The following information was received on March 25, 2000 by emailfrom Jean Feaster, (blujean@southwind.net) of Augusta, Kansas, adescendant Rudolph Feaster, who was raised by Silas and Julia (Kerr)Sparks, for which information we are grateful:

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

Miss Mary Sparks Dies at Hospital on Friday

Miss Mary L. Sparks, 78, of 514 East Tenth, died Friday (February 20,1953) 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. Thefamily lived in the Odessa community, nine miles southeast ofWinfield, until moving 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 beannounced by 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 e6, 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 BenShrader (sengben@cablenet-va.com who is a grandson of Mary MatildaSparks 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." BenShrader, 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 was born in North Carolina on December 7, 1796, and diedin McNairy County, Tennessee, on December 26, 1865.
Both were b uried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in McNairy County.They were the parents of the following children: [here lists 1Ochildren].

"We plan to publish a more detailed record of the descendants of Mary(Sparks) Hunter in a future issue. The portrait of Mary that appearson page 806 has been reproduced from the original owned bydescendants of Margaret 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 children before her death, which occurred on January 31, 1884. James died on May 28, 1928. Their children were Silas, Andrew, Julie, Annie, Bowles, and Hiram.

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

Mary R. Sparks, born about 1826; she married Levin Smith Moore onApril 14, 1855, in Dearborn County, Ind. He was a son of Adam andJudith (Smith) Moore who caine to Indiana from Maryland and settled atwhat became Moores Hill. Levin S. Moore was born June 22, 1819. Hemarried (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. Moore married Mary R. Sparks and they had the followingchildren: Anna, George, Josephine, Harriet, Charles, and Carrie. (SeeHistory of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, Indiana
by F. E. Weakley & Co., 1885.)

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

-4838-

A Review of Fourteen Frontier 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(519 pages) entitled Fourteen Frontier Families. The subtitleidentifies these 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 Sparkspertains to a family related by marriage to a Sparks in Mrs. Matthew'sline of descent. Her immigrant ancestor in the male line was WilliamSparks who migrated from Hampshire County, England, to Maryland in1662. Mrs. Matthews is a member of the tenth generation ofdescendants from this William Sparks, who died in Queen Annes County,Maryland, in 1709. (Two lengthy articles devoted to William Sparks andhis family have been published in issues of The Sparks Quarterly, thatof March 1971 [Whole No. 73], and that of December 1992 [Whole No.160]. )

It is from William Sparks's son, John Sparks, born about 1680, whosewife was Cornelia Curtis, that Mrs. Matthews descends through John'sson, Millington Sparks, and wife, Mabel Ruth. The forename"Millington" was repeated in the next two generations of Mrs.Matthews' line of descent, as was outlined in Paul E. Sparks's articleentitled "Millington Sparks, III (ca.1775-ca.1835) ... 11 thatappeared in the Quarterly of June 1995, Whole No. 170. (Dr. Sparksacknowledged his indebtedness to Mrs. Matthews, as well as to AbbottSparks, for "much of the materials used in this article.") The thirdMillington Sparks, a great-great- grandson of the William Sparks whodied in 1709, seems to have been called William Millington Sparks; hewas married in 1797 to Rebecca Brooks. They followed Brooks relativesto Georgia about 1803, then moved to Alabama. Their son, Samuel WyattSparks, born July 7, 1803, was married to Sarah Deale; Samuel andSarah were the parents of Martin Van Buren Sparks, born March 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 providedinformation regarding the entire family where possible, not only inthe narrative itself, but in the book's appendixes, "A"through "C" ofwhich, pp. 287-400, pertain to the Sparks family. Mrs. Matthews hasprovided fascinating descriptions of the times and the physicallocations where each generation lived; helpful charts andillustrations are also included. The book can be read as a narrativeof the American frontier as well as a series of individual familyhistories. The binding thread throughout, however, is the author'sown branch of the Sparks family.

Copies of Fourteen Frontier Families may be purchased directly fromMrs. Matthews for $45.00 , which includes handling and shipping. Heraddress is: 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 wasnamed Asa
Garfield Sparks, and he was adopted by his grandparents, Henry and Elizabeth
(Rouse) Sparks. Ace Sparks (as he was called) grew to maturity; hewas married
to Motie May Applegate, and they had six children. His mother, MaryC. Sparks,
was married to Lewis Howell, and they had ten children. Unfortunately, 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 John
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.She may have been the Matilda Sparks who was married to James FieldsIn Carroll County, Mississippi, on June 9, 1838. We may speculate thatJames Fields may have been a brother of Michael F. Fields, who wasmarried to Mary H. Sparks, daughter of Bailey and Martha. James Fieldsand his family appeared on the 1850 census of Choctaw County, WesternDivision, Mississippi, as follows:

Name Age Born Occupation Property Values
James Fields 35 North Carolina Farmer $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 nher
father's obituary, we assume that she died by 1900.

NOTE:
Paul Sparks has birth at 6 July 1841 and marriage 6 July 1860 . Dataentered 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--recordedonly if the minister happened to report them to the County Clerk.Many ministers did not bother. There is a marriage on record for oneof the children of Solomon and Margaret (Brim) Sparks. On June 7,1860, Matilda Caroline Sparks, age 18 years 11 months 30 days (so shewas born on June 8, 1841), daughter of Solomon and Margaret Sparks,was married to John Nicholas Dunlap, age 21 years, 11 months, 5 days,son of Thomas and Polly Dunlap. This marriage also gave Matilda'splace of birth as Washington Co., 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 ofthose which 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 August14, 1841, in Clinton County, Illinois. Records gathered by theofficers of the Association over a period of several years reveal thatthe father of Matthew Sparks was also named Matthew (256); in order todistinguish between father and son in this preliminary sketch, thefather will be referred 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 havemigrated from Maryland to North Carolina about 1758. The earliestrecord of Matthew Sparks the Elder in Rowan County found thus far is adeed dated April 4, 1761, by which he purchased 372 acres of land fromSir John Carteret, Earl of Granville. (Here article provides factsabout children for which see the notes of the children of MatthewSparks)

"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 Jeffersonin Ashe County. (Ashe County was cut off from Wilkes County in 1799and the land on which Matthew Sparks the Elder had lived became partof Ashe County.) Apparently several of the sons served in theRevolution (note that William refers to his brother John as havingbeen a lieutenant). Family tradition indicates that all of the sons ofMatthew Sparks the Elder 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 MatthewSparks, the Elder, was living as late as September, 1828, inTennessee. According to a letter written by a granddaughter in 1899,Sarah Sparks is buried 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 ason of William Sample Sparks and a brother of William Sparks who diedin 1801 in 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 distinguishhim from his son, also named Matthew, whose Revolutionary War pensionpapers we published. Here it has been thought best to refer to theelder Matthew simply as Matthew Sparks, and to refer to his son asMatthew, 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 in1899 and wrote this letter to her nephew, Sam Sparks, of McKinzie,Tennessee, to tell him what she remembered regarding her ancestors. Acopy of this letter was placed in the Tennessee State Library severalyears ago where it has been copied a number of times and has been usedas a basis for research by a number of Matthew Sparks's descendants.Unfortunately, Bettie Smith made a serious error in her letter thathas caused a great deal of confusion ever since when she mentioned hergreat-grandfather, Matthew Sparks, she erroneously gave his name as"John." The fact that Matthew had a son named Matthew, as well as ason named John, may have caused this confusion, but more probably,Mrs. Smith just made a "slip." In reducing Bettie Smith's letter here,it has seemed best to substitute the correct name of hergreat-grandfather than to perpetuate the mistake. Following is BettieC. 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 yourancestors. When I was a child old Uncle Mathew Sparks made his homewith his brother, Isaac, but spent much of his time with Father andMama. I learned of him more than from anyone else. His Father wasnamed Matthew (see explanation above) his mother was Sarah Thompson(Sally Tyson, was named for her), he crossed the waters, I never haveknown where he was raised; Sally Tyson thought he came from Wales. Ido not know where he married. He went out to kill a turkey onemorning, and was shot by Indians. He left eleven children, ninered-headed boys, and two girls. Here are the names of the boys:David, James, William, Mathew, Absolom, Jessie, Nathan, Baily, Hardyand Isaac. The girls names were Eady and Ann, one of them married aTraylor. Mathew fought in the Revolution, don't know how many more.They fought the Tories for all they were worth. John, Captain andMathew 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 startedfor the fort, twenty-five miles bare-headed; there they stayed sevenyears. Uncle Isaac was five years old, and brother and sister swung byhis arm all the way. Old Grandma buried at Old Pleasant Grove; thepiece of shirt the ball went through when her husband was killed, wasburied with her. I do not know so much of Thompson kin; GrandmaThompson was Elizabeth Suduth; Grandma Sparks was Nancy Hancock. Mynotion is that if we have any mean streaks in us, it did not comethrough the Sparks', while many of them have become adulterated; butthe good ones were sure enough good. You may not care to ever readthis, but I don't care, I am going 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, oneof Matthew's sons, had a son named Isaac, born about 1805, who wasmarried to Orpha Thompson in Wilson County, Tennessee, in 1824 (bonddated September 27). When Isaac's estate was settled in CarrollCounty, Tennessee, following his death in 1878, one of his daughterswas listed as Elizabeth E. Smith. Although in her letter of 1899,Bettie's middle initial appears as a "C", we are inclined to believethat she was the daughter of Isaac and Orpha. If this is correct, herstatement that "Grandma Thompson was Elizabeth Suduth" and "GrandmaSparks was Nancy Hancock" refers to Isaac's and Orpha's mothers. Itseems certain, in any case, that she was not referring to the familyof Sarah Thompson, wife of Matthew. We have numerous records to provethat Matthew's wife was named Sarah, but Bettie Smith's letter is ouronly record that her maiden name was Thompson. It was Sally Tyson who,according to Mrs. Smith, was named after Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, wasa daughter of Isaac Sparks, who was a son of Matthew and Sarah. Amarriage record on file in Carroll County, Tennessee, reveals that aSarah Sparks and Samuel Tyson were married January 8, 1845.

"Betty Smith was confused regarding the part the family played in therevolution. Matthew Sparks was killed by the Indians in 1793, longafter the close of the Revolution. Likewise, Mrs. Smith seems to havebeen somewhat confused when she listed the names of the children ofMatthew and Sarah. She stated that there were eleven children in all,but gave the names of twelve. From other sources, we know also thatthere was a son named John whom she failed to mention, making thirteenin all.

"Although Bettie Smith stated that Sally Tyson had thought MatthewSparks had come to America from Wales, it is probable that he was bornin this country -- perhaps one of Matthew's ancestors had come overfrom Wales. Although we have no positive proof, we believe thatMatthew Sparks was living in Frederick County, Maryland, before hemoved to Rowan County, North Carolina. He and his wife Sarah, wereprobably married about 1754. There can be no doubt that Matthew wasclosely related to William Sample Sparks and Solomon Sparks who camefrom Frederick County, Maryland, to Rowan County, North Carolina, inthe early 1760's. (Matthew Sparks sold land to his brother WilliamSparks on April 10, 1765, shortly after William's arrival in RowanCounty.) Matthew, William Sample, and Solomon were all of the samegeneration --all were born about 1725-35--and they may have beenbrothers. [JS Note: The fact is, William Sample and Solomon werecousins and Matthew was William Sample's son.] If so, they wereprobably sons of Joseph and Rachel Sparks. Joseph Sparks died inFrederick County, Maryland, in 1749; he did not leave a will, but theinventory 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 JamesSparks in North Carolina. (The 1774 tax list of Surry County, NorthCarolina, "Benjamin Cleavland's District", contains the name JamesSparks. In a fragment that is preserved of the 1779 tax list ofWilkes County, "Capt. Allen's District," the name of "James Sparkes"is listed with his property valued at 100 pounds. What became of thisJames Sparks after 1779 is not known.)

"The earliest official record pertaining to Matthew Sparks found thusfar in Rowan County, North Carolina, is the recorded deed dated april4, 1761, by which he purchased 372 acres of land from John Carteret,the first Earl of Granville. (The Earl was a great-grandson of SirGeorge Carteret, one of the original Lords Proprietors of the Colonyof North Carolina; he owned vast tracts of "vacant land" which hegradually sold to planters for relatively small sums.) Matthew Sparkspaid only ten shillings sterling for his 372 acres. The tract wasdescribed as follows in the deed (see Rowan County Deed Book 4, page514): 'that tract or Parcel of Vacant Land, Situate Lying and Being inthe Parish of St. Luke, in the County of Rowan, in the Said Province,Lying in the forks of the Yadkin River, Running up the south YadkinN.20 x W.20 Chain to a hickery, then N.38.W.10 ch: to a Gum, thenN.42.W.20 Ch: to a hickery, thence Due North, 90 chain to a black Oak,then Et. 40 Ch: to a White Oak on the Bank of the Main River, ThenDown river to the beginning containing in the Whole Three Hundred andSeventy-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 DeedBook 6, page 139). The witnesses to this deed were William Frohock,John Huston, and Thomas Frohock. Matthew and Sarah both signed bymark. (William S. Sparks sold this same tract of 200 acres to WilliamFrohock for 150 pounds on January 27, 1773--see Rowan County Deed Book8, page 104). On September 17, 1767, Matthew and Sarah sold theremaining 172 acres of their tract to William Haden for 150 pounds(Rowan County Deed Book 6, page 482). The witnesses were BenjaminTaylor and James Whitafeur (or Whitakor?); Matthew and Sarah bothsigned 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 inthe Rowan County Court Records is dated 1761 (page 335)-- he waslisted as being on a jury. The first tax list of Rowan
County on which his name appears is that of 1761--Matthew Sparks,Jonas Sparks, and Solomon Sparks were all in Caleb Osborn's District.(Jonas Sparks, who died in Rowan County in 1805, may also have been abrother of Matthew (JS: No, he was Solomon's brother)). Matthew Sparkswas "on Jury" again in 1762 (page 385), in 1765 (page 522), and in1766 (page 634). An interesting court record dated "Second Tues. inJuly 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 markthe same, to wit Samuel Bryan, Morgan Bryan, James Bryan, RogerTurner, Mathew Sparks, Edward Roberts, Daniel Boon, Barnet Stagner,David Johnston, James McMahen, Robert Furbush & Thomas Turner andaccordingly they appear upon Notice and be Qualified before thenearest Magistrate for 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 ofIsaac Willcocks, and George Wilcox, administrators of the estate ofIsaac Willcocks. The following court record, dated Thursday, February4, 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 MillUpon Third Creek - Viz: Rodger Turner, Patrick Morrison, John Bryan,Andrew Morrison, James Willson, George Lock, Mathew Sparks, John Reed,John Herens, Jas Cooper, Isaac Holman & Moses Potts. Charles Vandeverand James 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 totrace the activities of their parents, Matthew and Sarah. MatthewSparks, Jr., stated that he had been born in Rowan County, nearSalisbury, on January 20, 1759, and "there lived with his father untilhe was between fourteen and sixteen years old"--thus until 1773-1775,or just before the outbreak of the Revolution.

"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 Salisburyin the 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., andhis brother William, agree regarding the family's removal, althoughneither gave the exact date. The 1774 tax list of Surry County, whichthen included the New River area of what later became Wilkes County,does not contain the name of Matthew Sparks. However, his name doesappear on the 1775 tax list. He was listed in "Benjamin Cleaveland'sList" as "Matthew Sparks Sr." with three taxable polls, i.e., malesover 16 and under 60. The two polls besides his own were given as"John Sparks and Matthew Sparks Junr." From this it would appear thatthe family moved over on New River in 1775, and that John, who wasborn in 1755, and Matthew, Jr., who was born in 1759, were the twooldest sons of Matthew and Sarah. Apparently no other son had reachedthe 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 Riverhad been a part of Surry County and is now a part of Ashe County (AsheCounty having been formed from Wilkes in 1799). Matthew lived near thepresent town 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, JohnSparks, was listed in the same district as owning livestock but noland. Likewise, James Sparks was listed as owning livestock but noland. We feel certain that this James Sparks was Matthew's son, nothis 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 thebounds of which I resided, was organized into a company of mountedminute men under Andrew Baker as Captain and my Brother John Sparks asLieutenant. In this company I served till the close of the Revolution. We furnished our own horses arms and equipments. Our part of thecountry was almost constantly infested with robbing and murderingparties of tories, British and Hessians, and I was constantly eitherout in pursuit of such parties, or, in obedience to the orders of myCaptain, held myself in readiness to march at a moment's warning. Ofthe many and almost constant scouting parties, pursuits, andexpeditions in which I was engaged during this period from my greatage and infirmities I can recollect but one, so as to be able to statethe particulars and that only from the personal interest of my familyin 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,robbed my Father, taking a horse, saddle and bridle, six guns, all ourpewter (we had no delf ware (i.e. delftware) in those days) andwhatever else they could carry. My company was immediately called outand others amounting in all to about one hundred and fifty mounted GunMen under the command of Col. Benjamin Cleaveland. We pursued theabove named tories a distance of between 60 and 70 miles and overtookthem in Boxe's settlement near the Virginia line. They were feasting,frolicing and many 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 appointedto lay out a road. This record reads as follows:
'Ordered by the Court that Rowland Judd, John Robins Jur, John Tyrah,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 12of them be a Jury to Lay out a Road the best and most Convenient wasfrom the Deep fourd on the Reddies River to Benjah Penington 's milland make Report 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 BlueRidge to the Fourd on the south Fork of the new River, and all thehands Convenient work thereon." On December 10, 1778, it was "Orderedthat all hands in Capt. Bakers Company Benjamin Taylors work on theRoad under Matthew Sparks overseer." On June 7, 1780, it was "Orderedby the Court that Charles Rowland be appointed overseer of the Road instead of Matthew 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,William Sparks, in his pension application, stated that he remained inWilkes County "till the close of the Revolutionary war when he removedwith his father to what was then Franklin County, afterwards Jackson,and now Clarke County in the State of Georgia and settled about fourmiles from Athens 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,Matthew Sparks was replaced as overseer for the new road may indicatethe family was 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.Matthew Sparks, Sr., was listed in "Capt. Cleveland's Dist." withtaxable property consisting of 650 acres of land valued at 100 pounds,6 horses or mules valued at 36 pounds, and 8 cattle valued at 8pounds, making a total of 144 pounds of taxable property. Listed inthe same district, as stated earlier, was James Sparks (with 5 cattlevalued at 5 pounds) and John Sparks (with 2 "horses or mules" valuedat 12 pounds and 5 cattle valued 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 courtto prove the deed may mean that he had left the county by the fall of1784. Unfortunately, the deed itself was not recorded--we have onlythe court record of its being proved. Neither Matthew Sparks nor hissons appeared on 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 ofthe Oconee River in Georgia, which, prior to the close of theRevolution, had belonged to the Creek Indians. This vast area wasgiven to the State of Georgia and in February, 1784, the GeorgiaLegislature passed an act throwing open to settlement this newlyacquired territory. It was designated as Washington and FranklinCounties. (Many squatters had moved into the area, however, prior toFebruary, 1784, and perhaps Matthew Sparks was among them.)

"The Creek Indians strongly protested the loss of their land and,under their able leader Alexander McGillivroy, a half-breed withScottish ancestry, they kept up for several years, in that irregular,desultory manner so common in Indian wa rfare, a series ofdepredations on the white settlements along the Georgia frontier.Spain also claimed this land and signed a treaty with McGillivroy in1784 under which the Spanish gave the Indians aid and encouragement.This struggle, which lasted twelve 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,erected a fort which was then and probably still is called "SparksFort. " He made this statement in 1832. This was probably the fortto which Bettie Smith 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 ourresearch, during the period of many years following the death ofMatthew Sparks, his heirs made a number of claims against both theFederal and State government for the losses that the family hadsuffered.

"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"in the Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta. Othershave been preserved by a greatgreat- grandson of Matthew and SarahSparks, 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 NathanSparks, son of Matthew, in Wilson County, Tennessee, in September,1828. This document 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 whereAtheans (sic) now is and in said date 1786 McGilbrey, i.e.MeGillivroy, and his warriors made their first brake on Sparks'sproperty (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 of 200.00
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 that theforegoing 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 ofMcGilbry their Cheif & others who first attacked the whites on thefrontier settlements of Georgia - in the year 1786: and the CreekIndians continued their depredations from the year1786 up to the year1793, and the said Matthew Sparks was killed in the Month November1793, after the great part of his property was either stolen ordestroyed by the Creeks. The sorrel mare mentioned in the foregoingschedule as having been stolen in the year 1787 was an animal ofuncommon value in those times, and this affiant knows that a negro boyabout fourteen years of age was offered for said mare and refused tobe taken by said Matthew Sparks. This affiant also states that therates at which the several items of property are estimated he believesto 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 severelyin 1788 when what must have been Sparks Fort was burned, along withtheir "3 dwelling Houses." Again in 1790 they appear to have beenburned out, and finally in November, 1793, Matthew Sparks was killedby the Indians. Bettie Smith, it will be recalled, stated that he"went out to kill a turkey one morning, and was killed by theIndians.' It is not clear, however, to what Bettie Smith referred whenshe stated that "they got up one morning, horses all gone but one ...they sit Gramy, and a bed on her other horse, and started for thefort, twenty-five miles bare headed; there they stayed seven years."Perhaps this was in 1786 when the Indians first 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 WilliamSample Sparks who came from Frederick County, Maryland, to NorthCarolina about 1760. Matthew Sparks, father of Joel, made his will inSurry County on March 26, 1819; he named his children as: (1) JoelSparks; (2) George Sparks; (3) Matthew Sparks, Jr.; (4) WilliamSparks; (5) John Sparks; (6) Nancy Smith; (7) Sally Bray; (8) PeggyWest."

"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 theQUARTERLY forI Dec 1989. A copy of the article follows William SampleSparks' (201) sheets.

SQ 3794-5 mentions Matthew and his children in a large article abouthis father William IV (199): "Matthew Sparks, born in FrederickCounty, Maryland, ca. 1752. His name first appeared in a SurryCounty, North Carolina, tax list dated 1774 as a poll in his father'shousehold. He was married about 1775 to Eunice ---(345), whosenickname was "Nicy," also "Unicy." They remained in that part ofSurry County that was cut off to form Yadkin County in 185O. Matthewmade his will on March 26, 1819, and died before May 182O. His wifelived until about 1837/1838. Their children were..." (see individualsheets.)

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 page5391. 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 individualfiles.

MATTHEW SPARKS (ca.1752-1819)

By Russell E. Bidlack

Part I: His Family Background and Youth in Maryland and NorthCarolina.

Matthew Sparks (born ca. 1752 in Frederick County, Maryland, died in1819 in Surry County, North Carolina) was a member of the fifthgeneration in America of the branch of the Sparks family whoseprogenitor was the English immigrant named William Sparks who died inQueen Annes County. Maryland, in 1709. Matthew was a lad of abouttwelve years in 1764 when he accompanied his parents, William and AnnSparks, in their move from Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks ofthe Yadkin (then part of Rowan County, now Davie County) in NorthCarolina. It was there that his parents and his older siblings weregreeted by Matthew's grandfather, William Sample Sparks, who had madethe 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. Inthe QUARTERLY of December 1989, Whole No. 148, pp. 3484-3501, appearedan article on William Sample Sparks. Born about 1700, William SampleSparks is believed by this writer to have been married in the early1720s, probably in Queen Annes County, Maryland, but we have found norecord of the marriage, nor the name of his wife. By her, he appearsto have two sons, William, born about 1725, and Matthew, born about1830. We believe that his first wife died after bearing these two sonsand that William Sample Sparks was the William Sparks who was marriedin St. Lukes Parish in Queen Annes County on August 23, 1732, to MaryCourmon (or Corman). It is probable that this second wife was themother of William Sample Sparks's son named James Sparks. It appearsthat Mary (Courmon) Sparks also died as a fairly young woman and thatWilliam Sample Sparks was married a third time to a woman named Rachelwho became the mother of at least two children, a son named RobertSparks and a daughter named Rachel, born in 1757.

William Sample Sparks, grandfather of the Matthew Sparks who is thesubject of the present article, had moved west with his family about1736 from Queen Annes County to that part of Prince Georges County,Maryland, that was cut off to form Frederick County in 1748, which fora while comprised all of western Maryland. It was in the area whereBig Pipe and Little Pipe Creeks join to flow into the Monocacy Riverthat William Sample Sparks had settled, and where he had been joinedby his uncle, Joseph Sparks. Joseph died there in 1749 leaving twelvechildren, seven sons and five daughters. (William Sample Sparks andRachel Sparks signed by mark as next of kin the inventory of theproperty of Joseph Sparks.) The late Paul E. Sparks, President of theSparks Family Association from its formation in 1953 until his deathin 1999, descended from this Joseph Sparks's son Solomon, while Melva[Sparks] Bidlack, late wife of the present writer, descended fromMatthew Sparks (ca.1752-1819), a grandson of William Sample Sparks,and subject of this article.

The father of William Sample Sparks was called William Sparks, Jr.Born ca.1674, he was the oldest son of the immigrant, William Sparks(died 1709). The apparent parental devotion of this first William'schildren and grandchildren has resulted in a confusingly large numberof his descendants being named William.

Although as yet we have not published a comprehensive article onWilliam Sparks, Jr., two articles devoted to his father, the immigrantWilliam Sparks (died 1709), have appeared in the QUARTERLY: the issuefor March 1971, 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, didnot accompany William Sample Sparks in his move to North Carolina in1754. He had been accompanied, however, by two of his other sons,named Matthew and James, as well as by a daughter named Rachel. Threeof his cousins, sons of Joseph Sparks (died 1749), also accompaniedWilliam Sample Sparks to North Carolina in 1754; they were Solomon,Jonas, and Jonathan Sparks. (See the QUARTERLY of March 1990, WholeNo. 149, pp.3554-SI, for an article devoted to Joseph Sparks and hisfamily.)

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 wasbecause Ann's relatives influenced them to remain, although we havefound no clue to reveal Ann's maiden name. William and Ann had beenmarried in Frederick county about 1749, the same year that William hadobtained a grant from the Colony of Maryland's land office for a tractof fifty acres on the east side of the Monocacy River near the town ofTaneytown. (See p.3756 for a map of this land.) When Carroll Countywas created in 1837, this land be came part of the new county, as didthe adjoining land that William had purchased in the years following.It had been there, also, that Matthew Sparks, second son of Williamand Ann, was born in or about 1752.

There were numerous relatives, therefore, to greet the family ofWilliam and Ann Sparks when they arrived at the Forks of the Yadkin in1764 with their family.

Matthew Sparks, born about 1752, son of William and Ann Sparks,subject of the present article, must not be confused with his UncleMatthew Sparks, born ca. 1733. This elder Matthew Sparks, who came tothe Forks of the Yadkin with his father and other relatives in 1754,purchased a tract of 372 acres in 1761 located exactly where the SouthYadkin River flows into the Yadkin River; this is now the southern tipof Davie County An article devoted to this elder Matthew Sparksappeared in the QUARTERLY of 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 wasrecorded in his patent - - he called it "Sparks Delight." In the yearfollowing his relatives' departure for North Carolina, William wasable to add an adjoining 72-acre tract to "Sparks Delight" for whichhe paid 3 pounds and 11 shillings on August 13, 1755, to an extensivelandowner named James Brooke. Seven years later, on April 3, 1762, hepurchased additional land from Brooke. For a tract of 104 acres on thewest side of the Monocacy River, he paid Brooke 25 pounds, but for 40acres on the south side of "Sparks Delight," he paid Brooke only "Fiveshillings sterling." In his deed to Sparks, Brooke explained thistoken price: "for the good will which he (Brooke] beareth unto thesaid William Sparks and for divers other good causes andconsiderations." We may wonder whether Ann, wife of William Sparks,might have had some family connection to James Brooke. She was not adaughter, however, according to his will.

Even as late as 1762, there were small patches of "vacant land" alongthe Monocacy River, i.e., land that no one had yet purchased fromMaryland's Lord Proprietor. There was such a tract comprising 18 acreson the east side of the river between the two tracts Sparks had justpurchased from Brooke. William obtained a warrant from theCommissioner of Maryland's Land Office, and, after a survey wasconducted, a patent dated June 9, 1762 was issued to him. He was topay the Lord Proprietor a yearly quit-rent of "Nine Pence Sterling inSilver or Gold." Because he was the first owner of this small tract,he had the privilege of choosing a name for it. He registered it as"William and Ann," a name that it would retain even when it was soldto another party. (An explanation of Maryland's peculiar system ofland ownership in the Colonial period, with its naming customs, itsquit-rents and "alienation fines" when land was sold, is contained inthe QUARTERLY article of June 1991 cited earlier; on p.3761 is a mapshowing 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 adeed by which they sold their 283 acres on the Monocacy River toChristian Newswanger for 400 pounds. Soon thereafter, with their firstfive children, including Matthew, they left to join their relatives inthe Forks of the Yadkin in North Carolina. We can only speculate ontheir reasons for making this dramatic change in their lives. Onereason may have been the growing political unrest in western Marylandresulting form the Stamp Act, a protestation that would lead to theAmerican Revolution. As he would demonstrate later, William Sparks wasloyal to the British Crown; he believed in his King's right to tax hiscolonial subjects. Perhaps he wanted to go where his loyalty toEngland would be more accepted, which future events wouldprove to betrue initially. Also, 400 pounds was a sizeable amount of money andfertile land in North Carolina was known to be both plentiful andcheap. James W. Wall in his History of Davie County in the Forks ofthe Yadkin (Spartanburg, SC, 1985, p.7) has noted:

Davie County in the Forks of the Yadkin and South Yadkin Rivers was anideal place for the pioneer to settle. Here he found gentle rollinghills, valleys and bottoms, fertile soil -- both clay and loam -- someland 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 furnishedabundant timber and fuel. There was ample grass for grazing and hay,numerous springs and streams for water, and fish and game for food.

While we have no knowledge of any communication between William andAnn Sparks in Maryland and their relatives in the Forks of the Yadkinduring the decade between 1754 and 1764, it is apparent that they knewwhere to find William's brother, the elder Matthew Sparks, and hisfather, William Sample Sparks. It is also likely that there were otherMaryland families that traveled with the Sparkses in their journey.The likelihood is that they traveled down the Great Trading Path (alsocalled the Great Wagon Road) from Frederick, Maryland, throughWinchester and Staunton in Virginia, to Drapers Meadows, Chiswells,and Wolf Hills, then along the north and east side of the Yadkin River(sometimes called the North Yadkin) to where it is joined by the SouthYadkin,They may have crossed the Yadkin at the Shallow Ford in what isnow southeast Yadkin County, or they may have continued a few milesbeyond the Fork where the elder Matthew Sparks had settled, to theTrading Ford near the village of Salisbury. If they chose the latter,they would then have traveled back northward to Howard's Ferry acrossthe South Yadkin (See the map on the cover of the June 1991 issue ofthe QUARTERLY, Whole No. 154.)

The journey must have been a great adventure for young Matthew Sparksand his older brother who, like so many others, bore the name ofWilliam Sparks. William was thirteen or fourteen years old in 1764.Also making the journey, we believe, were William and Ann's childrennamed Rachel, Nancy, George, and James. Four more children would beborn in North Carolina: 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 muchof their lives, it may be useful here to repeat information given inthe QUARTERLY of June 1991 regarding how individuals could becomelandowners.

To reward eight noblemen who had assisted King Charles II to regainthe English throne, the King, in 1663, had granted to them the colonyof Carolina. Thus Carolina was to be a proprietary colony, as wasMaryland, with the Crown to receive only a small portion of theprofits therefrom. Whereas in Maryland there was only one proprietor,however, in Carolina there were eight, and they had problems from thestart. These were too numerous to discuss here, except to note that in1711 the portion of Carolina that became South Carolina was restoredto the Crown. Then in 1728, Parliament authorized King George II topurchase the proprietors's shares, now in the hands of descendants,and to make North Carolina a royal colony. The descendants of sevenof the proprietors readily accepted the 2,500 pounds offered to theheirs of each of the original eight (along with a share of 5,000additional pounds for the uncollected quit-rents), but one, the heirof Sir George Carteret, refused to. sell his share. This was the RightHonourable John Earl Granville (1690-1763) who, with the death of hismother in 1744, became the second Earl Granville. He was then givenone-eighth share of the colony, from the Virginia border on the northto the parallel line on the south, which was the lower level of RowanCounty. While Lord Granville was given no role in governing his partof North Carolina, he alone had the authority to sell his land and tocollect quit-rents that the purchaser was required to pay annuallythereafter. 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 Yadkinin 1754, a hundred acres of Granville land could be purchased for onlythree shillings, plus three shillings silver (or four shillings"proclamation money") each year there after as quit-rent. According tohis deed, the elder Matthew Sparks paid only ten shillings in silverfor his 372 acres in 1761, although there was probably an additional"fee" charged by Granville's agent. One can easily imagine opportunityfor corruption with agents acting on behalf of Lord Granville. Theseso-called fees charged by the agents and other county officials were acause of growing resentment 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--acustom usually respected by other "squatters,"although there werebitterly contested exceptions. The agents of Lord Granville wereremarkably tolerant of this practice, although we may wonder whetherbribes may have been paid and collected in some instances. In 1763,however, the year before the arrival of William and Ann Sparks at theForks of the Yadkin, word had been received that Lord Granville haddied, and his agents were directed to close their land offices. Therewas the assumption that Granville' s heirs would open those officesagain in due course, but the unrest that would culminate in theapproaching American Revolution prevented this from happening. Thus,after 1763 there was no way for a settler to obtain a valid title toland not previously purchased from Lord Granville, incuding land onwhich one had squatted, until North Carolina became a state. The elderMatthew Sparks's title of 1761 was secure, of course, but William andAnn could not obtain title to "vacant land" as they had doubtlessplanned 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.No record has been found to indicate that William Sample Sparks everobtained a title to land in North Carolina. We know from LordGranville's land records, however, that he had "squatted" on a tracton the South Yadkin within three miles of the residence of his son,Matthew.

On May 30, 1761, a settler named James Andrews who had alreadypurchased other land in Rowan County from a Granville agent, appliedfor and was granted the tract on which William Sample Sparks hadsquatted. The warrant authorizing a survey to be made of Andrew'spurchase described it as "700 acres in Rowan County on the South Sideof the South Yadkin, joining the Mouth of Second Creek including theimprovements where William Sample Sparks formerly lived." It is quitepossible that this was a friendly "take over" and Andrews may wellhave paid William Sample Sparks for the "improvements" he had made. Onthe side of this land bordering the South Yadkin there is a shallowplace in the river where a road to Salisbury crossed; later it wascalled "Andrews Ford," and it may have been there that William SampleSparks had operated an "ordinary." This was a name then commonly usedfor an inn or tavern where a traveller could expect to obtain lodging,food, and drink not only for himself and family, but for his horses aswell. From later records it seems probable that such a
facility comprised the "improvements" that Sparks had made on thisland.

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 whatbecame the Andrews property without a license, but during a meeting ofthe Rowan County Court in January 1762, he made application and it was"ordered that Mr. William Sample Sparks have License to keepOrdinary." The title "Mr." was one of distinction in those days,stiggesting that he then had status in the community.

Because the Andrews grant the previous year referred to where Sparkshad "formerly lived," we wonder whether William Sample Sparks may nowhave reestablished 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." Thiswas the year in which William Sample Sparks's son and daughter-in-law, William and Ann, arrived with their family at the Forks--perhapsthey were given lodging in 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 atthe Forks, that on July 14, 1764, William and his brother, Matthew,were appointed by the County Court, along with ten other men, to layout a road from nearby John Howard's Ferry to "the forks in Boone'sRoad." Three months later the Court ordered that "William Sparks Bee &is hereby Apptd Overseer of the Road Laid out... and that all theinhabatence [sic] within that District Worke under him." Perhaps thejustices gave William this responsibility because they knew that hisbrother was about to sell to him the lower 200 acres of Matthew's372-acre tract described earlier. As can be seen on the map on page5338 following, this new road was to be located very near what wouldbecome William's farm. It was on April 10, 1765, that the sale wasmade official, William giving his brother fifty pounds in"proclamation money." It is interesting to note that this divisionresulted in the northeast corner of William's tract being oppositeMatthew's "Fish Dam" on the Yadkin River, the bounty from which wasdoubtless 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 grewto manhood.

On September 17, 1767, the elder Matthew Sparks, with the consent ofhis wife, Sarah, sold the remainlng 172 acres of his land to aneighbor named William Haden. Whether the elder Matthew may havecontinued farming this land, perhaps renting it from Haden, or whetherhe may then have "squatted" on vacant land in the Forks of the Yadkin,we do not know. His name did not appear in Rowan County records after1767.

A large portion of Rowan County embracing the entire northwest area 35by 90 miles, was cut off in 1770 to form Surry County. BorderingVirginia not only did Surry County initially include the county thatstill bears its name today, but also the present counties ofAlleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, Yadkin, Forsyth, and Stokes, along with partsof today's Avery, Watauga, Alexander, and Caldwell Counties. It was towhat would become Ashe County in 1799 that the elder Matthew Sparksmoved his family in the early 1770s. When a son of the elder Matthew,whose name was also Matthew, applied for a Revolutionary War pensionin 1832, he stated that he had been born in Rowan County on January20, 1759, and that he had been "between fourteen and sixteen yearsold, when he moved with the other members of the family, to NewRiver..." From later records, we know that the elder Matthew Sparksfamily went to what is now Ashe County and "squatted" on 400 acres ofland located "on the North side of New River beginning on Little NakedCreek." After the war ended, the family moved to 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 ofRowan County."

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.They must have been born with an adventurous spirit, although theirwish may have been to escape the growing unrest in the Forks of theYadkin as war with 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 madeby their eldest son, William Sparks, Jr., who had accompanied theircousin, Solomon Sparks, to what would become later the dividing linebetween Wilkes and Yadkin Counties. Solomon Sparks, son of JosephSparks who had died in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1749, had cometo the Forks of the Yadkin in 1754 with William Sample Sparks and hadpurchased Granville land some nine miles north of the elderMatthew'stract near where Muddy Creek flows into the Yadkin River,over the line in Forsyth County.Solomon, with his family and WilliamSparks, Jr., made the journey in time to be included on the earliestextant tax list for Surry County, 1771, on which Solomon was shownwith three polls (himself and sons John and Joseph) and William, Jr.with one poll, himself. (A poll at that time was a white male between16 and 60.) William Sparks, Jr. had been born in or about 1750.William and Ann's second son, Matthew, probably reached his majorityin 1773, the year in which he accompanied his parents and youngersiblings to their new home in Surry County.

Surry County in 1773, including the several counties that would laterbe formed from it, was still part of Lord Granville's Domain so thatthere was no way in which vacant land, although existing in vastamounts, could be acquired legally. Like his cousin Solomon and hisson William, Jr., William Sparks could only "squat" in 1773 on a spotthat was pleasing to him and to Ann, with the hope of purchasing itlater with a proper title. They chose a tract later judged to comprise200 acres located on North Hunting Creek (sometimes called the NorthBranch of Hunting Creek), a mile from what would become in time thetiny village of Cycle in today's Yadkin County. Highway 421 now passesvery near where, with the help of his son, Matthew Sparks, Williammade his "improvements." This was three miles southwest of whereWilliam, Jr. had chosen to "squat."

A poll tax list for Surry County for the year 1774 survives showingthat there were then 1,528 males between 16 and 60 in all of whatwould become six counties and parts of four others. Matthew Sparks,subject of the present article, appears by name as a poll in hisfather's household in Captain Cleveland's District. This is ourearliest official record of Matthew as well as that of his youngerbrother, James Sparks, who was listed separately. Solomon, with sonsJohn and Joseph, and William, Jr. were also named as polls in CaptainCleveland's District. John Rose, husband of William and Ann'sdaughter, Rachel, was shown just above the entry for William andMatthew.

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 acertain source of revenue for the builder, a grist mill was still anexpensive edifice to build. With his land sales profits from the Forksof the Yadkin, William Sparks had brought with him the needed capitalfor his enterprise. We can only wish that a record had survivedtelling of how he and his son Matthew acquired the materials andmanpower for the mill's construction, particularly the hugemillstones. For many years there after, references are found in Surryand Yadkin County records to the "Sparks Mill Tract." Young Matthew'soccupation became that of "Miller."

Mention was made earlier that William Sparks, like his cousin,Solomon, was a Loyalist during the American Revolution. Both wouldrefuse to sign oaths of loyalty to the "state" of North Carolina.There was a generational gap in their families, however - - theirsons favored Independence from England.

In the article entitled "William Sparks (ca.1725-1801/02)" appearingin the QUARTERLY of June 1991, Whole No. 154, we related inconsiderable detail how William's reputation as a Loyalist during thetime of the American Revolution nearly deprived him of his land andmill after the Granville lands were confiscated by the new state ofNorth Carolina and offered for sale. The "squatters" from earlieryears now had opportunity to purchase the land on which they had livedand made "improvements," which, in the case of Wiillam Sparks,included his mill. New settlers, who had not "squatted," could alsopurchase 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.A man named Joseph Winston became Surry County's Entry Taker and his"Entry Book" 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 andcopied for us by a professional record searcher. An unfortunate errorwas made in the transcription of the family headed by Matthew Sparksin Cass County. The name of the third member of this household,following the names of the parents, Matthew and Sarah Sparks, wascopied as "Martha," age 30, a female. A re-examination of themicrofilm of the original census (pg 92) reveals that this name wasactually Matthew, a male, whose occupation was that of farmer, likehis father and his four younger siblings, all living in their parent'shousehold. We urge that members with complete files of the QUARTERLYmake this correction on page 2714 changing "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 ofSurry County, North Carolina. This elder Matthew was a son of William(IV) and Ann Sparks. Matthew, son of Matthew and Eunice had beenmarried to Sarah Elmore in Surry County, North Carolina, in 1808. shewas a daughter of Athanasious 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 bornabout 1820, if his age was given correctly as 30 by the census takerin 1850. He had a brother named Isaac Sparks, however, who had beenborn on February 11, 1820, according to the inscription on histombstone in a cemetery near the Ord Bend community in Glenn County,California, so Matthew Sparks, Jr. must have been born at least a yearearlier than 1820, or at least a year later. Isaac Sparks died onNovember 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 tothe division of his estate, but Matthew Jr.'s whereabouts seems not tohave been 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 inSurry County, North Carolina, on June 29, 1788, according to a familyBible record kept by a granddaughter, Olive (McGary) Wilson(1866-1946), who was a daughter of Matthew, Jr.'s youngest child,Catherine (Sparks) McGary (1834-1914). A photocopy of this record hasbeen shared with us by a descendant, Stefani W. Arnesen, of WestJordan, Utah. While this record of the birth of Matthew Sparks, Jr.was made many years after the event, we believe that it is accurate.It was probably copied by his granddaughter from an earlier familyBible. On the 1850 census his age was given as 62, which matches thisdate of his birth. Matthew Sparks, Jr. died in Polk County, Oregon, onAugust 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 theQUARTERLY.

"Matthew Sparks, Jr. was married in Surry County in 1808 to SarahElmore, eldest child of Athanasious and Susannah (Pinix) Elmore. Themarriage bond was dated February 20, 1808, with William West servingas bondsman. (West had been married to Matthew, Jr.'s sister, SarahSparks, in 1797.) Sarah Elmore had been born on February 13, 1789; shedied in June 1880 and was buried in the Union Baptist Cemetery onHarmony Road near Sheridan, Yamhill County, Wyoming.

"On January 23, 1811, Matthew Sparks, Sr. sold a 5-acre plot of groundto his son, Matthew, Jr. for 5 pounds. Then on February 17, 1815,Matthew, Jr. and his father-in-law, Athanasious Elmore, jointlypurchased from James Hicks for $400 a tract of 156 acres in SurryCounty "on the headwaters of Deep Creek." (Deed Book 5, p.374) OnMarch 26, 1819, Matthew, Jr. and his four brothers each received fromtheir father portions of his plantation before Matthew, Sr. made hiswill. The 90-acre tract that he gave to Matthew, Jr. "for the naturallove and affection that a parent hath towards a child" was "on bothsides of Hunting Creek" and adjoining land once owned by AlexanderSmith. (Deed Book 0, pp.373-74)

"When Matthew Sparks, Sr. made his will on March 26, 1819, heappointed two of his sons to be executors of his estate, Joel andMatthew, Jr. When the will was probated in the following May, however,Matthew, Jr. declined to serve as a co executor, and Joel Sparksbecame the sole executor - We can only speculate regarding whyMatthew, Jr. took this action; perhaps it was his knowing that theestate could not actually be settled until after his mother's death.Did he doubt that he would still be in Surry County when that timewould come? Did he even then have dreams of "going West?"

"When the 1830 census of Surry County was taken, Matthew, Jr. and hiswife were enumerated with 14 children living in their Surry Countyhousehold. That number would grow to 17, although the identity of oneof the 17 has not been deter mined; he or she may have died inchildhood.

"From his purchasing and selling of land in Surry County, it appearsthat Matthew prospered despite his large number of dependents. In1837, however, he bought from James Jones a tract of 300 acres overthe county line in Wilkes County, to which he moved his family.(Wilkes Co. Deed Book labeled ~1841-1851," p.158.) A year beforethis, on September 20, 1836, he had borrowed from John Wright andJosiah Cowles the sum of $500 to purchase from Alfred W. Martin afamily of slaves described as follows: "...a Negro woman Mary andMary's four children, named Sarah, Jinny, Joseph, and Abram ranging inage from half to seven years. This is our only record of Matthew,Jr.'s buying or selling slaves.

"It was in Wilkes County that the family of Matthew Sparks, Jr. wasliving when the 1840 census was taken; 10 of their 17 children werestill living at home then, their last child, Catherine, having beenborn in 1834.

"After the death of his father, Matthew Sparks, Jr. was no longercalled "Jr."so hereon in this sketch, the "Jr." will be dropped fromhis name except in the heading.

"By 1850, Matthew and Sarah Sparks had moved with several familymembers to Cass County, Missouri, where they were shown on the censusof that year. Matthew's age was given as 62 and Sarah's as 61..

"(We published a record of Sparkses found on the 1850 census ofMissouri in the QUARTERLY of March 1985, Whole No. 129, pp.2714-23,with the family of Matthew in Cass County appearing on page ·2714.. Anerror was made, however, in transcribing their son named Matthew, bornin 1808/09, on that census. It was printed as "Martha." A correctionwas made on page 4893 of the December 1997 issue of the QUARTERLY,Whole No. 180.)

"As will be noted in the brief sketches of the 16 known children ofMatthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks that follow, some of the olderchildren had moved to different parts of the United States prior to1850, including the Territory of Oregon. In 1851, Matthew and Sarahmoved from Missouri to Polk County, Oregon Territory, accompanied bytheir son, Wiley Sparks and his wife, Nancy, as well as by theirdaughter, Eliza, and her husband, John Lynch. They were probably partof a wagon train of emigrants going west. Oregon Territory wouldbecome the state of Oregon in 1859.

"Matthew Sparks died on August 1, 1854, at the age of 66. He had madehis will on March 26, 1863, in which he had described himself as "ofthe County of Polk, Oregon Territory." Of his "Oregon Land Claim"comprising 160 acres, he left half of it to his widow along withlivestock, household goods, etc., and the other half to his daughter,Lucinda Sparks, who was then still unmarried. He did not name anexecutor in his will, so when the Polk County Court met followingMatthew's death, Garrett W. MeGary, husband of his daughter,Catherine, was appointed to administer his father-in-law's estate. OnOctober 4, .1854, McGary submitted to the Court what to his "BestKnowledge" was a list of the "Legal heirs of Matthew Sparks." Fromthis list, it appears that McGary believed that there were 17 livingchildren who should receive shares of their father's estate. Thewidow, Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was to be considered an equal heir withthe children. McGary's list was as follows:

Sarah Sparks (widow)
Wiley Sparks
Richard Sparks
Susannah (Susan) Holcomb
Eliza Linch
Malinda Ann Linch
Henry Sparks
Hugh Sparks
Matthew Sparks, Jr.
Isaac Sparks
William Sparks
Lucinda Sparks
Elizabeth White
Sarah Redding
Catherine McGary
and two others in the States, names not known, and one George Sparks.

"To this list of heirs, McGary added the following note: "5 of theheirs live in California, 4 in Polk Co.,
Oregon, 1 in Yamhill Co., Oregon, 2 in Oregon, and the Ballance insome of the states."

"Following is this writer's attempt to identify the 16 known childrenof Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, in what appears to be the orderof their birth. There may have been a 17th child, as noted earlier.Matthew and Sarah were married in 1808, the marriage bond in SurryCounty, North Carolina, having been dated February 20, 1808. The datesof birth given here are, in most instances, reasonable guesses basedon such sources as census records, although it appears that there wassome confusion in later years among these siblings them selvesregarding the order of their births. Considering the number ofchildren that Sarah bore over a period of 26 years (ca.1808 to 1834),it seems probable that some of them may have been twins. We willwelcome corrections and additions to the record that follows:"
(Here begins a listing of their children for which see theirindividual sheets.)

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

SQ 2445:

"Matthew Sparks, son of Absalom and Lydia (Elsberry) Sparks, was bornabout 1797 in South Carolina. He was probably named for his paternalgrandfather, Matthew Sparks. He married Elizabeth ---, probably about1824. She was born about 1807 in South Carolina. Matthew accompaniedhis parents to Arkansas where he joined his father and brothers insigning petitions to the President and Congress in 1821 and 1825. In1829, he was listed on a special census taken by the Sheriff ofCrawford County, Arkansas, but by 1830 he was in Pope County,Arkansas. With him were his wife and three sons.

"Matthew Sparks was apparently a member of the group of Arkansassettlers that went to Texas in 1833. There he received a League ofland adjoining the land of his brother-in-law, Friend Boatright, inwhat is now Lee County, Texas. He may also have been given theHeadright Certificate for the land granted to his sister, Edy Sparks.

"By 1840, Matthew Sparks had moved to Natchitiches Parish, Louisana,where he was listed with his wife and six children on the 1840 census.When the 1850 census was taken he was in neighboring Sabine County,Texas. All except two of his eight children had apparently left home.The two at home were Elizabeth Sparks, 10, and Nancy Sparks, 7. OnAugust 31, 1850, Matthew Sparks sold his share of the estate of hissister, Edy Sparks. The consideration was $500 which may indicatethat he had the actual possession of her Head right Certificate. Wehave no further information on this family."

See SQ p. 227 for a copy of the Johnson County, Kentucky - 1850 Censusshowing Matthew and Alsey (Osburn) Sparks and their 9 children.

SQ 3797: "He was married to Alsey Osburn in 1832.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1992, Whole No. 157, p. 3900:

"Matthew Sparks, son of Thomas and Dianah (Wilcox) Sparks, was bornabout 1805 in Surry County, North Carolina. He was married to AlseyOsburn about 1832, probably in Lawrence County, Kentucky. She hadbeen born about 1815 in Kentucky and was a daughter of Jesse andElizabeth (--- ) Osburn, natives of Kentucky. Matthew and Alsey livednear Flat Gap , Kentucky, where they reared twelve children. Alseydied on January 31, 1878, and Matthew died sometime after 1880,probably in Elliott County, Kentucky, at the home of his son, DanielSparks."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1961, Whole No. 36, p. 609 for the1850 census of Yancey County, North Carolina in which appears thefamily of Matthew Sparks (p. 431) 654-688.

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriageinformation from Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822-1865):
Matthew Sparks & Hannah Adkins, January 18, 1852. (Book II, p. 48) He21 years old; she 23 years old. Married by G. C. Burgess, J.P.

SQ 3865:
"Matthew Sparks, son of Allen and Elizabeth (Kozee) Sparks, was bornabout 1831. He was married to Hannah Adkins on January 18, 1852 , inLawrence County. She had been born about 1827. She and Matthew livednear Lowmansville, Kentucky. Matthew served in the 68th RegimentKentucky Enrolled Militia during the Civil War. He and Hannah had atleast five children. He died between May and August 1894. Childrenof Matthew and Hannah (Adkins) Sparks:

a. Reuben Sparks was born on January 29, 1853. He probably diedwhile quite young.
b. James M. Sparks was born on April 14, 1855. He probably died whilequite young.
c . Dianna Sparks was born about 1857.
d. Angeline Sparks was born on June 19, 1859. She died on July 22,1859.
e. Mary Elizabeth Sparks was born about 1861.

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION:

MATTHEW SPARKS, son of Allen and Elizabeth (Kozee) Sparks, was bornabout 1831 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He died in 1894. He wasmarried to Hannah Adkins on January 18, 1852. He served in Company K,68th Regiment Kentucky Enrolled Militia. Inv. Application No. 868,147. For the abstract of his application see THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, page3875 and below.

"On October 24, 1892, Matthew Sparks, age 60, of Lowmansville,Lawrence County, Kentucky, made application for an invalid pension.He stated that he had been enrolled in Company K, 68th RegimentKentucky Enrolled Militia, commanded by Col. McKinster, on May 21,1864, and that he had been discharged at Louisa, Kentucky, on June 22,1864. [As will be seen below, he was actually discharged on July 23,1864.] While he was serving in this unit, he took the measles whichsettled in his back and chest and the disease had caused permanentdamage to his health. He said that when he was enrolled, he had been6 feet tall, with a fair complexion, light hair, and blue eyes; he wasa farmer by occupation. He appointed William Conard & Co.,Washington, D.C., as his attorneys. Minty Sparks and Mary Hatfieldwere witnesses to his making his mark.

"On December 19, 1892, William Bryant, age 56, Lowmansville, Kentucky,made an affidavit to support the application of Matthew Sparks, Hesaid that he had known Sparks for 40 years and that in the spring of1864, before Sparks volunteered for the army, he had been a stout,robust man, but that when Sparks returned from the service, hecomplained about his back and lungs and walked about all stooped overwith his hands crossed on his back. Calvin Stephenson, age 62, alsoof Lowmansville, made a similar affidavit, stating that he had knownSparks for 36 years as a near neighbor, and that before he went intothe army, he (Sparks) had been physically sound, but that after hereturned from the service, he had been so stiff in the back that hehad to walk on crutches.

"The War Department confirmed the military service of Matthew Sparks.He had been 30 years old when he entered the service on May 21, 1864.He had been mustered out with his company on July 23, 1864. He hadbeen born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, and was a farmer byoccupation.

"The application of Matthew Sparks for an invalid pension was notapproved and no pension certificate was issued, probably because hehad not served the required 90-day minimum period."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1956, Whole No. 16,pp 177-178, p 178:

SPARKSES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

"In spite of the detailed pension application of Matthew Sparks (sonof Matthew the Elder) little has been learned regarding hisdescendants. In a letter written by his niece, Bettie C. Smith(daughter of Bailey Sparks (338)), in 1899, appears the followingstatement: "When I was a child old Uncle Matthew Sparks made his homewith his brother, Isaac, but spent much of his time with Father andMama." From this it would appear that Matthew was a widower duringhis old age. It is known that Matthew had three daughters living inClinton County, Illinois, and that was the reason he moved fromTennessee to Illinois in 1840. His son-in-law, William Steele,certified on December 31, 1842, that he had gone to Tennessee inOctober, 1840, and moved Matthew Sparks to Illinois. These threedaughters were: (1) Jane, wife of William Steele; (2) Hannah, wife of--- Arnett; and (3) Peggy, wife of ---Arnett. Matthew Sparks, it willbe noted, mentioned a son in his pension application who had movedfrom Illinois to Georgia, but he did not give his name. In 1825Matthew and his brother Absolom were among a group of "inhabitants ofthat part of Miller County, in the Territory of Arkansas, ceded andconfirmed to the Chocktaw Nation of Indians by treaty in 1825" whosigned a petition protesting this action, saying that it would resultin their being driven from "the farms and improvements we havelaboured for years to make." Besides Matthew and Absolom, there werethree other persons names Sparks who signed this petition: WilobeSparks, Absolom Sparks, Jr. and Elsberry Sparks. These three weredoubtless sons of either Matthew or Absolom.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 1956, Whole No. 16, pg. 179:

"REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION PAPERS OF MATTHEW SPARKS (1759-1841)"

(The file number given to the application papers of Matthew Sparks inThe National Archives is S. 31,385. The pension was approved andMatthew Sparks received $22.66 per annum.)

Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congresspassed June 7, 1832.
State of Tennessee)
Carroll County ) SS

"On this 14th day of September A.D. 1832 personally appeared in openCourt, before the worshipful Henry Wright, Wilson Lightfoot, and Saml.Ingram, Justices of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, nowsetting, Matthew Sparks, a resident of said County and State, agedaged (sic) about seventy-four years, who being first duly sworn,according to law, doth on his oath, make the following declaration in
order to obtain the benefit of an Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832,states:

"That he was born in Rowan County, near Salisbury in the State ofNorth Carolina, on the 20th day of January, A.D. 1759, and there livedwith his father until he was between fourteen and sixteen years old,when he removed, with the other members of the family, to New River inWilkes County in the State aforesaid, and there this Declarant resideduntil three or four years after the close of the Revolutionary War; atwhich time this Declarant removed to the frontier part of the Statelast mentioned in what, as well as this Declarant now recollects, wasthen Franklin County. Here this Declarant, with his father and othersettlers, erected a fort which was then and probably still is calledSparks Fort. In this neighborhood this Declarant's father was killedby the Indians.

"After residing at this place two or three years, this Declarant removed to Greenville District in the State of South Carolina, where heresided seven or eight years, when he removed to Jackson County in theState of Georgia. Here this Deponant resided 6 or 7 years, when heremoved to Livingston County in the State of Kentucky about the year1807 or 1808, where he resided for about 2 years; from thence againremoved into the Territory of Illinois, and the County of St. Clair,about the year 1810. He here settled on Silver Creek, within 8 or 10miles of the town of Belleville and remained about 5 years. He thenremoved down on a Creek called Muddy, in said Territory, where heresided 2 years. About the year 1817, Declarant states, he againremoved over into Arkansas Territory, where he settled on White
River and remained about 2 years; from thence he went to ArkansasRiver about 40 or 50 miles above Little Rock, in the aforesaidTerritory, where he lived 2 years; then removed from there to theSalline on the waters of Ouachita within 25 miles of Little Rock,where he again settled, and resided until the 2nd day of August last,when he removed into this County. This Declarant states that heentered the service of the United States and served as herein stated. When this Declarant was 17 or 18 years old, as well as he canrecollect in the year 1776 or 77, he joined a company raised bydrafting, commanded by Captain John Beverly, and served a tour of 3months.

"We marched from Wilkes County, North Carolina, where the company wasraised, and ranged through the lower and sandy part of North Carolinain search of the Tories, to intimadate (sic) and keep them down inthat part of the State. On this tour, we found no parties of Toriesembodied, but we took several individuals. I remember particularlythat we took a Tory Captain by the name of Jackson, a blacksmith, whomwe hung; our company took two others, names not recollected, and sentthem to headquarters of the corps. The company of which I was amember were Mounted Rangers. The corps to which I belong consisted ofseveral companies of rangers, and two or three foot and was commandedby Col. ---- Isacks, given name not recollected, of North Carolina. Ido not remember any major, or adjutant, nor the names of any othercaptains, except Captain --- Isbel who commanded, as well as Irecollect, a company of foot-men.

"At the end of our term of service, we were marched back to our Countyby our officers, and there directed to go to our respective homes,without receiving any written discharge. In the fall of a certainyear, I do not recollect what year, nor do I remember how long aftermy return from my first tour, but not more than one or two years, Iwas again drafted into the service, in a company commanded by CaptainSamuel Johnson, and Elisha Reynolds, Lieutenant. This corps consistedexclusively of three or four companies of footmen, and was commandedby Major --- Hargrove of Wilkes County, North Carolina. GodfreyIsacks was one of the captains.

"We were drafted for 3 months and were marched through pretty much thesame country as on my first tour, and for the same purpose. Iremember it was a particular object of the expedition to go into apart of North Carolina where the Scotch very much abounded. We cameto a part of the country where the main American Army, commanded by Ido not recollect whom, had recently passed, and found ourselves ingreat want of the means of subsistance. After being marched aboutthrough the sandy parts of North Carolina two months without meetingwith any parties of Tories or having any engagement, we were marchedback to our own County having learned there was more occasion for usthere than where we had been. Not long after we reached home we weredismissed by our officers without receiving any formal discharge.

"In addition to these tours of service performed by me, I will statethat Col. Benjamin Cleveland, who lived on the Yadkin, Wilkes County,North Carolina, early in the Revolutionary War, by his personalinfluence, formed an Association or Company of Minute Men, to goagainst Tories whenever called on. Of this company I was a member andperformed under him many tours of duty from one to three weeks at atime, amount in all to at least 3 months. We invaribly went out asmounted gun-men or rangers. We ranged principally on the mountainsand New River. On these excursions, I remember, we took two partiesof Tories, one consisting of 15, the other of 10 or 12 men. They hadbeen engaged in plundering neighborhoods. Some of these we hung, shotothers, and others we took across the Virginia line, we delivered tothe Virginians.

"On another occasion, learning that a party of Hessian dragoons andTories to the number of 12 or 15, passing up New River plundering andpillaging the country, we assembled and overtook them at the house ofour Militia Captain (Paul Patrick) whom they had under guard and wherethey were regaling themselves on the best the house afforded. Wesurprised them, killed 2 and wounded 2 whom we took prisoners,together with one other. One of the wounded prisioners was a Hession,and lived. His name was John Meisenner. He joined our side and wasone of the men who served with me under Capt. Beverly.

"This Applicant knows of no person by whom he can prove his service.

"He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, or annuity,except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pensionroll of the agency of any state. Signed: Matthew Sparks
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. Signed EdwardGwin, Clerk.

" And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion after theinvestigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatoriesprescribed by the War Department, that the above named Applicant was aRevolutionary Soldier as he states. And the Court further certifiesthat it appears to them that Bailey Sparks and William Brigance, whohave signed the preceding certificate are residents of the county andstate aforesaid and are credible persons, and that their statement isentitled to credit. Signed: Sam Ingram, Chairman of Carrol CountyCourt; Henry Wright; Wilson Lightfoot.

Whereupon the said Court propounded the following interrogatories tothe said Matthew Sparks on the occasion of his application for apension as having been one of the Militia of North Carolina in theRevolutionary War.
Question 1. Where and in what year were you born? I was born inRowan County near Salisbury in the State of North Carolina on the 20thof January, 1759.
Question 2. Have you any record of your age; and if so, where is it?I have none with me. My son took the Bible containing it when hemoved from Illinois to Georgia.
Question 3. Where were you living when called into service; wherehave you lived since the Revolutionary War, and where do you now live?I was living, when called into service, in Wilkes County NorthCarolina; the balance the Applicant answered in his declaration.
Question 4. How were you called into service; were you drafted , didyou volunteer or were you a substitute? Answered in the declaration.
Question 5. State the names of some of the regular officers who werewith the troops when you served; Such continental and militiaregiments as you can recall & and the general circumstances of yourservice. Answered as in declaration.
Question 6. Did you ever receive a discharge from the service; and ifso, by whom was it given and wehat has become of it? Answered as indeclaration.
Question 7. State the names of persons to whom you are known in yourpresent neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character forveracity and their belief of your services as a soldier of theRevolution. I have but lately come to this country and therefore havebut few acquaintences here. I can only mention my brother, BaileySparks, & Mr. William Brigance who knew my general reputation as asoldier of the Revolution.
State of Tennessee)
Carroll County )SS
I, Edward Gwin, Clerk of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions inand for said County and State aforesaid, do hereby certify that theforegoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in thematter of the application of Matthew Sparks, for a pension.
In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand and affix the Seal of saidCourt at office in Huntingdon this 12th day of September A.D., 1832.
Signed Edward Gwin, Clerk.
Application for a Transfer)
County of Henry )SS
On this nineteenth day of September, 1840, before me, the subscriber,a Justice of the Peace for the said County of Henry, personallyappeared Matthew Sparks, who, on his oath, declares that he is thesame person who formerly belonged to the company commanded by CaptainsBeverly and Samuel Johnson in the Regiments commanded by ColonelsIsaacks and Cleveland, in the service of the United States; that hisname was placed on the pension roll of the State of Tennessee atJackson, from whence he has lately removed; that he now resides in theState of Illinois where he intends to remain, and wishes his pensionto be there payable, in future. The following are his reasons forremoving from Carroll County, Tennessee to Clinton County,Illinois--viz--He has three daughters living there & he has madearrange- ments to live with one of them.
Paris, Tennessee, September 19, 1840. Signed: Mathew Sparks
Sworn to and subscribed before me the day and year aforesaid.
Signed: I. S. Rainey.
(END OF ARTICLE)

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1984, Whole No. 127, pps .2644-2669:

"MATTHEW J. SPARKS (1759-1841) SON OF MATTHEW AND SARAH (THOMPSON)SPARKS
AND HIS DESCENDANTS"

"(Editor's Note: In the June 1961 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No.34, an article was published about Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks. This couple had left Frederick County, Maryland, about 1755 and hadmoved to Rowan County, North Carolina. They had eleven sons and twodaughters. Articles about two of their sons, John Sparks (1755-1831)and Absalom Sparks ( ca.1771-ca.1830) have appeared in earlier issuesof the QUARTERLY. See March 1966 issue, Whole No. 53, pp. 960-68, for"John Sparks (Son of Matthew & Sarah Sparks) Born 1755, died 1831" andthe September 1982 issue, Whole No . 119, pp. 2443-48, for"Information Sought Regarding the Descendants of Absalom Sparks(ca.1771-ca.1830)." Here we publish materials about the descendants ofanother son Matthew J. Sparks.

"The records of the descendants of Matthew J. Sparks have come from avariety of sources and have been assembled by several persons. Creditfor most of the following article, however, should be given to agreat-great- great-grandaughter of Matthew J. Sparks, Johnella(Sparks) Boynton, who had spent many days collecting information andarranging it into readable form. She now lives at 4905 Framons Court,Atlanta, Georgia, 30338.

"Matthew J. Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson) Sparks, was areal "mover" even for the early pioneer days when a person could keepmoving for a lifetime to new lands. In 1832, he made application fora pension for his military service in the American Revolutionary War,and he gave an account of his travels and the many places where he hadlived. From this account, he and his family obviously spent aconsiderable portion of their lives going from place to place alongthe frontier.

"Matthew J. Sparks was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, onJanuary 20, 1759, and when he was about fifteen years of age, hisfather moved to Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he settled on NewRiver in what is now Ashe County. It was here that Matthew served asa soldier in the American Revolution, joining in 1777 a companycommanded by Capt . John Beverly in Wilkes County. For this servicehe received a pension. ( see above for a transcript of his pensionfile)

"Matthew probably married at the close of the Revolutionary War . Wehave found no record of the marriage. We do know that his wife'sgiven name was Margaret, for in 1794, he and his wife Margaret, werewitnesses to two deeds by which Matthew's brother, John Sparks, boughtland in Greenville District, South Carolina. There has been somespeculation that her maiden name was Traylor, and it is a matter ofrecord that the Sparks family and the Traylor family were closelyassociated in Georgia. (A sister of Matthew J. Sparks, Edy Sparks, isknown to hve been married to Randolph Traylor and was living in ClarkeCounty, Georgia, in 1807). We also have not learned the date nor placeof the death of Margaret Sparks, but when the 1830 census was taken ofPulaski County, Arkansas, where Matthew J. Sparks was living at thetime, there was no female enumerated in his household that was oldenough to have been the mother of his children. Margaret Sparksprobably died prior to 1830.

"In all probability, the first child of Matthew and Margaret Sparkswas a son, John, who was born on June 26, 1784. It was also aboutthis time that the family of Matthew Sparks, Senior, moved to FranklinCounty , Georgia, and settled near the present-day town of Athens.There, Matthew Sparks, Sr. was killed by Indians in 1793. Matthew J.Sparks (Matthew Jr.) had also gone to Georgia with his parents andreceived a headright grant of 200 acres in Franklin County in 1792,but after the death of his father, he moved his family to GreenvilleDistrict, South Carolina, where he stayed about eight years. He thenreturned to Georgia where he settled in Jackson County. There, heparticipated in the Georgia Land Lotteries in 1803 and again in 1806.In the latter draw, he won 39 acres of land located near theBaldwin-Wilkinson Counties Boundary.

"In 1807, Matthew moved to Livingston County, Kentucky, where he liveduntil about 1810 when he moved to the Illinois Territory where hesettled on Silver Creek which is about ten miles from present- dayBelleville . He stayed there until about 1815, when he moved to nearbyMuddy Creek where he stayed about two years. Then in 1817, he moved"over into" Arkansas Territory and settled on White River where helived until 1819 when he moved to the Saline River, a tributary of theOuachita, where he stayed until about 1831. On the 1830 census, hewas listed as the head of a household in Pulaski County.

"In 1831, Matthew J. Sparks moved to Carroll County, Tennessee, where,on September 11, 1832, he made application for a pension for hismilitary services suring the Revolutionary War. (It was in hisapplication for a pension that he described his movements notedabove.) When the 1840 census was taken, he was living in the home ofhis brother, Isaac Sparks, in Carroll County, but on September 19th ofthat year, he appeared before Isaac S. Fainey, a justice of the peaceof Henry County, Tennessee, to state that he had lately removed fromTennessee to Clinton County, Illinois, where he intended to remainwith the family of one of his three daughters living there. Herequested that in the future his pension be paid in Clinton County.

"Matthew J. Sparks died on August 14, 1841, at the home of hisdaughter, Jane (Sparks) Steele, in Clinton County. He left no will.His grandson, Absalom Steele, was appointed as administrator of hisestate. Only three documents are on file settling his estate in theClinton County court house. One is a statement on the date ofMatthew's death; another is his grandson's administrator's bond; andthe third is a statement from William Steele that he had brought hisfather-in-law from Tennessee to Clinton County in October 1840.

"In spite of the lack of records of the settlement of the estate ofMatthew J. Sparks, we belive that we can name his children. Webelieve he and Margaret had only five children, although a descendantwho joined the Daughters of the American Revolution on the basis ofhis military service stated that he had eight. This descendant namedonly five children, however:
John Sparks, born June 26, 1784. He married Sarah Brooks.
Jane Sparks, born about 1787. She married William Steele.
Hannah Sparks, probably born about 1792. She married a man namedArnett.
Margaret (Peggy) Sparks, born about 1797. She married Nathan Arnett.
Matthew Jefferson Sparks, Jr., born about 1802. He married Polly ---.

(Here the article provides additional detail about the children ofMatthew and Margaret Sparks).

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 2001, Whole No. 196, pps .5599-5603:

TWO DAUGHTERS OF MATTHEW JEFFERSON SPARKS (ca.1802-1833)

OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS

Margaret "Peggy" (Sparks) Evans (born ca.1825)
&
Frances Elmira "Almira" Porter (1830-1898)

"In the QUARTERLY of September 1984, Whole No. 127, we published arecord of the family of Matthew Sparks (1759 -1841) whose wife's namewas Margaret. We stated there that her maiden name had been Traylor,but further research has disproved that assumption. We have no clueregarding what her maiden name might have been. We are now doubtful,also, that Matthew had the middle initial "J." Among primary sources,we find only one census record where this appears. Here, and in futurereferences to him, we shall refer to him as Matthew Sparks, Jr., eventhough, following the death of his father (the elder Matthew Sparks)in 1793, he dropped its use from his own signature.

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, pp 5605-5630,p. 5607:

"Matthew Sparks, Jr. , second child of Matthew and Sarah Sparks , wasborn on January 20, 1759, in what is now Davie County, North Carolina,then Rowan County. He died on August 14, 1841, at the home of hisdaughter, Jane (Sparks) Steele, in Clinton County , Illinois . Hiswife's name was Margaret . We have not found her maiden name. We werein error in stating earlier that Margaret's maiden name may have beenTraylor. We have also sometimes included the letter "J" as his middleinitial. This appears on one census record, but this may have been anerror made by the census taker. The text of Matthew Sparks, Jr.'sapplication for a pension for his service in the Revolutionary Warappeared in the QUARTERLY of December 1956, Whole No. 16, pp.179-182.It was approved. A few years ago, a descendant established a chapterin the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in his namein Claremont , California. An article devoted to Matthew Sparks, Jr.,with a record of his known children, appeared in the QUARTERLY ofSeptember 1984, Whole No. 127, pp.2644-2669. Some corrections to thisarticle appeared in the QUARTERLY of March 1989, Whole No.145,pp.3367-68. In that article we called him "Matthew J. Sparks. " Asnoted above, we cannot be sure that he had a middle initial. Itappears that none of his siblings were given middle names or initials.Matthew Sparks, Jr., did, however, give a son of his own a middlename. This was Matthew Jefferson Sparks (ca.1802-1833) See a separatearticle in this issue of the QUARTERLY, beginning on page 5599,pertaining to two daughters of Matthew Jefferson Sparks."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, Whole No. 127, p. 268:

MATTHEW SPARKS (1859-1841) & HIS DESCENDANTS

"Matthew Jefferson Sparks, son of Matthew and Margaret (---) Sparks,was born about 1802, probably in Jackson County, Georgia. He marriedMary ("Polly") ---, probably about 1820 in Arkansas. In 1829, he paidtaxes (along with his father) in Pulaski County, Arkansas. When the1830 census was taken of that county, he was head of his householdwhich consisted of his wife, born 1800-1810; a male, born 1815-1820; afemale, born 1820-1825; a male, born 1825-1830; and a female born1825-1830. Living nearby was Matthew J. Sparks, Sr. enumerated asbeing between 60 and 70 years of age.

"In the fall of 1832, Matthew Jefferson Sparks apparently became quiteill, or he may have suffered a severe injury, for on December 2, 1832,he made his will. It reads as follows:

I, Matthew Jefferson Sparkes, of the County of Pulaski & Territory ofArkansas, United States of America, have made this my last will &testament in manner and form following, that is to say:
1st, after my decease I desire that all my just debts and funeralexpenses be paid.
2nd, after my just debts & funeral expenses are paid, it is my desirethat my wife, Polly Sparkes, have all my estate whether realor personal or whatsoever kind there may be for the purpose toraise and educate my children, Peggy Sparkes, John Sparkes and AlmiraSparkes.
Also a posthumous child if there be one.
3rdly & lastly, I desire that my aforesaid wife be my executrix tothis my last will & testament & to act as such without beingbound to security or put to the trouble of appraising & making aninventory of my said estate.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Jefferson Sparkes, have set myhand and affixed my seal this second day of December A.D. onethousand eight hundred & thirty two. Matthew Jefferson Sparkes
Attest: Richard Graves, Casey James, Rebecca Hudson.

"The will of Matthew Jefferson Sparkes was proven on February 4, 1833,by Richard Graves and Rebecca Hudson; he had probably died shortlybefore the will was presented for probate. According to the will andto the census record, Matthew and Polly had four children:

1. A son who died when quite young was born to Matthew and Polly(---)Sparks, probably about 1820.
2. Margaret ("Peggy") Sparks, daughter of Matthew and Polly (---)Sparks was born about 1825.
3. John Sparks, son of Matthew and Polly (---) Sparks was born about1827.
4. Almira Sparks, daughter of Matthew and Polly (---) Sparks, wasborn about 1829."

END OF ARTICLE.

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December, 2001, Whole No. 196, pps .5599-5603:

TWO DAUGHTERS OF MATTHEW JEFFERSON SPARKS (ca.1802-1833)

OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS

Margaret "Peggy" (Sparks) Evans (born ca.1825)
&
Frances Elmira "Almira" Porter (1830-1898)

[JS Note: The initial portion of this article is found under thenotes for the father of Matthew Jefferson Sparks.]

"The youngest of the children of Matthew, Jr. and Margaret Sparks wasnamed Matthew Jefferson Sparks; he was born about 1802, probably inJackson County, Georgia.

"Matthew Sparks, Jr. (1759-1841) had served in the American Revolutionand received a pension for his service. His pension application madein 1832 reveals that he had moved with his family many times duringthe years following the Revolution. They had been living in GreenvilleDistrict, South Carolina, before moving to Jackson County, Georgia,shortly before Matthew Jefferson Sparks was born. He accompanied hisparents and siblings in their move from Georgia to Kentucky in 1807,then to Illinois Territory in 1810, and to Arkansas Territory in 1817. A few years thereafter, he was married, we believe, in PulaskiCounty, Arkansas, to Mary, whose nick name was "Polly." We have notdiscovered her maiden name. [The balance of this article will befound under the notes for Matthew Jefferson Sparks and hisdescendants.]

"Matthew Jefferson Sparks continued to live in Pulaski County , andwhen the 1830 census was taken , the ages of both himself and his wifewere enumerated as being between 20 and 30, thus born between 1800 and1810. The four children living in their household were enumerated asfollows: a male between 10 and 15, thus born between 1815 and 1820; afemale between 5 and 10, thus born between 1820 and 1825; and a maleand a female under age 5, thus born between 1825 and 1830. There mayhave been another child born after 1830; see Matthew's will below.

"Matthew Jefferson Sparks died as a young man , probably at age 31. Hemust have known death was near when he made his last will on December2, 1832. It was probated on February 4, 1833. As seen in the textbelow, it appears that his eldest son had died earlier, and that hethought his wife might be pregnant. His will follows :

I, Matthew Jefferson Sparkes, of the County of Pulaski & Territory ofArkansas , United States of America, have made this my last will &testament in manner and form following , that is to say :

1st, after my decease I desire that all my just debts & funeralexpenses be paid.

2nd, after my just debts & funeral expenses are paid, it is my desirethat my wife, Polly Sparkes, have all my estate whether real orpersonal or whatsoever kind there may be for the purpose to raise andeducate my children, Peggy Sparkes, John Sparkes and Almira Sparkes.Also a posthumous child if there be one.
3rdly & lastly , I desire that my aforesaid wife be my executrix tothis my last will & Testament & to act as such without beingbound to security or put to the trouble of appraising & making aninventory of my real estate.

In witness whereof, I , the said Matthew Jefferson Sparkes , have setmy hand and affixed my seal this second day of December A . D.one thousand eight hundred & thirty-two.

Attest:

Richard Graves (seal)
Casey James (seal)
Rebecca Hudson, her mark
his
Matthew Jefferson Sparks
seal

The above will of Matthew Jefferson Sparks has been copied from theProbate Court's recorded copy , and we may wonder whether the clerkadded the "e" to the spelling of Matthew's name. We are certain thathe, like other members of his family, spelled his name "Sparks," not"Sparkes."

The will was entered for probate in the Pulaski County Court onFebruary 4, 1833, by two of the witnesses: Richard Graves and RebeccaHudson. Matthew Jefferson Sparks had probably died a few days before.As noted earlier, the eldest son, who had been enumerated with thefamily on the 1830 census, appears to have died before his fathersince only the three younger children were named in their father'swill. Whether a posthumous child was born to Mary ["Polly"] Sparkslater, as suggested might occur according to Mathew Jefferson Sparks'swill, we do not know. We have not found Mary ["Polly"] Sparks in latercensus records of Pulaski County , and we may wonder whether she mighthave been married a second time before the 1840 census was taken.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2000, Whole No. 190, p. 5371:

Matthew Sparks, Jr., son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, wasborn ca. 1808/09 in Surry County, North Carolina. He was not includedon the 1850 census of Cass County, Missouri, where his parents'household appeared. He was still living in 1856 when his father'sheirs were identified by the estate's administrator, although he wasincluded among the heirs that his brother, Richard Sparks, was chargedby the Polk County, Oregon, Court to try to locate. We have no furtherrecord of him.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3901: George Ann and Matthew had eight children before he rdeath which occurred in 1913: Marsha "Minnie", Edward, Ellis, Kelly ,Bunis, Bertha, Elizabeth, and Dicey Sparks. Cindy and Matthew ha dtwo children: Virgil and Dona Sparks.

Information received from Nila (Sparks) Moore, half-sister of MaudSparks who resides at 5432 N. Citation Road, Toledo, Ohio 43615,states that Maud died young and is buried in Troumble Cemetery,Soldier, Kentucky.

SQ pg 4477: "Maud D. Sparks was born in August 1875 in Texas,probably in Lampasas County. She was in Paris, France, when, onJanuar y 29, 1897, she gave 2,214 acres of land in Williamson County,Texas , to her father. She had inherited this land from her mother,Rachel A. Sparks, as Rachel's only surviving child at Rachel's deathin 1879.
A niece of Maud Sparks, Nancy (Sparks) Humiston, states that her auntwas a talented person who was a painter, sculptor, and a writer ofnovels, plays, and screen scenarios. She was educated in Europe because her father believed that a frontier ranch was not a proper placein which a young lady should grow up. While she was studying inParis, one of her best friends was Jean McKenzie. She was latermarried to Jean's brother, James A. McKenzie, an attorney and a son ofa Presbyterian minister.
Maud and James McKenzie lived near the Pacific Ocean in a mansiondesigned by her which faced the Pebble Beach Golf Course. When thewife of her brother, Benton Hackett Sparks, died in 1918, Maud and herhusband took over the care of her brother's three sons.
James A. McKenzie died during the Great Depression in the early 1930s,after which Maud could no longer afford to live in the mansion ; shemoved into another house that they owned. Here she was cared for byher niece, Nancy Humiston, and her nephew, Benton Knight Sparks ,until her death.
The last account we have of Maud (Sparks) McKenzie tells that shereturned to Texas in 1944 to visit a cousin, the Rev. Buren Sparks .At that time, she was living in the old retreat of Aimie Semple McPherson at Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. With her were her elevencats."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pps 3693-4: "Joe and Maude Powell lived on a farm about nine miles northeast of Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Joe was a progressive farmer ,being one of the first farmers in northeast Texas to grow peaches commercially. Maude was an astute businesswoman. They were members of the Church of Christ. They were the parents of eleven children, including an unnamed son who died at birth. The children were: Birdi eElizabeth, Lura Capitola, Hobart Wayne, Ora Helen, Elvia Othelia "Orhelia", Owen Kermit, Mallie Rosemary, Goodman Voyan, Lella Josephine, and Cleddie Virginia. Ophelia Powell married Joseph D. Heard, an dthey were the parents of Helen H. Tuck who has been most helpful i nthe preparation of this article."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4067: She was married to Tive Osborne.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4469: They had four children: Sally Lou, Sandra Sue, Sharo nKay, and Malcolm Hoyt Lohnes.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had two children, Evan and Morris.

NOTES:
SQ 101: "Melinda Sparks, born about 1818; married 1838, Meredith Lyon."

.

!NOTES:
SQ 393: Melinda Ann Sparks, birn June 16, 1847. She married Will iam
Henry Earhart and died in 1923.

See SQ p. 408:

"Melinda Ann Sparks, sister of William H. and Emerson B. Sparks, wasborn June 16, 1847, in Indiana and died in 1923. She was married inIndiana to William Henry Earhart, who died on October 6, 1937, inMarkle, Indiana. Although they accom- panied William H. Sparks toMissouri, Melinda Ann and her husband soon returned to Indiana, whereall eight of their children were born. A photograph of Melinda Annwith her husband appears on page 409. Their children were:

(1) Lester Earhart; married Emma Wilcoxson.
(2) Theodore Earhart, married Almeda Woods.
(3) Philip Earhart; unmarried.
(4) Clarence Earhart; married Ossie Cross.
(5) Elza Earhart; born Oat. 10, ----, married Martha Roberts.
(6) Charles Earhart; married Vernie Wilcoxson.
(7) Henry Milton Earhart, born Sept. 12, 1881; died Nov. 1, 1950,married
Sept. 14, 1904, Louisa Ann Parks.
(8) Milo Earhart, born July 24, 1883, unmarried.

The following article appeared in the SPARKS QUARTERLY for June 1993,Whole No. 162, p. 4135:

DEATH TAKES MELVA (SPARKS) BIDLACK

Your editor has the painful task of recording here the death of hisbeloved wife, Melva Helen Sparks. She died at our home in Ann Arbor,Michigan, on April 19, 1993. Melva had been diagnosed in late November1992 as being terminally ill with colon cancer.

Although not a "paying-member" of The Sparks Family Association, Melvahad contributed to the QUARTERLY in countless anonymous ways over thepast forty years, from her proofreading and correcting to helping inthe stuffing and mailing. Furthermore, it was only because her maidenname was Sparks that your editor developed an interest in the Sparksfamily's history.

Melva Helen Sparks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 17, 1918, theonly daughter of Oral A. and Alice E. (Mace) Sparks. She was a 4thgreat-grand daughter of the William Sparks (born ca. 1725 in QueenAnnes County, Maryland, died in 1801-02 in Surry County, NorthCarolina) whose life story was featured in the QUARTERLY of June 1991,Whole No. 154.

Melva was reared on the family farm near Clio, Iowa. She and youreditor met as students at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, in 1939,and we were married in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1942, while I wasstationed nearby at Camp Robinson, in World War II. We have fourchildren: Stanley (wife, Nancy), Martha (husband, John Russell),Christopher (wife, Linda), and Harold (wife, Martha). They, and ourfive grandchildren, Lisa, Matthew, Christopher, Sarah, and Amanda,helped us celebrate our golden wedding anniversary last June, none ofus apprehending that it would be our last anniversary. Melva's twobrothers survive, J. Gerald Sparks and the Rev. A. Harold Sparks.

I should like to express my gratitude to the many members of theAssociation who have expressed their sympathy to me, and I thank eachof you for your patience in accepting my delay in publishing the 1993issues of the QUARTERLY.

SQ p. 4651:

"Meredith Benton Sparks, son of Nelson and Sarrilda (Holbrook) Sparks,was born on November 24, 1866. He should not be confused with acousin who was also named Meredith Benton Sparks (see Item C, 2, a,above). Meredith Sparks, son of Nelson, was married to Cynthia AliceBAiley on September 22, 1887, in Johnson County, Kentucky. She hadbeen born on March 21, 1869, and was a daughter of William Wallace andSarah Agnes (Stinson) Bailey. Meredith Sparks was quite popular inhis community and was elected as Lawrence County Judge. (See thephotograph reproduced above" (on page 4651) "that he used inelectioneering.) He died on November 29, 1921, and Cynthia went toAshland, Kentucky, to be near her son, Dr. Proctor Sparks. She diedthere on February 25, 1952. She and Meredith had three children:Proctor Sparks, Carrie Sparks, and Pleury Sparks. (Proctor Sparks wasone of the Association's most enthusiastic charter members. See page192 of the March 1957 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 17, for hisobituary. He is on the cover of this issue of the QUARTERLY.)

See The Sparks Quarterly, June 1998, Whole No. 182, pg 5002, for abrief reference to Merritt Sparks and see pps. 5015-7 for an abstractof his Civil War pension application papers as follows:

"MERIT SPARKS, son of Hardy and Martha (Motley) Sparks, was born1843/44 in Greene County, Indiana. He was married to EllenderMartindale on February 9, 1862, in Greene County. He died in 1873.He served in Company C, 97th Regiment Indiana Infantry. FileDesignations: Inv. Cert. No. 101,112; Wid. Cert No. 217,921.

"On June 9, 1865, Merit (also spelled Merritt) Sparks received aCertificate of Discharge from Company C, 97th Regiment IndianaInfantry at Washington, D.C. He had enlisted on August 11, 1862, toserve for three years, or during the war, and he was discharged byreason of the expiration of his term of service. According to hiscommanding officer, Capt. Wiley E. Dittemore, he was nineteen year ofage when he had enlisted; he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall; he had a faircomplexion, dark eyes and light colored hair; and he was a farmer.

"Two years later (following his discharge), on April 25, 1867, Sparksapplied for an Invalid Army Pension. He was 24 years of age and aresident of Hobbieville, Indiana. He stated that he had enlisted onAugust 13, 1862, as a private in Company C, 97th Regiment, IndianaVolunteer Infantry, under the command of Capt. John W. Carmichael, andhe had served until he was mustered out on June 9, 1865. While onduty in Atlanta, Georgia, and engaged with the enemy on July 28, 1864,he had been wounded in the left hand by a musket ball that passedthrough the knuckle of the little finger in such a way as to cause itto be permanently impaired. In addition, while stationed at HollySprings, Mississippi, his left eye became infected, causinginflamation and permanent damgage to his vision. He appointed MosesF. Dunn of Bedford, Indiana, as his attorney in obtaining a pension.His application was witnessed by John D. Alexander and Jas. R. Eash.

"On February 28, 1868, the War Department confirmed the militaryservice of Merit Sparks to be just as he had stated it to be. He hadbeen carried on the muster roll as "Absent -- wounded" from July 28,1864, through August, 1864, and he had been "Absent -- sick" in NewAlbany, Indiana, in November, 1864.
"Invalid Certificate No. 101,112 was issued to Merit Sparks, and hewas placed upon the pension roll on November 26, 1869, at the rate of$6.00 per month.

"Dr. dudley A. Murphy of Sullivan County, Indiana, made an affidavitto support Merit Sparks in 1871. He stated that he had been theAssistant Surgeon of the 97th Regiment on January 8, 1863. Merit'sinfected eye had gradually gotten smaller, and his sight had fadeduntil he was almost blind in that eye when he had been mustered out ofthe service.

"Merit Sparks applied for increased pension benefits on October 4,1871, claiming that he was now totally blind in his left eye. Heappointed John D. Alexander, Bloomfield, Indiana, as his attorney.Jesse Rainbolt and Daniel B. Hatfield witnessed his signature, and theapplication was sworn to before David S. Whitaker, clerk of GreeneCounty Circuit Court.

"Merit Sparks died on June 17, 1873, and on September 26, 1873, hiswidow, Ellender Sparks, made application for a Widow's Pension;however, no copy of her application is included among the papers inthis "selected file." She had sent the Pension Bureau a copy of themarriage record showing that she and Marit had been married in GreeneCounty, Indiana, on February 9, 1862, by Augustine Carmichael, aminister of the Gospel.

"Apparently, no action was taken on Ellender Sparks's application fora Widow's Pension for on June 6, 1883, she again filed a "Widow'sClaim for Pension," with the Bureau of Pensions. She was now 40 yearsof age and lived in Stanford, Indiana. She stated that her husbandhad died of a disease of the head which had been caused by hismilitary service. He had left her with three living children who hadbeen under the age of sixteen years at his death. They were:

James H. Sparks, born August 28, 1866.
Amanda Alice Sparks, born September 11, 1868.
John C. Sparks,born February 23, 1871.

"Another child, Betsey J. Sparks, had been born on January 9, 1873,but had died on April 5, 1875. Mrs. Sparks appointed Jas. H. Hunter,Washington, D.C., as her attorney, and Arthur Young and R. R. Breedenwitnessed her make her mark.

"On July 20, 1885, Elizabeth Martindale, aged 83, and J. R.Martindale, both residents of Stanford, Indiana, made affidavits tosupport the claim of Ellender Sparks. They stated that Merit Sparkshad complained of pain in his head while home on furlough and thatafter his discharge from the service, the pain had become so severethat he would "go out of his head" because of its intensity, and hewould have to be restrained by his relatives and friends who attendedhim. Mrs. Martindale also stated that she had been present when allfour of the children of Merit and Ellender Sparks had been born. Sheset their dates of birth down just as Mrs. Sparks had presented them.The affidavits of both Mr. and Mrs. Martindale were notarized byThomas W. Sparks, a notary public.

"On August 4, 1885, Capt. A. F. Phillips, Cincinnati, Ohio, swore thatMerit Sparks had been a member of his company during the late war andhad developed a disease of the left eye while in the service, and fromwhich he never recovered. Phillips had visited Sparks while he hadbeen ill, and he said that Sparks was suffering such great pain thathe was "out of his mind."

"Widow's Certificate No. 217,921 was issued to Ellender Sparks, andshe was placed upon the pension roll. When she died on April 6, 1920,she was receiveing $25.00 per month.

"On July 24, 1890, James H. Sparks, aged 23 years, a resident ofStanford, Indiana, applied for a pension on the basis of his being adisabled child of a Civil War veteran. He stated that he had beenborn on August 28, 1866, to Merit and Ellender Sparks, and was now sobadly crippled that he was unable to earn his living. He appointed C.R. Worrall of Bloomington, Indiana, as his attorney. Nothing isincluded in the "selected papers" from Merit Sparks's pension toindicate what action, if any, was taken upon James H. Sparks'sapplication."

SQ p. 1500:

Michael Sparks (sometimes called Micha), daughter of John andKatharine (Waddell) Sparks, was born about 1795. Although this was adaughter with what is usually considered a man's name, it isinteresting to speculate that she may have been named for the MichaelSparks who first paid taxes in Bourbon County in 1795. She was marriedto Benjamin Stokes in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1815 (marriage bonddated April 30, 1815). He died before 1825. They had the followingchildren: (See family group sheet]

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3193: Michael Artemis Sparks was born on February 19, 1874. He
was married to Annie Viola Griffith in 1874 at Princeton, Missouri .She
had been born on April 30, 1878, at Big Spring, Texas, and was a daughter
of Thomas Griffith. Michael and Annie had two children. Elmer E. Sparks
and Alta Marie Sparks. Michael was a grandfather of Mrs. Claudette Hand
who has helped with this article.

Michelle Marie Sparks, the first grandchild of James J. and Ellen M.(Sherriffs) Sparks, was born in the El Camino Hospital, Mountain View,Santa Clara County, California on March 7, 1990 at 8:26 pm . Sheweighed 9 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long.

She attended St. Andrews School in Saratoga, California, from whichshe graduated in 2004. She graduated from Archbishop Mitty HighSchool in 2008 and is currently a sophmore at the University ofMaryland. (2010)

SQ p. 4571:

"Mildred ["Milly") Sparks, daughter of Nathan and Nancy (Hancock)Sparks, was born on May 10, 1817, in Wilson County, Tennessee. Yearslater, in talking about her childhood, she recalled that she was ayoung girl when the Indian chief, Black Hawk, was a guest of herfather, Nathan Sparks, while he was the postmaster of Sparks,Tennessee. Black Hawk was making an exhibition tour and when hereturned to his tribe, he reported that "there are as many palefacesas there are leaves on trees."

"Milly Sparks was married to Henry Edwards on October 14, 1835, inWilson County, Tennessee, by John Bone, a justice of the peace. Thelicense had been issued on October 12th, and "Little" Henry Edwardswas the bondsman. Henry Edwards had been born on February 25, 1798,and he may have been married before. He was appointed asadministrator of the estate of his father-in-law, Nathan Sparks, whenNathan's son, Jesse Hancock Sparks, resigned from that courtappointment in 1845.

"Henry and Milly (Sparks) Edwards moved to Saline County, Illinois,where he died on May 14, 1856. Milly died there on September 30,1873. They were buried in a country cemetery in Saline County. It istold that for many years the cemetery was cared for by their son,William Henry Edwards, who always spent the day of May 29th alone withthem. They had eight children.

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3193: Mildred Sparks was born probably about 1919. She lived at
Clarinda, Iowa.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3727: They have two children, Mildred and Mary Jane Hollandsworth.

SQ pg 3404: He worked in the firebrick plant at Olive Hill. They hadfive children.

.

!NOTES:
SQ p 3183: "Milley Sparks, daughter of Billie and Sallie (Jennings)
Sparks, was born on March 4, 1836, in Indiana. She died on Februar y18, 1906.
She was married to Joseph Staley on May 2, 1866, in Boone County, Iowa."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2785: By her first marriage (Slayden) she had five children:
samuel, J. E., Jr., Hazel M., Eunice L., and Wilson A. She had no children by her second marriage.

SQ 1702, 3230: Married Mabel Ruth 9 Feb 1740, at least four children.

SQ 3835 is a feature article on "Millington Sparks (ca.1715-ca1780 )Son of John and Cornelia (Curtis) Sparks of Queen Annes County,Maryland":

"...Millington Sparks was a son of John and Cornelia (Curtis) Sparksand a
grandson of William and Mary Sparks. William had come from HampshireCounty, England, to Maryland about 1663 and had settled in that portion of Talbot County which became Queen Annes County. He died inQueen Annes County in 1709. His brother, named John Sparks, diedthere in 1700. Whether these brothers had come to Maryland together isnot known. It seems probable that William named this son, who becamethe father of Millington, for his brother. Details of the lives ofWilliam Sparks (died 1709) and John Sparks (died 1700) were given inthe March 1971 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73. Informationregarding their probable place of birth in England appeared in theissue of December 1989, Whole No. 148, pp. 3485-86, and June 1991,Whole No. 154, pp. 3753-54.

"The first record that we have found of Millington Sparks is containedin the will of his father which was made on January 28, 1731. JohnSparks, a plancer in Queen Annes County, acknowledged that he wasquite sick and weak, and realizing that his hold on life wasuncertain, he wanted to dispose of his two plantations, called "SPARKSINCLOSURE" and "SPARKS CHOICE," along with a 100-acre tract "lying in
His Lordships Manor." ("His Lordships Manor" refers to one of thelarge tracts of land, each called a manor, which the Second LordBaltimore and first Proprietor of Maryland had set aside for himselfand
his descendants; land in these "manors" was leased to farmers ratherthan being sold.) His entire acreage, including the 100 acres ofleased land, consisted of 395 acres, and John Sparks directed that itbe equally divided among his five living sons: George, John Jr.,Millington, Absalom and Caleb. The bulk of his personal estate,however, was to be divided equally among his nine children. (His son,William Sparks, had died in 1731.) Named as his nine living childrenwere George, John, Jr., Millington, Absalom, Caleb, Sarah, Mary,Rachel, and Cornelia. For the complete text of the will of JohnSparks, see pages 1700 - 1701 of the December 1974 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 88 (whic h will is reproduced under the notes forJohn (416). (There follows on pps 3836-3844 details of the probate ofthe estate of Millington Sparks, including an inventory of hisassets.)

(continue at page 3844:)

"Millington Sparks, son of John and Cornelia (Curtis) Sparks, wasmarried to Mabel Ruth on February 9, 1740, in St. Lukes Church inChurch Hill, MD. (1QA-46). We have learned very little about her. Inall likelihood, she was a member of the Ruth family that settled nearRuthsburg in Queen Annes County. (Note that Millington's sister MarySparks, also married a Ruth.) The birth of the first child ofMillington and Mabel (Ruth) Sparks (a daughter named Rachel) wasrecorded on page 45 of the Register of St. Lukes Parish. Theirmarriage was recorded on page 48. (The account of the establishmentof St. Lukes Parish in 1728 was told in Whole No. 73, pgs 1389-1391 inthe 1971 issue of the QUARTERLY)."

"On March 3, 1744, after the death of his brother, George Sparks ,Millington had in his possession 1800 pounds of tobacco which belongedto the inventory of his brother's estate. He acknowledged the
obligation. When the final accounting was made of the estate ofGeorge Sparks on December 10, 1847, Millington was given a cow and acalf, owed to him by his brother and apparently from their father'sestate. (Our readers are reminded that tobacco was used as a form ofcurrency in Maryland during the colonial period. The tobacco iteslfwas usually in a commerical warehouse and its transfer from one partyto another was only on paper. Note the conversion of the value oftobacco to English currency on the previous page in the inventory ofthe estate of John Sparks. (See notes for John.)

"On November 13, 1744, Millington sparks (designated as a "Planter"),and his wife, Mabel, sold his share of Sparks Enclosure and all ofSparks Choice to his brother, Absalom Sparks, for 5,000 pounds oftobacco (probably equivalent to about 50 pounds in English currency ). He apparently retained some financial hold on Sparks Choice, however,for on July 4, 1752, he joined his brothers, Absalom Sparks, JohnSparks, and Caleb Sparks, in disposing of that tract of land. Thebuyer was Edward Tilghman who paid 107 pounds for the property.

"Because owners of land in Colonial Maryland were required to pa y theLord Proprietary an annual quit-rent (a form of tax), the extant "DebtBooks" in which those quit-rents were recorded constitute an importantsource for genealogical research. Unfortunately, only a few survivefor the middle 1700s, but those that do survive reveal that in 1747,1754, 1756, and 1757, Millington Sparks paid quit-rent on three tractsof land. One was a 25-acre portion of Adventure . The other twotracts, each 25 acres in size, were parts of Sparks Own and SparksChoice. Millington also made a payment as late as the fall of 1767 asa tenant of Queen Annes Manor. As has been noted , land that had beenset aside by Lord Baltimore in his "manors" could only be leased, butthe lease could be passed on to one's heirs. With the AmericanRevolution, of course, the property rights of Lord Baltimore wereswept away along with all other English land holdings in the UnitedStates.

"In the early days of the Maryland Colony, each county was responsiblefor maintaining a regular organization of militia whose function wasto defend the county against hostile Indians and foreign enemies. In1748, Millington Sparks was shown as a member of Captain WilliamHooper's Company. Other members included his brothers, Absalom,Caleb, and John.

"Absalom Sparks, brother of Millington Sparks, died in 1769, and aninventory was taken of his estate on January 21, 1772. MillingtonSparks was one of the witnesses to the appraisal of the estate. Otherwitnesses were John Sparks, Caleb Sparks, and Levi Sparks. (Forfurther details of the settlement of the estate of Absalom Sparks, seethe December 1974 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 88., and the notesfor Absalom Sparks.)

"There were nineteen Sparks families in Queen Annes County, Maryland,in 1776 when a special census was taken of the colony. Among thesefamilies was that of Millington Sparks. In addition to himself (hewas described as a male over age 21), he had in his household, thefollowing: 1 male over 21; 1 male aged 16 to 21; 2 females over 21 ;and 1 female aged 12 to 16. He owned no slaves.

"The last record we have found pertaining to Millington Sparks (whomwe must now designate as "Senior" because he had a son also namedMillington) is another special census taken of Maryland in 1778.There were now twenty-seven persons named Sparks who were shown asheads of households in Queen Annes County. Unfortunately, no otherinf ormation was obtained of these persons other than the name of the"Hundred" in which they were listed. (A Hundred was a geographicalsubdivision of a county, used today only in the state of Delaware.)Millington was no designated officially as Senior since there wasanother Millington Sparks living nearby in the Town Hundred. Alsolisted on this census was John Sparks "of Millington," obviously a sonof Millington Sparks, Senior.

"An index of property owners in Queen Annes County in 1783 gives onefinal piece of information about Millington Sparks, Senior. Among thetwenty-eight persons named Sparks on this assessment schedule, threewere directly related to him. One of these was Millington Sparks whomwe believe to have been his son. The other two were obviously sons,also, since they were designated as such. One was John Sparks "ofMillington"; the other was William Sparks "of Millington." All threewere in the Upper District of Queen Annes County. (Census takers andtax collectors frequently identified young men having common forenameslike John and William in this manner in order to distinguish them fromothers with the same names.)

"As shown above, Millington Sparks, Senior, did not appear on the 1783tax assessment list of Queen Annes County, and in all probability, hehad died before that list was made. If he had been born about 1715(as we have judged), he was about 65 years old when he died, thus hewas an elderly man according to the longevity standards of that time.We have found no clues to try to determine the time of death of hiswife, Mabel (Ruth) Sparks.

"Millington and Mabel (Ruth) Sparks apparently had six children. "

CENSUS:
Queen Anne's County, Town Hundred, Census of 1776, taken from MarylandRecords, Vol. 2. FHL 975.2 D29b: Sparks, Millenton (sic), 2 whitemales over 21; 2 white females over 21; 1 white female 16-21; 1 whitefemale 12-16. Total 3 Males, 3 females.

SQ pg 3846 states: "Millington Sparks, Jr., son of Millington andMabel (Ruth) Sparks, was born about 1745 in Queen Annes County. Norecords have been found pertaining to him, however, until 1778. Forsome reason, he was not listed as head of a household on the specialcensus taken of Maryland in 1776. He was listed on the special censustaken in 1778. His father (as we believe him to be) was listed onthat census as "Millington Sparks, Sr."

Millington Sparks was listed as a property owner on the 1783 taxschedule of Maryland. Listed also were his brothers, John Sparks (407) "of Millington" and William Sparks (433) "of Millington." All ofthem lived in the Upper District of Queen Annes County. There were 24other men named Sparks on the schedule.

The last record we have found pertaining to Millington Sparks, Jr . iscontained on the federal census of 1790 for Queen Annes County. Onthat first U.S. census, free white males were enumerated only as under16 and over 16; free white females were enumerated in only onecategory. Millington Sparks was the only male in his household (he wasover 16); there were three females in his household, probably his wifeand two daughters. (See SQ Whole No. 1, pg 5 for listing of Sparksesappearing on the 1790 census of Maryland.)

Although we have found no record of the marriage of Millington Sparks,Jr., nor the name of his wife, we believe that he was the father of atleast one son, Millington Sparks, born about 1775. We must assumethat this son was living in a household other than his father' s whenthe 1790 census was taken. This Millington Sparks was married toRebecca Brooks on May 23, 1797, in Kent County, Maryland, andsubsequently moved to Georgia."

In a newspaper article on the life of John Sparks, governor of Nevadaand for whom the city of Sparks, Nevada was named, the article in TheSparks ---, Volume 51, Number 20, published in Sparks, Nevada states:

"John Sparks was born in the state of Mississippi on August 30, 1843.His family was of English origin and the earliest member on record ishis grandfather, Millington Sparks who resided in Maryland and livedto a ripe old age. Millington's son Samuel, was born in Hagerstown,Maryland , and married Sarah Deal of South Carolina. They lived inMississippi for a time and John was the seventh of the 10 children."

Speculation could make the above Millington Sparks and Rebecca BrooksSparks the grandparents to which reference is made in the 1961newspaper article celebrating the 53 anniversary of the death ofGovernor Sparks on May 22, 1908.

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

See also MILLINGTON SPARKS, III (ca.1775-ca.1835) (Sometimes CalledWilliam Millington Sparks) AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS, Sparks Quarterly for June 1995, Whole No. 170, pg 4454:

"The September 1991 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, No. 155, containedan article about Millington Sparks, born about 1715, died about 1780,of Queen Annes County, Maryland. He was a son of John and CorneliaSparks and a grandson of William and Mary Sparks who had come fromHampshire County, England, to Maryland about 1663. Millington Sparkswas married to Mabel Ruth on February 9, 1740, in Queen Annes County.Among their six children was a son who was also named MillingtonSparks, born about 1745, whom we will designate as Millington Sparks,II.

"Although the records pertaining to Millington Sparks, II, are scant,we believe he was married and that he had at least one son, born about1775, who was also named Millington Sparks. This Millington Sparks,whom we will designate as Millington Sparks, III, was married toRebecca Brooks on May 25, 1797, in Kent County, Maryland. Somerecords indicate that his full name was William Millington Sparks.(The balance of this article may be found under the notes forMillington Sparks III).

[For marriage record source see SQ p. 4183.]

SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, No. 127; MATTHEW J. SPARKS (1759-
1841) AND HIS DESCENDANTS, pg. 2665:

"Milly B. Sparks, daughter of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks, was bornon June 18, 1821. She was married to Lewis Underwood on September 22,1837, in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. He was a widower whose deceasedwife, Idris (Sparks) Underwood (672), was a sister of Milly. When the1850 census was taken of Chambers County, Alabama, Milly and Lewis hadfour children and there may have been others born to them later. Thefour children were:
a. Idris M. Underwood, born about 1838.
b. Mary E. Underwood, born about 1842.
c. Martha T. Underwood, born about 1845.
d. Jane L. Underwood, born about 1848."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1997, Whole No. 179, p4869:
"Milton Elliott Sparks was born on May 5, 1868, on Ison Creek inElliott County. He was a well-known and well-liked man. He was afarmer, teacher, postmaster, and Baptist preacher. He served one termas a representative in the Kentucky Legislature. On July 26, 1893, hewas married to Tennessee Thompson. She had been born on July 5, 1876,and was a daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Webb) Thompson. Elliott(as he was called) and Tennessee lived on Lick Creek near Webbville,Kentucky. He died on April 18, 1941, at Ashland, Kentucky. Tennesseedied there on December 21, 1943. They were buried in the DixonCemetery at Ashland. " His photograph appears in the QUARTERLY on page4780 alongside of a photo of their youngest six children, and a photoof Tennessee (Thompson) Sparks appears on page 4871.

I received an email on May 5, 2005, from Francis Sturms(fsturms@charter.net), spouse of Janet Louise Webb. He provided birthand death dates of the children of Milton Elliott Sparks and heoffered to send a gedcom file with additional details on thosechildren.

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!NOTES:
SQ pg 3466: Another unidentified daughter of Willoughby and Poll ySparks was born between 1830 and 1835. She may have been named Minerva. She may also have married S. Nelson and perhaps she was the mother of the three children who were living in the household of Willoughby Sparks when a special school census was taken in 1855. The names of these children were: John Nelson, Willoughby Nelson, and Minerv aJane Nelson.

SQ pp 4722-23:

"Minerva Jane Sparks, daughter of John W. and Almeda (Green) Sparks.was born about 1847 in Carter County, Kentucky. She was married thereon February 23, 1868, to George Washington Boggs by Alfred Catron, ajustice of the peace. Wash (as he was called) had been born about1844 and was a son of Elijah and Catherine (Gambill) Boggs. Wash andMinerva moved to northern Wisconsin about 1912 where he was atimberman in and around Langlade County. In her latter years, Minervalived with her daugher, Katie, at Nashville, Wisconsin, and this iswhere she died and was buried. She and Wash Boggs had five childrenwhen the 1880 census was taken of Elliott County; there may have beenother children born to them at a later time."

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!NOTES:
SQ pg 3942: They had five children: Virgil, Marion, Lola, Amanda ,and Evan Sloan; a picture of the family (less Evan) appears on pag e3942.

SQ 805: "Minus Lafayette Sparks (also called Miner and Minnie), son ofDavid and Mary (Little) Sparks, was born in Rowan County, NorthCarolina, about 1811. He remained at home with his parents and didnot marry until after 185O. He died on April 23, 1889, atCrainesville (now Hornsby), Hardeman County, Tennessee. He marrriedabout 185O or 1851 Sarah (Sally) Cherry, who was part Indian; she wasborn about 1826. They were the parents of the following children:[here lists 7 children]."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, No. 127, pg. 2665:

"Miriam Beale Sparks, daughter of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks , wasborn on February 10, 1824. She is probably the Maryann Sparks whomarried Israel Gambol on February 15, 1846, in Tallapoosa County,Alabama. We have no further information on this couple."

SPARKS FAMILY QUARTERLY, June 1985, Whole No. 130, pg 2747:

"Missouri Elida Sparks, daughter of Billy and Minerva (McKay) Sparkswas born in January 1852. She was married to Everett J. Parrent about1867. He was born in November 1842 in Texas. When the 1900 censuswas taken of McLennan County, Everett and Missouri were living in thesame dwelling as Missouri's parents, Billy and Minerva Sparks. Livingat home were four children of Everett and Missouri, and there wereprobably other children: (1) Frank M. Parrent was born in February1878. He married Ella A. --- about 1899; (2) William H. Parrent wasb. April 1880; (3) Thomas W. Parrent was b. December 1883; (4) NellieParrent was b. January, 1888.

A photograph of another Mitchell Sparks appears on the cover of theJune, 1961 issue of the Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 34, p.549 bearingthe following caption: MITCELL SPARKS, Prominent Nineteenth-CenturyMerchant of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Born February 4, 1811, Died November16, 1864. His relationship to this Mitchell Sparks, if any, isunknown. The elder Mitchell was a native of Dublin, Ireland, andmigrated to the US in 1836.