigott/Cornelius Pigott
mamaswan222@msn.com

Second Cousins Once Removed:

James Pigott (dec'd)/ Mary Pigott/Cornelius Pigott c/o his spouse,Ardy Dunn
momdunn5@iowatelecom.net

Diane (Sparks) Piercey/Henry Francis Sparks/John A. Sparks/SolomonSparks, Jr. (dwalspa@aol.net)

Kathleen Dee Wathen/Thomas Wathen/George Albert Wathen/VirginiaJustine Sparks/Solomon Sparks Jr. (JordanKat@prodigy.net)

Carolyn Mason Sparks/David Malcolm Sparks/ Benedict Joseph Sparks/Francis Marion Sparks/ Solomon Sparks, Jr. (carmsgen@aol.com)

A lengthy article about James Sparks,Jr. (d1736) and his childrenappears in the Decemer, 1962 issue of the SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No.40, pp. 680-704.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3267: They had nine children: Nina Virginia, Elmo Davis, Guy
DeWitt, Coy Watson, Imogene, Nancy Jane, Vera Louise, Minnie Carolyn,and
Mary Rose.

SQ pg 3421: They have two children, Larry and John Alden Sparks .They live at Olive Hill (as of 1989).