.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3469: They had one child, Myron Sparks.

SQ p 5376:

Hugh Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was born in SurryCounty, North Carolina, on Aprii 15, 1829, and died in Glenn County,California, on December 20, 1858. These dates are found on his side ofthe large marble Sparks monument shown on page 5373. His brother, IsaacSparks, and his sister, Elizabeth White, share this stone with Hugh. Hewas living with his parents in Cass County, Missouri, when the 1850census was taken; his age at that time was shown as 21. In the settlementof his father's estate in 1854/56, he was one of the eight heirs whom hisbrother, Richard Sparks, was responsible for locating and conveying tothem their equal shares ($14.29) of their father's uncommitted estate. Wehave no other information regarding Hugh.

See notes for his sister Elizabeth (Sparks) White for informationregarding his death and photos of grave markers.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY September 2002, Whole No. 200, p. 5761:

Hugh Sparks, youngest child of Joel and Nancy (Blackburn) Sparks, wasborn in or about 1833. In his will, transcribed earlier, Joel had named
his 17-year-old son as heir to his land and personal property followingthe death or re-marriage of his wife, Nancy. Hugh was shown on both the1850 and the 1860 censuses of Wilkes County as living with his mother. OnSeptember 27, 1862, Hugh Sparks, age 30, enlisted in the Confederate
Army and was enrolled in Company C of the 13th North Carolina InfantryRegiment. He was captured by the Union Army on May 6, 1864, during theBattle of the Wilderness. He was taken to the Union Prisoner of War Campat Elmira, New York, where he died of chronic diarrhea on September 11,1864.

SQ p 4641:

"Hugh Sparks, son of Garrett and Betsy (Boggs) Sparks, was born about1834 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He should not be confused with arelative, Hugh S. Sparks, who was born in 1829, also in Lawrence County.Hugh was a sixteen- year-old lad who was living with his parents when the1850 census was taken of Lawrence County, but he was not in the familywhen the 1860 census was taken. Undoubtedly, the talk of a civil war inthe United States broke many family ties and Hugh's relationship with hisfamily may have been this kind of casualty. [When the compiler of thisarticle began his genealogical interest in the Sparkses of LawrenceCounty fifty years ago, he was told that Hugh Sparks, son of GarrettSparks, had gone to Kansas, unmarried, and had died while driving asupply wagon during the Civil War. It was not until 1990 that he learnedthat Hugh Sparks had not died during the Civil War, but had married andhad a family of five children]

"We have learned very little about the life of Hugh Sparks. All ofthe information that we have has been furnished by a descendant, Dr. PaulO. Madsen, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. According to Dr. Madsen,Hugh Sparks was married to Virginia Jane Elkins about 1863, probably innewly-formed West Virginia. She had been born about 1836 in Virginia,and her parents were natives of that state. She and Hugh had fivechildren, all born in Virginia. When the 1880 census was taken ofArkansas, the family was in Ruddell Township of Independence County. Wehave learned nothing further of Hugh. Virginia died in 1917 in HuntCounty, Texas."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 176, pp. 4758-60:

FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HUGH SPARKS
BORN ABOUT 1834 IN LAWRENCE COUNTY, KENTUCKY
SON OF GARRETT SPARKS
By Paul O. Madsen

"[Editor's Note: The June 1996 Issue of The Sparks Quarterly, WholeNo. 174, contained an article about Levi Sparks (1778-1851) of LawrenceCounty, Kentucky, and some of his descendants. Levi was the eldest sonof John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks and was a brother of George G. Sparks(1796-1879) whose life and descendants have been featured in the presentissue of the Quarterly.

"[Among Levi Sparks's grandchildren was Hugh Sparks, a son of Garrettand Betsey (Boggs) Sparks, who apparently left his home about 1860 andwas not heard of by his Lawrence County relatives until just a few yearsago. For this reason, much of Hugh's life is still unknown; however, itis gradually being pieced together by a descendant, Dr. Paul O. Madsen.Dr. Madsen has agreed to share the story of the life of hisgreat-grandfather, Hugh Sparks, as he has uncovered it so far. Dr.Madsen lives at White Horse Village, V-157, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania,19073.]

"Hugh Sparks, my great-grandfather, was born in 1834 in LawrenceCounty, Kentucky. His parents were Garrett Sparks and Elizabeth (Boggs)Sparks. (Garrett's name was also spelled Garred, Jarrett, Jarat, Jaared,etc.)

"Little is known of Hugh's early life. He married Virginia JaneElldns who was born in 1836 in Virginia. Extensive searching over aperiod of years In various archives has provided no information onVirginia Jane Elkins and her family. It needs to be remembered thatduring the years that are missing, there was substantial friction infamilies over those who related to the Union and those who related to theConfederacy. Records were lost and destroyed in the war years and theaftermath. This was also the period when the state of Virginia was beingdivided with the creation of the state of West Virginia. Thus, researchbecomes quite difficult.

"Hugh and Virginia Jane were married sometime in 1864 or perhapsearlier. Their first living child was Cynthia Anne Sparks (thegrandmother of the writer) who was born in Virginia on February 4, 1865.Her brother, Hugh J. Sparks, was born January 28, 1867, also in Virginia.

"The United States census records of Virginia and Kentucky for 1860and 1870 con-tain no information on Hugh Sparks. The 1880 census recordsprove that the family was living in Independence County, Arkansas, inthat year.

"The family had moved to Kentucky sometime between 1867 and 1870 forMargaret Sparks, the third child, was born in Kentucky, April 10, 1870.Sarah Sparks was born in 1874, also In Kentucky, and died in her teenyears. Adelaide Sparks was born February 8, 1876, In Kentucky. She diedon April 3, 1956.

"Cynthia Anne Sparks married Robert Franklin Goodman on January 3,1889. They had eight children. Hugh J. Sparks married Laura Etta Brookson February 6, 1889. They had five children. Margaret Sparks marriedNick Brooks on December 25, 1889. They had four children. The recordsIn Independence County, Arkansas, indicate that each couple was marriedby D. M. Tucker, an "ordained minister of the Gospel." The family homewas In the general vicinity of Batesville, Arkansas. Three weddings inone year in the Hugh Sparks family must have caused some excitement.

"Adelaide Sparks married Charles Gaston Crable, but information isscant for her and her husband. Her three children are deceased.

"The descendants of Hugh and Virginia Sparks are now widely separatedthroughout the United States. However, there Is a concentration ofdescendants in the Fort Worth, Graham, and Jean, Texas, areas. Variouscousins have repeated the same basic story to the writer about the exodusfrom Virginia, though there has been some variation concerning details.The basic story is that Hugh Sparks was a man with a temper. He becameembroiled In a dispute with a neighbor, presumably over a land issue,which ended in shooting. Two of the oral stories say that the shootingresulted in a death, but that cannot be confirmed. According to onefamily member who knew "Granny" (Virginia [Elkins] Sparks), the Elkinsfamily assisted Hugh and Virginia Jane in their leaving their home inVirginia, "on the condition that they would sever all ties" with thefamilies in Virginia. Virginia Jane told some of her family members inTexas that she always regretted that she had obeyed the family injunctionto sever all ties.

"The writer searched courthouse records in Batesville, Arkansas, andfound a tax assessment levied against Hugh Sparks for the following:

one poll tax
Two neat cattle (oxen) valued at $10 One mule, valued at $60
One hog, $1. 00
One wagon, $40
All other goods at $50 for a total of $166.22

"The record further indicated that he could not pay the poll tax. Thetotal taxes due were $286.75, which included three state taxes (generalfund, school and sinking fund). The county taxes were for generalpurposes, road and bridge work, and a new courthouse.

"Vital records in Arkansas and Texas yield no information on the deathof Hugh Sparks. Nick Brooks and Margaret (Sparks) Brooks had fourchildren. After Margaret's death, Nick then married Laura Goodman. Theymoved in 1906 to the Graham, Texas, area. Hugh J. Sparks, son of HughSparks, also moved to the area and was buried In Jean, Texas. TheGoodmans (Cynthia Anne Sparks) settled in the Alvarado, Texas, area whereCynthia Anne was buried.

"Virginia Jane (Elkins) Sparks died about 1917. Again, no deathrecord has been found. However, there are records that she went to WolfeCity, Texas, to be of assistance to her daughter who had influenza. Thedaughter survived, but Virginia Jane (Elkins) Sparks caught the flu inthat epidemic and died about that time. Family lore has it that she wasburied in a cemetery there. However, the cemetery records that containthe records for her daughter and her family do not yield any informationon Virginia Jane.

"Genealogical research is often interesting and, more often,frustrating. The writer found in his early research that the name LauraBrooks was in records, but in such a way that there were discrepanciesthat left one completely bewildered. There was a major difference in therecorded ages of each woman. It was also obvious that each Laura Brookswas a part of the family, somehow, though one was not of the direct bloodline. The answer was found when the marriage records mentioned abovewere studied carefully. Margaret Sparks, sister to Cynthia Anne, marriedNick Brooks. Thus, Nick Brooks was the brother-in-law of Cynthia. Nickhad a sister, named Laura Brooks, who married Hugh J. Sparks, brother ofCynthia and Margaret. Margaret died after a few years. In the meantime,Cynthia Anne had married Frank Goodman and became the step-mother toLaura Goodman. When Margaret (Sparks) Brooks died, Nick Brooks thenmarried Laura Goodman, and she became Laura Brooks thus accounting forthe two Laura Brookses. Nick now had a wife and a sister each namedLaura. Cynthia Anne, who had been a sister-in-law to Nick Brooks, nowfound herself in the position of being the step-mother to his wife.

"Since Nick Brooks had married Margaret Sparks and Hugh J. Sparks hadmarried Laura Brooks, the children were double cousins, being relatedboth through the maternal and paternal sides of the family. When NickBrooks married Laura Goodman, their children became half-cousins to thechildren of Laura (Brooks) Sparks and Hugh Sparks.

"Extensive information is available on the various branches of thefamily in the succeeding generations."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 2002, Whole No. 200, pp. 5758-59:

Hugh Sparks, born about 1836; he was married three times: 1st to MaryHankins, daughter of Robert Hankins; (2nd) to Patsy Hankins, also a
daughter of Robert Hankins; and (3rd) to Mary Ellen (Harman) Whitt. We donot have dates of Hugh’s marriages, but by one or more of them, based onthe 1880 census of Tazeweil County, he appears to have had the followingchildren: (for which see their individual sheets).

See SQ p4855:

"Hugh Sparks, son of Wes and Nancy (Kozee) Sparks, was born on April23, 1856. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Rose Anna["Lady"] Gilbert about 1874. She had been born about 1856 and was adaughter of Thomas Gilbert. She and Hugh had five children before herdeath, which occurred about 1890. Hugh was married (second) to MalindaStephens on June 14, 1896, in Elliott County. She had been born in April1873. Apparently, she and Hugh had no children."
"Hugh Sparks was shown as head of his household on the 1880 census ofElliott County, but when the 1900 census was taken, he was in BoydCounty. He was back in Elliott County in 1908, according to a schoolcensus. We have found no record of his death. By his first marriage hehad five children."

See SQ p4855:
"Hugh Sparks was born on July 20, 1874. He was married to CynthiaAlafair Fannin on January 1, 1894, in Elliott County. She had been bornin August 1877 and was a daughter of Alfred Fannin. Alafair (as she wascalled) and Hugh lived near Hurricane, Kentucky. He died there in 1949,and Alafair died there in 1961. They were buried in the Hugh SparksCemetery on Wallowhole Creek. They had nine children. They were:Malinda Jane Sparks, Emily S. Sparks, Greenville Sparks, James Sparks,John Wesley Sparks, Bird Sparks"

SQ p. 4639:

"Hugh H. Sparks was born on September 17, 1867. A relative statesthat he became a minister; however, no proof has been found that this istrue. He was shot and killed by a cousin while he was a young man. Asthe incident is remembered, Hugh and his cousin, Nathan Gambill, wereriding home at night when they met Milton Caudill, a close friend ofHugh. An argument ensued and lasted until the trio reached Gambill'shouse, where Gambill went in and got his gun. He was ready to shootCaudill when Sparks interposed himself in an effort to shield his friendand was shot by Gambill. Sparks died on June 28, 1892."

Hugh Henry Sparks was born in June 1882. He was married to Lyon. He waskilled in a mining accident.

See SQ p 4857:

"Hugh "Hewey" Thadius Sparks was born on March 1, 1901. He wasmarried to Emma Lee Skaggs on April 28, 1927. She had been born on June20, 1907, and was a daughter of Phillip and Lizzie Ann (Coffee) Skaggs.Hewey was an oil-well-pumper. He and Emma were members of the Big BlaineUnited Baptist Church. He died on November 30, 1971. Emma died on May13, 1985. They were buried in the Morton Sparks Cemetery at Blaine,Kentucky. They had one child, Lucille Ruth Sparks."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY June 2002, Whole No. 198, p. 5682:

There was another Cearley marriage in this branch of the Sparks family ofwhich we have record--that of Huldah Melissa Sparks, daughter of HardinJ. and Elizabeth (Thomas) Sparks. Huldah Melissa, born July 18, 1855, inUnion County, Georgia, was married there to Donithan (or Donathan)Cearley on June 15, 1871. Donithan Kinsey Cearley had been born onFebruary 6, 1852, in Union County, Georgia, and died on March 17, 1937,at Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio. Huldah Melissa died at Hamilton onSeptember 13, 1940. Their graves are in the Greenwood Cemetery atHamilton.

As noted earlier, George W. Sparks had either accompanied or followed hisolder brother, Hardin Sparks, from their home in Yancey County, NorthCarolina, to Union County, Georgia, on the eve of the Civil War. Theywere sons of Allen Sparks (ca.1798-1849) and grandsons of Benjamin Sparks(1769/70-1850). See the article on Benjamin Sparks and his familybeginning below.

Hardin J. Sparks, born about 1818, was mentioned by name in the 1849 willof his father, Allen Sparks, who designated him to be one of theexecutors of his estate. There his father spelled his oldest son's nameas either Hardin or Harden. He was called "Hardy Sparks" by the 1870census taker; a descendant once believed his name was "Hardy." This mayhave been a nickname.

The children of Donithan K. and Huldah Melissa (Sparks) Cearley were:

Tilton Cearley, born about 1877 Elsie Cearley, born about 1879
Cora Elizabeth Cearley, born March 15, 1881
William Starling Cearley, born 1888
Loney Dovie Cearley, born August 5, 1889
Catherine M. Cearley, born February 21, 1890
Mary Rowena Cearley, born May 7, 1891
John James Cearley, born July 24, 1898
Lola Cearley, born March 3, 1901
Herbert Wade Cearley, born September 28, 1902
George Hubert Cearley, born September 28, 1902

THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Dec 1991, Whole No. 156, pps 3850-53:

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON THE FATEOF HUGH S. SPARKS
by Paul E. Sparks.

[Editor's note: A number of years ago, Dr. Paul E. Sparks, presidentof our association, prepared a record pertaining to hisgreat-grandfather, Hugh S. Sparks. Paul wrote this for members of hisimmediate family, but your editor has obtained his permission to publishit here and thus share the story with a larger audience. Not only doesthis provide a fascinating glimpse of the horrors of the Civil War but italso illustrates how persistent research into the lives of our ancestorscan sometimes solve family mysteries of long ago.

[Paul learned part of this story from his grandfather, Colby Sparks,who was born on September 22, 1857, at Mount Savage, Carter County ,Kentucky, and who died on June 3, 1951, at Louisa, Kentucky, at the ageof 93. He was a son of Hugh S. Sparks and Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks. Aphotograph of Colby and his wife, Martha (Chaffin) Sparks, with theirson, James William Sparks (born January 18, 1880), appears on the coverof this issue of the SQ.

[Paul believes that neither his grandfather, Colby Sparks, nor any onein his immediate family, ever knew what had become of his father . Paulhas written: "Many years ago, a person not related to the Sparkses toldme that he well remembered how Colby (my grandfather) and Hugh Sparks(Grandpa's brother) went to West Virginia once to 'track down' a rumorthat their father was alive and living in a remote section of that state."

[A brief autobiography of Dr. Paul E. Sparks appeared in the QUARTERLYof December 1956, Whole No. 16, pp. 183-84. A record of his branch ofthe Sparks family appeared in the QUARTERLY of December 1955 , Whole No.12. Hugh S. Sparks, Paul's great-grandfather, and the subject of thefollowing account, is noted there on page 102; he was born on May 21,1829, and was a son of George and Nancy (Short) Sparks.]

"Most of you who will receive this paper will remember that ourgrandfather, Colby Sparks, told us many times about his experiences as asmall boy during the Civil War. What some of you may not know, however,is that prior to his death, Grandpa and Aunt Rose wrote his memoriesdown. A copy of her notes, typed by our cousin, Margaret Graham Thomas,was sent to me recently. After doing some research, I have changed mymind about the fate of our great-grandfather, Hugh S. Sparks.

"Our great-grandfather, Hugh S. Sparks, participated in the Civil W aras a soldier in the Confederate States Army. Grandpa was fond ofrecalling incidents that happened when his father would come home fromthe war. His last remembrance of his father was when he rode away inFebruary before peace was made, and never returned. Grandpa died in 1951without knowing what had happened to his father.

"After grandpa's death, I wrote to the National Archives to see if anymilitary records could be found of Hugh S. Sparks who had served in the5th Regiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry, Confederate States Army. Ireceived the following information, most of which I have shared with youpreviously:

Hugh S. Sparks was present for duty in Company C, commanded by Capt.Hiram Hawkins, from October 19, 1861, to June 30, 1862. On February 4,1862, he was promoted to First Sergeant. He was captured by Union forceson September 1, 1862, in Lawrence County, and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio.Three weeks later he was transferred to Cairo, Illinois, where he was putaboard the river steamer, The Emerald, and taken to Vicksburg,Mississippi. He was exchanged there on November 1, 1862. No furtherrecords of him have been found.

"At this point in my search, I concluded that Hugh Sparks never didreturn to his family, nor to Lawrence or Carter Counties. Thisconclusion, I am now convinced, was incorrect. New evidence has beenfound that proves that he did, in fact, return to his family and that ,in all probability, he was killed in the guerrilla warfare that markedthe Civil War in eastern Kentucky. I have tried to fit this newinformation into a proper sequence to share with you. I have also triedto fit in the recollections that Grandpa dictated to Aunt Rose.

"On or about December 15, 1862, a party of Rebels, possibly members ofField's Company of Partisan Rangers, captured four Union soldiers (ormore probably Union sympathizers) at Sink Roberts' farm on Cat Fork ofBlaine Creek. As Grandpa described the incident, those men "were fourmore noted characters, viz., Hi Huff, Wash Shelton, James Ross, and MintBall, who were not Union soldiers, but claimed the Union side. They (theRebels) took them by way of Dry Fork to Bruin, a tributary of LittleSandy. Those boys never came back."

"Grandpa continued his tale: "Shortly after this, father and I werepassing where they were buried. Father sang, `Ha! Ha! Ha! Don' t yousee me now crying to free the niggers, when the Rebels pulled thetriggers, and sent you on your way to the happy land of Canaan. ' Whilefather sang, he had me dance on their graves."

"Official records confirm Grandpa's story. These men were capturedand taken to the head of Wells branch, a narrow hollow near the placewhere Lawrence, Carter, and Elliott Counties come together. There theywere shot to death and stripped naked. Their bodies were placed in ashallow mass grave and covered with flat rocks. Several days later, onDecember 30, 1862, the bodies were discovered. After the discovery,Ross's body was taken away and reburied in the Boggs Cemetery on CainesCreek in Lawrence County. The other bodies were reburied on Wells Branchin unmarked graves.

"Note that this incident took place on or about December 15, 1862 .This was about six weeks after Hugh S. Sparks had been exchanged as aprisoner-of-war at Vicksburg. For this reason, I am now convinced thathe did return to his family in Carter County.

"Why were these four men killed? The primary reason, of course, wasthe enmity and hard-feelings caused by the Civil War. It was also saidthat these men were responsible for the arrest and imprisonment of someof their neighbors. At least one of the men was known as a thief and forhis "general cussidness." Al four, according to Grandpa, were "notedcharacters."

"Hiram Huff had enlisted in the Union Army, but had been dischargedbecause of poor eyesight. He had returned home and had joined anorganization called the Home Guards. He was wanted for counterfeiting inJohnson County, Kentucky. Wash Shelton was a constant companion of Hufffrom the outbreak of the war until their deaths. James Ross lived atFielden, Kentucky. He and James Minton Ball were said to have been ontheir way to enlist in the army when they were killed.

"We can only guess about the role that Hugh Sparks played in thesekillings. Quite certainly, he knew of the killings and where the bodieshad been buried. We have no way of knowing whether he participated inthe killings or not. We can be sure that he felt a bitter hatred towardsthese men, as Grandpa's memories show, or he would not have treated theirdeaths so callously.

"On March 16, 1863, Hugh Sparks joined Field's Company of PartisanRangers in Lawrence County. Three months later, at the June 1863 term ofthe Carter County Circuit Court, he and his brother, John W. Sparks,along with ten other men, were indicted by the grand jury for stealing ahorse from H. Easterling which was valued at $4.00. Of course, there wasno trial. That fall, on October 16, 1863, his brother John W. Sparks,was captured in Magoffin County and sent to the prisoner-of-war camp atJohnson's Island, Ohio, where he was kept until the end of the war.

"In January 1865, Field's Company of Partisan Rangers was reorganizedas Company M, 10th Regiment Kentucky Cavalry, Confederate States Army.The regiment was furloughed at the same time and many of the men returnedto their homes. It seems quite likely that Hugh Sparks was home inFebruary 1865, just before peace was made, as Grandpa remembered.

"The final piece of evidence pertaining to the fate of Hugh S. Sparkscomes from Dr. Nelson T. Rice of Blaine, Kentucky, and a Union soldierduring the Civil War. A short time before his death, Dr. Rice told amember of the Ross family that David Ross, a Union soldier and a son ofJames Ross who was killed on Wells Branch, had shot and killed a Rebelsoldier named Sparks. Although the killing may have been for revenge, itwas also an official act, for in early 1865, Union troops in Kentuckywere ordered to kill Rebel Guerrillas on sight without mercy. It isestimated that Federal forces in eastern Kentucky exterminated three ormore guerrillas per month in this way.

"We have searched the military records of the persons named Sparks inthis section of Kentucky who fought on either side in the Civil War. Tothe best of our knowledge, Hugh S. Sparks was the only Sparks who servedin this conflict whose whereabouts we cannot account for after the warended. Little wonder that Grandpa and his brothers never found theirfather nor learned what had happened to him."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 176, pp. 4725-6:

"Hugh S. Sparks, son of George G. and Nancy (Short) Sparks, was bornon May 21, 1829, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Some descendants say thatthe Initial "S" stood for Stokes, but no record has been found to confirmthis statement. A relative also said that he went to Mississippi when hewas a teen-age lad and spent a few years there, returning to Kentuckyabout 1850.

"Most of the information that we have of Hugh Sparks has come from hisson, Colby Sparks, by word of mouth. Colby was almost eight years oldwhen his father left home to return to his unit in February 1865, just ashort time before the end of the Civil War. Colby remembered that he wasa handsome man with black hair and mustache, a fair complexion, and aready smile.

"Hugh Sparks was married to Nancy Curnutte on April 10, 1852, inCarter County, Kentucky, by Daniel Carroll, a Baptist minister. She hadbeen born on October 7, 1834, and was a daughter of William and Polly(Berry) Curnutte. Hugh and Nancy began housekeeping near the village ofMount Savage in Carter County where he worked in the iron industry as acollier. When the 1860 census was taken, they had four children.

"Hugh acquired a Bible, printed in 1857 by the American Bible Society,in which he recorded the births and deaths of members of the family. Thelast entry he made in the Bible was the birth of his son, Hugh Sparks,Jr. in 1862. The Bible is now in the possession of agreat-great-grandson, Colby Sparks.

"The first child of Hugh and Nancy was born in 1853. The birth leftNancy feeling poorly, and a younger sister, Elizabeth Curnutte, came tohelp with the baby and take care of the house. She was afifteen-year-old girl and promptly fell In love with her brother-in-lawand became pregnant. She gave birth to a son in 1855, an event that Hughrecorded in the Bible. She and her son were living in the Sparkshousehold when the 1860 census was taken. (See Item E, 7, below.)

"The activities of Hugh Sparks during the Civil War have been told Inan earlier issue of The Sparks Quarterly and will not be retold here.Evidence points strongly to his death in the spring of 1865 as a guerillain eastern Kentucky, probably in Lawrence County. After his sons weregrown, they made a trip to West Virginia to try to find him, but theyfound nothing. (See the December 1991 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No.156.) [JJS: Reproduced above]

"Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks made some effort to keep her family togetherafter the war ended and her husband did not return. When the 1870 censuswas taken of Lawrence County, she was shown as head of her household inthe lst Precinct. She was 35 years old and was described as"housekeeper." With her were her children: Elizabeth Sparks, 17; JamesSparks, 14; Colby Sparks, 12; George Sparks, 10; and Hugh Sparks, 8.

"Shortly after the 1870 census was taken of Lawrence County, Nancy(Curnutte) Sparks gave birth on September 7, 1870, to her seventh child,a son whom she named William.

"Billy Sparks, as he was called, grew to maturity in Lawrence Countyand was married there to Elizabeth ["Lizzie"] Sammons in 1888. She hadbeen born on March 11, 1868, and was a daughter of Joel and Anna (Copley)Sammons. Billy and Lizzie lived on Yellow Creek in southeastern LawrenceCounty where Billy was a farmer and a Baptist preacher. They had twelvechildren: Nora, Gertrude, Effie, Joel, George, Rosa Bell, Charlie,Lindsey, Bennett, Blanche, Maud, and Ella. Billie died on April 7, 1947,and Lizzie died on November 6, 1963.

"Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks was married to Bobby Stewart about 1877, andthey moved to Iowa where they stayed about three years. Bobby became illand Nancy brought him back to Kentucky. They apparently separatedshortly after their return, and Nancy then made her living byhousekeeping for others. She also stayed one time or another with one ofher children. She was taking care of an elderly couple on Morgans Creekin Lawrence County when she died on June 19, 1913. She was buried in theColby Sparks Cemetery."

SQ pg 3409: They had five daughters: Virgie, Clemmie, Ruby, Sue ,and Ruth Barker. She was raised by her aunt, Sarah Margaret (Sparks)Bair (7024) and uncle George W. Bair.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4459: They had three children: May, Roy, and William H. Jr.

See the SQ, p. 2550:

IDA B. SPARKS

Ida B. Sparks, oldest daughter of Frederick B. and Mary E. Sparks, wasborn on February 25, 1857, in
Oldham County, Kentucky. She married Lewis A. B. White, who was born onApril 7, 1858, in Lovington,
Illinois, on February 10, 1878. Soon thereafter they moved to EdwardsCounty, Kansas, where he
located a homestead. They accumulated considerable property and built anice home. He had been
born in Illinois. He was a farmer and stock trader and was an active man.From the farm, they moved to
Kinsley, Kansas, the county seat, in order to give their children abetter education. From there they
moved to Butler County where they lived for several years.

I do not remember Uncle Lou, as we all called him; if I ever saw him atall, I must have been very young.
But I do remember Aunt Ida. She was slender built, and I know she kepthouse for her son, Earl, when he
was farming down at Elkart, Kansas. Aunt Ida lived to be 99 years and 6months of age. She died at her
home in Kansas City, Missouri, in August 1956. She was buried in Mt.Washington Cemetery, in
Kansas City, Missouri.

The names of the children of Lewis A. B. and Ida B. (Sparks) White were:(See their family sheets)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1964, Whole No. 47, pp. 830-34:

"THIS IS MY LIFE
by
IDASPARKS VENTER (1867-1964)

"(Editor's note: In the September, 1959, issue of The SparksQuarterly, we published two letters written in 1867 by William H. Sparksfrom Missouri to his brother back in Indiana [See notes for William H.Sparks]. A few months after the second letter was written, William H.Sparks and his wife, Mary Jane, had their fourth child, whom they namedIda Elizabeth. She grew to womanhood, married Frederick William Venter,and lived to be ninety-six years of age. Not long before her death onMarch 16, 1964, Mrs. Venter wrote a sketch of her life. Her daughter,Mrs. Jewell Venter Frieze, has kindly consented to our publishing ithere. Mrs. Frieze also loaned us her parent's wedding picture to use onthe cover. Speaking of her mother in a recent letter, Mrs. Frieze wrote:"Mother remarked a year or so ago that she had lived during the walkingstage to the space stage. She adjusted nicely to the many changes andalways took the attitude that things happen for the best.")

"I was born December 18, 1867, the 4th child of a family of fourteen.My parents, William Henderson Sparks and Mary Jane Sale Sparks, incompany with my grandparents, Hiram and Margaret Mitchell Sale, came toMissouri in the fall of 1866--one year after the close of the Civil War.They settled on a farm in the edge of a wood about three miles north ofOsceola, in St. Clair County, near Caliniper Creek.

"The living quarters consisted of two large log rooms and a lean-tokitchen. Each room had a big fireplace. My parents occupied one ofthese rooms, in which I was
born. When I was about four years old, my father bought a small farm onthe prairie three miles away to which he moved his family, now numberingsix. I attended my first year of school at High Hill, one-half mileaway. I well remember my first day in school. My teacher, Mrs. CynthiaWhite, called the beginners to her desk to teach them the A B C's inWebster's blue back speller. I refused to go, and lay down on the slabbench and cried. She came and petted me, showed me her little pearlhandled knife. We became good friends and I learned the alphabet quiterapidly. I went to school at High Hill for six years, and have fondrecollections of my school days there--playing games at recess and noonhours and gathering big bouquets of Johnny-jump-ups,of which the schoolgrounds were thickly carpeted. During these eight years, the family hadgrown to nine.

"Mother and Daddy had a hard time to keep the wolf from our door.Daddy collapsed while fighting a prairie fire and was never a well managain. He had a shoe cobbler's set of tools and made us shoes out of thetops of old boots given to him. (I was ten before I had a pair of storeshoes.) Mother spun the wool into rolls of yarn and knit stockings untilmidnight many a time. I learned to knit, too. She wove blankets andlinsey for our dresses. I sometimes wound shuttles for the loom andwould stand at one end to catch the shuttle when mother was weaving. Shelater bought brown domestic and colored it with sumac berries and walnuthulls for school dresses. The seam down the back was bias. I complainedthat it sagged. Daddy said,, "You ought to be glad for something to hideyour nakedness."

"As there was only one boy to six girls, I helped in the field a lot,planting and gathering corn, shocking wheat and hay, planting and diggingpotatoes, harrowing, etc. One happy occasion was in the fall after ahard frost when Daddy would hitch up to the wagon and we would go aboutfive miles to Horshoe Bend on the Osage River where groves of hickorytrees grew. We would gather a wagon bed almost full of nuts. They werelarge nuts, and we enjoyed eating them along with apples around thefireplace on cold winter nights. When the meal barrel got empty, Daddywould pick out the nicest white ears of corn and pile them on a blanketin the middle of the floor around which we all gathered and shelled cornfor the grist mill. A biscuit for breakfast was a rare treat. Some ofus slept in the attic which we reached by climbing a ladder. Sometimeswhen it snowed, it sifted through the roof on our beds. We were thrilledat Christmas time to get an orange or a stick of red striped candy.

"When I was six or seven, I would go down to stay several weeks withGranny Sale and Uncle Bub during the summer. She would give me lumps ofbrown sugar as candy, which was scarce in those days. I can yet recallthe odor of her wooden cupboard. Grandpa died when I was a year old.There was a Negro family near her house, and she often had Aunt Hannah towork for her. She baked the best pound cakes I ever ate. She would takeGranny's laundry home with her and bring it back. I would watch for hercoming up through the woods with a bundle of clothes on her head. Shewould take me on her lap and call me "Honey." I don't know what became ofher. My Granny was the tiniest, sweetest old lady! She died when I wasfourteen, at the age of seventy-seven,and was buried in the LandakerCemetery. One of my happiest remembrances was at Christmas time whenDaddy would put the wagon box on the big horse sleigh, fill it with cleanstraw, over which Mother spread a comforter, load us all in, and then"over the hills and through the woods to Grandmother's house we'd go!"

"When I was twelve, Father sold our little home and rented a farm fortwo years. I would baby-sit and help with household chores at fiftycents a week for neighbors and go to school. After two years, Fatherbought another farm where we lived until I was around twenty. I joinedthe New Light Christian Church and was baptized in the Osage River onOctober 16, 1886, with fourteen other young people. Some of my happiestrecollections are associated with this period of my girlhood. We hadspelling matches, Sunday night singings, apple and peach cuttings, andplay parties.

"We would peel and out fruit until the baskets were empty, then clearthe floor for Old Dan Tucker, Skip-to-my-Lou, Old Jim Lane, etc., gamesof forfeit, button and snap. Happy, carefree days of yore!

"When I was twenty, Father sold our farm, had a sale of all ourpossessions and moved to Bay Center in Washington Territory--it became astate while we were there. Brother Harrison was a school teacher and hada school out there. Sister Allie (Alice) was married, so that lefteleven of us children to go with our parents to that frontier countrywhich was so different from "Old Missou" but the change was aninspiration to me. Oh! what a task it was for Mother to prepare for themove.

"I got work at five dollars a week soon after we landed, so did Rosa,Ella, Ettie, and Laura, earning enough to pay our fare. I worked for myroom and board while I attended high school at Oysterville. I took theteacher's examination and got a certificate, taught two terms with onlyfive in the district. I also taught twelve Indian children at BayCenter. I formed some very dear friendships during our stay there, andtwo proposals of marriage, but refused (they were fine boys); I loved theWest, such a lovely climate, energetic people! Bay Center was an oystershipping center.

"Father couldn't adjust himself to the western country with no kind ofconveyance but by water, and the climate, so in a year and a half we cameback to Missouri. He insisted on my coming back. The trip on theColumbia River was a delightful one. It called to mind a passage fromBryant's Thanatopsis: "Where rolls the Oregon and hears no sound save itsown dashing."

"When we returned to Missouri, I immediately entered WeaubleauChristian College for one year, passed the teachers' examination, andrated a first grade certificate. I taught one term at the Dermy SchoolHouse, then returned for a spring term at Weaubleau. I heard of a schoolin the Cole District, so one hot day in July, Brother Charlie and I wenton horseback to see about it, making the trip of twenty miles in oneday. I rode on a side saddle the entire journey. They hired me. Hereis where I first saw my future husband. As I stood in the school housedoor ringing the bells a gay young guy came dashing up in a buggy anddeposited two fine looking school girls whom he had overtaken on his roadhome from Cobb. I did not meet him that winter as he left for college atWeaubleau.

"I taught at Cole School the next winter and boarded with Mrs. Venter(F. W.'s mother). Then our romance began. One evening in October wewere standing under a lilac bush tree when, on gazing up, I spied a lilacbloom. He broke it off and handed it to me--ever since, the lilac hasbeen my favorite flower. Our courtship lasted a year and a half. Ilived at Lowery City at that time, and he came to see me often. Once herode a mule. A little boy seeing him pass said, "He sat up so straightthat he looked like he had a board at his back." I taught two more termsof school, then on March 14., 1895, we were married.

"Fred began building our little yellow house near the Venter Bluff thewinter before we were married. The neighbors asked what he was buildingand he said a hen house. Our wedding day was a cold, bleak day. Conradand J. T. (Tayo) came up with Fred to attend the wedding as the onlyguests. Brother Shackleford read the ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Several ofthe young came that night and brought musical instruments. The next daywas Friday, the 15th, and it was a bright, sunny day as we drove in abuggy to my future home. I taught that spring at Cole School and tookthe path over the bluff that was strewn with flowers. I taught at HardScrabble (Green Valley) the next winter and drove old Baldy for two mileshitched to a two-wheel cart and most froze on the cold days.

"The next winter, I taught at Black Jack about two miles south. SaoRiver was between our place and the school house. I walked to the river,got in a small boat, rowed across, tied up the boat and walked one-halfmile to the school house. I enjoyed that school more than any other. Butit was very hard on me to teach, keep up my house work, do my laundry,etc. The doctor advised me to quit teaching and I did.

"After we were married five years, our first baby was born on March28, 1900. We named her Jewell Fern and we thought her a jewell indeed.When I helped her daddy at the sorghum mill, I would put her in the bigclothes basket under a shade tree. She would sleep or sit for hours at atime, guarded by our dog, Major. Poor kid! On March 14, 1902, ourspringtime fairy made her debut. She was so like a little spring bloomthat we named her Vernal Fay (which meant "Springtime Fairy") . Her daddyhad counted on a boy. When Jewell was four years old and Vernal two,their Grandmotber Venter died at the age of sixty-nine. Their GrandpaVenter had died in 1888. They are both buried up on the hill, back ofour old home. Two weeks after their Grandmother Venter died., theirGrandfather Sparks died, so they remember only their Grandmother Sparks,who passed away three years later.

"Often we would stroll along the Venter Bluff on Sunday afternoons. Wewould go also up on the hill to gather flowers where an old Indian pathcould be seen. There was a spring called the Prairie Spring at the footof the bluff. A drainage ditch made by Negro slaves could be seen here,too. We had preaching once a month and Sunday School every Sunday atRiver View where to took them. I was a charter member of the UnionChurch which was quite active. The girls attended River View Schooluntil they were fifteen and thirteen. During the year of 1911-12 Daddyand John Stauffer made a large wooden clock with a dial 10 feet across.They placed it in the big red barn and painted the face on the gable endof the barn. Two weights weighed 75 pounds and the gong could he heardto ring a mile away. It burned when the barn burned in 1917.

"In 1915, having lived twenty years in the little yellow house "underthe bluff" we sold off our stock, implements, household goods, and wentto Roswell, New Mexico, where we lived for nearly two years. We drovedown there in a Maxwell car, camping out at night. Roswell was abeautiful city, situated in the heart of a vast desert. It had goodschools and churches. The girls both entered high school. Daddy ran hisMaxwell car as a taxi. The night before we got to Roswell, there camethe worst hail and wind storm I ever experienced. The wind raised theback of the tent, left one pole standing. The hail piled in on the haybed we had made. We cleared enough dry hay for the girls (to have) abed. Dad and I sat up, fearful of another cloud burst. We drove intoRoswell the next morning and rented an apartment at 305 North Kentucky.There were some Bottomless Lakes three or four miles east where we wouldgo for picnics. Our little black dog, Nero, was poisoned and was buriedout in the flower- covered desert.

"We had rented our farm to Freddy Venter, and they kept writing for usto come back and look after it. So on a bright morning in June, 1917, weset out in our new Dodge for Missouri. The trail led through a vastdesert with no habitation in sight. The desert was carpeted withflowers. Cactus of all hues met our eyes. Reminds me of Thomas GraytsElegy in a Country Churchyard: "Full many a flower is born to blushunseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air." We arrived home inJune. We rented an apartment in El Dorado Springs and started the girlsto school where they graduated, went on to Columbia to the University andgraduated from there four years later. I think their girlhood days werevery happy. Mean-while, Daddy built and ran a garage. The girls bothtaught school and Jewell did office work, too. They were baptized andunited with the El Dorado Christian Church in 1917.

"The first break in our family circle was made in 1930, when KennethMcCall, a fine young fellow, asked for the hand of our daughter, Vernal,whom he met while both were teaching in Portales, New Mexico. They weremarried in August, 1930. Our lives were made fuller when our threedarling grandchildren were born. Some eight years later, Jewell met herfuture husband in the refined and respected person of Zola Frieze, whomshe was fortunate to marry in 1938. Though their home has beenchildless, she has spent much of her time caring for others. Two bettersons-in-law were never known.

"In July, 1945, after we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary,Daddy decided he could no longer carry on his beloved business, which hehad run for over thirty years. He sold out the garage, equipment, andrented the building to Mr. Price. The next February, he became bedfast.We took him to Springfield to St. John's Hospital where he died on March6, 1946. This was the darkest day of my life. Only those who have losta beloved companion can ever know how empty life can be. That was my"Gethsemane." But one has to go on, and I was blessed with two dear,devoted daughters and grand, understanding sons-in-law, who have caredfor me ever since and have made life fuller and happier than most womenenjoy who have been bereft of the one who shared their joys and sorrowsof their declining years. our sunset days together are but pleasantmemories. "God gave us memories that we might have roses in December."It is true, some of the roses of memory have sharp thorns, but time andage, to some extent, blunt their sharpness."

(Ida E. Venter passed away on March 16,, 1964, at the age of ninety-sixyears. She is buried in the El Dorado Springs City Cemetery beside FredW. Venter, her husband, in the north-western portion of the old section.Many oak trees are nearby.)

Received the following from Mrs. Kay Sloan, (jmsloan@@gower.net) . Sheis the first cousin of Diane (Sparks) Arnold, daughter of Harry F.Sparks. See his notes for a full rendition of her enclosure: "childrenof John A. Sparks were Harry Sparks and Mrs. J. N. Martin. " It islikely that the initials were that of her husband, Mr. Martin. We haveno more on this daughter now.
Later I did receive a marriage bond between J. N. Martin and IdaMaxwell Sparks, the full name of the daughter of John A. and Angha(Hancock) Sparks.
Birth estimate and other information was taken from that bond. Seemarriage notes for details.

Information on Marriage Bond of J. N. Martin and Ida Maxwell Sparks:

Principals on the bond: J. N. Martin and J. L. Lewis.
Date of Marriage: December 26, 1917
Place of Marriage: Morganfield, Ky.
Groom: John Nathaniel Martin
Bride: Ida Maxwell Sparks
Age of Husband: 39, single
Age of Wife: 26, single
Race: White
Husband's place of birth, Webster County, Ky., Residence, Morganfield,Ky.
Wife's place of birth, Morganfield, Ky. Residence, Morganfield, Ky.
Names of Parents of Husband: S. W. Martin, Union County, Ky.
Francis Hardwick,Union County, Ky.
Names of Parents of Wife: John A. Sparks, Union County, Ky.
Angie Hancock, UnionCounty, Ky.
Occupation of Husband: Circuit Court Clerk
Occupation of Wife: Teacher

Marriage Certificate:
Date of Marriage, December 26, 1917
Place: Morganfield, Union Co. Ky.
Witnesses: John Sparks and Mrs. John Sparks.

!Marriage Bond: Issued 25 December, 1917, J. L. Lewis of Morganfield ,Kentucky was surety. John's occupation was Circuit Court Clerk. I da'soccupation was teacher. His parents were S. W. Martin of Unio n County,Ky, and Francis Hardwick of Union County, Ky. Her parent s were John A.Sparks and Angie Hancock, both of Union County. Joh n was born inWebster County, Ky, and Ida in Morganfield, Union Count y, KY. Thewitnesses to the marriage were John Sparks and Mrs. Joh n Sparks, herparents.

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

"Idris Sparks, daughter of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks was born onDecember 7, 1815, in Georgia. She was married to Lewis Underwood inTallapoosa County, Alabama, on March 18, 1836. She apparently dieda,short time later, for Lewis Underwood married her sister, Milly, inSeptember, 1837."

The following appears in the SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1999, WholeNo. 187 pp. 5231 and relates to the 1860 Census of Titus County, Texas:

Titus County,Texas --1860 Census
Post Office: Lone Star
Page 167. Census taken by Wm. M.. S. Houghton on August 14, 1860
394-394
Name Age Sex Occupation Born
Weeks, J.S. 23 (M) Farmer $1,000 - $926 IL
" Louisa 21 (F) AL
Sparks, John N. 24 (M) Waggoner $640 - $385 AL

The John N. Sparks shown as a "Waggoner" living in the J. S. Weekshousehold (page 5231), was a son of James Brooks and Mary Ann (Cook)Sparks. His full name was John Napoleon Sparks; he was born in 1836 atTecumseh, Georgia, not Alabama as shown on this 1860 census . The Weekshousehold in which he was living in 1860 was that of his sister, IdrisLouisa Sparks, and her husband, John W. Weeks . He served in theConfederate Army in the Civil War; see his Confederate pension file onpage 2673 of the September 1984 issue of the QUARTERLY cited earlier. Fora biographical sketch and a record of his children, see p.2655 of thissame issue.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3725: She was married to Virgil West.

SQ p. 750:

"Inez Davis Sparks, daughter of James S. and Alice M. (Davis) Sparks,was born July 24, 1894, at Goodfield, IL. She is a graduate of theUniversity of Minnesota at Minneapolis. She is a teacher of psychology,with the rank of full professor, at the Wisconsin State College at EauClaire, Wisconsin [as of Sept. 1963]."

See SQ pg 1972:
"Eldon Sparks, born August 10, 1848. Although he seems always to havegone by the name Eldon, he was apparently named Ira Eldon--the fact thathe had an uncle named Ira Sparks perhaps accounts for his use of hismiddle name. He was married sometime after 1894 to Leona ----- who was awidow with a daughter named Cora. According to an obituary of LeonaSparks published in 1943 "she was a teacher in the Chadron schools in1894 at the time when she attended the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. T. C.Hornby. It was at the time of the wedding that she met Mr. Sparks andthey were married a year or so later."

"Eldon and Leona Sparks had one child, a daughter named Eldene Sparkswho married Harold Hawkins; she died on January 16, 1964. Eldon Sparksdied on May 20, 1943 at the age of 96, in Seattle, Washington; his wifedied a week later on May 27, 1943; she was 78 years old.

"As is noted in the sketch of the life of his brother, Allen Sparks(below), Eldon Sparks was associated with Allen Sparks in business inNebraska and South Dakota and again when they moved to Seattle in 1905."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3411: They had one child: Samuel Joel Sparks.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3691: He was married three times. His first marriage was t oMatilda Robinson by whom he had two children: Adolphus and Russell . Hissecond marriage was to Bertie Cowell by whom he had seven chil dren:Harold, Darrel, Ruby, Audrey, Erba, Ronald, and Joseph. His th irdmarriage was to Lina Boley by whom he had two children, Erma an d Eugene.

SQ 177: Article is an early summary of the family of Matthew ("theelder") (256) who is brother to William IV (199). He is called the elderto distinguish him from his son Matthew (529) ("the younger") and Matthew(334), son of William IV. Isaac is one of the youngest of Matthew theelder' s 13 children. The article mentions Isaac as follows: "IsaacSparks, as was stated above, was living in Carrroll County, Tennessee,in 186O... (pg.178) In a letter written by his niece, Beddie C. Smith(daughter of Bailey (538) Sparks), in 1899, appears the followingstatement: 'When I was a child old Uncle Mathew (529) Sparks made hishome with his brother, Isaac, but spent much of his time with Father andMama.' "

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SQ 3O64 is an article about Abel Sparks (366), a grandson of Joseph(344) who was a brother to William II (202). It states on page 3064:"Isaac Sparks and his wife Sarah were received into the Mars Hill BaptistChurch [located in Clarke County, Georgia] "by letter" at about the sametime as Abel--on April 14, 1804. Isaac and Sarah were "dismissed byletter" on March 15, 1806 (i.e. they were given a letter to present toanother Baptist Church showing that they had been in good standing at theMars Hill Church.) However, on October 18, 1806, "Brother Isaac and wifeSarah [were] Excluded for disobeying Church." We feel certain that thisIsaac Sparks was a son (probably next to the youngest ) of Matthew andSarah (Thompson) Sparks who were among the first members of the Sparksfamily to move from Frederick County, Maryland, to Rowan County, NorthCarolina. A sketch of the family of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparkswas published at pp. 556-66...There can be little doubt that as membersof the Mars Hill Baptist Church, Abel Sparks and Isaac Sparks were wellacquainted, even though they were rather distantly related. (Sarah, wifeof Isaac Sparks, was his first wife; she was a daughter of William Nuttof Clarke County who named Isaac Sparks as his son-in-law in his will of1818. After her death, Isaac married Wilmoth Noland or Knowland.")

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

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

"Isaac Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, was born on July 15,1780, in what was then Wilkes
County, North Carolina, but is now Ashe County. He died about 1869 inCarroll County, Tennessee. He had been three or four years old when heaccompanied his parents and a number of his siblings in their move toGeorgia. He was married in or about 1804 in Clarke County, Georgia, toSarah Nutt, a daughter of William Nutt. Sarah died. between 1806 and1808, and shortly thereafter Isaac was married (second) to Wilmoth Noland(also spelled Knowland and Knowling) , daughter of James Noland and asister of Martha Noland, who was married to Isaac's brother, BaileySparks. Isaac was the father of twelve children. See the present issue ofthe QUARTERLY, beginning on page 5621, for an article about Isaac Sparksand his family."

Pp 5621-5630:

Isaac Sparks (1780-ca,1767)

Son of Matthew andSarah Sparks

"Much of the introduction to the biographical sketch of Bailey Sparks,beginning on page 5611, also pertains to his brother, Isaac Sparks, andwill not be repeated here. As noted, there were only 14 months'difference in the ages of these two brothers, Bailey having been born onMay 3, 1778, and Isaac on July 15, 1780. Their oldest brother, JohnSparks, had been born 25 years before Isaac Bailey and Isaac being sonearly the same age may account for the close friendship that they appearto have enjoyed throughout their lives; they even married sisters.

"Isaac Sparks was born on his parents' 400-acre tract of land in whatlater became Ashe County , North Carolina, although at his birth , theSparks home was still within the county of Wilkes . Wilkes County hadbeen created from Surry County in 1777, and it was not until 1799 thatAshe was cut off from Wilkes. At its creation, Ashe County was describedas "that part of Wilkes County lying west of the extreme height of theAppalachian mountains. " Today it borders Grayson County, Virginia, onthe north and Johnson County, Tennessee, on the west.

'Isaac Sparks's parents had moved from the Forks of the Yadkin, now partpf Davie County, North Carolina, to their 400-acre tract of land inWilkes County in 1775, but it had not been until November 5, 1778, thatMatthew Sparks had obtained an actual title to it from what was thenstill the Colony of North Carolina. In his warrant , the tract wasdescribed as "...on the north side of New River, beginning on LittleNaked Creek. " (The text of the initial survey of Matthew's land wasincluded in the article devoted to him in the QUARTERLY of June 1961,Whole No.34.)

'Isaac Sparks was the eleventh child born to his parents , a fact thatwas even noted in a biographical sketch of his son, Isaac H. Sparks,published in 1891/2. The twelfth and last child of Matthew and SarahSparks was also a son (their tenth) , named Hardy; he was born on May 23,1783. His mother was then either 43 or 44 years of age.

'We can be sure that , as an adult , Isaac Sparks retained few if anymemories of his life in North Carolina, for he had scarcely reached histhird birthday when the Sparks family moved south to Georgia. SarahSparks was doubtless thankful that there were older children , includingtwo daughters, to assist in caring for their youthful siblings duringwhat must have been a tiresome journey . We will not repeat here theevents of Georgia's Oconee War that engulfed the family , even resultingin the murder of the father when Isaac was only 13 years old. Theseevents were outlined in the preceding article on Bailey Sparks. We dohave, however, a reference to Isaac when he was only five years old.

'This early incident in Isaac's life is mentioned in a letter written byBettie C. Smith, a granddaughter of Isaac's brother, Nathan Sparks(1775-1844). This letter was published, with an analysis, in the articledevoted to Nathan in the QUARTERLY of De cember 1995, Whole No. 172,pp.4574-77. As noted there, Bettie Smith (whose maiden name had beenElizabeth B . Sparks) , stated that she had heard the family storiescontained in her letter to a nephew, from "Old Matthew Sparks"(1759-1841), who had been the second oldest of the ten sons of Matthewand Sarah Sparks . Referring to a time in Georgia when the famIly got upone morning to discover that all but one of their horses had been stolenby the Creek Indians , Bettie wrote : " . . . they started for the fort,twenty-five miles bareheaded...Uncle Isaac was five years old, andbrother & sister swung (him] by his arms all the way." If Bettie Smith'smemory of "Old Matthew's" account was correct , this incident must havehappened in 1785 or 1786. It is also in Bettie Smith's letter that welearn the circumstance under which Isaac's father, Matthew Sparks, theelder, lost his life in 1793: "He went out to kill a turkey one morning,and was shot by Indians. "

"When the Sparks family had settled in Georgia in 1783/84, their land waslocated within a huge county created in 1784 called Franklin . Before1784, it had been known as part of the "Cherokee Lands." The Sparkseslived in that part of Franklin County that was cut off to from JacksonCounty in 1796. Then, in 1801, they found themselves in Clarke Countywhen the portion of Jackson County in which they lived was cut off toform this new county. A tax list for Clarke County is extant for theyear 1802. Isaac Sparks, as well as his brothers, Jesse and William,being white males over 21, were taxed simply as polls, but Isaac wastaxed, also, for owning land. We have no record of his acquiring thisland, however. In 1875, long after the Sparkses had left the area, thecounty of Oconee was created from Clarke County.

"On June 1, 1799, a Baptist church was organized at what was called MarsHill in that part of Jackson that became Clarke County and is OconeeCounty today. The original minute book of Mars Hill Baptist Church isstill extant; it was transcribed a number of years ago by Frances WestReid and placed in the D. A . R. Library in Washington, D.C. From thisminute book, we learn that on April 14, 1804, "Isaac Sparks and Sarah,his wife" were received into membership "by letter . " This should meanthat they had earlier been members of another Baptist congregation thathad recommended them as being in good standing. The minute book does not,however , reveal the congregation to which they had formerly belonged .

"Isaac Sparks was 23 years of age when he was received into the Mars HillChurch. It is obvious that he had been married to Sarah before April 14,1804. No record of their marriage has been found, however, and it is onlythrough the will of Sarah's father, dated June 15, 1818, that we canidentify her as a daughter of William and Jane Nutt. William Nutt calledIsaac his son-in-law in his will, although we believe that Sarah had diedbefore her father.

'The Mars Hill Baptist Church minute book contains another entry undermembership dated only four days after the entry for Isaac and Sarah beingreceived "by letter." This entry simply reads: "March 18, 1804, IsaacSparks, Member before this. " It would appear that, therefore, it hadbeen only Sarah's membership that had been "by letter" following hermarriage to Isaac . Then , on September 14, 1804, Isaac Sparks was"Dismissed , " without explanation. A year and one half later, on March15, 1806, an entry in the minute book reads: "March 15, 1806, IsaacSparks & wife Sarah, Dismissed by letter. " Such action in the Baptistdenomination normally means that the couple was about to move away fromthe Mars Hill area and were given a letter to introduce them to anotherchurch as being in good standing. However, an entry dated October 18,1806, reads: "Brother Isaac Sparks and wife Sarah, Excluded fordisobeying Church." No later reference to Isaac or Sarah is to be foundin the Mars Hill Baptist Church membership records.

"Another member of the Sparks family appears in the Mars Hill BaptistChurch membership records . This was Abel Sparks who was "Received byexperience" on March 18, 1804. Abel Sparks was a son of Solomon and SarahSparks of Surry and Wilkes Counties, North Carolina. Abel Sparks'sgrandfather, Joseph Sparks, who had died in Frederick County, Maryland,in 1749, was a brother of Isaac Sparks's great-grandfather, WilliamSparks, Jr. , who had died in Queen Annes County in the 1730s. Thus,Isaac Sparks and Abel Sparks were second cousins, once removed . Despitetheir rather distant relationship, Isaac and Abel obviously knew eachother as fellow members of the Mars Hill Church, although Abel had notmoved to Clarke County from North Carolina, before at least 1802. (For adetai ed record of the life of Abel Sparks, see the QUARTERLY of June1987, Whole No. 138, beginning on page 3062.)

"In 1803, a land lottery was sponsored by the state of Georgia toencourage settlement in its new counties of Baldwin, Wayne, andWilkinson. Although the final drawing of winners did not take place until1805, the rules applied to participants as of 1803. This lottery entitleda bachelor over 21 to one draw, if he were a citizen of the U.S. and hadlived in Georgia for at least one year. The same residency requirementsapplied to Others , but a married man , with or without children , wasentitled to two draws . Women were excluded except widows with one ormore minor children--they were also entitled to two draws. A minororphan, or family of orphans, with father and mother dead or remarried,was entitled to one draw. In Baldwin and Wilkinson Counties, the size ofthe lots to be won was 2O2 1/2 acres; in Wayne County, the size was 490acres. There were five subsequent land lotteries in Georgia, but only forthat dated 1803, but not drawn until 1805, have the names and residentcounties been preserved; only the names of the winners of subsequentdrawings have been preserved. Seven persons named Sparks were registeredin Clarke County for the first drawing. (Note that this was the county inwhich the Mars Hill Baptist Church was located until Oconee County wascut off in 1875.) One of the seven was listed as "Garrot Sparks," butother records prove that this was an error; it was intended for "GarrotSpinks." The remaining six were:

Abel Sparks 2 draws
Isaac Sparks 2 draws
Jesse Sparks 2 draws
Sarah Sparks 2 draws
Theophelus Sparks 1 draw
William Sparks 2 draws

'Abel Sparks was, as noted earlier, a second cousin, once removed, fromIsaac Sparks and his brothers, Jesse and William. Sarah Sparks was thebrothers' mother, widow of Matthew , who had been killed in 1793; shewas entitled to 2 draws because in 1803 her youngest son , Hardy Sparks,was still under age 21. We have not succeeded in identifying TheophelusSparks, obviously unmarried, since he had only one draw; he could havebeen a son of William Sparks.

"The only winner from Clarke County in the 1803/05 drawing was IsaacSparks. He won Lot #25 in District 5 of Baldwin County, 202 1/2 acres.This part of Baldwin County was included in the formation of MorganCounty, Georgia, in 1807.

"Although the purpose of the 1803/05 Lottery was to attract settlers tothe three counties listed above , the winners were not required actuallyto occupy the land they received. So it was quite legal for Isaac Sparks,on November 2, 1806, to sell half of his Baldwin County lot to a mannamed William Mothershead, who was described in the deed (Book B, p.369)as "of the State of South Carolina." Mothershead paid Isaac $200 for the"one hundred and one and one-fourth acres. " The witnesses were WilliamNutt and James McLeroy. William Nutt was probably Isaac's father-in-law,and we know that Sarah's sister was called Catherine McLeroy. We have notfound a record of his sale of the other half of his lot .

"In Georgia, a wife was expected to sign the deed for selling land withher husband , thus acknowledging her agreement for the sale andrelinquishment of her dower right to the land. The fact that Sarah (Nutt)Sparks did not sign this deed with Isaac may mean that she had died by1806.

"By 1810, Isaac Sparks had moved to Humphreys County, Tennessee. On May29, 1810, he was
commissioned a lieutenant in the 38th Regiment of the Tennessee Militiafrom Humphreys County. (See
Records of Commissions in the Tennessee Militia, 1796-1811, compiled byMrs. John Trotwood Moore,
1947.) A Water muster roll has also been preserved showing that onJanuary 12, 1812, a company of militia was formed by a Capt. William Teascomprised of settlers in the two adjoining counties, Humphreys andHickman, "for the protection of the frontier of West Tennessee." BothIsaac and Bailey Sparks were members of Capt. Teas's company at the timeof its organization.

"We believe , but cannot be certain , that Isaac Sparks was a widowerwhen he moved to Tennessee. It was relatively soon after settling inHumphreys County that he was married to Wilmoth Noland , daughter ofJames Noland, also a resident of Humphreys County. At about the sametime, perhaps in 1807 or 1808, Bailey Sparks was married to Wilmoth'ssister, Martha Noland. From the census records of 1850, 1860, and 1870,for which census takers were instructed to record the names of allpersons in every household, with their ages as of June 1st. of the censusyear and their places of birth , it appears that Wilmoth had been born inor about 1790 in Tennessee. Isaac was thus ten years her senior.

"In the biographical sketch of Bailey Sparks (page 5615 of the presentissue of the QUARTERLY), appears an abstract of a deed dated September10, 1832, proving that Wilmoth and Martha Noland were daughters of JamesNoland , who had died before the making of this deed. With this deed,Jesse Noland, probably a brother of Wilmoth and Martha , purchased fromthem , as well as from another sister named Elizabeth, wife of HenryEpperson, these three sisters' shares of inheritance of James Noland'sland in Humphreys County, for a total of $170 .

'The earliest census taken in Tennessee was that for 1820. Both Isaac andBailey Sparks were shown as heads of households in Humphreys County . Thebrothers were shown in the 26 to 45 age category, as were their wives.Isaac was credited with five children in his household: 1 male between 10and 16; 2 males under 10 years; and 2 females also under 10 years.

'There is a record that on April 11, 1818, Isaac had received a grantfrom the state of Tennessee for a 10-acre tract of land in HumphreysCounty. (See "General Grants #11418, Book T, p.834.) On January 9, 1822,Isaac sold these 10 acres for $60 to Thomas Epperson; both men wereIdentified in the deed (Book C, p.317) as of Humphreys County . The tractwas described as " on Hurricane Creek of Duck River" and adjoining landowned by James Mercer. The witnesses were Benjamin Noland and HenryEpperson. Then, on June 29, 1822, Isaac sold to WIlliam Lain, also livingin Humphreys County, a tract of 100 acres also located on the east sideof Hurricane Creek. (Humphreys County Deed Book C, p.177.) We have notfound a record of Isaac Sparks acquiring this tract. There were four menwho witnessed this deed: James Teas, John Lain, Rheuben S. Harman, andThomas Epperson. There can be little doubt that Isaac Sparks's reason forselling his land in Humphreys County was his intention to move west tothe newly created Carroll County, Tennessee, formerly part of the state's"Western District." (Benton County, cut off from Humphreys County in1835, now lies between Humphreys and Carroll Counties.)

"When the 1830 census was taken in Carroll County, Isaac's brothersBailey and Hardy, were also shown
heading households there, as was their nephew, also named Isaac Sparks, ason of their much older brother, Nathan Sparks (born 1775). Nathan Sparkswas then living in Wilson County, Tennessee. On the 1830 census, as inmost other documents of the period when the "uncle Isaac" and the "nephewIsaac" were both living in Carroll County, they were distinguished fromeach other, when named in the same document, by being called "IsaacSparks, Sr." and "Isaac Sparks , Jr . " While this usage of senior andjunior for other than father and son of the same name can be confusing tothe family historian , it was not unusual in the 19th century simply touse the terms to distinguish between an older and a younger person withthe same name, regardless of the relationship, if any.

"In this sketch of Isaac Sparks, born in 1780, we will continue to referto him simply as Isaac, while his nephew will be called Isaac, Jr. As wasnoted in the sketch of Isaac, Jr. in the QUARTERLY of December, 1995,pp.4542-54, he became a prominent dealer in land, resulting in many deedsInvolving him being recorded in Carroll County, Tennessee . In thesedeeds, "Jr." was rarely added to his name unless his uncle was alsomentioned. The result is that one has considerable difficulty identifyingthe relatively few deeds that pertain to the elder Isaac, unless he wascalled "Sr." We do know, however, that Isaac (the elder) owned and livedon land located on Gwens Creek in Carroll County , and that it borderedMarlsboro Road .

By 1830, Isaac and Wilmoth had nine living children who were enumeratedin their household by the census taker, 5 sons and 4 daughters. After the1830 census was taken, two more daughters were added to their family.

"From the enumeration of Isaac's household when the 1840 census wastaken, we learn that only their eldest son, William N . Sparks , had lefthome by then.

"In her 1899 letter , noted earlier in this article, Bettie Smith ,daughter of Nathan Sparks , recalled that her
grand-uncle , "old Matthew Sparks," lived with his brother , Isaac, whenshe was a child. This was Matthew Sparks, Jr. (1759-1841), who appears tohave been living with Isaac and Wilmoth as early as 1832, the year inwhich he applied for his Revolutionary War pension. A Carroll CountyCourt record dated September 14, 1832, reads:

This day came Matthew Sparks Into open court and filed hisdeclaration proofs, &c. in order to get
a pension as a Revolutionary Soldier according to Acts of Congressand was qualified to same
accordingly.

"As part of the 1840 general population census, a record was made ofRevolutionary War pensioners and where they were living. Matthew Sparkswas listed as 79 years old and a member of the household of Isaac Sparksin Carroll County. The 1840 census was also designed to tabulate theoccupations of males in each household who were 16 and over. The censustaker who visited Isaac's household noted that there were four members"engaged in Agriculture. " These four were probably Isaac, him self, andhis sons named J. H., Bailey N., and Jesse P. Sparks.

"In 1849, Isaac Sparks obtained from the state of Tennessee a grant of212 1/2 acres of land in Carroll County (Entry No. 240). We do not have acopy of this grant, but when the son named Jesse P. Sparks sold his shareof it , an undivided 8th part , following his father's death , it wasnoted in the deed that it adjoined a tract of land that had been grantedto James Dinwiddie. (Carroll County Deed Book P, pp.539-40.)

"It was on the 1850 census of the United States that, for the first time,the name, age , and place of birth , were included for all members ofevery household , along with the value of any land that they owned , andther occupation of males who were 16 and over. Isaac was shown as 67years old (he was actually 71), a native of North Carolina, and a farmerwith real estate valued at $1,000. The census taker, a man named C . C .Hurt, recorded Wilmoth's age as 36, and a native of Tennessee. Wilmothwas actually 60 years old in 1850; if Mr. Hurt was guessing at ages in1850, we must assume that Wilmoth had retained her youthful appearanceafter bearing eleven children. Seven of Isaac and Wilmoth's children werestill at home in 1850 , including their widowed daughter, Sarah Tyson,age 28, with her 4-year-old son, Isaac S. Tyson. Their other six childrenat home were: Bailey N. , 33 (he also owned land valued at $60); JesseP., 27; Isaac H., 21; Ann J., 24; Wilmoth, 19; and Mahala T., 15. Thethree sons were all shown as "Farming. "

The 1860 census included a bit more information regarding families thandid that of 1850, including the name of their post office and the valueof personal estate as well as real estate. The post office for IsaacSparks's family was shown as Macedonia, with his real estate now worth$3,000, and his personal estate, $2500. (In a gazetteer published in1850, Macedonia was described as a "post village , 108 miles west ofNashville, and 793 miles from Washington, D.C.") Two sons of Isaac andWilmoth were still living at home in 1860, Bailey N., 45, and Jesse H.,33, as were Ann , 35, and Sarah Tyson , 37, who was called "in dwelling"by the census taker, with her son, Isaac Tyson, now 12 years old.

"It is from the deed dated July 31, 1867, by which Isaac and Wilmoth'sson, Jesse P. Sparks, sold to J. L.
Seawright , his share of his father's land, that we know that Isaac haddied prior to this date. When the 1870 census was taken, Wilmoth Sparks,Isaac's widow, was living with her unmarried son, Jesse P. Sparks, age45. Wilmoth's age in 1870 was given as 70 although she was more nearly80; she was shown as Keeping House .

"Isaac Sparks did not leave a will, and no administrator of his estatewas appointed by the Carroll County Court until the July 1871 Court term,perhaps because his widow did not request a settlement. When anadministrator was finally appointed, it was Isaac Sparks, Jr., Isaac'snephew , who agreed to serve. Unfortunately, no other document pertainingto the estate has been preserved , according to a search by the CarrollCounty Court clerk a number of years ago.

"We have not discovered the date that Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks died,although there is a document preserved by the Court that her estate'sadministrator, Moses T. Sparks , a son of Isaac Sparks , Jr. , submitteda final settlement on November 21, 1881. Among his expenditures, MosesSparks noted the expenditure of $13.00 for her coffin, paid to G. W.Rogers. Another item was $4.50 paid to "Gilbert &. Stofle, Burial Bill."The "amount In administrator's hands [on] November 21, 1881, was$246.39," in personal estate for division among Wilmoth's heirs.

"The eleven children of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks were thefollowing:"
[JS Note: For information concerning these children, see theirindividual sheets.]

SQ pg 4552: (For photo of Isaac and Jane Sparks, see SQ pg 4554.)

"Isaac Sparks, Son of Nathan and Nancy (Hancock) Sparks, was born onJune 25, 1805, in Georgia. He was probably named for his uncle IsaacSparks, and he has been identified incorrectly several times as hisuncle's son because he was designated as Isaac Sparks, Junior, on manyrecords. (While "junior" was/is often added to the name of a son havingthe same name as his father, it was used frequently in the past simply todesignate a younger person, perhaps a nephew or cousin, bearing the samename as an older person in the community.)

"Isaac was a small boy when he accompanied his parents to Tennesseeabout 1807. It was there that he grew to maturity.

"On September 30, 1824, Isaac sparks was married to Orpha (or Orphah)Thompson in Wilson County, Tennessee, by James Lester, a justice of thepeace. The license had been issued on September 27 1824, and Isaac'sbondsman was John Major. Orpha had been born on June 17, 1806 , and shewas a daughter of Moses and Elizabeth (Suddeth) Thompson . Shortly aftertheir marriage, Isaac and Orpha moved westward about one hundred mileswhere they settled in Carroll County, probably near Isaac's uncle, IsaacSparks, Senior. They may have settled on the 40-acre tract of land thatIsaac had received as a gift from his father on November 5, 1829. Whenthe 1830 census was taken, Isaac and Orpha were shown with two children,a boy and a girl, born between 1825 and 1830.

"Although Isaac's father, Nathan Sparks, lived most of his life inWilson County, Isaac spent his life in Carroll County. He was quiteactive in the affairs of the county. He was appointed road overseer bythe Carroll County court on March 15, 1831; on March 10 1834; and inNovember 1837. He was also a well-to-do farmer and was involved in thebuying and selling of land for nearly three decades. He was a member ofthe Masonic Lodge and of the Presbyterian Church.

"(The Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church is located on Clear Creekin Carroll County, Tennessee, and as far as can be learned, wasestablished in 1825. It was a part of the Cumberland Presbyterian Churchthat came into existence about 1800-1825 when its members disagreed onthe method of ordaining its ministers. A cemetery is a part of thechurch grounds and a rather large number of Sparkses and theirdescendants are buried there. Several of the descendants of NathanSparks became Presbyterian ministers.)

"Orpha (Thompson) Sparks, wife of Isaac Sparks, died on February 6 ,1842, in Carroll County and was buried in the Shiloh CumberlandPresbyterian Church Cemetery. She left Isaac with five small children.About 1843, he was married (second) to Jane L. Donnell. She had beenborn on August 25, 1817, in Tennessee, and was a daughter of Adreck (?)Donnell. She and Isaac had one child, James Nathan Sparks, born about1844. She had inherited a one-sixth share of her father's estate, and onOctober 16, 1848, she and Isaac sold her share of a 245 acre tract ofland, formerly belonging to her father, to John W. Winn for $300.

"When the 1850 census was taken of Carroll County, the census takervisited the household of Isaac Sparks on November 5, 1850. He recordedIsaac's age as 45; his occupation was that of a farmer, and he owned realestate valued at $4,500. Jane's age was recorded as 33. With them wereElizabeth E. Sparks, 22; Rachel E. Sparks, 19; William M. Sparks, 16;Moses T. Sparks, 14; and James N. Sparks, 6. Also living in thehousehold were Isaac's nephews, Nathan L. New, age 18, and Pleasant S.New, age 16, sons of Isaac's sister, Eady (Sparks) New, who had died in1836. Isaac Sparks had been appointed as guardian of the two boys.

"As mentioned above, throughout his life, Isaac appears to have beeninvolved in buying and selling land. It is estimated that he was a partyto a dozen or more transactions; however, the record is not clear,because of the difficulty of distinguishing him from his uncle, IsaacSparks, Senior. The last transactions that he made were probably thedisposals of 388 acres of land to his children. To son, William M.Sparks, he sold 120 acres; to son Matthew T. Sparks, he sold 100 acres;and to his daughter, Nancy (Sparks) Melear, he sold 168 acres. Eachchild paid Isaac $1,500.

"All of Isaac's children had left home when the 1870 census was takenin Carroll County. He and Jane lived near the village of Huntingdon. Hewas then described as a farmer with real estate valued at $10,000. Hedied on February 27, 1878, and was buried in the Shiloh CumberlandPresbyterian Church Cemetery. His tombstone was inscribed with a Masonicemblem and the following words:

Sleep, father, dear and take thy rest,
God called thee home. He thought it best.
It was hard indeed to part with thee,
But Christ's strong arm supporteth me.

"Jane (Donnell) Sparks survived her husband for twenty years, dying onJanuary 16, 1898. she had made a will on July 3, 1893, in which shenamed the following: Her son: James N. Sparks; her sister, Bettie A.New; Her nieces: Helen L. Gordon and Mary Jane Blaylock; Heirs of IsaacSparks, deceased: W. M. Sparks, M. T. Sparks, Nancy Melear, Bettiesmith, Elvitta Thomas, and James N. Sparks. Executor: A. C . Gordon,nephew by marriage. Witnesses: H. L. Kemp and J. W. Hamlin.

"This will was probated on February 7, 1898, at the Carroll Count yCourt. Jane (Donnell) Sparks was buried beside her husband in th eShiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cemetery. See further referenceto their tombstone inscriptions in SQ pg 4931."

See SQ pp. 4667-69 for additional photographs including the ShilohChurch, Carroll County, Tennessee; William Matthew Sparks (1833-1889) anda photo of Ella (Sparks) Gordon, Lonnie T. Sparks (1879-1944), WilliamEdmund Curtis Sparks (1872-1948), and Samuel T. [Sammie] Sparks(1866-1947).

SPARKS QUARTERLY , December 1990, Whole No. 152, pg 3692:

"Isaac Sparks, son of Hardy and Mary Sparks, was born about 1814 i nTennessee and was quite probably named for his father's brother of thesame name. (On several records, he was designated as "Isaac Sparks,Junior" to distinguish him from his uncle.) He had reached manhood whenhis parents moved to Lafayette County, Mississippi. It was probablythere that he met and was married to Frances Ann Higginbotham about1838. She had been born about 1819 in Louisiana. Their first child wasborn in the spring of 1840 just prior to the taking of the 1840 census.They owned one slave when that census was taken.

"Isaac and Frances continued to live in Lafayette County where he wasa farmer and when the 1850 census was taken, they had five children.Sometime prior to 1860, however, they decided to move to Texas, and whenthe 1860 census was taken, they were in Red River County in thenortheastern part of that state. Isaac died in Wood County, Texas, onOctober 30, 1872. We have not learned anything further about Frances.They were the parents of eight children."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1999, Whole No. 187, p. 5228, forthe 1860 census of Red River County, Texas:

Red River County,Texas --1860 Census
Post Office: Clarksville
Page 60. Census taken by Wm. P. Cornelius on June 11, 1860.
38-38

Name Age Sex Occupation Born
Sparks, Isaac 46 (M) Farmer TN
" Frances 35 (F) LA
" William 20 (M) Farmer MS
" Mary 18 (F) MS
" Joseph 15 (M) Farmer MS
" Sarah 13 (F) MS
" Augustus 9 (M) MS
" Martin 7 (M) MS
" Lucy 4 (F) MS
" Willis 2 (M) MS

Note: The census taker failed to fill in the blank spaces for the valueof Isaac's real estate and personal estate. He was the owner of twoslaves; he was not shown as having a "slave house" for them . They wereenumerated as follows:
Age Sex Color
1. 25 (F) M
2. 4 (F) B

Isaac Sparks, born about 1814 in Hickman County, Tennessee, was a son ofHardy and Mary Sparks. A sketch of Isaac's life and a record of hischildren was included in the article entitled" Hardy Sparks(ca.1782-ca.1855) Son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, in theQUARTERLY of December 1990, Whole No. 152. The section on Isaac and hisfamily extends from page 3692 to 3701. Isaac's mother, Mary Sparks (bornabout 1790) is believed to have been a daughter of Isaiah Hale, an earlysettler in Hickman County, Tennessee, but we do not have documentaryproof of her parentage . Hardy Sparks had been born in Wilkes County,North Carolina, but was carried as an infant by his parents to nearpresent-day Athens, Georgia, where Hardy's father, Matthew Sparks, waskilled by Indians in 1793. Hardy Sparks, with brothers Jesse, Isaac,Bailey, and Nathan, moved to Hickman County, Tennessee, about 1805, andabout 1814 Hardy Sparks moved his family to Lafayette County,Mississippi. His son, Isaac, who was doubtless named for his father'sbrother of that name, accompanied his parents to Mississippi and therewas married to Frances Ann Higginbotham about 1838. It was there thattheir eight children were born. The family moved to Red River County,Texas, shortly before the 1860 census was taken.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2000, Whole No. 190, p. 5374-75:

"Isaac Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was born inSurry County, North Carolina, on February 11, 1820, and died in GlennCounty, California, on November 1, 1867. We have no record of his havingbeen married. His dates of birth and death are found on one side of theSparks monument in the community of Ord Bend cemetery in Glenn County,California, shown on page 5373. In 1856 he was one of the heirs of hisfather for whom his brother, Richard was responsible for locating andconveying to him his inheritahce ($14.29)."

See notes for his sister Elizabeth (Sparks) White for informationregarding his death and photos of grave markers.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4276 states: IsaacSparks, son of Jesse and Nancy Sparks, was born about 1830. He wasmarried to a widow named Nancy Jones, and they had four children: James,Eli, Moses and Amanda.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1959, Whole No. 26, p. 399:

"ISAAC B. SPARKS, son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, was bornin Wilkes County, North Carolina, on April 2, 1822. The following isquoted from a sketch of the life of Isaac Sparks which appears on pages786-787 of the History of Huntington County, Indiana (1887):

"Isaac B. Sparks was born April 2, 1822, and was only 10 years of agewhen his parents moved to Wells County. He was early taught thoselessons of industry and frugality by which his subsequent life has beencharacterized, and grew to manhood amid the rugged duties of farm life.He attended school for only a limited period and consequently did notacquire much of an education so far as books are concerned, 'but byintelligent observation has since obtained a valuable practicalknowledge, which has enabled him to transact business in a safe andsatisfactory manner. He early became quite expert in the use of therifle, and at one time killed nine deer and crippled the tenth in oneday.

"He made his home with his parents until his twenty-eighth year, andin 1845 purchased his first land, an eighty-acre tract, for which he paidthe sum of $240, and upon which he made a number of substantialimprovements, including a double log barn that is still [l887] doing goodservice. He moved to the farm in 1853 and has since made it one of thebest places in the township. Mr. Sparks was formerly a Democrat, butespoused the principles of the Greenback party when Greeley ran for thePresidency, and has ever since been an earnest advocate of saidprinciples. He was for some years prominently identified with the Grangemovement, having been one of its ablest workers in Rock Creek Tomnship.Mr. Sparks was married December 18, 1851, to Miss Cynthia A. Roberts, ofKentucky, and daughter of William and Martha (Hultz) Roberts. Mrs.Sparks was born December 27, 1832, and is ... a member of the ChristianChurch, and Mr. Sparks, although a man of strong religious convictions,is not identified with any church organization."

"Isaac Sparks died on January 15, 1904, and his wife died December 17,1897. Both were buried in the Sparks Cemetery in Wells County. Theirchildren were:
(1) William Sparks.
(2) Albert D. Sparks, born in February, 1855; died October 6. 1877.
(3) Robert R. Sparks, born in 1857; died in 1945; he married MaryJane McClurg, born 1862, died 1934.
(4) Rachel E. Sparks, married Frank Hart.
(5) Frederick F. Sparks, born 1861; died 1948. He married NoraRoos who was born in 1868 and died in 1953.
(6) Sarah A. Sparks, married Alvidor Roos.
(7) Maria Sparks, born in 1865; died in 1922. She married JohnDalrymple.
(8) Rebecca Jane Sparks, born November, 1868; died July 19, 1869.
(9) Susan E. Sparks, married Silas Threlkeld.
(10) Isaac H. Sparks
(11) Cynthia E. Sparks, born June 21, 1874; died June 25, 1874.
(12) Mary E. Sparks, born August 21, 1875; died September 12, 1875."

* * * * *

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1975, Whole No. 91, p. 1754:

ISAAC B. SPARKS, 1822-1904

"The portrait on the cover of this issue of the QUARTERLY is that ofIsaac B. Sparks, who was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on April2, 1822, and died on January 15, 1904, in Wells County, Indiana. Theoriginal of this photograph was loaned to us for publication by Iva B.Sparks Lane, 501 East Christy St., Marion, Indiana. Mrs. Lane is agreat-granddaughter of Isaac B. Sparks.

"A sketch of the life of Isaac B. Sparks appeared in the June 1959issue of the QUARTERLY, (Vol. VII, No. 2, Whole No. 26, page 299 [seeabove]). He was a son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks who movedwith their family from North Carolina to Ohio and then on to Indiana,settling in Wells County about 1835. At the time the article on thisfamily was published in June 1959, we were quite certain that Solomon(father of Isaac B.) was a son of Solomon and Charity Sparks of WilkesCounty, North Carolina. Now it appears that he may have been a son ofReuben and Cassie (Buttery) Sparks, also of Wilkes County, North Carolina(see the QUARTERLY of September 1967, Vol. XV, No. 3, Whole No. 59, pp.1082-1089).

"Isaac B. Sparks was married on December 18, 1851, to Cynthia A.Roberts, daughter of William and Martha (Hultz) Roberts. She was bornDecember 27, 1832, and died on December 17, 1897. Both are buried in theSparks Cemetery in Wells County, Indiana. They were the parents of thefollowing twelve children (for which see the family group sheet)."

**********

See also SQ p.5297:

Isaac B. Sparks, son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, was born inWilkes County, North Carolina, on April 2, 1822, and was twelve years oldwhen he accompanied his parents and siblings on their move to Indiana. Hewas married on December 18, 1851, in Wells County, Indiana, to Cynthia A.Roberts, daughter of William and Martha (Hultz) Roberts. Cynthia had beenborn on December 27, 1832, and died on December 17, 1897. Isaac died onJanuary 15, 1904, in Wells County. Both were buried in the SparksCemetery that had once been part of the farm of Solomon Sparks, Isaac'sfather.

A sketch of the life of Isaac B. Sparks appeared in the History ofHuntington County (1887), pp.786-87. We published this in full in theQUARTERLY of June 1959, p.399. A great-granddaughter of Isaac andCynthia (Iva Sparks Lane of Marion, Indiana) provided us with aphotograph of Isaac which we reproduced on the cover of the QUARTERLY forSeptember 1975, Whole No.91. Mrs. Lane also provided a photograph ofIsaac and Cynthia with 26 grandchildren taken about 1895, which wereproduced on page 1755 of the same issue of the QUARTERLY. (See bothphotos in Scrapbook.)

Isaac B. and Cynthia A. (Roberts) Sparks were the parents of twelvechildren:

(1) William Lewellen Sparks was born on February 16, 1853, in HuntingtonCounty, Indiana, and died on July 2, 1923, He was married to DorcasSleetor Hayes on October 26, 1877.
(2) Albert D. Sparks, born in February 1855, died on October 6, 1877.
(3) Robert R. Sparks, born 1857, died 1945; he was married to Mary JaneMcClurg,
(4) Rachel E. Sparks. She was married to Frank Hart.
(5) Frederick F. Sparks, born January 2. 1861, died 1948. He was marriedto Ruth E. Roos (or Rous) on September 3, 1887.
(6) Sarah A. Sparks. She was married to Alvidor Roos (or Rous).
(7) Maria Sparks, born 1865, died 1922. She was married to John Dalrymple.
(8) Rebecca Jane Sparks, born in November 1868, died July 19, 1869.
(9) Susan E. Sparks. She was married to Silas Thrailkill.
(10) Isaac H. Sparks, born' 1872, died 1938. He was married to ClaraWiegle.
(11) Cynthia B. Sparks, born June 21, 1874; died June 25, 1874.
(12) Mary E. Sparks, born August 21, 1875; died September 12, 1875.

**********

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, pp.5629-30"

"Isaac H. Sparks, son of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks, was born onSeptember 27, 1827. He was married to Nancy ["Nan"] Porter in 1860. Whilewe do not know the date of his or his wife's death, we have moreinformation about his life than of any other child of Isaac and WilmothSparks because of a biographical sketch appearing in The Lone Star State.a book published in 1891/92, p.731. He was also mentioned and describedby a grand-niece, Zula Tyson, in a letter included in the sketch devotedto his sister, Martha Sparks . The article follows :

Isaac H. Sparks) a well-known citizen of Burleson county, Texas, isranked with the early settlers of
this State. He came to Texas in 1849, landing in Galveston, wherehe had a brother, William N.
Sparks, who at that time was Sheriff of his county, and under himthe subject of our sketch served as
deputy for over a year. After that he rented land in Milam countyand cultivated one crop. Next we
find him at Fort Sullivan, where for ten years he was variouslyemployed, his enterprise and energy
at once shoving him to the front. He made money rapidly. For sometime he worked at the cabinet
making and carpenter trade, and for four years he served as DeputySheriff under Jefferson
Rogers. Then he engaged in the grocery business, continuing thesame until the opening of the late
war. Coming to Burleson county about the time the war broke out, hewas appointed by the County
Commissioners to attend to the wants of soldiers' families, and wasthus occupied up to 1863. Then
he engaged in the army service, freighting cotton, and was making atrip at the time of the surrender,
being then at San Antonio, and from there returning home. He hadsold his store and property at the
opening of the war, taking Confederate money in payment for thesame, at one time having about
$30,000 in such money; this, of course, was a total loss. Aboutall he had left when the war closed
was a few cattle and horses; no, not all, for he still retained hispluck and energy, and with this as
capital he went to work to rebuild his wasted fortunes. Mr. Sparkshas been a cripple ever since he
was five years old, at that time having his right foot injured whileplaying teeter with another boy.
His physical disabilility, however, has not prevented him frommaking a success in life.

For four or five years Mr. Sparks bought and sold cattle and alsotraded in land, buying and selling
many tracts. About 1870 he finally settled down to farming and stockraising. Now he owns a large
farm on the Brazos bottoms and has about 500 acres where he lives.His homestead joins the old
town of Frameville , having selected this place for the purpose ofhaving his family near good schools.
He has 100 acres under cultivation. In 1892 he bought from his son,Dr. Sparks, the grocery store at
Frameville, and has been running the business ever since forhimself, having conducted it for
his son some time previous to that date .

Mr. Sparks was born in Carroll county, Tennessee, September 27,1827. He was reared on a farm
and his education has been that gained chiefly in the school ofexperience. Before he reached his
majority he began doing for himself, first being employed by a slavetrader and afterward by a
dealer in horses and mules . This was before he came to Texas, asabove stated. His parents were
Isaac and Willie (Knowling) [i.e. , Wilmoth Noland]. His fatherwas born in the fort at Athens,
Georgia. . . .

Isaac Sparks [his father] was the eleventh born to his father'sfamily. His death occurred at the old
homestead in Tennessee. He was one of the first settlers of theneighborhood in which he lived and
died.

The subject of our sketch was married in 1860 to Miss Porter. Theirchildren, five in number, are as
follows: Beatrice, wife of Sidney Dunn, died in 1889; Jesse p. , apracticing physician of Burleson County;
and James V., Benjamin I., and Willie, at home.

Mr. Sparks is an ardent Democrat and has always taken an activepart in political matters, but has
never sought official position. He has been Election Judge eversince the reconstruction.
Fraternally, he is a Royal Arch Mason. Mrs. Sparks is a member ofthe Missionary Baptist Church.

When the 1880 census was taken of Burleson County , Texas , the fivechildren of Isaac H. and
Nancy E. (Porter) Sparks were listed as follows, all born in Texas: "(See their individual sheets.)

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1999, Whole No. 187 for the 1860Census of Burelson County, Texas:

Burleson County, Texas

Note: Note is made here of Isaac H. Sparks who, based on a biographicalsketch about him in the Lone Star State published by the Lewis PublishingCo. of Chicago, in 1893, should have been listed as a resident ofBurleson County in 1860. A repeated search of the census, however, hasfailed to find him. He had been born in Carroll County, Tennessee, onSeptember 27, 1827; he was a son of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks.According to this biographical sketch, he came to Texas in 1849, landingin Galveston where he had a brother, William N. Sparks. This sketch alsostates that Isaac "has been a cripple ever since he was five years old,at that time having his right foot injured while playing teeter withanother boy". An unfortunate error was made in this biographical sketchwhere Isaac's grandfather is incorrectly identified as "Absalom Sparks."His grandparents were actually Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks. (Seethe article entitled "Matthew Sparks, Died 1793, of North Carolina andGeorgia" in the QUARTERLY of June 1961, Whole No. 34, pp.556-66,) AbsalomSparks was an uncle of Isaac H. Sparks (see the QUARTERLY of September1982, Whole No. 119, pp.2443-48, for information about Absalom)

Isaac H. Sparks was married in 1860 to Nancy Porter, and they became theparents of five children: Bernice Sparks; Jesse P. Sparks; James V.Sparks; Benjamin I. Sparks; and Willie Sparks.

See photo on page 2625 and in scrapbook.

SQ pg 2624: He lived in Rushville, Illinois, then moved to Salin a,Kansas, and worked for a telephone company. When he retired, he moved toSmithfield, Illinois, where he died in June 1949. He is said to have hadin his possession the rifle that had belonged to his grandfather, JamesSparks; it had the date "1812" inscribed on its stoc k.
Isaac Sparks became a most successful businessman in Smithfield,Illinois. He was president of the telephone company, chairman of theBoard of Education, and mayor of the town.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1997, Whole No. 179, p 4866:

"Isaac Newton Sparks, son of Bill and Polly (Lyon) Sparks, was born onJuly 29, 1840. He enlisted on December 29, 1861, in Company K, 5thRegiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry of the Confederate States Army andserved until he was mustered out with his company on October 20, 1862.Two days later, he enlisted in Capt. Field's Company of Partisan Rangers(later to become a part of the 10th Regiment Kentucky Infantry, C.S.A.).He served in that unit until his capture on April 25, 1864. Many yearslater, on April 5, 1917, his widow applied for a Kentucky ConfederateArmy pension based on his service.

"Isaac Sparks was married to Mary ["Polly"] Branham on January 17,1865, in Carter County. She had been born on June 1, 1840/41, in CarterCounty and was a daughter of Jonathan and Polly (Gilliam) Branham. Isaacand Polly lived near a post office called Newfoundland where he paidtaxes on 195 acres of land.

"Isaac Sparks died at Evergreen, Wisconsin, on January 23, 1916/17,and Poll died there on June 19, 1921. They were buried in the BentCemetery at Price, Wisconsin. They had nine children.

"[Editor's Note: Near the turn of the 19th century, word was receivedin the hills of Elliott County that timbermen were needed to work in theforests of upper Wisconsin. To the Elliott Countians, this was mostwelcome news. They were already skilled woodsmen, but they had run outof timber. Accordingly, they moved to Wisconsin by the dozens, and it issaid that Langlade County, Wisconsin, became a miniature Elliott County.The town of Crandon in Forest County had a population of 1500, and some800 of them were Kentuckians.]"

[JS Note:] US Census 1870, North Fork, Elliott County, KY, June 1870:
#12 Isaac Sparks 30
Mary 29
John B. 4
William H. 3

**********

The following is an email from Susan Hennessey (suesuehenhen@@aol.com) toDanny McBee dated Feb 21, 2002 in answer to his request for informationabout Isaac Newton Sparks's son Claude H.:

Danny,
Isaac Newton Sparks was my great-great grandfather. He was the son ofWilliam and Mary (Lyon) Sparks. Born on July 29,1840. He enlisted onDecember 29, 1861, in Company K, 5th Regiment Kentucky Mounted Infantryof the Confederate States Army and served until he was mustered out withhis company on October 20,1862. Two days later, he enlisted in Capt.Field's Company of Partisan Rangers (later to become a part of the 10thRegiment Kentucky Infantry, (C.S.A.). He served in that unit until hiscapture on April 25,1864. Many years later, on April 5,1917, his widowapplied for a Kentucky Confederate Army pension based on his service.

Isaac Sparks was married to Mary (Polly) Branham on Jan.17,1865 in CarterCounty, KY. She had been born on June 1, 1840/41, in Carter County andwas the daughter of Jonathan and Polly (Gilliam) Branham. Isaac and Pollylived near a post office called Newfoundland where he paid taxes on 195acres of land.

Isaac died at Evergreen,WI on Jan. 23,1916/17, and Polly died there onJune 19,1921. They were buried in the Bent Cemetery at Price, WI.

Near the turn of the 19th century, word was received in the hills ofElliot County that timbermen were needed to work in the forests of upperWI. This was most welcome news. They were already skilled woodsmen andhad run out of timber. He and his brothers and their families moved toLanglade County,WI and formed what is now the town of Crandon. Crandonhad a population of 1500 and 800 of them were Kentuckians.

Isaac Newton and Polly had 9 children. John Bunyan (1866); William Henry(1867-1881); Ida Bell (1870-1956)My great-grandma! She died two yearsbefore I was born.Sarah Alice (1872-1909); Edwin Delmus (1874-1934);Alamander A.(1876-1905); Nelson W. (1878-1902); Claude H. (1880-?); andLoucina Elizabeth (1882-?).

In an interview I did last month with my mom's older cousins, I was toldthat Isaac Newton was a mormon and had many wives. Polly was his firstand couldn't handle the situation and moved to Antigo to be with IdaBelle. Later Isaac became blind and his younger wives didn't want to takecare of him so they put him on a train to Antigo,WI. He lived with IdaBelle until he died. I haven't been able to confirm this stroy, yet, butI'm working on it.

Also in the spring we are going to look for their graves in the BentCemetary. It is about a two hour drive for us.

My mom and her cousins have mentioned both Claude and Loucina but rightnow I can't remember what they remembered. I also think I have a pictureof Loucina. I'm waiting to hear from another relative from Texas for moreinfo. and maybe some pictures.

If I can help you with anything else let me know.

Sue

**********

THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1966, Whole No. 53, at p. 964:

Isaac Newton Sparks (called “Newt”), son of John and Sarah (Bowlen)Sparks, was born June 17, 1848, near Florence, Alabama. His father died afew months before he was born. He moved with his mother and brothers toTennessee, then to Arkansas and spent his adult life near Poughkeepsie inSharp County. Isaac N. Sparks married (first) Mary Street, who died atthe birth of their only child, a daughter named Mary. He married (second)Charity Victoria Goff, who Is said to have been one-quarter Indian. Shewas born September 10, 1859, and died January 30, 1927. Isaac N. Sparksdied on June 21, 1920.

By his first wife, Mary (Street) Sparks, Isaac N. Sparks had one child,Mary Sparks, who married (first) John Justice and (second) W. G. Lewsaw.By his second wife, Charity Victoria (Goff) Sparks, Isaac N. Sparks hadthe following children: ..." (See Family Group Sheet)

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

The following article about Claude E. Sparks, a great-grandson of IsaacNewton Sparks appears in THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1966, Whole No. 53,at pps. 958-9:

CLAUDE E. SPARKS

Editor andPublisher of The Franklin County Times

"On the cover of this issue of the QUARTERLY weare privileged to publish the pictures of
three distinguished gentlemen, one of whom isClaude E. Sparks, Editor and Publisher of
The Franklin County Times in Russeilville,Alabama. On February 11, 1966, at a meeting
of the Alabama Press Association in Birmingham,Fred LePell, Director of the Public
Relations Athninistration, of U.S. Steel,presented to Claude E. Sparks and Roswell
Falkenberry (Editor and Publisher of The SelmaTimes-Journal) the "Journalist of the Year"
Awards, This was the second time such awards hadbeen given. Sparks and Falkenberry
were presented plaques in recognition of theiroutstanding service to their communities,
the state, and the nation.

"A native of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Claude E.Sparks is a graduate of the University of
Missouri School of Journalism. He came toRussellville in 1953 after working for the
Jonesboro (Arkansas) Evening Sun, the Blytheville(Arkansas) Courier-News, and the
Marshall (Texas) News-Messenger.

"Without knowing it at the time, when Mr. Sparkscame to Russellville in 1953 he was
actually returning to the home of his ancestors.He had known that his greatgrandfather
had been born near Florence, Alabama, but no onein his family had maintained a family
record. In 1964, Mr. Sparks learned of theSparks Family Association, joi.ned, and soon
discovered that he was actually living withinfive miles of the spot where his great-great-
great-grandparents, John and Mollie Sparks, wereburied. The photograph of the stone
marking their graves in the Sparks FamilyCemetery near Russellville reproduced on page
962 was taken recently by Mr. Sparks,

***************
-959-

as was also the stone of their son, WilliamSparks. (John and Mollie Sparks and their
descendants are the subject of the articlebeginning on page 960 of this issue of the
QUARTERLY.)

"Mr. Sparks’s great-grandfather, Isaac NewtonSparks (called Newt), was born on June 17,
1848. In early boyhood he left Alabama and movedwith his widowed mother and brothers
and sisters to Hardin County, Tennessee. Then in1860, with his mother and brothers
John, Jim, Joe, and Bob, he moved to Arkansas byox cart. Mr. Sparks has written as
follows regarding his great-grandfather:

"They stopped to live at Smithville in LawrenceCounty on Coopers Creek where they lived
during the Civil War. All of the above-namedbrothers served in the Confederate Army
except Isaac Newton, who was too young. Bob waskilled at Shiloh and Joe was shot in
the shoulder at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Hereturned home, developed gangrene and
died at Smithville. He probably is buried at OldBethel Cemetery near Denton, Arkansas.
John was a cook in the Confederate Army.

"Left behind in Hardin County, Tennessee, was asister who married a man named Hulen.
His first name is not known in my family, but itis reported that her descendants still live
near Savannah, Tennessee.

"Isaac Newton Sparks was married to Mary Streetand moved to Sharp County, Arkansas,
near Poughkeepsie. They had one daughter, Mary,who later was married to John Justice
and then to W. G. Lewsaw. She had children byboth marriages. Mary Street Sparks died
at the birth of her daughter. Isaac Newton Sparksthen married Charity Victoria Goff, who
is believed to have been one-quarter Indian. Sheand Isaac Newton are buried in the
church cemetery near their home place.Photographs were baked into the tombstones of
both and the likeness is still good today.

"To Isaac Newton and Charity Victoria Sparks wasborn Joseph Columbus Sparks on
February 16, 1880. I was the first grandson ofJoseph Columbus and was born on his
birthday, February 16, 1929. Joseph Columbus wasmarried to Etta Louella Miller,
daughter of Henry Scott Miller of Sharp County.They moved across the field, built a house
at the community sometimes called “Push,” andwere quite active in the community as
farmers. He was a fine blacksmith and his shopwas a delight to me in my childhood.

"At one time in this community, Joseph ColumbusSparks and my father operated the only
repair service for automobiles in the area, soldthe gasoline, served as carpenters and
builders and performed a number of services. Myfather served as barber, both on
occasion served as rural undertaker in time ofemergency and my grandmother operated
the community’s ‘central’ telephone system. Mygrandfather was known to pull teeth in this
remote community, which was miles from a doctoror dentist during many periods of time. I
have witnessed my grandfather pull a tooth whileI was a child. He bid the sufferer 'be
seated' in a cane-bottom chair by the fireplace,took his forceps from a small trunk and
hauled out the aching tooth.

"This community is still very remote and thehomeplace was sold when Joseph Columbus
died several years ago. He and my grandmother areburied next to Isaac Newton and
Charity. My grandfather acquired some hill landand cattle, but was not a particularly good
farmer. He liked saw mills and machinery. Helived his entire life in a house 500 yards
from his birthplace." (End of Article)

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3703: Isaac Newton and Daniel Sparks were twins.

SQ 1359: "Isabella Sparks, born about 1832. She is probably theIsabella Sparks who married Henry F. Sells in Franklin County, Tennessee,on Sept. 25, 1852."

SQ pg 2749:

"Isabella ("Ellen") Sparks, daughter of James Hawkins and Elizabeth(McKnight) Sparks, was born about 1844. She married Mark M. Burgess andthey had at least four children.
(1) Walton Burgess;
(2 ) Etta Burgess married Percy C. Townsend;
(3) Callie Burgess. She died while quite young.
(4) Roy Burgess. He died at the age of ten years."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 152, December, 1990, pps.3688-3689:

"Isaiah Hale sparks, son of Hardy and Mary Sparks, was born about 1806in Tennessee and was probably named for his maternal grandfather. He wasmarried to Sarah Speed Clayburn, probably about 1831 in Tennessee. Shehad been born about 1812 in South Carolina. Hale (as he was calledlocally) and Sarah lived on Sugar Creek, a tributary of Duck Riverflowing mainly through Hickman County. He was a farmer.

"We have found only two land deeds involving Hale Sparks. On December10, 1825, he sold 100 acres of land on Tumbling Creek to JeremiahMatthews for $250. We have not learned how he acquired this land . Thesecond deed is dated March 7, 1854, and is for a grant of 100 acres bythe state of Tennessee.

"Isaiah Hale Sparks was the head of a household in Hickman County whenthe 1840 census was taken. He had five children under the age of 10years. When the 1850 census was taken, he and Sarah were shown witheight children. Living nearby was his uncle, Jesse Sparks, aged 77 years.

"Hale Sparks apparently went with his father to Mississippi about1835, and two of his children, Nancy and Thomas, were born there according to census records. He did not stay there, however, and hereturned to Hickman County. Sometime prior to the outbreak of the CivilWar, he moved his family to Arkansas where he settled in Newton County.Four of his sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War in anArkansas regiment. Most of his children married in Newton County.

"When the 1880 census was taken of Newton County, Hale and Mary Sparkswere shown living by themselves in Union Township. He was 79 years ofage and Mary was 67. We have found no records of their deaths whichoccurred sometime after the 1880 census was taken. According toinformation furnished by descendants, they had ten children."

SQ pg 2595:

"Israel A. Sparks, son of Francis and Mary Jane (Lamb ) Sparks, wasborn on December 28, 1872. He was a carpenter and a contractor. Hemarried Minnie Blanche Akers on September 14, 1898. She was born onJanuary 1, 1880, and was a daughter of Johnson and Mary Isabel (Maloy)Akers. Israel died on July 4, 1927, and Minnie died on August 12, 1956.They were buried in the Springvale Cemetery at Lafayette, Indiana.

Israel had a knack for designing building and then erecting them . Hebuilt the school house at Americus, Indiana, and the Widmer home nearMontmorenci, Indiana. In 1924, he was the chief architect for the MononStone at Monon, Indiana. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias andSt. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. He and Minnie had two children."

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3187: "Israel S. Sparks was born on December 9, 1867, in Missou ri.
He married Merlena Jane Goins. He died in 1948."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3697: Her first marriage was to Wallace Seipp by whom she h adtwo children, Faye and Joyce. Her second marriage was to James Gilmore. She died in 1985.

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

"J. H. Sparks, son of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks, according to thelate Paul E. Sparks, was their second son, born on January 1, 1815, anddied on October 7, 1841. Paul and the present writer worked together onmaterial included in the QUARTERLY until Paul's death in 1999, and it wasPaul who recorded the above birth and death dates for J. H . Sparks anumber of years ago. While I have Paul's files, I have not found amongthem his source for these dates. Because of Paul's careful research, I amsure that they are correct, however."

.

!NOTES:
Jacob is a nephew of Solomon Sr. and cousin of Solomon Jr. He als ohad a
brother named Solomon. Jacob's father William (192) was Solomon Sr.' sbrother.
Jacob's siblings and parents are mentioned on a quilt in SQ 169 and 2 453,
all except Jacob, who had left Tennessee and moved to Va. and siste rSally Ann.
This Jacob was in Washington Co. VA in 1850 Census next to Solomon Sr .and
Solomon Jr.
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 120, pgs 2456-7 for the follow ing:
"Jacob Sparks, son of William and Rhoda (Pennington) Sparks, was b ornabout
1823 in Virginia. On December 31, 1841, he married Minerva Jay in Wh iteCounty,
Tennessee. Apparently, they went to Washington County, Virginia, immediately
afterwards, for it was there that their first child was born in 1842 ,and it was
there that the family was listed on the 185O census. Jacob's brothe rSolomon
(258) (JS: son of William) was also living in the household in 185O . By186O,
Jacob and Minerva were in Knox County, Tennessee. They were the paren tsof five
children, William, Catherine, Amanda, Adeline, and Caroline.
THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole NO. 165, p 4272 gives birthdate of
about 1811 (which seems more correct) and lists Jacob's children as William,
Catherine, Amanda, Adeline and Caroline.

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

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

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

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

We have no further specific information on this couple or theirchildren. However, the 1850 census of Washington County, Virginia, listsJacob's father, Solomon, a widower, as being the head of household withsix of his children and two youngest children, Solomon, born about 1842(two years after the marriage of Jacob and Elizabeth (Thomas) Sparks),and Joseph, born about 1843, both born in North Carolina. It is probablethat the census taker assumed their place of birth as North Carolinasince the other children living in the residence were born there. It ismore likely that they were born in Virginia.

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1997, Whole No. 178, p. 4841 for a recordof servicemen from Louisiana who served during the Civil War, taken fromAndrew B. Booth's RECORDS OF LOUISIANA CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS AND LOUISIANACONFEDERATE COMMANDS, published in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1920. Thisrecord is from Book 2, Vol. III, pp. 654-655:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1999, Whole No. 187 at p. 5213 forthe 1860 Census of Colorado County, Texas:

Colorado County.-- 1860 Census
Post Office: San Bernard
Page 164. Census taken by Ceo. W. Breeding on July 29, 1860.
690-665

Name Age Sex Occupation Born
Sparks, Jacob 27 (M) Farmer $450 - $3,600 AL
" Nancy 20 (F) LA
" Emma S. 5 (F) TX
" Sop[hronia 4 (F) TX
" Wm. M. 2 (M) TX
Johnson, James 22 (M) Stock Raiser LA
Shote, Elizabeth 24 (F) LA
" Wm. M. 9 (M) TX

Note: Wm . M . Shote was marked as having attended school within theyear. Jacob Sparks, whose middle initial was "E," was born about 1828 inAlabama and was, we are certain, a son of William Sparks, born about1785. When the 1850 census had been taken, Jacob was living with hisbrother, Solomon Sparks, in Jefferson County, Texas. His age was giventhen as 22. Living nearby was another of Jacob's brothers, John S.Sparks, age 39 in 1850. John appeared as head of his household on the1860 census of Jefferson County, Texas, see page 5217. Solomon Sparks wasin Orange County in 1860, see page 5226. A record of this family can befound in the March 1989 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No.145, in anarticle beginning on p. 3354 entitled "The Sparkses of Early JeffersonCounty, Texas." (See p.3362 for a record of Jacob E. Sparks and hisfamily.) Jacob E. Sparks was married to Nancy Johnson about 1853. Whenthe 1870 census of Colorado County was taken, Jacob's age was given as43. There is a "Voter Registration List" of Colorado County, Texas,following the Civil War in which Jacob signed his name as "Jacob E.Sparks," page 162, #733, July 20, 1867; he gave his place of residence asColorado County, Columbus Precinct, stating that he had "Resided in state23 years; in county, 13 years; in precinct 13 years; Born in Alabama."

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

JJS: I am grateful for information concerning the descendants of JacobEsau Sparks which was obtained in December, 1999, via the internet fromKay Gordon Wolniak from Carmichael, California. I believe she is adescendant of Eleanor Francis Hobson, of Lydia Anelie Sparks, of JacobEsau Sparks, of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks. Her internetaddress was frankay@@pacbell.net.

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

A photo of Jacob Esau Sparks appears on p. 5301 in the QUARTERLY and isseen in the scrapbook here.

Jacob Esau Sparks, son of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, was bornabout 1831 in Randolph
County, Indiana. He was a lad of about five years when his parents andsiblings moved to Huntington County, Indiana, settling near the futuresite of the town of Markle. He was married in Hamilton County on January24, 1852, to Ellen Jane McCarty, daughter of Patrick and Jane (Bennett)McCarty. She had been born in Indiana about 1837 according to censusrecords.

Jacob Sparks was shown as head of his household on the 1860 census ofRock Creek Township in Huntington County; his age was given then as 38and Ellen's as 22. Their daughter, florence, was 4 years old and theirson James was two months. Ellen's mother, Jane McCarty, age 41, who hadbeen born in Pennsylvania, and Ellen's sister, Lydia McCarty, age 7, bornin Indiana, were also living in Jacob and Ellen's family. When the 1870census was taken in Rock Creek Township, Jacob's age was given as 52 andEllen's as 33. He was a farmer with land then valued at $2,000.

When the 1880 census was taken, three of the children of Jacob Esau andIsabella (Swaim) Sparks were still living at home: Mary, age 17; Francis(called Franklin on this census) age 10; and Lydia, age 9. The twodaughters named Helen, born about 1873, and Martha, born about 1875, werenot included in the family in 1880. They had either died or, perhaps,because of their mother's illness, were staying with relatives.

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

It was sometime after 1880 that Ellen Jane, ill with the dreaded diseasethen called consumption, went to Chicago to live with a niece, Lydia ColeNix, to seek medical treatment. Leon Sparks has an undated clipping froma Markle newspaper telling of her death.

"Mrs. Jacob Sparks, wife of Jacob Sparks, living in Rock Creek township,left for Chicago sometime ago, hoping to improve her health. On herreturn home, she stopped with friends in Kosciusko county, where she grewworse and finally died. The remains were brought to this place lastMonday evening, and were interred on Tuesday following. The disease wasevidently comsumption, as the wasted form bore evidence of that dreadeddisease."

Leon K. Sparks has written as follows:

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

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

(1) Florence Ester Sparks, born May 29, 1856. We have nofurther informa tion about her.

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

***********

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

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1970, Whole No. 72, for an articleentitled THEJ FAMILY OF JONATHAN AND RACHEL (SWAIM) SPARKS beginning at p1355 at pp 1356-58 :

"Jacobson Sparks (called Jacob Esau in one record), son of Jonathan andRachel (Swaim) Sparks, was born about 1828; according to census records,it appears that he was born after his parents moved from North Carolinato Tennessee. He married Cynthia Champion, who was born in Tennesseeabout 1822 and died in Franklin County, Tennessee, in 191O; she was adaughter of Randolph and Martha (Wilson) Champion. About 1852 he movedwith his brother, John C. Sparks, to Dallas County, Arkansas. Accordingto Civil War records in the National Archives, Jacobson Sparks and hisbrother, John C. Sparks, both served in the Confederate Army in Company Fof Morgan' s Battalion of Arkansas Infantry; both were enrolled on June16, 1862, in Tulip , Dallas County, Arkansas, by Capt. McNeill andtraveled 7O miles to rendezvous in Little Rock on June 24. JacobsonSparks (called Jacob in these Army records) was listed as "absent, sickfurlough" in January 1863. A document is on file signed by a surgeonnamed J. N. Thompson on January 27, 1863, which states that a furloughhad been approved by various officers for Private Jacob Sparks. Hestated: "I hereby certify that I have carefully examined said soldier andfind
him incapable of performing the duties of soldier because of diarrheafollowing remet fever. I further certify that in my opinion he will notbe able to resume his duties in a less period than twenty days. Believingthat it would be beneficial to his health, I recommend that a furloughfor twenty days be granted to him."
"This is the last record of Jacobson Sparks in this Confederate Armyfile. However, a granddaughter of Jacobson and Cynthia Sparks, Mrs.Elizabeth Sparks Summers of Sherwood, Tennessee, has preserved a letterdated August 30, 1863, by John C. Sparks, brother of Jacobson, informinghis wife Cynthia of Jacobson's death on August 20, 1863. This letter waswritten from Camp Prince where John C. Sparks had returned following somekind of military action, probably patrol duty, in which both he and hisbrother had been engaged. Writing to his sister-in-law, whom he addressedas "Dear Sister", he informed her and her family of the tragedy. Theindividuals whom he referred to as Carter and Garner were obviouslyfellow soldiers:

" Camp Prince, Aug. 30, 1863
Dear Sister: With a heavy heart I take my pen in hand toinform you of the lamentable death of your husband which occured on the20th of this instant he (sic) Carter and Garner went to the creek afterwater, and when they had got their water they went off a few steps to theshade and was lying down, Carter and Garner said they didn't know whetherthey all went to sleep or not. When they were awakened by the treefalling. it was a dead oak and it struck in the top of the sycamore thatthey were lying under, brother Jacob had run 5 or 6 steps from where hewas lying when Garner went back. He found a limb on him nearly a footthrough and took it off of him and he never breathed or struggled. Italso hurt Carters arm pretty badly but didn't break it. we got a goodstrong coffin and buried him as decent as we could on the bank of thePorto River near where we are camping 10 miles south of Fort Smith . Thegrave is on the east side of the river at what is called the upper fordabout 20 steps from the bank under a burdock tree about 10 inchesthrough, and a large field on the left of the road as you eye from FortSmith. The grave is on the left between the corner of the fence and theford of the river. His name is cut on a stone and stands up at the headof the grave close to the tree. I didn't tell you where the limb fell onhim. It struck him across from the left hip to the right shoulder. Ithought I would describe the place so that if you wanted to send afterhim that you could find the place. I will send his clothes and money byfirst safe chance that I have. He had 100 dollars in Confederate and 21/2 in gold and 90 cents in silver, I am the worst lost that I ever wasin my life. It appears like every friend that I ever had is gone butthat is only what we all owe our maker and we should not grieve , but wecan't help it when our relations and friends fall around. I want you towrite to me as soon as you get this so I will know whether you get thisor not. I
can't give you any news at present.

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

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

Note: See notes under William Sparks, eldest son of Jacobson and Cynthia(Champion) Sparks, relating to entries found in the family bible.

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

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

JAMES SPARKS (BORN ABOUT 1670, DIED 1736)

OF SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA, AND HIS DESCENDANTS

By Russell E. Bidlack

Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was created in 1720 from parts of threeother Virginia counties: Essex County, King and Queen County, and KingWilliam County. The earliest record pertaining to a Sparks inSpotsylvania County found thus far is a deed dated December 25, 1723, bywhich James Sparks leased for 99 years a 200-acre tract of land inSpotsylvania County from Francis Thornton of Essex County and AnthonyThornton of Stafford County, Virginia. The Thorntons are described in thedeed as “gentlemen” while James Sparks was described as a “planter.” Noplace of residence was given for James Sparks, which may suggest that hehad just settled in Spotsylvania County. This tract of land was describedin the deed (see Deed Book A, 1722-29, pp. 73-74) as follows: "Beginningat the place where Mr Martin Back Corner being a large black Oak Thence S27d W; 160 pole to two Oaks & a gum Standing in a Small branch thatfalls into the Tublick Swamp, Thence S: 60d E 200 pole to the Swamp firstbegun on and from thence along up the run of the sd Swamp to the placefirst begun on." Under the terms of this lease, James Sparks waspermitted to use the land for “four full Years” without rent, but afterthe fourth year he agreed that each succeeding year "on the Eighteenthday of October being the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist or within fortydays after that” he would pay the Thorntons or their heirs “five hundred& thirty pounds of good Sound Tobacco” and also “to pay the Quitrents forthe Said land.” The Thorntons and James Sparks all signed this deed, andHenry Martin and Law. Battaill signed as witnesses. It was admitted torecord “Att a Court held for Spotsylvania County on Tuesday the 7th dayof April
1724."

From later Spotsylvania County records, we learn that James Sparks wasborn about 1670. In 1736, he was described by the Court as being "veryancient."

We have references to a number of persons named Sparks who were living inVirginia during the 1600's, but whether James Sparks was a son of one ofthese early settlers or whether he had emigrated from the British Isleshimself, is not known. (For example, a John Sparks was listed on the QuitRolls of King and Queen County in 1704.)

Our next; record of James Sparks is found in the Spotsylvania CountyCourt records dated February 1, 1725/6. (This double dating, 1725/6,results from the fact that England and her colonies did not officiallyadopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752.) It is a brief record and simplyreads: "In the action of debt brought by Richard Cheek, Pit. againstJames Sparkes, there being no appearance of either parties, ordered thatthe suit be dismissed." (Order Book 1724-1730, page 96.)

On November 6, 1728, a jury trial was held in Spotsylvania County inwhich James Sparks and Henry Sparks were defendants. (See Order Book1724-1730, page 279.) This is our earliest record of any person namedSparks besides James in Spotsylvania County. Since James and Henry wereco-defendants in this case, we may assume that they were closely related,and from later records it appears probable that Henry was a son of James,born probably about 1700. On the other hand, it is possible that Jamesand Henry were brothers. This trial of 1728 resulted from the claim ofJames Horsnail that James and Henry Sparks were indebted to him for 800pounds of tobacco. (Tobacco was often used as money in colonialVirginia.) The jury, however, found the defendants innocent, and theCourt ordered that the suit be dismissed and that Horsnail pay all costs.

Our next record of James Sparks is dated September 27, 1729. On thatdate, he was granted a tract of land comprising 1000 acres inSpotsylvania County on the north side of the Rappidan River. He wasdescribed in this grant as a resident of Spotsylvania County and of St.George Parish (the boundaries of this parish were the same as those ofthe county.)

This 1000-acre tract was in a section of Spotsylvania County which istoday a part of Madison County, Virginia, and was located many miles fromthat part of Spotsylvania County where James Sparks lived. On August 31,1730, James Sparks sold this tract, which probably had never beencleared, to John Scott, also a resident of Spotsylvania County, for tenpounds sterling. James Sparks was described in this deed as a “planter”while Scott was called a "gent." The land was described as being on theRappidan River; the witnesses to the deed were Larkin Chew, Thos.Slaughter, and A. Smith. At a court held for Spotsylvania County onSeptember 1, 1730, James Sparks acknowledged the deed "and Jane Sparkswife of the sd. James (after being privately examined) acknowledged herright of dower of the said land," and the deed was recorded. (See DeedBook B, 1729-34, pp. 65-66.)

Thus, we know that James Sparks's wife was named Jane. One other recordof Jane Sparks has been found. On May 7, 1734, the Spotsylvania CountyCourt made the following record: "On motion of Jane, wife of JamesSparks, she is allowed for three days attendance as she was summoned asevidence for James Atkins against Thomas Moore--It therefore is orderedthat said Atkins pay said Sparks the same with costs alias execution."(See Order Book 1730-1738, page 310.)

On June 1, 1736, James Sparks petitioned the Spotsylvania County Court"to be set free from paying of public and county levies." The courtgranted his request, "he being very ancient and not able to get hisliving by labor." (See Order Book 1730-1738, page 441.) According toCharles H. Hamnlin, authority on Virginia history,

who has searched Spotsylvania County records for Sparks data, in order tohave qualified for this privilege, James Sparks would have had to havebeen at least 60 years old, probably older. Evidently he had been workingand paying his taxes up until this time. He was probably suffering from asevere illness when he made his appeal, for by August 31, 1736, JamesSparks had died. On that date, August 31, 1736, the following courtaction was recorded: "On the attachment obtained by Henry Sparks againstthe Estate of James Sparks for 556 lbs. tobacco--the said plaintifffailing to prosecute the said suit any further, -Ordered that same bedismissed." (See Order Book 1730—1738, page 461.) On February 2, 1736/7following, another court record was made pertaining to the "Estate ofJames Sparks." Thomas Hill, Gent., had obtained an attachment against theestate for 7 pounds, 7 shillings and 1 penny--"the same being agreed, itis therefore ordered the suit be dismissed." (See Order Book 1730-1738,page 481.) On this same date, the following court action was recorded:“Henry Sparks against James Sparks, attachment granted for 1086 lbs.tobacco and 4 shillings sterling money--the same being agreed, thereforeordered dismissed.” (Ibid.)

Apparently, James Sparks did not leave a will and no probate records havebeen found pertaining to the settlement of his estate. References in theCourt Records suggest, however, that the settlement of the estate washandled by James’s son, James Sparks, Jr.

Our earliest reference to James Sparks, Jr., is a court order dated July4, 1733. This order reads as follows: "On the petition of James SparkesJunior against Thomas Glover for 550 lbs. tobacco due by account, therebeing no appearance, order that the same be dismist." (See Order Book1730-1738, page 231.) By April 3, 1734, Thomas Glover had died and JamesSparks, Jr., had obtained an attachment against his estate for 900 poundsof tobacco. When the Court learned that one Thomas Jones owed Glover for500 pounds of tobacco, it ordered, on April 3, 1734, that Jones deliverthe 500 pounds of tobacco to Sparks. (See Order Book 1730-1738, page301.) In this latter record, James Sparks, Jr., was not designated as“Junior” but there seems little doubt that it was he who was intendedrather than his father.

Following the death of the elder James Sparks in 1736, we would expecthis son, James, to drop the “junior” from his name . - His name appearswithout the “junior” in a Court record dated October 5, 1737, when JamesSparks sued William Hullot for 50 pounds sterling. (The case was settledout of court.) (See Order Book 1730-1738, page 519.) However, in anothersuit recorded on April 7, 1741, he was designated as “James Sparks,Junior,” probably out of habit. In this instance, he was sued for 50pounds current money by Thomas Corbin, Gentleman, but through a legaltechnicality the suit was dismissed and Corbin was forced to pay theCourt costs.

From the Spotsylvania County Court records, it appears that James Sparks,who died in 1736 and whose wife’s name was Jane, had four Sons: (1) JamesSparks, Jr.; (2) Henry Sparks; (3) Thomas Sparks; and (4) John Sparks.There is nothing, however, to prove this relationship, such as a probaterecord naming his heirs, but circumstantial evidence supports thisrelationship. Following is a summary of the data we have on each; forconvenience, James Sparks, Jr., on whom we have considerable information,is listed last.

(There follows on p. 682 articles concerning his sons Henry, Thomas,John, and James, Jr. for which see their individual sheets.)

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, pg 4036-4040:
James Sparks, probable son of George and Mary ------- Sparks, wasborn about 1713. He was married to Rebecca ----- about 1740, and,according to the register of St. Lukes Parish, they had at least twochildren. James took the Oath of Fidelity in 1778; he died sometimeafter 1778.
a. Ursula Sparks, daughter of James and Rebecca ( ----- ) Sparks,was born about 1740 and was baptized on December 13, 1741, in St. LukesChurch in Queen Annes County. She was probably named for her father'ssister, Ursula.
b. William Sparks, son of James and Rebecca Sparks, was born about1750, and was baptized on June 4, 1751, in St. Lukes Church in QueenAnnes County. He was apparently a married man with two children when thespecial 1776 census was taken of Queen Annes County; however, we have notlearned either the name of his spouse nor the names of his children. Onthat census, William was listed as "William of James."

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

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1983, Whole No. 124, Pages 2562-2572at page 2563:

DESCENDANTS OF JAMES SPARKS (BORN ABOUT 1710-15) OF QUEENANNE'S COUNTY MARYLAND.

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

"William Sparks (died in 1709) had four sons: William Sparks, Jr.;George Sparks; John Sparks; and Joseph Sparks; thus the James Sparks whomarried Elizabeth Barkhurst was a son of one of them. For reasons setforth below, it appears quite likely that James Sparks was a son ofWilliam Sparks Jr. (See the March 1971 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY,Whole No. 73, for an article about William Sparks (died 1709).

"Item A. James Sparks was not a son of John Sparks, for John made awill in 1731 in which he named all of his children. There was no childnamed James. (See page 1700 of the December 1974 issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY, Whole No. 88, for details of will", also found in notes forJohn Sparks.)
Item B. James Sparks was not a son of George Sparks, although Georgedid have a son named James who was born about 1720. This James Sparks,however, married a woman named Rebecca and they had five children,including a daughter, Ursala, born on December 13, 1741, and a son,William, born on June 4, 1751. This James Sparks died sometime after1778.
Item C. James Sparks was not a son of Joseph Sparks, for all of hischildren were named in the settlement of his estate in Frederick County,Maryland, and there was no son named James.
Item D. For the reasons set forth in Items A, B, and C, above, itappears quite likely that James Sparks, who married Elizabeth Barkhurst,was a son of William Sparks, Jr. and his wife Margaret (Hamilton)Sparks. (See the references to William Sparks, Jr. in the March 1971issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73.)

"James Sparks, probable son of William and Margaret (Hamilton) Sparks,was born about 1710-1715. On February 9, 1737/38, he was married toElizabeth Barkhurst in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, and they had atleast one child, Nathan Sparks. Elizabeth apparently died sometime after1740, and about 1760, James Sparks married (2nd) Juliana (---) Marydith,or Meredith , a widow with a daughter, Sarah. To this union, fourchildren were born: John Sparks; Daniel Sparks; Henson Sparks; and adaughter whose name we have not learned. All of these children wereapparently born between 1764 and 1770.

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

In the name of God, Amen. I, James Sparks, of Queen Annes County inthe province of Maryland, being sick and weak of body but of perfect mindand memory, thanks be to Almighty God for all his mercies, and callingto mind the uncertainty of ths life, and knowing that it is appointed toall men once to die, constitute and appoint, make and ordain this to bemy last will and testament, revoking and disannulling all other wills byme heretofore made, confirming this and this only to be my last will andtestament, that is to say, principally:

ITEM, I recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God, my Maker andRedeemer which gave it to me, and my body to the dust from whence it wastaken, to be entered in a Christian-like manner at the discretion of myexecutors, hereinafter named, and as for such worldly goods it haspleased Almighty God to bless me with, I give and dispose in manner andform following:

ITEM, I leave unto my loving wife, July Sparks, the use of my houseand fifty acres of land on His Lordship's Manor that is under lease,during her natural life or widowhood, or the lease holds good,

ITEM, I give and bequeath to my loving wife, July Sparks, two whitemares known by the names of Flower and Pleasure. I give to my lovingwife, Juley Sparks, two cows, one black and white named Blacky, the othera dark brindle with some white named Pretty. I give also to my lovingwife, Juley Sparks, one feather-bed, the tick with broad stripes, and allthe furniture there belonging. I also give to my loving wife, JuleySparks, one bag of feathers containing six or seven pounds. I give to myloving wife, Juley Sparks, one white sow and seven shoats about fourmonths old. I also give to my loving wife, Juley Sparks, seven hogsbetter than a year old.

ITEM, I give and bequeath to my loving son, John Sparks, one featherbed with a buckram tick and what furniture belonging to it.

ITEM, I give and bequeath to my loving son, Daniel Sparks, one featherbed with a plain linen tick and all the furniture belonging to it.

ITEM, I give and bequeath to my son, Henson Sparks, one middle-sizedpewter dish and six pewter plates
.
ITEM, I give unto my wife, Juley Sparks, one iron pot holding sixgallons. I also give to my loving wife, Juley Sparks, six yoes and lambs.

ITEM, I give and bequeath to Sarah Marydith, daughter of Juley Sparks,an equal part of the rest of my personal estate that is to be devidedamongst all the rest of my children.

ITEM, I leave my loving wife, Juley Sparks, and my loving son, NathanSparks, my whole and sole executors of this my last will and testament.

In witness whereof I have fixed my hand and seal this 21st day ofMarch,
Anno Domini, 1775.
Signed, sealed and acknowledged in presence of his
James Roppoth, Jamima Roppoth and James|-|- | Sparks
Caleb Sparks mark

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

Queen Anne's County, the 22nd day of April 1775. James Rippoth,Jamima Rippoth and Caleb Sparks, the subscribing witnesses to the withinwill being duly and solemnly sworn on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God ,do dispose and say that they saw the testator, James Sparks, sign thesame and heard him publish and declare it to be his last will and testament; that at the time of his so-doing, he was, to the best of theirapprehensions, of sound and disposing mind and memory; that they didsubscribe their respective names as witnesses to the same will in thepresence of the said testator and at his request.

Before Th. Wright, Depy. Comr.

I, Nathan Sparks, one of the executors appointed in the last will andtestament of James Sparks, late of Queen Anne's County, deceased , dohereby refuse to act as executor of said will by virtue of suchappointment and do therefore renounce all my right, title and claim tosaid executorship accordingly. Witness my hand this 22nd April 1775.
his
Taken before Th. Wright Nathan S Sparks
mark

"Juliana Sparks accepted the responsibilities of executor of the willof her husband, James Sparks, and made an "Inventory Report" of hisestate for the Queen Anne's County Court on March 15, 1776. The value ofthe estate amounted to a little over 150 pounds. Shortly thereafter,Juliana married a relative of her late husband, Thomas Sparks, son ofGeorge and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks, who had been born on January 8,1736.

"We can only conjecture about the reason that Nathan Sparks refused toact as co-executor with his step-mother; however, it seems logical thathe was not pleased with the terms of his father's will. We do know thathe signed the inventory of his father's estate as "Nearest Kin" alongwith John Sparks. We also know that he ultimately became the possessorof the 226 acres of land called "Lord Baltimore's Manor" which hadbelonged to his father."

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

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

The James Sparks referred to in this census is not this one and hisidentity is unknown.
Queen Anne's County, Town Hundred, Census of 1776:
Sparks, James F. (sic): 1 white male over 21; 1 white female over 21;1 white male 12-16; 3 white males less than 12; 1 white female less than12; 4 males total; 2 females total.
******************************************

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

SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1989, No. 148; WILLIAM SAMPLE SPARKS, c a.
1700-1765, p. 3500:
"The third son of William Sample Sparks whose name was James, wasborn about 1747. It is interesting to note that, when, on December 16,1760, the tract of land purchased by his brother, Matthew Sparks, in theForks of the Yadkin was surveyed, James Sparks was one of the chaincarriers for the surveyor--this was a task frequently assigned to boysand young men. We know that James paid a poll tax in Rowan County in1768; he would have had to have been at least 21 to be counted as a pollat that time. By 1774, James Sparks had followed his brothers to whatwas then Surry County. He lived on Deep Creek in what is now YadkinCounty, just a few miles north of the line dividing Davie County fromYadkin County. (He was mentioned as a resident on Deep Creek inconnection with the description of a tract of land granted to ReubenShores on September 11, 1778.) In the Revolutionary Was pensionapplication made by a son of Matthew Sparks (his name was William (333))dated September 14, 1846, he recalled that in 1778, while camped on theFrench Broad River near the modern border between North Carolina andTennessee, he saw his "Uncle James Sparks" on two occasions; he notedthat James was then a member of a foot company from Wilkes County. (SQJune 1954, No. 6, p. 36).

(### Here continues and concludes the article on William Sample Sparks,Sparks Quarterly, Dec 1949, Whole No. 148, pps 3484-3500) which wasstarted on William's notes, and continued to his wife's (Rachael's) notes:
"The term "ordinary" in this instance was interchangeable with inn ortavern.
It was a place where a traveller could expect to obtain lodging not onlyfor himself and his family, but for his horses as well, and he could alsoexpect to find food and drink. Not only was a license required tooperate an ordinary, but the county court set the prices that theproprietor might charge. Furthermore, the proprietor of such anestablishment was required to arrange for two citizens of substantialmeans to serve as his securities. One of the men who agreed to serve inthis capacity for William Sample Sparks was his neighbor, William Giles,who was, himself, a justice of the court approving the license. Gileshad come to the Forks of the Yadkin from New Kent County, Virginia, atabout the same time that the Sparkses arrived. The other security wasBenjamin Milner who lived on Barsheby Creek and had been sheriff of RowanCounty since 1759.

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

"On April 15, 1764, William Sample Sparks again served on a RowanCounty jury. In this instance, his name was recorded in full by theclerk keeping the minutes. Jonas Sparks, his first cousin, also servedon the same jury, which involved a case brought by Peter Johnson againstJohn Brandon. (See p. 25 of Vol. II of Mrs. Linn's abstracts of thesecourt records, 1763-1774.)

"On October 13, 1764, the court agreed to renew William SampleSparks's license to keep an ordinary. In this instance, it was notedthat he maintained his ordinary "at his Own Dwelling House." (Vol. II,p. 554) On this occasion, his securities were Jacob Aaron (or Arrant) andHugh Montgomery. Jacob Aaron was a German immigrant who also operated atavern "at his own dwelling house." Hugh Montgomery was a merchant fromPhiladelphia who had bought a lot in Salisbury in 1756 and operated anordinary there.

"As was mentioned above, it was customary throughout the Americancolonies for the prices charged by proprietors of ordinaries, taverns,and inns to be regulated, usually by the county court. Theseestablishments existed primarily to serve travellers and immigrants whowere either passing through or looking for a place to settle. Whenlocated in towns, particularly county seat towns, they served areacitizens who had business or court obligations there. Since WilliamSample Sparks's ordinary was probably located on his son's farm, he musthave served travellers primarily. Hannals River Ferry was locatedthere. At a meeting of the Rowan County Court of Pleas and QuarterSessions held on July 25, 1762, the following rates were set for allordinaries within the county. (Recorded in Mrs. Linn's abstracts, Vol. 1,p. 152; these prices were given in shillings and pence, there being 20shillings in a pound and 12 pence in a shilling.)

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

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

As we have noted earlier, William Sparks, whom we are certain was theoldest son of William Sample Sparks, had remained in Frederick County,Maryland, when his father and brothers moved to North Carolina in 1754.During the next decade, William (whose wife's name was Ann) had, throughfive different transactions, become the owner of 283 acres of land. OnApril 26, 1764, he and his wife sold this entire 283-acre tract to aGerman settler named Christian Newswanger for 400 pounds. On the sameday that he signed this deed (by mark), William appeared with his wife,Ann, before the Frederick County Court to declare the validity of thedeed. (See Frederick County Land Records, Liber J, Folios 305-06.)

The reason that William and Ann Sparks sold their valuable farm in 1764was that they were about to follow William's father and brothers to NorthCarolina. We can only speculate regarding the communication that hadexisted between William and his father and brothers during the decadefrom 1754 to 1764, but there must have been an exchange of information inorder for William and Ann to know that they should go to the Forks of theYadkin to find them.

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

According to the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions forRowan County, on October 11, 1764, the justices appointed William Sparksto be overseer of the road that had been laid out from John Howard'sferry "up the Forks in Boones Roade & that all the Inhabatence withinthat District Worke under him." John Howard's Ferry was located on theSouth Yadkin River just above the northwestern corner of Matthew Sparks'sland and about two miles above the point where the two rivers join. Tojoin Boone's Road, this new road was only about half a mile in length,running northeast from Howard's Ferry.

We believe that this court order refers to William Sparks, son ofWilliam Sample Sparks. The latter was now about 65 years old, andprobably because of his age and his lame leg he was not required to pay apoll tax. It would seem highly unlikely that he would have been assignedsuch a physically demanding task as road building and maintenance.Furthermore, now that his son was also living in Rowan County, the elderWilliam Sparks's name was recorded in official records as William SampleSparks. (This court record is to be found in Vol. 11, page 545, of theoriginal; abstracts of these court records have been prepared andpublished by Jo White Linn, an authority on Rowan County history andgenealogy.)

"By 1764, the best land in the Forks of the Yadkin had already beenclaimed, though not necessarily purchased, which may account for the factthat William Sparks (IV) purchased from his brother, Matthew , 200 of the372 acres which Matthew had obtained from the Earl of Granville in 1761.On April 10, 1765, William paid his brother 50 pounds for these 200acres. The witnesses were Thomas and William Frohock . (See Rowan CountyDeed Book 6, p. 139.) These 200 acres were at the very southern tip ofwhat is now Davie County, and thus included the land between the SouthYadkin and the Yadkin (or North Yadkin) at the very point where theformer flows into the latter. These 200 acres extended up the sides ofboth rivers to a point, as stated in the deed, "on the Bank of the southside of the Main River at the Fish Dam ." This was the "Fish Dam" whichMatthew had built and which would now serve the needs of both brothers.(Today the county on the other side of the Yadkin is Davidson County,while that below and to the west of where the two rivers join remains inRowan County.)

"On September 17, 1767, Matthew Sparks sold the remaining portionofhis original tract to William Haden for 150 pounds. (Deed Book 6 , p.482) Since he earlier had sold the 200-acre portion to William Sparks for50 pounds two years earlier, it would appear that he had ch arged hisbrother considerably less than he might have received from someone else.(In each of these sales, the pounds were in "proclamation money," andwere of much less value than pounds sterling.)

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

"William Sparks did not live on his 220-acre tract at the Forks of theYadkin for more than four years, at which point he followed his brothertowhat would become Surry County, but not in the same neighborhood.William Sparks was taxed for one white poll (himself) in 1771. OnJanuary 27, 1773, William sold his 200 acres in the Forks of the Yadkinto William Frohock for 150 pounds in "proclamation money ." WilliamSparks lived in that part of Surry County which was cut off in 1850 toform Yadkin County; he gradually came to own a rather extensive amount ofland in the Brushy Mountains area near North Hunting Creek. This is inthe northeast corner of today's Yadkin County , near the boundary ofWilkes County on the west and Surry County on the north.

"If we are correct in believing that William Sample lived with or nearhis son Matthew, in the Forks of the Yadkin, it is quite possible that,with the arrival of his son William in 1764, William Sample thereafterlived with or near him. We have no record of William Sample Sparks,however, after October 13, 1764, when his license to operate his ordinarywas renewed. There is nothing in the Rowan County Court records toindicate that it was ever renewed again, nor did he again serve on anyRowan County jury after his last service in this regard on April 15, 1764.

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

**********

SQ pps 2924-2928:
"James Sparks, son of Joseph (428 ) and Mary (McDaniel) Sparks, wasprobably born about 1755 in Maryland. He grew to manhood in FrederickCounty, and when he was about nineteen years of age, he accompanied hisbrothers, Joseph (494) and Solomon (586), to Bedford County, PA. He mayhave served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolutionary War, butwe have found no record of his service. He probably returned toFrederick County after the war ended, and he is probably the James Sparkswho was appointed as an ensign in the Frederick County Militia on June 18, 1794. It is also quite likely that he married Nancy ("Ann") Rogersthere about 1795. She was born about 1765 and was a native of FrederickCounty.

"By 1800, James and Nancy (Rogers) Sparks were in Bedford County wherethey
appeared on that year's US census. James was also listed as the head ofhis
household on the 1810, 1820, 1830, and 1840 censuses of that county . Heentered 250 acres of land there on June 20, 1792. He added nearly 600acres of land to his farm in the mid-1830's and at his death he ownednearly 1 ,000 acres of land in Bedford County.

"According to A HISTORY OF BEDFORD COUNTY published in 1884, the earlysettlers placed only a slight value upon their land. The story is toldthat James Sparks and one of his brothers decided to divide a tract ofland which they held jointly. When the question arose as to who shouldhave the upper or more valuable part, they settled it by taking a stickand "choosing up" after the manner of boys playing baseball.

"Nancy (Rogers) Sparks died about 1835. According to census recordsshe and
James were the parents of six children. James died sometime between May1841
and March 1842. He made a will on May 22, 1841, and it was probated onMarch
3, 1842. Here is an abstract.
Item. The 800 acres of land which I acquired by three patents inthe 1830's shall be so divided into 200 acre tracts between my foursons: William, Absalom, Daniel, and David, that the shares ofWilliam, Absalom, and David shall include the land on which they nowreside, and Daniells share shall be taken from the north end of the 800acres.

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

Item. To daughter, Elizabeth Sparks, now intermarried withWilson L. Weeks, I give $300.

Item. To daughter, Mary Sparks, now intermarried with JamesSparks (blacksmith), I give one silk dress to be given one year aftermy decease.

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

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

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

his
James O Sparks
seal
Witnesses:
Benjamin Martin
John Nagle

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

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

See the article entitled WILLIAM SPARKS, ca. 1725-1801 in THE SPARKSQUARTERLY, June 1991, Whole No. 154 3752-98 at p. 3796:

James Sparks, son of William and Ann Sparks, was probably born inFrederick County, Maryland, about 1762, and would have been about twoyears old when his parents moved to North Carolina. He served in theAmerican Revolution. His wife's name was Mary ------ He lived in AsheCounty, North Carolina, then Lee County, Virginia. He and his brother,Thomas Sparks, took their families to eastern Kentucky soon after the1820 census was taken, settling in what became Lawrence County in 1821.He died there about 1826. His children were:

(1) Ephraim Sparks, born ca.1781. His wife's name was Charlotte. Theyboth died in Breathitt County, Kentucky, between 1850 and 1860.

(2) William Sparks, born ca.1783. He was married about 1806 to RhodaPennington in Washington County, Virginia. About 1825 he moved his familyto White County, Tennessee, where he died March 2, 1869. Rhoda died onOctober 26, 1871. (For a record of this family, see the QUARTERLY ofSeptember 1982, Whole No. 119, pp.2453-57. )

(3) Lela Sparks, born ca.1785.

(4) Solomon Sparks, born ca.1788.

(5) Nancy Sparks, born ca.1790. She was married to Joshua Pennington in1815. She died in 1878 in Floyd County, Kentucky.

(6) James J. Sparks, born ca. 1790. He died as a soldier in the U. S.Army in 1816. (See the March 1961 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 33,pp. 542-43, for an abstract of a bounty-land application filed by hissiblings. )

(7) Jesse Sparks, born ca.1797. His wife's name was Nancy. They left LeeCounty, Virginia, soon after the 1820 census was taken to settle inLawrence County, Kentucky, where he died after 1869.

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

From a letter from Dr.Paul Sparks, President of THE SPARKS FAMILYASSOCIATION to James Joseph Sparks dated December 1, 1990: "1810 AsheCo. N.C., Rev. War Pension Application, 1826, Lawrence Co. KY. Paidtaxes: Grayson Co. VA 1804, 1805; Washington Co. VA. 1806, 1807, 1809;Lee Co. VA. 1811-1814. Paid taxes Surry Co. NC: 1785, 1792-1800. ToLawrence Co. KY ca 1821; Pd Taxes there in 1824 & 1825. Rebecca may havebeen a stepdaughter. Regarding his son James Jr. see the SPARKSQUARTERLY, March 1961, Whole No. 33, pps. 542-543.

"Paul Sparks letter, op.cit. : "First of all, there is no doubt in mymind that the father of Solomon Sparks, born ca. 1788, was James Sparks,born ca. 1762, probably in Maryland. James Sparks was a son of Williamand Ann Sparks who came to North Carolina from Frederick County Maryland,ca. 1764 and settled in the Rowan-Surry-Wilkes Cos. area. A list ofloyalists (to North Carolina) in Surry County include the entry : "JamesSparks, Son of William Sparks." [JJS: I think Paul Sparks refers to alist of persons who took an oath of allegiance in North Carolina. Seebelow and the comment on p. 3796 in article on his father that Jamesfought in Revolution. Also see inclusion in article cited below ofSparkses who served in the Revolution.]

"James Sparks had 4 other sons: William Sparks, Ephriam Sparks, JesseSparks and James Sparks, Jr. He also had two daughters: Nancy Sparks andLela Sparks. It was the early bound-land law that gave us therelationships of these Sparkses. James Sparks Jr. served in the UnitedStates Army during the War of 1812 and died in the service in 1816.Thirty years later, his brother, Jesse Sparks, a resident of CarterCounty , Kentucky, applied for bounty land, naming as the heirs of JamesSparks, Jr., his siblings. See pages 542-543 of the SQ. Named were:

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

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

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

"JAMES SPARKS (ca. 1762-ca. 1827) OF NORTHCAROLINA, VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY"
(Doubtless a sonof William Sparks [ca.1725-1801/02] )

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

"James Sparks, an old Revolutionary soldier, proferred on oath astatement and declaratory relative to his services, praying to be placedon the pension list of the United States with an affidavit of his beingin indigent circumstances accompanying the same, all of which are orderedto be recorded and certified to the Secretary of War, which is in thewords and figures following, to wit:

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

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

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

"In pursuance of the Act of Congress of the 1st of May 1820 , I dosolemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the18th day of March 1818, and that I have not since that time, by gift,sale or in any other manner disposed of my property or any part there of,with the intent thereby to diminish it as to bring myself with in theprovisions of the Act of Congress entitled, 'An Act to Provide CertainPersons Engaged in the Land and Naval Service of the United States Duringthe Revolutionary War,' passed on the 18th of March, 1818.

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

Signed: James Sparks

"That since the 18th day of March 1818, the following changeshave been made in my property: At that time I had three cows which arethe same over above mentioned and calves and yearlings above mentionedare the increase of those cows; that one of the cows not long since diedon the range; that I have sold none since that time; that the hogs I havenow are the increases of above three sows and pigs that I had at thattime. They have had some pigs occasionally since which I have raised andkilled for meat for my family, the number not now recollected; that Ihave sold none; that I have lived on a small piece of rented land andmade use of all the profits except the rents for the support of my family; that my occupation is ------------ (sic) but from age and infirmity, Iam unable to pursue; that my family consists of myself and wife, agedsixty-four years, named Mary; that I have no children living with me."

Signed: JamesSparks '

"Sworn to and declared on in open court on this 16th day of January1826, before us the Justices of the Peace for Lawrence County, who, byvirtue of our said offices, do hold and constitute this court, and thatthis court does certify that it is the opinion of this court that thevalue of the property continued in the foregoing schedule does not exceed$ 43.00, and that this court is satisfied from the evidence before usthat the applicant has rendered the services to his country in hisdeclaration set forth and that it is the opinion of this court that fromthe indigent circumstances of the said James Sparks that he does stand inneed of the assistance of his country for support: All of which isordered to be received and certified to the Secretary of War.
Signed: Thomas Thomson - Lewis Wellman - JoelStratton "

"[Editor's Note: As stated by the Lawrence County Clerk, James Sparksapplied for a pension under two Acts of Congress, that of March 18, 1818,and that of May 1, 1820. The Act of 1818 had provided pensions forRevolutionary War veterans who had served in a Continental militaryorganization (as opposed to local militia units), for at least ninemonths or until the war's end. Veterans who could prove their servicecould apply even though they had suffered no disabilities, but consideredthemselves to be in need of financial assistance. Many more veteransapplied for, and were granted, pensions under this 1818 Act than Congresshad anticipated, and it came to be widely believed that a large number ofthese pensioners were not actually in need of financial aid from thefederal government. The Act of 1820 was passed by Congress, therefore,in an effort to eliminate non-deserving veterans from the pension rollsas well as to prevent others from applying. The 1820 Act requiredeveryone who had been approved for a pension under the 1818 law now tojustify his pension by submitting to the Secretary of War a certifiedlist of his possessions as well as a statement regarding his annualincome to prove his poverty . A large number of veterans who had begunreceiving pensions under the 1818 law were removed from the pension rollsas a result of the 1820 law. New applicants, such as James Sparks, wererequired, of course, to submit this information. This explains why JamesSparks described his financial situation in such detail.]

"It appears that the application of James Sparks for a pension formilitary service in the Revolutionary War was never acted upon, orperhaps it was never actually sent to the Secretary of War, whose officewas then in charge of military pensions. The National Archives can findno evidence of the service of James Sparks. It may have been discoveredthat the military unit with which he had served consisted only ofmilitiamen and thus not "of the Continental establishment" , or he mayhave died shortly after completing his application. When the 1830 censuswas taken of Lawrence County, James Sparks was not there, nor was heenumerated as a member of the household of his son, Jesse Sparks who wasthen living in Lawrence County. He did not appear on the tax roll ofLawrence County after 1825.

"The second court record which pertains to James Sparks was writtentwenty years later, on June 8, 1846, by the clerk of the Carter County(Kentucky) Court, for the purpose of obtaining bounty land for the heirsof James Sparks, Jr., of Lee County, Virginia. James Sparks , Jr. son ofJames Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827) had served in the United States Army from1812 until his death on July 17, 1816. James Sparks, Jr. apparently hadno children (he probably never married), and his heirs, who becameentitled to bounty land based on his service in the War of 1812, were hissiblings. Named as heirs of James Sparks, Jr. in this court of record of1846 were his brothers, Ephriam Sparks, William Sparks, Solomon Sparksand Jesse Sparks; his sisters, Lela Sparks and Nancy Sparks; and hishalf-sister, Rebecca Sparks. Pertinent portions of the bounty land fileidentifying these siblings of James Sparks were abstracted and publishedin the March 1961 issue of the Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 33, pp. 542-43(JS Note: which may be seen above).

"There can be little doubt that James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827),subject of this article, was a son of William and Ann Sparks who went toNorth Carolina about 1764 from Frederick County, Maryland. They settledin Rowan County where William Sparks bought a 200 acre tract of land inthe forks of the Yadkin River (now Davie County], North Carolina , fromhis brother, Matthew Sparks, on April 12, 1765. (Matthew and othermembers of the Sparks family had gone from Fredrick County, Maryland, tothe Forks of the Yadkin a decade earlier.)

"William Sparks lived there until January 1773 when he moved withseveral of his children to Surry County, North Carolina. There hesettled on Hunting Creek, and it was there that he lived for theremainder of his life. He died during the winter of 1801-1802. Ann, hiswife, survived him, but we have no information regarding the date of herdeath. Among their ten children was James Sparks, born about 1762. (Forfurther details regarding the family of William and Ann Sparks, see theDecember 1989 and the June 1991 issues of the QUARTERLY, Whole Nos. 148and 154, respectively.)

"James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827) was born in Frederick County,Maryland, and carried as a baby to Rowan County, North Carolina, by hisparents, William and Ann Sparks. He was about eleven years old when hemoved with his parents from The Forks of the Yadkin, still then a part ofRowan County, to Surry County, in 1773. When the Revolutionary War brokeout, he was one of many young men who took an oath of allegiance to NorthCarolina, marking its separation from the British Empire. On a list thathas been preserved of those taking this oath, there is the followingentry: "James Sparks , son of William Sparks." (See North CarolinaArchives File No. 92.701.11 ) It was also at about this time that heapparently married Mary ---. She may have been a widow with a youngdaughter.

"James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827) apparently lived near the boundaryline between Wilkes and Surry Counties, and he paid taxes at times inboth counties. He paid taxes in Wilkes County from 1782 to 1786 and inSurry County from 1792 to 1800; however he was not listed on the 1790 or1800 census in either county. On July 23, 1787, the Wilkes County Courtordered him, along with fourteen of his neighbors, to "view " [i.e. workon the road] "from where Oar Road crosses the Surry County line nearHunting Creek to the Salisbury Road below the Old Store and along saidroad to the county line; likewise the road where new runs at HuntingCreek above Peter Goods to said road between said Goods and the OldStore." When the Wilkes County Court met on April 19 , 1788, JamesSparks was one of sixteen men ordered "to view road through land [of]Thomas Dickson on New River instead of present road."

"When the Surry County Court met on May 12, 1791, James Sparks was oneof eighteen men "to view, mark and lay off a road the nearest and bestway from the end of the Fox Knob to Wm T. Lewis' Mill on Spence's Creekfrom thence into whats called Mine Hole Road and from said mill to theIron Works and make report thereof to next court." Also serving on thisdetail was James's father, "Wm Sparks Senr.," and two of his brothers,William Sparks, Jr. and Thomas Sparks. They made their report to thecourt on August 10, 1791.

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

"On August 1, 1808, James Sparks bought 30 acres of land on the NorthFork of New River in Ashe County, North Carolina, from James Hurley.Hurley was described in the deed as "of Sullivan County, Tennessee,"while Sparks was described as "of Washington County, Virginia." Theconsideration was $30.00. Sparks apparently moved to the newly-acquiredland, for he was listed on the 1810 census of Ashe County. He was shownin the "over 45" age category; his wife was enumerated as between 26-45.Living in the household were two males, both aged between 16 and 26 (JSNote: probably Solomon Sr., 22 & James Jr., 20), and one male (probablyJesse 13) and one female (probably Nancy 16), 10-16. Living nearby wasW. Sparks, aged 16 to 26, with his household.

"James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1826), the subject of this article, shouldnot be confused with two of his contemporaries, also named James Sparks,who lived in this same section of North Carolina. One of them was hisuncle, James Sparks, (355) who had probably been born about 1735 inMaryland who had moved to the Forks of the Yadkin about 1754. He servedon the May 1756 court in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was a chainbearer on a survey of a tract of land granted to his brother, MatthewSparks, on December 16, 1760, in Rowan County. He paid taxes in RowanCounty in 1768 and 1772, and in Surry County in 1774 and 1776. This JamesSparks also served in the Revolutionary War according to testimony givenby his nephew, William Sparks, in 1846. ( See the June 1954 issue of SQ,Whole No. 2, pp. 36-38). He probably died shortly after his militaryservice."

"The other James Sparks with whom our present subject should not beconfused was the James (332) born about 1767 who died about 1835 and whowas a son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks; thus he was a firstcousin of James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827), subject of this article. Wehave found few records pertaining to James Sparks, son of Matthew andSarah Sparks. He was born about 1767, probably in Rowan County, NorthCarolina. He was married about 1791, but we have not learned the name ofhis wife . He paid taxes on 100 acres of land in Surry County in 1792,1793 and 1794 and was listed on the 1800 census of Surry County as thehead of his household. He appeared on the 1810 census of Wilkes Count ybut in 1820 and 1830 he was in Burke County, North Carolina. Accordingto these censuses, he had eight children, five daughters and three sons.There is some evidence that his sons were named Hardy, Allen, andAbsalom. He probably died about 1835 in Burke County.

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

"We have found few records of James Sparks (ca.1762-ca.1827), or ofhis family in Lee County, Virginia. He paid personal property taxesthere from 1811 to 1814. His son, Ephriam, paid personal property taxesthere in 1813 and 1814, and his son William, paid taxes there in 1811 and1812. We have found no records of marriages, wills or admininistrationsof persons named Sparks in early Lee County, and there are only two landtransactions recorded involving persons named Sparks. The deeds involveWilliam Sparks, son of James, who bought 100 acres of land in 1816 andsold the tract three years later.

"The last record we have found in Virginia of James Sparks is the 1820census of Lee County. By the time the census was taken, his son, JesseSparks, had been married and had brought his bride into his parent'shome. He was listed as the head of the household. In the meantime, abrother of James Sparks, Thomas Sparks, (born ca. 1766), had moved to LeeCounty and Thomas' family was enumerated on the 1820 census . It wasalso about this time that the brothers made plans to move to the BigSandy River region of eastern Kentucky, a move which they made thefollowing year. They settled in the newly-formed Lawrence County. (Forbiographical material on Thomas Sparks, see the QUARTERLY of December1991, Whole No. 156, beginning on page 3853).

"When James Sparks, Sr., left Lee County, Virginia, and moved with hisson Jesse, to Lawrence County, Kentucky, he was probably accompanied byhis daughter Nancy, and her husband Joshua Pennington. His son, JamesJr., had died in the army in 1816, as noted above. Rebecca Sparks, namedas a half-sister of James Sparks, Jr., left no records as far as we havebeen able to determine, and she may have been a step-daughter, ratherthan a daughter, of James Sparks, Sr. Ephriam Sparks, eldest son ofJames Sparks, Sr., remained in Virginia until about 1832 when he moved toPerry County, Kentucky. William Sparks, son of James, continued to livein Virginia until about 1825 when he moved to White County, Tennessee.

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

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

SQ 732:

"James Sparks, born in September, 1759, in Maryland. According todescendants, he was 13 or 14 years old when he came with his parents towhat is now Independence Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, in1773. He was probably the James Sparks who served in the AmericanRevolution as a member of Captain Sadock Wright's company, 2nd Battalion,Washington County Militia. (See Penna. Archives , 6th Series, Vol. 2, pp.22, 33, and 61.) He was married in Washington County to Margaret Ray, adaughter of Thomas and Margery (Spear ) Ray, who had also emigrated fromMaryland to Washington County. Margaret Ray was born in May, 1761. JamesSparks and his family moved from Pennsylvania to Richland County, Ohio,between 1820 and 1830 ; he later moved to Clinton County, Indiana, wherehe died in October, 1855, at the age of 97. James and Margaret (Ray)Sparks were the parents of twelve children born between 1799 and 1815:Marthy, Margaret, Sarah, William, James, Margory, Mary, Joseph, Thomas,Robert, Allen and Elizabeth."

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

"James Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania andClinton County, Indiana.":

"William Sparks, son of Joseph and Mary Sparks, was born on April 27,1738, in Queen Ann's County, Maryland. (See page 1390 of the March 1971issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73.) He married Martha Moore, adaughter of Alexander and Margaret Moore. (See Deed Book A, page 134 ofLancaster County, Pennsylvania.) Among the seven children of William andMartha (Moore) Sparks was a son, James Sparks, born about 1765, inFrederick County, Maryland. We now present an account of James Sparksand his descendants.

"James Sparks, son of William and Martha (Moore) Sparks, was bornabout 1765 in Frederick County, Maryland, and was a young lad when , in1773, his parents moved by packhorse across the Allegheny Mountains andsettled in that area of Pennsylvania which became Washington County in1781. Here James's father acquired 323 acres of land in IndependenceTownship just a few miles from present-day Ohio County , West Virginia,and it was here that James grew to manhood and learned the trade ofcarpentry. He was probably the James Sparks who served in the AmericanRevolution as a member of Captain Zadoc Wright's Company of the 2ndBattalion of Washington County Militia.

"James Sparks married Margaret Ray, probably about 1798. She was bornabout 1775 in Talbot County, Maryland, and was a daughter of Thomas andMarjorie (Spear) Ray. (Thomas Ray died in 1807 in Washington County,Pennsylvania, and named in his will a daughter, Margaret , wife of JamesSparks.) A brief account of the family of James and Margaret (Ray)Sparks was given in the June 1963 issue of the QUARTERLY referred toabove. Unfortunately, on page 732 of that issue, there is an apparenterror. The year of birth of Margaret (Ray) Sparks was given as 1761. Webelieve this is incorrect. If she were the mother of twelve children,all born between 1799 and 1815, she would have been 38 years old when herfirst child was born and 54 years of age when she had her last child.This would have been highly unlikely, if not improbable.

"Census records of this couple have been preserved for the years 1800,1810, and 1820 of Washington County, Pennsylvania, and for 1830 ofRichland County, Ohio. These records indicate that Margaret was bornbetween 1774 and 1780, and that James was born between 1765 and 1770. Weplace her year of birth as about 1775 and his year of birth as about1765. The latter is confirmed by the 1850 census of Clinton County,Indiana, on which James's age was given as 85 years. (SQ p. 403]

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

"On April 4, 1840, James Sparks sold 49 acres of land to his son,Thomas Sparks, and a year later, he sold 30 acres to John A. Henderson.When the 1850 census was taken of Perry Township in Clinton county, Jameswas listed in the household of his son, Thomas Sparks. He was then 85years of age. It is told that on his 90th birthday, he chopped and split100 fence rails. He died in Clinton County in October 1855. Descendantssay that he and his wife were buried in the Loveless Cemetery nearColfax, Indiana; however, no grave markers can be found.

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

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See SQ p. 5128: "James Sparks, born ca. 1765, died in 1855. He has beendiscussed at some length in the preceeding pages (see the notes for hisfather and mother). He may have been the James Sparks who was taxed inBourbon County, Kentucky, in 1790, 1795, and 1796. He may have thenreturned to Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he was married about1798 to Margaret Ray. Information regarding James Sparks and his familycan be found in the QUARTERLY of March 1984, Whole NO. 125, pp.2588-2600; and June 1984, Whole No. 126, pp. 2612-36. When that recordwas compiled, however, certain errors were made that have been correctedin the pages of the present article (see notes for James's father WilliamSparks, Sr.). " (Here lists children)

See THE SPARKS QUARETERLY, June 1998, Whole No. 182, pgs 4998-4999:

"James Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, who is thesubject of the present article, was born in Rowan County, North Carolina,on April 14, 1778, according to a record in the Bible which wasapparently owned by his brother, Nathan Sparks; however, we believe thatthe year was transcribed erroneously, and that he was actually born in1768. The year 1768 for his birth is also concurred in by census and taxrecords. (See page 4549 of the December 1995 issue of the QUARTERLY,Whole No. 172).

"James Sparks was a young boy when his parents moved to Surry County,North Carolina about 1773. The family settled in that part of SurryCounty that would become Wilkes County in 1777, then Ashe County in1799. James was a grown man when his parents decided to move to Georgiaabout 1787. As stated above, it appears that he did not accompany themon this move.

"Perhaps James Sparks was planning to get married at about the timehis parents, Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, moved to Georgia, andfor that reason did not accompany them. He was probably married about1790, but we have found nothing about his wife except that she was bornabout 1774. They were not enumerated on the 1790 census as a household,but when the 1800 census was taken, James was shown as head of hishousehold in Surry County. It consisted of himself, his wife, twodaughters and two sons. The children had been born between 1790 and 1800.

"James Sparks paid taxes in Surry County, North Carolina, from 1792until 1800. He was in Capt. Benge's District from 1792 to 1794, but hewas in Capt. Kilburn's District from 1795 to 1800. He was a witness tothe purchase of a five-year-old slave girl named Tamar by his cousin,Matthew Sparks, on June 14, 1800. He signed the document by making hismark. Oby Martin was also a witness. James Sparks apparently continuedto live in Surry County until about 1808, when he moved to WilkesCounty. It was there, at the August 5, 1808, term of court, that he wassummoned to work on a road, along with Samuel Hinds and John Hinds, underthe supervision of William Blackburn, overseer. Able-bodied men werefrequently required to perform this kind of county service when roadswere surveyed, built, or repaired in their militia (or tax) districts.

"James Sparks, subject of this article, may have been involved in aslaying in Wilkes County shortly after he moved there. At a trial whichculminated on March 22, 1809, a jury found James Sparks "not guilty ofmurder, but guilty of manslaughter." He was sentenced to be branded withthe letter "M." We cannot say with absolute certainty, however, thatthis was, indeed, the James Sparks who was a son of Matthew and Sarah(Thompson) Sparks.

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

"The last record that we have found of James Sparks in Wilkes Countyis a marriage bond issued for Hardy Sparks to be married to SusannahBrown. The bond was issued on January 5, 1815, and the marriage probablytook place a few days later. James Sparks was the bondsman, a notunusual role for a father in those days. Samuel Johnson was the witnessto this document.

"Sometime between 1815 and 1820, James Sparks moved to Burke County,North Carolina, where he was enumerated as the head of a household on the1820 census. He and his spouse were enumerated as having been born priorto 1775. When them were a male and a female between 10 and 15, twofemales under 10 years of age. We assume that these were a son and threedaughters of James. He was still in Burke County when the 1830 censuswas taken. It seems obvious that on this 1830 census, he and his spousewere mistekenly enumerated in the 40 to 50 age group. With them were twofemale children, aged 10 to 15, whom we assume to have been theirdaughters.

"James Sparks was not enumerated on any 1840 census of North Carolina;he had probably died between 1830 and 1840. We have found no records ofthe administration of his estate, nor that of his wife. Only one recordhas been found that might pertain to one of his children, namely themarriage bond mentioned above. From census records, it seems apparentthat he had eight children, five daughters and three sons, all bornbetween 1790 and 1810. Some, of course, may have died in youth. Inspite of this dearth of records, we believe that we can identify two sonsof James Sparks." (For remainder of article, see notes for his children.)

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

"James Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, was born on April 14,1768, in what is now Davie County, North Carolina, although the Forks ofthe Yadkin where Matthew's land was located was then part of RowanCounty. He died, probably in Wilkes County, North Carolina, between 1830and 1840. He appears not to have accompanied his parents and siblings ontheir move to Georgia in 1783/84, although he was then no more thansixteen years of age. We have not succeeded in finding the name of hiswife , but from census records, it appears that he was the father ofeight children , five daughters and three sons. We believe that we haveidentified his three sons. See our record of them in the article devotedto James Sparks in the QUARTERLY of June 1998, Whole No. 182,pp.4998-5003. (Unfortunately, at the beginning of that article , westated that James was one of Matthew and Sarah's "eleven sons"; We nowfeel certain that there were ten sons, not eleven.)

SQ pg 2566: "James Sparks died prior to November 1797, and left hisshare of his father's estate to his brother, Simon Sparks. In allprobability, he never married."

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

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

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

"Added to this application is a sworn statement by David Fletcher andJoseph Sparks who stated "that the above Declaration is true according tothe best of their knowledge and Belief they having been volunteers in theSame Company with him and that they marched with him to black Rock andwear [sic] Compeled to seek winter quarters."

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

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

"On March 24, 1855, James Sparks applied for additional bounty landunder the provisions of the act of March 3, 1855. He gave his age as 64,a resident of Bedford County. He gave the same information about hisservice as he had in his application of 1851. He signed his name as"James Sparks"; James Bedford, Justice of the Peace, signed as witness.Also signing as witnesses were Solomon Hollar and John Mortimer; thelatter signed by mark. James Sparks was granted an additional tract of120 acres.

"(Editor's note: We have several records pertaining to SolomonSparks's company of Riflemen of the Second Regiment commanded by Col.William Piper. A pay roll of the company dated Nov. 24, 1812 (see thePennsylvania Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 7., pp. 737-38) lists the namesof the men in the comptn-y. ames Sparks was listed as ƈnd Corp'l.' Threeprivates named Sparks were also listed: Joseph Sparks, Abraham Sparks,and Joseph Sparks, Jr. (Both of the Joseph Sparkses received bounty landand their papers will be published when we reach their spot in thealphabet.) The Solomon Sparks who was captain of this company was thesame Solomon Sparks *io served in the American Revolution whose pensionpapers for that service were published in the March, 1955, issue of theQUARTERLY (Whole No. 9, pp. 59-61). He was born in Frederick County,Maryland, in 1758 and was a son of Joseph Sparks who died in BedfordCounty, PA., in 1809. Solomon Sparks was either the father or an uncleof the above James Sparks. (JS Note: Solomon was a brother of thefather of this James i.e. James's uncle.)

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

SQ pgs 2921-2922 state: "James Sparks, son of Joseph and ElizabethSparks,
was born about 1788. He served during the War of 1812 as a 2nd Corporalin a
company commanded by his uncle, Solomon Sparks (586), in the 2nd Regiment,
Pennsylvania Militia. (See pages 529-30 of Whole No. 32, for an abstractof
his Bounty Land file). James Sparks married his cousin, Mary Sparks ,probably about 1823. [JS: Her father James was the brother of thisJames's father, Joseph Jr.] She was born about 1800 and was a daughter ofJames (495) and Nancy (Rogers) Sparks. James Sparks was a blacksmith.According to the 1830, 1840, and 1850 census records of Bedford County,he and Mary had four children; however, we have learned the names of onlytwo of them. James Sparks died sometime after March 1855.

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

"The earliest document in this file is a letter dated Jan. 27, 1846,written by A. Trumbo, a congressman from Kentucky, to the Pension Officeasking "whether the name of James Sparks is found upon the Muster Rollsof 1812 or 1813. He served under Capt. Henry, was a citizen ofJonesville, Lee County, Virginia, at the time he went into the service.He died in the service & his heirs want to get his bounty land if theyare entitled to it."

The Treasury Department found proof of the service of James Sparks---he enlisted on July 28, 1812, for 5 years as a private in Capt.Archer' s Company of Artillery and "he served honestly & faithfully to 17July 1816 when he died." This record also states that the pay to whichJames Sparks was entitled when he died was paid to S. C. Wooldridge, theadministrator of his estate.

On June 8, 1846, at a court held in Carter County, Kentucky,"satisfactory evidence was adduced in court, to prove that James Sparksenlisted under Captain Henry about the 1st of July 1812 at Jonesville,Virginia, for the term of five years and that he has left this country &been absent for many years and reported to be dead and that EphriamSparks (191), Jesse Sparks (196), William Sparks (192), Solomon Sparks(173) , Nancy Sparks (194), and Lela Sparks (193); also one RebeccaSparks, a half sister (197) are the brothers and sisters and the onlyheirs at law in fee to said James Sparks." 160 acres of bounty land wereawarded to these heirs of James Sparks.

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

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

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1961, Whole No. 36, p 601 for the1850 census of Caldwell County, NC. This family is listed as
James Sprarks (sic) 48, born Surry County, NC, farmer, Nancy, 43, bornBurke County, NC, William 12, born Burke County, NC, Marcus, 10, bornBurke County, NC, Mary, 6, born Caldwell County, NC, Thomas, 4, bornCaldwell County, NC.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY June 2002, Whole No. 198, pp. 5696-97:

We return now to the James Sparks, born about 1802, who was a son ofBenjamin and Elizabeth (Hicks) Sparks.

As noted earlier, Caldwell County, North Carolina, was created in 1841from parts of Burke and Wilkes Counties. The part of Burke County thathelped to form Caldwell included the area where James Sparks lived, sowhen the 1850 census was taken, James and his family appeared in that forCaldwell County. Because the 1850 census was designed to include thenames of all free Americans living on June 1st of that year, with theage, place of birth, and other specified information for each, we learnthat the wife of James was named Nancy. The fact that both James Sparksand James S. Sparks married women whose first name was Nancy adds tolikelihood of confusing them. Nancy, wife of James in Caldwell County,however, was about 10 years older (she was 43 in 1850) than NancyLargent, the wife of James S. Sparks (born about 1817, she was 43 in1860). The entry for James Sparks, son of Benjamin, and family on the1850 census of Caldwell County was as follows: (We are fortunate that thecensus taker of Caldwell County in 1850 often recorded the county ofbirth of persons who had been born in North Carolina: See page 573,Summers' District.)

Sparks, James (age) 48 b. Surry Co. NC Farmer
" Nancy 43 Burke Co. NC
" William 12 " " "
" Marcus 10 " " "
" Mary 6 Caldwell " "
" Thomas 4 " " "

An "Agricultural Census" was taken for 1850, although that portion of thecensus was returned to the respective states. That for North Carolina maybe found in the North Carolina Archives in Raleigh. The entry for JamesSparks provides an interesting view of rural life and monetary values atthat time:

1850 Agricultural Census: Caldwell County, North Carolina. James Sparks:100 acres of improved land, 222 acres of unimproved land; cash value offarm, $200. Value of farming implements and machinery, $6.00. Live stockas of June 1, 1850: 1 horse, 4 milch cows, 14 other cattle, 9 sheep, 27swine. Value of live stock, $190. Produced during year: 250 bushels ofIndian corn, 45 bushels of oats, 150 lbs. of tobacco, 14 lbs. of wool, 2bushels of peas and beans, 10 bushels of Irish potatoes, 20 bushels ofsweet potatoes, 100 lbs. of butter, 20 pounds of cheese, 1 ton of hay, 8lbs. of flax, 2 bushels of flax-seed, 55 lbs. of beeswax & honey. Valueof homemade products: $26. Value of animals slaughtered, $32.

The household immediately following that of James Sparks on thepopulation census of Caldwell County for 1850 was headed by Sarah Sparks,age 50, a native of Surry County, North Carolina. Living in her householdwas Elizabeth Sparks, age 26, born in Virginia and labeled "insane," alsoBenjamin Sparks, age 21, born in Burke County, North Carolina. Alsoliving in Sarah Sparks's household was Elizabeth Sparks, age 70, born inMaryland. This was surely Elizabeth (Hicks) Sparks, widow of BenjaminSparks. We cannot identify Sarah Sparks, apparently born about 1800, butwe wonder whether she might have been a widowed daughter-in-law ofBenjamin and Elizabeth Sparks, or possibly an unmarried daughter. Adecade later, at age 80, Elizabeth was living with her daughter andson-in-law, Elizabeth and Henry Craig.

We have reason to believe that James Sparks may have moved with familymembers to Texas. A descendant of James and Nancy's son Marcus, shown as10 years of age on the 1850 census of Caldwell County, North Carolina,was born on June 13, 1840; he died on February 3, 1899, in CollinsCounty, Texas, and was buried on the family farm near Farmersville,Texas. His wife, Mary L. Sparks, had been born in 1844; she died in 1919according to her tombstone in a cemetery near Spearman in HansfordCounty, Texas.

SQ p. 2600:

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

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

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

"James Sparks appeared on the 1850 census of Winchester Township,Adams County, Ohio, age 45. He was listed as a native of Pennsylvania,and his occupation was that of inn keeper. Living with him in 1850 washis wife, Rebecca A. Sparks, aged 42, a native of Kentucky. Followingtheir names are the names of fifteen residents at their inn, among whomwas a John Sparks, age 25. This John Sparks had been born in Ohio, andunder occupation, the census taker wrote "None." Whether this was a sonof James and Rebecca Ann (Shriver) Sparks, we do not know. Judge Sparksgave no information regarding any children of James and Rebecca Ann. WhenJames died, his will left all of his estate to his widow, with no mentionof any children. (See Brown County Wills, Vol. 3, p. 297.) For a recordof Sparkses found on the 1850 census of Ohio, see the QUARTERLY ofDecember 1977, Whole No. 100, pp. 1944-1959.

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

"The most noted of the old inns was built by James Sparks about1839, on lot 27, which he had bought from Eliza Darlinton in 1837. JamesSparks was born in Pennsylvania on August 31, 1807, a son of Solomon andCatherine Sparks. On January 1, 1839, [See correction by the Editor.] hemarried Rebecca Ann Shriver, a daughter of Peter Shriver. The hotelbuilt by Sparks in 1839 was a two-story structure, with a balconyextending out over the sidewalk. Several stables to the rear of thehotel faced the alley on the north. Sparks operated the inn for sixteenyears, and enjoyed an excellent reputation as host. In 1855, he sold theproperty to James W. McIntire and moved to Ripley, Brown County, where hedied January 10, 1858. [Editor's Note: The date given here for themarriage of James Sparks and Rebecca Ann Shriver is in error; accordingto the marriage records in Adams County, the date of their marriage wasJanuary 11, 1829. by Dyer Burgess, NDM.]"

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

The SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, at page 4270, states: James Sparks, son of Ephriam and Charlotte Sparks, was born about1810 in V irginia. He was married to a widow named Temperance (Lusher)Spencer, and they had eight children: John, Phoebe, Charlotte, Nancy,Ephriam, Cordelia, Temperance, and Eveline.

SQ p. 5366:

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

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

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

James Sparks, a son of Allen Sparks, was born about 1829. He was marriedto Jane ["Jennie"] Stemmie who had been born about 1827. They wereincluded on the 1850 census of Yancey County, North Carolina, where Jameswas shown as a farmer, age 21, and Jane was 23. They were then theparents of three children, Mary A . , age 4 ; John M . , age 2 ; andGeorge W . , age two months. (George W. Sparks was the gentleman whosephotograph appears on the cover of the present issue of the QUARTERLY.)James Sparks moved with his family sometime after the birth of theirfifth child in 1854, to Union County, Georgia, accompanied by his olderbrother, Hardin J. Sparks. It was there that James Sparks died on April9, 1870. He and Jane (Stemmie) Sparks were the parents of nine children:
(1) Mary Ann Sparks, born ca,1846;
(2) John M. Sparks, born ca.1848;
(3) George Wesley Sparks, born May 17, 1850;
(4) Albert ["Bert"] G. Sparks, born ca.1853, died in Georgia in January1940;
(5) James Filmore Sparks, born ca.1854, died ca. 1920; he was married toLorina -----; they later moved to Missouri;
(6) Lively Isabel Sparks, born ca.1858 in Georgia;
(7) Sarah A. Sparks, born ca.1860 ;
(8) William Green (or Green William) Sparks, born ca.1864 ; and
(9) Amanda J. Sparks, born May 1870.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION OF JAMES SPARKS

JAMES SPARKS,
son of William and Susan (--?--) Sparks, born March12, 1831, in Bedford
County, Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Stuckey onSeptember 15,
1859, at Clearville, Pennsylvania. He served inCompany K, 208th
Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry. File Designation: Inv.Cert. No. 192,892.

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

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

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

"On February 19, 1886, Wilson W. Sparks, late Lieutenant of Company K,208th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry, completed an Officer's Certificateof Disability to support a request of James Sparks for increased pensionbenefits. Lieut. Sparks stated that in the fall of 1864, whilestationed near Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, James Sparks had been afflictedwith a severe swelling of the legs and had been unfit for duty forseveral days. Prior to this affliction, Sparks had been a sound man freefrom any disability. Lieut. Sparks said he was well acquainted withJames Sparks since boyhood days since they were raised about two milesfrom each other. [The abstract of the pension file for Wilson W. Sparkswas published in the QUARTERLY of June 1977, Whole No. 98, pp. 1914 -15.]

"On September 25, 1886, the War Department again reported to theBureau of Pensions on the military records of James Sparks. With theexception of the gunshot wound, Sparks had been in the General RegimentalHospital only one other time and that had been on December 21, 1864.

"Affidavits concerning the general health of James Sparks prior to andafter returning from the military service were made in his behalf forseveral years after 1886. Among those making affidavits were: ElizabethFoor, aged 54; Charles Mortimer, aged 43; James Avey, aged 67; ThomasWeaverling, aged 43; and John Clark, aged 56; all residents of Everett,Pennsylvania. Other affidavits were made by William H. Gates, aged 59, aresident of Yellow Creek, Pennsylvania; James H. Everhart, aged 52, aresident of Tatesville, Pennsylvania; and Abram Stuckey aged 57, aresident of Clearville, Pennsylvania. Nothing was sent from the pensionfile of James Sparks to indicate whether or not these affidavits had anyeffect on his request for increased pension benefits.

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

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

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

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