Troy died in the great influenza epidemic of 1918 according to his niece,Laurel Vivian Sparks who send an email (ednasporch@@yahoo.com) in June,2005 with information on her grandfather James Meredith Sparks and hisdescendants.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3697: He (Roscoe) was a farmer, but also did carpenter work .He and Trudy were Baptists. Their children were: Raymond, Cecelia ,Randall, Franklin, and Jay.

See SQ p 4874:
"Ulysses ["Lys"] Sparks was born on May 14, 1873, on Little Fork. Hebecame an expert in "cruising timber" and grading lumber by working inthe forests and lumber mills in Elliott County. He was a grown man whenhis mother moved to Normal, Kentucky. It was there that he got his starttoward owning his own lumberyard. He was considered a well-to-do manwhen he died.
"Lys Sparks was married to Mary Thompson on February 23, 1903. Shehad been born on October 27, 1877, and was a daughter of William Alex andSarah (Leedy) Thompson. She and Lys lived at Morehead, Kentucky, whereLys owned a lumberyard. This is where Lys died on January 15, 1946.Mary survived him for over twenty years, dying on March 15, 1969. Theyhad two children, Edna Sparks and Lorene Sparks."

SQ 138, p. 3062:

"Uriah Sparks, whom we believe also to have been a son of Abel Sparks,the Elder, was born in 1797 in North Carolina. As noted above, we havenot found him on the 1820 census of Georgia, but we think it likely thathe was the Uriah Sparks who married Polly Pinhinter on July 4, 1821, inMontgomery County, Alabama. He was living in Newton County, Georgia, in1830 and in Carroll County, Georgia, in 1840 and 1850. It was in NewtonCounty that he was married to his second wife on December 8, 1831; shewas Sarah Whatley, daughter of Solomon and Polly (McLendon) Whatley. Shewas born in 1807 and died in 1850. Uriah's third wife was named MahalaBrowning. He had four children by his first wife and nine by his second.Their names were:
(1) George W. Sparks, born ca. 1822;
(2) Green Sparks, born between 1820 and 1835;
(3) William Sparks, born ca. 1826;
(4) an unidentified son, born ca. 1825-30;
(5) Mary Sparks, born June 6, 1833;
(6) Martha Sparks, born ca. 1835;
(7) Simeon Sparks, born ca. 1837;
(8) Sarah Sparks, born ca. 1839;
(9) C. Napoleon Sparks, born ca. 1841;
(10) Joseph Sparks, born ca. 1843;
(11) Andrew Sparks, born ca. 1844;
(12) Dennis M. Sparks, born November 1844; and
(13) Nancy Sparks, born March 4, 1850. More detailed informationregarding these thirteen children was given in the query noted at the topof this page, in the December 1980 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 112,page 2258.

******************************
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY for September 1964, Whole No. 47, pp. 842-43:

SPARKSES IN THE WAR OF 1812 BOUNTY LAND AND PENSIONAPPLICATIONS

URIAH SPARKS, born in North Carolina about 1797; a resident of MorganCounty, Georgia, in 1815; lived later in Newton County and CarrollCounty, Georgia. Land Warrant File 13 318-80-55.

On November 28, 1850, Uriah Sparks, a resident of Carroll County,Georgia, appeared before a justice of the peace named Arthur Hutcheson toapply for bounty land under the provisions of the Congressional act ofSeptember 25, 1850. He stated that he was 53 years old and that he hadserved in the War of 1812 as a private in the company commanded by Capt.Henry Lane in the Rifle Battalion commanded by Col. Jones. He stated thathe volunteered in Morgan County, Georgia, on November 1, 1814, for theterm of 6 months, and continued in actual service for the length of histerm and was honorably discharged at Fort Hawkins on or about May 1,1815. He stated that he did not receive a written discharge. He signedhis name as "Uriah Sparks."

Records in the Treasury Department revealed that Uriah Sparks hadactually served from November 21, 1814, until May 6, 1815, and he wasissued land warrant no. 10,385 for 80 acres of bounty land.

On April 10, 1855, Uriah Sparks applied for additional bounty land underthe provisions of the Congressional act of March 3, 1855. He gave his ageas 57 and stated that he was still a resident of Carroll County, Georgia.He gave essentially the same information about his service as in 1850,except that he stated that his company was made up of rifle men. He againsigned his application as “Uriah Sparks,” and William A. Johnson andRichard L. Winkles, both residents of Carroll County, signed aswitnesses.

Uriah Sparks was issued a land warrant for 80 additional acres of bountyland.

(Editor’s Note: Although Uriah Sparks stated that he enlisted in MorganCounty, Georgia, we have found no Morgan County record containing hisname. Perhaps he was related to the David Sparks who also enlisted inMorgan County and was also a member of Capt. Henry Lane’s company; DavidSparks and Uriah Sparks both stated that they had enlisted on November 1,1814. (For an abstract of David Sparks’s bounty land application file,see the Quarterly of September, i960, Vol. VIII, No. 3, Whole No. 31, p.501.) Perhaps Uriah Sparks was also related to the John Sparks of MorganCounty about whom we published data in the Quarterly of March, 1961 (Vol.IX, No. 1, Whole No. 33, pp. 540-42).

Uriah Sparks probably lived in that part of Morgan County that went tohelp form Newton County, which was created in 1821. Uriah Sparks waslisted as a resident of Newton County on the 1830 census. His family atthat time consisted of a female (probably his wife) between 30 and 40; 2males between 5 and 10; and 2 males under 5. Apparently the first wife ofUriah Sparks died between 1830 and 1832, for he was married in NewtonCounty, Georgia, to Mrs. Sarah Whatley in 1832.

By 1837, Uriah Sparks had moved to Carroll County, Georgia, for on July4, 1837, he purchased a tract of land in Carroll County from LeviPhillips, Sr. and Levi Phillips, Jr. (Deed Book C, p. 171) On July 3,1840, he purchased another tract from William R. Duke (Book D, p. 98);this tract was “on the road from Pyre Watson’s to Reubin Newton’s.” OnSeptember 1, 1846, Uriah Sparks sold the tract he had purchased in 1840to J, and A. Hutchison. The witnesses to this deed were William Sparksand Green Sparks.

Uriah Sparks was listed on the 1840 census of Carroll County. At thattime his household consisted of himself, aged 40 to 50; 1 female(probably his wife) between 30 and 40; 2 males between 15 and 20; 2 malesbetween 10 and 15; 1 male under 5; two females between 5 and 10; and onefemale under 5.

Uriah Sparks was listed on the 1850 census of Carroll County in the 11thdivision; his occupation was given as farmer, his age as 50, and thevalue of his real estate as $1000. His birth place was given as NorthCarolina. He owned no slaves. His wife, Sarah, was listed as 42 years ofage, a native of Georgia. The following, all probably the children ofUriah and Sarah Sparks, were listed in their household:
1. Mary Sparks, born about 1833.
2. Simeon Sparks, born about 1837.
3. Sarah Sparks, born about 1839.
4. C. N. Sparks (male), born about 1841.
5. Jos. Sparks (male), born about 1843.
6. Andrew Sparks, born about 1846.
7. Dennis Sparks, born about 1847.
8. Nancy Sparks, born about March, 1850.

From earlier census records, it would appear that Uriah Sparks had atleast four children by his first wife. There was a George W. Sparks, age28, living near Uriah Sparks in 1850, with wife named Martha, age 24, andchildren named Green Sparks, born about 1843; Augustus Sparks, born about1845; Georgia Sparks, born about 1847; and John Sparks, born about April,1850. This George W. Sparks may have been a son of Uriah; living with hisfamily was a William Sparks, aged 24, who may also have been a son ofUriah.)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1986, Whole No. 135, pg 2950:

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION OF

URIAH H. SPARKS, son of John and Barbara ( ----- ) Sparks, was bornabout
1842, probably in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He died on March13, 1893, at Tatesville, Pennsylvania. He served in Co. H, 107thRegt. Pennsylvania Infantry. File Designation: Inv. Cert. No.197,783.

"On August 9, 1878, Uriah H. Sparks, aged 36, a resident ofTatesville, Pennsylvania, applied for an invalid pension. He said thathe had enlisted on March 11, 1862, in Company H, 107th RegimentPennsylvania Volunteers, commanded by Capt. John T. Dick, and had serveduntil he was mustered out with his company on July 1, 1865. While atGettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1863, he had been wounded on hisleft hip by a piece of shell. In May 1865, while marching from Richmond,Virginia, to Washington, D.C., he was injured by falling in a ditch.Because of these injuries, he was now unable to do any manual labor. Hestated that he was 6 feet tall and had had a swarthy complexion, darkhair and grey eyes, and that he had been a farmer when he enlisted. Heappointed Myers & Co., Washington, D.C., as his attorneys. J. N. Alsipand Louis Sauff [?] witnessed his signature.

"The War Department confirmed Sparks's military service on December 6,1878. He had been enrolled on March 14, 1862, at Chambersburg,Pennsylvania, in the 107th Regiment Pennsylvania Infantry to serve forthree years. He had been wounded in action at Gettysburg on July 1,1863, and had been hospitalized until November 1863, when he rejoined hiscompany. He re-enlisted as a Veteran Volunteer on February 7, 1865. Hewas mustered out with his company at "In the Field, Virginia" on July 13,1865.

"Invalid Certificate No. 197,783 was issued to Uriah H. Sparks, and hewas placed upon the pension roll.

!NOTES:
SQ 3231: Married William Gregory on 22 Dec 1741. Children unknown.
See records of St. Luke's Parish, p. 47, Queen Annes County. For full
citation see notes of brother George.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1992, Whole No. 160, pg 4036-4040:
6. Ursula Sparks, probable daughter of George and Mary (----- )Sparks, was born about 1720. She was married to William Gregory onDecember 22, 1741, in Queen Annes County.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3408: They had eight children: Linda, Lenore, Brenda, Allison, Leroy, Warren, David, and Gary Ecker.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2620: She was married to Frank X. Thale in 1913, and they h adat least one child, a son, James Sparks Thale who was born in 192 0 atEvanston, Illinois.

SQ pg 2633:

"Veral Sparks was born on February 22, 1905, and died in 1966. He wasmarried to Naomi Cassell in 1943. He owned and operated an appliancestore in Flora, Indiana. They had no children."

SQ pg 743: ELLIOTT COUNTY, KENTUCKY, MARRIAGE BONDS (1869-1912):

Verlina Sparks & A. J. Hillman, March 21, 1894. (Book 2, page 44)Married at home of Joel Sparks (Verlina's father).

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3193: Viola Sparks was born in 1876. She married George Monk , and
they lived in Allendale Missouri.

SQ p. 290 records the birth in Elliott County, KY if a Biola Sparks on 6May 1901 to Birch Sparks and Mary Hicks Sparks. Could some of this infobe erroneous and be referring to Viola Sparks?

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3412: They had two children: Romona and Elmer, Jr.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3412: They had one child, a son, Paul David Burnett.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3469: He had three children: Marisa, Timothy, and Carolin eSparks.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3421: He owned and operated the Sparks Appliance Store in Olive Hill (KY). They had one child, Barbara Sparks.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4068: She was married to John Cecil Brown.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 4067: She was married to Paul Rinner.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3277: They had three children: Virginia E.; Ora Lena; an dEdward.

SQ 3872:

"Virginia E. "Jenny" Sparks was married to Samuel Sparks on September26, 1889, in Lewis County, Kentucky. He had been born in July 1869 andwas a son of William Caleb and Mary Jane (McClatchey) Sparks, descendantsof a branch of the Sparks family that had settled in early Lewis County.Samuel and Jenny Sparks had four children: William, Laura, Nannie, andWalter.

Information concerning the descendants of Caney Sparks and SylvanusSparks was provided in late 1999 by Virginia Lynn "Jinny" (Sparks)Hertenstein. Her email address was ??

Jinny is a graduate of Chillicothe High School, Class of 1980, and theMt. Carmel School of Nursing, Columbus, Ohio, Class of 1984. She is aRegistered Nurse at the Methodist Hospital of Indiana. Her spouse,Steven Wayne Hertenstein graduated from New Bremen, Ohio, in 1975, servedin the United States Army for 3 years and graduated from Bowling GreenState University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.He is a police officer in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Baptismal Record of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Morgantown ,Union County, KY., year 1872, page 397, FHL 0571711, "Dec 2 Baptized,subconditione, Virginia M. Sparks, aged about eighteen years, of SolomonSparks and Margaret Brimm; sponsor Anne C. Spalding. Hugh Casey(priest)."

See also FHL 976.9885 (or 976.885) D2h for printed index. Annie Spaldingwas not related to Virginia but, in the distant future, her then 7 yearold brother David would marry Annie's 5th cousin, Mary Teresa Stone, bothdescendants of Mattinglys, Spaldings and Jenkins.

NOTE:
The foregoing Church entry indicates the birth year of Virginia M .Sparks to be abt. 1854. The only child born to Solomon and Margaret in1854 was Justine Sparks. Martha was born about 1856 and was too young tobe "Virginia".

.

!NOTES:
SQ 2783: "May Virginia Sparks was born on May 8, 1879. She was married
to Edward L Ryals on July 19, 1894, at Waco, Texas. They had six children.
After Edward's death, she married Elbert Lardingham. She died on Apr il5,
1957, and was buried at Gholson, Texas. They had five children: Euge ne,
Burton, Mary Elizabeth, Dorothy and Harriet."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3903: Following the death of Virginia in 1918, Thomas Purd ymarried Virginia's older sister, Martha.

.
!NOTES:
SQ 4070: He was married to Becky Jane Warrman and they had eigh tchildren: however, the only information we have about them is a li st oftheir names: Mary Ellen, Ada, Alice, Beulah May, Loretta, Glenn , Helen,and Sarah.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 2615: He married Carol Ratcliffe on July 3, 1913, and the y hadone child, Audrey.

SQ p. 4636:

"Walter Greenville Sparks was born on April 11, 1863, in LawrenceCounty and was obviously named for his uncle, Walter Greenville Sparks,who was then serving in the Union Army in the Civil War. Walter attendedthe University of Maryland and became a physician. He was marriedtwice. His first marriage was to Arena Boggs on November 29, 1883, inLawrence County, and they had four children before her death about 1890.Walter's second marriage was to Cordelia Belle Skeens in 1891, and theyhad six children. Walter lived in Wyoming County, West Vir-ginia, wherehe was the superintendent of schools about 1910."

"Walter Greenville Sparks died in Wyoming County, West Virginia, onJanuary 2, 1922. (JS: Here names children.)

SQ p. 4645:

"Walter 0. Sparks, son of Garrett and Betsy (Boggs) Sparks, was bornabout 1840. On October 10, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, 14th RegimentKentucky Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army at Catlettsburg, Kentucky,to serve for three years. He was given a Disability DischargeCertificate on April 12, 1863, at Louisa, Kentucky, because of "lungfever" which had destroyed his left lung. At the time of his discharge,he was 21 years old. He held the rank of sergeant; he was 6 feet, 2inches tall; he had blue eyes, light colored hair, and a fair complexion;and he was a farmer by occupation. His home address was Blaine,Kentucky. The certificate was signed by Captain James H. Davidson, C.O.of Company B; S. D. Richards, Assistant Regimental Surgeon, and Col.George Gallup, Regimental Commander."

"Walter Sparks's discharge from the army is the last record we havefound of him. Relatives say that he died shortly after reaching hishome. He was never married."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pps 4470-71: Walter Scott Sparks was born on January 21, 1874 , inLampasas County and was a fair-sized lad when his parents move d to thegeneral area where the present-day states of Nevada, Utah, a nd Idahomeet. It was probably in this area that he grew to maturity . He wasnot quite eighteen years old when his father died, but he t ook over themanagement of the ranch. The 1901 Idaho Gazetteer liste d him with 1,865 acres of land valued at $8,770. His post office wa s American Falls,Idaho.
Walter Scott Sparks was married twice. His first marriage was t oFreda Herrera about 1899. She died on September 4, 1914. After he rdeath, he was married (2nd) to Mrs. Zulema "Zula" Clark, a widow . Hedied on April 23, 1931, at American Falls, Idaho. He had fou r children,all by his first marriage.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had two children, Conan and Helen.

See SQ pp. 4049-50:

"Walter Winfield Sparks was born on December 22, 1853. He was thesecond of the twelve children of Edwin and Priscilla (Spurgeon) Sparks....The parents of Edwin Sparks were Levi and Zulima Craig (Moore) Sparksof Adams County, Ohio, and Dubuque County, Iowa. The parents of LeviSparks were Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas) Sparks, also of AdamsCounty. Ohio. Levi's [JS Correction: Solomon's] parents were George andMary Sparks of Washington County, Pennsylvania. For further details ofthis branch of the family , see the June and September 1963 issues of theQUARTERLY, Whole No.s 42 and 43 respectively; also the issue for March1971, Whole No. 73, and that for March 1984, Whole No. 125.

"The place of birth of Walter Winfield Sparks was near Dubuque, Iowa.He left Iowa in 1873 and went to Clark County, Washington, where he livedfor a short time with his uncle, Matthias Spurgeon. He taught schoolwhile he studied law, and he bacame an attorney in 1891. According to ACENTENNIAL SALUTE TO CLARK COUNTY, he was married three times. His firstmarriage was to Emma Jane Goddard on August 15, 1877. She had been bornin February 1858 and was a daughter of Joseph and Hester Ann (Hendricks)Goddard. She died on June 19, 1878.

"The second marriage of Walter Winfield Sparks was to Mary Elizabeth(Poe) Spurgeon on June 6, 1883. She had been born on May 2, 1855, andwas the widow of Henry Spurgeon by whom she had had two children, MarthaMatilda Spurgeon and George Henry Spurgeon. Mary Elizabeth was a memberof the Christian Church. She and Walter had one child, Ernest RaySparks, born April 4, 1886. She died on January 22, 1925, at Vancouverand was buried in the Old City Cemetery there.

"The third marriage of Walter Winfield Sparks was to Metta (Durgan)McCafferty on February 10, 1927. She had been born on February 7, 1878,and was a daughter of Simeon and Georgianne (Nye) Durgan. Walter becameinterested in genealogy during his later years and traveled across theUnited States several times searching for his family's records. He diedon February 12, 1937, and was buried beside his second wife, Mary, in theOld City Cemetery in Vancouver.

"Ernest Ray Sparks, only child of Walter Winfield Sparks was born onApril 4, 1886, at Vancouver. (His mother, Mary Elizabeth, was the secondwife of Walter Winfield Sparks.) Ernest Ray became a veterinariansurgeon. On August 18, 1909, he was married to Agnes M. Whetsell. Shehad been born on April 17, 1881, at Vancouver and was a daughter ofGeorge Henry and Mary Elizabeth (McCollum) Whitsell. She was a teacher.She and Ernest moved to Pomona, California, in 1920. There, Ernestengaged in veterinary practice until his retirement in 1948. Agnes diedat Pomona on April 21, 1941, as the result of an automobile accident.Ernest died at Upland, California, on March 28, 1949. They had onechild, Ernest Whetsell Sparks (Colonel, USMCR Retired), a long-timesustaining member of our Association.

"In reviewing the photostats of Judge Sparks's research on thedescendants of Solomon and Catherine (Hillegas) Sparks, we have thoughtthat it would be of interest to our readers to provide a listing of theirchildren and grandchildren. In preparing this list, we have used manyrecords besides those of Judge Sparks which have come to light since heprepared his twenty-five charts.

"Judge Sparks began his record with the Solomon Sparks who was born onNovember 15, 1767, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania."

See SQ p. 333 for birth information where his name is given as MilburnSparks.

SQ pg. 4067:

"Wilburn Sparks, son of John L. and Polly (Hay) Sparks, was born onJuly 15, 1859, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He grew up in Scott County,Virginia, and it was probably there that he was married to RachelVirginia Brickey about 1880. She had been born in December 1858 and wasa daughter of William C. and Mary (Flannery ) Brickey. Wilburn is saidto have "studied" medicine under a medical doctor attached to the CoeburnHospital at Coeburn, Virginia; however, at least one descendant says thathe did not have a diploma or license to practice medicine. Whatever thecircumstances, we know for certain that he practiced medicine as acountry doctor, riding on horseback and dispensing pills from a saddlebag.

"Wilburn and Rachel had six children, including an unnamed child whodied shortly after birth. Wilburn died on April 11, 1934, at Kingsport,Tennessee, and Rachel died there sometime during the following July."

SQ p. 100:
"Wiley Sparks, born 3 March, 1808; married 1832, Sintha Holbrook."

See the SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 886 for the following marriage informationfrom Lawrence County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds (1822-1865):
Wiley Sparks & Sintha Holebrook, August 20, 1832. (Box 3) Married byStephen Wheeler Baptist minister. Bondsman: John Holebrook.

SQ p. 4652:
"Wiley Sparks, son of Levi and Sarah (Lyon) Sparks, was born on March3, 1808, according to a Bible entry made many years ago. (See p. 241 ofthe September 1957 issue of the QUARTERLY, Whole No. 19.) He was born inWilkes County, North Carolina, and was a teenaged boy when he accompaniedhis parents to Lawrence County, Kentucky. It was there that he wasmarried to Cynthia Ann Holbrook on June 21, 1832, by Stephen Wheeler, aBaptist Minister. She had been born on January 6, 1814, and was adaughter of John and Mary (Lyon) Holbrook, natives of North Carolina.

"Wiley and Cynthia Sparks went to housekeeping on Wiley Branch, astream in southeastern Lawrence County that was named for him. It issaid that he settled there to be near the bear hunting which was good onnearby Wallow Hole Creek. This area had several mineral springs in whichthe bears liked to bathe (or wallow) after their hibernation and whichgave the stream its name. It was on Wiley Branch that Wiley and Cynthiareared seven children. Wiley died there on February 19, 1890, and wasburied on the George Washington Sparks homesite."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June 2002, p. 5372:

"Wiley Alexander Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, wasborn in Surry County, North Carolina, in or about 1818. He died onJanuary 25, 1885, in Dayton, Washington. Prior to 1841, he had gone toGeorgia and had been married there to Nancy M. Smith on December 23,1841, according to a land claim that he made in Oregon. He and his familymoved to Missouri prior to 1850 and were on the census of that year inCass County, quite near the household of his parents. He and his familyappear to have moved with his parents to Polk County, Oregon Territory,in 1851. On both the 1860 and 1870 censuses, Wiley Sparks was shown withhis family in Lane County, Eugene Precinct, Oregon. A descendant, PatHigley of Westport, Washington, tells us that Wiley moved to Dayton,Columbia County, Washington,in 1872 where he remained until his death.

The children of Wiley Alexander and Nancy M. (Smith) Sparks,according to Mrs. Higley, were:"
(See their individual sheets.]
***************

Below we will find several quotes from the SPARKS QUARTERLY fromarticles published for a 50 year period, each adding new information andsome correcting earlier data. In the issue for December 1992, Whole No.160, from pg. 4025 through page 4034, several corrections oraugmentations were published. Rather than copy this whole article aswritten, relevant portions will hereinafter be inserted near the earlierdata which it corrects or supplements. Such information will be inbrackets [ ], and will bear the notation "No. 160, p. xxx".

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Dec 1970, Whole No. 72, pg 1362: IMMIGRANTSNAMED SPARKS WHO CAME TO MARYLAND BEFORE 1675.

"That part of North America now called Maryland was first settled bywhite people in 1631 when William Claiborne came over from the colony ofVirginia and established a trading post on Kent Island. He remainedwithout neighbors until 1634 when the first colonists, led by LeonardCalvert, arrived from England in the vessels called the ARK and the DOVE,and founded the county of St. Marys. The future of the colony (namedTerrae Marie or Maryland in honor of Queen Henrietta Marie) was assured.Thereafter, settlers from England poured in by shipload after shipload."Each freeman who came to Maryland was given 100 acres of land forhimself, his wife and each child over age sixteen. In addition, he wasgiven 50 acres for each child under age sixteen and for each "servant" hebrought with him. "Servants" were persons brought in for hire andobligated to work or in some other manner pay for their transportation.In general, these persons were farmers, mechanics, masons, carpenters,shipbuilders, and often they were educated clerks and teachers.

"Generally speaking, the lot of a servant was not especiallyunpleasant. The indenture usually lasted from two to six years and atthe end provision was made to give him or her a degree of independence.In the case of a male servant, he was given fifty acres of land, an ox, agun, two hoes, and a modest amount of clothing. If the servant were afemale, she received a skirt, waistcoat, apron, smock, cap, shoes andstockings, and three barrels of Indian corn.

"This provision for encouraging new colonists proved so popular thatseven years after the colony was established the land allowance wasreduced from 100 acres to 50 acres for adults and to 25 acres for eachchild under age sixteen. In like manner, the early liberal allowance ofland for transporting colonists was tightened. Initially thetransportation of five men was worth 2000 acres, but in 1636 this waschanged to require the transportation of ten men for this amount of land,and in 1641 it was again changed to require twenty men and women to beworth 2000 acres.

"In many cases, the servant paid for his transportation by simplytransfering the acreage he was to receive as a new colonist to the personwho transported him. In turn, the person who provided the transportationmight transfer his right to the land to another person who had n o actualpart in arranging or providing the transport- ation. The system wasfinally abolished in 1683.

[See SQ No. 160, p. 4026: after repeating the above information takenfrom the article published in December 1970, No. 72, (commencing on page1362), see the following: "Our reason reason for including thisdescription of immigration to Maryland during much of the seventeenthcentury is because we believe, although we cannot prove beyond any doubt,that the William Sparks who died in 1709 in Queen Annes County was thesame William Sparks who had been brought to Maryland in 1662 by a mannamed Thomas Skillington. (On page 1363 of the December 1970 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No . 72, we mistakenly copied his name as ThomasSkillingham, and this error was repeated on page 1381 of the March 1971issue, Whole No. 73.)]

[Dr. Sparks noted in his 1970 article, cited above, that the recordsof the assigning of land to persons transporting themselves or others toMaryland are preserved at the Maryland Hall of Records in Annapolis . Wehave obtained a photographic copy of each of the two records pertainingto William Sparks who came to Maryland in 1662. The first of these isfound in Liber 6, called "Patents," page 71, entry #359, and reads asfollows:

I Thomas Skillington of the province of Maryland do assign untoGeorge Richardson all my right and Title of these following Rights ofLand first For Thomas Skillington and Mary his wife, William Sparks,Servants in all Six Ann Powell, Mary Webb, John Green as wittness myhand this 2d of the 10 Month 1663.
[signed] ThomasSkillington]

[From the wording of this transfer of Skillington's claim for land, itis difficult to determine the status of William Sparks. It appears thatAnn Powell, Mary Webb, and John Green were definitely "servants," butWilliam Sparks may not have been a servant, but was simply one of the sixpersons entitled to land. The manner in which Skillington wrote the dateof this transfer of his "Rights of Land" to Richardson is significant.In other entries on this same page, as well as on preceding andsucceeding pages, the name of the month is given. Members of the Quakerfaith, however, refused to use what they considered pagan names for themonths in the Julian calendar, and substituted numbers. Under the Juliancalendar, which would continue to be used in England and her coloniesuntil 1752, March 25th was designated as the beginning of each new year.March was thus considered to be the first month while February wasconsidered to be the twelfth month . Thus, when Skillington dated histransfer of land rights to Richardson as "this 2d of the 10 Month 1663,"he substituted the number 10 for the month of December. The date of thistransfer under the Julian calendar was thus, December 2, 1663.]

[Although we have found no further references to Thomas Skillington inrelationship to William Sparks, there is further reason to believe thatSkillington was a Quaker. An entry appears in the minutes of the ThirdHaven Meeting of the Quaker denomination in Maryland which reads :"Kenellam Skillington of Talbot County, planter, and Lydia Craxtill, lateof Barbados, speinster, married 20 8th month, 1692, at home of ThomasSkillington."]

[The next entry (#372) among Maryland's land patents in Liber 6containing a reference to William Sparks is dated January 5, 1663. Underthe Julian calendar, the year 1663 extended from what would, under theGregorian Calendar, have been March 25, 1663, through March 24, 1664.Under the Gregorian Calendar (in use in England and America after 1752) ,entry #372 was made just a month and three days after entry #359, quotedabove.]

[Entry #372 reveals that George Richardson obtained a warrant for 1300acres of land based on his being credited with transporting himself and aMary Richardson, who may have been his wife, along with twenty-fourothers. These included the six individuals whose transportation had been"assigned" to him by Thomas Skillington, plus six others that had beentransported by Robert Blurkhorse and likewise assigned to him, along withfour individuals transported by John Edmondson and also assigned toRichardson. We can assume that Richardson rewarded rewarded Skillington,Blurkhorse, and Edmondson in some manner for transferring these landrights to him. In the transcription of the entire text of entry #359which follows, it will be seen that the name of Thomas and MarySkillington was mistakenly spelled "Skillinson" and that William Sparkswas called "William Sparke."]

[[Liber 6, Entry #372, dated 5th January 1663 (i.e. 1664 under theGregorian Calendar) Punctuation has been added for clarity in thistranscription. Then came George Richardson and demands Land for thetransportation of himself in Anno 1661, Mary Richardson in 1663, ThomasHayward in 1662, Elizabeth Clarke 1661, Anthony Willson 1659; JohnSkitters 1656 ; Thomas Skillinson 1653; Mary Skillinson 1660, WilliamSparke [and] Ann Powell in 1662, Mary Webb 1661. John Green 1663, JohnGary 1660, Jno Morfett[?] 1663, were Entered by Robert Blurkhorse, dittodie, assigned unto the said Richardson. Francis Devine [and] Mary Devine1660, Edward Goodman 1656, Robert Stapleford 1661, Richard Richardson1663, Elizabeth Cordrass 1661 . Ditto Richardson Enters more rights,Viz: William Lile 1653, Priscilla Lile 1656; John Cooke, James Graner,John Housmond, and Susanna Eastneck, these four assignd him from JohnEdmondson as per assignment. Warrant Issued, ditto die, in the saidRichardsons Name for 1300 Acres, being for all the above mentionedRights, returnable 5t h July next.

[While George Richardson spelled Thomas and Mary Skillington's name as"Skillinson," and William Sparks as "William Sparke," there can be nodoubt that the six immigrants whose land rights he had acquired fromThomas Skillington (Entry #359) were among those for whom he subsequentlyobtained his warrant for 1,300 acres of Maryland land. It should benoted that Entry #372 also identifies the precise year (1662) thatWilliam Sparks came to America. Again, we must emphasize, however , thatwe have no compelling proof that he was the same William Sparks (died1709) for whom we have many subsequent Maryland records. Their being thesame person, however, seems highly probable. {Here ends the insert fromWhole No. 160, at p. 4027}]

"In the index which follows, the names of many colonists have beenomitted and in cases where there were many names, only those settlersnamed SPARKS have been included in the interest of brevity. In futureissues of the QUARTERLY, we hope to be able to trace further the recordof these Sparks immigrants to Maryland. The book and page numbers whichappear in the following list refer to the bound volumes at the Hall ofRecords in Annapolis, MD, entitled INDEX OF EARLY SETTLERS, MARYLAND,1633-1680. (Here find list of names.)

SPARKS QUARTERLY March, 1971, Whole No. 73, SPARKS FAMILIES IN KENT,TALBOT AND QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTIES, MARYLAND, pp. 1372-1374:

"The history of the Colony of Maryland begins with the first LordBaltimore (George Calvert), convert to the Roman Catholic faith, whoprevailed upon King James I to grant him a colony along the Atlanticcoast which would serve as an asylum for Englishmen seeking religiousfreedom. Although the first Lord Baltimore died before his dream couldbe realized, the King granted the promised charter to his son , CeciliusCalvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore, on June 20, 1632.

"Leonard Calvert, brother to Cecilius, became the Colony's firstgovernor. Although the 2nd Lord Baltimore never visited his colony, hesupervised its development until his death in 1675 and has often beenreferred to as the First Lord Proprietor. [JS Note: Leonard Calvert isthe twelfth great-grandfather of James J. Sparks through James'spaternal grandmother, Mary Theresa (Stone) Sparks.]

"Before Lord Baltimore could arrange to send the fist colonists to hiscolony, a Virginian named William Claiborne had established a tradingpost on Kent Island. For many decades thereafter there was conflictbetween the Virginia traders and settlers on Kent Island (which is nowpart of Queen Anne's County) and the settlers brought from England to theColony by Lord Baltimore. There were also agree ments with William Pennregarding the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania and with theDuke of York regarding the boundary between Maryland and Deleware. Therewere also Indian uprisings and civil strife but religious freedomprevailed through all of these troubles.

"In the article appearing (above) Dr. Paul Sparks described the systemby which large numbers of settlers were brought to Maryland from Englandin the 1600's. Many of the settlers came as "indentured servants,"individuals and who had traded a term of service, (from two to six yearsfor adults and longer for children), for the cost of passage to America.The individual who wished to emigrate but could not afford the passagewould get in touch with a ship master or his agent and a contract wouldbe drawn up in which the passenger agreed to serve the ship master or hisagent for a stated term of years. When the passenger, now an "indentured servant", reached his destination, his master was free to sellthe passenger's services to any purchaser in order to recoup the expenseof passange. The "servant" then went to live with and work for the newfor the number of years specified in the contract. (The number of yearsof service varied from one "indentured servant" to another because theirskills varied--the skilled artisan brought a highter price than anordinary laborer; thus the agent would have to demand longer service ofthe laborer in order to his indenture and recover the cost of thevoyage.) Many of the early immigrants to Maryland settled on the easternshore of Chesapeake Bay in the area that is now Queen Anne's County. Itwas here that the branch of the Sparks family settled which is traced inthis Article.

"Kent County, comprising what is now the counties of Cecil, Kent ,Queen Anne's, Talbot and a portion of Caroline, was created officially in1642. In1661,Talbot County was cut off from Kent, although Kent Islandremained as part of Kent County until 1695. In 1706, Talbot County wasdivided to form Queen Anne's County. (Queen Anne's accession to theEnglish throne had occurred four years earlier and the new county wasnamed for her. ) The Sparks family in whom we are currently interestedlived in what became Queen Anne's County in 1706. Edward Sparks lived onKent Island (that portion of Queen Anne's County which extends into theBay. ) William and John Sparks, believed to have been brothers, bothowned property in "West Chester Towne", believed to have been the westernpart of what is now the town of Chester; their land holdings were on theChester River (which forms the northern boundary of Queen Anne' s and thesouthern boundary of Kent County) near the present towns of Centrevilleand Church Hill. Island Creek and Southeast Creek are mentioned in thedeed describing the land of William Sparks. There was also a ThomasSparks who was a servant of Richard Tilghman in 1671 who lived on ChesterRiver.

"It is important to keep in mind that records of this branch of theSparks family are found in Kent County up until 1661 when Talbot Countywas set apart from Kent County. From 1661 until 1706, the records ofthis family were recorded in both Kent and Talbot because their land layin both counties and the boundary line was often uncertain. Furthermore,Kent Island remained part of Kent County until 1695. After 1706, recordsof the family are found chiefly in Queen Anne's County , which was carvedout of Talbot County. In 1706 Kent Island also became a part of QueenAnne's County. [nd of article at page 1374.]

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1971, No. 73, pp. 1381-1389; SPARKSFAMILIES IN KENT, TALBOT AND QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTIES, MARYLAND; WILLIAMSPARKS (d . 1709):

"Our earliest reference to a W