SQ p. 4729:

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

SQ p. 2573:

DEATH TAKES FRED W. SPARKS

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

Dr. Sparks graduated from Southwestern University and received hisdoctoral degree from the University of Chicago. He taught mathematics andwas the author and co-author of several textbooks in advancedmathematics. The last 35 years of his teaching career were spent at TexasTechnological College. He retired in 1961 and moved to California. He andhis wife, the former Mary Elizabeth Romans, have one daughter, MaryRomans Sparks, who married Kermit Dean Matthews. The Matthews' have twochildren, Fred K. Matthews and Mary Lois Matthews.

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

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

He became a teacher when he was nineteen years old , and he madeteaching his professional career. HIs teaching experiences ranged fromthe elementary grades to graduate school. He was a full professor atTexas Technological college from 1926 to 1961. He earned his Ph.D. inmathematics at the University of Chicago.

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

Fred Sparks served in the United States Army during World War I andwas in France for nine months. When he returned from military service,he was married to Mary Elizabeth "Madge" Romans on January 13, 1921. Shewas a daughter of William M. A. and Ellie E. (Kelly) Romans ; she hadbeen born on May 14, 1894, in Austin, Texas.

Fred Sparks died on February 15, 1982, at La Verne, California. Madgedied just two months later, on April 15, 1982. They were buried atPomona, California. They had one child, Mary Romans Sparks. She wasmarried to Kermit D. Matthews, and they have two children, Fred K.Matthews and Mary Lois Matthews.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1983, Whole No. 123 beginning at page2549 for a family history provided by a granddaughter of Frederick BryantSparks Flossie Marie Sparks, daughter of David Grove Sparks. [Aphotograph of Frederick and Mary (Speer) Sparks appears on page 2549.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

[JS Note: At this juncture, Flossie M. Welsch provides information onthe children named above, for which see their individual notes. She thencontinues on SQ page 2551 relating her years living in the home of hermaternal grandfather, Mahlon Homer Minton. This story is included in thenotes for her father, David Grove Sparks, a son of Frederick BryanSparks.]

SQ pps 3409-11:

"Frederick "Fred" Mauk Sparks, son of Nelson and Peggy (Mauk) Spar ks,was born on May 1, 1853, in Carter County. On January 21, 1875 , he wasmarried to Elizabeth Catherine Kegley in Elliott County. It was thefirst marriage for both. Catherine (as she was called) was born on April20, 1855, in Wythe County, Virginia, and was a daughter of Joel andDelilah (Hounshel) Kegley, natives of Wythe County. When the 1880 censuswas taken of Elliott County, Fred and Catherine were shown as havingthree children, two sons and one daughter.

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

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

"All I know of Grandpa Sparks is what my mother and her two youngersisters told me and, naturally, they praised him highly. He died when Iwas just a year old. He was converted during a revival meeting inElliott County, shortly after his marriage, and he joined the ChristianChurch before he moved to Greenup County. Ultimately, he was ordained aminister of the Christian Church, and it is told that he preached sermonsin the grove near the Sparks Cemetery. This area is now called HappyRidge because the Sparks family sang the oldtime gospel songs with such afine spirit that the neighbors would gather in and sing and rejoice withthem.

"Grandpa was an industrious farmer, and he planted an orchard. Healso could do all sorts of handy work and had a blacksmith shop. He keptseasoned hand-planed walnut boards in the loft of the shop which he usedto make homemade coffins, and Grandma kept suitable cloth materials tocover, pad, line, and decorate the coffins for friends , neighbors, andrelatives.

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

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

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1993, Whole No. 161, pp 4065-4073,which is an article about Garrett's half-brother John L. Sparks who, as amember of a guerilla gang of southern soldiers, killed Hugh Boggs and JimBoggs , who were ex-union soldiers and brothers of Elizabeth Boggs, wifeof Garrett Sparks. For revenge, their brother Jesse Boggs followed JohnL. Sparks to Virginia where Jesse shot John and left him for dead. Johnsurvived and spent the rest of his live in Virginia away from the othermembers of his family.

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

"Garrett Sparks, son of Levi and ----- (Walsh) Sparks, was born onSeptember 15, 1802, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. (His name was alsospelled Jarrett, Jared, Gared, etc.) He had reached maturity when heaccompanied his father to Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 1821. The firstofficial record we have found of him is a Kentucky Land Warrant, datedMay 10, 1824, for 50 acres of land on the right fork of Big BlaineCreek. He probably bought the land in preparation for his marriage toElizabeth ["Betsy"] Boggs. They were married on September 22, 1825, bythe Rev. Stephen Wheeler, a Baptist minister. (The license was issued onSeptember 19, 1825.) Betsy had been born on December 27, 1808, inVirginia and was a daughter of John 0. and Nancy (Wells) Boggs. Soonafter their marriage, Garrett and Betsy united with the Big BlaineBaptist Church.

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

"The Civil War had a major impact on the family of Garrett Sparks.Three of his sons served in the Union forces. Garrett's youngestbrother, John L. Sparks, served in the Confederate forces and was quitelikely involved in the ransacking of Garrett's house during the war. (Seethe March 1993 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 161, beginning on page4065.) [JS: Copied in the notes of his half-brother John L. Sparks.]

"Garrett Sparks died on September 25, 1873, in Lawrence County. Betsydied there on December 21, 1873. They were buried in the Morton SparksCemetery that is located on Kentucky Route 32 between the Forks of Blaineand the mouth of Collier Creek. They had sixteen children according tocensus records and information given by descendants."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Mar 1991, Whole No. 153, pp. 3927-28 for anarticle on the death of John J. Kitchen on December 28, 1991. John was agreat-grandchild of Garrett Melvin and Mary (Miller) Sparks.

"Garrett Melvin Sparks was born on April 15, 1854, in Lawrence County,Ken tucky, and was the youngest son of Garrett and Elizabeth (Boggs)Sparks. Melvin (as he was called) was married to Mary A. Miller on August24, 1871, on August 24, 1871, in Lawrence County. She had been born onApril 12, 1854, in Lawrence County and was a daughter of James Asher andMary ["Polly"] (Hinkle) Miller. Melvin and Mary lived near the Forks ofthe Big Blame Creek where they became the parents of eight children. Hedied on June 3, 1929, and Mary died on June 16, 1937.

a. Cora Besco Sparks was born in October 1874. She was married to UlyssesBishop on September 14, 1894, in Lawrence County, and they had at leasttwo children, Herbert and Clyde.

b. Nora Estelle Sparks was born about 1877. She died when she was quiteyoung.

c. Debra Onesco Sparks was born about 1879. She was married to GeorgeMcComas in 1897 in Lawrence County.

d. D. L. Sparks was born in May 1882. He was married to Laverna Kitchenin 1905.

e. Dora Vessie Sparks was born on March 3, 1886. She was married to CecilKitchen on March 14, 1907, in Lawrence County. He had been born on
June 22, 1883, and was a son of Enoch and Margaret (Hensley) Kitchen.Cecil and Dora had two children, Gertrude and Cletis. Cecil died on
April 20, 1962, and Dora died on April 18, 1980.

f. L. Jay Sparks was born in February 1889. He was married to Lyda Holbrook in 1915, and they had at least one child, Hazel V.

g. Dova H. Sparks was born in January 1892. She was married to WayneGriffith in 1912.

h. Oscar Sparks was born about 1895 and died when he was quite young.

"Melvin and Mary lived near the Forks of the Big Blaine Creek where theybecame the parents of eight children." Photograph of Melvin and Marywith four of their children on page 3927. Photo in scrapbook.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The following is an alphabetical listing of the thirty-five probable(and known) grandchildren of William Sparks, Sr. No attempt has beenmade to name any of the children of his daughter who married a man namedHynson. In the list which follows, we have attempted to estimate theprobable year of birth. We have also included the date of marriage, thename of the spouse, and the names of children where known." (Includedhere only are the children of George Sparks):

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Articles about William Sparks and three of his sons have already beenpublished in the QUARTERLY. Besides the preceding article, an account ofthe life of William Sparks appeared on pages 1381-89 of the March 1971issue, Whole No. 73. In that same issue, pages 1376-81, we presentedinformation about John Sparks, brother of William, who died in QueenAnnes County, Maryland, in 1700, along with documentary proof that twosons of John were living in Hampshire County, England, in 1717. We arecertain that it had been from there that William and John had come toMaryland many years earlier. Information regarding William Sparks, Jr.,the eldest son of William Sparks (died 1709), appeared in the QUARTERLYof December 1989 (Whole No. 148) as part of the article on William SampleSparks, son of William, Jr., pp. 3484-3500. John Sparks, the probablesecond son of William Sparks (died 1709) was the subject of an article onpages 1699-1704 of the December 1974 issue, Whole No. 88, and an accountof Joseph Sparks, who was William's youngest son, appeared on pages3554-61 of the March 1990 issue, Whole No. 149.]

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

"The earliest record that we have found of George Sparks, son ofWilliam and Mary (----- ) Sparks of early Queen Annes County, Maryland,is in a deed made in Kent County, Maryland, on March 25, 1707, by whichWilliam Sparks gave to his son George, a 150-acre tract of land called"Sparks Choice." The consideration was "in Respect of the Love I bearunto my Son, George Sparkes." William had acquired this land in 1681,and he may have given it to his son as a wedding present. (See also page1386 of the March 1971 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73, for moredetails regarding this deed.)

"George Sparks had been born about 1678 in Talbot County, Maryland.(Queen Annes County was then part of Talbot and was not cut off as aseparate county until 1706.) George Sparks was married to Mary ----- inor about 1700 in what is now Queen Annes County. It seems quite likelythat George and his wife were living on the same "plantation" as hisparents when his father made his will in June 1709. In his will, WilliamSparks specified that after his death "my Son George and his wife andChildren Shall have Liberty to live three years with his mother on my nowDwelling plantation in my now Dwelling house to make a crop of Corne andTobo he laying in five barrens of Indian corne every year dureing thesaid time and to take due care of his mothers Stock and for so doing tohave his and wife and Children's accomoda- tions and to pay no rentduring the Sd Time. "

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

"We have no way of knowing how long George Sparks and his family livedwith his mother after the death of his father, although, with Mary'ssecond marriage to Thomas Trickey sometime before October 24, 1711, sheprobably moved from the Sparks "plantation" to that of her new husband.It was not until February 25, 1719/20, that another record reveals alegal act by George Sparks. On that date he sold the 105-acre tractwhich had been given to him by his father in 1707. He sold this land,called "Sparks Choice," to Augustine Thompson, a wealthy planter in QueenAnnes County, for the consideration of seven pounds, three shillings,plus 3,000 pounds "of good, sound, merchantable tobacco." Mary Sparks,wife of George, agreed to the sale, having been "first privately examinedaccording to law" as to her feelings about the sale.

"It is interesting to note that a month later, Joseph Sparks, brotherof George, sold his portion of "Sparks Choice" to Augustine Thompson,also, The consideration was 3,000 pounds of merchantable tobacco for the100-acre tract of land. In both sales, the deeds were witnessed by JohnWhittington and James Earle.

"On October 3, 1728, George Sparks was one of a group of citizens fromQueen Annes County who signed a petition to the Assembly of the Provinceof Maryland requesting the formation of a new parish from a portion ofSt. Pauls Parish. The reason for this request was that many parishionersof St. Pauls had to travel a great distance to attend church. As aresult of the petition, St. Lukes Parish was established in 1728. Thechurch was built in the village of Church Hill.

"The following year, George and Mary Sparks were involved in anotherland sale when George's brother, William Sparks, sold a tract of landwhich he had inherited from their father. The land was the 114-acretract called "Sparks Outlet" which William Sparks, Senior had acquired in1687. This tract was sold by William Sparks, Junior on March 3, 1729/30to Thomas Honey for 6,000 pounds of tobacco. George and Mary Sparks werewitnesses to the fact that George's brother, William Sparks, received thetobacco, although the tobacco, itself, was probably not delivered to himby Thomas Honey, but rather a document transferring ownership to it.

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

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

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

[Continuing on p.4029:]

"The first of these documents, after the will, is dated October 8,1709, and is a bond in the amount of "four hundred pounds Sterlingcurrant Money of England" with John Hawkins, Jr. and John Nabb, both ofQueen Annes County, as guarantors, that "Mary Sparks and William Sparks[Jr.], Executors of the last Will and Testament of William Sparks, Sen.,late of Queen Ann's County, deceas'd, do make or cause to be made a true& perfect Inventory of all & singular the goods Chaitells and credits ofthe said deceased, appraised in Money ... " Mary Sparks and her son,William, Jr., were given until "the 24th day of JanrY next ensuing" tocomplete the inventory, and they were given one year to pay the debtscharged against the estate as well as to carry out each provisioncontained in William Sparks's will. Both Mary Sparks and her son,William, Jr., signed this bond by mark, Mary drawing the initial I'M" andWilliam the initial "W." (See below a photographic reproduction of thispart of the bond.) The two sureties for the bond, John Hawkins, Jr. andJohn Nabb, signed their names. There were three witnesses as well:Thomas Trickey, Robert Thomas, and Johanna Nabb. Thomas Trickey andJohanna Nabb signed by mark. Johanna was probably the wife of JohnNabb. Robert Thomas was a county official whose title was "DeputyCommissary." Thomas Trickey was a neighbor of the Sparkses; he had alsobeen a witness to William Sparks's mark (signature) when Sparks had madehis will in the previous June. The person who wrote Thomas Trickey'sname for him spelled it Tricky, but in most records it appears as Trickey.

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

"Readers are reminded that the old Julian Calendar was still in use inEngland and her colonies at the time William Sparks's estate was settled,and it would continue to be used until1752. the Gregorian Calendar,however, was then in use in most EuropeanCountries. The new year began,according to the Julian Calendar, on March 25, hence the period fromJanuary 1 to March 25, 1710, under the Gregorian Calendar, was still 1709under the old Julian Calendar. Because of the commercial intercoursebetween England and Europe , many legal documents in both England andAmerica written between Janu- ary 1st and March 25th prior to 1752 (whenEngland finally adopted the Gregorian Calendar) were "double dated,"i.e., a slash or line would follow the Julian Calendar year, then theyear according to the Gregorian Calendar would be added. Thus, theinventory for the estate of William Sparks bears the date "25th day ofJaneroy 1709/10."

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

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

Sume Totall 126£ 06s 08d

[signed] John Hawkins Jr
[signed] John Hackett

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October the 24th 1711

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

[A note appears on the reverse of this document indicating that onOctober 10, 1712, this administration had been accepted in thePrerogative Office at Annapolis.]
"The inventory taken of the estate of William Sparks (died 1709)listed only his personal property, not his land. The tract of land whichWilliam Sparks called his "home plantation" in his will consisted of twoadjoining tracts, one called "Hill' s Adventure" and the other called"Sparks Outlet." "Hill's Adventure " comprised 100 acres that Sparks hadpurchased from Michael Hackett in 1681, while "Sparks Outlet" comprised114 acres, the patent for which sparks had purchased from Thomas Smithsonin 1687. (See notes under William Sparks [and SQ 1382-83] for details).

"From the inventory of William Sparks's personal property, we knowthat there was a "new house" as well as an "old house," both containingbeds and furniture belonging to William, on his "home plantation." GeorgeSparks (born ca.1678), son of William and Mary Sparks, ma y well havebeen living in the "old house" at the time of his father' s death in1709. (See the article on George Sparks under his notes and at SQp.4035.)

"As shown in the transcription on SQ p.4033 of a probate record fromthe file on William Sparks's estate, we know that his creditors paid 400pounds worth of tobacco for his "Coffin and Funerall Expenses. " Fromthis same document, we know that tobacco was then valued at four penceper pound (weight). Since there were twelve pence in a shilling andtwenty shillings in a pound (of money), these expenses wer e theequivalent of 6 pounds, 13 shillings, and 4 pence, or close to the valueplaced on four 4-year-old steers (7 pounds) listed on the inventory ofWilliam's personal property. The total cost of settling William Sparks'sestate, including the payment of several debts, came to 4,756 pounds oftobacco, or the equivalent in money of 19 pounds, 14 shillings, and 16pence.

"The most interesting new information provided in the probate papersfor William Sparks is that within two years following William's death i n1709, his widow, Mary, had remarried. No record had been found to revealthe exact date of this marriage, but the accounting of the expendituresin the settling of William Sparks's estate dated October 24, 1711,reveals that Mary's name was now "Mary Trickey." Further more, because amarried woman in those days could not act in legal matters without theinvolvement of her husband, this document clearly reveals, also, that hernew husband was Thomas Trickey. Thomas Tricke y had been one of thewitnesses to William Sparks's will as well as to the executor's bonddated October 24, 1709. (His name was sometimes spelled Trickee as wellas Tricky.) We can be quite certain that he was both a near neighbor anda personal friend of the Sparks family.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"GEORGE SPARKS AND WILLIAM SPARKS OFWASHINGTON CO. PENNSYLVANIA".
(Portions relating to both men orspecificially to George are copied below)

"According to separate statements made by George Sparks and WilliamSparks in 1780, they had both settled in what is now Washington County,Pennsylvania, in the year 1773. They had come as pioneers to what wasthen the West . There is little doubt but that they were natives ofMaryland, probably the county of Frederick." (JS: Later it is proved thatthey were sons of Joseph (344 ) and grandsons of William I (204). "Adescendant of William Sparks stated many years ago that William Sparkshad lived near Fredericksburg, Maryland. There was never a town namedFredericksburg in Maryland, however, and he doubtless intendedFredericktown which is now called simply Frederick and is the county seatof Frederick County. Another descendant of William Sparks stated manyyears ago that the family had lived near Baltimore before immigrating toPennsylvania. Baltimore is about 20 miles from Frederick County.

"George and William Sparks were probably brothers---at least we can besure they were closely related. They chose tracts of land which almostadjoined (see cover), although on a modern map George Sparks's land islocated in Hopewell Township in Washington County while William's tractis just over the line in Independence Township. Only a few milesseparate these tracts from the line separating Washington County,Pennsylvania, from Ohio County, West Virginia.

"When George and William Sparks settled in western Pennsylvania in1773 it was the custom for a newcomer simply to choose a tract of landwhich he liked and which had not been claimed by anyone else, to deaden afew trees around the edge or at the head of the spring which watered it,and to chop his initials in one or more of the deadened trees. Thiscrude method of registering one's claim came to be called a "tomahawkright." A descendant of William Sparks recalled many years ago that therewas a family tradition that William Sparks had taken up a "tomahawkright" in Pennsylvania, although this descendant did not know the meaningof the term.

"We can only speculate upon the dates of birth of George and WilliamSparks. We know that George's eldest son, Salathiel Sparks, was born in1756 while William's oldest son, James Sparks, was born in 1759. Itseems probable, therefore, that George and William were about the sameage and were probably born in the early 1730's. George's wife's name wasMary and she was still living in 1803 when he made his will. Since oneof their sons was named William Bostwick Sparks (at a time when middlenames were unusual) it is possible that her maiden name was Bostwick.According to descendants, William Sparks married Martha Moore.

"The area in which George and William Sparks settled in 1773 was thenclaimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia. (William Perry Johnson hasprepared a detailed history of this famous controversy for this issue ofthe QUARTERLY.) Since each commonwealth believed the area to be a part ofits domain, each attempted to govern, tax, and protect its own settlers.From later records it is apparent that George and William Sparks, comingas they did from Maryland, considered them- selves to be citizens ofVirginia, as did the other settlers in their immediate area. The sectionin which the Sparkses lived was designated by Virginia as comprising apart of West Augusta County, then in 1776 as Ohio County. Pennsylvania,on the other hand, included this section in its county of Cumberlanduntil 1771 when it formed a part of Bedford County; in 1773 Pennsylvaniamade it a part of Westmoreland County. Finally, in 1781, this areabecame a part of Washington County, Pennsylvania. Thus, recordspertaining to George and William Sparks are found in both Virginia andPennsylvania.

"The most important Virginia record pertaining to George and WilliamSparks has to do with the final settlement of this controversy betweenPennsylvania and Virginia. Virginia agreed in 1780 to give up her claimto western Pennsylvania with the understanding that she could issuecertificates to her settlers for their land claims which would be honoredby Pennsylvania. About 400 settlers in what is now Washington Countyapplied to Virginia for certificates. To obtain a certificate, it wasnecessary for the applicant to state the year in which he made his firstsettlement in the disputed area. Both George and William Sparks statedthat they had settled on their claims in the year 1773. (The officialcopy of these certificates retained by Virginia is now preserved in thelibrary of the University of West Virginia, a microfilm of which wasloaned to the present writer.)

"George Sparks received two certificates in 1780--one for the tractoriginally settled by him, the other for a tract which he had purchasedfrom another settler. The first of these, dated January 29, 1780, wasfor 400 acres "on the waters of Buffalo and Cross Creek to include hisSettlement made in the year 1773." The other certificate also datedJanuary 29, 1780, was als6 for 400 acres and was for land which had beensettled originally by William Bailey in 1775, but which George Sparks hadpurchased. This latter tract, which adjoined the first tract,, wasdescribed as being "on the waters of Cross Creek." (These references toBuffalo Creek and Cross Creek did not mean that these tracts necessarilyadjoined the creeks, but that these were the nearest large streams ofwater.)

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

"A good many years passed before Pennsylvania issued patents for theseVirginia certificates, although they were surveyed in 1786. In mostinstances, the surveys revealed that the tracts were smaller than theyhad been described originally. George Sparks's home tract was found tocontain 353 acres, while that which he had purchased from William Baileycontained only slightly over 258 acres. It was then a Southern custom,especially in Maryland, for the original owner to give to each tract aname by which it would be known thereafter in land and tax records.George Sparks gave the name "Sparta" to the tract on which he had settledin 1773., while the tract he had acquired from Bailey was called"Elenoroon." It was not until April, 1798, that George Sparks finallyobtained a permanent Pennsylvania title to his land, and then he had topay a fee of 2 pounds, 18 shillings and 8 pence for "Sparta" and 2pounds, 3 shillings and 4 pence for "Elenoroon."

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

"While Virginia and Pennsylvania were engaged in their conflict overwestern Pennsylvania, about 2000 inhabitants signed a petition askingthat the struggle be settled simply by creating a new state out of thedisputed area. This petition, which is preserved among the papers of theContinental Congress, is undated, but was prepared sometime between 1776and 1780. This list of signers was recently published by Raymond MartinBell of Washington & Jefferson College--it contains the signature ofWilliam Sparks but not that of George Sparks. At about the same timethat this petition was being circulated, the state of Virginia asked thatall settlers sign "An Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth ofVirginia." A man named William Scott, who was a militia captain andwhose land nearly adjoined that of George Sparks, was charged withobtaining these oaths in his district. On February 2, 1778, Scottreported to the clerk of the County Court of Ohio County, Virginia, thaton October 6, 1777, George Sparks had given his oath, but that inDecember, 1777, William Sparks (among many others) had refused. Thisprobably means that, while George Sparks wished to remain a subject ofVirginia, William Sparks favored the forming of a separate state out ofthe disputed land.

"In 1782, this same William Scott commanded a company in the 4thBattalion of Washington County Militia and a William Sparks was listed asa private in his company. This probably refers, however, to WilliamBostwick Sparks, son of George Sparks, or to William Sparks, Jr., son ofWilliam Sparks. George Sparks, Jr., son of George Sparks, was also amember of this company. (See the Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol.2, pp. 138, 158, and 159.) According to a biographical sketch of AllenSparks (grandson of William Sparks) which was written by Elijah Sparks(great-grandson of William Sparks) for the History of Clinton County,Indiana published in 1886, William Sparks served in the American armyduring the Revolution 'and was at the storming of Stony Point, the battleof Brandywine, and surrender of Cornwallis." According to JosephClaybaugh's History of Clinton County, Indiana, published in 1913., in anarticle on James Allen Sparks-(another great-grandson of William Sparks),it was William's son, James Sparks, who served in the AmericanRevolution. Since William Sparks was at least 45 at the time of theRevolution, while his son James was a young man of 17 when the war began,it would seem more probable that it was James who fought the Britishrather than his father. He was probably the James Sparks who was amember of Capt. Zadook Wright's company of the 2nd Battalion of theWashington County Militia in 1782. (Pennsylvania Archives, 6th Series,Vol. 2, pp. 27, 33, and 61.)

"The Ohio County, Virginia, Court records contain a number ofreferences to George and William Sparks. (These records were published inthe Annals of the Carnegie Museum, Vols. 1-3, Pittsburgh,, 1902-05; InezR. Waldenmaier prepared an index in In 1780, for example, a reference wasmade to a lawsuit involving a man named Miller vs. George Sparks and hiswife, Mary. Unfortunately, the record does not reveal the nature of thesuit. On June 2, 1777, during a meeting of the Ohio County Court,William Sparks took the oath of office as Ensign of the Militia--hisColonel was named David Shepherd. At a meeting of the court held October4, 1779, William Sparks was ordered along with Samuel Teter, JosephWorley and John Fergus-son to "view the nearest and best way for a roadfrom John Boggs Mill to Alexander Wells, on Cross Creek, and make reportto next Court." All of these persons named lived in what is nowIndependence Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. On November 1.1779, William Sparks was called to serve on a grand jury in Ohio County,and on March 7, 1780, he was ordered, along with John Doldridge, ArtharMcConnel, John Huff., and Thomas Uri to settle a dispute between JohnCarpenter and James Kerr. The latter lived on a farm adjoining that ofWilliam Sparks.

"The most intriguing reference to William Sparks among these VirginiaCourt records is that dated March 3, 1777, when it was recorded thatHenry Nelam "came into Court and complains that William Sparks had in anillegal manner taken away his child and unjustly detalins the samewithout his consent." William Sparks was then summoned to appear at thenext Court to answer this complaint, which he did on April 8, 1777, whenit vms recorded: "William Sparks appeared before this court, and havingnot had an opportunity of convening his evidence ordered that it lay overunto the next Court & that the child continue in the care of WilliamSparks until that time." There is no further record of this dispute, soperhaps it was settled out of court. There can be little doubt, however,that this Henry Nelson was the same Henry Nelson who, on February 9,1773., had been allovmd 45 pounds by the Orphans Court of Bedford County,Pennsylvania (which then had jurisdiction under Pennsylvania law overthat area which became Washington County), for "cloathing, educating &maintaining the following children of Charles Sparks, deced.:
"For Absolom Sparks for 1 year at 3£ per annum --- £ 3-0-0
"For Phebe Sparks for 3 years at 6£ per annum
& one quarter schooling -------- £ 8-5-0
"For Charles Sparks for 3 years at 8£per annum - £24-0-0
(total) £45-5-0

"Only two other records have been found pertaining to this CharlesSparks, father of Absolom, Phebe, and Charles, Jr. One is a BedfordCounty Court record dated July 22, 1771, granting letters ofadministration on the estate of Charles Sparks to Robert Moore. Then, in1773, Robert Moore was taxed, as administrator of the estate of CharlesSparks consisting of 100 acres of land in Providence Township, BedfordCounty. (Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22, p. 261). CharlesSparks must have been related to Willlam and George Sparks, and it my besignificant that a Robert Moore was administrator of Charles Sparks'sestate while William Sparks had married-Martha Moore. (A Robert Moorereceived a Virginia certificate in 1780 to a tract of land in what is nowRobinson Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.) The child whom HenryNelson accused William Sparks of taking from him may have been one ofthese children of Charles Sparks. Both Charles Sparks, Jr., and AbsolomSparks, sons of Charles Sparks, served in the Revolution. Charles, Jr.,served as a Ranger on the Frmtier between 1778 and 1783 (PennsylvaniaArchives, 3rd Series, Vol. 23, pp. 214 and 218.) Absolom Sparks was amember of Capt. iam Scott's company in the 4th Battalion of WashingtonCounty Militia and later in Lt. Harned's company. (PennsylvaniaArchives, 6th Series, Vol. 2, pp. 158-59 and 242.)

"Washington County, Pennsylvania, was created in 1781, having beencarved out of Westmoreland County. The first tax list for the new countyhas been preserved; it is dated 1781 and was published in thePennsylvania Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22. Both William and GeorgeSparks were taxed in Hopewell Township; William's taxable propertyconsisted of 340 acres of land, 2 horses, 4 cattle, and 8 sheep; whileGeorge's consisted of 400 acres, 2 horses, 4 cattle, and 8 sheep. (WhenIndepen- dence Township was cut off from Hopewell Township in 1856, thedividing line separated the land once belonging to George and WilliamSparks, so that today William's tract is in Independence Township whileGoorge's is still in Hopowell Township. For a map showing how Virginia'scounty divisions compare with Pennsylvania's see the cover of the SPARKSQUARTERLY for September, 1954 (page 39).

"After 1781 it is impossible, with the records which we have been ableto gather thus far, to trace William Sparks further. (We have not beenable to have a detailed search made of court house records in WashingtonCounty.) We know that sometime prior to 1786 the land once owned byWilliam Sparks had passed into the hands of Thomas Bines. The name ofWilliam Sparks does not appear on the extant tax lists of HopewellTownship for 1785 or 1793. A William Sparks was taxed in FallowfieldTownship, Washington County, in 1784 but not in 1793; a William Sparksvas taxed in Stabane Tomship in 1793 but had not been there in 1784. Inboth instances this was probably either William Bostwick Sparks, son ofGeorge, or William Sparks, Jr., son of William. It seems probable thatWilliam Sparks died in the 1780's. Only one William Sparks was listed onthe 1790 census of Washington County--this was probably either MilliamBostwick Sparks or William Sparks, Jr. (William Sparks who came toWashington County in 1773, must not be confused with the William Sparkswho died in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1788; this latter WilliamSparks, whose wife's name was Rachel, named the following children in hiswill: Isaac, Ann, William, James., Rachel, Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah,and John.)

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

1. James Sparks, born in September, 1759, in Maryland. Accordingto descendants,he was 13 or 14 years old when he came with his parents towhat is now Independence Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, in1773. He was probably the James Sparks who served in the AmericanRevolution as a member of Capt. Zadook Wright's company, 2nd Battalion,Washington County Militia. (See Penna. Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 2,pp. 23, 53, and 61). He was married in Washington county to MargaretRay, a daughter of Thomas and Margery (Spear) Ray, who had also emigratedfrom Maryland to Washington County. Margaret Ray was born in May, 1761.James Sparks and his family moved from Pennsylvania to Richland County,Ohio, between 1820 and 1830; he later moved to Clinton County, Indiana,where he died in October, 1855, at the age of 97. James and Margaret(Ray) Sparks were the parents of txelve children born between 1799 and1815: Marthy, Margaret, Sarah, William, James, Marjory, Mary,Joseph., Thomas, Robert, Allen, and Elizabeth.

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

"With regard to George Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania., ourrecords are much more complete. A number of deeds are recorded inWashington County which pertain to him and his wife, Mary. On October 10,1798, they deeded 153 acres from the tract called "Elenoroo" to theirson Solomon (Deed Book 1-0, p. 426). on December 30., 1800, they deededto their son William Bostwick Sparks 127 acres and 93 perches from thehome place called "Sparta" (Deed Book l-Q, p. 318). Also on December 30,1800, Mary Buxton, their daughter, purchased for 50 pounds a small partof "Elenoroon" containing 5 acres and 57 perches "in behalf of herdaughter, Mary Buxton junior, Mary Buxton senior retaining unto herselfan estate for life in the land conveyed." (Deed Book l-Q, p. 411). OnMay 91 1800, George and Mary Sparks conveyed slightly over 14 acres totheir son, William Bostwick Sparks (Deed Book l-Q, p. 566).

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

"In the Name of God Amen, I, George Sparks of Hopewell township,Washington County and State of Pennsylvania, being weak in body but of asound and perfect mind and memory Blessed be Almighty God for the same domake and publish this my last will and Testament in Manner and formfollowing (that is to say) First I give and bequeath unto my oldest sonSalathial Sparks, one Dollar, I give and bequeath unto my son WilliamBostwick Sparks, one Dollar. I give and bequeath unto my son SolomonSparks, on Dollar, and I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary Buxton,one Dollar, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Mary Sparks, theBay Mare and Mare colt with three cows, and ten sheep, a feather bed withall the household furniture together with my other freehold estatewhatever to her my said wife during the time of her natural life and ather death I give and bequeath unto my son James Sparks his heirs andassigns forever all my freehold estate containing one hundred thirtyseven acres more or less lying and being in the township County and State aforesaid and further it is my will that all movable property that isnot mentioned above be sold at publick sale and my debts to be paid outof the monies arising from the Sale thereof, and the overplus (if any) tomy said beloved wife Mary Sparks, whom together with my son WilliamBostwick Sparks, I hereby appoint Executors of this my last will andtestament hereby revoking all former wills by me made.

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

signed James Heney
John Buchanan
Jacob Walter

"On May 23, 1806, John Buchanan and James Heney, two of the witnessesto the above Will, appeared before the Register for Probate in WashingtonCounty, and swore that they "were personally present and heard and sawthe within named Testator Gecrge Sparks sign Seal publish pronounce anddeclare the within Instrument in writing as and for his last will andTestament, That at the time of the execution thereof he the said Testatorwas of a sound and disposing Mind Memory and understanding That theysigned their Names thereto as witnesses in the presence of the Testatorand at his request and in the presence of each other and that they sawJacob Walter the absent Witness sign his Name thereto."

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. James Sparks. It is said that he went to Mississippi Territoryin an early day.

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

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

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

See his pension application on SQ pg 757

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

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

"George Sparks, son of George and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks, wasborn on October 7, 1738. He was married to Rachel ----- about 1763. Shehad been born about 1740. George died sometime between April 1786 andMarch 1787. He had made a will on April 7, 1786, in which he named hiswife and his nine sons. The will was probated on March 10, 1787, andrecorded in Will Book SC, p. 62. The original, bearing the actualsignature of George Sparks, has also been preserved at the Maryland Hallof Records at Annapolis, and it is a copy of that original which follows,the only change being the addition of punctuation for clarity.

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

In the name of God, Amen. I, George Sparkes of Queen Anns County & Stateof Maryland, Farmer, being sick & weak in Body but of sound Mind, Memory& Understanding do make & publish this my Last Will & Testament. First,I Recommend my Soul unto the hands of God that gave it hoping thro theMerits of Jesus Christ to Inherit Eternal Life & my Body to be buried atthe discretion of my Executors herein Mentioned and my Real & personalEstate to be divided in manner & form following.

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

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

Item I give & bequeath unto my beloved Wife Rachel Sparkes all myremainEstate Both real & personal during her life a Widow, but if itshould happen that the aforesaid Rachel Sparkes should Marry, then thesaid Rachel Sparkes to be put to her thirds; the aforesaid Rachel Sparkesduring her Widowhood is hereby Bound to Keep together & to take the bestcare she can of all my Children & to give them the following Board,Schooling To Wit-- To my son John Sparkes one & half years Board &Schooling to Commence on the 1 day of JanY 1787 & Expire before thearrives at the age of twenty one. To my son George Sparkes one yearsBoard & Schooling to Commence on 1 Day JanY 1787 & to Expire before hearrives at the age of twenty one. To my son Thomas Sparkes two yearsBoard & Schooling to Commence on the 1 Day JanY 1788 & to Expire beforehe arrives at the age of twenty one. To my sons Joseph & Isaack Sparkestwo years Board & schooling each to Commence Immediately after mydiscease & to Expire as soon as Circumstances will admit. To my sonsNehemiah, Lodowick & Allen Sparkes two years Board & Schooling each toCommence when they Arrive at Ten years & to Expire by the time theyarrive at the age of fourteen years. If the aforesaid Rachel SparkesDepart this her Natural Life or should she Marry, then the whole of myRemaining Real & personal Estate I give & bequeath unto my son WilliamSparkes during his Natural Life and the aforesaid William Sparkes toComply in full with every Lagacy given to my sons which they have notreceived from my Beloved Wife, Rachel Sparkes, that is to say their Board& Schooling as specified & to Keep them together in the best Manner hecan, and after My Beloved Wife Rachel Sparkes & my son William SparkesDepart this their Natural Life then the whole of my Estate, Real &personal to be sold to the most advantage and one Equal Share of theprofit arisising [sic] from the sale I give & bequeath unto each of mysons whose names are Inserted, that May be living when the sale takesplace, reserving one Equal share for my son William Sparkes Lawfulbegotten heir should he have one. Lastly I hereby nominate & appoint myLoving Wife Rachel Sparkes to be my Executrix & My son William SparkesExecutor of this my Last Will and Testament, Jointly, Hereby revoking allformer Will or Wills by me heretofore Made. In witness whereof I havehereunto set my hand & seal this 7th Day April One Thousand seven Hundred& Eighty six.

[signed] Georg Sparks (Seal)

Signd seald Publishl'd & declarl'd by the within named George Sparkesto be his last Will & Testament in the presence of us who have hereuntosubscribed our Names as Witnesses thereto in the presence of the Testatorand at his Request
Test:
[signed] Benjn Garrette
his
William ( X ) Sparkes
mark
[signed] John Allen Langston"

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

"Queen Ann's County Ct Then came Rachel Sparkes and WilliamSparkes the l0th Day of March 1787 and made Oath on the holy Evangels ofalmighty God that the within Instrument of writing is the true and wholeWill and Testament of George Sparkes, late of Queen Ann's County,deceased, that hath come to their Hands or Possession. and that they donot know of any other -- Certified:
Sol Clayton, Regr of Wills
for Queen Ann's County

Queen Ann's County Ct Then came Benjamin Garrett andWilliam Sparkes the l0th Day of March 1787 two of the subscribingWitnesses to the within last Will and Testament of George Sparkes late ofQueen Ann's County, deceased, and severally made Oath on the holyEvangels of almighty God that they did see the Testator therein named,sign and seal this Will and that they heard him publish, pronounce anddeclare the same to be his last Will and Testament, that at the time ofhis so doing, he was to the best of their Apprehensions of sound anddisposing Mind, Memory and Understanding and that they respectivelysubscribed their Name and Mark as Witnesses to this Will in the Presnceand at the Request of the Testator and in the Presence of each other, andthat they saw John Allen Langston subscribe his respective Name as aWitness to this Will in the Presence and at the Request of the Testator.
Certified:
Sol Clayton, Regr of Wills for Queen Ann's County"

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

"It is of interest to note in connection with George Sparks'sprovisions for the education of his sons, that as early as 1723 theAssembly of the Province of Maryland had established one school in eachcounty, located as near to the center of the county as might be and "asmay be most convenient for the boarding of children. 11 The schoolhousein Queen Annes County was located on the main road from Centreville toQueenstown. Students were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, andgrammar for which their parents or guardians paid a fee of 25 shillings,or 300 pounds of tobacco per annum. See Emory's History of Queen AnnesCounty, published in 1950 by the Maryland Historical Society.)

"Rachel Sparks, widow of George Sparks, did not remarry, and sheapparently held the family together until her death in 1805. We have noway of knowing, of course, whether she was able to send her sons to theboarding school as directed by her husband's will. She was the head ofher household when the 1790 and 1800 federal censuses were taken. Itseems likely that she had been pregnant when her husband died, for shenamed a daughter, Mary Sparks, in her will. George Sparks had made nomention of a daughter in his will.

"Rachel made her will on February 21, 1805, in Queen Annes County, andit was proven on November 12, 1805. Two sons, George Sparks and ThomasSparks, who had been named in her husband's will, were not mentioned inher own will. They may have died or had moved away. As abstractedseveral years ago by the present writer, here are the essential parts ofthe will of Rachel Sparks:

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

Executors: Sons, Lodowick Sparks and Allen Sparks.

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

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

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

"Our primary clue in tracing George Sparks's origin has been theprovision in his will for his young son, Reuben Sparks, to be reared byhis [JS: George's] sister, Rachel Bicknell, who lived in North Carolina.The fact that George Sparks also referred to "my affairs in the NorthState," leaves no doubt that he and his sister were members of the branchof the Sparks family that had migrated prior to the American Revolutionfrom Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin, thenincluded within the boundaries of Rowan County, but now within DavieCounty, North Carolina.

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

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

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

Volentinee Braswell mark
Redson Davis

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

"When it was that George Sparks went from North Carolina to NewberryCounty, South Carolina, is not known, except that he was there at thetime the 1790 census was taken. On the 1790 census, as would be true ofeach federal census taken prior to 1850, only the head of each householdwas actually named. Free white males in 1790 in each household,including the head, were then enumerated in two categories following thename: those 16 and over, and those under 16. White females were alsocounted and recorded, but with no division by age.

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

"The only record that we have found in Newberry County, South Carolina,pertaining to George Sparks, other than his will, is his purchase offifty acres of land there on April 6, 1795. He paid fifty poundssterling to Herman Davis, Sr., who was called "Planter," also a residentof Newberry County. (See Newberry County Deed Book C, page 814.)According to this deed, George Sparks's fifty acres were part of a grantof 200 acres that had been made earlier to Davis, located in the forkbetween the Enoree and Saluda Rivers. The witnesses to George Sparks'purchase of his fifty acres were William Finney, Andrew Spence, andJosiah Elliot. This deed was not proven and recorded in Newberry Countyuntil July 28, 1796, by which time George Sparks had died, his willhaving been entered for probate on March 2, 1796.

"It seems apparent that George Sparks's wife had died before he wrotehis will, in which he left all of his property to his sister, Rachel(Sparks) Bicknell, with which to rear his son, Reuben. We have found norecord pertaining to this Reuben Sparks other than his mention in hisfather's will. [JJS Note: But see the pension application for a ReubenSparks born about 1777 in the Quarterly for June, 1962, Whole No. 38, pp.651-653.]

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

"A rather detailed account of the migration of members of the Sparksfamily of Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin in NorthCarolina, was included in an article on the life of William Sample Sparkspublished in the Quarterly of December 1989, Whole No. 148, pp.3484-3501. This writer and Dr. Paul E. Sparks, the Association'spresident, have become convinced, partly through a process ofelimination, that William Sample Sparks was the father of George Sparksand of Rachel (Sparks) Bicknell, the subjects of this article.

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

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

"In or about 1736, William Sample Sparks left Queen Annes County withhis family and migrated to an area of western Maryland that is drained bythe Monocacy River and its tributaries; this area was called "Monocacy"by the Indians long before the appearance of the white man. (See the mapshowing the Big and Little Pipe Creeks, where Sparks settled, along withother streams flowing into the Monocacy River, on page 3488 of theDecember 1989 Quarterly.) This area was included in Prince Georges Countywhen William Sample Sparks moved there, but it became part of FrederickCounty when Frederick was created in 1748.

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

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

"When Joseph Sparks died in 1749, he left a wife named Mary andchildren named Solomon, Joseph [Jr.], Charles, Jonas, Jonathan, William,George, Merum, Mary, Ann, Rebecca, and Sarah. Because Joseph Sparks hadbeen the youngest son of the William Sparks who died in 1709, whileWilliam Sample Sparks's father, William Sparks, Jr., had been his oldestson, Joseph's older sons were considerably younger than their firstcousin, William Sample Sparks.

"It was in the spring of 1754, we believe, that William Sample Sparks,with members of his own family, and accompanied by three of the sons ofJoseph Sparks (Solomon, about 27 years of age; Jonas, about 20; andJonathan, about 18) left Frederick County, Maryland, for the Forks of theYadkin in North Carolina. The eldest son of William Sample Sparks, namedWilliam, born about 1725, remained in Frederick County, but he would joinhis father and other family members in North Carolina a decade later. Ascan be seen from the frequent repetition of the same given names for thegrandchildren and great-grandchildren of the immigrant, William Sparks(died 1709), one can become easily confused in trying to identify theparentage of each one. We believe that William Sample Sparks, himself,chose "Sample" as a middle name simply to identify himself from hisfather and from his cousins named William, for which his descendants canbe grateful.

"The Sparkses who went to the Forks of the Yadkin were part of arather large migration from Maryland to North Carolina beginning in the1750s. These pioneers were in the search of fertile, but inexpensive,land in a mild climate. This they found in what was known as "LordGranville's Domain." (See pages 3492-93 of the December 1989 issue of theQuarterly, Whole No. 148, for a detailed explanation of how LordGranville acquired his "domain," and how his agents sold portions tosettlers prior to the American Revolution.)

"We have known for many years that two sons of William Sample Sparksaccompanied their father in his 1754 migration to the Forks of theYadkin. Matthew Sparks, then about 34 years of age, was married and hadseveral children, while James Sparks was about 20 years of age and, webelieve, unmarried. As noted above, the son named,William, born about1725, did not join his father and siblings until 1764. We have assumed,however, that there were probably daughters and, perhaps, other sons, ofWilliam Sample Sparks of whom we had no record. We have now concluded,in part through a "process of elimination," that George and RachelSparks, subjects of this article, were surely, also, children of WilliamSample Sparks, and that their mother was surely the Rachel Sparks whoco-signed with her husband the inventory of Joseph Sparks's personalproperty in 1749. It was a common practice to name a daughter for hermother.

"Very few records survive in Rowan County, North Carolina, from thisearly period. Until recently, we had found no record of William SampleSparks in Rowan County's land records, although there are county courtrecords pertaining to his receiving a license in 1762 and in 1764 to keepan "ordinary," the name then used for an inn or tavern servingtravellers, There is also a record of his serving on a jury in 1764. Withthe publication in 1995 of Vol. 5 of Margaret M. Hofmann's The GranvilleDistrict of North Carolina, 1748-1763, we know now where he lived in theForks of the Yadkin.

"Immigrants to Lord Granville's District, which included the Forks ofthe Yadkin, regularly "squatted" on vacant land that appealed to themuntil such time as they were able, or found it convenient, actually topurchase the tract from Lord Granville's agent. In some instances, yearspassed before actual ownership was gained or the "squatter" moved to adifferent site. There was always the danger, however, that someone elsewould purchase the "squatter's claim," in which case the original settlermight lose whatever "improvements" he had made. William Sample Sparks'sson, Matthew Sparks, as well as his young cousin, Solomon, made theirinitial purchases in 1761. Matthew bought 372 acres while Solomon bought250 acres. In 1762, Solomon bought 290 additional acres that adjoinedhis first purchase, although he later sold a portion to his brother,Jonas. (See the map on page 3495 of the December 1989 issue of theQuarterly.)

"William Sample Sparks, however, never acquired a legal title to landin the Forks of the Yadkin, although from Vol. 5 of Ms. Hofmqnn'sabstracts of Lord Granvifle's land records (p.272), we now know that hehad "squatted" on a tract very near that of his son, Matthew. On May 30,1761, however, a settler named James Andrews purchased a tract of 700acres that included the "improvements" that had been made there byWilliam Sample Sparks. The warrant authorizing a survey to be made ofAndrews' purchase described the tract as 11700 acres in Rowan County onthe South Side of the South Yadkin, joining the Mouth of Second Creek,including the improvements where William Sample Sparks formerly Lived."The exact location of this tract can be identified on the map appearingon page 3495 of the Quarterly, cited above. Perhaps Sparks moved to aportion of the nearby tract purchased by his son, Matthew, andestablished his ordinary there. It is even possible that Andrews hadpurchased from William Sample Sparks the "improvements" Sparks had madeon his "squatter's" site.

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

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

"In our earlier efforts to identify the parents of Rachel (Sparks)Bicknell and her brother, George Sparks, we were confused by the factthat Jonas Sparks, son of the Joseph Sparks who had died in FrederickCounty, Maryland, in 1749, had a son named George and a daughter namedRachel. The Rachel Sparks who was a daughter of Jonas Sparks wasmarried, however, to a man named Minus Griggs, and they subsequentlymoved to Kentucky. (A record of the family of Minus and Rachel [Sparks]Griggs also appears in the present issue of the Quarterly, beginning onpage 4829 .) The George Sparks who appeared on a tax list of RowanCounty believed to date from 1775, was a son of Jonas Sparks; he was notthe George Sparks who died in Newberry County, South Carolina, in1795/96. In his will dated May 11, 1805, Jonas Sparks made no mention ofhis son, George Sparks, which suggests that he either died young or hadmoved to a different part of the country.

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

"As has been noted in other articles in the Quarterly devoted to theSparkses of the Forks of the Yadkin, members of the older generation atthe time of the American Revolution tended to be Tories (i.e., men whomaintained their allegiance to the English crown.) As the fever ofrebellion against King George III intensified in the Colonies, pressuremounted to force the Tories either to declare their allegiance to therebellion or risk having their lands confiscated. It was in 1778 thatCaptain Johnston prepared a list of the names of some 152 men in hisdistrict who had either failed or refused to pledge allegiance to thestate of North Carolina. The two Sparkses appearing on this list wereWilliam and George, sons of Jonas. Solomon Sparks, with the sons ofWilliam Sample Sparks named William and Matthew, would probably haveappeared, also, on Johnston's list had they still been residents of RowanCounty.

"Early in 1773, William Sparks and his brother, Matthew Sparks, sonsof William Sample Sparks, sold their land in the Forks of the Yadkin andmoved their families to Surry County, North Carolina. Surry County hadbeen cut off from Rowan County in 1770. Matthew settled in that part ofSurry that eventually became Ashe County, while William chose a spot inwhat is now Yadkin County, near the Wilkes County line. This was nearwhere William's cousin, Solomon Sparks (son of Joseph), had moved twoyears earlier. William's oldest son, also named William, had eitheraccompanied or followed Solomon--both were shown on the oldest extant taxlist for Surry County, that for 1771. The land on which these Sparksessettled was also part of Lord Granville's vast domain, but his landoffice had been closed following his death in 1764, and his family hadnot reopened it because of the unrest leading up to the Revolution.Settlers simply "squatted" on vacant Granville land that pleased them,marking their proposed boundaries with an axe mark on corner trees. Thiswas called a "tomahawk survey." Their hope was, of course, to purchasethe land when the Granville land office opened again. It did not openagain, of course, and the state of North Carolina, while respectingearlier Granville sales, took over land-granting authority at the end ofthe Revolution.

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

"Although George Sparks did not appear as a taxable in Surry County in1774, we believe that he was there, but he probably had not yet reachedthe age of 16. We know that his sister, Rachel, was there because onOctober 22, 1774, she was married to Thomas Bicknell in Surry Countyaccording to her own sworn statement. She made this deposition onDecember 3, 1845, shortly before her 88th birthday, when she applied fora widow's pension based on her husband's service in the RevolutionaryWar. She stated that her marriage had been performed by a justice of thepeace named Squire Riggs, following the "publication" of their marriagebanns "in Church as the custom was in those days." This type of marriageprocedure was more common in early North Carolina than that through the"marriage bond," but it was only a marriage bond that became an officialcounty record. Rachel was 16 years of age at her marriage, or, as shestated, she was in her seventeenth year. Her seventeenth birthday wouldfall on December 12, 1774.

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

"The earliest record that we have found of Thomas Bicknell in NorthCarolina is his name on the 1772 "List of Taxables of Surry County."Shown, also, on the same list is that of his brother, Samuel Bicknell.Samuel, but not Thomas, had also appeared on the 1771 tax list of SurryCounty, it being the oldest such list known to exist. Research into theBicknell family by a number of descendants points to Samuel and Thomasbeing sons of a William Bicknell, born ca.1714/15, who died in 1780 or1781, in Amherst County, Virginia. His wife's name was Hannah. Accordingto William Bicknell's will, he had sons named Samuel, William, Thomas,John, and Micajah, and daughters named Ruth, Anna, and Mary Ann. At anearlier time, the family had lived in Albemarle County, Virginia.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"George Sparks, Sr., was born about 1760, probably in FrederickCounty, Maryland. He was a young lad when his parents moved to SurryCounty , NC, about 1772. According to testimony given by James Morgan in1834, George served as a lieutenant in the Colonial Militia during theRevolutionary War. (See page 2787, NORTH CAROLINA GENEALOGY, Fall-WinterIssue, 1972, No . 66.) He married, probably about 1785, but we have notlearned the name of his wife. He was listed as the head of his family onevery census from 1790 to 1830, and, according to these records, he hadseven children: 3 sons and 4 daughters...George Sparks, Sr., died inSurry County in the fall of 1842, probably at the home of his son, GeorgeSparks, Jr. He made a will on November 18, 1833, which was probated atthe November 1842 term of the Surry County Court. Here is the text ofthe will as it was probated:

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

"In all probability, George Sparks, Sr., made his will in favor ofhis son George, Jr., as a part of an arrangement whereby George Sr.,would live with his son for the rest of his natural life. When the 1840census was taken of Surry County, there was a male between the ages of 70and 80 years in the household of George Sparks, Jr. This was probablyhis father. George Sparks Sr., bequeathed to his son George Jr., a tractof land which he (George, Sr.), had obtained from his father, WilliamSparks, on March 6, 1800. The 200 acre tract was located on Fox Knob ofthe Brushy Mountains in the northwestern part of present-day YadkinCounty, NC, near the town of Jonesville."

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

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

SQ 3796:
"George Sparks [Sr.], son of William and Ann Sparks, was born about1758/60 in Frederick County, Maryland, before his parents moved to NorthCarolina. He lived near the present site of the town of Jonesville inYadkin County. His wife, whose name we have not found, apparently diedabout 1830. He made his will in 1833; it was probated in 1842. (Seeabove for the entire text of this will.) He had the following children:

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

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

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

(4) Son, born ca.1799.

(5) Martha Sparks, born September 9, 1801. She was married toCharles Russell.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The Christian Neiswanger (or Newswanger) who purchased WilliamSparks's land in 1764 had been born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, onJanuary 23, 1735, and had been baptized in the Trinity Lutheran Church inLancaster. His first name was Johann, but, as was often true in Germanfamilies of that time, he was known by his middle name, Christian. Hisfather, also named Christian, had been one of eighty Palatine maleimmigrants who arrived in Philadelphia in 1728. He died in LancasterCounty, Pennsylvania, in 1762, his only heir being his son, Christian,who was married (lst) to Mary Catherine Hany (or Harry) in 1753 and (2nd)to Anna Margaret Good in 1761. He moved with his family from LancasterCounty, Pennsylvania, to Frederick County, Maryland, in 1764, the sameyear that he purchased William Sparks's farm there. Christian Newswangerdied in Frederick County, Marvland, in 1802.

SQ, p. 1319:

GEORGE SPARKS OF LEWIS AND NICHOLAS COUNTIES, KENTUCKY

"George Sparks was born about 1767 and died prior to 1840, probably inNicholas County, Kentucky. He was probably the George Sparks who marriedRachel McClenahan in Nicholas County, Kentucky, on April 18, 1805. (Thismay have been his second marriage since a George Sparks married ElizabethWells on June 14, 1790, in Bourbon County.) It is quite possible thathis widow was the female aged between 70 and 80 who was enumerated amongthe family of George Sparks on the 1840 census of Nicholas County; thislatter George Sparks is belived to have been a son of George and Rachel(McClenahan) Sparks.

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

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

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

SQ, p. 5128: "George Sparks, born ca. 1764, died ca. 1835. He wasmarried (1st) to Elizabeth (Betsey) Wells, and (2nd) to RachaelMcClanahan in 1805. Information regarding him and his family can befound in the QUARTERLY of June 1970, Whole No. 70, p. 1319; and December1970, While No. 72, p. 1370."

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

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

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

"George Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks, was born about 1785.One Of the reasons for arriving at this approximate date of his birth isthe fact that his father, in his 1819 will, named him second among hissons. Two other men named George Sparks who lived in the Surry/WilkesCounties area in North Carolina can be confused with George, son ofMatthew and Eunice. One was George G. Sparks, born on November 9, 1796,who was a son of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks of Wilkes County, NorthCarolina. George G. Sparks moved to Georgia prior to 1816. (See theQUARTERLY of December 1996, Whole No. 176, pp.4714-55, for a lengthyarticle about George G. Sparks (1796-1879] and his decendants.) The otherwas George Sparks, Jr. born about 1805, who was a son of George Sparks,Sr. (ca.1760-ca.1842). This George Sparks, Jr. (born ca.1805) was a firstcousin of George Sparks (born ca.1785), the subject of this sketch. Hisfather, the elder George Sparks, a son of William and Ann Sparks and abrother of Matthew Sparks, made his will In Surry County on November 18,1832; it was probated ten years later during the November 1842 meeting ofthe County Court of Surry County; we know that he died in 1842. His son,George Sparks, Jr. (born ca.1805) was married to Fanny Lindsay in 1829.This couple moved to Union County, Georgia. (See the QUARTERLY of June1983, Whole No. 122, pp.2519-24, for the article: "The Family of GeorgeSparks, Jr. [Born ca. 1805] of Surry County, North Carolina, and UnionCounty, Georgia.")

"We believe that it was George Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice, who wasmarried to Elizabeth Armstrong in Wilkes County in 1814. A marriagenormally took place in the county in which the bride lived. The WilkesCounty marriage bond and license for this couple were dated October 24,1814, with Wesley Armstrong as bondsman. Because our information onGeorge Sparks is quite limited at this time, we give here a record of hispurchasing and selling land in Surry County with the hope that it maycome to the attention of a descendant who will be able to share with usfurther information regarding George and his family.

"George Spatks, son of Matthew and Eunice, first appeared on a SurryCounty, North Carolina, tax list in 1813; he was taxed for 5 acres ofland located in Capt. Halley's tax district which covered an area nearthe present town of Elkin in what is now Yadkin County, not far from theWilkes County line. George and his father, along with three of hisbrothers (Joel, Matthew, Jr., and William), were all recorded by Capt.Halley as living near one another in 1813.

"As noted earlier, Matthew Sparks, before writing his will on March 26,1819, gave a portion of his plantation to each of his five sons. ToGeorge he gave 100 acres (deed dated March 26, 1819, Surry Co. Deed Book0, pp.372-73), "in consideration of the natural love and affection that afather hath towards a child and for the better support and maintenance ofthe same...".

"When the 1820 census was taken in Surry County, George Sparks's household was enumerated with five individuals: George, himself, was shown inthe 26 to 45 age category; the female who was surely his wife was shownin the 18 to 26 age group; and there were two boys and one girl all under10 years.

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

"On February 11, 1825, George Sparks sold to James Jones the part of his100-acre farm given to him by his father in 1819 lying "on the south sideof Hunting Creek." This comprised 71 acres, leaving George with only 29acres. We have found no record of his disposing of this remaining portion.

"When the 1830 census was taken in Surry County, George Sparks was listedimmediately before his mother. His household included a male under 5years of age and another between 5 and 10; a female was enumerated, also,in the 5 to 10 age category and another in that of 10 to 15. George,himself, was shown as between 30 and 40 as was the female whom we canassume was his wife.

"On April 14, 1834, George Sparks sold to James Armstrong for $200 "hiswhole Sare [share] & his portion arising to him the sd. Sparks the wholeof his father's Estate that may be arising to him the sd. Sparks afterhis Mothers death..." From this we may wonder whether George Sparks wasabout to move from Surry County. We have found no further record of hisbuying or selling land, nor does his name appear on the 1840 census ofSurry County.

"The fact that George Sparks sold his anticipated share of his father'sestate (that he could expect to inherit at the death of his mother,Eunice Sparks) to James Armstrong may suggest that he had, indeed, beenthe George Sparks who had been married to Elizabeth Armstrong in 1814.This James Armstrong was probably the James Armstrong who had obtained alicense to be married to Elizabeth Swaim, daughter of Michael Swaim, in1818 (with a marriage bond dated June 7, 1818, the bondsman being JamesChappel).

"George Sparks, son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks, has been found in noSurry County, North Carolina, record after 1834. From census recordscited above, it appears that he had children, but we have found no recordreveal ing their names. We would welcome any suggestions or assistance indiscovering further information regarding George and members of hisfamily."

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

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

"GEORGE SPARKS. From the order in which the children of Solomon andCharity Sparks were listed in Solomon's nuncupative will, it would appearthat George was the oldest. He was probably born about 1788. He isknown to have married Delila ----- in Wilkes County, North Carolina, andto have migrated to Randolph County, Indiana, in 1830. He died in WellsCounty, Indiana, in 1843. (continued on p387)

"George Sparks, eldest son of Solomon and Charity Sparks, was bornabout 1788. He married, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Delila -----about 1806. Since no marriage bond has been preserved, it is probablethat George and Delila were married following the publication of theirbanns. (See Mr. Johnson's article entitled "Sparks Marriage Bonds fromNorth Carolina," in the Quarterly of December, 1954, Vol. II, No. 4, pp.54-55.) On the 1810 census of Wilkes County, George Sparks was listedwith his wife and one male (son) and one female (daughter), both agedunder ten years. He was a farmer by occupation.

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

"All but one of the eleven children of George and Delila Sparks wereborn in North Carolina. Their daughter Delila, who was the next to theyoungest child, is known to have been born on January 26, 1830, and onthe later census records her birthplace was given as North Carolina. Bythe fall of 1830, however, George Sparks had migrated to Randolph County,Indiana, and was listed as a resident of that county when the 1830 censuswas taken, probably late in the year. Although we have not been able tosearch Randolph County records, it would appear from the marriage recordsof two of the daughters of George Sparks, dated 1832 and 1833, that hesettled in West River Township. A descendant of Solomon Sparks, supposedbrother of George Sparks, states that Solomon settled in Nettle CreekTownship which today adjoins West River Township on the east. About 1836George Sparks moved to Wells County, Indiana, and, according toBiographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana, by B. F. Bowen, 1903, page28, he was one of the first settlers of Liberty Township. George Sparkslived in Wells County until his death in 1843.

"George Sparks did not leave a will, but among the documents whichhave been preserved in connection with the settlement of his estate areseveral interesting items. The earliest is a note which George Sparkshad signed on March 9, 1830, but which he had never paid off and whichwas collected from his estate. It reads as follows: "March 9, 1830.Twelve months after date I promise to pay or Caus to bee paid untoWilliam West or order the Just and full sum of Three Dollars being forValue receved of him as witness my hand and seal attest." Anothersimilar note, dated November 13, 1838, reads : "Twelve months after dateI promise to pay to Bowen Hale or order sixty dollars with interest fromthe 13th day of March next value received 13 Nov. 1838 . The above notemay be discharged in corn at market price."

"A record on file which reveals the approximate date on which GeorgeSparks died is a bill submitted by his doctor, N. C. Burson. Dr. Bursoncharged $2.50 per visit on each of the following dates: October 26, 27,28, 29, 30, 31, November 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, and 23, 1843. In allprobability , George Sparks died either on November 23, 1843, or a fewdays later.

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

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

"Since George Sparks did not leave a will directing the manner inwhich his estate should be divided, and since he left a number of debts,it was necessary that his belongings be sold at auction soon after hisdeath. A sale was held on March 8, 1844, and the report listing all theitems sold gives an excellent picture of life on an Indiana farm in1843. The names of those who purchased goods also reveal the identity ofhis neighbors. [Inventory on SQ pp 388-90]

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

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

"To the Honorable William H. Parmilu, Judge of Wells County ProbateCourt, sitting, Your Petitioner, Aaron Sparks, administrator of theestate of George Sparks, late of said county, deceased, humbly shewethto your Honor that the personal assets of the said estate amounts only tothe sum of $219.75; that $35.00 of said assets was applied in payment ofa bill to Dr. Burson incurred in the last illness of the intestate; $2.50paid to John Douglass and $1.50 paid to Enoch Robinson in satisfaction toclaims against the estate, making $39.00 and leaving $180.75 of thepersonal assets of said estate in the hands of your petitioner.

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

"Your petitioner further sheweth to your Honor that it will benecessary to make sale of the above described land and that the proceedsthereof be made assets in the hands of your petitioner to completepayment of the debts of said estate. Your petitioner therefore praysyour Honor to make an order for the sale of said lands for that purposeand that Richard Vernon and Dicey Vernon, Aaron Sparks, Mordecai Samuelsand Elizabeth Samuels, James Johnson and Sara h Johnson, Thomas Brown andLydia Brown, George Sparks, Jackson Grant and Matilda Grant, heirs at lawof the said intestate; also Abel Sparks, Delila Sparks, and Mary Sparks,minor heirs of the said intestate; also Delila Brown and William Brown,infant heirs of Faribee Brown, deceased , to be made parties to thispetition, and that your Honor do appoint a guardian ad litem to appear tothis petition for the minor heirs of said intestate and such other reliefand take such other steps touching the matters set forth in thispetition as may Seem Just and right all of which is RespectfullySubmitted to your Honorable.

/S/ Aaron Sparks, administrator of the estate of
George Sparks, deceased; by I.P. Greer , his
Solicit.
"On August 19, 1846, Aaron Sparks reported to the Probate Courtthat on May 9 he had tried to sell the land at auction, but that "thesame could not be sold for want of bidders." In February, 1848, he wasordered by the court to sell the property and in May, 1849, he reportedas follows: "Aaron Sparks, administrator of the estate of George Sparks,deceased, respectfully reports that in pursuance of the order of hisHonorable Court made at the last May term thereof he agreeable to thedirection of said court did on the 12th day of April, 1849 sell the Westhalf of the Southwest quarter and the South quarter of the Northwestquarter of Section 2, Township 27, North of Range 11 , East in WellsCounty, containing 120 acres to Harrison Griffin for the sum of $580which sale he prays may be confirmed.
/S/ Aaron Sparks

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

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

"From the records cited above, it has been possible to compile a listof the children of George and Delila Sparks. Although some may have diedin infancy of whom we have no record, those who were living in 1844, orwho had died and left issue, as was true of the daughter Faribee, areknown . The order of the birth of these children is unknown, except thelast three. Perhaps they were listed in the order of their birth in thepetition by Aaron Sparks quoted above. They are listed in this orderbelow, with the daughter Faribee, deceased in 1844, inserted followingSarah, since Faribee was married one year after Sarah. [Here listsdetails on each child for which see their notes]

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

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

SQ for March 2000, Whole No. 189, pp 5287-88:

George Sparks, eldest son of Solomon, Jr. and Charity Sparks, was bornon December 14, 1787, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. We know the dateof his birth because it was included in his family Bible, along withnames and birth dates of his and his wife's thirteen children. We knowthat his wife's first name was Delila, but we have not found her maidenname. Her birth was not recorded in their Bible. This family record wascopied for us many years ago by Florence N. DeSelms of Oklahoma City,Oklahoma. She had been able to copy the record from the Bible then ownedby a relative named Wilcockson.

A sketch of the life of George Sparks appeared in the QUARTERLY of June1959, Whole No.26, beginning on page 387, but this was written before wehad obtained his family Bible record, and in this we made an unfortunateerror by confusing his son, George Sparks, Jr., born January 31, 1820,with George W. Sparks, born February 16, 1817, who was a son of George'sbrother, Solomon Sparks and wife, Isabella (Swaim) Sparks. This error wascorrected on pp.3706-07 of the QUARTERLY of December 1990, Whole No.152.

George Sparks, son of Solomon, Jr. and Charity Sparks, was married toDelila _____ in Wilkes County, North Carolina, about 1806, and it wasthere that Delila bore their first twelve children. George brought hisfamily to Randolph County, Indiana, in time for his household to beincluded on the 1830 census there, and it was in Randolph County thattheir thirteenth child, Mary Ellen Sparks, was born in 1832. They wereprobably in that part of Randolph County that helped to form Wells Countyin 1835. According to the Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indianaby B. F. Bowen, published in 1903, p.28, George Sparks was one of thefirst settlers in Liberty Township in Wells County. He lived there forthe remainder of his life, dying in 1843. Delila was living in 1850 withher son, Abel Sparks, in Huntington County, Indiana. The thirteenchildren of George and Delila Sparks, as recorded in their family Bible,were: (See their individual family sheets)

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

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

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

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

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

"The official record of the service of George Sparks gave his periodof enlistment from Sept. 20 to Nov. 19, 1814. Mary Sparks was granted 40acres of land.

"On April 3, 1855, Sparks applied for additional land under the act of1855. She gave her age as 55 and stated that she was a resident of AdamsCounty, Ohio. She gave essentially the same information as she had inher earlier application, although she added that it was in the town ofWest Union in Adams County that her husband had volunteered. She signedher name in 1855 as "My Sparks'--the witnesses to her statements wereGeorge Sparks (her son) and C. W. Stevenson.

"(Editor's Note: Mary (Decamp) Sparks was born Feb. 20, 1806. GeorgeSparks Mae born in Penn. on May 16, 1794, and was a son of SalathielSparks (1756-1823) who came to Adams County, Ohio, with his family fromWashington County, Penn., in 1804. Salethiell's father was George Sparksof Hopewell Township, Washington County, Penn., who died there in 1806.George and Mary (Decamp) Sparks had five children: John Sparks, born May27, 1824;
Mary Ann Sparks, born March 21, 1827;
Salathial Sparks, born Nov. 20, 1829;
George Sparks, born Sept. 29, 1832;and
Gracy Jane Sparks, born July 3.1835.)"

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

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

THE FAMILY OF GEORGE SPARKS, JR. (BORN CA. 1805) OF SURRYCOUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, AND UNION COUNTY, GEORGIA

By Paul E. Sparks

Among the Sparkses who were listed on the 1850 census of Georgia whichwas published in the December 1982 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 120,there was a family in Union County headed by George Sparks. He was bornabout 1805; his wife Fanny was born about 1812; and they were natives ofNorth Carolina. They were probably born in Surry County for it was therethat their marriage license was issued on December 1, 1829, with CharlesJohnson, Jr. as their surety. J. Cowles performed the ceremony, probablya few days later.

George Sparks was a son of George Sparks, Senior, and a grandson ofWilliam Sparks. William Sparks, with wife, Ann, and their children, hadleft Frederick County, Maryland, about 1764 and had moved to RowanCounty, North Carolina. A few years later, they moved to the newly-formedcounty of Surry, and it was there that William Sparks died between 1800and 1802. He and Ann apparently had nine children, among whom was a son,George.

(An article for the QUARTERLY is being prepared about William and AnnSparks and their nine children. Persons having information about thiscouple, or of their children, are urged to get in touch with Dr. RussellE. Bidlack, editor of the QUARTERLY, and share their data with him.)

George Sparks, Senior, was born about 1760, probably in Frederick County,Maryland. He was a young lad when his parents moved to Surry County,North Carolina, about 1772. According to testimony given by James Morganin 1834, George served as a lieutenant in the Colonial militia during theRevolutionary War. (See page 2787, North Carolina Genealogy, Fall-Winterissue, 1972, No. 66.) He married, probably about 1785, but we have notlearned the name of his wife. He was listed as the head of his family onevery census from 1790 to 1830, and, according to these records, he hadseven children: 3 sons and 4 daughters. We have not learned the names ofall of his children, but we believe he had a daughter, Martha, whomarried Charles Russell; a daughter whose name we have not learned whomarried Samuel Edwards; a daughter, Frankey, who may have never married;and a son, George Sparks, Jr.

George Sparks, Senior, died in Surry County in the fall of 1842, probablyat the home of his son, George Sparks, Jr. He had made a will on November18, 1833, which was probated at the November 1842 term of the SurryCounty Court. Here is the text of the will as it was probated:

Know all men that I George Sparks Senior of Surry County and State ofNorth Carolina do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and formfollowing, towit:

1st Item. First I give and bequeath unto my son George Sparks, Junr. allmy land lying in two seperate Tracts containing three Hundred acres bethe same more or less with all the improvements in any way belongingthereto.

2nd Item. I give and bequeath unto my son George named above my Still and
Stand and all that pertains to my dystilery in any way.

3rd Item. I give and bequeath unto my son George named above all myfarming tools and my Rifle gun with everything mentioned above to him andhis Heirs forever.

4th Item. I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Franky that portion of mypewter furniture that my other Married Daughters have had.

5th Item. And all the ballance of my household and Kitchen furniture Igive and bequeath unto my son George to him and his Heirs forever.

6th Item. And I further will that all my stock of Horses Cattle Sheep andHogs that I may happen to die possessed of be sold and after my justdebts are paid that the ballance of the money be equally divided betweenall my children except my son George and will that my two grand childrenJames and Wilson Edwards an equal share of the money arising from thesale of my stock to be paid into the Hand of Samuel Edwards for thePurpose of Helping to schooling my two grand children named above.

7th Item. And lastly I do appoint Richard H. Parks Executor of this mylast Will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set my Handand seal this 18th day of Nov. 1833.

Witness:
John Shore jurit
Ellot Hall, his mark X

his

George x Sparks

mark
North Carolina)
Surry County ) November Term 1842. The foregoing Will and Testamentof George Sparks was offered for probate & proven in due form of Law byOath of John Shore a witness thereto who swears he saw the said G. Sparkssign seal publish & declare the same to be his last Will & Testament andthat at the time of the signing the same he was of sound and disposingmind & memory whereupon it was ordered to be recorded done accordingly.

F. Armstrong Clk

by H. C. Hampton D C

In all probability, George Sparks, Senior, made his will in favor of hisson, George, Junior, as a part of an arrangement whereby George, Senior,would live with his son for the rest of his natural life. When the 1840census was taken of Surry County, there was a male between the ages of 70and 80 years in the household of George Sparks, Junior. This was probablyhis father.

George Sparks, Senior, bequeathed to his son, George, Junior, a tract ofland which he (George, Senior) had obtained from his father, WilliamSparks, on March 6, 1800. The 200-acre tract was located on Fox Knob ofthe Brushy Mountains in the northwestern part of present-day YadkinCounty, North Carolina, near the town of Jonesville.

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

SQ 2522: "After the death of his father and prior to 1850 (probablyabout 1848) George Sparks, Jr., moved his family to Union County, Georgia. It was there that he was listed with his wife and eight of theirchildren on the 1850 census. (Apparently their two oldest sons had movedaway from home or had died.)" (Here the eight are named) See SPARKSQUARTERLY Dec 1988, Whole No. 144, pp. 3307-3226 for much info on thisfamily and descendants. "George Sparks, Jr. and Fanny Lindsay obtained amarriage bond in Surry County, North Carolina, on December 1, 1829 . Acousin of George named Charles Johnson, Jr., served as his surety forthis bond. We can assume that the marriage took place within a few daysof the date of this marriage bond."

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

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

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3798: His name may have been George Sparks.

SQ p. 5372:

George Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was born inSurry County, North Carolina, about 1817. In October 1854, when GarrettMcGary, as administrator of Matthew Sparks's estate, listed the heirs, headded the son named George rather as an afterthought, as though someonehad reminded him of George, and in 1856 he was included among the eightheirs for whom Richard Sparks would be responsible for locating. We havefound no further record of George.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2002, Whole No. 198, p. 5694:

George Sparks, son of Allen Sparks, was born in 1830 and died in 1902according to his tombstone in the Bear Creek Cemetery at Penland,Mitchell County, North Carolina. He was married twice, first to JudyThomas who died prior to 1860 and (second) to Elizabeth Hensley (bornca.1840, died July. 13, 1925). Of the eight children known of GeorgeSparks, we believe that the first two were by his first wife, the othersix by his second wife. They were:

(1) Andrew Hunter Sparks, born about 1854; he was married to MarthaElizabeth Freeman in 1872; the Rev. J. Y. Sparks remembered that "HunterSparks went west";
(2) Newton W. Sparks, born ca.1856, was married in 1876 to MargaretWillis;
(3) Joseph A. Sparks, born about 1858; his wife's name was Caroline-----;
(4) James Hardie (or Hardie James) Sparks, born 1864;
(5) Stephen M. Sparks, born November 18, 1870, died June 8, 1940;
(6) H. M. Sparks (female), born ca.1873;
(7) M. C. Sparks (female) born ca.1877; and
(8) N. R. Sparks (female) born ca.1899. There may have been otherchildren of George Sparks.

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

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

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

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

SQ pg 2596:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"George Sparks, eldest son of Solomon and Charity Sparks, was bornabout 1788. He married, in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Delila -----about 1806. Since no marriage bond has been preserved, it is probablethat George and Delila were married following the publication of theirbanns. (See Mr. Johnson's article entitled "Sparks Marriage Bonds fromNorth Carolina," in the Quarterly of December, 1954, Vol. II, No. 4, pp.54-55.) On the 1810 census of Wilkes County, George Sparks was listedwith his wife and one male (son) and one female (daughter), both agedunder ten years. He was a farmer by occupation. At least one deedpertaining to his purchase of land is on record--on November 24, 1810, hebought for $200 a tract of 100 acres in Wilkes County "on the waters ofHunting Creek." He purchased this land from Abednego Sanders; thewitnesses to the deed were Henry Martin, Leonard Sale, and DanielWilcoxen. George Sparks appears as a grantor in only one deed preservedin Wilkes County. This was dated August 14,, 1828, and was a deed oftrust. He owed Richard J. Cook, formerly of Wilkes County "but now ofRowan County, North Carolina," $236.22, and he deeded the 100 acre tractwhich he had purchased in 1810 to John Martin in trust against his debt.Apparently he gave up the land rather than pay the debt. George Sparksowned other land besides this 100 acre tract however, because in 1829 hewas taxed on 330 acres in Wilkes County valued at $800.

"All but one of the eleven children of George and Delila Sparks wereborn in North Carolina. Their daughter Delila, who was the next to theyoungest child, is knovm to have been born on January 26,, 1830, and onthe later census records her birthplace was given as North Carolina. Bythe fall of 1830, however, George Sparks had migrated to Randolph County,Indiana,, and was listed as a resident of that county when the 1830census was taken, probably late in the year. Although we have not beenable to search Randolph County records, it would appear from the marriagerecords of two of the daughters of George Sparks, dated 1832 and 1833,that he settled in West River Township. A descendant of Solomon Sparks,supposed brother of George Sparks, states that Solomon settled in NettleCreek Township which today adjoins West River Township on the east. About1836 George Sparks moved to Wells County, Indiana, and, according toBiographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana, by B. F. Bowen, 1903, page28, he was one of the first settlers of Liberty Township. George Sparkslived in Wells County until his death in 1843.

See also THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1960, Whole No. 32, pps 525-6:

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

"GEORGE SPARKS, of Wilkes County, North Carolina, and Elliott County,Kentucky; born November 9, 1796, died May 11, 1879. Bounty Land WarrantFile 50 353-120-55.
"On June 17, 1854, George Sparks made application for bounty land. Hewas a resident of Carter County, just over the line from Elliott County,Kentucky, and gave his age as 58 years. He stated that he had been aprivate in Capt. Ambrose Catton's (or Carlton's) company in a NorthCarolina regiment; that he was drafted at Wilkesborough , Wilkes County,North Carolina, on November 1, 1814, for 6 months; shortly after beingdrafted he went with his company to join the Virginia Militia at Norfolk,but when they got to within 3 or 4 miles of Hillsborough, North Carolina,the company was informed that the requisition had been filled and hereturned home where he remained until about January 20, 1815, when hiscompany again marched from Wilkesborough to Wadesborough in Anson County,North Carolina, a distance of 270 miles; that he arrived at Wadesboroughabout Feb. 20, 1815, and he was mustered into service; that on the sameday news of the peace arrived and he was honorably discharged atWadesborough. He remembered that one of the officers was a Major Allen.He also stated he had lost his certificate of discharge. He signed hisname as "George Sparks." The witnesses were Robert Rose and AbijahWhitt, both of Carter County, Kentucky.
Official records revealed that George Sparks had served under Capt .A. Carlton from November 24, to December 8, 1814, and from Feb 19 toMarch 9, 1815.
On April 7, 1855, George applied for additional bounty land under thenew act. He was still a resident of Carter County, Kentucky, and gavehis age as 58 years. He gave no information besides that which he gavein his first application. The witnesses were John B. Whitt and AllenHarper of Carter County.

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

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

SQ p. 2272: 9. George Sparks, born November 9, 1796, died May 11, 1879;married (1st) a Miss Mainer or Maynard, probably about 1815; married(2nd) Nancy Short on August 6, 1822; appeared on the 1830 and 1850censuses of Lawrence County, Kentucky, and on the 1860 census of CarterCounty, Kentucky.

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

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

GEORGE G.SPARKS (1796-1879)
SON OF JOHN AND SARAH(SHORES) SPARKS
WITH A RECORD OF HIS KNOWN DESCENDANTSTO ABOUT 1900

By Paul E. Sparks

"[Editor's Note: John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks of early WilkesCounty, North Carolina, had eleven children, eight sons and threedaughters. (See pp. 94-104 of the December 1955 issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY (portion reproduced above) and pp. 2269-2272 of the March 1981issue, Whole No. 113, for additional information about their family.) Anarticle about their oldest son, Levi Sparks, was published in the June1996 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 174 (for which see notes for LeviSparks). We now present an article devoted to another son, GeorgeSparks, and his desdendants to about 1900. This record has been compiledby the Association's president, Paul E. Sparks. Dr. Sparks is agreat-great- grandson of George Sparks. Articles about other children ofJohn and Sarah (Shores) Sparks will be published as space permits infuture issues of the Quarterly.]

"George G. Sparks, son of John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks, was born onNovember 9, 1796, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Some descendants saythat the initial "G" in his name stood for Graham, but no record has beenfound to prove that this is correct. Few records have been foundpertaining to his youth. It can be assumed that he was a good hunter andfisherman for most of the lads of that period of time learned to providefood in this manner. It can also be assumed that he received the usualschooling of that period of time for he could read, write, and cipher. Apreserved record shows that his father, John Sparks, bought four spellingbooks at the Fisher River store located near his home at Traphill, NorthCarolina.

"George was a lad of sixteen when the second war with Great Britainbroke out In 1812, and when he reached his eighteenth birthday, he wasenrolled in the North Carolina Militia to fight the British. He recalledhis military service forty years later when, in 1854, he applied forbounty land as a veteran of that war. (See pp. 525-526 of the December1960 Issue of The Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 32, for an abstract of hisbounty land file.[JJS: See also above])

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

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

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

"It was In Georgia, on March 21, 1816, that George's oldest child,Lucinda Sparks, was born; shortly afterwards, his wife died. We can onlyimagine his feelings! In a strange land, bereft of his young wife, andburdened with a helpless baby girl, he surely became despondent andhomesick, and so he returned to Traphill. When the 1820 census was takenof Wilkes County, he and Lucinda appear to have been living with hisparents according to the enumeration of John Sparks's household.

"Sometime about 1820, news was apparently received in the Wilkes-SurryCounties area of North Carolina that reasonably priced land was availablein the Big Sandy River valley of Kentucky, and several families decidedto migrate there. These families had intermarried in North Carolina, andsome were quite closely related, including Sparkses, Gambills, Holbrooks,and Lyons. They may have traveled as a cavalcade, arriving in Kentuckyjust about the time that Lawrence County was formed in 1821.

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

"They did not all stay in Kentucky. Jonathan Sparks went back toSurry County while Reuben and Colby returned to Wilkes County where theymarried and reared large families. When the federal census was taken ofLawrence in 1830, there were nine heads of households named SPARKS,constituting the largest surname group of all the families listed on thatcensus. (See p. 421 of the September 1959 issue of the Quarterly, WholeNo. 27, for this census record.)

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

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

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

"George met, courted, and was married to his second wife, Nancy Short,soon after he arrived in Kentucky. They were married on August 7, 1822,in Lawrence County by the Rev. Stephen Wheeler, a Baptist minister. (Thelicense was issued on July 31, 1822.) Nancy had been born on April 7,1800, in Kanawha County, Virginia, now West Virginia, and was a daughterof Aaron and Elizabeth (Chaffin) Short, both natives of Virginia.

"In 1825, George was involved in a land transaction of shortduration. He bought fifty acres of land on the Left Fork of the KeatonFork of Blaine Creek from his father for 100 pounds. We have not foundhow John Sparks had acquired the land, but a story has been handed downthat it had been given to him for his Revolutionary War service. John'ssignature was witnessed by two of his friends in Wilkes County named JohnJohnson and Jesse Johnson, and the deed was recorded in Lawrence Countyon October 28, 1825. On the same day, George G. Sparks resold the landto John Lyon for $150.

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

"On February 26, 1827, George Sparks bought 100 acres of land on theLittle Fork of the Little Sandy River. Here, he and Nancy settled downwith their growing family consisting of John, born in 1823, and Nancy,born in 1825. It was here that their third child, Cynthia, was born afew months later, and by the time that the 1830 census was taken, afourth child, Hugh, had been added.

"The section of the Little Fork of Little Sandy River where George andNancy Sparks lived is best identified as the general area wherepresent-day Lawrence, Carter, and Elliott Counties join. Carter Countywas formed from Lawrence County in 1838, and Elliott County was formed in1869 from portions of both Lawrence and Carter Counties. Thus, recordsof George Sparks can be found in all three counties. He and hishousehold were enumerated on the 1850 census of Lawrence County, and onthe 1860 census of Carter County.

"George and Nancy Sparks sold their 100-acre farm on Little Fork toAlfred Sparks and Nelson White on February 9, 1854, for $550, and shortlyafterwards, they bought 400 acres of land on Lick Branch near the mouthof Big Gimlet Creek. It was here that they lost their youngest son,Colby Sparks, in 1858. The 16-year-old lad cut himself severely whilesharpening an axe, and the wound became in-fected. He died on February27, 1858, in a Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"George Graham Sparks, son of Hugh and Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks, wasborn on July 10, 1860, in Carter County, Kentucky. He was a coal miner.He began his career as a miner on Nats Creek near Peach Orchard inLawrence County, and when that coal field was "mined out," he went withthe company to Jellico, Tennessee. He held mining jobs in Kentucky inWhitley, Knox, and Perry Counties, and when he retired, he wassuperintendent of a mine at Butterfly, Kentucky.

"George was married three times. His first marriage was to ElizabethPainter (or Sexton ?) about 1881. She had been born on March 12, 1866,in Virginia. She and George had eleven children before her death, whichoccurred on September 26, 1904, when she gave birth to her eleventhchild. George's second marriage was to Gertrude ["Gertie"] MagdaleneWoods, probably about 1906. She had been born on March 27, 1888. Sheand George had eleven children. She died on August 7, 1925. George'sthird marriage was to Ella/Ethel Baker about 1930, and they had one child.

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

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

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

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

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

"He built a lovely home for his family near Gamma, Missouri. Thelumber was cut and prepared from his own timber land. The interior wasfinished in hand rubbed walnut. The windows had a wide shelf at both topand bottom, and the floors were six inches thick. George and Jane, withtheir children, attended the Old School Presbyterian Church at BrushCreek."

See SQ p. 757:

(From an article about their son Solomon Sparks) "This Solomon Sparkswas a son of George and Rachel (Norris) Sparks, who were married in 1785in Washington County, Pennsylvania; they later moved to that section ofVirginia which is now in Taylor County, West Virginia. George Sparks,father of Solomon, was born in the 1750's and served in the AmericanRevolution, being taken prisoner by the British in New York in November,1782. George Sparks was a son of George and Mary sparks of WashingtonCounty, Pennsylvania. For additional data on this family see THE SPARKSQUARTERLY of June, 1963 (Vol. XI, No. 2, whole No. 42) pp. 728-734. Seealso the record of Anna (Sparks) Snyder, sister of Solmon Sparks, whichappears in this issue of the QUARTERLY, page 759."

SQ p. 1320:

"George Sparks, Jr., believed to have been a son of George and Rachel(McClenahan) Sparks, was born about 1811 in Kentucky and was living aslate as 1874 in Indiana. He married (first) Catherine Stokes in NicholasCounty, Kentucky, in 1836 or 1837 (the marriage bond was dated December30, 1836); she was a daughter of Benjamin and Micha (Sparks) Stokes andshe died about 1848. (Micha Sparks, mother of Catherine, was a daughterof John and Katherine (Waddell) Sparks of Nicholas County and was bornabout 1795.) Following the death of his first wife, Catherine, about1848, George Sparks, Jr., married as his second wife, Hanna Fishback, whowas born between 1819 and 1823 (her age was given as 31 on the 1850census and as 37 on the 1960 census). About 1852, George Sparks, Jr.,moved with his family from Kentucky to Montgomery County, Indiana.According to census records, George Sparks, Jr., had the followingchildren. It is believed that the first five were by his first wife,Catherine Stokes, and the last six were by his second wife, HannaFishback. (See invidual sheets for children.)

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

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

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

In the QUARTERLY of June 1970 (Vol. XVIII, No. 2, Whole No. 70, p. 1320)we gave a sketch of George Sparks, Jr., born about 1811 in Kentucky, sonof George and Rachel (McClenahan) Sparks. From a book by Tom Stoutentitled Montana, Its Story and Biography published in 1921 we havelearned that George Sparks, Jr., died at New Ross, Montgomery Co.,Indiana, in 1884. George Sparks,Jr., married twice. A son by his secondwife, Hannah (Fishback) Sparks, was Charles M. Sparks according to thishistory of Montana - - we gave his name as Charles B. Sparks in theQUARTERLY. Charles N. Sparks was born in 1850; he married Emma Fishbackwho was born in Bourbon Co., Kentucky, in 1852. Charles M. Sparks died atAdvance, Boone Co., Indiana, on Nov. 3, 1919. Their children were:

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

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

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

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

"George and Susanna were involved in at least six land transactionsin Huntington County. The first of these was recorded on May 8, 1849,when George bought 57 acres of land from David and Mary Wayne. He soldthat tract on May 17, 1852, to Lemuel Andrews. The last transaction wasmade on April 18, 1857, when George and Susanna sold land to WilliamAustin. George signed his name on one of these documents, but on theothers he and Susanna made their marks, according to the
clerk who copied them into the deed books.

"George Sparks was still living near Markle, Indiana, when the 1860census was taken. He was then 39 years of age, a farmer, with landvalued at $1,000. His wife's name was given as Mary--it seems apparentthat her full name was Mary Susanna. With them in 1860 were childrennamed Mary, aged 16; Amos, aged 9; Catherine, aged 8; and Amanda, aged6. George's oldest daughter, Elizabeth, was not with them in 1860; shemay have been the Elizabeth Sparks who was married to Lafayette Messleron June 4, 1859, in Huntington County.

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

END OF ARTICLE.

SQ 5289:

h. George Sparks, Jr. was born on January 31, 1820. He. was married toMary Susanna ca.1841. She was usually called by her middle name, Susanna,in the records we have found. As was noted earlier, this George Sparkswas confused with George W. Sparks on page 393 of the QUARTERLY of June1959. The George W. Sparks discussad there was a son of Solomon Sparks,son of George and Delila Sparks. Based on the 1850 and 1860 censuses ofHuntington County, Indiana, where he lived near the town of Markle,George, Jr. and Mary Susanna were the parents of the following children:
(1) Elizabeth Sparks, born ca.1842. She was probably the Elizabeth Sparkswho was married in Huntington County on June 4, 1859, to LafayetteMassler.
(2) Mary Sparks, born ca.1844.
(3) Amos Sparks, born ca.1851.
(4) Catherine Sparks, born ca.1852.
(5) Amanda Sparks, born ca.1854.
Neither George nor Mary Susanna appeared on the 1870 census of HuntingtonCounty and we have no further record of them.

SQ 3872:

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

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

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

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

SQ pg 3320: George Thomas "Tom" Sparks was born on March 5, 1874 , in
Georgia. He was married on September 11, 1901, in Petersburg, Oklahoma(Indian
Territory) to Lola Ollie Barnett. Born March 31, 1881, in Hillsboro ,Texas,
she was the daughter of Francis Marion and Nancy Jane (Gibson) Barnett. In
1906, Tom and Ollie moved to Stonewall County, Texas. In 1909, they moved
again to Baker, Montana, where they homesteaded 320 acres of land. While
there, Tom also ran a freight line from Baker to Billings, Montana . Inthe
fall of 1912, Tom and Ollie moved their family of six boys back toTexas. They
settled in the Wright Community of Stonewall County where they purchased480
acres of land. At the time of his death, Tom owned 2,050 acres. TomSparks
died on July 25, 1946. After Tom's death, Ollie moved to Rotan, Texas,where
she died on February 18, 1955.

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

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

[The parentage of George W. Sparks was incorrectly attributed to GeorgeSparks (391), son of Solomon (361) and Charity Sparks, and George's wifeDelila ---- in this original article. In the December 1990 issue, WholeNo. 152 , p 3706, his parentage was correctly attributed to Solomon (392)and Isabella Swaim (474) Sparks. Corrections will be made as typed.]

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

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

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

See also SQ p. 5295.

George W. Sparks, son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, was born inWilkes County, North Carolina, on February 16, 1818 (?) (Although adescendant believed the year of his birth was 1817, this was not possibleif his sister, Rachel, was born in 1817 as claimed by hergreat-granddaughter.) In the QUARTERLY of June 1959, Whole No. 26, p.393,appeared a biographical sketch of George W. Sparks with information onhis family. We believe that record is largely correct except that we thenthought that he was a son of George and Delila Sparks. As has been notedearlier in the present article (page 5289), George and Delila did have ason named George Sparks, although he did not have a middle initial, andwe learned later that he had been born on January 31, 1820. This error inconfusing the parentage of these two first cousins was corrected in theQUARTERLY of December 1990, Whole No. 152, pp.3706-07, as well as here.

George W. Sparks, son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, was marriedin Wells County, Indiana, on August 7, 1838, to Sarah ["Sally"] Mossburg.She had been born on May 14, 1817, in Ohio and died in Wells County,Indiana, on May 26, 1864. On July 18, 1865, George W. Sparks was married(2nd) to a widow named Phoebe Jane (Pouless) Light. She had been born onFebruary 11, 1832, in Highland County, Ohio. A photograph of George W.and Phoebe Jane appears on the cover of the June 1959 QUARTERLY.

According to family lore, George W. Sparks was sympathetic toward theSouthern Cause during the Civil War, although his sons were loyal to theUnion. He died in Wells County on September 14, 1892, and in his will,dated May 2, 1890, he left his entire estate to his second wife, PhoebeJane. She died in Wells County on January 18, 1921. George W. Sparks andhis first wife, Sarah Mosburg, were the parents of four children; by hissecond wife he had one child.

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

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

"George W. Sparks applied for an invalid pension prior to August 11,1887, for on that date, the Bureau of Pensions asked the War Depar tmentto furnish his service records. Sparks claimed that he had enlisted onFebruary 12, 1863, in Company C, 1st Regiment Arkansas Infantry and thathe was discharged August 10, 1865, at Ft. Smith, Arkansas. While on dutynear Ft. Smith in March 1864, he was disabled by a disease of the eyes.

"The War Department verified Sparks's military service. He wasenrolled on February 12, 1863, at Fayetteville, Arkansas, in Company C ,1st Regiment Arkansas Infantry for a period of three years. He waspromoted to corporal on March 15, 1863. He was present for duty until hewas mustered out with his company on August 10, 1865. George W. Sparkswas ill at Ft. Smith on March 24, 1864, but was returned to duty. Theregimental hospital records showed a --- Sparks admitted with an inciswound on November 28, 1864, but he was returned to duty in December1864. --- Sparks was admitted in January 1865 but returned to duty.

"George Sparks was treated on March 10, 1865 and also on April 3 ,1865, but each time he was returned to duty. The report concluded bythis remark: "There are three other members of the company named Sparksand where the Christian names are not stated on the hospital records, itcannot be determined which of the four men was under treatment."

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

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

"Sparks responded to a questionnaire from the Bureau of Pensions onMay 4, 1898. He said he was married to Elizabeth Washington Sparks,formerly Jackson, in September 1866 by E. B. Phenix in Taney County ,Missouri. He had been previously married to Martha Jane Cissle, but hedid not know the date of the marriage. He had two living children: 1.Sarah H. Sparks, born in 1868; 2. Margaret A. Sparks, born in 1872.

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

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

"On June 15, 1901, J. M. Adams, age 66, of Chancel, Arkansas,testified that he had made the coffin in which to bury Edward Stevenson ,the former husband of Elizabeth W. Sparks, in the fall of 1865 inChristian County, Missouri.

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

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

(Editor's Note: See the note regarding the family of George W. Sparksunder the abstract of the pension papers of Balis E. Sparks, page 2112.George W. Sparks was one of four brothers who served in the same company:Balis E. Sparks, Jesse Sparks, Thomas E. Sparks, and himself.)"

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

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

SQ 3074:

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1983, Whole No. 122, p. 2522:

[See the cover of Whole No. 122, pg. 2519 for fine photographs of GeorgeWashington Sparks and Elizabeth Jane (Morgan) Sparks taken about 1865.]

"George Washington Sparks, son of George and Fanny (Lindsay) Sparks,was born on February 18, 1834, in Surry County, North Carolina. Heaccompanied his parents to Union County, Georgia, and it was there thathe married Elizabeth Jane Morgan on July 11, 1856. She was born on April26, 1837, in Union County. She was the daughter of Samuel Morgan andHannah (Nicholson) Morgan. When the 1860 census was taken, they wereliving in Whitfield County; their post office was given as Rural Vale.

"George Washington Sparks served in Company H, 36th regiment GeorgiaInfantry, Confederate States Army, during the Civil War.

'Sometime between 1874 and 1878, George and Elizabeth moved theirfamily to Texas where they settled in Falls County. George was killed in1891 about 20 miles from Mart, a small town in McLennan County. Nothingis known about the circumstances surrounding his death. Elizabeth died
on July 7, 1910, and was buried at Mart. They were the parents of eightchildren." (Here the article includes information on the descendants ofGeorge Washington Sparks for which see their individual sheets.

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

SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1988, Whole No. 144, pp 3310-3326 @@ 3310:

FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING DESCENDANTS OF GEORGE SPARKS JR.(Born about 1805)

"George Washington Sparks, son of George and Fanny (Lindsay) Sparks, wasborn on February18, 1834, in Surry County, North Carolina. He accompaniedhis parents to Union County, Georgia, and it was there that he marriedElizabeth Jane Morgan on July 11, 1856. She was born on April 26, 1837,in Union County. She was the daughter of Samuel Morgan and Hannah(Nicholson) Morgan.When the 1860 census was taken, they were living inWhitfield County; their post office was given as Rural Vale

"George Washington Sparks served in Company H, 36th Regiment GeorgiaInfantry, Confederate States Army, during the Civil War. He was takenprisoner on July 4, 1863, when the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi,capitulated . On July 9, 1863, he was required to sign a document whichreads as follows:

Vicksburg, MississippiJuly 9, 1963

To whom it may Concern, Know ye That:

I, George W. Sparks, a Private of Co. H, 36th Reg't, Geo.Vols. C.S.A.,
being a Prisoner of War, in the hands of the United StatesForces, in
virtue of the Capitulation of the City of Vicksburg and itsgarrison by
Lieut. Gen. John C. Pemberton, C.S.A., Commanding, on the4th day of
July, 1863, do in pursuance of the terms of saidcapitulation, give this
my solomn parole under oath - -
That I will not take up arms again against the UnitedStates, nor
serve in any military, police, or constabulary force in anyFort, Garri-
son or field work, held by the Confederate States ofAmerica, against
the United States of America, nor as guard of prisons,depots or stores
nor discharge any duties usually performed by Officers orsoldiers,
against the Unites States of America, until duly exchangedby the proper
authorities.
[signed] George W. Sparks
Private Co H30th Geo Regt

"George Washington Sparks apparently was exchanged because he servedin the Confederate Army through May 1864 according to witnesses whoprovided testimony when his widow, Elizabeth Jane, applied for aConfederate pension in her late years. According to their testimony,George enlisted as a private in April 1862 and served through May 1864.He served under Colonel Jesse A. Glenn who described him thus: "He wouldweigh about 140 pounds, he was about 5 feet an[d] 7 inches high, he wasdark complected [with] dark hair and dark eyes." W. G. Harris, who wascaptain of Company H. also gave a statement very similar to the Colonel's.

"After the Civil War, George Washington Sparks and his family lived inMurray County, Georgia. Sometime around 1874, George went to McLennanCounty, Texas, where he worked as a laborer in order to save enough moneyto send for his family. This was about 1876, and, according to hiseldest son, John Henry Sparks, they traveled to Texas by train. Georgefarmed for a while and then went into business with another man as apeddler. They traveled all over Central and North Texas in a wagonselling their goods.

"George Washington Sparks was killed on January 15, 1891, nearMesquite, in Dallas County, Texas. There is some mystery surroundingGeorge's death. No one is sure who killed him, but it has been assumedthat he was killed by his partner. He was apparently buried in anunmarked grave somewhere near the place of his death.

"Elizabeth Jane applied for a Confederate pension in 1899, which wasapproved on February 9, 1900. [This was under a pension plan offered bythe state of Texas - - no pension provision for Confederate soldiers andtheir widows was ever made by the U. S. Government.] According to thepapers pertaining to her case that are preserved in the Texas StateArchives, she was in poor health when she made her application, and hadno money. Elizabeth Jane died on July 7, 1910, and was buried at Mart,Texas, in McLennan County.

"George Washington and Elizabeth Jane (Morgan) Sparks were the parentsof eight children. [See pp 2522-24 of the QUARTERLY of June 1983, WholeNo. 122, for more detailed information.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1996, Whole No. 174, pp. 4656-57:

"George Washington (Wash) Sparks, son of Wiley and Cynthia Ann(Holbrook) Sparks, was born on September 3, 1845, in Lawrence County. Heserved for a short time in the 68th Regiment Kentucky Enlisted Militia ofthe Union Army during the civil war. (See page 4665 of this issue of theQUARTERLY for an abstract of his pension file" (reproduced below)) Hewas married to Linnie Grizzell on April 2, 1873, in Carter County,Kentucky, and it was there that she died on September 30, 1890. Washsurvived her for nearly fifty years, dying on April 26, 1938. He andLinnie had six children. (See page 241 of the September 1957 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 19, for records from the Bible of Wash Sparks.)"

Civil War Pension Application of George WashingtonSparks:

"GEORGE WASHINGTON SPARKS, son of Wiley and Cynthia (Holbrook) Sparks,was born on September 3, 1845, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He wasmarried to Linnie Grizzell on April 2, 1873, in Carter County,Kentucky. He served in Company A, 68th Regiment Enlisted Militia. FileDesignation: Inv. Appl. No. 1,201,847.

"On November 22, 1897, Washington Sparks, aged 54, a resident ofMartha, Kentucky, appeared before John N. Johnson, a notary public inElliott County, Kentucky, to make a declaration for an Invalid Pension.He stated that he had been enrolled on May 21, 1864, in Company A, 68thRegiment Kentucky Enlisted Militia, commanded by Capt. D. Sturgell, andhad served until he had been discharged on June 22, 1864, at Louisa,Kentucky. At the time of his enlistment, he had been 6 feet in height;he had a fair complexion, black hair, and blue eyes; and he was afarmer. On or about June 1, 1864, he was stricken with a chronicdiarrhea and piles from which he had suffered ever since, so that he wasnow almost totally unfit for manual labor. He had been treated by Dr.Hamilton Sweatman, a private physician. Since leaving the service, hehad lived in Lawrence County. He appointed T. R. Walburn, Ironton, Ohio,as his attorney, and E. E. Johnson and W. A. Dobyns, both of Stephens,Kentucky, witnessed his signature.

"On January 6, 1898, the War Department confirmed Sparks's militaryservice. He had been enrolled in Company A, 68th Regiment KentuckyInfantry Enlisted Militia on May 21, 1864, and had served until he wasmustered out on June 22, 1864. No medical records were on file for him.

"Only one other document is contained in the "selected papers"comprising his file obtained from the National Archives. This is asummary of his military service prepared by his attorney, T. R. Walburn.Stamped across the top of the page in bold letters is the word"Abandoned."

"[Editor's Note: Washington Sparks (as he was called) was a grandsonof Levi and Sarah (Lyon) Sparks who came from Wilkes County, NorthCarolina, to Lawrence County, Kentucky, about 1821, and settled near thefork of Big Blaine Creek. See the December 1955 and September 1957issues of the SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole Nos. 4 and 19, respectively, forfurther details of this family; also pp.4656-4657 of the present issue ofthe QUARTERLY.]

George Washington "Wash" Sparks and his nephew, Thomas Jefferson"Tom" Sparks, married sisters. Tom was a son of George's sister, NancySparks who was 12 years older than George. George's wife Louisa JaneCreech (b.1847) was 14 years younger than her sister, Mary "Molly" Creech(b.1861).
Thus we have:
Nancy (b.1834) (brother and sister) George(b.1846)
|
Thomas (b.1857)
m. m.
Mary (b.1861) (sisters) Louisa Jane(b.1847)

See SQ p 4874: "Wash and Louisa lived on Little Fork unti about 1895when he died. Louisa then moved her family to Normal, Kentucky, whereher oldest sons could work in the lumberyards. She died there on March21, 1932, and was buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Ashland, Kentucky.She and Wash had ten children, six of whom lived to maturity."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY for June, 1963, Whole No. 42, p 742 for ElliottCounty, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1869-1912):

George W. Sparks & Louisa Creech, November 29, 1873. (Book 1, pg38) Witnesses: Joel Sparks and Thomas B. Sparks

SQ 3277:
"George Washington Sparks, son of Jonas J. and Polly (Hankins) Sparkswas born on April 17, 1868. He was married twice. His first marriagewas to Virginia Elizabeth "Jennie" Farris on October 19, 1887. She wasborn on December 14, 1866, and was a daughter of Major Wilson and MaryJane (Durman) Farris. Jennie and George had seven children before herdeath on February 28, 1914. George married (2nd) Jane Waggoner onSeptember 13, 1921. They had no children. George died in April 1941. Hischildren were:

(1) Minnie Ora Sparks was born on July 29, 1888. She married WilliamT. Bandy, and they had nine children: William C., Anna M., George F.,James A., John K., Charles R., Sarah V., Shirley F., and Elmer C.

(2) Stella Maude Sparks was born on October 31, 1890. She marriedOlbert Sayers. She died on August 29, 1966. She and Olbert had sixchildren: May Etta; Berniece; Olbert, Jr.; Ancil B., Virginia Mae; andGeorge C.

(3) Virginia Blanche Sparks was born on November 28, 1894. Shemarried Charles S. Dalton, and they had three children: Virginia E., OraLena, and Edward.

(4) Major Wilson Farris Sparks was born on April 12, 1898. He marriedRuby Avis Bowman. She was born on January 16, 1904, at South Point ,Ohio, and was a daughter of William C. and Ida (McKee) Bowman. WilsonSparks died on July 13, 1932, in a coal mine accident. He and Ruby hadsix children: James, George, Fred, Louise, Jane and Major Wilson.

(5) Mary Edna Sparks was b. on apr 29, 1902. She m. Carl E. Thompson,and they had one child, Frank.

(6) Seldon Copenhaver Sparks was born on March 12, 1902 and d. June16, 1928. He never married.

(7) George W. Sparks, Jr. was b. April 27, 1907. He d. July 3, 1929.He never married."

See the Sparks Quarterly for September, 1958, Whole No. 23 at pages322-23 for the following:

QUERY

George Washington Sparks of Plevna, Montana, wonders whether any memberof the Association can assist him in tracing his Sparks ancestry. Mr.Sparks was born on July 4, 1888, in the territory which is now Oklahoma.He was married in 1908 to Bernetta A. Berry who was born July 30, 1891,in Camden County, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Sparks are the parents of thefollowing children: (1) Herbert A. Sparks, born 1909; (2) Melvina
V. Sparks, born 1911, died 1951; (3) Lelli P. Sparks, born 1913; (4)Ernest L. Sparks, born 1918; (5) George A. Sparks, born 1921, killed inWorld War II in 1944; (6) Mary C. Sparks, born 1923; (7) James F. Sparks,born 1927; and (8) Robert E. Sparks, born 1929.

The father of George Washington Sparks was named Joseph Zac TaylorSparks; he was born August 28, 1845, somewhere in North Carolina, anddied in Petersburg, Oklahoma, about 1912; he married Melvina FrancesMcClain on August 25, 1869, probably in Georgia. She was the daughter ofTom McClain and was born December 26, 1850, in Georgia and died December25, 1931, in Tuttle, Oklahoma. Apparently Joseph Sparks and his wifesettled in Georgia after their marriage and lived in that state untilabout 1879 when they moved to Texas. When the 1880 census was taken,Joseph Sparks and his family were living in McLennan County, Texas, nearWaco. The family was listed as follows:

Joseph S. Sparks (age) 30 Farmer (birth place) N.C.
Frances " 28 Wife Ga.
Fannie " 8 Daughter "
John " 6 Son "
George T. " 4 Son "
James " 2 Son "

Mr. Sparks states that there were also children named Joe, Frank, Davie,and Lillie; these were apparently born after 1880.

Mr. Sparks does not know the names of his grandparents and hopes thatsomeone can aid him in finding information regarding them. They wereprobably from North Carolina and moved to Georgia. They may have lived inArkansas at one time. He knows that his father had a brother named Isaac(Ike) Sparks who was in Seattle, Washington, at one time, and anotherbrother named Cal who operated a cotton gin in or near Waco, Texas. Therewas also another brother named Thomas. Three brothers were in the CivilWar.

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

Sparks Quarterly for December, 1963, Whole Number 44, pg. 779:

DEATH TAKESGEORGE WASHINGTON SPARKS OF PLEVNA, MONTANA

We regret to report the passing of George Washington Sparks on October10, 1963, in Plevna, Montana. Mr. Sparks had been a member of The SparksFamily Association since 1956. He was a son of Joseph Zachariah TaylorSparks (born August 28, 1845, in North Carolina, died about 1912) and hiswife, Melvina Frances Jane (McClain) Sparks (born December 26, 1850; diedDecember 25, 1931). Joseph Z. T. Sparks and his wife were married onAugust 25, 1869, probably in Georgia, where several of their childrenwere born. In 1879, however, they moved to McLennan County, Texas, nearWaco. At the time of his death in 1912, Joseph Z. T. Sparks was living inPeterburg, Oklahoma.

George Washington Sparks was born in the territory which is now the Stateof Oklahoma on July 4, 1888. He was married in 1908 to Bernetta A. Berry,who was born July 30, 1891, in Camden County, Missouri. Her parents wereMoses Grant and Sarah Ellen (Robertson) Berry. George W. and Bernetta A.(Berry) Sparks were the parents of the following children: (1) Herbert A.Sparks, born 1909; (2) Melvina V. Sparks, born 1911, died 1951; (3) LelliP. Sparks, born 1913; (4) Ernest L. Sparks, born 1918; (5) George A.Sparks, born 1921, killed in World War II in 1944; (6) Mary C. Sparks,born 1923; (7) James F. Sparks, born 1927; and (8) Robert E. Sparks, born1929.

[Here appears a photograph, beneath which is the following caption:]

Mr. and Mrs. George W. Sparks of Plevna, Montana taken in the autumn of1929.

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

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY for December 1988, Whole No. 144, pg 3324:

"George Washington "Colonel" Sparks, son of Joseph Z. T. and Sara M. F.Jane (McClain) Sparks, was born on July 4, 1888, in Petersburg, Oklahoma(Indian Territory). He was married to Bernetta Alma Berry on May 17,1908, in Petersburg. Bernetta was born on July 30, 1891, in CamdenCounty, Missouri, the eldest child of Moses Grant and Mary Angeline(Robertson) Berry. In September, 1909 "Colonel" and Bernetta Sparkschartered an immigrant car from Waurika, Oklahoma, to Baker, Montanawhere they homesteaded in the Lame Jones community, twenty-five milessouth west of Baker. Three families went together: The Sparkses, Mr.and Mrs. Ben Sheffield, and the parents of Bernetta, Moses and MaryBerry. The railroad car held their household goods, plows, wagons,horses, cows, and chickens. "Colonel" Sparks homesteaded the east halfof Section 10, Township 5 North, Range 54 East. Mr. and Mrs. Moses tookthe west half of the section. In an interview with Mrs. Sparks about theearly years in Montana, she described their first home. It was builtinto the bank, three logs high, and was about 28 x 40 feet. There was ashed over the door made of boards with a window in the south side. Therewere shelves along the walls of the dugout for storage.

They also built a dougout barn, and a chicken house was built in thesame way. They went to Baker once a year by wagon or sled to getsupplies for the following year. Bernetta said she was in Montana sixyears before she went to Baker.

Ranching and farming were the main occupations of "Colonel" Sparks,but he also did some mining. He discovered coal on his land, and in thefall and winter he sold coal to his neighbors and to the local school.His son, Frank, still mines this coal and uses it to heat his home andshops.

George Washington "Colonel" Sparks died on October 10, 1963, inPlevna, Montana. Bernetta died on April 18, 1983. Both were buried inthe Lame Jones Cemetary. They were the parents of eight children."

**********

Received the following email note from George Washington Sparks, Jr.(Sparky0311@@aol.com) on Aug 2, 2002 in answer to a request to verify thathis uncle Fred Sparks indeed married (2nd] Marie Permelia Hall when hewas almost 60 years of age (she was then 32) and fathered his lastchild, Jackie Barbara Ann Sparks when he was 68.

"Yes, my Grand Father Fred Sparks that was born in 1891 had a much younger
wife and did father his youngest child when he was 68 years old. TheSparks
family association did not show Permilia at all. I remember reading in the
books I bought from them it said Anna Wright died in NJ and it also saidmy
Grand Dad Fred Sparks never married again. That was wrong. Permilia was
murdered by her son in law who was married to my Aunt Nellie. His name was
Lester Crammer. Rosalie and Nellie also died from being shot by him. Allthe
girls went to church and were Christians. He was a drunkard. It is a longand
tragic story.
Yours Truly George Washington Sparks Jr."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822- 1865):
George Sparks & Alafair Chafin, January - -, 1858. (Box 3) He born inJohnson County, Kentucky, age 22, 1st marriage. She born in Logan County,Virginia, age 27, third marriage. Married by H. Moore, minister,Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

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

SQ 3858: "George William Sparks, probable son of Joseph and Marth a(Edwards) Sparks, was born about 1835 in KY. It seems quite likely thathe was the George Sparks who was married to Alafair (---) Chaffin inJanuary 1858 in Lawrence County. He was 22 years old; it was his firstmarriage; and he had been born in Johnson County, Kentucky. She was 27years old; it was her third marriage; and she had been born in LoganCounty, Virginia (now West Virginia). When the 1860 census was taken,they were living in Wayne County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Livingin their household in 1860 were four children; Margaret 10; John, 9;William H., 5; and Martha J., 2.

On September 2, 1861, George Sparks enlisted in the 5th RegimentVirginia Infantry, United States Army, and served until he was given amedical discharge on August 18, 1862. See the abstract of his pensionfile on page 3876 of the SPARKS QUARTERLY, copied below.

While we have no records to prove this statement, we believe thatGeorge Sparks and Alafair (---) Sparks were divorced about 1866. We alsobelieve that he was the George Sparks who was married to Rebecca C.(Ball) Burchett on July 7, 1867, in Carter County, KY. Rebecca had beenborn about 1837 and was a widow of James Burchett.

George and Rebecca moved to Clinton County, MO, shortly after theirmarriage. (He apparently left his children by his first marriage withtheir mother.) He made application for a Civil War Pension [see below]on May 19, 1877, but died on March 15, 1878, probably before any actioncould be taken on the request. Rebecca applied for a widow's pension in1890, and it was granted. She died on January 10, 1909. She and Georgeapparently had no children.

George Sparks apparently had four children, all by his first marriage.
a. Martha J. Sparks was born about 1859.
b. George Sparks was born about 1861.
c. William Sparks was born about 1864.
d. James Sparks was born about 1866.

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION
SQ 3876: George W. Sparks, probably a son of Joseph and Martha(Edwards) Sparks, was born about 1835 in Floyd County, Kentucky. He wasprobably the George Sparks who was married to Alafair (-------) Chaffinin 1858; his 2nd wife was Rebecca C. Burchett to whom he was married in1867 in Carter County, KY. He served in Company F, 5th Regiment VirginiaInfantry. File Designations: Inv. Appl. No. 236,476; Wid. Cert. No.162,907.

On May 19, 1877, George W. Sparks, age 41, a resident of Starfield ,Clinton County, Missouri, made application for an invalid pension . Hestated that he had enlisted in Company F, 5th Regiment Virgini aInfantry, at Ceredo, Wayne County, Virginia (now West Virginia), onAugust 10, 1861, and had been discharged on August 15, 1862. While inthe service, he had contracted the measles which had settled in hislungs. He also had been poisoned at Parkersburg, Virginia. He said thathe was 6 feet tall, that he had light hair, blue eyes and a faircomplexion. He appointed William P. Hooper as his attorney. Robert Balland Henry Ball witnessed him make his mark, and the
application was sworn to before George R. Riley, clerk of the ClintonCounty Court.

The War Department confirmed Sparks's military service on July 5 ,1877. He had enlisted at Camp Anthony, Ceredo, Virginia, on Septem ber2, 1861, in Company F, 5th Regiment Virginia Volunteers, to serve forthree years and had been given a Surgeon's Certificate of Disability atFort McHenry, Baltimore, Maryland, on August 18, 1862. According to theCertificate of Disability, Sparks had been born in Floyd County,Kentucky, and was a farmer by occupation. His disability was described as"chronic pneumonia."

George W. Sparks died on March 15, 1878, before final action was takenon his application.

On August 11, 1890, his widow, Rebecca C. Burchett, age 53, of DekalbCounty, Missouri, made application for a widow's pension. She statedthat she and Sparks had been married in Carter County, Kentucky, on July7, 1867, by the Rev. John Martin. She had been married under the nameRebecca C. Burchett. She and her husband had no children under the age ofsixteen at the time of her application. She appointed William P. Hooper,Plattsburg, Missouri, as her attorney. James Gibson and Louis W.Burchett witnessed her signature. Nothing was sent by the NationalArchives from her pension file to indicate what action was taken on thisapplication.

On March 20, 1895, W. H. Mocabee, clerk of the Carter County,Kentucky, Court, certified that there was a record of the marriage ofGeorge W . Sparks and Rebecca C. Burchett on July 7, 1867, in CarterCounty. The marriage had been performed by John Martin, M.E.C.S.

In May 1896, Aaron Fluty, age 68, and John Hobbs, age 69, bothresidents of Martin County, Kentucky, made a joint affidavit that GeorgeW. Sparks had never served in any war prior to his enlistment in 1861. Atthe same time, H. C. Ball, age 55, and Robert C. Ball, age 49 , bothresidents of Starfield, Missouri, testified that they had known RebeccaC. Sparks all their lives, and that she had not remarried after the deathof her husband , George W. Sparks.

The Bureau of Pensions issued Widow's Certificate No. 162,907 toRebecca C. Sparks. When she died on January 10, 1909, she was receivinga pension of $12.00 per month."

SQ pg 3420:

"George Winfield Sparks, son of Nelson and Peggy (Mauk) Sparks, wasborn on April 9, 1862, in that part of Carter County, Kentucky, whichbecame a part of Elliott County in 1869. As a young lad, he accompaniedhis father in the fall of 1874 to the village of Olive Hill where hisfather was shot and killed on Sunday, October 11th. George , then only12 years old, drove the team and wagon which hauled his father's bodyhome late that day. [JS: See SQ p. 3655 for the following correction:"George Winfield Sparks did not take the body of this father to his homeafter his father was shot and killed in October 1874. Instead, he stayedovernight in the home of a friend in Olive Hill."

"After the death of his father, George continued to live with hismother on the home place until his marriage on September 14, 1883 , toLucinda "Cindy" Sargent in Elliott County. She was born on March 25,1862, in Ohio County, Kentucky. We have not learned the names of herparents, both of whom died when she was quite young. She had a brothernamed Jesse Sargent, and she had two sisters, Kate and Eliza. GeorgeSparks was a farmer and lived on Mauk Ridge. He died on November 27,1932, and was buried in the Mauk Cemetery. Lucinda died on February 3,1939, and was buried at Olive Hill. She and George had six children."

See the photograph in his scrapbook that appeared on page 3656 of THESPARKS QUARTERLY.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, pg 4731:

"Georgia Belle Sparks was born on October 2, 1896. She was married toGeorge William ["Buck"] Edwards on November 30, 1910, in LawrenceCounty. Buck had been born in Virginia In 1889 and was a son of Thomasand Carrie (Ziegler) Edwards. Buck was a coal miner in West Virginia allof his working life. Georgia died on May 25, 1943, and Buck died onSeptember 17, 1962. They had six children. They were: Clyde Edwards,Eugene Edwards, George W. Edwards, Jr., Paul Edwards, Lawrence Edwards,and Bobby Wray Edwards. (See p. 2488 of the December 1982 issue of TheSparks Quarterly, Whole No. 120, for the obituary of Eugene Edwards.)

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4068: He was married to Eula Reynolds, and they had three children: Debra, Tamara, and Kathy. Gerald was married (second) to Carolyn Birch.

SQ p. 750:

"Gertrude Sparks, daughter of James S. and Alice M. (Davis) Sparks,was born July 16, 1891, at Douglas, Kansas. She is a graduate of HomeEconomics at Madison, Wisconsin. She taught in Fond du Lac, Wisconsinuntil June 1961. She is now [Sept 1963] retired and lives with hersister, Inez, at Eau Claire, Wisconsin."

.
!NOTES:
She was married to a man named Irvin.

SQ pg 3725: He was married to Milly Krause and they live in Portales,New Mexico (1991).

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3269: They had five children: Vernon, Zeno, Kenneth, Roland,
and Shirley Ann.

SQ p. 2652:

"Gladys Lacy Sparks, daughter of Buck and May Dora (Owen) Sparks, wasborn on August 31, 1894, at Chickasha. On December 25, 1914, she wasmarried to Zachary Taylor Fulmore, Jr. He was born on January 26, 1885,at Austin, Texas, and was a son of Zachary Taylor and Luella (Robertson)Fulmore. He died on August 10, 1959, at Los Angeles. Lacy died on April6, 1971. They had two children, Buchanan Sparks Fulmore and ZacharyTaylor Fulmore. Buchanan Sparks Fulmore has been most helpful inproviding information about the family of his colorful grandfather, andhe has furnished the picture of his grandparents on page 2651."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3701: She was married to a man named Russell.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had three children: Nadene, Cynthana, and Jame sGrant.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1973, Whole No. 82, pg 1573:
Green Sparks, youngest son of Elijah and Elizabeth (Weaver) Sparks,was born about 1808 in Indiana according to the 1850 census of DearbornCounty, Indiana. On May 26, 1835, he was married to Susan Hunt, who wasborn in 1818 in Indiana.
Records indicated that Green Sparks and his brother Norval, werebusiness partners, although in 1850, Green was listed as a farmer, whilebrother Norval was listed as a merchant. Green Sparks was listed asbeing worth $10,000 in real estate, a considerable accumulation of wealthfor a farmer at that time and in that section of the United States. In1837, the two brothers sold land jointly owned in Bartholomew County,Indiana. That same year, Green Sparks was elected to the LawrenceburghTown Council.
By 1860, Green and Susan (Hunt) Sparks were living in Muscatine City(Muscatine County) Iowa, where his occupation was given on the census ofthat year as "clerk"; his real estate was valued at $7,000. In 1870, hewas a furniture dealer in Muscatine County. With him, according to thecensus, were his wife, Susan, age 52, and daughters, Mary, age 32;Amanda, age 23; and Emma, age 14. We have no further record of GreenSparks.