!NOTES:
SQ 3867: Pricey Sparks was married to Chester Douglas.

SQ p. 4573:

"Priscilla Sparks, daughter of Nathan and Nancy was born on September30, 1820, in Wilson County, Tennessee. The earliest record that we havefound of her is in the settlement of her father's estate in 1845. Sheand her brother, William C. Sparks, owed the estate $15.00 which wassecured by two notes, one for $5.00 and the other one for $10.00.Priscilla was married to James R. Green on September 24, 1845, in WilsonCounty, Tennessee, by the Rev. D. B. Moore, M.G. James had been bornabout 1820 in Tennessee. When the 1850 census was taken, he andPriscilla had three children. Also living in their household wasPriscilla's mother, Nancy Sparks, age 64 years."

!BIRTH:
See ST. VINCENT BAPTISMAL RECORDS, UNION COUNTY KENTUCKY GENEALOGY ,VOL 2,
FHL 976.9885 D2h, page 1: March 6, 1877, Priscilla Jane dau of Franci sSparks &
Mary Alice Thomas. Sponsor Lizzie Hite b. Jan 24, 1877.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for March 1957, Whole No. 17, at p. 192:

OBITUARY OF DR. PROCTOR SPARKS

"Once more we must report the passing of one of the charter members ofThe Sparks Family Association. On January 16, 1957, death cameunexpectedly to Dr. Proctor Sparks at his winter home in St. Petersburg,Florida. Members will recall that when the Association was formed inMarch, 1953, Dr. Sparks not only predicted that it would succeed, butthat within two or three years there would be a membership of at leastthree hundred. In order to encourage the founders of the organization,Dr. Sparks announced that he would donate one hundred dollars to theAssociation when that goal was reached. Early in 1955 the threehundredth member joined and Dr. Sparks mailed his check to theSecretary-Treasurer. The founders will always remember Dr. Sparks forthe encouragement which he gave at a time when they were uncertain thatthe Association could succeed.

"Dr. Sparks, who was one of the best-known physicians of Ashland,Kentucky, was sixty-seven years old at the time of his death. He wasborn on June 7, 1890, at Martha, Kentucky. Dr. Sparks was agreat-great-great-grandson of John Sparks (1753-1840/41) whose life wassketched in The Sparks Quarterly of December, 1955. His descent fromJohn Sparks was through the following line: The eldest son of John andSarah (Shores) Sparks was Levi Sparks, born Oct. 2, 1778, in SurryCounty, N. C., died Oct. 21., 1351, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. LeviSparks married twice and by his second wife, Sarah Lyon, was the fatherof Calvin Sparks, born Nov. 9, 1806. Calvin Sparks also married a girlnamed Sarah Lyon. Calvin and Sarah Sparks were the parents of NelsonSparks, born June 1, 1845, died Feb. 26, 1932. Nelson Sparks was marriedon Dec. 15, 1863, to Sarrilda Holbrook, who was born March 4, 1849, anddied Dec. 18, 1920. Nelson and Sarrilda Sparks were the parents ofMeredith Benton Sparks, born Nov. 24., 1866, died Nov. 29, 1933.Meredith Benton Sparks was married on Sept. 22, 1887, to Cynthia AliceBailey, who was born March 21, 1869, and died Feb. 25, 1952. They werethe parents of Dr. Proctor Sparks.

"Dr. Sparks was a graduate of the Louisville Medical School, havingreceived his M.D. degree in 1917. He practiced for a while in Louisa,Kentucky, before moving to Ashland where he enjoyed a large practiceuntil he retired about four years ago. In recent years he had beenspending the winters in Florida and took a number of cruises on DeltaLine boats as ship's doctor. He had just returned from a voyage to SouthAmerica on board the S. S. del Norte when he died of a heart attack.

"Dr. Sparks was a member of the Unity Baptist Church, a Mason, aKentucky Colonel, a member of the Kentucky Medical Association and theAmerican Medical Association, past-president of the Boyd County MedicalSociety, and past-chairman of the Board of the Salvation Army. He hadalso served as director of several local business institutions, and hewas active in civic affairs.

"On June 10, 1908, Dr. Sparks married Miss Mary Gambill who precededhim in death on December 15, 1951. He is survived by two daughters, MissJoy Sparks of Ashland, Kentucky, and Irene (Mrs. Mike L.) Graney ofMiddleton, Ohio, and one grandsons Michael Proctor Graney.

"The accompanying photograph is Dr. Sparks's passport picture and wastaken only a few months before his death." (See photo on SQ p. 192)

SQ p. 4651: "He is in the cover picture of this issue of theQUARTERLY." (June 1996, Whole No. 174)

!NOTES:
SQ 1702, 3231: Married Robert Hawkins.
In what might have been her second marriage, a Rachel Sparks marri ed
William Scott on 28 Oct. 1755 in St. Luke's, Queen Annes County, MD . See
p. 60 of records as cited in MARYLAND MARRIAGES 1634-1777, Compiled by
Robert Barnes, Baltimore, 1987, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., p .110.

SQ 3795: Rachel Sparks, daughter of William and Ann Sparks, born ca.1754 in Frederick County, Maryland. She was married to John Rose in, webelieve, 1773. She was still living in Surry County, North Carolina, in1843 when she applied for a pension based on her husband's service in theRevolutionary War. According to record cept by John Rose and sent to theWar Department with Rachel's pension application, there children were(here lists, see family information sheet).

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1997, Whole No. 178, for an articleentitled RACHEL (SPARKS) BICKNELL (1757-CA.1851/55) AND HER BROTHER,GEORGE SPARKS (died 1795/06) PROBABLE CHILDREN OF WILLIAM SAMPLE SPARKS.This article appears on pages 4809 to 4826. The first portion relatingthe history of the family and its move from Maryland to North Carolina isreproduced under George Sparks's notes. The following portion relatingto Rachel and her husband begins on page 4814:

"There can be little doubt that Rachel Sparks and Thomas Bicknell becameacquainted after both moved to Surry County, he from Virginia and shefrom the Forks of the Yadkin. Because Rachel recalled many years laterthat their marriage banns had been announced "in Church," she doubtlessmeant the Mulberry Fields Meeting House that had been organized by agroup of Baptists and was located in what later became the town ofWilkesboro. General William Lenoir, who became one of Wilkes County'smost distinguished leaders, recalled this church in an 1824 letter quotedon page 3782 of the June 1991 Quarterly.

"It was in November 1777 that the North Carolina General Assemblyproclaimed, with its passage of the "Confiscation Act," the state'sownership of all Granville land. Grants previously made by Granville'sagents were to be honored, however. It was now possible for settlers whohad formerly been "squatters" in Surry County to gain a legal title to"their" land, if someone else did not produce a better claim. It wasalso in 1777 that Wilkes County was created from part of Surry County.

"A detailed account of the manner in which "squatters" went aboutacquiring their legal titles from the state begins on page 3784 of theJune 1991 Quarterly. On April 22, 1778, Thomas Bicknell "entered" atract of 247 acres of land in Wilkes County, described as located on"both sides of Swan Creek, joining Thos Parks at the lower and JohnBowerland [Bourland] at the upper end, cornering on the main road."(Entry 63 in Land Entry Book, Wilkes County, North Carolina, 1778-1781,edited by Mrs. W. 0. Abshire, 1971.) On March 4, 1778, Samuel Bicknell'sentry #12 had been for 320 acres "on Yadkin River at Benjamin Herndon'slower corner [and] claim[s] of Thomas Becknel & Thomas Parks [and]Alexander Gordon." On January 4, 1779, Thomas Bicknell entered 50additional acres that adjoined his other tract and one belonging toBenjamin Herndon (Entry 749). On September 24, 1779, he receivedconfirmation of his first "entry" in the form of a grant (a deed) fromthe state, although it was found to contain 240 acres, not the 247 acresthat had been estimated in his entry. In the deed, this tract wasdescribed again as lying on both sides of Swan Creek, adjoining landbelonging to Benjamin Herndon and John Bourland. (Wilkes County Deed BookA-1, p.72.) We have found no record, however, confirming ThomasBicknell's 50-acre entry--perhaps he sold his claim to this before it wasconfirmed by a grant.

"Thomas Bicknell's land was not far from where Swan's Creek emptiesinto the Yadkin River. Today this tract, as well as that of his brother,Samuel Bicknell, would be found in New Castle Township of Wilkes County,one and one-quarter miles west of the line dividing Wilkes County fromYadldn County.

"During the second day of the initial meeting of the Wilkes CountyCourt, on March 3, 1778, "Thomas Bicknal" and three others were appointedconstables for the new county, and on September 11, 1778, Thomas wasappointed "Collector for Captain Herndon's District." A year after hisappointment as constable, on March 3, 1779, however, Thomas Bicknellresigned from the latter post, probably because of his involvement withmilitary affairs. These appointments indicate that he had soon becomerecognized as a youthful leader in his community.

"Historians have noted that most of the settlers in the Forks of theYadkin in the 1750s and 1760s became Loyalists during the AmericanRevolution, as was true of several members of the Sparks family. Theredeveloped a "generation gap" within many of these families, as theimmigrants' sons tended to join with the rebels, demanding the Colonies'freedom from English rule. As was noted in the article in the June 1991issue of the Quarterly, devoted to William Sparks (son of William SampleSparks) mentioned earlier, both William and his cousin, Solomon Sparks,would suffer later because of their loyalty to King George III. Althoughneither of them actually joined Tory military forces, their knownsympathies for British rule would result in their being denied titles tothe land in Surry County on which they had "squatted." Thomas Bicknell,however, was a rebel from the start of the Revolution. In fact, he wouldgive his life for the American cause.

"Our only record of Thomas Bicknell's service in the Revolution isfound in Rachells own account when, many years later, on December 3,1845, just nine days prior to her 88th birthday, she made application fora pension based on that service. Not only did she, as a war widow, haveto prove that she had been married to a soldier, but, also, to provideinformation regarding her husband's service. Documents provingRevolutionary War service were often lacking for a widow's pensionapplication, but Rachel was further handicapped because of her longseparation from friends and neighbors who had known her in NorthCarolina; she was living with a daughter in Pickens County, SouthCarolina, when she made her pension application. (Rachel Bicknell'spension file at the National Archives has the number R-12399; it is filedunder "Biecknell.11) The judge writing the declaration that Rachel signedby mark, spelled her name three different ways. The full text of herapplication follows; punctuation has been added for clarity.

Declaration

In order to obtain the benefit of the third section of the Act ofCongress of the 4th July 1836 entittled [sic] An Act granting half payand Pensions to Certain widows:

State of South Carolina Ss
District of Pickens

On this third day of December 1845 personally appeared before William D.Steele, Judge of the Court of Ordinary for the District & Stateaforesaid, Mrs. Rachel Biecknell of the District & State aforesaid, agedeighty eight years the 12th Instant (and who the said Ordinary certifiesis unable by body infirmity to attend in Open Court) who being first dulysworn according to law, doth on her oath make the following, Declarationin order to obtain... [a pension]

That she is the widow of Thomas Biecknell who was a private andLieutenant in the War of the Revolution, that she was married to the saidThomas Biecknell when in her seventeenth year; and she thinks [it was]when she had three children [that] her said husband entered the serviceunder Capt Richard Allen, who was afterwards, Colonel; that they thenresided in Wilkes County, North Carolina, and her said husband thereentered the service the first time, and was not much at home until theclose of the War; that he was at one time a Volunteer & at other timesdrafted, and was a considerable portion of the time a Lieutenant; thatshe is sure he was a Lieutenant under Capt Allen at the siege ofCharleston early in 1780, that he marched much through North & SouthCarolina, and served at various times under Col. Lanore, Col.Cleveland, & Col. Hearne, but it is impossible for her to state theparticulars of his service, at her advanced age.

That her husband the said Thomas Biecknell was wounded with an ounce ballin his hip in the Battle at King's Mountain, with which wound he died; hewas carried to Burke County near Morgantown [Morganton], to the house ofMr. Bowman, whence declarant went and waited upon him with his woundEleven weeks, at the end of which time he died. She does not know of anydocumentary evidence, or any evidence of any kind, that she can certainlyget to prove his service, but thinks an indent may have been issued toher for his service, as she recollects, to have tryed to get something, &thinks, she did get a small sum, but does not know how [much].

That she was married to the said Thomas Bicknell in Wilkes County N.C. bySquire Riggs, as she believes on the 22d October, as she thinks the year1774, as she had but three children when her husband entered the service,and when his service closed entirely she had five children and fourmonths and fifteen days after his death her sixth child Mary was born;her said Daughter, Mary, married David Roper, and she now lives with her,and on their charity. She has no record of her marriage, nor of thebirths of her children, they [the banns] were published in Church as thecustom was in those days to be married. That her husband, the aforesaidThomas Becknell, died on the thirty first day of December 1780, and thatshe has remained a widow ever since that period, as will more fullyappear by reference to the proof herewith forwarded.

her
signed: Rachel X Biecknell
mark

"Rachel Bicknell's declaration was "sworn to and subscribed" beforeWilliam D. Steele, Judge of the Court of Ordinary for Pickins District.

"While Rachel Bicknell could not recall the date on which her husbandhad "entered the service," it is seen that she remembered that he haddone so "under Capt. Richard Allen, who was afterwards Colonel." Ithappens that many years earlier, in 1832, this same Richard Allen hadapplied for a pension (file S-6490 at the National Archives), and in hisapplication, he had given a detailed record of his own service, which herecalled had begun in either October or November 1775 in "Captain JesseWalton's company of minute men .... " By 1777, Allen had become anensign in Captain Benjamin Cleveland's company of Wilkes County Militia,and when Cleveland was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in1778, Richard Allen had succeeded him as captain of the company.

"It may not have been until 1779 that Thomas Bicknell joined CaptainAllen's company, but he was surely a member at the time of the eventsthat Allen recalled taking place in 1779, as follows:

" "In the latter part of the year 1779, a call was made for troopsto march
in the defense of Charleston. A draft was made from the militia inWilkes
[County] for one company, and a draft also made from the captains of
companies for a captain to command that company--the lot fell uponthe
deponent [i.e. on Allen, himself], and he accordingly repaired withhis
company to Hamblins old store where they rendeyvoused [sic] on the15th
of January 1780--as soon as they could organize and make thenecessary
preparations they marched direct to Charleston, S.C., where theyjoined
the third regiment of North Carolina Militia commanded by Col.Andrew
Hampton."

"Capt. Allen's company helped prevent the Tories from burning thecity of Charleston, after which they returned to their homes in WilkesCounty in April 1780, "having been gone between three and four months,"in the words of Allen.

"Rachel Bicknell stated in her pension application that she was wassure that her husband had been "a Lieutenant under Capt. Allen at thesiege of Charleston, that he marched much through North and SouthCarolina, and served at various times." Her memory of her husband'sactivities during this period is in keeping with Capt. Allen's account,as follows:

"From the month of April to September 1780 this deponent [i.e.,Allen], with
small detachments of the men under his command, served three short
terms ... one of which was against a body of Tories assembled nearthe
head of the Catawba River, another against Colo. Bryan, a ToryColo. who
had embodied a band of Tories in the Southern part of the State, andthe
other against some Tories on the North West side of the Blue Ridge.

"In the month of September 1780 information was received by Colo.
Cleveland that Major Ferguson of the British army was advancing from
South Carolina with a large body of British and Tories--upon whichColo.
Cleveland immediately issued orders for all the troops within theCounty of
Wilkes to reneyezvous [sic] at the Court House. This deponent, withwhat
men he could collect, repaired thither immediately, and after thetroops
were organized they all set out on their march to meet Majr Ferguson.
Upon the way they were joined by Col. Campbell with a body of troops
from Virginia, as also by Cols. Sevier, Shelby and McDowell withtroops
from North Carolina. After a junction of the troops was formed, asmost of
them had horses, it was proposed that all those who had horses orcould
procure them should advance immediately upon Ferguson.

"Captain Allen was placed in command of those troops who did not havehorses, and though they "continued their March with all possible speed inthe direction of Kings Mountain," the battle had been won by theAmericans before Allen and his footmen reached their destination.Because Thomas Bicknell had been on horseback, he had become a member ofColonel Sevier's command and was in the thick of the battle.

"A low mountain or ridge, King's Mountain is located near the borderline of North and South Carolina, just over the line in York County,South Carolina, from Cleveland County, North Carolina. When the battlewas fought, York County was still part of Camden District in SouthCarolina, and Cleveland County in North Carolina was part of RutherfordCounty, which had been cut off from Burke County in 1779. For theAmericans, the Battle of Kings Mountain resulted in one of their mostbrilliant victories of the Revolution and played an important role inbreaking British power in the South. Col. Sevier, under whom Bicknellwas serving at the time, became a hero of the Revolution as a result ofthis American Victory."

(Go to the scrapbook of Rachel to see a portion of a map entitled 'TheRevolutionary War in the South" drawn by Hugh T. Lefler for the Atlas ofAmerican History, published in 1943, page 74. Shows the location ofCharleston, where Thomas Bicknell participated in the Siege of that city,and of Kings Mountain, where he was mortally wounded. This map appearsin the QUARTERLY on page 4815.)

"As was indicated earlier, Thomas Bicknell was severely wounded duringthe Battle of Kings Mountain. In her pension application, Rachel(Sparks) Bicknell gave a brief account of his injury, and subsequentdeath, as quoted earlier.

"Although her declaration for a pension was made in 1845, six yearspassed before supporting affidavits could be obtained from people whocould remember her and her husband. By this time, Rachel was 94 yearsold. It was in September 1851 that four individuals were found who couldtestify on Rachells behalf.

"In Wilkes County, North Carolina, Benjamin Parks was found whoremembered both Thomas and Rachel Bicknell. Described in his affidavit,dated September 22, 1851, as "an old and respectable Citizen," he wasclosely related to the Thomas Parks, Jr. whose land had adjoined that ofThomas Bicknell on Swan's Creek. On the 1850 census of Wilkes County,Benjamin Parks was shown as 84 years old and a native of Virginia. Hewas then living in the household of James Parks, age 59. Benjamin Parksclaimed in his deposition that he could remember three of Bicknell'sneighbors who had been killed at Kings Mountain; he could also recallthat Thomas Bicknell had been brought from the battlefield in a "HorseLitter." Parks added in his sworn statement that Bicknell was a marriedman and had children, but he did not think any record of marriages waskept in those days, and that "even now they are very imperfectly kept."He added that "Mrs. Rachael Beicknell [sic] left this country long sinceand he never heard of her marrying again." He must have been told thatRachel had testified that her marriage had been performed by SquireRiggs, because Benjamin Parks stated that he had known "Esquire Riggs andthat he was in the habit of marrying People."

"Also providing an affidavit to assist Rachel was "an old andRespectable Lady" in Wilkes County named Sarah Gray. In her swornstatement, also dated September 22, 1851, she said that she had knownThomas Bicknell well and that during the Revolution he "was from home aconsiderable time, said to be in the service of his country. " She addedthat she had had a brother in the Battle of Kings Mountain who hadreported to her that Bicknell "was badly wounded in his hip and neverrecov- ered, and that her brother had assisted in bringing him from thebattle ground." She added that Bicknell's "wife's maiden name sherecollects very well, was Rachael Sparks," and that she "was a woman ofgood and unimpeachable character; that [she, Sarah Gray, herself] was"bound to believe her statement in any mattter."

"In McDowell County, which had been created in 1842 from Burke andRutherford Counties, a man named David Glass, Esqr., "an old man, and aman, in every way worthy of credit," swore on September 25, 1851, that hecould remember Rachel Bicknell "saying a long time ago that her husband... served in the war of the Revolution, and was shot at the Battle ofKing's Mountain and carried to Mrs. Bowman's near Morganton in BurkeCounty where he lay a considerable time and then died with the wound."

Also on September 25, 1851, Martha McKenzie, "an old and respectableLady" in McDowell County, swore that she had been "well acquainted withThomas Bicknell and Rachail [sic] his wife, who was a Sparks. That shehas often heard various persons say the said Thomas Bicknell servedseveral years in the War of the Revolution and was Badly wounded at theBattle of King's mountain and carried to Mrs Bowmans, near Morganton inBurke County and lay there several weeks and died ..." She added thatthe Bicknells "were both of unimpeachable character, that they livedtogether and had children and was always recognized as man and wife...This deponent says she is Eighty-six years old and came to this Countywhen a child from Virginia."

"Morganton, to which Thomas Bicknell had been carried, was, and is,the county seat of Burke County, North Carolina; it is located aboutfifty miles from Kings Mountain. The journey there from the battlefieldby "horse litter" must have been a painful ordeal for Bicknell.

"While the kind of wound that Thomas Bicknell received on KingsMountain could probably be easily treated today, his chances of avoidinginfection and other fatal disorders were poor in 1780. Ten daysfollowing his misfortune, recognizing the probability that he would die,Thomas made his will on October 20, 1780. The original, as well as therecorded copy, survive in the North Carolina Archives at Raleigh. Theoriginal document is transcribed below:

In the name of God Amen. I Thomas Bignall of Wilks County in
the State of NO Carolina, being much disordered in Body but of
Sound mind & memory & Reflecting on the uncertainty of Human
Affairs, do make this my last will &. Testament in manner & form
following Vizt

Imprimis I committ I [sic] body to the Earth there to be decently
intered at the direction of my Executors, & my Worldly Estate I
dispose of as follows

Item I will & bequeath unto my beloved Wife Rachel the Plantation
whereon I dwell, togather with my Horses & Cattle, Sheep & Hoggs
& all Other my Houshold furniture & Plantation Tools to the Intent
that she may be able to Rais my Children and I hereby will & Appoint
my Wife Rachell Sole Executrix of this my last will & Testament as
Witness my and & Seal this 20th day of Octobr 1780.

Signed Sealed & Acknow- [signed] Thomas Bicknell
ledged in Presence of us
[Thomas Bicknell's signature on his will]
[signed] Joseph Dobson
" Grace Bowman
" Samuel Bicknell [signed] Samuel Bicknell
" Wm Terrell Lewis Sr
" William Ragland [Signature of Samuel Bicknell,brother of
" Gabrl Loving Junr Thomas Bicknell, as a witness towill.]

"It was most unusual to have six witnesses to a will; we do not havean explanation. The first to sign, Joseph Dobson, was a physician who hadbrought his family from London, England, to Virginia in 1753, and hadcome to Burke County, North Carolina, in 1764. We can conjecture that itmay have been Dr. Dobson who, serving as Thomas Bicknell's physician,recommended that he make his will. The document appears to be inDobson's handwriting--he obviously did not know his patient's correctname when he wrote "Bignall." According to The Burke County Book, page157, quoting from Draper's Kings Mountain Men, Dr. Dobson had eighteenwounded Americans from the Battle of Kings Mountain under his care atMorganton.

"The second witness, Grace Bowman, widow of the late sheriff of BurkeCounty, was providing shelter for Thomas Bicknell and, probably also, forRachel during the eleven weeks that she nursed her husband. The thirdwitness, Samuel Bicknell, was Thomas' brother. Perhaps he had broughtRachel to Morganton from Wilkes County to care for his brother. Thethree remaining witnesses, William Terrell Lewis, Sr., William Ragland,and Gabriel Loving, Jr., were all close neighbors of both Thomas andSamuel Bicknell in Wilkes County. We may conjecture that they, too, mayhave been among Dr. Dobson's patients from the Battle of Kings Mountain.

"It was on the last day of December in 1780, according to RachelBicknell's pension application, that her husband died. Gabriel Loving,Jr., one of the witnesses to Thomas Bicknell's will, appeared before theWilkes County Court on March 7, 1781, to swear that he had been presentwhen Thomas Bicknell had made his will; and the will was then admittedfor probate. (See p.50 of Wilkes County Will Book 1.)

"As noted earlier, Rachel (Sparks) Bicknell stated in her pensionapplication that she believed that she had three children at the time herhusband entered service. She added that "when his service closedentirely, [with his death on December 31, 1780] she had five children,and four months and fifteen days after his death, her sixth child, Marywas born." This would place Mary Bicknell's birth date on May 15, 1781.

"Unfortunately, Thomas Bicknell did not name his children in hiswill. From later land transactions, we know that two of Rachells sixchildren were sons, named William and Micajah.

"We can only wonder what Rachel did with her five children when shewent from Wilkes County to nurse her husband in Burke County, althoughthere were both Bicknell and Sparks relatives living near her in WilkesCounty with whom she may have left them.

"On September 3, 1781, the Wilkes County Court ordered BenjaminHerndon, William Terrell Lewis, and William Carrell to "appraise theEstate of Thomas Becknel, decd. 11 This was done promptly, and when thecourt met later in the same month, it was noted that the inventory hadbeen returned by "Rachel Bicknall, Execrx. 11 A copy of this inventorywas made on page 60 of Vol. 1 of the Wilkes County Will Book 1 as follows:

"Land 321 acres horses 5 Cattle 10 Sheep 6 Swine 35 three Beds and
Furniture 7 plates 2 Dishes 5 Basons 8 knives and forks 8 spoons 1pair of
Sizzors 3 water Pales 2 washing Tubs One Churn 2 Bed Steads 4 Chairs
One Table one Chest One Loom 2 Stais [?] 2 wheels 2 pair of Cards 6
bottles one Jug 2 Barrells 2 Bundletts [?] 6 Books 3 Pots money £l5O
money on Book £25 Six Bels 2 Saddles 3 Bridles

"One of the earliest tax lists of Wilkes County, North Carolina, thatsurvives in the North Carolina Archives is that for 1782. In CaptainAlexander Gordon's District, Rachel Bicknell was taxed, as was also herbrother-in-law, Samuel Bicknell. Rachel was shown as owning 321 acres ofland, the same number of acres as shown in the inventory of her husband'sestate. For tax purposes, this tract was valued at forty pounds. Alsotaxed that year in Wilkes County were slaves, horses, and cattle, as wellas "stock in trade" [for merchants] and "carriage wheels." Rachel ownedno slaves, nor did she have a carriage, but she was taxed for four horsesand eleven cattle.

"Rachel Bicknell also appeared on the 1784 tax list of Wilkes County,again in Capt. Gordon's District. Only the land portion of the 1784 taxlist survives on which Rachel was credited with 347 acres; why there wasthis difference in acreage, we do not know.

"When Rachel Bicknell applied for a pension in 1845, she stated thatshe did not know where documentary proof could be found regarding herhusband's service in the Revolution, but she thought that "an indent mayhave been issued to her for his services, as she recollects to have triedto get something, and thinks she did get a small sum, but does not knowhow [much]." Here Rachel probably referred to action that had been takenby the Wilkes County Court on July 28, 1784, by which Justices BenjaminCleveland, Elijah Isaac, and James Fletcher ordered that "RachaelBicknel, widow of Thomas Bicknel who was killed in defence of his countryin the Battle at Kings Mountain, be Recommended to the General Assemblyas an Object of Pity and that Twelve pounds pr. year we think would be aslittle as she could Subsist on with a large family of children togetherwith her own Industry." Whether the North Carolina General Assemblycomplied with this recommendation, we do not know.

"When Thomas Bicknell obtained his grant of land on Swan Creek onApril 22, 1778, it was noted in its description that one of the menowning adjoining land was Thomas Parks. On May 22, 1778, Thomas Parks,Jr. had entered 422 acres "lying on both sides of Swan Creek & in theforks of sd Creek & joining Thomas Bicknell at the upper end & Majr WmLewis at the Lower end & cornering above the Main Road." (Entry 113)

"In 1779, Thomas Parks conveyed 140 acres of his tract to CharlesParks who, on November 2, 1785, sold forty acres to Rachel Bicknell. Hesold the remaining 100 acres to William Harvey on the same day. (SeeWilkes County Deed Book A-1, pp.520-22.) Rachel paid Parks 25 pounds forher forty acres, described as adjoining her own land and "Bourlands forkof Swan Creek." The witnesses to this deed were: Evan Davis, ReubenSparks, and John Hawkins. William Harvey paid Parks 65 pounds for his100 acres, noting that it adjoined land owned by Rachel Bicknell. (TheReuben Sparks who served as a witness to this deed was a son of Solomonand Sarah Sparks, Solomon being a son of the Joseph Sparks who had diedin Frederick County, Maryland, in 1749.)

"It appears that the two sons of Rachel and Thomas Bicknell namedWilliam and Micajah came of age about 1797, at which time they becameeligible to receive their share of their father's estate. Under herhusband's will, Rachel could use his land to rear their children, but shecould not sell it until it could be divided among them, she retainingonly her dower right of one-third. On October 19, 1797, Rachel and hertwo sons, William Bicknell and Micajah Bicknell, sold all of the Bicknellland, including the forty acres that Rachel, herself, had purchased (withmoney in the estate), to Isaac Martin and Thomas Green of Wilkes County.Isaac Martin and Thomas Green, who were related to each other bymarriage, were slave-owning neighbors of Rachel Bicknell. (See SomePioneers From Wilkes County, North Carolina by Mrs. W. 0. Absher,published by Southern Historical Press in 1989, for information on theMartin and Green families, along with many other individuals and familiesmentioned in this article.)

"The Bicknells received 200 pounds from Martin and Green for theoriginal grant of land to Thomas Bicknell, now described as containing247 acres, and 100 pounds for the tract that Rachel had purchased fromCharles Parks in 1785 for 25 pounds. This latter tract was described ascontaining 41 acres in this 1797 deed. The witnesses for both deeds wereThomas Benge, William Benge, and Thomas Sisk. (See Wilkes County DeedBook D, pp.240-41.) It was William Benge who appeared at the meeting ofthe Wilkes County Court in October 1797 to swear to the validity of bothdeeds.

"Although in both of these 1797 deeds, Rachel and her sons wereidentified as of Wilkes County, it seems probable that they were actuallyin Burke County by that time, probably living in a relatives household.Rachells name does not appear on either the 1785 or 1786 list of taxablesin Wilkes County preserved by William Lenoir, now in the North CarolinaArchives. Samuel Bicknell, her deceased husband's brother, is shown onboth tax lists as a poll in Captain Alex. Gordon's District.

(This paragraph and the remainder of the article on Rachel Sparks iscontinued in the notes for her husband, Thomas Bicknell.)

SQ pg 795-6: "Rachel Sparks, daughter of Jonas Sparks. She was calledRachel Griggs in her father's will, but there is no marriage bond for heron file in Rowan County; it must be remembered, however that many earlyNorth Carolina marriages were accomplished through the crying of bannsrather than through bonds, and that no record was made of the banns typemarriage. Several Sparks deeds in Rowan County were witnessed by MinusGriggs, and it seems probable that he was the husband of Rachel.Rachel's brother, David Sparks,
named a son Minus, perhaps for Minus Griggs."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1997, Whole No. 178, pp. 4829-4837 for anarticle entitled RACHEL (SPARKS) GRIGGS (Born ca.1756/58) DAUGHTER OFJONAS AND ELIZABETH SPARKS WITH NOTES ON HER FATHER AND SIBLINGS. Thefirst portion relates to her grandfather Joseph and her father Jonas, allof which can be found under their notes. That portion relating directlyto Rachel begins on page 4832 as follows:

"Jonas Sparks made no mention in his will of the sons named Joseph andGeorge who appeared with him as polls on the tax list of 1775, notedearlier. Both may have died without issue before 1805, or they may havemoved away from Rowan County after receiving, perhaps, their share oftheir father's estate. Jonas' three daughters were identified, as shown,under their married names. The fact that Rachel was named first probablyindicates that she was the oldest of the sisters.

"In the Quarterly of March 1964, cited earlier, we were able to give afair amount of information about each of the children of Jonas Sparks,except for his daughter named Rachel.

"A reason for including the following record of Rachel (Sparks) Griggsin this issue of the Quarterly is to correct our earlier assumption thatshe was the same Rachel Sparks who was married to Thomas Bicknell, whowas mortally wounded at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780. Although,fortunately, this error in judgement was never published in theQuarterly, it was expressed in letters to several descendants of Rachel(Sparks) Griggs. Our erroneous assumption was that, following the deathof Thomas Bicknell, his widow was married, 2nd, to Minus Griggs. Asexplained in the article beginning on page 4809, Rachel (Sparks)Bicknell, believed to have been a daughter of William Sample Sparks,actually remained a widow for the rest of her life following ThomasBicknell's death, as proven by the papers in her pension application fileat the National Archives.

"Rachel Griggs, identified in Jonas Sparks's will as one of his threedaughters, was very nearly the same age as her second cousin, Rachel(Sparks) Bicknell. Our only clue regarding the year of birth of Rachel(Sparks) Griggs is the approximate year of birth, based on censusrecords, of her first son, Clement Griggs. He was born about 1775. IfRachel had been married at age 16, a typical age for a girl to be marriedin those days, she could have been born as early as 1758. It is possiblethat she was even married before her father joined Daniel Boone in 1773,bound for Kentucky. In her father's will, she was named immediatelyafter her deceased brother, Jonas Sparks, Jr. Although it has long been acommon practice in drawing up a will to name one's children in the orderof their birth (sometimes with the sons before the daughters), the factthat Jonas Sparks, Jr. had pre-deceased his father, could account forJonas naming him first. The fact that Jonas provided so liberally forthis grandson, Joseph, son of Jonas, Jr., suggests, however, that Jonas,Jr. had been, indeed, the oldest son. Under the custom of primogeniture,by which the eldest son was entitled to all of his father's land, ifJonas, Jr. was the eldest son, his son, Joseph, would have beenconsidered the principal heir of his grandfather.

"The husband of Rachel Sparks, daughter of Jonas Sparks, was MinusGriggs. His father's name was also Minus Griggs, but he had died longbefore his son of the same name came to Rowan County, and the youngerMinus Griggs was never called "Jr." there. For this reason, we have notadded "Jr." to his name in this account. In referring to his father,however, we will call him "Sr."

"The date of birth of Minus Griggs has not been discovered, but itappears that he was a number of years older than his wife, RachelSparks. His father, Minus Griggs, Sr., appears to have been in OrangeCounty, Virginia, as a young man, but by 1760 he was with his father inGranville County, North Carolina. Minus Griggs, Sr. died soon after1760; his will was proved in the Granville County Court on February 10,1761, on the oaths of two of the witnesses, Andrew Hampton and Andrew'sson, Ephraim Hampton. The original of this document survives in thecourthouse in Granville Countv. The following transcript has been madefrom a xerox copy appearing in The Hampton Family compiled by CarolineParker Maurice and published in 1993.

Will of Minus Griggs, Sr.

In the Name of God Amen. I Minus Griggs being Sick and weak But inperfect Sense [?] & memory do make this my last will & Testament

Imprimis, I Bequeath my Soul to god that First gave it me, and my Body tothe Earth from whence it was Taken in full expectation of the resurectionfrom thence at the last day as for my Burial I Desire it may [be] Decent.

Item I give Unto my son Minus Griggs the Upper Part of my Land threehundred and & Twenty Acres And the Other part of my land where myPlantation now is I Bequeath to my Son John Griggs to them & their heirsfor Ever. It is my will & Desire that my Lawful Debts & Funeral Chargesbe Discharged out of my Personal Estate by my Executors hereaftermentioned

Item I give unto my loving wife Jane Griggs an Equal Share of my personalEstate with my Daughters After my Lawful Debts be paid to them and theirheirs for Ever. I appoint my Loving wife Jane Griggs and Jonathan Whitemy whole & Sole Executors of this my Last will and testament, Disanulingand making Void all Other wills & Testaments by me made or Caused to bemade and this Only and Alone to be my last will. In Witness Whereof Ihave hereunto Set my hand and Seal this 7th Day of Oct: 1760.

Interlind before Signd signed Minus Griggs
Seal & Delivered
in presence of us

[signed] Andrew Hampton Jurat
" Ephraim Hampton
" William Berry

"Sometime in the 1770s, Minus and John Griggs, sons of Minus Griggs,Sr., who were named in the latter's will, above, moved west fromGranville County, North Carolina, to Rowan County, North Carolina.Members of the Hampton family made the move at about the same time. Theyall doubtless "squatted" on vacant land owned by Lord Granville. Asexplained on page 4813 of this issue of the Quarterly,
Lord Granville had died in 1764, and, because of the growing unrest inthe American colonies, the Granville land office was never reopened bythe lord's heirs in England. "Squatters" on Granville land expected, inmost instances, to purchase the tracts on which they had settled whenthat became possible. Following the Revolution, the state of NorthCarolina confiscated the remaining "vacant" Granville land, and beganselling it to settlers as Granville's land office had done in the past,although men who had been active Tories (or Loyalists) could not purchasesuch land, even though they had made "improvements."

"John Griggs, brother of Minus, died in Rowan County in the autumn of1778. He did not leave a will, under which circumstance it was customaryfor the widow to be appointed administrator of the deceased's estate.According to the minutes taken in the Rowan County Court of Pleas andQuarter Sessions (Vol. 4, p. 181), however, Sarah Griggs requested onNovember 5, 1778, that she be excused from this responsibility, accordingto an oath of John Hampton before the court on her behalf. John Griggs'sbrother, Minus Griggs, was then appointed by the court to act in Sarah'sbehalf. Hardy Jones and Roland Jones became Minus' securities in theamount of 400 pounds.

"A descendant of John Griggs, Mrs. Maxine Kopp of 422 W. DelawareAve., Nowata, Oklahoma 74048, has stated that Sarah, wife of John Griggs,had the maiden name Sarah Minah (or Minor), and that she and John had adaughter named Tilithia Griggs. Sarah was married, following JohnGriggs's death, to Andrew Hampton, son of Ezekiel Hampton. They moved toGrayson County, Virginia, in 1793, taking Tildthia with them.

"Like the Sparks immigrants to the Forks of the Yadkin, Minus Griggsappears not to have embraced the cause of American "rebels" who demandedindependence from England. On August 5, 1778, the Rowan County Court ofPleas and Quarter Sessions (Vol. 4, p. 159) issued a long list of menliving in the county who had "neglected or refused to appear to take theOath of Allegiance to the state." The court added that these men "arenow admitted to take the Oath and have certified they paid for socertifying." Among the names on this list are those of Jonas Sparks,Minus Griggs, and Ezekiel Hampton. (See Jo White Linn's Abstracts of theMinutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan County NorthCarolina, Vol. III, 1775-1789, page 164.)

"Our earliest record of Minus Griggs actually acquiring title to landin Rowan County is a deed dated September 27, 1778 (Entry 1584). Heobtained from the state of North Carolina a tract of 100 acres on "thewaters of Muddy Creek adjoining Samuel Garland and Joseph Garland &running N[orth], including Mathias Wasnor's Improvements.11 (See RowanCounty, North Carolina, Vacant Land Entries, 1778-1789 by Richard A.Enochs, published in 1989-.) Knowing that Minus Griggs would marry RachelSparks, it is significant that her father, Jonas Sparks, also lived onMuddy Creek.

"There is a deed in Rowan County dated August 25, 1783, by which a100-acre tract was purchased by Ephraim Hampton from William Poole on theeast side of the Yadkin River. (Vol. 10, p.161) The witnesses to thisdeed included both Jonas Sparks and Minus Griggs, along with John Poole,Sary Hampton, and Morning Hampton. All signed by mark except MorningHampton (sometimes spelled "Mourning"). She would later become the wifeof Jonas Sparks's son, William Sparks.

"When, on February 28, 1786, Thomas Wood obtained a marriage bond inRowan County to marry Sarah Hampton, Minus Griggs served as bondsman for50 pounds. (See Rowan County, North Carolina, Marriages, 1753-1868,compiled by Brent H. Holcombe, published in 1981, page 434.)

When a man named Henry Miller and his wife, Mary, sold to Jacob Huffmanon May 26, 1787, a 76-acre tract "on a branch of Muddy Creek," it wasdescribed as "adjoining Minus Griggs' house where he now lives." (RowanCo. Deed Book 11, p.97) We wonder whether this branch was the one thatbecame known as, and is still called, "Sparks Branch."

"When the 1790 census was taken in Rowan County, the household headedby Minus Griggs was enumerated with one white male over the age of 16(Minus himself), and there were five males, all under the age of 16. Thefour females were surely Rachel (Sparks) Griggs and her three daughters.

"A descendant of Minus and Rachel (Sparks) Griggs's son named John,born about 1779, who has done extensive research on the Griggs family, isMarjorie N. Judd of 2201 West 15th St., Emporia, Kansas, 66801. Ms. Juddhas been generous in sharing her research with us. She reports that theoldest son of Minus Griggs, named Clement Griggs (called "Clem"), wastaxed for the first time in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1796. He wasjoined there by his next youngest brother, John Griggs, who appeared on aClark County tax list for 1802. Then, in 1803, Hughes Brookshire, thehusband of their oldest sister, Elizabeth Griggs, was taxed, also, inClark County, Kentucky. In 1804, Minus Griggs and his son named WilliamGriggs, were included on Clark County's tax list, indicating that theentire family of Minus Griggs had made the move there from North Carolina.

"Minus Griggs appeared on the 1810 census of Clark County, Kentucky.His age was shown as over 45 as was that of his wife, Rachel, indicatingonly that they had been born before 1765. With them were six other malesand one female. We assume that these were their children who were stillliving at home.

"There is a Clark County court record dated January 23, 1815,indicating that Minus Griggs had been authorized to "keep an Ordinary inhis own house in the County for one year." (See the Clark Co., KY, OrderBook, 1812-1816, unpaged.) Samuel Griggs (born 1787), son of Minus,cosigned the latter's bond for this privilege, in the amount of $100.

"It was either late in the year 1815, or early in 1816, that MinusGriggs died, from what cause we do not know. He left no will. At ameeting of the Clark County Court on February 26, 1816, John and SamuelGriggs, sons of Minus, were appointed to administer their father'sestate. Anderson Rigg and Caleb Bendurant served as sureties in theamount of $1,500.

An inventory of the estate of Minus Griggs was taken on March 2, 1816, byDavid Hampton, Nicholas Aldridge, and Caleb Bendurant. It reads asfollows, including spelling errors:

An Inventory of the Estate of Ntinus Griggs Deed made out and Appdby us the under subscribers on this 2d Day of March 1816

$ cts.

to one bay bay [sic] mare @@ $25 25
to one Gray DO @@ $45 & one Colt @@ $5.00 50
to 17 head of hogs at $18 18
to one brindle Cow @@ $12.00 one DO at $10 22
to one Black stear @@ $8 one DO $8 16
2 yearlings at $5.00 one Calf at $1.50 6 50
to 20 Wt of Tobacco @@ $1.16 salt barrel @@ 5 Cts 1 36 [sic]
to 4 falling axes at $8.00 8
to one mattock & 3 weading hoes @@ 5
to one Drawing nife 37' Cts 37 1/2
to one loome @@ $4.00 a flax wheel at $5.00 9
to 2 plows gare &c @@ 10 25
to one Cotten wheel & Chck reel 9
to 3 Barrels @@ $1.50 Table Chain tub &c 4
to 2 Dutch,ovens & three pales $10.00 10
to one Cubbard & Cubbard furniture 35
to one bed bed frame & furniture 20
to one Do $25.00 Do D 0 $12 37
to womans saddle @@ $15.00 15
to 11 Chears @@ $5.00 & table @@ $1.50 6 50
to one Chest @@ $2.50 2 50
to pewter $4.00 to one Log chain & pichfork 7
to one Rifle Gun &c @@ $18 to books at 50 cts. 18 50
to smoothing Iron and double swingle trees &c. 1 50
to one tub at 50 cts 50
to 400 feet of loose plank @@ 5 00
to one pare Cotten Cards @@ 75
to one tin quart & funnels @@ 1 25

"The inventory was signed by the three appraisers who had beenappointed to make it, as well as by John and Samuel Griggs asadministrators of their father's estate. It was accepted by the ClarkCounty Court on April 22, 1816.

"In the absence of a will by Minus Griggs naming his children, we arefortunate to have a deed, dated March 1, 1816, that reveals the list.(Clark Co., KY, Deed Book 12, pp.504-05) It has been transcribed asfollows from the recorded copy:

Griggs heirs to Decd
Haggard

This indenture made this seventh day of March in the yearone thousand
Eight Hundred and sixteen Between Clem Griggs John GriggsWilliam
Griggs Hughs Brooksher & Elizabeth Brooksher his wifeCornelas Howard
and Sarah Howard his wife Samuel Griggs Wiley GriggsLevina Griggs, and
Joshuay Griggs Heirs & Legal Representatives of MinusGriggs Deca of
the one part and Pleasant Haggard all of the County ofClarke and State of
Kentucky Sheweth that the aforesaid heirs and LegalRepresentatives of
Minus Griggs Decd for and in Consideration of the sum [of]one Hundred
and Eighty seven Dollars and fifty Cents in hand paidbefore the sealing
and Delivering of these presents the Receipt whereof thesd Heirs and
Legal Representatives of Minus Griggs Decd doth herebyacknowledge
hath Bargained and sold and by these presents doth Bargainand sell to
the sd pleasant Haggard one tract or parcel of Land in theaforesd County
of Clarke and on the Dry Fork and Howards upper CreekContaining
twenty five acres by the same more or less Beginning on aWhite oak on
the South side of the Dry fork of Howards Creek thenceSouth 86 poles to
the Creek thence up the Creek with its several Meanders tothe mouth of
Dry Fork of Howards upper Creek thence with the severalMeanders of
said Dry Fork and Bending thereon to the Beginning... ThisIndenture
further witnesseth that Rachel Griggs Late wife of the sdMinus Griggs for
the Consideration above mentioned doth also make over andRelinquish
her right of Dower to the above sold Land and premisesunto the sd
Pleasant Haggard as Witness our hands and seals this dayand year above

Written Signed Sealed and Delivered his Clem Griggs
in presents of us Wiley X Griggs his
D. Hampton mark John X Griggs
Jas Wood

his
Joshuay X Griggs his
markWilliam X Griggs

mark
her his
Elizabeth X Brooksher Hughes X Brooksher
mark mark

her his
Sarah X Howard Cornelas X Howard
mark mark

Rachel GriggsSamuel Griggs
her
Levina 0 Griggs
mark

"It is interesting to note that Rachel Griggs, widow of Minus, signedher own name to this deed, as did her sons, Clem (Clement) and Samuel.Her other sons, John, Wiley, Joshua, and William, however, signed bymark, as did Rachells three daughters and their husbands. The reasonthat Elizabeth's husband, Hughes Brookshire, and Sarah's husband,Cornelius Howard, signed this deed with their wives is, of course,because at that time, a married woman's property, including herinheritance, was controlled by her husband.

"We have not learned the date of Rachel (Sparks) Griggs's death. Hername does not appear on Clark County tax lists after 1823. Widows oftenlived with a son or daughter in their old age; it is possible, of course,that Rachel was married a second time.

"In a future issue of the Quarterly, we hope to provide a furtherrecord for each of the children of Minus and Rachel (Sparks) Griggs.Readers of this article having additional knowledge of this family areurged to share your information with the author, who is also theQuarterly's editor."

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

On November 18, 2000, additional information on the descendants of Minusand Jane (- - - - ) Griggs was furnished by Mr. Tom Goldrup and Mr. JimGoldrup, third greatgrandsons of Minus Griggs, Jr. and Rachael (Sparks)Griggs. Their email address is skyla@@sasquatch.com.
His information is quoted in part and modified where appropriate.

"Minus Griggs, Jr. and John Griggs moved to Rowan County, NorthCarolina. John, as a resident of Rowan County, sold land in GranvilleCounty on March 6, 1776, to Richard Harris. John died in Rowan County in1778...."

"Minus Griggs, Jr., married about 1774, Rachel Sparks, daughter ofJonas and Mary Sparks. In 1788, both Minus Griggs and Jonas Sparks wereon a list of residents of Rowan County as having neglected or refused totake the Oath of Allegiance to the State of North Carolina. They laterdid sign, but from this it is not known what his sentiments had beenconcerning the Revolution. From 1786-89 Minus acquired property in RowanCounty, and then began selling it off by 1791 and he was last foundselling his land there in 1797. Soon thereafter, Minus and his familymoved to Clark County, Kentucky, to join his eldest son Clement Griggswho had moved there in 1795.
"Minus Griggs died in Clark County, Kentucky about 1815, and in Marchof 1816, settlement of his estate began. Sons Samuel and John wereadministrators of his estate. Rachel and ten of his children were listedas heirs (they had several younger children who were not named on thisrecord as they were not of age at this time, but [the] census lists[includes] younger children at home.) Rachel was listed on the taxrecords of the county until 1823, and presumably died shortly afterthis. [NOTE: Tom and Jim Goldrup include additional information on thedescendants of Minus and Rachel (Sparks) Griggs for which see theirfamily sheets.]

See SQ p. 4486: This family is included in the 1860 Census for HuntingtonCounty, Indiana. Rachel's brother Joseph is shown living with them. Hewas divorced from his wife Sabra Demmit Sparks who is shown in the 1860Census of Adams County, Indiana with two children. See SQ p. 4442.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1959, No. 27, p. 418:

"Rachel Sparks, daughter of Solomon and Isabella (Swaim) Sparks, wasborn about 1823 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. She married AlbertDraper, date unknown. A son named William Draper was born July 7, 18 43,and died December 25, 1848, and was buried in the Sparks Cemetery inWells County, IN. There were doubtless other children."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822-1865):
Rachel Sparks & Enoch Green, August 21, 1865. (Box 2) His father, GilesGreen. Her father, Daniel Sparks.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3905: She was married three times. Her first marriage wa s toJohn C. B. Barker and they had seven children: Ida, William, He nry,George, Stella, Eli, and Benjamine Barker.
Rachel and George A. Bayes had four children: John, Gusta, Frank ,and Carl Bayes.
Rachel and Henry Lemaster had no children.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3846: Rachel D. Sparks, daughter of Millington and Mabel (Ruth) Sparks, was born on January 12, 1741, according to the informati onrecorded in the Register of St. Lukes Church at Church Hill in Que enAnnes County. We have found no further information about her.

!NOTES:
SQ 3865: Rachel Malinda Sparks was born on August 15, 1861. She w asmarried
to Leander Mauk (son of Henry J. Mauk 953) about 1885. They had at least three
Martha, Nancy and Alice.

SQ 2966-2967:

"Rachel Rebecca Sparks, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Naill)Sparks, was born on February 18, 1823, at Rays Hill, Pennsylvania. In1842, she was confirmed in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Blood Run,Pennsylvania. She married Isaac Lysinger on June 24, 1847. He was bornon February 25, 1819, and was a son of Henry and Elizabeth Lysinger.

"In the fall of 1852, Isaac and Rachel, with their two small children(Susan Elizabeth Lysinger had died just a few days earlier) started forIllinois. Notes left in a family Bible indicate that they went by boatacross Lake Erie and then by wagon to Chicago. From Chicago they went bycanal southward to the town of Peru where they disembarked and drove awagon to the village of Wyante. They settled on a farm about five milesnorth of the village.

"The family of Isaac and Rachel continued to grow. Their son, Josephenlisted during the Civil War when only sixteen years of age in the 146thRegiment Illinois Infantry, but returned home safely. Two children,Anson and Virginia, were born, but lived for only a short time.

"In December 1893, Isaac and Rachel joined their children at Aurora,Nebraska, where Isaac died on September 19, 1895. He was buried atWyanet, Illinois. Rachel survived him three years, dying on May 7,1898. She was buried beside Isaac at Wyanet. They were the parents ofeight children."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3413: He never married. He served in the merchant marine a nddied in Florida in 1983.

SQ p. 5314:

Ransom Sparks was born about 1824 in Wilkes County, NorthCarolina. He was between 6
and 10 years old when he accompanied his parents in their moveto Indiana; he was still living
with them when the 1850 census was taken of Kirkland Townshipin Adams County, Indiana,
age 26. On September 10, 1851, he purchased a 40-acre lot therefrom his parents for $300.
When the 1860 census was taken he was living there with hismother and sister, Mary Sparks;
he was called "Farmer," age 36. When the 1870 census was taken,he was still living in
Kirkland Township--he was now 46, a farmer, with land valued at$600 and personal property
at $170. His mother was no longer living, but his sister, Mary,was keeping house for him. Also
living with him was Catherine Schunk, age 18, a native of Ohio.We do not know who she may
have been.

Our last record of Ransom Sparks is found in a deed datedDecember 1871 by which he sold
to Eli Hummerickhouse for $500 the 40 acres of land that he hadpurchased from his parents
in 1851. He died in Wells County, on December 18,1876--insolvent and without heirs. (File
#960)

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2622: He married Helen Lindsey of Topeka, Kansas. They ha d nochildren.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, pg 4036-4040:
Rebecca Sparks, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Sparks, wasborn on May 16, 17--. L ' ike the birth year of her sister, Elizabeth,that for Rebecca is also now illegible in the parish register. Webelieve, however, that her year of birth was about 1733. We have learnednothing further about her.

Paul Sparks suspects on page 4 of an unpublished article madeavailable to James J. Sparks, states "Rebecca Sparks, named as ahalf-sister of James Sparks, Jr., left no records as far as we have beenable to determine, and she may have been a step-daughter, rather than adaughter, of James Sparks, Sr."

.

!NOTES:
SQ 2456: "Rebecca Sparks, daughter of William and Rhoda (Penningto n)Sparks,
was born on October 24, 1815. She died on December 1, 1891. She married Lania
(probably Lanier) Randolph about 1845 and, according to census record s,they
had at least six children: James Randolph, Joseph Randolph, C. R. Randolph
(male), Jesse Randolph, Nancy Randolph, and Phoebe Randolph."
See also THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4273.

!NOTES:
SQ 3O84: "Rebecca Sparks, daughter of Abel and Sarah (Cochran) Sparks, was
born on December 27, 1825. She married William Andrews. She was sti llliving
in 188O when the estate of her brother Solomon was settled. We hav e no
information regarding her family."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4276 states: RebeccaSparks, daughter of Jesse and Nancy Sparks, was born about 1831. She wasmarried to John Birchfield, and they had five children: Martha, John ,James, Mary and George.

SQ p. 3948: They lived at Logan, WV.

SQ pg 2748: "Rebecca E. C. Sparks, daughter of James Hawkins andRebecca (---) Sparks, was born about 1837 in Texas. She was married toRichard Michael Deckard (or Decherd) on May 12, 1857. He was born on May14 , 1837, at Decherd, Tennessee. He died on October 3, 1893, atFayetteville, Arkansas. According to the GENEALOGY OF THE DECKARD FAMILY,1932 by P. E. Decka rd, they had eight children."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822- 1865):
Rebecca H. Sparks & John F. Green, October 27, 1859. (Book 3A, p. 31) Heborn in Cabell County, Virginia, 20 years. old. She born in LawrenceCounty, Kentucky, 17 years old. Married by Enoch Green, Baptist minister.

SQ p. 4645:

"Rebecca H. Sparks, daughter of Garrett and Betsy (Boggs) Sparks, wasborn about 1842 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. It was there that she wasmarried to John F. Green on October 27, 1859. He had been born about1839 in Cabell County, Virginia (now West Virginia). John and Rebeccaare said to have moved to Minnesota where they had at least one child.Nothing further has been heard of this couple."

SQ p. 1341:

"Rebecca Jane Sparks, daughter of Robert Thomas and Mary Ann(Wallingford) Sparks, was born about 1850 in Illinois; she died about1930. She married ----- Walker and lived all of her life in Dallas City,Illinois. A letter which she wrote to a daughter of her brother Ephraimin 1928 has been preserved by Eula Mae Prince and reads as follows:

" 'Dallas City,
Sept. 27, 1928.

'Dear Niece Edna:

"I received your letter and was glad to hear from you. The last weheard from my Brother (Ephraim) I think he had two children and I thinkone was named Laura. I have one sister living & have two dead ones.Mother died when your father and myself was small and none of ourMother's folks was near here. My folks was all born in Kentucky, all butmyself, I was born in Ills. and as our mother died when we was small, sowe did not hear about her folks & never did see any of them. OurMother's name was Walingford. Our father's folks came from Kentucky.Our father's brothers came and settled in Missouri and had farms there.I went to see them years ago & they were all prosperous farmers. Myfather had 4 brothers & one sister there, but most of them have passedon. I can't tell you how old your father was when he went to Texas, hewas 18 when he went in the Arny & was gone one year and I think maybe hewas here two years before he went to Texas. I always thought we wouldget to see him, but glad to know he had lots of friends. He was alwaysthought of as a good, honest boy. I was glad to see his picture. Helooks like our father. Sometime I will send you some of his picturestaken while he was here. Did he tell you he was in the army? Did he geta pension? You say your Mother is an invalid., which I am sorry tohear. My sister Sarah has been in a hospital four years. She is notsick but can't walk and her nerves are so bad she shakes so she canhardly write. I have no single granddaughter. I have two but not nearhere. I thank you for writing to me and sending those pictures. Hope tohear from you soon. I will ask you how many brothers you have & if theyare married. The weather is very cool here today. This is all for thistime. Good by. With Love to All.
Aunt Jane Walker."

!NOTES:
SQ pg 2923 provides this: "Rebecca Jane Sparks was born on Decembe r1, 1876.
She married Jeremiah Franklin Weicht on July 4, 1893. He was born o nJuly 4,
1871, and was a son of Jeremiah W. and Rose Anne (Bussard) Weicht. Jeremiah F.
Weicht died on August 30, 1935, and Rebecca Jane died on August 13, 1946. They
were the parents of fourteen children: Robert P., Rosa Ellen, Mary Ethel, Roy
E., Zelma Mae, Anna Belle, Grace E., Lloyd E., Richard E., Alice P. ,Benjamin
F., Bertha I., Gladys R., and Alberta L."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3902: He was married to Elizabeth "Lizzie" Elkins.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 1989, Whole No. 146, pps 3421-22:
"Reese D. Sparks, son of George and Lucinda (Sargent) Sparks, was bornon March 10, 1889, in Elliott County where he grew to manhood . He wentto upper Wisconsin, probably to join some other Elliott Countians who hadmigrated there in the early 1900s to work in the lumber industry. It wasat Antigo, Wisconsin, that he enlisted in July 1917 in the 107th TrenchMortar Battery, 32nd Division, United States Army. His unit trained atWaco, Texas, and by March 1918, it was i n France. Sparks's company wassent to the front immediately (in the Vosges Mountains), and on June 30,1918, he was killed.

"As told by his aunt, Sarah (Sparks) Gee, his death occurred asfollows: `Reese was wounded the first time he went to the battlefield .He had refused to take his mess-kit with him on that day saying that hewould be the unlucky one. He was struck in the chest by shrapnel andlived only three hours. He said goodbye to the boys who were carrying himto the hospital.' "

"Reese Sparks was interred in a temporary grave in Alsace-Lorraine ,but three years later, his body was returned to the United States, and hewas buried with military rites in the Ashland (Kentucky) Cemetery on June5, 1921."

A photograph of him in uniform appears on page 3422 of the QUARTERLY.

SQ p. 4639:

"Regina E. Sparks was born on August 30, 1865. She was married toDennis Lyon in 1888 in Lawrence County. He had been born on July 4,1869, and was a son of Lewis and Mary ["Polly"] (Sparks) Lyon; thus heand his sister, Emily Lyon, were married to a brother and a sister. (SeeItem A, 3, a, above.) Regina died in 1920 at West Jefferson, Ohio. Sheand Dennis had five children: Myrtie Lyon, Virgie Lyon, Ovie Lyon,William Lyon, and Elisha Lyon.

See SQ p. 333 for birth information. This entry lists her parents asWesly Sparks and Nancy Kasee.

See SQ p. 4856:

"Rena Sparks, daughter of Wes and Nancy (Kozee) Sparks, was born onAugust 5, 1860. She was married to George W. Sparks on March 19, 1880,in Elliott County. He had been born about 1856 in North Carolina,probably in Cherokee County, and was a son of Joel and Mary Jane (Grew)Sparks. After the killing of George's brother, Solomon Sparks, onSeptember 8, 1877, in Elliott County, Joel and Mary Jane returned toCherokee County, North Carolina, and it is highly probable that Georgeand Rena followed them. We have no further information about thiscouple. (See page 2271 of the March 1981 issue of the QUARTERLY, WholeNo. 113, for further details regarding the above incident.)

See SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1967, Whole No. 59, pp 1082-1089:

"DESCENDANTS OF SOLOMON AND SARAH SPARKS, OF MARYLAND ANDNORTH CAROLINA
THROUGH THEIR SON, REUBEN SPARKS (ca.1755-1840)":

[The article begins by including a brief history of the parents ofReuben Sparks for which see the notes under Solomon Sparks, (356)].

REUBEN SPARKS (ca. 1755-1840), SON OF SOLOMON AND SARAHSPARKS

"Reuben Sparks, believed to have been the second son of Solomon andSarah Sparks, was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, about 1755 . Hewas married about 1783, probably in Wilkes County, North Carolina, toCassa (or Cassie) Buttery, who was born about 1765 and died in 1842. Shewas probably the daughter of, or closely related to Timothy Buttery,whose estate was settled in 1802 in Wilkes County. (According to theMinutes of the Wilkes County Court dated February 1, 1802, Reuben Sparksand Richard Allen were securities for the bonds of Mary Buttery and JesseAllen who were named as administrators of Timothy Buttery's estate. In asubsequent court record, Mary Buttery is identified as the widow ofTimothy. In 1806 she married as her second husband Joseph Thomson(Wilkes County Marriage Bonddated Mary 4, 1806.)

"Reuben Sparks is mentioned frequently in the land and court recordsof Wilkes County. He frequently served on juries, helped to lay outroads, and he was an active member of the South Fork of Roaring RiverBaptist Church. In 1829, 1830, 1832 and 1834, he served as a delegate tothe Baptist Association. Like his father, he owned land in both WilkesCounty and in Surry County. In 1792, he purchased 340 acres in SurryCounty on Hunting Creek from Richard Goode for 50 pounds (Book E, pp.229-30). In 1797, he sold 170 acres in Surry County "on the North Forkof Hunting Creek on the Brushy Mountain" to James Denney for 100 pounds(Book G, pp. 365-66). In 1799, he purchased a tract of 300 acres inWilkes County on the Big Elkin from Andrew Crow (Book E, p. 306). In1800 he sold a tract of 179 acres in Surry County on Hunting Creek on theBrushy Mountain to William Jeffrey (Book H, p. 318). On March 5, 1835,Reuben Sparks sold a tract of 100 acres on Roaring River in Wilkes Countyto William R. Sparks, his son, for $300 (Book 1841-51, p.44). This landwas described as where "the sd. Reuben Sparks now lives." On the sameday he sold an adjoining tract of 70 acres to his son Jonas Sparks for$300 (Book 1841-51, p.42).

"According to the records of Old Roaring River Baptist Church inWilkes County, Reuben Sparks died at 2:00 A.M. on July 13, 1840. Hiswife Cassie Sparks, died about 1842. It is believed that Reuben andCassie (Butter