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

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

Miss Mary Sparks Dies atHospital on Friday

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

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

SQ pg 2656: She married a man named Hargrove.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-4838-

A Review of FourteenFrontier Families

Compiled by Mary Sparks Matthews

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

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

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

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

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

SQ 3871:

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

She married Arthur Young. No children.

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

SQ p. 5618:

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

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

SQ pg 2625:

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

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

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

See SQ p. 1920:

An article on the Pittsylvania County Sparks family appeared in theQUARTERLIES for September 1955 (Vol. III, No. 3, Whole No. 11, pp. 79-85)and March 1956 (Vol. IV, No. 1, Whole No. 13, pp. 109-121). This wasbased on an extensive search of Pittsylvania County records by WilliamPerry Johnson. Mr. Johnson points out that three Sparks families came toPittsylvania County in 1778 from Prince George's County, Maryland: ThomasSparks (born ca. 1711) with wife Elizabeth (born ca. 1718); MatthewSparks (born ca. 1715) with wife Eleanor (born ca. 1731); and MatthewSparks, Jr., son of Thomas Sparks who had married Margery ----- in 1765.It seems probable that Thomas Sparks and the elder Matthew Sparks werebrothers, but we have found no proof of this. All three of these Sparksfamilies sold their land in Prince George's County, Maryland, in 1777 andpurchased land in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the following year. Theland that they purchased was on the branches of Sandy River. Both Thomasand Matthew Sparks were in their 60's when they migrated from Maryland toPittsylvania County; their reason for making such a move at that age musthave been primarily to accompany their children. From the tax and landrecords of Pittsylvania County, it is apparent that a number of theirchildren quickly established homes in the new land.

We believe that Addison Sparks was a grandson (possibly great-grandson)of either the original Matthew Sparks or Thomas Sparks; we have not beenable to identify his father. Four other men named Sparks were taxed inPittsylvania County in 1817: Revd. Thomas Sparks, Matthew B. Sparks,Edmond Sparks, and Thomas Sparks, Jr. It may prove to be significant thatin 1815 and 1816, Edmond Sparks was listed on the tax roll as having twowhite males over 16 in his household - - one would have been Edmond,himself, of course. In 1817, when Addison Sparks first appeared on thetax roll, Edmond Sparks was listed with only one white male over 16(himself). From our knowledge of Edmond Sparks, however, it seemsunlikely that he was old enough to have been the father of AddisonSparks. (We know that Edmond Sparks was married in Pittsylvania County in1804 to Patsy Wright - - which may have been a second marriage. Sometimebetween 1820 and 1830, Edmond Sparks moved to Bedford County, Tennessee.)......

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

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

SPARKSES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Spinning Whells one large patch one Garden and
other things (too tedious to mention) value of--------------- 30.00
In the year 1787 one Sorrel mare was stolen to the value of 200.00
one large Bell also ------------------------------------------ 2.00
one Eagle Horse ----------------------------------------------100.00
one Roam Mare ------------------------------------------------100.00
one Black I ------------------------------------------------ 70.00
1Brown Bay Horse -------------------------------------------- 75.00
In the year 1788 one Fort burnt
3 dwelling Houses one Block House and all the
stockading around said Fort to the value of ------------------175.00
Also the fencing around 20 Acres was
burnt at the same time to the value of -----------------------70.00
Also in the year 1790 one large hewn log house
burnt by said Indians to the value of ------------------------50.00
Also about 20 large hogs end many small ones of the
same gang was stolen about the same time val of --------- 90.00
In the year 1793 one Bay horse Stolen to the value of -------------100.00
Also one Brown mare -----------------------------------------------50.00

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

State of Tennessee
Wilson County County Court Sept. Term 1828

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

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

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

SQ p. 637:

Matthew Sparks, father of Matthew B., was probably born about 1750-60.There is little doubt but that he was a son of Matthew (born ca.l711) andEleanor Sparks (born ca. 1731) who were residents of Prince George’sCounty and Frederick County, Maryland, before moving to PittsylvaniaCounty, Va., in 1778. (See the QUARTERLY of September, 1955, Vol. III,No. 3, Pp. 79-85, and March, 1956, Vol. IV, No. 1, pp. 109-121, forfurther information on this family.

Matthew B. Sparks, son of Matthew and Kezia (Stone) Sparks, was probablyborn about l780--in 1795 his father was taxed for two males over16--himself and probably his eldest son, Matthew B. The B in Matthew B.Sparks's name stood for Brooks--on some Pittsylvania County tax recordshe was listed as Brooks Sparks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MATTHEW SPARKS (ca.1752-1819)

By Russell E. Bidlack

Part I: His FamilyBackground and Youth in Maryland and North Carolina.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Davie County in the Forks of the Yadkin and South Yadkin Rivers wasan ideal place for the pioneer to settle. Here he found gentle rollinghills, valleys and bottoms, fertile soil -- both clay and loam -- someland already cleared for planting. The climate was mild withoutextremes, and the area was not subject to severe or frequent storms,drought, or floods. Forests of oak, poplar, and pine furnishedabundant timber and fuel. There was grass for grazing and hay, numeroussprings and streams for water, and fish and game for food.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It seems apparent that on their arrival at the Forks of the Yadkin,William and Ann were taken in with their children either by William'sfather or his brother, the elder Matthew. No record has been found toindicate that William Sample Sparks ever obtained a title to land inNorth Carolina. We know from Lord Granville's land records, however, thathe had "squatted" on a tract on the South Yadkin within three miles ofthe residence of his son, Matthew.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It seems apparent that William and Ann Sparks chose the site that theydid for their new home because it offered an ideal spot on which to builda water-powered grist mill. Essential for any community of the time, andthus representing a certain source of revenue for the builder, a gristmill was still an expensive edifice to build. With his land sales profitsfrom the Forks of the Yadkin, William Sparks had brought with him theneeded capital for his enterprise. We can only wish that a record hadsurvived telling of how he and his son Matthew acquired the materials andmanpower for the mill's construction, particularly the huge millstones.For many years there after, references are found in Surry and YadkinCounty records to the "Sparks Mill Tract." Young Matthew's occupationbecame that of "Miller."

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

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

An Act of the General Assembly of North Carolina on November 15, 1777,authorized the justices of the peace in each county (who, together,constituted each County Court), to elect an "Entry Taker" who wouldrecord individuals' land claims and, assisted by the county surveyor,determine where there were overlapping claims as well as prior claims. Aman named Joseph Winston became Surry County's Entry Taker and his "EntryBook" for the period 1778 to 1781 is extant; it was edited forpublication in 1987 by Agnes M. Wells, and it is from Ms. Wells'spublication, along with Surry County deeds, that we are able to relatehow it was that the land on which William and Ann Sparks had "squatted"in 1773 now became the property of their son, Matthew. (Top of page 5340)

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

SQ p. 56 for marriage information stating that he was married to SarahElmore in 1808. The bond was dated February 20, 1808 and the bondsman wasWm. West.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"From his purchasing and selling of land in Surry County, it appears thatMatthew prospered despite his large number of dependents. In 1837,however, he bought from James Jones a tract of 300 acres over the countyline in Wilkes County, to which he moved his family. (Wilkes Co. DeedBook labeled ~1841-1851," p.158.) A year before this, on September 20,1836, he had borrowed from John Wright and Josiah Cowles the sum of $500to purchase from Alfred W. Martin a family of slaves described asfollows: "...a Negro woman Mary and Mary's four children, named Sarah,Jinny, Joseph, and Abram ranging in age from half to seven years. This isour only record of Matthew, Jr.'s buying or selling slaves.

"It was in Wilkes County that the family of Matthew Sparks, Jr. wasliving when the 1840 census was taken; 10 of their 17 children were stillliving at home then, their last child, Catherine, having been born in1834.

"After the death of his father, Matthew Sparks, Jr. was no longer called"Jr."so hereon in this sketch, the "Jr." will be dropped from his nameexcept in the heading.

"By 1850, Matthew and Sarah Sparks had moved with several family membersto Cass County, Missouri, where they were shown on the census of thatyear. Matthew's age was given as 62 and Sarah's as 61..

"(We published a record of Sparkses found on the 1850 census of Missouriin the QUARTERLY of March 1985, Whole No. 129, pp.2714-23, with thefamily of Matthew in Cass County appearing on page ·2714.. An error wasmade, however, in transcribing their son named Matthew, born in 1808/09,on that census. It was printed as "Martha." A correction was made on page4893 of the December 1997 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 180.)

"As will be noted in the brief sketches of the 16 known children ofMatthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks that follow, some of the older childrenhad moved to different parts of the United States prior to 1850,including the Territory of Oregon. In 1851, Matthew and Sarah moved fromMissouri to Polk County, Oregon Territory, accompanied by their son,Wiley Sparks and his wife, Nancy, as well as by their daughter, Eliza,and her husband, John Lynch. They were probably part of a wagon train ofemigrants going west. Oregon Territory would become the state of Oregonin 1859.

"Matthew Sparks died on August 1, 1854, at the age of 66. He had made hiswill on March 26, 1863, in which he had described himself as "of theCounty of Polk, Oregon Territory." Of his "Oregon Land Claim" comprising160 acres, he left half of it to his widow along with livestock,household goods, etc., and the other half to his daughter, LucindaSparks, who was then still unmarried. He did not name an executor in hiswill, so when the Polk County Court met following Matthew's death,Garrett W. MeGary, husband of his daughter, Catherine, was appointed toadminister his father-in-law's estate. On October 4, .1854, McGarysubmitted to the Court what to his "Best Knowledge" was a list of the"Legal heirs of Matthew Sparks." From this list, it appears that McGarybelieved that there were 17 living children who should receive shares oftheir father's estate. The widow, Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was to beconsidered an equal heir with the children. McGary's list was as follows:

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

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

"Following is this writer's attempt to identify the 16 known children ofMatthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, in what appears to be the order oftheir birth. There may have been a 17th child, as noted earlier. Matthewand Sarah were married in 1808, the marriage bond in Surry County, NorthCarolina, having been dated February 20, 1808. The dates of birth givenhere are, in most instances, reasonable guesses based on such sources ascensus records, although it appears that there was some confusion inlater years among these siblings them selves regarding the order of theirbirths. Considering the number of children that Sarah bore over a periodof 26 years (ca.1808 to 1834), it seems probable that some of them mayhave been twins. We will welcome corrections and additions to the recordthat follows:"
(Here begins a listing of their children for which see their individualsheets.)

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

SQ 2445:

"Matthew Sparks, son of Absalom and Lydia (Elsberry) Sparks, was bornabout 1797 in South Carolina. He was probably named for his paternalgrandfather, Matthew Sparks. He married Elizabeth ---, probably about1824. She was born about 1807 in South Carolina. Matthew accompanied hisparents to Arkansas where he joined his father and brothers in signingpetitions to the President and Congress in 1821 and 1825. In 1829, hewas listed on a special census taken by the Sheriff of Crawford County,Arkansas, but by 1830 he was in Pope County, Arkansas. With him were hiswife and three sons.

"Matthew Sparks was apparently a member of the group of Arkansassettlers that went to Texas in 1833. There he received a League of landadjoining the land of his brother-in-law, Friend Boatright, in what isnow Lee County, Texas. He may also have been given the HeadrightCertificate for the land granted to his sister, Edy Sparks.

"By 1840, Matthew Sparks had moved to Natchitiches Parish, Louisana,where he was listed with his wife and six children on the 1840 census.When the 1850 census was taken he was in neighboring Sabine County,Texas. All except two of his eight children had apparently left home.The two at home were Elizabeth Sparks, 10, and Nancy Sparks, 7. OnAugust 31, 1850, Matthew Sparks sold his share of the estate of hissister, Edy Sparks. The consideration was $500 which may indicate thathe had the actual possession of her Head right Certificate. We have nofurther information on this family."

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

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

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

"Matthew Sparks, son of Thomas and Dianah (Wilcox) Sparks, was bornabout 1805 in Surry County, North Carolina. He was married to AlseyOsburn about 1832, probably in Lawrence County, Kentucky. She had beenborn about 1815 in Kentucky and was a daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth(--- ) Osburn, natives of Kentucky. Matthew and Alsey lived near FlatGap , Kentucky, where they reared twelve children. Alsey died on January31, 1878, and Matthew died sometime after 1880, probably in ElliottCounty, Kentucky, at the home of his son, Daniel Sparks."

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

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822- 1865):
Matthew Sparks & Hannah Adkins, January 18, 1852. (Book II, p. 48) He 21years old; she 23 years old. Married by G. C. Burgess, J.P.

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

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

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION: (pg. 3875)

MATTHEW SPARKS, son of Allen and Elizabeth (Kozee) Sparks, was bornabout 1831 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He died in 1894. He wasmarried to Hannah Adkins on January 18, 1852. He served in Company K,68th Regiment Kentucky Enrolled Militia. Inv. Application No. 868,147 .For the abstract of his application see THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, page 3875and below.

"On October 24, 1892, Matthew Sparks, age 60, of Lowmansville,Lawrence County, Kentucky, made application for an invalid pension. Hestated that he had been enrolled in Company K, 68th Regiment KentuckyEnrolled Militia, commanded by Col. McKinster, on May 21, 1864, and thathe had been discharged at Louisa, Kentucky, on June 22, 1864. [As will beseen below, he was actually discharged on July 23, 1864.] While he wasserving in this unit, he took the measles which settled in his back andchest and the disease had caused permanent damage to his health. He saidthat when he was enrolled, he had been 6 feet tall, with a faircomplexion, light hair, and blue eyes; he was a farmer by occupation. Heappointed William Conard & Co., Washington, D.C., as his attorneys. MintySparks and Mary Hatfield were witnesses to his making his mark.

"On December 19, 1892, William Bryant, age 56, Lowmansville, Kentucky,made an affidavit to support the application of Matthew Sparks, He saidthat he had known Sparks for 40 years and that in the spring of 1864,before Sparks volunteered for the army, he had been a stout, robust man,but that when Sparks returned from the service, he complained about hisback and lungs and walked about all stooped over with his hands crossedon his back. Calvin Stephenson, age 62, also of Lowmansville, made asimilar affidavit, stating that he had known Sparks for 36 years as anear neighbor, and that before he went into the army, he (Sparks) hadbeen physically sound, but that after he returned from the service, hehad been so stiff in the back that he had to walk on crutches.

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

"The application of Matthew Sparks for an invalid pension was notapproved and no pension certificate was issued, probably because he hadnot served the required 90-day minimum period."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, MARCH 1962,Whole No. 37, pp 636-37:

SPARKSES IN THE WAR OF 1812

BOUNTY LAND AND PENSION APPLICATIONS

MATTHEW B. SPARKS, born about 1780 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia; diedin 1845 in Morgan County, Ill. Widow, NANCY (SUTTON) SPARKS. Bounty LandWarrant File 67 251-160-55.

On July 7, 1855, Nancy Sparks, a resident of Jacksonville, Morgan County,Illinois, appeared before Matthew Stacy, clerk of the County Court, tomake application for bounty land under the act of March 3, 1855. Shestated that she was 68 years old and that she was the widow of Matthew B.Sparks who she believed had been a private in a company commanded byCapt. Lynn in a regiment (the 7th she believed) of Virginia Militiavolunteers commanded by Col. Sanders in the War of 1812. She stated thather husband had been either drafted or had volunteered in PittsylvaniaCounty, Virginia, in August, 1814, for either 3 or 6 months; that he washonorably discharged at Norfolk, Va., in February or March, 1815. Shestated that; she had been married to Matthew B. Sparks in PittsylvaniaCounty, Va., in December, 1803, by Thomas Sparks, a minister of theGospel, but she could not recall the day of the month; that her namebefore marriage had been Nancy Sutton. She stated that her husband haddied in Morgan County, Ill., on May 4, 1845. She added that she hadapplied for bounty land under the act of Sept. 28, 1850, through W. B,Warren of Jacksonville, Ill., but had never received a warrant. Shesigned her application by mark. Ira Davenport and Thomas Sparks,residents of Morgan County, Ill., witnessed Nancy’s signature; bothdeclared that they were well acquainted with Matthew B. Sparks in hislifetime and knew that he and Nancy had lived together as husband andwife; they stated that Matthew B. Sparks had died at Morgan County, Ill.,on or about May 4, 1845, and that Nancy was still his widow, IraDavenport signed his name while Thomas Sparks signed by mark.

Accompanying the application of Nancy Sparks was a sworn statement madeon May 7, 1857, by James Kirkman, a resident of Morgan County, Ill. (agenot given). He stated that he was personally acquainted with Matthew B.Sparks during his lifetime and with Nancy Sparks his wife; that MatthewB. Sparks died about May 4, 1845, and that he saw his body after he haddied; that he had known Nancy ever since the death of her husband andknew her to be his widow.

Army records revealed that Matthew B. Sparks had served in Capt. Lynn’scompany of Virginia Militia from Dec. 31, 1814, until Feb. 22, 1815.Nancy Sparks was issued a warrant for 160 acres of bounty land.

(Editor’s Note on preceding bounty land applications The marriage bond ofMatthew B. Sparks and Nancy Sutton is on file in Pittsylvania County,Virginia, and is dated Nov. 28, 1802; they were probably married early inDecember, 1802, rather than 1803 as stated by Nancy in her application.Matthew B. Sparks was a son of Matthew and Kezia (Stone) Sparks as provedby a deed dated July 12, 1811. on file in Book 17, page 483, PittsylvaniaCounty, Va. (see the QUARTERLY of March, 1956, Vol. IV, No. 1, page 118).From this deed we learn also that the elder Matthew Sparks had died priorto July 12, 1811, and that he left children named, probably in the orderof their birth: (1) Matthew B. Sparks; (2) Edmund Sparks, married PatseyWright in 1804; (3) John Sparks, married Judah (Judy) Dodson in 1807; (4)Jane (Jinney) Sparks, married William Dunkan in l811; (5) Nelly Sparks;(6) Nancy Sparks, married John Ware in 1811; and (7) Thomas Sparks.

Matthew Sparks, father of Matthew B., was probably born about 1750-60.There is little doubt but that he was a son of Matthew (born ca.l711) andEleanor Sparks (born ca. 1731) who were residents of Prince George’sCounty and Frederick County, Maryland, before moving to PittsylvaniaCounty, Va., in 1778. (See the QUARTERLY of September, 1955, Vol. III,No. 3, Pp. 79-85, and March, 1956, Vol. IV, No. 1, pp. 109-121, forfurther information on this family.

Matthew B. Sparks, son of Matthew and Kezia (Stone) Sparks, was probablyborn about l780--in 1795 his father was taxed for two males over16--himself and probably his eldest son, Matthew B. The "B" in MatthewB. Sparks’s name stood for "Brooks"--on some Pittsylvania Ccunty taxrecords he was listed as "Brooks Sparks."

Matthew B. Sparks was still in Pittsylvania County, Va,, when the 1820census was taken. At that time he seems to have had two sons born between1803 and 1810; one daughter born about 1803; and one daughter bornbetween 1803 and 1810. By 1830, Matthew B, Sparks, with his brotherEdmund Sparks, had moved to Bedford County, Tennessee. From theenumeration of his family in 1830, it appears that Matthew B. Sparks hadlost one of his sons born between 1803 and 1810, while another son hadbeen born between 1825 and 1830. From Bedford County, Tenn., Matthew B.Sparks and his family apparently moved to Morgan County, Illinois, ‘whereMatthew B. died May 4,1845.

Our only knowledge of the children of Matthew B. and Nancy (Sutton)Sparks pertains to their son Thomas Sparks who was born in Tennesseeabout 1827 according to the 1850 census. He signed (by mark) his mother’sapplication in 1855. When the 1850 census was taken, Nancy was livingwith her son Thomas and his wife Sarah (born about 1832) and their onechild, Harriet, born in 1849.)

(These abstracts of bounty land and pension papers
will be continued in future issues of the QUARTERLY.)

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

(JS Note: Matthew Sparks (b. 1759) is a first cousin of James Sparks (b.1762) who is my 3rd ggrandfather.)

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

SPARKSES IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

"In spite of the detailed pension application of Matthew Sparks (sonof Matthew the Elder) little has been learned regarding his descendants.In a letter written by his niece, Bettie C. Smith (daughter of BaileySparks (338)), in 1899, appears the following statement: "When I was achild old Uncle Matthew Sparks made his home with his brother, Isaac, butspent much of his time with Father and Mama." From this it would appearthat Matthew was a widower during his old age. It is known that Matthewhad three daughters living in Clinton County, Illinois, and that was thereason he moved from Tennessee to Illinois in 1840. His son-in-law,William Steele, certified on December 31, 1842, that he had gone toTennessee in October, 1840, and moved Matthew Sparks to Illinois. Thesethree daughters were: (1) Jane, wife of William Steele; (2) Hannah, wifeof --- Arnett; and (3) Peggy, wife of ---Arnett. Matthew Sparks, it willbe noted, mentioned a son in his pension application who had moved fromIllinois to Georgia, but he did not give his name. In 1825 Matthew andhis brother Absolom were among a group of "inhabitants of that part ofMiller County, in the Territory of Arkansas, ceded and confirmed to theChocktaw Nation of Indians by treaty in 1825" who signed a petitionprotesting this action, saying that it would result in their being drivenfrom "the farms and improvements we have laboured for years to make."Besides Matthew and Absolom, there were three other persons names Sparkswho signed this petition: Wilobe Sparks, Absolom Sparks, Jr. andElsberry Sparks. These three were doubtless sons of either Matthew orAbsolom.

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

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

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

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

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

"That he was born in Rowan County, near Salisbury in the State ofNorth Carolina, on the 20th day of January, A.D. 1759, and there livedwith his father until he was between fourteen and sixteen years old, whenhe removed, with the other members of the family, to New River in WilkesCounty in the State aforesaid, and there this Declarant resided untilthree or four years after the close of the Revolutionary War; at whichtime this Declarant removed to the frontier part of the State lastmentioned in what, as well as this Declarant now recollects, was thenFranklin County. Here this Declarant, with his father and othersettlers, erected a fort which was then and probably still is calledSparks Fort. In this neighborhood this Declarant's father was killed bythe Indians.

"After residing at this place two or three years, this Declarantremoved to Greenville District in the State of South Carolina, where heresided seven or eight years, when he removed to Jackson County in theState of Georgia. Here this Deponant resided 6 or 7 years, when heremoved to Livingston County in the State of Kentucky about the year 1807or 1808, where he resided for about 2 years; from thence again removedinto the Territory of Illinois, and the County of St. Clair, about theyear 1810. He here settled on Silver Creek, within 8 or 10 miles of thetown of Belleville and remained about 5 years. He then removed down on aCreek called Muddy, in said Territory, where he resided 2 years. Aboutthe year 1817, Declarant states, he again removed over into ArkansasTerritory, where he settled on WhiteRiver and remained about 2 years;from thence he went to Arkansas River about 40 or 50 miles above LittleRock, in the aforesaid Territory, where he lived 2 years; then removedfrom there to the Salline on the waters of Ouachita within 25 miles ofLittle Rock, where he again settled, and resided until the 2nd day ofAugust last, when he removed into this County. This Declarant statesthat he entered the service of the United States and served as hereinstated. When this Declarant was 17 or 18 years old, as well as he canrecollect in the year 1776 or 77, he joined a company raised by drafting,commanded by Captain John Beverly, and served a tour of 3 months.

"We marched from Wilkes County, North Carolina, where the company wasraised, and ranged through the lower and sandy part of North Carolina insearch of the Tories, to intimadate (sic) and keep them down in that partof the State. On this tour, we found no parties of Tories embodied, butwe took several individuals. I remember particularly that we took a ToryCaptain by the name of Jackson, a blacksmith, whom we hung; our companytook two others, names not recollected, and sent them to headquarters ofthe corps. The company of which I was a member were Mounted Rangers. Thecorps to which I belong consisted of several companies of rangers, andtwo or three foot and was commanded by Col. ---- Isacks, given name notrecollected, of North Carolina. I do not remember any major, oradjutant, nor the names of any other captains, except Captain --- Isbelwho commanded, as well as I recollect, a company of foot-men.

"At the end of our term of service, we were marched back to our Countyby our officers, and there directed to go to our respective homes,without receiving any written discharge. In the fall of a certain year,I do not recollect what year, nor do I remember how long after my returnfrom my first tour, but not more than one or two years, I was againdrafted into the service, in a company commanded by Captain SamuelJohnson, and Elisha Reynolds, Lieutenant. This corps consistedexclusively of three or four companies of footmen, and was commanded byMajor --- Hargrove of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Godfrey Isacks wasone of the captains.

"We were drafted for 3 months and were marched through pretty much thesame country as on my first tour, and for the same purpose. I rememberit was a particular object of the expedition to go into a part of NorthCarolina where the Scotch very much abounded. We came to a part of thecountry where the main American Army, commanded by I do not recollectwhom, had recently passed, and found ourselves in great want of the meansof subsistance. After being marched about through the sandy parts ofNorth Carolina two months without meeting with any parties of Tories orhaving any engagement, we were marched back to our own County havinglearned there was more occasion for us there than where we had been. Notlong after we reached home we were dismissed by our officers withoutreceiving any formal discharge.

"In addition to these tours of service performed by me, I will statethat Col. Benjamin Cleveland, who lived on the Yadkin, Wilkes County,North Carolina, early in the Revolutionary War, by his personalinfluence, formed an Association or Company of Minute Men, to go againstTories whenever called on. Of this company I was a member and performedunder him many tours of duty from one to three weeks at a time, amount inall to at least 3 months. We invaribly went out as mounted gun-men orrangers. We ranged principally on the mountains and New River. On theseexcursions, I remember, we took two parties of Tories, one consisting of15, the other of 10 or 12 men. They had been engaged in plunderingneighborhoods. Some of these we hung, shot others, and others we tookacross the Virginia line, we delivered to the Virginians.

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

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

"He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, or annuity,except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension rollof the agency of any state. Signed: Matthew Sparks

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. Signed EdwardGwin, Clerk.

" And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion after theinvestigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatoriesprescribed by the War Department, that the above named Applicant was aRevolutionary Soldier as he states. And the Court further certifies thatit appears to them that Bailey Sparks and William Brigance, who havesigned the preceding certificate are residents of the county and stateaforesaid and are credible persons, and that their statement is entitledto credit." Signed: Sam Ingram, Chairman of Carrol County Court; HenryWright; Wilson Lightfoot.

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

(END OF ARTICLE)

**********

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

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

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

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

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

"Matthew J. Sparks was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, onJanuary 20, 1759, and when he was about fifteen years of age, his fathermoved to Wilkes County, North Carolina, where he settled on New River inwhat is now Ashe County. It was here that Matthew served as a soldier inthe American Revolution, joining in 1777 a company commanded by Capt .John Beverly in Wilkes County. For this service he received a pension. (see above for a transcript of his pension file)

"Matthew probably married at the close of the Revolutionary War . Wehave found no record of the marriage. We do know that his wife's givenname was Margaret, for in 1794, he and his wife Margaret, were witnessesto two deeds by which Matthew's brother, John Sparks, bought land inGreenville District, South Carolina. There has been some speculationthat her maiden name was Traylor, and it is a matter of record that theSparks family and the Traylor family were closely associated in Georgia.(A sister of Matthew J. Sparks, Edy Sparks, is known to hve been marriedto Randolph Traylor and was living in Clarke County, Georgia, in 1807).We also have not learned the date nor place of the death of MargaretSparks, but when the 1830 census was taken of Pulaski County, Arkansas,where Matthew J. Sparks was living at the time, there was no femaleenumerated in his household that was old enough to have been the motherof his children. Margaret Sparks probably died prior to 1830.

"In all probability, the first child of Matthew and Margaret Sparkswas a son, John, who was born on June 26, 1784. It was also about thistime that the family of Matthew Sparks, Senior, moved to Franklin County, Georgia, and settled near the present-day town of Athens. There,Matthew Sparks, Sr. was killed by Indians in 1793. Matthew J. Sparks(Matthew Jr.) had also gone to Georgia with his parents and received aheadright grant of 200 acres in Franklin County in 1792, but after thedeath of his father, he moved his family to Greenville District, SouthCarolina, where he stayed about eight years. He then returned to Georgiawhere he settled in Jackson County. There, he participated in theGeorgia Land Lotteries in 1803 and again in 1806. In the latter draw, hewon 39 acres of land located near the Baldwin-Wilkinson Counties Boundary.

"In 1807, Matthew moved to Livingston County, Kentucky, where he liveduntil about 1810 when he moved to the Illinois Territory where he settledon Silver Creek which is about ten miles from present- day Belleville .He stayed there until about 1815, when he moved to nearby Muddy Creekwhere he stayed about two years. Then in 1817, he moved "over into"Arkansas Territory and settled on White River where he lived until 1819when he moved to the Saline River, a tributary of the Ouachita, where hestayed until about 1831. On the 1830 census, he was listed as the headof a household in Pulaski County.

"In 1831, Matthew J. Sparks moved to Carroll County, Tennessee, where,on September 11, 1832, he made application for a pension for his militaryservices suring the Revolutionary War. (It was in his application for apension that he described his movements noted above.) When the 1840census was taken, he was living in the home of his brother, Isaac Sparks,in Carroll County, but on September 19th of that year, he appeared beforeIsaac S. Fainey, a justice of the peace of Henry County, Tennessee, tostate that he had lately removed from Tennessee to Clinton County,Illinois, where he intended to remain with the family of one of his threedaughters living there. He requested that in the future his pension bepaid in Clinton County.

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

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

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

**********

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

TWO DAUGHTERS OF MATTHEW JEFFERSON SPARKS(ca.1802-1833) OF PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS

Margaret "Peggy" (Sparks) Evans (born ca.1825)

&

Frances Elmira "Almira" Porter (1830-1898)

"In the QUARTERLY of September 1984, Whole No. 127, we published a recordof the family of Matthew Sparks (1759 -1841) whose wife's name wasMargaret. We stated there that her maiden name had been Traylor, butfurther research has disproved that assumption. We have no clue regardingwhat her maiden name might have been. We are now doubtful, also, thatMatthew had the middle initial "J." Among primary sources, we find onlyone census record where this appears. Here, and in future references tohim, we shall refer to him as Matthew Sparks, Jr., even though, followingthe death of his father (the elder Matthew Sparks) in 1793, he droppedits use from his own signature.

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

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

In the QUARTERLY of September 1984, Whole No. 127, we published a recordof the family of Matthew Sparks (1759 -1841) whose wife's name wasMargaret. We stated there that her maiden name had been Traylor, butfurther research has disproved that assumption. We have no clue regardingwhat her maiden name might have been. We are now doubtful , also, thatMatthew had the middle initial "J." Among primary sources , we find onlyone census record where this appears . Here, and in future references tohim , we shall refer to him as Matthew Sparks , Jr., even though ,following the death of his father (the elder Matthew Sparks) in 1793, hedropped its use from his own signature.

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

Matthew Sparks, Jr. (1759-1841) had served in the American Revolution andreceived a pension for his service. His pension application made in 1832reveals that he had moved with his family many times during the yearsfollowing the Revolution . They had been living in Greenville District ,South Carolina, before moving to Jackson County, Georgia, shortly beforeMatthew Jefferson Sparks was born. He accompanied his parents andsiblings in their move from Georgia to Kentucky in 1807, then to IllinoisTerritory in 1810, and to Arkansas Territory in 1817. A few yearsthereafter, he was married , we believe , in Pulaski County , Arkansas ,to Mary , whose nick name was "Polly." We have not discovered her maidenname.

Matthew Jefferson Sparks continued to live in Pulaski County , and whenthe 1830 census was taken , the ages of both himself and his wife wereenumerated as being between 20 and 30, thus born between 1800 and 1810.The four children living in their household were enumerated as follows: amale between 10 and 15, thus born between 1815 and 1820; a female between5 and 10, thus born between 1820 and 1825; and a male and a female underage 5, thus born between 1825 and 1830. There may have been another childborn after 1830; see Matthew's will below.

Matthew Jefferson Sparks died as a young man , probably at age 31. Hemust have known death was near when he made his last will on December 2,1832. It was probated on February 4, 1833. As seen in the text below, itappears that his eldest son had died earlier, and that he thought hiswife might be pregnant. His will follows :

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

1st, after my decease I desire that all my just debts & funeral expensesbe paid.

2nd, after my just debts & funeral expenses are paid, it is my desirethat my wife, Polly Sparkes, have all my estate whether real or personalor whatsoever kind there may be for the purpose to raise and educate mychildren, Peggy Sparkes, John Sparkes and Almira Sparkes. Also aposthumous child if there be one.

3rdly & lastly , I desire that my aforesaid wife be my executrix to thismy last will & Testament & to act as such without being bound to securityor put to the trouble of appraising & making an inventory of my realestate.
In witness whereof, I , the said Matthew Jefferson Sparkes , have set myhand and affixed my seal this second day of December A . D. one thousandeight hundred & thirty-two.
Attest:

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

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

The will was entered for probate in the Pulaski County Court on February4, 1833, by two of the witnesses : Richard Graves and Rebecca Hudson.Matthew Jefferson Sparks had probably died a few days before. As notedearlier, the eldest son, who had been enumerated with the family on the1830 census, appears to have died before his father since only the threeyounger children were named in their father's will. Whether a posthumouschild was born to Mary ["Polly"] Sparks later, as suggested might occuraccording to Mathew Jefferson Sparks's will, we do not know. We have notfound Mary ["Polly"] Sparks in later census records of Pulaski County ,and we may wonder whether she might have been married a second timebefore the 1840 census was taken.

When the September 1984 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No.127, waspublished, our only knowledge of the children of Matthew Jefferson andMary [ "Polly"] Sparks was the listing of them in their father's will .We continue to have no information on the son named John Sparks, butSteven J. Porter, 7505 Camelback Drive , Shreveport, Louisiana, recentlyprovided us with records that further identify the two daughters : Peggy(a nickname for Margaret) , and Almira (whose full name had been FrancesElmira) .

**********

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

"Matthew Sparks, Jr. , second child of Matthew and Sarah Sparks , wasborn on January 20, 1759, in what is now Davie County, North Carolina,then Rowan County. He died on August 14, 1841, at the home of hisdaughter, Jane (Sparks) Steele, in Clinton County , Illinois . His wife'sname was Margaret . We have not found her maiden name. We were in errorin stating earlier that Margaret's maiden name may have been Traylor. Wehave also sometimes included the letter "J" as his middle initial. Thisappears on one census record, but this may have been an error made by thecensus taker. The text of Matthew Sparks, Jr.'s application for apension for his service in the Revolutionary War appeared in theQUARTERLY of December 1956, Whole No. 16, pp.179-182. It was approved. Afew years ago, a descendant established a chapter in the Society of theDaughters of the American Revolution in his name in Claremont ,California. An article devoted to Matthew Sparks, Jr., with a record ofhis known children, appeared in the QUARTERLY of September 1984, WholeNo. 127, pp.2644-2669. Some corrections to this article appeared in theQUARTERLY of March 1989, Whole No.145, pp.3367-68. In that article wecalled him "Matthew J. Sparks. " As noted above, we cannot be sure thathe had a middle initial. It appears that none of his siblings were givenmiddle names or initials. Matthew Sparks, Jr., did, however, give a sonof his own a middle name. This was Matthew Jefferson Sparks(ca.1802-1833) See a separate article in this issue of the QUARTERLY,beginning on page 5599, pertaining to two daughters of Matthew JeffersonSparks."

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

MATTHEW SPARKS (1859-1841) & HISDESCENDANTS

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

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

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

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

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

END OFARTICLE.

**********

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

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

OF PULASKI COUNTY,ARKANSAS

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

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

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

"Matthew Sparks, Jr. (1759-1841) had served in the American Revolutionand received a pension for his service. His pension application made in1832 reveals that he had moved with his family many times during theyears following the Revolution. They had been living in GreenvilleDistrict, South Carolina, before moving to Jackson County, Georgia,shortly before Matthew Jefferson Sparks was born. He accompanied hisparents and siblings in their move from Georgia to Kentucky in 1807, thento Illinois Territory in 1810, and to Arkansas Territory in 1817. A fewyears thereafter, he was married, we believe, in Pulaski County,Arkansas, to Mary, whose nick name was "Polly." We have not discoveredher maiden name. [The balance of this article will be found under thenotes for Matthew Jefferson Sparks and his descendants.]

"Matthew Jefferson Sparks continued to live in Pulaski County , and whenthe 1830 census was taken , the ages of both himself and his wife wereenumerated as being between 20 and 30, thus born between 1800 and 1810.The four children living in their household were enumerated as follows: amale between 10 and 15, thus born between 1815 and 1820; a female between5 and 10, thus born between 1820 and 1825; and a male and a female underage 5, thus born between 1825 and 1830. There may have been another childborn after 1830; see Matthew's will below.

"Matthew Jefferson Sparks died as a young man , probably at age 31. Hemust have known death was near when he made his last will on December 2,1832. It was probated on February 4, 1833. As seen in the text below, itappears that his eldest son had died earlier, and that he thought hiswife might be pregnant. His will follows :

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

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

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

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

Attest:

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

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

The will was entered for probate in the Pulaski County Court on February4, 1833, by two of the witnesses: Richard Graves and Rebecca Hudson.Matthew Jefferson Sparks had probably died a few days before. As notedearlier, the eldest son, who had been enumerated with the family on the1830 census, appears to have died before his father since only the threeyounger children were named in their father's will. Whether a posthumouschild was born to Mary ["Polly"] Sparks later, as suggested might occuraccording to Mathew Jefferson Sparks's will, we do not know. We have notfound Mary ["Polly"] Sparks in later census records of Pulaski County ,and we may wonder whether she might have been married a second timebefore the 1840 census was taken.

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

Matthew Sparks, Jr., son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was bornca. 1808/09 in Surry County, North Carolina. He was not included on the1850 census of Cass County, Missouri, where his parents' householdappeared. He was still living in 1856 when his father's heirs wereidentified by the estate's administrator, although he was included amongthe heirs that his brother, Richard Sparks, was charged by the PolkCounty, Oregon, Court to try to locate. We have no further record of him.

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

SQ p. 2163:

Matthew Newton Sparks, son of Elijah and Mary Ann (Garner) Sparks, wasborn on May 2, 1867. He died on April 6, 1934. He married MargaretJosephine ("Josie") Lang and they had six children. His niece, AileenSparks, recalls the family: "Uncle Matthew always farmed and did verywell at it. He was a pleasant man whom we saw only occasionally. He wasalways pleased to see us, especially my father, whom he resembled verymuch. Uncle Matt liked to garden and Aunt Josie and her girls canned jarafter jar of vegetables for the wintertime."

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

SQ pg 4477: "Maud D. Sparks was born in August 1875 in Texas,probably in Lampasas County. She was in Paris, France, when, on Januar y29, 1897, she gave 2,214 acres of land in Williamson County, Texas , toher father. She had inherited this land from her mother, Rachel A.Sparks, as Rachel's only surviving child at Rachel's death in 1879.
A niece of Maud Sparks, Nancy (Sparks) Humiston, states that her auntwas a talented person who was a painter, sculptor, and a writer ofnovels, plays, and screen scenarios. She was educated in Europe be causeher father believed that a frontier ranch was not a proper place in whicha young lady should grow up. While she was studying in Paris, one of herbest friends was Jean McKenzie. She was later married to Jean's brother,James A. McKenzie, an attorney and a son of a Presbyterian minister.
Maud and James McKenzie lived near the Pacific Ocean in a mansiondesigned by her which faced the Pebble Beach Golf Course. When the wifeof her brother, Benton Hackett Sparks, died in 1918, Maud and her husbandtook over the care of her brother's three sons.
James A. McKenzie died during the Great Depression in the early 1930s,after which Maud could no longer afford to live in the mansion ; shemoved into another house that they owned. Here she was cared for by herniece, Nancy Humiston, and her nephew, Benton Knight Sparks , until herdeath.
The last account we have of Maud (Sparks) McKenzie tells that shereturned to Texas in 1944 to visit a cousin, the Rev. Buren Sparks . Atthat time, she was living in the old retreat of Aimie Semple Mc Phersonat Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. With her were her eleven cats."

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

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

[Here appears a photograph (reproduced in her scrapbook) , beneath whichis the following caption:]

MAYBELLESPARKS (1891-1966)
Daughter of James Patrickand Lucinda (Craw) Sparks

(View photograph)

Maybelle Sparks was born on August 18, 1891, in Sadorus, Illinois, anddied on November 13, 1966. Her photograph as a child appears on page 5284of the present issue of the QUARTERLY, with her sister and brother. (Thisphoto also appears in her scrapbook). A small photo that she sent to herbrother in France during World War I, with her Christmas greeting in1918, is reproduced above.

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

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

SQ 393: Melinda Ann Sparks, birn June 16, 1847. She married WilliamHenry Earhart and died in 1923.

See SQ p. 408:

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

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

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

DEATH TAKES MELVA (SPARKS)BIDLACK

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

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

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

Melva was reared on the family farm near Clio, Iowa. She and your editormet as students at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, in 1939, and we weremarried in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1942, while I was stationed nearbyat Camp Robinson, in World War II. We have four children: Stanley (wife,Nancy), Martha (husband, John Russell), Christopher (wife, Linda), andHarold (wife, Martha). They, and our five grandchildren, Lisa, Matthew,Christopher, Sarah, and Amanda, helped us celebrate our golden weddinganniversary last June, none of us apprehending that it would be our lastanniversary. Melva's two brothers survive, J. Gerald Sparks and the Rev.A. Harold Sparks.

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

SQ p. 4651:

"Meredith Benton Sparks, son of Nelson and Sarrilda (Holbrook) Sparks,was born on November 24, 1866. He should not be confused with a cousinwho was also named Meredith Benton Sparks (see Item C, 2, a, above).Meredith Sparks, son of Nelson, was married to Cynthia Alice BAiley onSeptember 22, 1887, in Johnson County, Kentucky. She had been born onMarch 21, 1869, and was a daughter of William Wallace and Sarah Agnes(Stinson) Bailey. Meredith Sparks was quite popular in his community andwas elected as Lawrence County Judge. (See the photograph reproducedabove" (on page 4651) "that he used in electioneering.) He died onNovember 29, 1921, and Cynthia went to Ashland, Kentucky, to be near herson, Dr. Proctor Sparks. She died there on February 25, 1952. She andMeredith had three children: Proctor Sparks, Carrie Sparks, and PleurySparks. (Proctor Sparks was one of the Association's most enthusiasticcharter members. See page 192 of the March 1957 issue of the QUARTERLY,Whole No. 17, for his obituary. He is on the cover of this issue of theQUARTERLY.)

See The Sparks Quarterly, June 1998, Whole No. 182, pg 5002, for a briefreference to Merritt Sparks and see pps. 5015-7 for an abstract of hisCivil War pension application papers as follows:

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

"On June 9, 1865, Merit (also spelled Merritt) Sparks received aCertificate of Discharge from Company C, 97th Regiment Indiana Infantryat Washington, D.C. He had enlisted on August 11, 1862, to serve forthree years, or during the war, and he was discharged by reason of theexpiration of his term of service. According to his commanding officer,Capt. Wiley E. Dittemore, he was nineteen year of age when he hadenlisted; he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall; he had a fair complexion, darkeyes and light colored hair; and he was a farmer.

"Two years later (following his discharge), on April 25, 1867, Sparksapplied for an Invalid Army Pension. He was 24 years of age and aresident of Hobbieville, Indiana. He stated that he had enlisted onAugust 13, 1862, as a private in Company C, 97th Regiment, IndianaVolunteer Infantry, under the command of Capt. John W. Carmichael, and hehad served until he was mustered out on June 9, 1865. While on duty inAtlanta, Georgia, and engaged with the enemy on July 28, 1864, he hadbeen wounded in the left hand by a musket ball that passed through theknuckle of the little finger in such a way as to cause it to bepermanently impaired. In addition, while stationed at Holly Springs,Mississippi, his left eye became infected, causing inflamation andpermanent damgage to his vision. He appointed Moses F. Dunn of Bedford,Indiana, as his attorney in obtaining a pension. His application waswitnessed by John D. Alexander and Jas. R. Eash.

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

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

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

"Merit Sparks died on June 17, 1873, and on September 26, 1873, hiswidow, Ellender Sparks, made application for a Widow's Pension; however,no copy of her application is included among the papers in this "selectedfile." She had sent the Pension Bureau a copy of the marriage recordshowing that she and Marit had been married in Greene County, Indiana, onFebruary 9, 1862, by Augustine Carmichael, a minister of the Gospel.

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

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

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

"On July 20, 1885, Elizabeth Martindale, aged 83, and J. R.Martindale, both residents of Stanford, Indiana, made affidavits tosupport the claim of Ellender Sparks. They stated that Merit Sparks hadcomplained of pain in his head while home on furlough and that after hisdischarge from the service, the pain had become so severe that he would"go out of his head" because of its intensity, and he would have to berestrained by his relatives and friends who attended him. Mrs.Martindale also stated that she had been present when all four of thechildren of Merit and Ellender Sparks had been born. She set their datesof birth down just as Mrs. Sparks had presented them. The affidavits ofboth Mr. and Mrs. Martindale were notarized by Thomas W. Sparks, a notarypublic.

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

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

"On July 24, 1890, James H. Sparks, aged 23 years, a resident ofStanford, Indiana, applied for a pension on the basis of his being adisabled child of a Civil War veteran. He stated that he had been bornon August 28, 1866, to Merit and Ellender Sparks, and was now so badlycrippled that he was unable to earn his living. He appointed C. R.Worrall of Bloomington, Indiana, as his attorney. Nothing is included inthe "selected papers" from Merit Sparks's pension to indicate whataction, if any, was taken upon James H. Sparks's application."

SQ p. 1500:

Michael Sparks (sometimes called Micha), daughter of John and Katharine(Waddell) Sparks, was born about 1795. Although this was a daughter withwhat is usually considered a man's name, it is interesting to speculatethat she may have been named for the Michael Sparks who first paid taxesin Bourbon County in 1795. She was married to Benjamin Stokes in BourbonCounty, Kentucky, in 1815 (marriage bond dated April 30, 1815). He diedbefore 1825. They had the following children: (See family group sheet]

.

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

Michelle Marie Sparks, the first grandchild of James J. and Ellen M.(Sherriffs) Sparks, was born in the El Camino Hospital, Mountain View,Santa Clara County, California on March 7, 1990 at 8:26 pm . She weighed9 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long.

SQ p. 4571:

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

"Milly Sparks was married to Henry Edwards on October 14, 1835, inWilson County, Tennessee, by John Bone, a justice of the peace. Thelicense had been issued on October 12th, and "Little" Henry Edwards wasthe bondsman. Henry Edwards had been born on February 25, 1798, and hemay have been married before. He was appointed as administrator of theestate of his father-in-law, Nathan Sparks, when Nathan's son, JesseHancock Sparks, resigned from that court appointment in 1845.

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

.

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

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

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

.

!NOTES:
SQ p 3183: "Milley Sparks, daughter of Billie and Sallie (Jennings)
Sparks, was born on March 4, 1836, in Indiana. She died on Februar y 18,1906.
She was married to Joseph Staley on May 2, 1866, in Boone County, Iow a."

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1991, Whole No. 155, pp.3835-3847:

MILLINGTON SPARKS (ca.1715-ca.1780) SON OF JOHN AND CORNELIA(CURTIS) SPARKS OF QUEEN ANNES COUNTY, MARYLAND

By Paul E. Sparks

Millington Sparks was born about 1715 in Queen Annes County, Maryland.Because his given name was so unusual, there is a possibility that it mayhave been a family name. For example, there were two persons with thesurname of Millington in this area in the early years of Maryland'shistory. John Millington witnessed a will in Talbot County in 1679, andOliver Millington witnessed wills there in 1682 and 1711. So far,however, no evidence has been found to relate these men with the Sparksfamily. (Queen Annes County was formed in 1706 from Talbot County.)

(There is a village named Millington at the head of the Chester River inKent County, Maryland, on its boundary with Queen Annes County. Thisvillage was originally called "Head of Chester," but the name was changedto Millington about 1819 when an English woolen mill was built there.)

Millington Sparks was a son of John and Cornelia (Curtis) Sparks and agrandson of William and Mary Sparks. William Sparks had come fromHampshire County, England, to Maryland about 1663 and had settled in thatportion of Talbot County which became Queen Annes County. He died inQueen Annes County in 1709. His brother, named John Sparks, died there in1700. Whether these brothers had come to Maryland together is not known.It seems probable that William named this son, who became the father ofMillington, for his brother. Details of the lives of William Sparks (died1709) and John Sparks (died 1700) were given in the March 1971 issue ofthe QUARTERLY, Whole No. 73. Information regarding their probable placeof birth in England appeared in the issue of December 1989, Whole No.148, pp. 3485-86, and June 1991, Whole No. 154, pp. 3753-54.

The first record that we have found of Millington Sparks is contained inthe will of his father which was made on January 28, 1731. John Sparks, aplanter in Queen Annes County, acknowledged that he was quite sick andweak, and realizing that his hold on life was uncertain, he wanted todispose of his two plantations, called "SPARKS INCLOSURE" AND "SPARKSCHOICE," along with a 100-acre tract "lying in His Lordships Manor."("His Lordships Manor" refers to one of the large tracts of land, eachcalled a manor, which the Second Lord Baltimore and first Proprietor ofMaryland had set aside for himself and his descendants; land in these"manors" was leased to farmers rather than being sold.) His entireacreage, including the 100 acres of leased land, consisted of 395, andJohn Sparks directed that it be equally divided among his five livingsons: George, John, Jr., Millington, Absalom, and Caleb. The bulk of hispersonal estate, however, was to be divided equally among his ninechildren. (His son, William Sparks, had died in 1731.) Named as his nineliving children were: George, John, Jr., Millington, Absalom, Caleb,Sarah, Mary, Rachel, and Cornelia. For the complete text of the will ofJohn Sparks, see pages 1700-1701 of the December 1974 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole
No. 88.

By the terms of his will, John Sparks's wife, Cornelia Sparks, was tobecome the executrix of his estate, and, following his death on April 19,1737, she was deemed qualified for that task by the Queen Annes CountyCourt, on May 28, 1737. A few days later, she presented to the Court aninventory of her late husband's personal property. As recorded inInventory Book 22, pages 353-55, here is the inventory as presented byCornelia Sparks. We believe that it provides an interesting insight intothe way of life at this time.

Queen Annes County. A Just True & perfect inventory of all & singular thegoods & Chattles Rights Debts & Credits of John Sparks of sd Co decdappraised in Curnt [current] money by us whose hands & seals are hereuntoannexed the 3rd Day of June Anno Domi 1737.

Description £ Shillings Pence
To his wearing apparel 2 10 0
To cash 4 8 6
To 1 Negro Man 30 0 0
To 1 best bed & bedstead & 1 Rugg 2 blankets 1 sheet 2 pillows 5 0 0
To 1 bed & bedstead & two blanketts & 1 rugg 4 0 0
To 1 bed & bolster & Trunnel bedstead 2 blankts & a rugg 5 15 0
To 1 old bed & old bed stead 2 0 0
To 1 bed & bedstead & 2 old blankts & 1 rugg 3 15 0
To 1 pair of andiron Doggs 0 12 0
To 1 fire shovel & 1 pair of tongs 0 5 0
To 1 oval Table & To 3 old chairs 0 17 0
To 1 pair of small stillards 6s and 1 small case with 10 bottles 0 16 0
To 1 old chest with lock & key 6s & to 1 old chest 3s 0 9 0
To 1 pewter Tankard 2s6 to 1 old Do 1s6 0 4 0
To 1 small Trunk 2s6 To 1 smaller Do 1s 0 3 6
To 44½ lbs of Pewter at s8 1 9 8
To 1 small looking glass 2s6 To 4 Doz of Candles at s6 0 4 6
To 1 per Tinn candle Box s6 & 1 old brass mortar & pestle 2s 0 2 6
To 2 Earthern Muggs & 2 Earthern Dishes & 1 plate 0 3 9
To 2 Earthern Dishes & 1 Barbers basan & 1 small earthern cup 0 3 2
To 1 small stone pott & 1 stone jugg 0 1 3
To 9 earthern milk pans s6 to 1 drinking glass s3 0 0 9
To 1 pepper box to 9 wooden trenchers 0 2 9
To 1 brass skimmer s6 to 1 old pair sheep shears s6 0 1 0
To 1 small Cow bell is To 7 bush of wheat at 4s 1 9 0
To 2 meal sifters 3 To 8 books at 10 013 0
To 1 stone jugg 2s6 To 2 small water jugs 1s 0 3 6
To 1 old box iron & 2 heaters & 3 small earthern potts 1 3 6
To 1 old gun @@ 10 To 1 cut saw @@ 12s 1 2 0
To a new falling ax and 3 old Do 0 12 0
To a parcel of Carpenters tools 0 6 0
To 1 pair of scissors @@ 3 To 7 yards of Country flannel at 1s6 0 10 9
To 1 old razor @@ 6 To 1 pair tow cards @@ s4 0 0 10
To 3 pecks of Salt ls6 To 1 old curry comb @@ 4s 0 1 10
To 1 old Woolen Wheel 6s To 1 Linnen Wheel 10s 0 16 0
To 1 old linnen wheel 5s to pair wool cards @@ s9 0 5 9
To 2 iron wedges 2s To 2 bridles 4s to 3 old bridles @@ s9 0 6 9
To 117 lb of pott iron @@ 2½ 1 4 4½
To 3 pair of pot hooks @@ 1s per 0 3 0
To 1 flesh fork 6 to 1 iron pot rack 0 5 6
To 1 old Frying Pan @@ 1sTo 1 old mill stone @@ 5s To 1 grindstone 0 9 0 0 9 0
To 1 mans saddle old 10s to 7 old dry tubs 7s 0 17 0
To 5 old Cyder Casks @@ 12s To 1 old cutting knife s9 0 12 9
To 900 10py nails @@ 5s To 1 iron candlestick s6 0 5 6
To 307 lb of Bacon @@ 4 s1 5 2 4
To 10 lb of Beef @@ 2s To 3 old weeding hoes @@ s1 0 4 8
To 2 old hilling hoes & 1 grubbing hoe 0 2 0
To 2 mares of seven years old 9 0 0
To 3 breeding sows @@6 To 12 hoggs of one year & half old @@ 5s per 3 18 0
To 11 shoats @@ 2s per 1 2 0
To 4 cows & 4 yearlings @@ £2.5 9 0 0
To 4 cows & calves @@ £2 per 8 0 0
To 1 old cow & 1 calf 1 15 0
To 3 steers of 2 years old @@ 15s per 2 5 0
To 1 heifer of 2 years old @@ 18s To 1 large Bull £1.10 2 8 0
To 19 sheep @@ 6 per To 8 lambs @@ 3 per 6 18 0
To 17 Barrels of Indian Corn @@ 8s11 7 1 8
To 21 geese @@ 1s per To 63 lbs of Wool unwashed 3 8 3
To 1 plow & plow tackling 16s To 9 lbs of Flax 1s 1 5 0
To 41 Raw hides 0 18 0
To 1 Silver Cup 0 3 8½
To a small parcel of unbroke Flax 0 2 0
To 2869 lbs of Tobacco @@ s2 23 18 2
To a parcel of old lumber 0 6 0

Total £158 s19 p8

his
John Î Sparks )
mark ) nearest JohnEarl
his ) ofEdward Brown
Millington M Sparks ) kinn
mark )

Augst Thompson )
& ) Creditors
Solomon Clayton )

August 24 1737. Then came Cornelia Sparks Exr of the within mentionedJohnSparks deceased and made oath on the Holy Evangelists that the withinInventory is a just & perfect one of all & singular the Goods & Chattleswhich were of said decd that came to her hands at the time of makingthereof that what hath since or shall hereafter come to her hands orpossession she will return in an additional Inventory That she knows ofno concealment of any part or parcel of said decd personal Estate by anyperson whatever and yt [that] if she shall discover any concealment orsuspect any to be she will aqquaint the Commy General for the time beingor his Deputy with such discovery or Cause of suspicion that it may beenquired into and that she will well & truly give an acct of all & everypart of sd deceaseds personal estate that shall hereafter come to herhands possession or knowledge.
Sworn to before meJames Earle Dty Commry Queen Anns County

[Editor's Note: Under the law in Colonial Maryland, an inventory of thepersonal property of a deceased person had to be signed not only by themen (usually two) who conducted the inventory (in this instance, JohnEarl and Edward Brown), but also by two individuals who could bedescribed as "kin" or "nearest of kin," and, also, by the two individualswho were considered to be the principal "creditors" of the deceased. Whomight qualify as "kin" (the spelling was usually "kinn) seems to havevaried from place to place and time to time. Relatives who were not,themselves, heirs of the deceased were sometimes preferred, whereas onother occasions, adult children who had actually been willed propertysigned the inventory as "nearest of kin." In this instance, it will benoted, two sons of John Sparks signed the inventory, John [Jr. ] andMillington. Both signed by mark, and the Deputy Commissary, James Earle,who was doubtless the one who wrote their names, spelled Millington as"Millenton."

Readers are reminded that, until quite recently when Great Britainintroduced the metric system into its currency, a pound consisted oftwenty shillings and a shilling comprised 12 pence. Where separateamounts were designated for multiple items in a single entry in theinventory of John Sparks, the word shilling was abbreviated to s; wherethe value the "small looking glass," for example, appears as "2s6," thismeant two shillings and six pence.]

Cornelia Sparks presented the inventory of the estate of her late husbandto the Queen Annes County Court on August 24, 1737. As executrix,Cornelia had been required to call to the attention of the men taking theinventory (John Earle and Edward Brown) all of her late husband'sproperty. The signatures (by mark) of two of John's sons indicated theirsatisfaction of the correctness of the list and the value assigned eachitem. Augustine Thompson and Solomon Clayton, as creditors, alsoindicated their satisfaction by signing their names.

Sometime between August 1737 and February 1738, Cornelia Sparks, widow ofJohn Sparks, died without having completed her job as executrix of herlate husband's estate. Her son, George Sparks, was appointed asadministrator of her estate (she did not leave a will), and he was nowrequired to present an inventory of his mother's personal belongings.This inventory was taken by James Brown and John Collin[s] on February14, 1738. Again, John Sparks [Jr.] and Millington Sparks witnessed thedocument as nearest of kin. Augustine Thompson, acting as the factor forJohn Buck, Esquire, and also for himself, attested as principalcreditor[s] to the correctness of the inventory, which was presented tothe court on April 10, 1738. This document reads as follows:

Queen Annes County. A true & perfect Inventory of the Goods & Chattelswhich were of Cornelia Sparks late of said County deceased taken &Appraised the 14th day of February Anno Domini 1738 By us whose hands arehereunto affixt-- [Inventory Book 23, page 284]
Inventory Pounds Shillings Pence

To wearing apparre 0
To 1 Gown & Petticoat & Dungars 1 15 0
To 1 Quilted Coat & 1 old check apron 0 10 0
To 1 Crape Gown & 1 Dowlass Shiftll 0 16 0
To 1 pr of old bootes & 3 old capps & 1 black Hood 0 7 0
To paper Money 2 4 0
To 1 plush sidesadle & bridle & saddle cloths 3 0 0
To 1 country cloth blankett 0 9 0
To 3 pds of Tallow 0 2 0
To 1 pr of Wool cards 0 3 0
To 3 small Slater hides 0 4 0
To 1 large Earthern Jug 0 1 6
To 16 Barrells of Indian Corn 9 8 0
To 52 Bushells of Wheat Sowed & Plowing of it in 2 12 0
To 10 Shotes several [sic] Months old 2 10 0
To 7 piggs 2 months old 0 7 0
To 3 old case knives & 5 forks 0 1 6
To 15 Geese 0 15 0
To 19 pounds of Dried Beef 0 5 0
To 1 Lamb 0 2 0
To 3 yards of Country Cloth 0 7 6
To 1 small Deer Skinn 0 4 0
To 2 Bushell of Salt 0 1 6
To 2 Poplar Bowles 0 1 0

Total £26 s6 p2

Jas Brown )

John Colin ) appraisers
his )
Jno. E Sparkes )
mark ) nearest
his ) of
Millington M Sparkes ) kin
mark )
Augt Thompson ) a creditor
factor for John Buck Esq )
for himself ) creditor

Aprill 10th 1738. Then came George Sparks before me the Subscriber DeputyCommissary of Queen Anns County and made oath on the Holy Evangells thatthe within is a just & perfect Inventory of all & Singular the Goods &Chattles of the Deceased that came to his hands at the time of Makingthereof & that what hath since or shall hereafter come to his orpossession he will return in an Additional Inventory that he knows of noconcealment of any part or parcel thereof by any person whatsoever & thatif he shall discover any concealment or suspect any to be he willacquaint the Commisary Generall for the time being or his Deputy withsuch discovery or Cause of Suspicion that it may be enquired into & heshall well & truly give an account of all & every part of the Deceasedspersonall Estate that shall come to his hands possession or knowledge.

Sworn to before me James Earle

The death of Cornelia Sparks left the estate of John Sparks without anexecutor or administrator, and on April 13, 1738, the Queen Annes CountyCourt appointed George Sparks to be the administrator of that part of hisfather's estate "Unadministered by Cornelia Sparks, widow." George gavethe court his bond in the amount of 200 Pounds with John Earle andRichard Collins as his securities. The bond was recorded as follows:

George Sparkes, John Earle and Richard Collins all of Queen Annes Countybound to the Lord Proprietary in the sum of 200 Pounds on 13th April 1738for George Sparkes to be the administrator of John Sparks decdunadministered by Cornelia Sparks Widow and Executrix and to make anexhibit into the Prerogative Court at Annapolis on or before 13th Julynext of John Sparkes unadministred estate to pay all unpaid debts.
Witnesses: James Earle George Sparks
Michael Earle JnoEarle

Richard Collins

An additional inventory was taken of the Sparks, Senior, on July 1, 1738,by Edward Brown and John Hawkins, Jr. As recorded in Inventory Book 23,pages 298-99, here is this additional inventory.

An Inventory of all & Singular ye [the] goods Chattels rights and Creditsof John Sparks laite of Queen Anns County desed unadministered byCornelia Spark widow & Exctrx of said John decesd which said Cornelia islikewise Since Dead so far forth as was Shewen and produced to us theSubscribers Appraisers legally Qualified (by George SparksJunrAdministrator De bonis non of Said John Sparks unadministered as afore sed by the a foresed Cornelia Sparks) Witness our hands & seals this1st
day of July Anno Domny 1738.
Inventory £ Shill. Pence
To two gold rings at 2 10 0
To Sixteen & a half bushels of Wheat 3 6 0
To 4 reap hooks old 0 2 0
To 1 old cow bell 0 1 0

Total 5 19 0

his
Jno I Sparkes )
mark ) nearest
) of
his ) Kinn
Millington M Sparkes )
mark )

Augst Thompson as Atty in fact )
for Jno. Buck Esq )
& )Creditors
Dowdall Thompson )

proved 10th July 1738 by Geo. Sparks

July 10th 1738. Then came before me James Earle Dty Comiser of Queen AnneCounty George Sparks Adm Debonis non of John Sparks unadministered byCornelia Sparks the widow of said John wch Same Cornelia is also dead andthe said George Administ as afd made oath on the Holy Evangells that thewithin is a just and perfect Inventory of all the Goods and Chattels ofsaid John unadministered by the afd Cornelia that came to his hands orpossession at the time of the making thereof that what hath since orshall hereafter come to his hands and possession he will return in anaddl inventory that he knows of no concealment or suspicion of any partor parcells of sd Jno personal estate by any person whateverunadministred as afd that if hereafter he discovers any concealment orsuspects any he will acquaint the Commr Genl for the time being or hisDeputy therewith that it may be inquired into and lastly that he willwell and truly give an account of all and every part of said Johndeceased personal Estate unadministered as afd Shall come hereafter tohis hands possession and knowledge-
Swornto before me James Earle

During the period from July 1738 and January 1739, a few items were foundwhich belonged to the estate of Cornelia Sparks, and these items weredescribed for the Queen Annes County Court on January 9, 1739. (SeeInventory Book 24, page 21.) These items were: "2973 Lbs Tobacco at 20shillings per hundred" valued at 29 pounds, 14 shillings, and 7 pence;"cash" in the amount of 10 shillings; "3 yards of hair cloth at 2s6 peryard" valued at 7 shillings and 6 pence; and a "pair of old shoes" worth2 shillings and 6 pence. In all, these items were valued at 30 pounds, 14shillings, and 7 pence. James Brown and John Collins signed their nameson this document as having taken this additional inventory. On thisoccasion, Millington Sparks and Caleb Sparks signed as "nearest of kin,"Millington signing by mark, while Caleb wrote his name. AugustineThompson signed as a creditor on behalf of John Buck; Dowell Thompsonsigned as the other creditor.

The estates of John Sparks and of his wife, Cornelia Sparks, were bothsettled on the same day by their son, George Sparks. He was joined in thesettlement by his brothers, John Sparks, Millington Sparks, AbsalomSparks, and Caleb Sparks, and by his sisters, Sarah Herbert, Mary Ruth,and Cornelia Alley. (Note that the married names of these three sistersare thus revealed.) His sister, Rachel, who had been married to RobertHawkins, did not sign the account, so we may probably assume that she haddied sometime between 1731 and 1739. (These accounts were recorded onpages 383-86 of Account Book 17 on December 14, 1739. )

Queen Anns County. The account of George Sparks administrator of CorneliaSparks who was executrix of John Sparks late of the afsd county PlanterDeceased-

£ Shill. Pence

This Accountant chargeth himself with an Inventory of the deceaseds
estate exhibited into the ofi Prerogative office at Annapolis by theaforesaid
Cornelia Sparks amounting to 158 19 8

And he humbly prays allowance of the following payments and Disbursementswhich appear
to have been made by her on account of the said deceased:

Of funeral Expenses in burying the deceased-- 2 10 0

Of Tobo due from the said deceased to James Buchanan and Company on anote proved
by their Factor James Gould and paid by the afsd Cornelia Sparks to RichdGould their
receiver as by his receipt 548lb.

Of ditto due from ditto to John Buck Esq on acct proved by his FactorWilliam Walker and
paid by her to his receiver Augustine Thompson as by his rect appears 1405 lb.

Of ditto due from ditto and paid by her to his Factor Mr AugustineThompson as by
account proved by him & receipt appears2775

Of ditto due from ditto to William Walker and paid to him by her as byaccount
proved receipt 70

Of ditto and current money due from ditto to Dowdal Thomson & paid to himby her as
by account proved and receipt appears 74 0 2 0

Of current money due from ditto to Solomon Clayton and paid by her as byaccount
and receipt appears 4 0 11

Of ditto due from ditto to William Richardson and paid by her as byaccount proved
and rect appears 0 4 0

Of ditto due from ditto to Samuel McCook and paid by her as by accountproved
and receipt appears 0 18 0

(TOTALS) 4872 lb. 7 14 11
2869 at 16s8p 23 18 2
2003 at 20s 20 0 7
(TOTAL) 51 13 8

Of Commission on Payment of £51.13.8 at 10 pct. 5 3 4
56 17 0
Balance due the Estate 102 2 8
Whole Estate 158 19 8

John Merredith ) Sureties on Cornelia Sparks
George Elliot ) Administrator
Queen Anns County. December the 14th 1739. The foregoing account afterdue examination by virtue of a commission from the prerogative office ispassed by me--

Wm Tilghman Depy Comisary of

Queen Anns County

Following is a transcription of the account of George Sparks asadministrator of the portion of his father's estate that had not beencompleted prior to the death Cornelia Sparks.

The Account of George Sparkes Administrator de bonis non of John Sparkeslate of the afsd county planter deceased:

This Accountant chargeth himself with the
Ballance of the foregoing account & likewise
with an Inventory of part of the deceaseds
Estate by him Exhibited into the prerogative
office at Annapolis-

£ Shill. Pence
Balc of the foregoing account 102 2 8
Inventory 5 19 0
108 1 8
And he humbly prays allowance of the following
payments by him made on account of the decd
and his Estate--

Of Tobacco due from the said deceased to Augustine Thomson and paid tohim
by this accountant as by account proved and receipt appears 320 lb.

Of ditto and from ditto to John Ricketts and paid to him by ditto as byaccount
proved and receipt appears 302

Of ditto due from ditto to Bartholemew Doyle and paid to him by ditto asby acct
proved and rect appears 300

Of Tobacco due from the afsd deceased to Nicholas Shorlock and paid tohim
by the afsd Accountant as by account proved and rect appears 457

Of current money due from ditto to Daniel Wilcocks and paid by ditto asby
account proved and rect appears 0 3 0

Of ditto due from ditto to Hugh ONeil and paid to him by ditto as byaccount proved and rec aprs 0 6 1

Of ditto due from ditto to Francis Rochester and paid to him by ditto asby account proved
and receipt appears 1 11 0

Of ditto due from Cornelia Sparkes Exr of the deceased to Edward Brownone of the
Appraisers and paid to him by this accountant as by account proved andreceipt appears 0 4 0

Of ditto due from the deceased to John Dempster and paid to him by do. asby acct
proved and rect appears 2 11 4

Of ditto due from Cornelia Sparkes Exr of the deceased to John Earlconeone of the
Appraisers and paid to him by ditto as by account proved and receiptappears 0 4 0

Of Tobo. due from the deceased to Doctor James Cruikshank and by accountproved
by Mr. James Anderson and paid by this accountant to Mr. James Brown asby his
receipt appears 550 lb.

Of ditto due from ditto to Matthew Deckoy and paid to him by ditto as byaccount
proved and rect appears 54

Of current money due from this accountant to John Hawkins & Edward Browne
for one days appraising of the deceaseds Estate and paid to him by themas by
their accounts and receipts appears 0 5 0

Of Tobo due from Cornelia Sparkes the afsd Exr to Daniel DulaneyCommisary
general on account of her administration and paid by the above account asby
accounts the sherifs receipt 610½

(Lack of storage space requires this accounting carried to the bottom ofpage 3843 and the article on Millington Sparks to be continued in thenotes for his wife Mabel Ruth Sparks)

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

SQ pg 3846 states: "Millington Sparks, Jr., son of Millington andMabel (Ruth) Sparks, was born about 1745 in Queen Annes County. Norecords have been found pertaining to him, however, until 1778. For somereason, he was not listed as head of a household on the special censustaken of Maryland in 1776. He was listed on the special census taken in1778. His father (as we believe him to be) was listed on that census as"Millington Sparks, Sr."

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

The last record we have found pertaining to Millington Sparks, Jr . iscontained on the federal census of 1790 for Queen Annes County. On thatfirst U.S. census, free white males were enumerated only as under 16 andover 16; free white females were enumerated in only one category.Millington Sparks was the only male in his household (he was over 16);there were three females in his household, probably his wife and twodaughters. (See SQ Whole No. 1, pg 5 for listing of Sparkses appearingon the 1790 census of Maryland.)

Although we have found no record of the marriage of Millington Sparks,Jr., nor the name of his wife, we believe that he was the father of atleast one son, Millington Sparks, born about 1775. We must assume thatthis son was living in a household other than his father' s when the 1790census was taken. This Millington Sparks was married to Rebecca Brooks onMay 23, 1797, in Kent County, Maryland, and subsequently moved toGeorgia."

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

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

Speculation could make the above Millington Sparks and Rebecca BrooksSparks the grandparents to which reference is made in the 1961 newspaperarticle celebrating the 53 anniversary of the death of Governor Sparks onMay 22, 1908.

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

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

"The September 1991 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, No. 155, containedan article about Millington Sparks, born about 1715, died about 1780, ofQueen Annes County, Maryland. He was a son of John and Cornelia Sparksand a grandson of William and Mary Sparks who had come from HampshireCounty, England, to Maryland about 1663. Millington Sparks was marriedto Mabel Ruth on February 9, 1740, in Queen Annes County. Among theirsix children was a son who was also named Millington Sparks, born about1745, whom we will designate as Millington Sparks, II.

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

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

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

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

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1997, Whole No. 179, p4869:
"Milton Elliott Sparks was born on May 5, 1868, on Ison Creek inElliott County. He was a well-known and well-liked man. He was afarmer, teacher, postmaster, and Baptist preacher. He served one term asa representative in the Kentucky Legislature. On July 26, 1893, he wasmarried to Tennessee Thompson. She had been born on July 5, 1876, andwas a daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Webb) Thompson. Elliott (as hewas called) and Tennessee lived on Lick Creek near Webbville, Kentucky.He died on April 18, 1941, at Ashland, Kentucky. Tennessee died there onDecember 21, 1943. They were buried in the Dixon Cemetery at Ashland. "His photograph appears in the QUARTERLY on page 4780 alongside of a photoof their youngest six children, and a photo of Tennessee (Thompson)Sparks appears on page 4871.

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

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

SQ pp 4722-23:

"Minerva Jane Sparks, daughter of John W. and Almeda (Green) Sparks.was born about 1847 in Carter County, Kentucky. She was married there onFebruary 23, 1868, to George Washington Boggs by Alfred Catron, a justiceof the peace. Wash (as he was called) had been born about 1844 and was ason of Elijah and Catherine (Gambill) Boggs. Wash and Minerva moved tonorthern Wisconsin about 1912 where he was a timberman in and aroundLanglade County. In her latter years, Minerva lived with her daugher,Katie, at Nashville, Wisconsin, and this is where she died and wasburied. She and Wash Boggs had five children when the 1880 census wastaken of Elliott County; there may have been other children born to themat a later time."

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