August 18, 2023

Pages 2519-2524
Whole Number 121

THE FAMILY OF 1.2.1.2.1.5.7 GEORGE SPARKS, JR. (BORN ca. 1805)
OF SURRY COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, AND UNION COUNTY, GEORGIA

by Paul E. Sparks



(Note: See "3" below)


Among the Sparkses who were listed on the 1850 census of Georgia which was published in the December 1982 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 120, there was a family in Union County headed by 1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George Sparks. He was born ca. 1805; his wife Fanny Lindsay was born ca. 1812; and they were natives of North Carolina. They were probably born in Surry County for it was there that their marriage license was issued on December 1, 1829, with Charles Johnson, Jr. as their surety J. Cowles performed the ceremony, probably a few days later.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George Sparks, Jr. was a son of 1.2.1.2.1.5 George Sparks, Sr, and a grandson of 1.2.1.2.1 William Sparks. William Sparks, with wife, Ann, and their children, had left Frederick County, Maryland, ca. 1764 and had moved to Rowan County, North Carolina. A few years later, they moved to the newly-formed county of Surry, and it was there that William Sparks died between 1800 and 1802. He and Ann apparently had nine children, among whom was a son, George.

(An article for the Quarterly is being prepared about William and Ann Sparks and their nine children. Persons having information about this couple, or of their children, are urged to get in touch with Dr. Russell E. Bidlack, editor of the Quarterly, and share their data with him.)

1.2.1.2.1.5 George Sparks, Sr, was born ca. 1760, probably in Frederick County, Maryland. He was a young lad when his parents moved to Surry County, North Carolina, ca. 1772. According to testimony given by James Morgan in 1834, George served as a lieutenant in the Colonial militia during the Revolutionary War. (See page 2787, North Carolina Genealogy, Fall-Winter issue, 1972, No. 66.)

He married, ca. 1785, but we have not learned the name of his wife. He was listed as the head of his family on every census from 1790 to 1830, and, according to these records, he had seven children: 3 sons and 4 daughters. We have not learned the names of all of his children, but we believe in the following:

1.2.1.2.1.5.5 Martha Sparks, who married Charles Russell;
1.2.1.2.1.5.3 Dau1 Sparks, who married Samuel Edwards;
1.2.1.2.1.5.2 Dau2 Sparks;
1.2.1.2.1.5.6 Frances ["Frankey"] Sparks, who may have never married;
1.2.1.2.1.5.1 William Z. Sparks
1.2.1.2.1.5.4 Son1 Sparks
1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George Sparks, Jr.

From the Quarterly Whole No. 154:

1.2.1.2.1.5.1 William Z. Sparks (or William S. Sparks), born ca.1791. This may have been who married (first) Elizabeth Gentry in 1813, and (second) to Mary Benge.

1.2.1.2.1.5.2 Dau1, born ca.1793
1.2.1.2.1.5.3 Dau2, born ca. 1797. She may have been the daughter known to have been married to Samuel Edwards and who died before her father.

1.2.1.2.1.5.4 Son1, born ca.1799.
1.2.1.2.1.5.5 Martha Sparks, born September 9, 1801. She married Charles Russell.

1.2.1.2.1.5.6 Frances Sparks, born ca.1803. Called "Franky" in her father's will; she was unmarried when her father made his will in 1833.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George Sparks, Jr., born ca.1805. He is believed to have been married to Fanny Lindsay in Surry County in 1829. Shortly before 1850, he moved his family to Union County, Georgia.

George Sparks, Senior, died in Surry County in the fall of 1842, probably at the home of his son, George Sparks, Jr. He had made a will on November 18, 1833, which was probated at the November 1842 term of the Surry County Court. Here is the text of the will as it was probated:

Know all men that I George Sparks Senior of Surry County and State of North Carolina do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following, towit:

1st Item. First I give and bequeath unto my son George Sparks, Junr. all my land lying in two seperate Tracts containing three Hundred acres be the same more or less with all the improvements in any way belonging thereto.

2nd Item. I give and bequeath unto my son George named above my Still and Stand and all that pertains to my dystilery in any way.

3rd Item. I give and bequeath unto my son George named above all my farming tools and my Rifle gun with everything mentioned above to him and his Heirs forever.

4th Item. I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Franky that portion of my pewter furniture that my other Married Daughters have had.

5th Item. And all the ballance of my household and Kitchen furniture I give and bequeath unto my son George to him and his Heirs forever.

6th Item. And I further will that all my stock of Horses Cattle Sheep and Hogs that I may happen to die possessed of be sold and after my just debts are paid that the ballance of the money be equally divided between all my children except my son George and will that my two grand children James and Wilson Edwards an equal share of the money arising from the sale of my stock to be paid into the Hand of Samuel Edwards for the Purpose of Helping to schooling my two grand children named above.

7th Item. And lastly I do appoint Richard H. Parks Executor of this my last Will and Testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and seal this 18th day of November 1833.

Witness:
John Shore jurit
Ellot Hall, his mark X

his
George x Sparks
mark
North Carolina)
Surry County

November Term 1842. The foregoing Will and Testament of George Sparks was offered for probate and proven in due form of Law by Oath of John Shore a witness thereto who swears he saw the said G. Sparks sign seal publish and declare the same to be his last Will and Testament and that at the time of the signing the same he was of sound and disposing mind and memory whereupon it was ordered to be recorded done accordingly.

F. Armstrong Clk
by H. C. Hampton D C

In all probability, George Sparks, Senior, made his will in favor of his son, George, Junior, as a part of an arrangement whereby George, Senior, would live with his son for the rest of his natural life. When the 1840 census was taken of Surry County, there was a male between the ages of 70 and 80 years in the household of George Sparks, Junior. This was probably his father.

1.2.1.2.1.5 George Sparks, Sr, bequeathed to his son, 1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George Sparks, Jr, a tract of land which he (George, Senior) had obtained from his father, 1.2.1.2.1 William Sparks, on March 6, 1800. The 200-acre tract was located on Fox Knob of the Brushy Mountains in the northwestern part of present-day Yadkin County, North Carolina, near the town of Jonesville.

After the death of his father and prior to 1850 (ca. 1848) 1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George Sparks, Jr. moved his family to Union County, Georgia. It was there that he was listed with his wife and eight of their children on the 1850 census. (Apparently their two oldest sons had moved away from home or had died.) The eight children with George and Fanny were:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.1 Son1 Sparks;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.2 Son2 Sparks;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3 George Washington Sparks, 16, born 1834;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.4 James Sparks, 14, born 1836;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.5 Enoch L. Sparks, 13, born 1837;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.6 Elizabeth Sparks, 9, born 1841;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.7 Susannah Sparks, 7, born 1843;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.8 Jonathan Sparks, 6, born 1844;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.9 Henry Sparks, 4, born 1846; and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.10 Joseph Sparks, 2, born 1848.

They were all born in North Carolina.

We have been unable to learn very much about the children of George and Fanny (Lindsay) Sparks. We are publishing the small amount of data which we now have in the hope that some of our readers may be able to add to the information.

According to census data, George and Fanny Sparks had two sons born to them between 1830 and 1835. They apparently had left home or had died prior to 1850.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3 George Washington Sparks, son of 1.2.1.2.1.5.7 George and Fanny (Lindsay) Sparks, was born on February 18, 1834, in Surry County, North Carolina. He accompanied his parents to Union County, Georgia, and it was there that he married Elizabeth Jane Morgan on July 11, 1856. She was born April 26, 1837, in Union County. When the 1860 census was taken, they were living in Whitfield County; their post office was given as Rural Vale.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3 George Washington Sparks served in Company H, 36th regiment Georgia Infantry, Confederate States Army, during the Civil War.

Some time between 1874 and 1878, George and Elizabeth moved their family to Texas where they settled in Falls County. George was killed in 1891 about 20 miles from Mart, a small town in McLennan County. Nothing is known about the circumstances surrounding his death. Elizabeth died July 7, 1910, and was buried at Mart. They were the parents of eight children.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1 Alice Irene Sparks was born April 30, 1857, in Georgia. On December 18, 1879, she married Marlin Wilder in Falls County, Texas. He was born in 1857. Alice died in 1892; Marlin died in 1940. They had five children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1 Bertha Wilder married Tyne W. Smith and they had six children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1.1 Alice Smith,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1.2 Violet Smith,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1.3 G. Cook Smith,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1.4 John Smith,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1.5 Tyne Smith, Jr., and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.1.6 Birdie Ruth Smith.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2 Clarence R. Wilder married May MNU and they had six children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2.1 Ceicle Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2.2 Clarence Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2.3 Annie Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2.4 Lucilla Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2.5 Thomas Wilder, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.2.6 Alice Wilder.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.3 Virgile H. ["Jack"] Wilder married Lennie Mayo and they had five children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.3.1 Marice Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.3.2 Mary F. Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.3.3 Ruby Wilder,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.3.4 Buster Wilder, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.3.5 Jackie Sue Wilder.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.4 Hebart Wilder.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.5 Thurman Wilder married Birdie Reynolds. (See below)


THE FAMILY OF JOHN HENRY AND MARY DE LILA (LANE) SPARKS
(The parents are on the far right of the photograph. Their children, from L-R, are:
William Oscar Sparks, Theophilus Sparks, John Henry Sparks, Jr., Mary De Lila Sparks, and Benjamin Sparks.)

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2 John Henry Sparks was born on January 27, 1859, in Georgia. He married Mary De Lila ["Mollie"] Lane on May 26, 1881, in McLennan County, Texas. They were married by the Rev. T. M. L. Duncan, M.G. Mollie was born December 24, 1865, and was a daughter of Robert R. and Jemma M. (Conner) Lane. John Henry died June 26, 1935, in Fort Worth, Texas. Mollie died there also on June 29, 1956. They had five children, all of whom appear in the above photograph.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.1 Baby Boy Sparks

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2 John Henry ["Babe"] Sparks, Jr. He married Ola Modena Pugh and they had nine children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.1 John Henry Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.2 Richard Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.3 Louis Frankel Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.4 Caludie Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.5 Noy Leon Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.6 Nona Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.7 Floyd Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.8 Billie Joe Sparks, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.2.9 Norma Sparks.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3 William Oscar Sparks. He married Mable Southworth and they had six children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3.1 William Sparks, Jr.,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3.2 Vivian Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3.3 Earl Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3.4 Winston O. Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3.5 Jack Sparks, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.3.6 Donnie Sparks.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.4 Theophilus Sparks was born March 20, 1889, in Rockwall County, Texas. He married Sarah Lenora Paris on October 22, 1917. She was born November 2, 1889, and was a daughter of Claborn And Sarah (Chenault) Paris. Theophilus died February 14, 1952, and Sarah died September 2, 1966. They had five hildren:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.4.1 Lenora Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.4.2 Margaret Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.4.3 Theophilus Sparks, Jr.,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.4.4 Jimmie Laura Sparks, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.4.5 Juanita Sparks.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.5 Mary De Lila Sparks. She married Henry English and they had three children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.5.1 Henry English,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.5.2 George English, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.5.3 Mary Louise English. (See below)

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.6 Benjamin Franklin Charlie Taylor Sparks was the last child born to this couple

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.3 George Sparks was born on October 26, 1862. He married Ida Morgan. He is said to have moved to Mexico, but later went to Walla Walla, Washington, where he died October 2, 1948. He and Ida had five children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.3.1 Roy Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.3.2 Florence Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.3.3 Pearl Sparks,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.3.4 Taff Sparks, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.3.5 Cody Sparks.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.4 Mollie M. Sparks was born September 5, 1864, in Georgia. She died March 19, 1919. She married Earl Dearing and they had one child:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.4.1 Earl Dearing, Jr., born June 6, 1889.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.5 Thomas Oscar Sparks was born January 11, 1871. He died the next fall.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6 William David Sparks was born on November 3, 1874, in Georgia. He died November 2, 1948. He married Belle Weisome and they had eight children.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.1 Frank Sparks. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Carrie MNU by whom he had one child:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.1.1 Daniel Sparks.

He married, second, 1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.2.5 Mary De Lila (Sparks) English. (See above).

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.2 Tyne Leroy Sparks. He married Roberta MNU and they had four children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.2.1 Samuel Sparks;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.2.2 Tyne Sparks, Jr.;
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.2.3 Joseph Sparks; and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.2.4 Thurman Sparks.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.3 Dollie Sparks. She died at the age of eighteen years.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.4 Lorne Sparks. She married and had a daughter, Cora Bell.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.5 Grady Sparks. He married but we have learned nothing about his family.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.6 Nora Sparks. She married Earl Shanchez and they had a daughter:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.6.1 Erlene Shanchez.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.7 Anna Bell Sparks. She married and had a son, Patrick.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.6.8 George Sparks. He married Ruth MNU

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.7 Birdie Ellen Sparks was born February 21, 1880, in Texas. She married Herbert Reynolds and they had a daughter:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.7.1 Birdie Reynolds, who married 1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.1.5 Thurman Wilder. (See above.) Thurman and Birdie had one child:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.7.1.1 T. C. Wilder.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.8 Lora Lee Sparks was born December 29, 1880, in Texas. She married Carlos Murphy and they had at least five children:

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.8.1 Charles Murphy,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.8.2 Fred Murphy,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.8.3 Joseph Murphy,
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.8.4 Bobbie Murphy, and
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.3.8.5 James Murphy.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.4 James Sparks was born ca. 1836 in North Carolina. No further information.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.5 Enoch L. Sparks was born ca. 1838. He was married on July 28, 1859, in Union County, Georgia, to Cynthia E. Collins. When the 1860 census was taken of Union County, a four-year-old girl named 1.2.1.2.1.5.7.5.1 Irena C. Sparks, born in Georgia, was living with Enoch and Cynthia. He died August 31, 1861, in a Richmond, Virginia, hospital while serving in the Confederate States Army.

1.2.1.2.1.5.7.6 Elizabeth Sparks was born ca. 1840. No further information.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.7 Susannah Sparks was born ca. 1842. No further information.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.8 Jonathan Sparks was born ca. 1844. No further information.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.9 Henry Sparks was bornca. 1846. No further information.
1.2.1.2.1.5.7.10 Joseph Zachary Taylor Sparks was born ca. 1848.

Continue to FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING DESCENDANTS OF 1.2.1.2.5.7 GEORGE SPARKS JR. (born ca. 1805)

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