!NOTES:
SQ 3548-3550 for article on this family. "Polly (Mary) apparentlydied between 1836 and 1840 leaving Abner with three children."

SQ 3856: "Mary Jane Sparks, daughter of Joseph and Martha (Edward s)Sparks, was born about 1823 in North Carolina. She was married toLorenzo D. Hinkle on March 24, 1846, in Pike County. He had been bornabout 1817 in Tazewell County, Virginia, and was a son of William andElizabeth (---) Hinkle. Mary Jane died in 1876 in Pike County . Lorenzodied in Martin County, KY, between 1886 and 1887. They had nine children:
a. Thomas J. Hinkle was born about 1848. He was married to JaneWilliamson in 1876 in Pike County.
b. George W. Hinkle was born about 1850.
c. William Hinkle was born on April 20, 1852. He was married toAlice Williamson in 1872.
d. Pharmer Polk Hinkle was born on August 31, 1854. He was marriedto Lucinda Dingus on January 1, 1885, in Martin County, KY. He died onJune 24, 1945, in Ashland, KY.
e. Joseph Hinkle was born in 1856.
f. Lorenzo Dow Hinkle, Jr. was born on October 20, 1857. He wasmarried to Judith Staton on January 15, 1889, in Martin County, KY.
g. Levina Hinkle was born about 1862.
h. Colbert Cecil Hinkle was born in May 1866. He was married toLeona Staton in 1893 in Pike County.
i. Mary J. Hinkle was born in 1871. She was married to JohnEntzminger on May 13, 1897, in Martin County, KY."

Note the following record of the 1860 Census for Wells County, IN.,reproduced in the QUARTERLY at page 4540:

166-163 [& p.797]

Last Name First name Age Sex Occupation Property values Born
Roberts Robert 49 (M) Farmer $5000 -$1000 KY
" Abigail 44 (F) NC
" James 31 (M) Farmer IN
" Martha 17 (F) IN
" John 11 (M) IN
" [p. 797] Nathan 8 (M) IN
" Robert D. 2 (M) IN
Sparks Mary Jane 19 (F) IN
Morgan Jacob S. 21 (M) Laborer IN
Jones Thomas J. 21 (M) Laborer OH

(Note: James, Martha, John, and Nathan Roberts, as well as Mary JaneSparks and Jacob S. Morgan, all shown as attending school within theyear.)

See SQ p. 232 for birth information.

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3274: "Mary Jane Sparks, daughter of William and Cynthia (Hank ins)
Sparks was born on July 17, 1861, in Tazewell County, Virginia, and i twas
there that she married Henry Perry Linkous on September 14, 1876. H e was
born on February 22, 1858, and was a son of William P. and Mary B. (Cecil)
Linkous. Henry's brother, John Ezra Linkous married Mary Sparks ( ( ), a
daughter of Jonas J. Sparks (2207) brother of William Sparks (2206)) , acousin
of Mary Jane Sparks. Mary Jane died on January 15, 1925, and Henry d iedon
October 1, 1937. They had eleven children:
(1) James Raleigh Linkous b. July 25, 1879.
(2) Elizabeth Caroline Linkous b. July 25, 1879.
(3) Mary Sarilda Linkous b. ca. 1881.
(4) John William Lee Linkous b 1883.
(5) Cynthia C. Linkous b. July 1885.
(6) Joseph Alexander Linkous b. 1887.
(7) Jonas Brown Linkous b. Apr 1890.
(8) Thomas Ezra Linkous b. Nov 1892.
(9) Charles W. Linkous b. Apr 1895.
(10) Robert Henry Linkous b. Apr 1895. (twins)
(11) Milburn Luther Linkous b July 1898."

SQ p. 2571:

Mary Jane ("Jennie"), daughter of Levi Sparks, was born on February 7,1844. She died on July 17, 1897. She married James M. Phillips. Theyhad no children."

(See her photograph taken ca.1885 on page 2571)

The following information was received on March 25, 2000 by email fromJean Feaster, (blujean@@southwind.net) of Augusta, Kansas, a descendantRudolph Feaster, who was raised by Silas and Julia (Kerr) Sparks, forwhich information we are grateful:

The following Obituary appeared in the Winfield (Cowley County, Kansas)Courier in February, 1953:

Miss Mary Sparks Dies atHospital on Friday

Miss Mary L. Sparks, 78, of 514 East Tenth, died Friday (February20, 1953) at 10:28 a.m. at St. Mary's Hospital. She had been ill with aheart condition since the latter part of December and had beenhospitalized the last time since February 14.
Miss Sparks, daughter of Silas H. and Julia (Kerr) Sparks, was bornJuly 11, 1874, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Later that year thefamily came to Cowley County, and she had since resided here. The familylived in the Odessa community, nine miles southeast of Winfield, untilmoving to Winfield in 1910.
She had one brother, Edward, who was killed in 1893, and the lateRudolph Feaster was reared in the Sparks home. Miss Bee McClellan ofCoffeyville is a cousin.
She was a member of Grace Episcopal Church, and funeral rites willprobably be held from the church. Funeral arrangements will be announcedby Swisher Mortuary.

She was buried in Union-Graham Cemetery, Winfield, with her parentsand brother.

SQ pg 2656: She married a man named Hargrove.

!NOTES:
SQ 2524: "Mollie M. Sparks, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Morg an)Sparks
was born on September 5, 1864, in Georgia. She died on Marech 19, 1919. She
married Earl Dearing and they had one child, Earl, Jr., born on Jun e 6,1889."
A picture of Mary Mathilda "Mollie" (Sparks) Dearing appears on pa ge3312
of the QUARTERLY.

SQ pg 2569: "She married Edwin E. Ennis on October 26, 1867."

JS Note: I received the following email on July 5, 2002 from Ben Shrader(sengben@@cablenet-va.com who is a grandson of Mary Matilda Sparks Shrader:
"My grandmother Mary Matilda Sparks Shrader left from her home atRaven Nest, Tazewell County, Virginia, to care for her ailing parents,John Henry Sparks, Jr., and Lucinda Jane Asbury Sparks, at Dry Fork,Tazewell County, Virginia. Within a 14 day period, both parents, abrother Walter and herself were dead with typhoid fever." Ben Shrader,Bedford VA.

SQ pg 8O7: "Mary Sparks (called Polly), daughter of David and Mary(Little) Sparks, was born February 11, 1797, in Rowan County, NorthCarolina , and died on November 30, 1877, in McNairy County, Tennessee.She was married in Lincoln County Tennessee, to James D. Hunter, who wasborn in North Carolina on December 7, 1796, and died in McNairy County,Tennessee, on December 26, 1865.
Both were b uried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in McNairy County. Theywere the parents of the following children: [here lists 1O children].

"We plan to publish a more detailed record of the descendants of Mary(Sparks) Hunter in a future issue. The portrait of Mary that appear sonpage 806 has been reproduced from the original owned by descendants ofMargaret Caroline Hunter."

!NOTES:
SQ 3855: Mary "Polly" Sparks was born on July 10, 1849, in Pike County, KY. She was married to James M. Williams on Christmas Day in 1870. He had been born on July 19, 1849. He and Polly had six childre nbefore her death, which occurred on January 31, 1884. James died o n May28, 1928. Their children were Silas, Andrew, Julie, Annie, Bow les, andHiram.

See the Sparks Quarterly, June 1973, Whole No. 82, pg 1563:

Mary R. Sparks, born about 1826; she married Levin Smith Moore on April14, 1855, in Dearborn County, Ind. He was a son of Adam and Judith(Smith) Moore who caine to Indiana from Maryland and settled at whatbecame Moores Hill. Levin S. Moore was born June 22, 1819. He married(first) Anna Dowden and had children Otho W., Mary, Sophia, Benjamin S.,Isaac T., and John C. After his wife’s death in 1853, Levin S. Mooremarried Mary R. Sparks and they had the following children: Anna, George,Josephine, Harriet, Charles, and Carrie. (See History of Dearborn andOhio Counties, Indiana
by F. E. Weakley & Co., 1885.)

The following article has been copied as written in THE SPARKS QUARTERLY,June, 1997, Whole No. 178, p.4838:

-4838-

A Review of FourteenFrontier Families

Compiled by Mary Sparks Matthews

Mary Sparks Matthews, who has been a generous supporter of the SparksFamily Association since 1954, has published an interesting volume (519pages) entitled Fourteen Frontier Families. The subtitle identifiesthese fourteen family names as Sparks, Ruth, Brooks, Pryor, Wyatt, Deale,Bull, Johnson, Pearce, Blount, Campbell, Chapman, Maxwell, and Kees.Each of the thirteen names following that of Sparks pertains to a familyrelated by marriage to a Sparks in Mrs. Matthew's line of descent. Herimmigrant ancestor in the male line was William Sparks who migrated fromHampshire County, England, to Maryland in 1662. Mrs. Matthews is amember of the tenth generation of descendants from this William Sparks,who died in Queen Annes County, Maryland, in 1709. (Two lengthy articlesdevoted to William Sparks and his family have been published in issues ofThe Sparks Quarterly, that of March 1971 [Whole No. 73], and that ofDecember 1992 [Whole No. 160]. )

It is from William Sparks's son, John Sparks, born about 1680, whose wifewas Cornelia Curtis, that Mrs. Matthews descends through John's son,Millington Sparks, and wife, Mabel Ruth. The forename "Millington" wasrepeated in the next two generations of Mrs. Matthews' line of descent,as was outlined in Paul E. Sparks's article entitled "Millington Sparks,III (ca.1775-ca.1835) ... 11 that appeared in the Quarterly of June 1995,Whole No. 170. (Dr. Sparks acknowledged his indebtedness to Mrs.Matthews, as well as to Abbott Sparks, for "much of the materials used inthis article.") The third Millington Sparks, a great-great- grandson ofthe William Sparks who died in 1709, seems to have been called WilliamMillington Sparks; he was married in 1797 to Rebecca Brooks. Theyfollowed Brooks relatives to Georgia about 1803, then moved to Alabama.Their son, Samuel Wyatt Sparks, born July 7, 1803, was married to SarahDeale; Samuel and Sarah were the parents of Martin Van Buren Sparks, bornMarch 4, 1837, who was married to Susan Leonora Bull.

The next Sparks in Mrs. Matthewts line of descent is that of hergrandfather, Lloyd R. Sparks (1866-1934); her father was Fred WinchellSparks (1891-1982).

For each of her frontier families, Mrs. Matthews has provided informationregarding the entire family where possible, not only in the narrativeitself, but in the book's appendixes, "A"through "C" of which, pp.287-400, pertain to the Sparks family. Mrs. Matthews has providedfascinating descriptions of the times and the physical locations whereeach generation lived; helpful charts and illustrations are alsoincluded. The book can be read as a narrative of the American frontieras well as a series of individual family histories. The binding threadthroughout, however, is the author's own branch of the Sparks family.

Copies of Fourteen Frontier Families may be purchased directly from Mrs.Matthews for $45.00 , which includes handling and shipping. Her addressis: 377 North Catherine Park Dr., Glendora, CA 91741-3020.

SQ 3871:

"Mary C. Sparks was born bout 1865. According to a descendant,
when she was about 15 years old, she fell in love with a 17-year-oldneighbor
boy, William Mutters, by whom she had a son, born in 1881. He was namedAsa
Garfield Sparks, and he was adopted by his grandparents, Henry and Elizabeth
(Rouse) Sparks. Ace Sparks (as he was called) grew to maturity; he wasmarried
to Motie May Applegate, and they had six children. His mother, Mary C.Sparks,
was married to Lewis Howell, and they had ten children. Unfortunatel y,we have
not learned the names of any of these children. Lewis Howell died onFebruary
28, 1929, and Mary died in May, 1935."

She married Arthur Young. No children.

See SQ p. 393: MATILDA SPARKS, daughter of George and Delila Spar ks,
was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina, about 1820. She married J ohn
Jackson Grant in Wells County, Indiana, on May 29, 1839.
Also see SQ 3706.

SQ p. 5618:

A daughter was born to Bailey and Martha (Noland) Sparks about 1820. Shemay have been the Matilda Sparks who was married to James Fields InCarroll County, Mississippi, on June 9, 1838. We may speculate that JamesFields may have been a brother of Michael F. Fields, who was married toMary H. Sparks, daughter of Bailey and Martha. James Fields and hisfamily appeared on the 1850 census of Choctaw County, Western Division,Mississippi, as follows:

Name Age BornOccupation Property Values
James Fields 35 North CarolinaFarmer $450
Matilda Fields 31 Tennessee
William B. Fields 10 Mississippi
James A. Fields 8 "
Daniel G. Fields 6 "
Winney A. Fields 5 "
Mary E. Fields 2 "
Martha Fields 3/12 "
Hannah Tatum 20 North Carolina
Christopher Bess 24 Mississippi Farmer"

SQ pg 2625:

"She married a U.S. Army officer, name not known. He was a colonelduring World War II and was stationed at Camp Ellis near Ellisville,Illinois, where captured German prisoners were interned."

.
!NOTES:
Matilda B. Sparks was born about 1843. She was married to Marshal lKing
on June 23, 1859, in McLennan County. Since she was not mentioned i n her
father's obituary, we assume that she died by 1900.

NOTE:
Paul Sparks has birth at 6 July 1841 and marriage 6 July 1860 .Data entered came from Bidlack letter of Nov 24, 199O which appears moreaccurate.
Marriage records of Washington Co., VA. (FHL 34389), page 114, a rethe records to which Russell Bidlack makes reference below.
The letter from Russell Bidlack dated Nov 24, 1990 states "Themarriage records of Washington Co. VA, are very incomplete--recorded onlyif the minister happened to report them to the County Clerk. Manyministers did not bother. There is a marriage on record for one of thechildren of Solomon and Margaret (Brim) Sparks. On June 7, 1860, MatildaCaroline Sparks, age 18 years 11 months 30 days (so she was born on June8, 1841), daughter of Solomon and Margaret Sparks, was married to JohnNicholas Dunlap, age 21 years, 11 months, 5 days, son of Thomas and PollyDunlap. This marriage also gave Matilda's place of birth as WashingtonCo., VA and John's as Rockbridge Co., VA. John was a blacksmith."

See SQ p. 1920.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1956, Whole No. 16, pg 177 (andalso the issue of December 1997, Whole No. 180, p. 4965):

SPARKSES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:

"(Editor's Note: We believe that the following pension papers ofMatthew Sparks (529) (1759-1841) are among the most interesting of thosewhich have been published thus far in the QUARTERLY, for in hisapplication Matthew Sparks goes into considerable detail regarding hisexperiences in the Revolution).

"According to his own statement, Matthew Sparks [Jr.] (529) was bornJanuary 20, 1759, in Rowan County, North Carolina. He died on August 14,1841, in Clinton County, Illinois. Records gathered by the officers ofthe Association over a period of several years reveal that the father ofMatthew Sparks was also named Matthew (256); in order to distinguishbetween father and son in this preliminary sketch, the father will bereferred to as Matthew Sparks, the Elder.

"Matthew Sparks, the Elder, and his wife Sarah (whose maiden name issaid by descendants to have been Thompson), is believed to have migratedfrom Maryland to North Carolina about 1758. The earliest record ofMatthew Sparks the Elder in Rowan County found thus far is a deed datedApril 4, 1761, by which he purchased 372 acres of land from Sir JohnCarteret, Earl of Granville. (Here article provides facts about childrenfor which see the notes of the children of Matthew Sparks)

"From the pension papers of Matthew (529) and William (333), it isapparent that their father Matthew Sparks the Elder, moved from RowanCounty, N.C., to Wilkes County, N.C., with his family before theRevolution, settling on New River near the present town of Jefferson inAshe County. (Ashe County was cut off from Wilkes County in 1799 and theland on which Matthew Sparks the Elder had lived became part of AsheCounty.) Apparently several of the sons served in the Revolution (notethat William refers to his brother John as having been a lieutenant).Family tradition indicates that all of the sons of Matthew Sparks theElder had red hair.

"Following the Revolution, Matthew Sparks, the Elder and most of hissons moved to Georgia, settling eventually near the present city ofAthens in what is now Clark County, then Franklin County. Here thefamily and other settlers built SPARKS FORT as protection against theCreek Indians. For a number of years, the Creek Indians, under theirfamous chief, Alexander McGillivray, were an almost daily menace. InNovember, 1793, Matthew Sparks, the Elder, was killed by the Indians.The family gradually scattered, a number of the sons settling inTennessee as was indicated above. Sarah Sparks, widow of Matthew Sparks,the Elder, was living as late as September, 1828, in Tennessee.According to a letter written by a granddaughter in 1899, Sarah Sparks isburied in "Old Pleasant Grove."

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

The following feature article about Matthew Sparks in SQ June 1961Whole No. 34, page 556, is clarified in the Dec 1989 issue, Whole No.148, at page 3500, with corrections pointing out that Matthew was a sonof William Sample Sparks and a brother of William Sparks who died in 1801in Surry Co. NC.

SPARKS QUARTERLY June 1961, Whole No. 34, pg 556:

"In the December, 1956, issue of the Quarterly (Vol. IV, No. 16, p p.177-78), we designated Matthew Sparks as "the Elder" to distinguish himfrom his son, also named Matthew, whose Revolutionary War pension paperswe published. Here it has been thought best to refer to the elderMatthew simply as Matthew Sparks, and to refer to his son as Matthew,Jr.

"An important source for our research on Matthew Sparks and hisdescendants has been a letter written by one of Matthew's descendants,Bettie C. Smith, on March 11, 1899. Mrs. Smith was an old lady in 1899and wrote this letter to her nephew, Sam Sparks, of McKinzie, Tennessee,to tell him what she remembered regarding her ancestors. A copy of thisletter was placed in the Tennessee State Library several years ago whereit has been copied a number of times and has been used as a basis forresearch by a number of Matthew Sparks's descendants. Unfortunately,Bettie Smith made a serious error in her letter that has caused a greatdeal of confusion ever since when she mentioned her great-grandfather,Matthew Sparks, she erroneously gave his name as "John." The fact thatMatthew had a son named Matthew, as well as a son named John, may havecaused this confusion, but more probably, Mrs. Smith just made a "slip."In reducing Bettie Smith's letter here, it has seemed best to substitutethe correct name of her great-grandfather than to perpetuate themistake. Following is Bettie C. Smith's letter, with notes:

"Sammie: The older ones are, or will soon be all gone; when you getto be older, you will want to know more than now, who was your ancestors.When I was a child old Uncle Mathew Sparks made his home with hisbrother, Isaac, but spent much of his time with Father and Mama. Ilearned of him more than from anyone else. His Father was named Matthew(see explanation above) his mother was Sarah Thompson (Sally Tyson, wasnamed for her), he crossed the waters, I never have known where he wasraised; Sally Tyson thought he came from Wales. I do not know where hemarried. He went out to kill a turkey one morning, and was shot byIndians. He left eleven children, nine red-headed boys, and two girls.Here are the names of the boys: David, James, William, Mathew, Absolom,Jessie, Nathan, Baily, Hardy and Isaac. The girls names were Eady andAnn, one of them married a Traylor. Mathew fought in the Revolution,don't know how many more. They fought the Tories for all they wereworth. John, Captain and Mathew Lieutenant.

"They got up one morning, horses all gone but one, (I guess that wasin Georgia) they sit Granny, and a bed on her (the horse) and started forthe fort, twenty-five miles bare-headed; there they stayed seven years.Uncle Isaac was five years old, and brother and sister swung by his armall the way. Old Grandma buried at Old Pleasant Grove; the piece ofshirt the ball went through when her husband was killed, was buried withher. I do not know so much of Thompson kin; Grandma Thompson wasElizabeth Suduth; Grandma Sparks was Nancy Hancock. My notion is that ifwe have any mean streaks in us, it did not come through the Sparks',while many of them have become adulterated; but the good ones were sureenough good. You may not care to ever read this, but I don't care, I amgoing to send it anyway.

March 11, 1899 Signed: Bettie C. Smith.'

"Notes on the above letter: We have not succeeded in getting in touchwith any of the descendants or close relatives of Bettie C. Smith, andavailable census and official records have failed to reveal positivelywho she was. There seems little doubt, however, that she was agreat-granddaughter of Matthew and Sarah Sparks. Nathan Sparks, one ofMatthew's sons, had a son named Isaac, born about 1805, who was marriedto Orpha Thompson in Wilson County, Tennessee, in 1824 (bond datedSeptember 27). When Isaac's estate was settled in Carroll County,Tennessee, following his death in 1878, one of his daughters was listedas Elizabeth E. Smith. Although in her letter of 1899, Bettie's middleinitial appears as a "C", we are inclined to believe that she was thedaughter of Isaac and Orpha. If this is correct, her statement that"Grandma Thompson was Elizabeth Suduth" and "Grandma Sparks was NancyHancock" refers to Isaac's and Orpha's mothers. It seems certain, in anycase, that she was not referring to the family of Sarah Thompson, wife ofMatthew. We have numerous records to prove that Matthew's wife was namedSarah, but Bettie Smith's letter is our only record that her maiden namewas Thompson. It was Sally Tyson who, according to Mrs. Smith, was namedafter Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, was a daughter of Isaac Sparks, who was ason of Matthew and Sarah. A marriage record on file in Carroll County,Tennessee, reveals that a Sarah Sparks and Samuel Tyson were marriedJanuary 8, 1845.

"Betty Smith was confused regarding the part the family played in therevolution. Matthew Sparks was killed by the Indians in 1793, long afterthe close of the Revolution. Likewise, Mrs. Smith seems to have beensomewhat confused when she listed the names of the children of Matthewand Sarah. She stated that there were eleven children in all, but gavethe names of twelve. From other sources, we know also that there was ason named John whom she failed to mention, making thirteen in all.

"Although Bettie Smith stated that Sally Tyson had thought MatthewSparks had come to America from Wales, it is probable that he was born inthis country -- perhaps one of Matthew's ancestors had come over fromWales. Although we have no positive proof, we believe that MatthewSparks was living in Frederick County, Maryland, before he moved to RowanCounty, North Carolina. He and his wife Sarah, were probably marriedabout 1754. There can be no doubt that Matthew was closely related toWilliam Sample Sparks and Solomon Sparks who came from Frederick County,Maryland, to Rowan County, North Carolina, in the early 1760's. (MatthewSparks sold land to his brother William Sparks on April 10, 1765, shortlyafter William's arrival in Rowan County.) Matthew, William Sample, andSolomon were all of the same generation --all were born about1725-35--and they may have been brothers. [JS Note: The fact is, WilliamSample and Solomon were cousins and Matthew was William Sample's son.]If so, they were probably sons of Joseph and Rachel Sparks. JosephSparks died in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1749; he did not leave awill, but the inventory of his estate names William Sample Sparks (JS:his nephew) and Rachel Sparks as his next of kin.

"In the Revolutionary War pension application of William Sparks, sonof Matthew, he refered to "my uncle James Sparks" who he stated was amember "of the foot company from Wilkes County."If this statement byMatthew's son is correct, then Matthew had a brother named James Sparksin North Carolina. (The 1774 tax list of Surry County, North Carolina,"Benjamin Cleavland's District", contains the name James Sparks. In afragment that is preserved of the 1779 tax list of Wilkes County, "Capt.Allen's District," the name of "James Sparkes" is listed with hisproperty valued at 100 pounds. What became of this James Sparks after1779 is not known.)

"The earliest official record pertaining to Matthew Sparks found thusfar in Rowan County, North Carolina, is the recorded deed dated april 4,1761, by which he purchased 372 acres of land from John Carteret, thefirst Earl of Granville. (The Earl was a great-grandson of Sir GeorgeCarteret, one of the original Lords Proprietors of the Colony of NorthCarolina; he owned vast tracts of "vacant land" which he gradually soldto planters for relatively small sums.) Matthew Sparks paid only tenshillings sterling for his 372 acres. The tract was described as followsin the deed (see Rowan County Deed Book 4, page 514): 'that tract orParcel of Vacant Land, Situate Lying and Being in the Parish of St. Luke,in the County of Rowan, in the Said Province, Lying in the forks of theYadkin River, Running up the south Yadkin N.20 x W.20 Chain to a hickery,then N.38.W.10 ch: to a Gum, then N.42.W.20 Ch: to a hickery, thence DueNorth, 90 chain to a black Oak, then Et. 40 Ch: to a White Oak on theBank of the Main River, Then Down river to the beginning containing inthe Whole Three Hundred and Seventy-two acres of Land.'

"This tract of land is easy to locate from the description given inthe deed--it is located in what is now Davie County at the point wherethe South Yadkin flows into the Yadkin River.

"On April 10, 1765, Matthew Sparks and Sarah, his wife, sold 200 acresof this tract to William Sparks for 50 pounds (See Rowan County Deed Book6, page 139). The witnesses to this deed were William Frohock, JohnHuston, and Thomas Frohock. Matthew and Sarah both signed by mark.(William S. Sparks sold this same tract of 200 acres to William Frohockfor 150 pounds on January 27, 1773--see Rowan County Deed Book 8, page104). On September 17, 1767, Matthew and Sarah sold the remaining 172acres of their tract to William Haden for 150 pounds (Rowan County DeedBook 6, page 482). The witnesses were Benjamin Taylor and JamesWhitafeur (or Whitakor?); Matthew and Sarah both signed by mark.

"Exactly when Matthew Sparks and his family came to Rowan County isnow known, but they must have come about 1758; their son Matthew Jr.,stated in 1832 that he had been born on January 20, 1759, "in RowanCounty near Salisbury." The earliest reference to Matthew Sparks in theRowan County Court Records is dated 1761 (page 335)-- he was listed asbeing on a jury. The first tax list of Rowan
County on which his name appears is that of 1761--Matthew Sparks, JonasSparks, and Solomon Sparks were all in Caleb Osborn's District. (JonasSparks, who died in Rowan County in 1805, may also have been a brother ofMatthew (JS: No, he was Solomon's brother)). Matthew Sparks was "on Jury"again in 1762 (page 385), in 1765 (page 522), and in 1766 (page 634). Aninteresting court record dated "Second Tues. in July 1763" (page 469)reads as follows:

'On Motion It is Ordered that a Waggon Road the Best and nearest andBest way from the Shallow ford upon the Yadkin River to the Town ofSalisbury and the following persons are appointed to lay off and mark thesame, to wit Samuel Bryan, Morgan Bryan, James Bryan, Roger Turner,Mathew Sparks, Edward Roberts, Daniel Boon, Barnet Stagner, DavidJohnston, James McMahen, Robert Furbush & Thomas Turner and accordinglythey appear upon Notice and be Qualified before the nearest Magistratefor their Faithfull discharge of this Office &c.'

"An undated entry in the Rowan County Court Records (page 608) foreither 1765 or 1766, records that Matthew Sparks and Daniel Lewis were"suretys in 100 pounds" for Gatry Willcocks (or Willcox), widow of IsaacWillcocks, and George Wilcox, administrators of the estate of IsaacWillcocks. The following court record, dated Thursday, February 4, 1773,is of interest (Book 3, 1773-1786, page 10):

'Overseer of Roads. Ordered on petition that the following jury layout and open a Road from the Shallow Ford to William Morrisons Mill UponThird Creek - Viz: Rodger Turner, Patrick Morrison, John Bryan, AndrewMorrison, James Willson, George Lock, Mathew Sparks, John Reed, JohnHerens, Jas Cooper, Isaac Holman & Moses Potts. Charles Vandever andJames Cooper are appointed Overseers of sd Road.'

"Two of the sons of Matthew and Sarah Sparks applied for pensions onthe basis of their service during the American Revolution. These twosons, Matthew Sparks, Jr. (1759-1841) and William Sparks (1761-ca.1848),gave information in their applications that helps to trace the activitiesof their parents, Matthew and Sarah. Matthew Sparks, Jr., stated that hehad been born in Rowan County, near Salisbury, on January 20, 1759, and"there lived with his father until he was between fourteen and sixteenyears old"--thus until 1773-1775, or just before the outbreak of theRevolution.

"He stated that the family moved from Rowan County to "New River inWilkes County" in North Carolina. William Sparks stated in hisapplication that he was "born within one mile of the town of Salisbury inthe County of Roan i.e. Rowan, State of North Carolina" on April 3,1761. He entered the service in 1778. William Sparks stated thatshortly before he entered the service, his father, Matthew Sparks, hadmoved from the Yadkin River "across the Blue Ridge to a place on NewRiver" in Wilkes County. Thus, the statements by Matthew, Jr., and hisbrother William, agree regarding the family's removal, although neithergave the exact date. The 1774 tax list of Surry County, which thenincluded the New River area of what later became Wilkes County, does notcontain the name of Matthew Sparks. However, his name does appear on the1775 tax list. He was listed in "Benjamin Cleaveland's List" as "MatthewSparks Sr." with three taxable polls, i.e., males over 16 and under 60.The two polls besides his own were given as "John Sparks and MatthewSparks Junr." From this it would appear that the family moved over onNew River in 1775, and that John, who was born in 1755, and Matthew, Jr.,who was born in 1759, were the two oldest sons of Matthew and Sarah.Apparently no other son had reached the age of 16 in 1775.

"Wilkes County was formed in 1777 from Surry County and the Districtof Washington. The area in which Matthew Sparks settled on New River hadbeen a part of Surry County and is now a part of Ashe County (Ashe Countyhaving been formed from Wilkes in 1799). Matthew lived near the presenttown of Jefferson in Ashe County.

"On March 3, 1779, Matthew Sparks obtained a grant of 400 acres inWilkes County "at the mouth of Little Naked Creek." (Here followsoriginal and corrected discription. Continuing on page 560:)

"The earliest extant complete tax list of Wilkes County, that of 1782,credits Matthew Sparks with the ownership of 650 acres of land, sixhorses, and eight cattle --the whole valued for tax purposes at $144.00.He was listed in Capt. Cleveland's District; his son, John Sparks, waslisted in the same district as owning livestock but no land. Likewise,James Sparks was listed as owning livestock but no land. We feel certainthat this James Sparks was Matthew's son, not his brother.

"An interesting picture of life in the New River Settlement during theRevolution was given by Matthew's son, William Sparks, in his pensionapplication. He stated that when he was in his seventeenth year hejoined a military unit which conducted a campaign against the CherokeeIndians. Apparently this was in 1778. "Upon my return from thiscampaign," William Sparks testified, "the military company in the boundsof which I resided, was organized into a company of mounted minute menunder Andrew Baker as Captain and my Brother John Sparks as Lieutenant.In this company I served till the close of the Revolution. We furnishedour own horses arms and equipments. Our part of the country was almostconstantly infested with robbing and murdering parties of tories, Britishand Hessians, and I was constantly either out in pursuit of such parties,or, in obedience to the orders of my Captain, held myself in readiness tomarch at a moment's warning. Of the many and almost constant scoutingparties, pursuits, and expeditions in which I was engaged during thisperiod from my great age and infirmities I can recollect but one, so asto be able to state the particulars and that only from the personalinterest of my family in it, I will proceed to state it.

"In less than a year after my return from the campaign against theCherokees above detailed a party of tories, about 150 in number, robbedmy Father, taking a horse, saddle and bridle, six guns, all our pewter(we had no delf ware (i.e. delftware) in those days) and whatever elsethey could carry. My company was immediately called out and othersamounting in all to about one hundred and fifty mounted Gun Men under thecommand of Col. Benjamin Cleaveland. We pursued the above named tories adistance of between 60 and 70 miles and overtook them in Boxe'ssettlement near the Virginia line. They were feasting, frolicing andmany of them drunk.

"We killed and wounded 25 or 30 of them in a fight, made prisoners ofnearly all the rest, of whom hung five or six, the ballance of theprisoners were discharged by Col. Cleaveland upon their promise not tomolest the patriots for the future. In this expedition I was engagedthree weeks."

"The earliest mention of Matthew Sparks in the Wilkes County CourtRecords is dated June 3, 1778--he was among a group of men appointed tolay out a road. This record reads as follows:
'Ordered by the Court that Rowland Judd, John Robins Jur, JohnTyrah, William Owen Jur, John Shepperd, Nethaniel Judd, Barnet Owen, JohnBaker, Matthew Sparks, Andrew Baker Jur, Thomas Calloway, Robert Bake,Zacariah Wells, Abel Penington, James Ward and James Lewis or any 12 ofthem be a Jury to Lay out a Road the best and most Convenient was fromthe Deep fourd on the Reddies River to Benjah Penington 's mill and makeReport of to the next Court.'(Bottom pg 560)

"On September 7, 1778, it was "Order'd that Matthew Sparks Snr. beappointed Overseer of the new marked Road from the Top of the Blue Ridgeto the Fourd on the south Fork of the new River, and all the handsConvenient work thereon." On December 10, 1778, it was "Ordered that allhands in Capt. Bakers Company Benjamin Taylors work on the Road underMatthew Sparks overseer." On June 7, 1780, it was "Ordered by the Courtthat Charles Rowland be appointed overseer of the Road in stead ofMatthew Sparks and all the hands work thereon."

"Exactly how long Matthew Sparks and his family remained on New Riverin Wilkes County (now Ashe County) is not known. Matthew's son, WilliamSparks, in his pension application, stated that he remained in WilkesCounty "till the close of the Revolutionary war when he removed with hisfather to what was then Franklin County, afterwards Jackson, and nowClarke County in the State of Georgia and settled about four miles fromAthens in that State."

"Matthew Sparks, Jr., in his pension application, stated that thefamily remained in Wilkes County "until three or four years after theclose of the Revolutionary War." The fact that on June 7, 1780, MatthewSparks was replaced as overseer for the new road may indicate the familywas making plans to move.

"They were still in Wilkes County in 1782, however, for on the taxlist of Wilkes County for that year Matthew Sparks, Jr., was listed inCapt. Sam Johnson's District as "single," without land--his taxableproperty consisted of one "horse or mule" valued at six pounds. MatthewSparks, Sr., was listed in "Capt. Cleveland's Dist." with taxableproperty consisting of 650 acres of land valued at 100 pounds, 6 horsesor mules valued at 36 pounds, and 8 cattle valued at 8 pounds, making atotal of 144 pounds of taxable property. Listed in the same district, asstated earlier, was James Sparks (with 5 cattle valued at 5 pounds) andJohn Sparks (with 2 "horses or mules" valued at 12 pounds and 5 cattlevalued at 5 pounds).

"A deed by which Matthew Sparks sold 400 acres of land to Edward Crosswas proven in the Wilkes County Court on October 27, 1784, by JamesBunyard. The fact that Matthew Sparks himself did not appear in court toprove the deed may mean that he had left the county by the fall of 1784.Unfortunately, the deed itself was not recorded--we have only the courtrecord of its being proved. Neither Matthew Sparks nor his sons appearedon the 1784 tax list of Wilkes County.

"From the pension papers of Matthew's two sons, we know that he, withmost of his sons, were among the first settlers in the lands east of theOconee River in Georgia, which, prior to the close of the Revolution, hadbelonged to the Creek Indians. This vast area was given to the State ofGeorgia and in February, 1784, the Georgia Legislature passed an actthrowing open to settlement this newly acquired territory. It wasdesignated as Washington and Franklin Counties. (Many squatters had movedinto the area, however, prior to February, 1784, and perhaps MatthewSparks was among them.)

"The Creek Indians strongly protested the loss of their land and,under their able leader Alexander McGillivroy, a half-breed with Scottishancestry, they kept up for several years, in that irregular, desultorymanner so common in Indian wa rfare, a series of depredations on thewhite settlements along the Georgia frontier. Spain also claimed thisland and signed a treaty with McGillivroy in 1784 under which the Spanishgave the Indians aid and encouragement. This struggle, which lastedtwelve years, is called the Oconee War.

"Matthew Sparks, Jr., in his pension application, stated that soonafter coming to Georgia, he, "with his father and other settlers, erecteda fort which was then and probably still is called "Sparks Fort. " Hemade this statement in 1832. This was probably the fort to which BettieSmith referred in her letter.

"During the years that Matthew Sparks lived in Georgia (from about1784 to 1793), the constant Indian depredations and unsettled timesresulted in few records being maintained. Fortunately for our research,during the period of many years following the death of Matthew Sparks,his heirs made a number of claims against both the Federal and Stategovernment for the losses that the family had suffered.

"From these claims and the surviving correspondence involving them, weare able to gain some knowledge of Matthew's closing years. Some ofthese documents are contained in a file called "Indian Depredations" inthe Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta. Others havebeen preserved by a greatgreat- grandson of Matthew and Sarah Sparks, J.Kent Sparks of Linden, Tennessee.

"The document that provides the most detailed account of Matthew'stroubles with the Creek Indians is a statement sworn to by Nathan Sparks,son of Matthew, in Wilson County, Tennessee, in September, 1828. Thisdocument reads as follows:

"Matthew Sparks lived in the State of Georgia in the year 1786 until1793 and was killed by the Indians in Franklin County near where Atheans(sic) now is and in said date 1786 McGilbrey, i.e. MeGillivroy, and hiswarriors made their first brake on Sparks's property (To Witt)

2 Spinning Whells one large patch one Garden and
other things (too tedious to mention) value of---------------30.00
In the year 1787 one Sorrel mare was stolen to the value of200.00
one large Bell also ------------------------------------------ 2.00
one Eagle Horse ---------------------------------------------- 100.00
one Roam Mare ------------------------------------------------ 100.00
one Black I ------------------------------------------------70.00
1Brown Bay Horse -------------------------------------------- 75.00
In the year 1788 one Fort burnt
3 dwelling Houses one Block House and all the
stockading around said Fort to the value of ------------------175.00
Also the fencing around 20 Acres was
burnt at the same time to the value of ----------------------- 70.00
Also in the year 1790 one large hewn log house
burnt by said Indians to the value of ------------------------ 50.00
Also about 20 large hogs end many small ones of the
same gang was stolen about the same time val of --------- 90.00
In the year 1793 one Bay horse Stolen to the value of ------------- 100.00
Also one Brown mare ----------------------------------------------- 50.00

Also the said Matthew Sparks was in service of the United States inthe Year 1792 and his horse died to the value of 100 Dollars while inservice.

State of Tennessee
Wilson County County Court Sept. Term 1828

This day Nathan Sparks appeared in open Court, and made Oath thatthe foregoing is a fair and correct Schedule of the property, whichMatthew Sperks was in possession of and was the rightful owner of, andwhich was destroyed by the Creek Indians, under the command of McGilbrytheir Cheif & others who first attacked the whites on the frontiersettlements of Georgia - in the year 1786: and the Creek Indianscontinued their depredations from the year1786 up to the year 1793, andthe said Matthew Sparks was killed in the Month November 1793, after thegreat part of his property was either stolen or destroyed by the Creeks.The sorrel mare mentioned in the foregoing schedule as having been stolenin the year 1787 was an animal of uncommon value in those times, and thisaffiant knows that a negro boy about fourteen years of age was offeredfor said mare and refused to be taken by said Matthew Sparks. Thisaffiant also states that the rates at which the several items of propertyare estimated he believes to be upon a fair and reasonable calculation.Septr. 23rd. 1828

signed, Nathan Sparks.

Note: On November 6, 1828, Nathan Sparks and William Sparks, sons ofMatthew, appeared in Baldwin County, Georgia, and swore to the above.From this claim, it is apparent that the family suffered most severely in1788 when what must have been Sparks Fort was burned, along with their "3dwelling Houses." Again in 1790 they appear to have been burned out, andfinally in November, 1793, Matthew Sparks was killed by the Indians.Bettie Smith, it will be recalled, stated that he "went out to kill aturkey one morning, and was killed by the Indians.' It is not clear,however, to what Bettie Smith referred when she stated that "they got upone morning, horses all gone but one ... they sit Gramy, and a bed on herother horse, and started for the fort, twenty-five miles bare headed;there they stayed seven years." Perhaps this was in 1786 when the Indiansfirst attacked.

(These notes are continued under his wife's name because of lack ofspace here.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1961; Whole Number 35, pg. 580:

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

"(Editor's note: Joel Sparks was a son of Matthew and Eunice Sparksof Surry County, North Carolina, and a great-grandson of William SampleSparks who came from Frederick County, Maryland, to North Carolina about1760. Matthew Sparks, father of Joel, made his will in Surry County onMarch 26, 1819; he named his children as: (1) Joel Sparks; (2) GeorgeSparks; (3) Matthew Sparks, Jr.; (4) William Sparks; (5) John Sparks; (6)Nancy Smith; (7) Sally Bray; (8) Peggy West."

"The December, 1989 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY; Whole number 148,at page 3483 makes reference to Matthew as grandson of William SampleSparks and as grandfather of Richard M. Sparks on cover of the QUARTERLYforI Dec 1989. A copy of the article follows William Sample Sparks'(201) sheets.

SQ 3794-5 mentions Matthew and his children in a large article abouthis father William IV (199): "Matthew Sparks, born in Frederick County,Maryland, ca. 1752. His name first appeared in a Surry County, NorthCarolina, tax list dated 1774 as a poll in his father's household. Hewas married about 1775 to Eunice ---(345), whose nickname was "Nicy,"also "Unicy." They remained in that part of Surry County that was cutoff to form Yadkin County in 185O. Matthew made his will on March 26,1819, and died before May 182O. His wife lived until about 1837/1838.Their children were..." (see individual sheets.)

US CENSUS, 1790, North Carolina, Salisbury District, Surry County:
Matthew Sparks, males 1, other males 3, females 4.

**********
The following major article appears in THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for June2000, Whole No. 190, beginning at page 5332 and continuing to page 5391.The article is too lengthy to be concluded in these notes and iscontinued in the notes for Matthew's wife, Eunice - - - -. Notesrelating to his descendants will be included in their individual files.

MATTHEW SPARKS (ca.1752-1819)

By Russell E. Bidlack

Part I: His Family Background and Youth in Maryland andNorth Carolina.

Matthew Sparks (born ca. 1752 in Frederick County, Maryland, died in 1819in Surry County, North Carolina) was a member of the fifth generation inAmerica of the branch of the Sparks family whose progenitor was theEnglish immigrant named William Sparks who died in Queen Annes County.Maryland, in 1709. Matthew was a lad of about twelve years in 1764 whenhe accompanied his parents, William and Ann Sparks, in their move fromFrederick County, Maryland, to the Forks of the Yadkin (then part ofRowan County, now Davie County) in North Carolina. It was there that hisparents and his older siblings were greeted by Matthew's grandfather,William Sample Sparks, who had made the same journey a decade earlier.

An article devoted to William and Ann Sparks, parents of Matthew,appeared in the QUARTERLY of June 1991, Whole No.154, pp.3752-98. In theQUARTERLY of December 1989, Whole No. 148, pp. 3484-3501, appeared anarticle on William Sample Sparks. Born about 1700, William Sample Sparksis believed by this writer to have been married in the early 1720s,probably in Queen Annes County, Maryland, but we have found no record ofthe marriage, nor the name of his wife. By her, he appears to have twosons, William, born about 1725, and Matthew, born about 1830. We believethat his first wife died after bearing these two sons and that WilliamSample Sparks was the William Sparks who was married in St. Lukes Parishin Queen Annes County on August 23, 1732, to Mary Courmon (or Corman). Itis probable that this second wife was the mother of William SampleSparks's son named James Sparks. It appears that Mary (Courmon) Sparksalso died as a fairly young woman and that William Sample Sparks wasmarried a third time to a woman named Rachel who became the mother of atleast two children, a son named Robert Sparks and a daughter namedRachel, born in 1757.

William Sample Sparks, grandfather of the Matthew Sparks who is thesubject of the present article, had moved west with his family about 1736from Queen Annes County to that part of Prince Georges County, Maryland,that was cut off to form Frederick County in 1748, which for a whilecomprised all of western Maryland. It was in the area where Big Pipe andLittle Pipe Creeks join to flow into the Monocacy River that WilliamSample Sparks had settled, and where he had been joined by his uncle,Joseph Sparks. Joseph died there in 1749 leaving twelve children, sevensons and five daughters. (William Sample Sparks and Rachel Sparks signedby mark as next of kin the inventory of the property of Joseph Sparks.)The late Paul E. Sparks, President of the Sparks Family Association fromits formation in 1953 until his death in 1999, descended from this JosephSparks's son Solomon, while Melva [Sparks] Bidlack, late wife of thepresent writer, descended from Matthew Sparks (ca.1752-1819), a grandsonof William Sample Sparks, and subject of this article.

The father of William Sample Sparks was called William Sparks, Jr. Bornca.1674, he was the oldest son of the immigrant, William Sparks (died1709). The apparent parental devotion of this first William's childrenand grandchildren has resulted in a confusingly large number of hisdescendants being named William.

Although as yet we have not published a comprehensive article on WilliamSparks, Jr., two articles devoted to his father, the immigrant WilliamSparks (died 1709), have appeared in the QUARTERLY: the issue for March1971, Whole No.73, pp. 1381-89, and that for December 1992, Whole No.160, pp.4025-34.

As noted above, the parents of Matthew Sparks, William and Ann, did notaccompany William Sample Sparks in his move to North Carolina in 1754. Hehad been accompanied, however, by two of his other sons, named Matthewand James, as well as by a daughter named Rachel. Three of his cousins,sons of Joseph Sparks (died 1749), also accompanied William Sample Sparksto North Carolina in 1754; they were Solomon, Jonas, and Jonathan Sparks.(See the QUARTERLY of March 1990, Whole No. 149, pp.3554-SI, for anarticle devoted to Joseph Sparks and his family.)

We can only speculate on the reason the parents of Matthew Sparks(ca.1752-1819), William and Ann Sparks, did not accompany their Sparksrelatives in their move to North Carolina in 1754. Perhaps it was becauseAnn's relatives influenced them to remain, although we have found noclue to reveal Ann's maiden name. William and Ann had been married inFrederick county about 1749, the same year that William had obtained agrant from the Colony of Maryland's land office for a tract of fiftyacres on the east side of the Monocacy River near the town of Taneytown.(See p.3756 for a map of this land.) When Carroll County was created in1837, this land be came part of the new county, as did the adjoining landthat William had purchased in the years following. It had been there,also, that Matthew Sparks, second son of William and Ann, was born in orabout 1752.

There were numerous relatives, therefore, to greet the family of Williamand Ann Sparks when they arrived at the Forks of the Yadkin in 1764 withtheir family.

Matthew Sparks, born about 1752, son of William and Ann Sparks, subjectof the present article, must not be confused with his Uncle MatthewSparks, born ca. 1733. This elder Matthew Sparks, who came to the Forksof the Yadkin with his father and other relatives in 1754, purchased atract of 372 acres in 1761 located exactly where the South Yadkin Riverflows into the Yadkin River; this is now the southern tip of Davie CountyAn article devoted to this elder Matthew Sparks appeared in the QUARTERLYof June 1961, Whole No.34, pp. 556-66.

As was the custom in Maryland, William Sparks, as the initial owner ofhis 50-acre farm on the Monocacy chose a name for it which was recordedin his patent - - he called it "Sparks Delight." In the year followinghis relatives' departure for North Carolina, William was able to add anadjoining 72-acre tract to "Sparks Delight" for which he paid 3 poundsand 11 shillings on August 13, 1755, to an extensive landowner namedJames Brooke. Seven years later, on April 3, 1762, he purchasedadditional land from Brooke. For a tract of 104 acres on the west side ofthe Monocacy River, he paid Brooke 25 pounds, but for 40 acres on thesouth side of "Sparks Delight," he paid Brooke only "Five shillingssterling." In his deed to Sparks, Brooke explained this token price: "forthe good will which he (Brooke] beareth unto the said William Sparks andfor divers other good causes and considerations." We may wonder whetherAnn, wife of William Sparks, might have had some family connection toJames Brooke. She was not a daughter, however, according to his will.

Even as late as 1762, there were small patches of "vacant land" along theMonocacy River, i.e., land that no one had yet purchased from Maryland'sLord Proprietor. There was such a tract comprising 18 acres on the eastside of the river between the two tracts Sparks had just purchased fromBrooke. William obtained a warrant from the Commissioner of Maryland'sLand Office, and, after a survey was conducted, a patent dated June 9,1762 was issued to him. He was to pay the Lord Proprietor a yearlyquit-rent of "Nine Pence Sterling in Silver or Gold." Because he was thefirst owner of this small tract, he had the privilege of choosing a namefor it. He registered it as "William and Ann," a name that it wouldretain even when it was sold to another party. (An explanation ofMaryland's peculiar system of land ownership in the Colonial period, withits naming customs, its quit-rents and "alienation fines" when land wassold, is contained in the QUARTERLY article of June 1991 cited earlier;on p.3761 is a map showing the total land holdings of William Sparks.)

In the spring of 1764, on Aprll 26, William and Ann Sparks made theircustomary marks (he always made a small "0" until late in life) on a deedby which they sold their 283 acres on the Monocacy River to ChristianNewswanger for 400 pounds. Soon thereafter, with their first fivechildren, including Matthew, they left to join their relatives in theForks of the Yadkin in North Carolina. We can only speculate on theirreasons for making this dramatic change in their lives. One reason mayhave been the growing political unrest in western Maryland resulting formthe Stamp Act, a protestation that would lead to the American Revolution.As he would demonstrate later, William Sparks was loyal to the BritishCrown; he believed in his King's right to tax his colonial subjects.Perhaps he wanted to go where his loyalty to England would be moreaccepted, which future events wouldprove to be true initially. Also, 400pounds was a sizeable amount of money and fertile land in North Carolinawas known to be both plentiful and cheap. James W. Wall in his History ofDavie County in the Forks of the Yadkin (Spartanburg, SC, 1985, p.7) hasnoted:

Davie County in the Forks of the Yadkin and South Yadkin Riverswas an ideal place for the pioneer to settle. Here he found gentlerolling hills, valleys and bottoms, fertile soil -- both clay and loam --some land already cleared for planting. The climate was mild withoutextremes, and the area was not subject to severe or frequent storms,drought, or floods. Forests of oak, poplar, and pine furnished abundanttimber and fuel. There was ample grass for grazing and hay, numeroussprings and streams for water, and fish and game for food.

While we have no knowledge of any communication between William and AnnSparks in Maryland and their relatives in the Forks of the Yadkin duringthe decade between 1754 and 1764, it is apparent that they knew where tofind William's brother, the elder Matthew Sparks, and his father, WilliamSample Sparks. It is also likely that there were other Maryland familiesthat traveled with the Sparkses in their journey. The likelihood is thatthey traveled down the Great Trading Path (also called the Great WagonRoad) from Frederick, Maryland, through Winchester and Staunton inVirginia, to Drapers Meadows, Chiswells, and Wolf Hills, then along thenorth and east side of the Yadkin River (sometimes called the NorthYadkin) to where it is joined by the South Yadkin,They may have crossedthe Yadkin at the Shallow Ford in what is now southeast Yadkin County, orthey may have continued a few miles beyond the Fork where the elderMatthew Sparks had settled, to the Trading Ford near the village ofSalisbury. If they chose the latter, they would then have traveled backnorthward to Howard's Ferry across the South Yadkin (See the map on thecover of the June 1991 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 154.)

The journey must have been a great adventure for young Matthew Sparks andhis older brother who, like so many others, bore the name of WilliamSparks. William was thirteen or fourteen years old in 1764. Also makingthe journey, we believe, were William and Ann's children named Rachel,Nancy, George, and James. Four more children would be born in NorthCarolina: Margaret, Thomas, Benjamin, and Jeremiah.

Because Matthew Sparks, son of William and Ann, as well as his parentsand siblings, would experience both advantages and severe problems intheir obtaining valid titles to land in North Carolina throughout much oftheir lives, it may be useful here to repeat information given in theQUARTERLY of June 1991 regarding how individuals could become landowners.

To reward eight noblemen who had assisted King Charles II to regain theEnglish throne, the King, in 1663, had granted to them the colony ofCarolina. Thus Carolina was to be a proprietary colony, as was Maryland,with the Crown to receive only a small portion of the profits therefrom.Whereas in Maryland there was only one proprietor, however, in Carolinathere were eight, and they had problems from the start. These were toonumerous to discuss here, except to note that in 1711 the portion ofCarolina that became South Carolina was restored to the Crown. Then in1728, Parliament authorized King George II to purchase the proprietors'sshares, now in the hands of descendants, and to make North Carolina aroyal colony. The descendants of seven of the proprietors readilyaccepted the 2,500 pounds offered to the heirs of each of the originaleight (along with a share of 5,000 additional pounds for the uncollectedquit-rents), but one, the heir of Sir George Carteret, refused to. sellhis share. This was the Right Honourable John Earl Granville (1690-1763)who, with the death of his mother in 1744, became the second EarlGranville. He was then given one-eighth share of the colony, from theVirginia border on the north to the parallel line on the south, which wasthe lower level of Rowan County. While Lord Granville was given no rolein governing his part of North Carolina, he alone had the authority tosell his land and to collect quit-rents that the purchaser was requiredto pay annually thereafter. Lord Granville, himself,
never visited his vast domain; agents acted for him in the land sales.

At the time of the arrival of the Sparkses in the Forks of the Yadkin in1754, a hundred acres of Granville land could be purchased for only threeshillings, plus three shillings silver (or four shillings "proclamationmoney") each year there after as quit-rent. According to his deed, theelder Matthew Sparks paid only ten shillings in silver for his 372 acresin 1761, although there was probably an additional "fee" charged byGranville's agent. One can easily imagine opportunity for corruption withagents acting on behalf of Lord Granville. These so-called fees chargedby the agents and other county officials were a cause of growingresentment among the settlers.

It had become the custom for prospective buyers of Granville lands to"squat" on a desirable tract with the plan to purchase it later--a customusually respected by other "squatters,"although there were bitterlycontested exceptions. The agents of Lord Granville were remarkablytolerant of this practice, although we may wonder whether bribes may havebeen paid and collected in some instances. In 1763, however, the yearbefore the arrival of William and Ann Sparks at the Forks of the Yadkin,word had been received that Lord Granville had died, and his agents weredirected to close their land offices. There was the assumption thatGranville' s heirs would open those offices again in due course, but theunrest that would culminate in the approaching American Revolutionprevented this from happening. Thus, after 1763 there was no way for asettler to obtain a valid title to land not previously purchased fromLord Granville, incuding land on which one had squatted, until NorthCarolina became a state. The elder Matthew Sparks's title of 1761 wassecure, of course, but William and Ann could not obtain title to "vacantland" as they had doubtless planned upon doing.

It seems apparent that on their arrival at the Forks of the Yadkin,William and Ann were taken in with their
children either by William's father or his brother, the elder Matthew. Norecord has been found to indicate that William Sample Sparks everobtained a title to land in North Carolina. We know from Lord Granville'sland records, however, that he had "squatted" on a tract on the SouthYadkin within three miles of the residence of his son, Matthew.

On May 30, 1761, a settler named James Andrews who had already purchasedother land in Rowan County from a Granville agent, applied for and wasgranted the tract on which William Sample Sparks had squatted. Thewarrant authorizing a survey to be made of Andrew's purchase described itas "700 acres in Rowan County on the South Side of the South Yadkin,joining the Mouth of Second Creek including the improvements whereWilliam Sample Sparks formerly lived." It is quite possible that this wasa friendly "take over" and Andrews may well have paid William SampleSparks for the "improvements" he had made. On the side of this landbordering the South Yadkin there is a shallow place in the river where aroad to Salisbury crossed; later it was called "Andrews Ford," and it mayhave been there that William Sample Sparks had operated an "ordinary."This was a name then commonly used for an inn or tavern where a travellercould expect to obtain lodging, food, and drink not only for himself andfamily, but for his horses as well. From later records it seems probablethat such a
facility comprised the "improvements" that Sparks had made on this land.

County licenses were required for one to operate an ordinary and theprices were set by the county court that a proprietor might charge hiscustomers. Wives often played the role of cook and housekeeper. Wesuspect that Sparks, however, had conducted his ordinary on what becamethe Andrews property without a license, but during a meeting of the RowanCounty Court in January 1762, he made application and it was "orderedthat Mr. William Sample Sparks have License to keep Ordinary." The title"Mr." was one of distinction in those days, stiggesting that he then hadstatus in the community.

Because the Andrews grant the previous year referred to where Sparks had"formerly lived," we wonder whether William Sample Sparks may now havereestablished his ordinary on the land belonging to his son, Matthew.His license was renewed by the Court on October 23, 1764, authorizing him"to Keep Ord- [sic] at his Own Dwelling House." This was the year inwhich William Sample Sparks's son and daughter-in- law, William and Ann,arrived with their family at the Forks--perhaps they were given lodgingin the ordinary.

William Sample Sparks also served on a Rowan County jury in 1764, butthese were the last occasions in which his name appeared in the RowanCounty records. We believe that he died soon after his son and familyarrived at the Forks of the Yadkin. He did not leave a will.

It was remarkably soon after the arrival of William and Ann Sparks at theForks, that on July 14, 1764, William and his brother, Matthew, wereappointed by the County Court, along with ten other men, to lay out aroad from nearby John Howard's Ferry to "the forks in Boone's Road."Three months later the Court ordered that "William Sparks Bee & is herebyApptd Overseer of the Road Laid out... and that all the inhabatence [sic]within that District Worke under him." Perhaps the justices gave Williamthis responsibility because they knew that his brother was about to sellto him the lower 200 acres of Matthew's 372-acre tract described earlier.As can be seen on the map on page 5338 following, this new road was to belocated very near what would become William's farm. It was on April 10,1765, that the sale was made official, William giving his brother fiftypounds in "proclamation money." It is interesting to note that thisdivision resulted in the northeast corner of William's tract beingopposite Matthew's "Fish Dam" on the Yadkin River, the bounty from whichwas doubtless shared by the two families.

These 200 acres thus became the farm on which William and Ann Sparks'sfamily lived until 1773, and it was there that their son Matthew grew tomanhood.

On September 17, 1767, the elder Matthew Sparks, with the consent of hiswife, Sarah, sold the remainlng 172 acres of his land to a neighbor namedWilliam Haden. Whether the elder Matthew may have continued farming thisland, perhaps renting it from Haden, or whether he may then have"squatted" on vacant land in the Forks of the Yadkin, we do not know. Hisname did not appear in Rowan County records after 1767.

A large portion of Rowan County embracing the entire northwest area 35 by90 miles, was cut off in 1770 to form Surry County. Bordering Virginianot only did Surry County initially include the county that still bearsits name today, but also the present counties of Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes,Yadkin, Forsyth, and Stokes, along with parts of today's Avery, Watauga,Alexander, and Caldwell Counties. It was to what would become Ashe Countyin 1799 that the elder Matthew Sparks moved his family in the early1770s. When a son of the elder Matthew, whose name was also Matthew,applied for a Revolutionary War pension in 1832, he stated that he hadbeen born in Rowan County on January 20, 1759, and that he had been"between fourteen and sixteen years old, when he moved with the othermembers of the family, to New River..." From later records, we know thatthe elder Matthew Sparks family went to what is now Ashe County and"squatted" on 400 acres of land located "on the North side of New Riverbeginning on Little Naked Creek." After the war ended, the family movedto Georgia.

Like his brother, William Sparks decided to move to a new frontier. OnJanury 27, 1773, William and Ann sold their 200-acre farm to WilliamFrohock, a land speculator and politician, for 150 pounds proclamationmoney, three times the amount William had paid his brother for it in1765. In this deed (Book 8, p.104), William was called "Planter of RowanCounty."

Again, we can only speculate on why William and Ann Sparks decided, ashad William's brother, to move to unsettled land on a new frontier. Theymust have been born with an adventurous spirit, although their wish mayhave been to escape the growing unrest in the Forks of the Yadkin as warwith the Mother Country seemed increasingly certain.

William and Ann's choice of a spot on which to settle in the vast newcounty of Surry was doubtless influenced by an earlier decision made bytheir eldest son, William Sparks, Jr., who had accompanied their cousin,Solomon Sparks, to what would become later the dividing line betweenWilkes and Yadkin Counties. Solomon Sparks, son of Joseph Sparks who haddied in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1749, had come to the Forks of theYadkin in 1754 with William Sample Sparks and had purchased Granvilleland some nine miles north of the elder Matthew'stract near where MuddyCreek flows into the Yadkin River, over the line in ForsythCounty.Solomon, with his family and William Sparks, Jr., made the journeyin time to be included on the earliest extant tax list for Surry County,1771, on which Solomon was shown with three polls (himself and sons Johnand Joseph) and William, Jr. with one poll, himself. (A poll at that timewas a white male between 16 and 60.) William Sparks, Jr. had been bornin or about 1750. William and Ann's second son, Matthew, probably reachedhis majority in 1773, the year in which he accompanied his parents andyounger siblings to their new home in Surry County.

Surry County in 1773, including the several counties that would later beformed from it, was still part of Lord Granville's Domain so that therewas no way in which vacant land, although existing in vast amounts, couldbe acquired legally. Like his cousin Solomon and his son William, Jr.,William Sparks could only "squat" in 1773 on a spot that was pleasing tohim and to Ann, with the hope of purchasing it later with a proper title.They chose a tract later judged to comprise 200 acres located on NorthHunting Creek (sometimes called the North Branch of Hunting Creek), amile from what would become in time the tiny village of Cycle in today'sYadkin County. Highway 421 now passes very near where, with the help ofhis son, Matthew Sparks, William made his "improvements." This was threemiles southwest of where William, Jr. had chosen to "squat."

A poll tax list for Surry County for the year 1774 survives showing thatthere were then 1,528 males between 16 and 60 in all of what would becomesix counties and parts of four others. Matthew Sparks, subject of thepresent article, appears by name as a poll in his father's household inCaptain Cleveland's District. This is our earliest official record ofMatthew as well as that of his younger brother, James Sparks, who waslisted separately. Solomon, with sons John and Joseph, and William, Jr.were also named as polls in Captain Cleveland's District. John Rose,husband of William and Ann's daughter, Rachel, was shown just above theentry for William and Matthew.

It seems apparent that William and Ann Sparks chose the site that theydid for their new home because it
offered an ideal spot on which to build a water-powered grist mill.Essential for any community of the time, and thus representing a certainsource of revenue for the builder, a grist mill was still an expensiveedifice to build. With his land sales profits from the Forks of theYadkin, William Sparks had brought with him the needed capital for hisenterprise. We can only wish that a record had survived telling of how heand his son Matthew acquired the materials and manpower for the mill'sconstruction, particularly the huge millstones. For many years thereafter, references are found in Surry and Yadkin County records to the"Sparks Mill Tract." Young Matthew's occupation became that of "Miller."

Mention was made earlier that William Sparks, like his cousin, Solomon,was a Loyalist during the American Revolution. Both would refuse to signoaths of loyalty to the "state" of North Carolina. There was agenerational gap in their families, however - - their sons favoredIndependence from England.

In the article entitled "William Sparks (ca.1725-1801/02)" appearing inthe QUARTERLY of June 1991, Whole No. 154, we related in considerabledetail how William's reputation as a Loyalist during the time of theAmerican Revolution nearly deprived him of his land and mill after theGranville lands were confiscated by the new state of North Carolina andoffered for sale. The "squatters" from earlier years now had opportunityto purchase the land on which they had lived and made "improvements,"which, in the case of Wiillam Sparks, included his mill. New settlers,who had not "squatted," could also purchase vacant land from the state.

An Act of the General Assembly of North Carolina on November 15, 1777,authorized the justices of the peace in each county (who, together,constituted each County Court), to elect an "Entry Taker" who wouldrecord individuals' land claims and, assisted by the county surveyor,determine where there were overlapping claims as well as prior claims. Aman named Joseph Winston became Surry County's Entry Taker and his "EntryBook" for the period 1778 to 1781 is extant; it was edited forpublication in 1987 by Agnes M. Wells, and it is from Ms. Wells'spublication, along with Surry County deeds, that we are able to relatehow it was that the land on which William and Ann Sparks had "squatted"in 1773 now became the property of their son, Matthew.

(This article continues on the notes for Matthew's wife, Eunice ------.]

SQ 3795: He was married to Sarah Elmore in 1808.

SQ 4893: "On pages 2712/2723 of the March 1985 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 129, appeared a transcription of Sparks entriesfound on the 1850 census of Missouri. These had been located and copiedfor us by a professional record searcher. An unfortunate error was madein the transcription of the family headed by Matthew Sparks in CassCounty. The name of the third member of this household, following thenames of the parents, Matthew and Sarah Sparks, was copied as "Martha,"age 30, a female. A re-examination of the microfilm of the originalcensus (pg 92) reveals that this name was actually Matthew, a male, whoseoccupation was that of farmer, like his father and his four youngersiblings, all living in their parent's household. We urge that memberswith complete files of the QUARTERLY make this correction on page 2714changing "Martha" to "Matthew."

"We are currently preparing an article on this branch of the Sparksfamily. We have learned that the Matthew Sparks heading this CassCounty, Missouri, family was a son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks of SurryCounty, North Carolina. This elder Matthew was a son of William (IV) andAnn Sparks. Matthew, son of Matthew and Eunice had been married to SarahElmore in Surry County, North Carolina, in 1808. she was a daughter ofAthanasious and Susannah (Pinnex) Elmore.

"The younger Matthew Sparks, whose name was mistakenly copied as"Martha," and so shown on Page 2714 of the QUARTERLY, had been born about1820, if his age was given correctly as 30 by the census taker in 1850.He had a brother named Isaac Sparks, however, who had been born onFebruary 11, 1820, according to the inscription on his tombstone in acemetery near the Ord Bend community in Glenn County, California, soMatthew Sparks, Jr. must have been born at least a year earlier than1820, or at least a year later. Isaac Sparks died on November 1, 1867.

"Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks moved from Missouri to Oregon in1851. Whether their son, Matthew, Jr., accompanied them has not beendiscovered. When the elder Matthew died in 1854, his son, "MatthewSparks, Jr.," was still living according to documents pertaining to thedivision of his estate, but Matthew Jr.'s whereabouts seems not to havebeen known to the administrator of his father's estate."

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for June, 2000, Whole No. 190, pp 5370-71:

"Matthew Sparks, Jr., son of Matthew and Eunice Sparks, was born in SurryCounty, North Carolina, on June 29, 1788, according to a family Biblerecord kept by a granddaughter, Olive (McGary) Wilson (1866-1946), whowas a daughter of Matthew, Jr.'s youngest child, Catherine (Sparks)McGary (1834-1914). A photocopy of this record has been shared with us bya descendant, Stefani W. Arnesen, of West Jordan, Utah. While this recordof the birth of Matthew Sparks, Jr. was made many years after the event,we believe that it is accurate. It was probably copied by hisgranddaughter from an earlier family Bible. On the 1850 census his agewas given as 62, which matches this date of his birth. Matthew Sparks,Jr. died in Polk County, Oregon, on August 1, 1854.

"We provide here only a brief sketch of the life of Matthew Sparks, Jr.;a more complete account will appear in a future issue of the QUARTERLY.

"Matthew Sparks, Jr. was married in Surry County in 1808 to Sarah Elmore,eldest child of Athanasious and Susannah (Pinix) Elmore. The marriagebond was dated February 20, 1808, with William West serving as bondsman.(West had been married to Matthew, Jr.'s sister, Sarah Sparks, in 1797.)Sarah Elmore had been born on February 13, 1789; she died in June 1880and was buried in the Union Baptist Cemetery on Harmony Road nearSheridan, Yamhill County, Wyoming.

"On January 23, 1811, Matthew Sparks, Sr. sold a 5-acre plot of ground tohis son, Matthew, Jr. for 5 pounds. Then on February 17, 1815, Matthew,Jr. and his father-in-law, Athanasious Elmore, jointly purchased fromJames Hicks for $400 a tract of 156 acres in Surry County "on theheadwaters of Deep Creek." (Deed Book 5, p.374) On March 26, 1819,Matthew, Jr. and his four brothers each received from their fatherportions of his plantation before Matthew, Sr. made his will. The 90-acretract that he gave to Matthew, Jr. "for the natural love and affectionthat a parent hath towards a child" was "on both sides of Hunting Creek"and adjoining land once owned by Alexander Smith. (Deed Book 0, pp.373-74)

"When Matthew Sparks, Sr. made his will on March 26, 1819, he appointedtwo of his sons to be executors of his estate, Joel and Matthew, Jr. Whenthe will was probated in the following May, however, Matthew, Jr.declined to serve as a co executor, and Joel Sparks became the soleexecutor - We can only speculate regarding why Matthew, Jr. took thisaction; perhaps it was his knowing that the estate could not actually besettled until after his mother's death. Did he doubt that he would stillbe in Surry County when that time would come? Did he even then havedreams of "going West?"

"When the 1830 census of Surry County was taken, Matthew, Jr. and hiswife were enumerated with 14 children living in their Surr