October 6, 2023
Pages 1756-1757
Whole Number 91
In the Quarterly of June 1958, Whole No. 22 we published an article on "Josiah Sparks of Baltimore County, Maryland, and His Descendants" and in the December 1959 issue, Whole No. 28, appeared "Additional Data on the Descendants of Josiah Sparks of Baltimore County, Maryland." In the June 1970 issue, Whole No. 70) we published "Additional Notes on Descendants of Josiah Sparks." In each of these articles, we listed as one of the children of Josiah Sparks, Jr., and his wife, Rachel Collett, a daughter named Rachel Sparks. We have learned from James B. McCurley, Jr., of Chevy Chase, Maryland, that this is an error; this daughter was named Elizabeth Sparks, NOT Rachel Sparks. She was born ca. 1774 and married William Carlin (also spelled Carland). Both are buried in the old Sparks burying ground on My Lady's Manor near Monkton, Baltimore County, Maryland. The inscription on Elizabeth's stone reads: "Elizabeth Carlin, Died April 25, 1860, 86 years old, Wife." The inscription on her husband's stone reads: "William Carlin, Died October 3, 1847, 73 years old, Husband." Buried near them is Marion Carlin who died in December, 1840, at the age of 32. This was probably a child of William and Elizabeth (Sparks) Carlin.
Mr. McCurley, who is a great-great-great-great-grandson of Josiah Sparks, Jr., also has sent data copied from a family Bible published in New York in 1858 that was in the possession of Ruth Sparks Rosenkrans of Wayneboro, Virginia, in 1970. This Bible was the property of Rachel (Curtis) Sparks in 1871; she was the wife of 18.2.5 Daniel Sparks, son of Josiah Sparks, Jr., and Rachel (Collett) Sparks. According to this record, Daniel Sparks was born in December 1793 and died in 1863. His father's name was given in the Bible as "Josias" rather than "Josiah", but these two names were frequently interchanged. According to the Bible, Rachel (Curtis) Sparks was born February 2, 1794, and died January 1, 1880; she was a daughter of William and Ann Curtis. Daniel and Rachel (Curtis) Sparks had two sons:
18.2.5.1 William Curtis Sparks, born March 3, 1827.
18.2.5.2 Josias Alfred Sparks, born November 10, 1829.
A record of the descendants of these two sons appear in the December 1959 issue of the Quarterly, pp. 439-441, Whole No. 28. Not included, however, was the following biographical sketch of 18.2.5.1 William Curtis Sparks that appeared in Genealogy and Biography of the Leading Families of the City of Baltimore and Baltimore Co, Maryland, published by the Chapman Publishing Company in New York, 1897, p. 502.
"Squire W. C. Sparks, who has long been prominently identified with the agricultural interests of the fifty district, and is recognized as one of its leading citizens, began his earthly existence March 3, 1827, in the tenth district, but when a mere child was brought to the fifty district, where he was reared and educated. On attaining his majority he started out to make his own way in the world, and being industrious, energetic, and progressive, he has met with a fair degree of success in his business dealings. In 1851 he purchased one hundred and twenty-five acres of his present farm and to its cultivation and improvement he has principally devoted his attention, making it one of the most attractive and valuable homesteads in the community. As his financial resources have increased, he has added to his estate until he now has one hundred and ninety-seven acres of rich and productive land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and supplied with all the accessories and conveniences found upon a model farm of the present century.
"In 1848 Mr. Sparks married Miss Susan Hoover, and to them were born nine children, five still living (1897), namely:
18.2.5.1.1 Mary E. Sparks,
18.2.5.1.2 Emma F. Sparks,
18.2.5.1.3 Theodore E. Sparks,
18.2.5.1.4 George A. Sparks, and
18.2.5.1.5 Walter H. Sparks.Those deceased are:
18.2.5.1.6 William H. Sparks,
18.2.5.1.7 Francis M. Sparks,
18.2.5.1.8 Sarah M. Sparks, and
18.2.5.1.9 one other who died in infancy."Mr. Sparks uses his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Prohibition party, is an earnest advocate of its principles, and does all within his power to insure its success. As a public-spirited, enterprising citizen, he has done much to advance the general welfare, and on the rolls of Baltimore County's honored and highly esteemed citizens, his name should be found among the foremost. In 1870 he was elected justice of the peace, an office he most creditably filled for one decade, his rulings being impartial and his decisions fair."