See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1997, Whole No. 180, for mention ofMalinda Sparks in the 1850 US Census Mortality Schedules. It states:
Indiana --Owen County
Malinda Sparks Died in January 1950, Age 2, Place of Birth,Indiana, Cause of death: Croup
Ill, three to five days.

"Editorial note: Malinda was a daughter of Solomon and Malinda(Caudill) Sparks who were living in Owen County, Indiana, when the 1850census was taken. (See the QUARTERLY of March 1960, Whole NO. 29, p.467.) An article about this branch of the Sparks family appeared in theQUARTERLY of March, 1988, Whole No. 141. Malinda is mentioned on p. 3192of that article."

Solomon and Malinda (Caudill) Sparks and family appear in the 1860census for Mercer County, Missouri, Harrison Township (Post Office:Goshen) enumerated July 6, 1860 at page 278: 1256-1256.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2000, Whole No. 190, p. 5377:

"Malinda Ann Sparks, daughter of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, wasborn in Surry County, North Carolina, about 1831. She was not shown withher parents on the 1850 census of Cass County, Missouri, for she had beenmarried to Aaron Lynch on March 1, 1849. She was one of the eight heirsof her father for whom her brother, Richard Sparks, was responsible forlocating and conveying to them their equal shares of their father'suncommitted estate. Her age on the 1860 census of Yamhill County, Oregon,was given as 29. Her husband, Aaron Lynch, was 32 years of age, a nativeof Missouri, and a farmer. No children were then living in theirhousehold. Malinda's mother, Sarah Sparks, was living in her and Aaron'shousehold in 1860, as was, also, a Martin Lynch, age 22, a native ofMissouri, whose occupation was given as "Farm Work." (He was doubtlessthe Martin Lynch, born 1841, who was married to Elizabeth Holcomb in 1862in Yamhill County.) Also living in the household of Aaron and MalindaLynch in 1860 was 58-year- old Elizabeth Dickey, a native of Tennessee,who may have been a sister of Aaron.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1969, Whole No. 67, p. 1257:

"Malinda Sparks, daughter of David and Permelia (Medlock) Sparks, wasborn sometime between 1812 and 1820; she married Jesse Jackson Dempseywho was born about 1812. They were the parents of seven children: (herenames them.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, pp. 4020-24:

"SOME DESCENDANTS OF MALINDA MINERVA (SPARKS) DEMPSEY

"The photograph appearing on the cover of this issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY, as well as those which follow, have been furnished byChristine Brannan Sundie, 8895 W. W. 116th St., Miami, FL 33176-4337. Weare pleased to be able to share these with our readers.

"The six individuals in the photograph on the cover were the childrenof Jesse Franklin and Elizabeth Manilla (Dempsey) Clark. ElizabethManilla Dempsey was a daughter of Jesse Jackson Dempsey and his wife,Malinda Minerva Sparks. Malinda Minerva Sparks was a daughter of Davidand Mermilla (Medlock) Sparks.

"David Sparks, a great-grandfather of these [the six Clark childrenshown in the photograph on the cover of the above issue] six Clarkchildren, was born on May 19, 1794, and died on November 10, 1862. AnAbstract of David Sparks's application for bounty land, based on hisservice in the war of 1812, appeared in the QUARTERLY of September 1960,(Whole No. 31) [see above]. These two children were (1) Malinda MinevaSparks, born in 1822; and (2) Abel Tomlin Sparks, born November 10, 1827,died January 20, 1896. Until Mrs. Sundie sent us the photograph ofMalinda Minerva's tombstone (seen on page 4021) we had been able only togures at the year of her birth. While her and her husband's stone isobviously newer than a stone of the 1860s, we assume that the familymembers who placed it on their graves were correct in giving her date ofbirth as 1822. From this and other family records, it appears thatMalinda Minerva Sparks was known by her middle name, Minerva.

".....Malinda Minerva Sparks, or Minerva Sparks as she was called, wasmarried to Jesse Jackson Dempsey, date not discovered. According to histombstone, he was born in 1817 and died in 1869. They were the parentsof seven children."

Marriage recorded in Carroll County, GA., Bk G, page 164. See also the1900 US Census for Carroll County, GA., vol 9, e.d. 8, sheet 7, line 8.

SQ pg 3695: They had fourteen children, including three sets oftwins: Vida, Mahuel, Iva, Lue Edna, Huston, Jewel, Mack, George & Georgia (twins), Add & Addie (twins), Hub, and Elmer & Velma (twins).

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1996, Whole No. 173, pps. 4608-9:

"Note was mate earlier that we are certain that another son of Johnand Elizabeth Sparks, besides William and Absolom, was Malone Sparks. Hewas born in or about 1802. Our first record of Malone Sparks in BurkeCounty is that of his marriage on November 16, 1822, to Rachel Haney. Thewitness to this marriage was James Haney (he signed his name by mark; hemay have been Rachel's father.)

"The record that convinces us that Malone Sparks was the son of Johnand Elizabeth Sparks is found in the surviving documents of the BurkeCounty court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions dated October 1828. Thereappears the following entry: "Malone Sparks to Elizabeth Hodge -- Billof Sale for various property therein mentioned dated September 30th,1828, proved in open court by the oath of Francis Hodge, a witnessthereto."

"There can be little doubt that the Elizabeth Hodge to whom Malonemade this sale of "various property," was his mother. The witness,Francis Hodge, wat the Francis Hodge mentioned earlier as a step-son ofElizabeth, he being a child of George Hodge by his first wife. Marriedwomen were rarely involved directly in the purchase or sale of propertyat this time in North Carolina, and we wonder whether this transactionmay have had someting to do with Malone's inheritance from his father.This bill of sale was probably recorded in full in a deed book in BurkeCounty, but all records of this nature were lost in the courthouse fireof 1865.

"Malone Sparks has not been found on the 1830 census of Burke County,the reason probably being that he moved away soon after making this saleof property to his mother, Elizabeth Hodge. We believe that he moved toHabersham County, Georgia, where he appeared on the 1840 census. (Wehave found him on no census in 1830, however.)

"From the enumeration of his household in 1840 in Habersham County, itappears that Malone Sparks was then between 30 and 40 years of age (thusborn after 1800). HIs household consisted of a female (doubtless hiswife) aged between 20 and 30, along with his three children, all girls;two of whom were between 5 and 10 years old, while the other was under 5years. From this and family data that will be noted below, it appearsthat, although he had been married to Rachel Haney in 1822 in BurkeCounty, he had had no children (at least none had survived) prior to1834. It is probable that Rachel had died without leaving survivingchildren, and that he had been married a second time about 1833.

"Also appearing on the 1840 census of Habersham County, Georgia, was aBarsheba Sparks, her age having been given as between 30 and 40. In herhousehold was a male, age 15 to 20 (thus born between 1820 and 1825), anda female between 5 and 10 (born between 1820 and 1825). Barsheba Sparkswas probably a widow; whether she was in any way related to MaloneSparks, we do not know.

"Some thirty-five years ago, a great-granddaughter of Malone Sparks,Margaret (Sparks) Singletary of Blakely, Georgia, wrote that Malone'ssecond wife was Irene (or Irena) Branch, and that she and Malone had beenmarried in Lumpkin County, Georgia, in 1823. She could not be sure ofthe date or place of the marriage, however. While it is true that MaloneSparks, age 48, appeared on the 1850 census of Lumplin County, Georgia(in the Dahlonega District), with a wife named Irene, her age was givenas 38 and her place of birth as North Carolina. If her age was reportedcorrectly in 1850, this would mean that she had been born in or about1812 and would thus have been only 11 years old in 1823, the year Mrs.Singletary thought she and Malone had been married. We think it moreprobable that they were married in or about 1833.

"From the listing of the children in his household on the censuses of1850 and 1860, it appears that Malone Sparks probably did not havechildren by his first wife, Rachel Haney. The oldest of his apparentchildren by his secone wife, Irene Branch, was Rachel, who was shown as16 on the 1850 census, thus born about 1834, in North Carolina. It seemsprobable that she was named for Malone's first wife. This was a frequentway of paying tribute to a first wife in those days.

"Malone Sparks's occupation in 1850 was given by the census as a"miner." There had been a "gold rush" to the part of George whereHabersham and Lumpkin Counties are located, which is probably whatattracted him there.

"Malone was still in Lumpkin County, a farmer, when the 1860 censuswas taken. His age was given then as 58, while his wife's age appearedas 48 -- thus each was 10 years older than they had shown in 1850. Hername, however, was given as "Julia W. Sparks" in 1860. We believe thatthis must have been an error made by the census taker, because IreneSparks did not die until 1895.

"According to Margaret Sparks Singletary, writing in 1958, MaloneSparks died in Lumpkin County, Georgia, in 1863. Shortly before he died,he had received a letter (preserved later in his family Bible) informinghim that his oldest son, Archibald Wimpey Sparks, had been killed inaction as a soldier in the Confederate Army. He had enlisted unter hismiddle name Wimpey Sparks, on March 4, 1862, in Company E of the InfantryBattalion known as Phillips' Georgia Legion. A document compiled byLillian Henderson, Director of Confederate Pension and Record Department,entitled "Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia," states that theunit in which "A. W. Sparks" of Lumpkin County served was knownofficially as "Co. D, 52nd Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Army ofTennessee, C.S.A." Beside his name in this official record appears:"Private, March 4, 1862; Missing at Atlanta, Georgia, July 22, 1864."(Page 483 of Vol. 5). Another Confederate soldier who served in the sameregiment and company from Lumpkin County has the entry: "Sparks, J. -Private, January, 1863. Sick at Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1865." This"J. Sparks" may have been Archibald Wimpey Sparks's brother, Joseph W.Sparks, who was born about 1852 according to the 1860 census.

"The letter informing Malone Sparks of his son's death indicated thatWimpey Sparks had enlisted at Dahlonega, the county seat of LumpkinCounty, Georgia, which was near where Malone Sparks lived. In 1958, Mrs.Singletary owned this letter which informed Malone Sparks that no one hadmade a claim for the amount of wages that had been due Wimpey Sparks whenhe was killed. His company commander had been a Captain Hamilton. Theletter also mentioned the fact that Wimpey Sparks had been killed inaction in an engagement on the Rappahanock River in Virginia.

"Based largely on census records, it appears that Malone and Irene(Branch) Sparks were the parents of the following children: (here thearticle lists nine children for which see their information.)

SQ 3796: Margaret Sparks, daughter of William and Ann Sparks, was bornca. 1764. She was married to William Gibson in 1782. There is reason tobelieve that she died young and possibly left a son who may have beenreared by her parents.

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

Final portion of article entitled A MYSTERY SOLVED continued from notesfor Margaret's sister Nancy:

As noted earlier, an article devoted to William Sample Sparks appeared inthe QUARTERLY of December 1989, Whole No. 148, although at that time webelieved that his mother's maiden name had been Margaret Hamilton basedon the erroneously copied document discussed near the beginning of thepresent article. As noted in the December 1989 article as well as that ofJune 1997, records exist proving that William Sample Sparks moved withmembers of his family from Frederick County, Maryland, to the Forks ofthe Yadkin in Rowan County, North Carolina, in about 1754. There heoperated an ordinary, or inn. Since we have found no record of his owningland while living in Frederick County, Maryland, it is quite possiblethat he had operated an ordinary there, also. Readers are referred to thetwo articles cited above for further details of the life of WilliamSample Sparks. We believe that he died in North Carolina about 1765.

Known Children of William Sample Sparks

Because no probate records appear to exist pertaining to William SampleSparks, and with the lack of any evidence that he owned land, we havefound it to be quite difficult to identify his children. Based onindirect and circumstantial evidence gathered over a half-century amongdocuments found in both Maryland and North Carolina, however, the latePaul E. Sparks and the present writer concluded that we could state withcertainty that he had four known sons and one daughter. He appears tohave had two, possibly three, wives.

Typical of the male descendants of the immigrant William Sparks, who diedin Queen Annes County, Maryland, in 1709, William Sample Sparks named hisfirst son William Sparks, born about 1725 in Queen Annes County; he diedin Surry County, North Carolina, in 1801/02. He had accompanied hisfather in his move west to Frederick County, Maryland, in 1734/35 wherehe was married to Ann ----, William did not accompany his father in hismove to the Forks of the Yadkin (then) Rowan County, North Carolina, inor about 1754, but he followed him there a decade later, in 1764. Alengthy article devoted to William Sparks (ca.1825-1801/02) appeared inthe QUARTERLY of June 1991, Whole No. 154, pp.3752-3898. He and his wifeAnn were the parents of children named William, Jr., Matthew, Rachel,Nancy (?), James, Margaret, Thomas, Benjamin, and Jeremiah.

The second son of William Sample Sparks of whom we have knowledge wasMatthew Sparks. We believe that he was born shortly before or shortlyafter his father moved from Queen Annes County to Frederick County,Maryland. He accompanied his father on the move to the Forks of theYadkin in or about 1754. According to the memory of a granddaughterwriting a century ago, his wife, Sarah, had the maiden name Thompson.Matthew was killed during an Indian raid in that part of Franklin County,Georgia, that is now Clarke County, in 1793. An article devoted toMatthew and his family appeared in the QUARTERLY of June 1961, WholeNo.34, pp.556-66. At the time of that publication, however, we believedthat Matthew had not moved to North Carolina until 1758 rather than about1754, and, while we knew that he was "closely related to William SampleSparks and to Solomon Sparks," later research has proven that WilliamSample Sparks was Matthrew's father, while Solomon Sparks was his firstcousin. Matthew and Sarah Sparks were the parents of eleven sons (all ofwhom had red hair according a descendant) and two daughters: John,Matthew, Jr., William, Eady, Ann, James, David, Absolum, Jesse, Nathan,Bailey, Isaac, and Hardy.

James Sparks, son of William Sample Sparks, was probably born after hisfather had moved from Queen Annes County to Frederick County, Maryland.He accompanied his father as a young man in the move to the Forks of theYadkin in North Carolina. He served on a jury during the May 1756 Courtin Salisbury, North Carolina, and he paid taxes in Rowan County in 1768until 1772, then in Surry County, North Carolina, in 1774 and 1776. Hisnephew, William Sparks (born April 3, 1761), son of Matthew and SarahSparks, recalled in his application for a Revolutionary War pension in1846 that while serving in Capt. John Cleveland's campaign against theCherokee Indians in 1778, after crossing the "French Broad River justabove the mouth of Swanono.. the foot company from Wilkes County [NorthCarolina] inwhich was my uncle James Sparks, and which marched behind us,built a station and remained to guard the frontier until our return fromthe Indian Country. Here I saw my uncle on my return." We have found nofurther information pertaining to James Sparks. He may have lost his lifein the Revolutionary War or simply moved to a different part of thecountry after the war.

George Sparks, son of William Sample Sparks, is believed to have beenborn after his father moved to North Carolina. He died in NewberryCounty, South Carolina, in 1796, leaving a will entrusting the rearing ofhis son, Reuben Sparks, to his sister,Rachel (Sparks) Bicknell, in NorthCarolina. (See the QUARTERLY of June 1997, Whole No. 178, pp.1809-14 .)

Rachel Sparks was the only daughter of William Sample Sparks whom we havebeen able to identify. She was born in 1757 and was married in SurryCounty, North Carolina, in 1774 to Thomas Bicknell. Still living in 1845,just nine days before her 88th birth day Rachel applied for a widow'spension based on her husband's service sixty years earlier. It was fromher pension file at the National Archives that we obtained theinformation that enabled us to tell of her interesting life and provideinformation regarding her family for the QUARTERLY of June 1997, WholeNo.178, pp.4409-26.

END OF ARTICLE

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

SQ 3680: "Margaret Sparks, daughter of Charles and Margaret Sparks,signed the deed by which the heirs of Charles Sparks sold the land thatthey had inherited. Margaret signed by mark as "Margret Newell." JamesNewell's name also appears on the deed as an heir, so there can be nodoubt that he and Margaret had been married prior to 1786. We have foundno further information regarding them."

SQ 3795: She was married to William West in 1799.

**********
SQ pp. 5356-59:

Sparks, whose nickname was "Peggy", the second daughterof Matthew and Eunice Sparks, was born about 1779, although her age wasgiven as 67 on the 1850 census. She was married to William West in 1799.Their marriage bond in Surry County, North Carolina, was dated January 4,1799, so we may assume that the marriage took place soon thereafter. Thebondsman was Joseph Smith who was probably a brother to Alexander Smith,husband of Margaret's sister, Nancy. Joseph Smith had been married toElizabeth West in Surry County in 1791. Perhaps Elizabeth West was asister to Joseph and Alexander Smith. When the 1850 census was taken ofthe southern portion of Surry County below the Yadkin River (it wouldbecome Yadkin County shortly after the census was taken), William West'sage was given as 70, placing his birth in or about 1780; he was shown asbeing a native of North Carolina, as was his wife, Margaret.

We have not been in touch with any descendant of William andMargaret (Sparks) West; our only knowledge of them is through officialsources, such as census records, deeds for land, and Surry County Courtrecords. Our earliest record pertaining to William West in Surry Countyis found in a deed dated November 19, 1805, by which he purchased fromWilliam Jeffery for 125 pounds a tract of 200 acres (Deed Book L, p.296).From later records pertaining to this land, we know that it was locatednear the land of Matthew Sparks on the waters of North Hunting Creek.Jeffery had
purchased it in three different parts in 1804/05 from Benjamin andWilliam Hicks. Matthew Sparks had been a witness to the signing of one ofthese deeds. A year after West purchased this 200-acre tract fromJeffery, he sold it to his father-in-law, Matthew Sparks, on November 3,1806, for 200
pounds, an amount considerably larger than the 125 pounds West had paidfor it in 1805. (Book L, p.240)

On February 20, 1808, William West served as the bondsman for hiswife's brother, Matthew Sparks, Jr., to obtain a marriage bond andlicense to be wed to Sarah Elmore, daughter of Athenatious and Susannah(Pinnix) Elmore, near neighbors to West and to members of the Sparksfamily.

On July 6, 1810, which was four years after William West had soldhis 200-acre farm to his father-in-law, Matthew Sparks sold back to him170 acres of this same land for $204. (Book N, p.80) The 30 acres of theoriginal 200 that Matthew did not sell back to West bordered Matthew'sown land on the south side. It would appear that Matthew Sparks did hisson-in-law a service in purchasing the 200-acre tract in 1806 and thenselling most of it back to West in 1810.

It was also in 1810, on October 29th, that William West purchasedfrom an extensive landowner in Surry County named Jesse Lester a 200-acretract for $150 located on the waters of Deep Creek near Piney Knob. Sevenmonths later, however. on May 10, 1811, west sold this land to his wife'sbrother, Joel Sparks, for the same amount. The witnesses to this deedwere Matthew Sparks and Matthew's. brother, William Sparks. For somereason, this deed was not proven for registration in the County Courtuntil February 1832, William West then appearing to acknowledge itsvalidity. (Book U, p.170)

When the Surry County Court met in February 1811, Matthew Sparksappeared as a defendant facing a charge by the State for an unspecifiedwrongful act. There was a jury trial and Matthew was found to beinnocent. A witness for the State, oddly enough, was William West, andwas paid
expenses by the Court for his testimony for "1 day 36 miles."

On May 16, 1811, there was a trial involving "Trespass" brought bythe State against William West, after which he, also, was found to beinnocent by a jury. Four witnesses who had testified for his defense werethen paid expenses as follows:

Athenatious Elmore 1 day & 18 miles
Anny Elmore 1 day & 36 miles
Matthew Sparks 1 day & 38 miles
Benjamin Johnson 1 day & 38 miles

Athenatious Elmore, whose nickname was "Atha," was the father of SarahElmore who had been married to Matthew Sparks, Jr. in 1808. When AthaElmore made his will on October 8, 1821, William West was a witness(along with Overton Penix, and Ambrose Chappel). The Matthew Sparks whoserved as a witness in this 1811 case, may have been Matthew, Jr.

A possible clue regarding West family relationships in Surry County iscontained in a reference to a County Court case noted in the minutes ofthe Court on February 14, 1815. William West, Isaiah West, and NathanielWest were defendants in a case brought against them by Thomas Moody andJames Shepard. No details of the case were recorded except there was ajury trial with a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of 55pounds. Two years later, in the Court's minutes of May 15, 1817, note wasmade that William West, Isaiah West, and Nathaniel West again weredefendants in another case brought against them by Thomas Moody andRichard S. Cook. As in 1815, the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs inthe amount of $272.62.

Nathaniel West's name is found among various Surry County records andwhen the 1850 census was taken he and his household were living in thesame vicinity as were William and Margaret West. Nathaniel was then 63;his wife, Charlotta, was 54; he was a farmer and a native of NorthCarolina, while Charlotta had been born in Maryland according to thecensus. We wonder whether William and Nathaniel might have been brothers.

It was doubtless in connection with the lawsuit of February 1815 that thefollowing action was taken by the Surry County sheriff, John Wright, asrecorded in a deed dated May 10, 1815. (Surry Co. Deed Book N, pp.322-23)Portions of this deed are quoted below explaining its circumstances:

.... Whereas, by virtue of an execution, issuing from the CountyCourt of Surry against William West for the sum of forty one pounds,sixteen shillings and six pence... delivered to the said John Wright,Esq. high sheriff.. .commanding him that of the goods and Chattels, landsand tenements of the said William West, he should cause to be made theaforesaid sum...to satisfy the said execution and costs thereon and thesaid John Wright... did seize and take into his hand and custody (nogoods or chattels to be found) a certain piece or parcel of land...

The parcel of land that Sheriff Wright "seized" comprised the 170acres that Matthew Sparks had sold
back to West in 1810 from the 200 acres that West had sold to hisfather-in-law in 1806

The deed of May 10,1815, goes on to state that Wright:
... after due advertisement... did cause the said piece or parcel ofland, with all the appurtenances thereunto belonging, to be put up atpublic sale to the highest bidder.. .in November 1814 ...at which timeand place.. Matthew Sparks, Senr. became the last and highest bidder..."

It was based on this action, according to the deed, that Sheriff Wrightthen conveyed the 170-acre tract to Matthew Sparks for $95.31. We wonderwhether there may have been others attending the sale who did not bidhigher out of respect for Matthew Sparks in his desire to help hisson-in-law. Matthew did not, however, sell the land back to West as hehad done in 1810. Instead, on May 7, 1817, Matthew sold it to PhilipHolcomb for $1,000, at a remarkable profit. (Book 7, p.93)

When Matthew Sparks made his will on March 26, 1819 (see p.5350 of thisissue of the QUARTERLY for the full text), he deliberately omitted hisdaughter, Margaret ["Peggy"](Sparks) West, from among his children whoshould inherit shares of his estate upon the death of their mother,Eunice. He added, how ever: "At the same time authorizing my said wife inher lifetime, if she sees cause, to give unto my Daughter Peggy West...such sum or sums not Exceeding one Hundred dollars..." We can onlyspeculate that Matthew may have felt that in his earlier land dealings onbehalf of her husband, Peggy had received already her proper share of hisestate.

From Surry County tax lists and census records, it appears that WilliamWest never again acquired a substantial amount of land in Surry County.As a farmer, he rented other people's land for the remainder of his life.On December 23, 1828, however, he had sufficient wealth to qualify asbondsman for a near neighbor, William Pettyjohn, in Pettyjohn's obtaininga marriage bond and license to wed Sarah Hendrix (or Hendricks), anotherclose neighbor.

From census records, it appears that William and Margaret (Sparks) Westmay have had as many as five children, three daughters and two sons.According to the 1850 census (the first federal census to list the name,age, and birth place for each household member), William West was afarmer, age 70, with no real property; Margaret, his wife, was 67. Livingwith them was Rachel West, age 29, who may well have been a daughter. Shewas shown with real estate valued at $200.

The family of William and Sarah Pettyjohn, for whom William West hadserved as a marriage bondsman in 1828, were living very near the Wests in1850, as was Catharine Hendricks, age 82, a native of Maryland. Thelatter was probably the mother of Sarah. Listed in the same neighborhoodof William and Sarah West in 1850 was a Jinsey West, age 35, and a nativeof North Carolina. She may have been a widow. Living in her householdwere the following: Isaiah West, 18; Lucinda West, 17; Emaline West, 12;and William J. West, 3.

We have not been able to do research in Yadkin County to determinewhether records exist there to further our knowledge of the West family.Listed below, however, are West marriage bonds in Surry County, NorthCarolina, prior to 1860. These individuals were doubtless related toWilliam West; some may have been his and Margaret's children; the WilliamWest, Jr. who obtained a bond and license to marry Elizabeth Austill onFebruary 11, 1832, was very likely a son.

Marriage Bonds for Persons Named West, Surry County, North Corolina,1791-1860

Elizabeth West & Joseph Smith, June 21, 1791; Henry Harvey,Bondsman.

Lewis West & Mary Williams, November 30, 1795; BenjaminWilliams, Bondsman.

William West & Margaret Sparks, January 4, 1799; Joseph Smith,Bondsman.

Polly West & Joseph Hendricks, January 6, 1827; FrederickHendricks, Bondsman.

James West & Nancy Algood, February 1, 1827; William Shores,Bondsman.

Nancy West & William Marshall, April 28, 1827; E. L. Marshall,Bondsman.

Lucy West & Harden Gordon, August 21,1827; Iredel Armstrong,Bondsman

Ruthy West & James Lyle, November 30, 1831; Mathew West,Bondsman.

William West, Jr. & Elizabeth Austill, February 11, 1832; JamesArmstrong, Bondsman.

Nancy West & Jesse Morrison, April 19, 1837; James Morrison,Bondsman.

Will West & Elvira Money, June 22, 1844; Henry B. Tucker,Bondsman.

Marsy C. West & Benjamin Tucker, March 11, 1845; Isaac Shore,Bonds man.

Mary Ann West & William Nichols, April 4, 1851; married April6, 1851, by J. A. Davis.

Sarah West & Amer Roughton, January 18, 18--; Lewis Mock,Bondsman.

**********

See SQ Pg 2456 :"Margaret ("Peggy") Sparks, daughter of William andRhoda (Pennington) Sparks was born on May 19, 1814. She died on July 4,1883, in White County, Tennessee. She married Isaac Bumbalough, probablyabout 1834. He was born on May 5, 1813, and was a son of Isaac andSusannah Bumbalough. He died on August 22, 1897. He and Peggy had eightchildren: Susan Bumbalough, Lean Ann Bumbalough, William J. Bumbalough,Levi L. Bumbalough, Jessie Sewell Bumbalough, Elijah Bumbalough,Sylvester Bumbalough, and James Bumbalough."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, p. 4271 for articleon the life of Peggy's grandfather, James Sparks (189) and hisdescendants.

SQ pp 5600:

It was in Hot Springs County, Arkansas, that Margaret ["Peggy"] Sparkswas married to Jonathan Evans on September 27, 1840. (Hot Springs Countyhad bordered Pulaski County until 1835 when Saline County was created.)This couple appears on the 1850 census of Hot Springs County with fivechildren, as follows:

Evans, Jonathon H Age 29 born in Tennessee
" Margaret " 25 " " Arkansas
" Eliza V. " 8 " " "
" Mary C. " 7 " " "
" Almira " 5 " " "
" Egbert M. " 4 " " "
" Milton N. " 2 " " "

!NOTES:
SQ 3871: Margaret Sparks was married to Henry James Craft, and the yhad at
least one child, Henry James Craft, Jr., born April 29, 1858. We hav e no
further information on this family.

See SQ p. 3950 for information and a photograph of William P. andMargaret (Sparks) Phillips.

See Sparks Quarterly, March 1996, Whole No. 173, p. 4594:

"Margaret ["Mag"] Sparks. She was married to W. Ashburn and isbelieved to have lived in Nashville."

SQ p. 5108:
"Margaret ["Maggie"] Caroline Sparks, daughter of Joseph and Mary Jane(Seaman) Sparks, was born on July 26, 1875. She was married to Charles["Shack"] Albert Cox on March 16, 1896, in Lewis County. He had beenborn on October 17, 1870, in Kentucky and was a son of Albert J. andVirginia (Harrison) Cox. "Maggie" (Sparks) Cox died in May 1953 in St.Petersburg, Florida. She and "Shack" Cox had two
children."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3409: After the death of his first wife, Minerva Jane, "Bru d"Sparks married (2nd) Clarinda Sparks, a distant relative, on Jul y 191883, in Elliott county. She was born on January 23, 1864, an d was adaughter of Thomas and Dianna (Sparks) Sparks. "Brud" and Cl arinda hadtwo daughters before they separated and were divorced.
(JS: Because of the fact that Margaret's mother Clarinda was als o aSparks, and her mother Dianna was also a Sparks, Margaret is rela ted toher uncle, Peter Sparks (6742) in 16 different ways!)

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, pg 1977:
"Margaret Sparks, daughter of Levi Carlton and Bertha C. (Ludwig)Sparks, was born in Valentine, Nebr., on May 10, 1901, and died onOctober 27, 1975, in San Diego, Calif. She was married first to RobertB. Simpson who was killed in 1936. She married second Fred C. Smith onFebruary 19, 1943. She attended the University of Nebraska and theBoyles Business College in Omaha. She worked as a secretary in New YorkCity and Chicago, returning to Valentine in 1930 to work as bookkeeper ather mother's business, the Ludwig Lumber Yard. During her married life,she did considerable volunteer work in libraries and schools. She had nochildren."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4078: She was married to Arthur Smith on August 27, 1967.

!NOTES:
SQ 3855: Margaret A. Sparks was born about 1845. She was marrie d toAndrew
Ratliff on August 22, 1861, in Pike Co. (KY).

SQ p. 1500:

Margaret Ann Sparks, daughter of Jonas and Elizabeth (Knox) Sparks, wascalled Margaret Jane in some records. She was born on February 11, 1824,and died on March 10, 1884; she married James Addison Young on October 9,1852 (Nicholas County marriage bond dated September 30, 1852). He wasborn on May 6, 1826, and died on March 23, 1905. They had a son namedBenjamin Young born about 1854 and a son named William Young born about1856 according to a manuscript written by one James Kimble Young in 1963entitled "The Young-Banta Family". From census records, it appears thatthey also had children named Walter Young, born about 1861, a daughternamed "Lot" Young born about 1864; and another daughter named Mary Youngborn about 1867.

SQ pg 2618:

(See photo on page 2618 and in scrapbook.)

She was " married to Joseph Pickering, and they had two daughters,names not known. According to information we have received, one of thedaughters married George Duncan, and they had sons who moved to Manteca,California. Joseph Pickering served as an Indian agent in Ponca City,Oklahoma, and then moved to Portland, Kansas."

!BAPTISM:
See St Vincent records cited with siblings. Margaret is on page 11.

Document entitled "Record by Martha Jenkins Stone and Mary TeresaStone Sparks" in possession of James J. Sparks, San Carlos, CA. States:
" Margaret Mary Sparks (Pincott) sixth daughter and seventh child wasborn May 1, 1899 in Henderson, KY. Was baptized in Assumption CatholicChurch in Evansville, Indiana."
Information from Joseph J. Sparks: She was known as "Roberta" and hernickname was "Gick". Her spouse was William Pincott and her last addresswas 10346 Mildred, El Monte, California. Son was Jack Pincott. Williamwas a second spouse. Name of first spouse unknown.
Social Security records indicate that Roberta Pincott SS# 496-14-6666was born May 1, 1899, and died in July, 1973. Her card was issued inMissouri and she died in California. Her last zip code was 91733, whichwas El Monte.

Both Roberta and William are found as single persons in the1920 Censusfor St. Louis, Mo. William and his parents were born in England andmigrated to the US in 1907. William is a mechanic for a motor company.She is enumerated as 19 years of age and she mistates her father'sbirthplace as West Virginia. She is living with her mother Mary, 52,Joseph 17, and Catherine 16.

They are found in the 1930 census for St. Louis, MO., Roll 1245; Page32A; Enumeration district 237; Image 746.0. He is 35 and she is 30without children. He remains a mechanic for an automobile company.

SQ pg 2630:

"Margaret Minerva Sparks, daughter of Thomas and Martha (Loveless)Sparks, was born on June 18, 1848. She was married to Andrew Gher onOctober 16, 1867, in Clinton County, Indiana. He was born about 1840 andwas a son of David and Sarah Gher, natives of Pennsylvania. Margaret andAndrew had one child, Samuel J. Gher, born about 1875. Margaret died onOctober 17, 1876, and Samuel was given to her brother, James AllenSparks, when he was only eight months old. (See Item I, 1, above.)"

!COURT:
Register of Births, Washington County, VA. 1853-1892, FHL 34388.
Born 2 Feb, 1854, page 9 line 21.

.

!NOTES:
SQ 2786: "Margaret W. ("Mattie") Sparks, daughter of Thomas and Mi llie
(Smith) Sparks, was born in July 1869. She was married to William H.
Johnson in 1886, and they had at least nine children: Edgar, Clint, Newton,
William Fritz, Ivy Mattie, George L. ("Guy"), Sarah, Iola Lee, and Barney."

!BAPTISM:
See St. Vincent Baptismal Records referenced in sibling notes, pag e48.
Sponsor, Martha Cambron, spouse of George Cambron.

!MARRIAGE:
See St. Vincent Baptismal Records which states "On October 6, 190 8she was
married to James Logan Cambron at St. Ann's Church, Morganfield, KY."

Family Information: Baptised at St. Ann's Catholic Church,Morganfield, KY. Married a Thomas Disano or Diasano. They had twochildren, Vincent and Phillip. He was a medic in France in WW II and waswounded three times. He succumbed to battle fatigue and he was courtmartialed and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to fiveyears in prison. A senator got the sentence reduced to five additionalyears in the service and he was ultimately given a general discharge. Hewas possibly mentally ill; a very religious person. (Bill Fornachon)

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4471: She and Red had two children, Carol Lee and Joan Paul aNewcomb.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1991, Whole No. 153, p. 3725:

Marion B. Sparks was born on June 27, 1877, in Texas. He was marriedtwice. His first marriage was to Inder Gregory, probably in 1897. Shedied in November of that year. Marion was married (second) to EmmarineGates in December 1899. She was born on September 28, 1874. When the 1900census was taken of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma Territory, Marion andEmmarine were living in the household of his parents. He died on July 21,1947, and Emmarine died on September 21, 1959. They had five children.

(a) Gilbert Sparks was born about 1900. He was married to Milly Krauseand they live in Portales, New Mexico.
(b) Harvie L. Sparks was born in November 1902 and died on June 25, 1903.
(c) Inez Sparks was born on May 23, 1904. She was married to Virgil West.She died on December 17, 1933.
(d) Harold Sparks was born on April 29, 1911. He died on September 16,1926.
(e) James Woodrow Sparks, son of Marion B. and Emmarine (Gates) Sparks,was born on July 6, 1913. He was married to Gladys Baldwin, and they hada daughter named Sue. James died in April 1973.

[On page 3726 appears a photograph, beneath which is the followingcaption:]

JAMES ALFRED SPARKS (1851-1943) [seated]

With Son James Herbert and Daughter Bertha (Taken about1916)

(View photograph in Marion's scrapbook.)

SQ p. 751:

"Marjorie Lee Sparks, daughter of Ernest S. and Marjorie E. (Tinker)Sparks, was born June 11., 1923., at Ladysmith, Wisc. She was married toGaylord Allen Howard at Merrill, Wisc. on June 14.. 1946. He was bornFeb. 4, 1921. Marjorie teaches in Chippewa Falls,, Wisc. and Gaylordworks for the Unemployment Department for the State of Wisconsin."

!NOTES:
SQ 3796: "She was married to Charles Russell."

The SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1980, Whole No. 112, p. 2262:

Martha "Patsey" Sparks, daughter of John and Katherine (Waddell) Sparks,was born on March 30, 1802. She was married to Isaac Baker in 1823 inNicholas County, Kentucky, by Peter Horn. (Nicholas County bond datedAugust 28, 1823.) Isaac Baker was born on February 5, 1801. He wasprobably the Isaac Baker who had married Artrisma Sparks a year earlierin Nicholas County (Nicholas County bond dated May 16, 1822). Sheprobably had died. Isaac and Patsey (Sparks) Baker moved to MontgomeryCounty, Indiana, in 1830, probably to join Patsey’s sister, Susan(Sparks) Inlow, who had moved to that county with her husband, AbrahamInlow, in 1828. Isaac and Patsey had at least three children:

SQ 3O77: "Martha Sparks, daughter of Abel and Sarah (Cochran) Sparks,was
born on April 1, 1811, in Tennessee. A great-great-grandson of Martha(Orval
L. Woodward) has supplied information regarding her and her family . Hereports
that her tombstone in Buckwheat Ridge Cemetary in Grant County, Wisconsin,
carries the inscription: "Born 1 April 1811, Died 30 June 1886." We knowfrom
the papers settling the estate of Martha's brother, Solomon Sparks, thatshe
had married a man named Costley. Mr. Woodward informs us that his namewas
Pierson Costley, and that they were married in Crawford County, Missouri,in
1831. His parents were William and Margaret (Hunter) Costley who movedfrom
Christian County, Kentucky, to Missouri, and then to Greene County,Illinois,
in 1819. Peirson Costley died in 1850 in Missouri leaving Martha with avery
large family. Word of his death was sent to her family in Wisconsin and a
brother, probably Solomon, came for her and brought her and her childrento
Grant County. These children were: Sarah (Costley) (1st) Matheson (2nd)Wayne;
Margaret Costley; Elizabeth (Costley) Wayne; Mary (Costley) Harleoad ;William
Costley; Melissa A. (Costley) (1st) Neeley (2nd) Henderson; FrancisCostley;
Rebecca (Costley) Kinney; Joseph D. Costley; Polk "Dallas" Costley."

See SQ pp. 2679-80:

"Martha ("Patsey"] Sparks, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Gilman)Sparks, was born about 1820 in Lewis County, Kentucky. On May 18, 1836,she was married in that county to Joseph L. Yates. Her father gave hisconsent to the marriage. Joseph was born on December 27, 1813, inMeadsville, Pennsylvania. The first child of Patsey and Joseph was bornin Lewis County in 1837, but the following year, Patsey followed herparents to Putnam County, Indiana, and it was there that her second childwas born.

"Patsey and Joseph remained in Putnam County until about 1852 when theymoved to Marquette County, Wisconsin, and settled at Princeton. Theystayed there for twoyears and then went to Olmsted County, Minnesota, in1855. Patsey died in that county on January 16, 1895, and Joseph diedthere on April 5, 1900. They were buried from the Pleasant GroveChristian Church of which they were members. They were the parents oftwelve children but we have learned the names of only nine of them. (SeeFamily Sheet for details. ]"

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 2001, Whole No. 196, p.5628:

"Martha Sparks, daughter of Isaac and Wilmoth (Noland) Sparks, was bornin Carroll County, Tennessee, on April 8, 1826; she was married, also, inCarroll County on December 19, 1846, to John Ewing Tyson, who had beenborn on March 14, 1825. They moved to Texas in 1853, settling in MilamCounty, where she died on January 25, 1891; he died there on March 3,1880. Their graves are in the Little River Cemetery about three mileswest of Maysfield, in Milam County. This writer corresponded brieflywith a granddaughter of John Ewing and Martha (Sparks) Tyson many yearsago. Following is a portion of a letter that Zula Freeman wrote onJanuary 9, 1956. In this she referred to "Clarksville" in Carroll County,Tennessee. We believe that she meant Clarksburg.

My name before I was married was Zula Beatrice Tyson, born June2, 1887; married to John
Clarence Freeman on Oct. 23, 1907. My father was WilliamWinfield Scott Tyson, born April 21,
1850, in or near Clarksville [i.e. Clarksburg], Tenn. He was ason of John Ewing Tyson & Martha
(Sparks) Tyson, who was born March 14, 1825, in Tenn. Mygreat-grand father on the Tyson side
was Uriah Tyson . I have the history of my Tyson ancestrytraced and documented back to the
Immigrant who settled in Virginia, then to North Carolina &Tennessee, & then toMaysfield, Milam
Co., Texas. My grandchildren are the fifth generation of myfamily, both father's and mother's , to live in Maysfield.Also, all generations have been members of the Maysfield Methodist Church.

My grandparents were married In Clarksville [sic], in 1848, andthey came to Texas in 1853. My
grandmother, Martha Sparks, was born in Clarksviile [sic],Tennessee, April 8, 1826, and died in
Maysfield, Milam County, Texas, on Jan. 25, 1891. She was thedaughter of Isaac Sparks; he never came to Texas. Hiswife was Wilmoth Knowland [sic]. I have a sister named Ola Wilmoth; sheis 78 years old [In 1956].

My grandmother had two brothers and two sisters that I haverecord of being in Milam County,
Texas, and a brother who lived in Galveston, named Isaac H .Sparks. He later lived at Hicks,
across the river from us. I remember him very well . He wastall, slender & was stoop shouldered. I remember he wore abeard & had a low, husky voice, and one small foot. He always wore boots &
one had a sole on it, built up so his leg wouldn't be shorterthan the other. It seemed that a log fell on it when he was aboy. I remember his wife too, she was Nan Porter before her marriage. Iknew all of their children. They were much older than I, but wevisited there often when I was a child.

Virgil Sparks [son of Isaac H. Sparks] never married but livedwith his parents at the old homestead untiltheir deaths only a few years ago. My husband & he talked to each otherat times, one on each side of the river, on their own farms. Hegrew very deaf before he died. He was more than 80 years oldwhen he died.

Also, my grandmother, Martha Sparks, had a sister named Mahalawho married a Darlean Smith
and lived in Maysfield, Milam Co., Texas."

.

!NOTES: SQ p 3186: "Martha Sparks and Elizabeth Sparks (twin daughter s)
were born to William and Sarah (Jennings) Sparks on February 28, 1845.
They died on the same day they were born."

SQ p 4878: "Martha Sparks, daughter of Reuben and Margaret (Pruitt)Sparks, was shown in her parents' household, 7 years of age, when the1860 census was taken in Washington County, Arkansas. She was not listedin Reuben's household in Crawford County, Kansas, in either 1870 or 1880,however, nor was she mentioned as a sibling of his father in WilliamReuben Sparks's letter in 1955. She probably died in her youth, althoughit is possible that she had been married by 1870, at which time she wouldhave been 17 years old, based on her age appearing on the 1860 census."

!NOTES:
SQ 1356: "Martha Sparks, born about 1854; she married James R. Sel ls,son of
William McDonald and Eleanor (Champion) Sells who was known as "Bea r Jim"
because of his size. Their children were Elizabeth; James; William ;John born
1881, died 1958; Grover; Robert; and Ruth."

.
!NOTES:
See Sparks Quarterly, March 1996, Whole No. 173, p. 4594:
"Martha Sparks was born in 1877 and died in 1970 (?). She was mar ried
to Nick S. Sewell and was living in Nashville when she died. Their
children were named Willie, Dana, Charlie, Leo, and Pearl."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2624: She married Elmer Dickinson, and they lived at Galesburg, Il.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, pg. 2748:

"Martha an ("Mattie") Sparks, daughter of James Hawkins and Elizabeth(McKnight) Sparks, was born on March 5, 1842, at Douglass, Texas. Shewas married twice. Her first marriage was to Newell Walton Crain onNovember 7, 1859, in McLannan County. He was a native of Mississippi. Heserved in the Confederate States Army in Joe Cobb's Scouts and was killedat Port Gibson, Mississippi, in a skirmish. He and Mattie had twochildren. After his death, Mattie married (2nd) John W. Steinbeck onApril 3, 1867, also in McLennan County. He, too, had served in theConfederate States Army. He died on February 23, 1881. By her secondmarriage, Mattie had five children. She died on January 17, 1938 , atthe age of 95 years. She was a Presbyterian."

Family information: Baptised at St. Ann's Catholic Church,Morganfield, Kentucky. Husband's name Arthur Quicksell. She was known as"Matt". Had five daughters. In 1920, Bill Fornachon reported his beliefthat they were in St. Louis.
\
Social Security records show Arthur Quicksell, born Nov 15, 1889 ,died November 1968. SS# 490-03-3626. Issued in Missouri, Died inCalifornia. Last known residence was in zip code 93550, which isPalmdale, CA.

Martha is shown in Social Security records as born June 26, 1889 ,and died in 1963. SS# 489-10-1304. Issued in Missouri, died inCalifornia, no zip code.

1920 US Census, St. Ferdinand, St. Luis, Missouri, Roll: T625-947; Page22A, Enumeration District: 145, Image: 174.

SQ pg 3903: Thomas Purdy was originally married to Martha's youngersister, Virginia. Martha married Thomas following the death of Virginiain 1918.

!NOTES:
SQ 3855: Martha Jane Sparks was born about 1842. She was marrie d to
William M. Helvy on July 19, 1856, in Pike County (KY).

SQ p. 5435:

Martha M. Sparks was born about 1874 according to census records. Shedied in 1909. She was married to John Jackson Collins in 1885; he hadbeen born on June 13, 1860, a son of John Thomas and Patience Fennell(Williams) Collins. They were the parents of four children.

!NOTES:
SQ 582 states she was married to James T. Rutledge.
SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, No. 127; MATTHEW SPARKS (1759-
1841) & AND HIS DESCENDANTS; pg. 2665:
"Martha Naomi Sparks, daughter of John and Sarah (Brooks) Sparks,
was born on June 11, 1826, in Georgia. She was married to James T.
Rutledge, probably about 1852 in Titus County. She died on March 8,
1864, and when the 1870 census was taken of Titus County her children
were living in the household of their uncle, James Brooks Sparks. All
of them were born in Texas. Martha was buried in the Cypress Cemetar y.
Children were: Julia Elizabeth Rutledge; Joseph Rutledge; Charles J.
(or I.) Rutledge; Martha Rutledge." END OF ARTICLE.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1985, Whole No. 131, p. 2786

DEATH TAKES MARTHA (SPARKS) DAVIS

"We regret to report the passing of another loyal member of The SparksFamily Asso-ciation, Martha (Sparks) Davis, who died on March 15, 1985,in the King's Daughters' Medical Center at Ashland, Kentucky. She hadbeen graduated from the King's Daughters' School of Nursing there in1928. She is survived by her husband, Fred T. Davis; her daughter, Mrs.Sara M. Heald; two sisters, Mrs. Eva Fields and Mrs. Dorothy Murphy; twobrothers, James E. Sparks and Paul E. Sparks; and three grandchildren.

"Martha (Sparks) Davis was born on February 3, 1907, at Burnwell, WestVirginia, and was a daughter of the late James B. and Sarah (Conley)Sparks. Her paternal grandparents were Colby and Martha (Chaffin)Sparks, and her great-grandparents were Hugh and Nancy (Curnutte)Sparks. See the December 1955 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 12, forfurther details of this branch of the SPARKS family.

"Martha was a most enthusiastic member of the Association and gavegenerously of her time to the promotion of its work. Her majorcontribution was her work with the 1963-1967, the 1968-1972, and the1973-79 indexes. On the latter two, she did the indexing of the surnamesalmost single-handedly, while her brother, Paul E. Sparks, President ofthe Association, did the geographical names. She will be greatly missedfor the untiring work she did for the readers of the QUARTERLY."

SQ pg 4558:

"Martin Sparks, son of Nathan and Nancy (Hancock) Sparks, was born onJanuary 25, 1809, in Tennessee. He was obviously named for his maternalgrandfather, Martin Hancock. He was married twice. His first marriagewas to Rachel Marrs on December 3, 1828, in Wilson County, Tennessee.They were married by James Lester, a justice of the peace; Samuel R.Comer was the bondsman. A few months later, on November 5, 1829,Martin's father gave him sixty acres of land in Carroll County for his"love and affection" for his son. Perhaps the gift was intended as awedding present.

"Although Martin Sparks was married in Wilson County, he and Rachelapparently went to house- keeping on the land that his father had givento him in Carroll County. He was appointed as a road overseer by theCarroll County Court in September 1834. He did not stay in CarrollCounty very long, however. On June 21, 1836, he sold the land that hehad been given by his father to his cousin, Bailey N. Sparks, a son ofIsaac Sparks, Sr. The consideration was $435.

"Apparently, Martin and Rachel Sparks went to Illinois where a son,Benjamin W. Sparks, was born to them in 1837. They returned to Tennesseeshortly thereafter, and a daughter, Eliza Sparks, was born to them therein 1839. It may have been there that Rachel died, perhaps when Eliza wasborn.

"Around 1840, Martin Sparks moved his family to Arkansas, but hishousehold apparently was missed by the census taker of the 1840 census.It may have been in Arkansas that he was married (second) to Martha -----about 1842. She had been born about 1815 in Alabama. When the 1850census was taken of Ouachita County, Arkansas, Martin and Martha wereliving near the village of Locust Bayou with eight children. Also livingin their household was Lafayette Brigance who was shown as twenty yearsold. He was a cousin of Martin."

"Martin Sparks had moved his family a few miles further west toHempstead County before the 1860 census was taken. His wife, MarthaSparks, was not listed as a member of the household; she had probablydied. We have found no further record of Martin. A descendant statesthat he was a Cumberland Presbterian minister. He was the father of tenchildren."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822- 1865):
Martin Sparks & Nancy Colyer, October 20, 1865. (Box 3) His father,Wesley Sparks.

See SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1997, Whole No. 179, p4853:

"Martin Sparks, son of Wes and Nancy (Kozee) Sparks, was born about1845 in Lawrence County. On December 29, 1861, he was enrolled inCompany G, 5th Regiment, Confederate States Army. He probably served inthat unit until it was defeated in the spring of 1862, when he returnedhome. Then, on December 27, 1863, he enlisted at Grayson, Kentucky, inCompany C, 40th Regiment Kentucky Infantry of the Union Army to serve forone year. He served until December 30, 1864, when he was mustered outwith his company. (See page 4880 of this issue [and below] of theQUARTERLY for an abstract of his pension file.)

After returning from the service, Martin Sparks was married to NancyCollier on October 25, 1865, in Lawrence County. (The license was issuedon October 23, 1864.) Nancy had been born about 1842. She and Martinlived near Fielden, Kentucky, where they had six children before Martin'sdeath on May 18, 1879, at the age of 34 years. After Martin's death,Nancy was married (second) to Martin Gambill on January 2, 1889.

Following an abstract of the pension file of Martin Sparks:

"MARTIN SPARKS, son of John Wesley and Nancy (Kozee) Sparks, was bornabout 1845 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He died on May 18, 1879, atFielden, Kentucky. He was married to Nancy Collier on October 25, 1865,in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Martin Sparks served in Company C, 40thRegiment Kentucky Infantry. File Designation: Wid. Appl. No. 623,083.

"On October 7, 1895, Nancy Gambill, aged 53, a resident of Blaine,Kentucky, applied for a widow's pension. She stated that she was thewidow of Martin Sparks who had enlisted at Lexington, Kentucky, onJanuary 1, 1864, in Company C, 40th Regiment Kentucky Volunteers. Herhusband had contracted a disease while in service, from which he had diedon May 18, 1879, at Fielden, Kentucky. She had been married to Sparks onOctober 25, 1865, by Walter Osburne. Children born to the marriage, whowere under sixteen years of age at the time of the death of their father,were:

Richmond Sparks, born October 5, 1866
Robert Sparks, born August 28, 1868
Polly Sparks, born August 26, 1870
Rena Sparks, born February 2, 1872
Allen Sparks, born July 3, 1874
Margaret Sparks, born January 5, 1876

"Mrs. Gambill went on to state that she had filed an application for awidow's pension seven or eight years earlier, but she could not rememberthe number. She appointed C. D. Pennebaker & Son, Washington, D.C., asher attorneys. Henry Griffiths and Nathaniel Slone witnessed her makeher mark, and the application was sworn to before G. W. Griffiths, anotary public.

"On December 7, 1895, the War Department confirmed the militaryservice of Martin Sparks. He had been mustered into Company C, 40thRegiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry on December 27, 1863, at Grayson,Kentucky, to serve for one year. He had been 18 years of age; 5 feet, 9inches in height; had a fair complexion, light hair, and black eyes; andhe had been a farmer. He had been present for duty until December 30,1864, when he was mustered out with his company at Catlettsburg, Kentucky.

"On January 6, 1896, Robert Dixon, clerk of Lawrence County, Kentucky,sent a copy of the marriage record of Martin Sparks and Nancy Colliershowing that they had been married on October 23, 1865. He also sent acopy of the marriage record of Nancy Sparks and Martin Gambill, showingthat they had been married on January 3, 1889.

"During the early part of 1896, four of the neighbors of NancyGambill, formerly Nancy Sparks, testified on her behalf. They were: G.W. Stephens, age 58; William Stephens, age 30; J. W. Sparks, age 31; andDaniel Sparks, age 30; all of them residents of Fielden, Kentucky. Theystated that (1) Martin Sparks and Nancy (Collier) Sparks had livedtogether as man and wife from the time of their marriage until his deathon May 18, 1879, and (2) that Martin Sparks had been sick when he cameout of the service and complained that his back and his eyes hurt himcontinually.

"On March 2, 1896, Nancy Gambill swore that she was unable to furnishmedical evidence of the treatment of her late husband, Martin Sparks, hadreceived while in the service. She said that Dr. N. T. Rice had alreadytestified as to her husband's physical condition when he came out of theservice.

"On July 29, 1896, two men who had served in the same military companywith Martin Sparks made affidavits to support the claim of his widow.They were: George Fraley, age 58, of Isonville, Kentucky, and James H.Sexton, age 52, a resident of Cherokee, Kentucky. Both men stated thatthey knew that Martin Sparks had been hospitalized at Mt. Sterling,Kentucky, during December 1864 with a fever, after which time he hadcomplained of pains in his eyes and back. In spite of these affidavits,no Widow Certificate for a pension was ever issued to Nancy Gambill,widow of Martin Sparks, probably because of her remarriage."

The family of Martin Sparks is found in the 1870 US Census of ElliottCounty, Little Fork, KY., living next to his brother Richmond, as follows:
#55: Martin Sparks, 24, b. Ky; Nancy, 25; Richmond, 5; Robbin, 2.

See SQ p4852:
"Martin Van Buren Sparks was born on March 30, 1864. He was marriedto Missouri ["Zue"] Prince on January 20, 1884, in Elliott County. Shehad been born on June 27, 1868. When the 1900 census was taken ofLawrence County, Zue and Martin were living on the East Fork of LittleSandy River. Zue died on February 24, 1907, and was buried in theHensley Cemetery near Webbville, Kentucky. We have not learned the dateof the death of Martin. He and Zue had nine children. They were: RenaBell Sparks, Serilda J. Sparks, Julia D. Sparks, Sarah O. Sparks, WalterVan Sparks, Virgie J. Sparks, James Logan Sparks, Daniel H. Sparks, andMary L. Sparks.

SQ p. 4639:

"Martin Lantford ["Lant"] Sparks was born on April 4, 1863. He wasgraduated from the College of Medicine at Louisville, Kentucky. He wasmarried to Elvessie Alice Rice in 1886. She had been born on October 29,1869, and was a daughter of Nelson T. Rice and Elizabeth Ferguson,according to relatives. Lant practiced medicine at Denton, Kentucky,until about 1910 when he moved his family to Nebraska where he settled atBloomington. He died there on February 10, 1948, and Elvessie died in1957. They had six children: Roy A. Sparks, Herbert R. Sparks, AlonzoEarl Sparks, Henry W. Sparks, Sarah Elizabeth Sparks, and Hillman TaftSparks."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2002, Whole No. 190, pp. 5387-88:

"Martin Van Buren Sparks, son of William D. Sparks, was born in September1833 according to the 1900 census (which asked the month and year of eachperson's birth) in Surry County, North Carolina; he died in 1909 inPlacer County, California. He was married in Cooper County, Missouri, onApril 5, 1859, to Sarah S. Judy. She had been born in 1843 and died in1916. He had gone with his brothers. Richard and Edmond, to California in1852, but he re turned to Cooper County, Missouri, before 1859 to bemarried to Sarah J. Judy. They then went back to California. They wereliving near Oakland, Alameda County, California, when the 1880 census wastaken. He was shown on that census as 47 years old, a native of NorthCarolina, and a farmer. Sarah, his wife, was then 36 years old, a nativeof Missouri. Four children were living with them in 1880, all born inCalifornia:
Richard A. Sparks, age 15; Ralph E. Sparks, age 10; SallieSparks, age 8; and Thomas A. Sparks, age 6.

"Mrs. March has written as follows regarding Martin Van Buren Sparks:

"The California Death Index shows he died in Alameda County, California,on August 12, 1909. He was buried in the Sparks plot in ManzanitaCemetery, just outside Lincoln, Placer County, California. Martin and hisyoung bride had been in the same wagon train as his brother, Edmond JonesSparks and his family, when they came to settle in California in thespring of 1859. Through hard work and intelligent purchases, MartinSparks acquired large land holdings in Placer, Solano, and Yolo Counties,and he established a large home in what is now downtown Oakland, AlamedaCounty. In 1906 he sold 730.45 acres of his land adjoining Davisville inSolano and Yolo County for the establishment of a college of agriculture.That land is now part of the University of California at Davis."

" At the Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D.C., there are typewritten transcriptions made by Mrs. L. G. Shavel andMrs. Milton Hogle in 1939 from gravestones in the Manzanita Cemetery.These two women stated in their transcriptions that there was then "amonument on the ground & too heavy to move--could not see if other sidecontained records." They copied the following from the side that theycould see:

M. V. Sparks 1832-1909 Native of North Carolina
Sarah J. Sparks, 1843-1916 Native of Maryland
Martin V. Sparks, son of M.V. & Sarah J. Sparks,
d. June 1, 1865 aged 2 years, 3 mo., 23 da.

"Another gravestone in the same cemetery has the following inscriptions:

Arthur V. Sparks d. July 15, 1872, age 12 y., 8 mo., 25 d.
Luella V. Sparks d. July 19, 1872, age 6 y., 6 da.
Children of M. V. and Sarah J. Sparks

"Perhaps a descendant of Martin Van Buren Sparks will see the aboverecords and provide us with addtional information regarding his family."

SPARKS QUARTERLY, pps 4462-4:

"Martin Van Buren "Van" Sparks, son of Sam and Sarah (Deal) Sparks ,was born on March 4, 1837, in Winston County, Mississippi, on the daythat Martin Van Buren was inaugrated as eighth President of the UnitedStates, and was named for the president. He was just a small boy whenhis parents moved to Fountain Hill in Ashley County, Arkansas . There,he grew to manhood, and in 1859 he was a teacher in the Fountain HillAcademy.

"Van Sparks served in the Confederate States Army during the CivilWar. He entered into service at Camp Terry in Capt. Hillary Ryan' sCompany of Allen's Regiment, Texas Infantry. This company subsequentlybecame Company D, 17th Regiment, Texas Infantry. His incomplete militaryrecord on file in the National Archives shows that on August 6, 1863, he"resigned office of 4rd Sgt.; pay due him as Sgt., April 30 to Aug. 6,1862." From April 17 to May 28, 1864, he was in the C.S.A. GeneralHospital, Shreveport, Louisiana. He was discharged as a sergeant onApril 30, 1865.

"A grandson of Martin Van Buren Sparks recalls that in reminiscing asan old man, his grandfather said that his greatest concern during hisarmy life had been for the safety of his younger brother, Tom Sparks, whoserved in the same military unit -- Company D, 17th Regiment, TexasInfantry. This regiment served in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

"Sometime near the end of the Civil War, Van Sparks was married toSusan "Susie" Leonora Bull. She had been born on September 26, 1842, inYazoo County, Mississippi, and was a daughter of Ambrose and Sarah(Maxwell) Bull. Van and Susie started housekeeping in the village of SanSaba, Texas, where Van taught school for one year. Their first child wasborn there in 1866. They returned to Lampasas County shortly thereafter,and it was there that Susie died on March 22, 1870 , of typhoid fever.She left Van with three small children.

"On October 6, 1875, Van was married (2nd) to Mary Elizabeth "Betty"Newton in Lampasas County. She had been born in 1839 in Walker County,Texas. She and Van had one child. Van died on December 12, 1914, inLampasas County, and Betty died on April 11, 1926, in McCulloch County,Texas. They were buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Lampas as County.

"Fred Winchell Sparks wrote the following description of hisgrandfather, Martin Van Buren Sparks:

'M.V.B. Sparks was elected a justice of the peace in Lampasas Countyin1873, and in 1876 he was elected the district clerk of Lampasas. Hethen was elected Presiding Justice, the same as county judge, to servefrom 1886 to 1888.

'After retiring from politics, he was briefly in the mercantilebusiness and then opened a fire insurance office in partnership with another man. This business continued until 1899 when his son, LloydSparks, bought out the partner, and from then on until his death thebusiness was titled "M.V.B. Sparks and Son.'

'Van was a faithful member of the First Baptist Church and served aschurch deacon, although he was a silent parishioner. He did not sing orlead in public prayer and seldom took part in testimonial sessions. As aman, he was stern, serious, stoical, and silent. He seldom laughed andrarely let his feelings be known, either by word of mouth or facialexpression. He was highly respected as a citizen and as a churchman, butfew people really knew him. He detested hypocracy, flattery, andostentation.

'Frontier conditions, financial stringency, and the scarcity ofschools had limited him to a very rudimentary formal education, but hesupplemented what he had by his reading and private studies. He wasparticularly fond of history and biography, and he read everything hecould get his hands on. He took great pride in his handwriting . Duringhis youth, all legal documents and court records were done in pen andink, and he aspired to become a recorder.'"