May 24, 2023

Pages 1221-1225
Whole Number 65

THE FAMILY OF ELENOR SPARKS (DIED 1832)
OF FAYETTE COUNTY, KENTUCKY

On February 1, 1831, 91. Mrs. Elenor Sparks, a resident of Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, made her will (recorded in Book K, p. 379). The will was probated in December 1832. It is assumed that she died a few weeks or months earlier. In her will, Elenor Sparks named her six children:

91.1 William Sparks,
91.2 Margaret Sparks,
91.3 Jonas Sparks,
91.4 Isaac Sparks,
91.5 Jerome Sparks, and
91.6 Joab Sparks.

It is probable that she named them in the order of their birth. To her sons William and Isaac and to her daughter Margaret, she left nothing, stating that they had already received their share. To her son Jonas she willed "one-fourth of the money I now have in the branch bank of the United States," and one-fourth of the proceeds from the sale of her house and lot in Lexington. The same amount of property was willed to her son Joab, while to her son Jerome she left half of her money in the bank and half of the proceeds from the sale of her house and lot.

Thus far in our research, we have not succeeded in identifying the husband of Elenor Sparks. He had apparently died prior to 1820, for on the census of Fayette County that year, she was listed as the head of her household, as she was also in 1830. From these census records, it appears that she was born between 1780 and 1790.

The earliest court record which we have found pertaining to Elenor Sparks is a deed recorded in Fayette County dated August 13, 1823 (Book X, p. 15) by which she purchased from Frederick Ridgley of Lexington a lot on Hickman Road in Lexington on which was located the brick house in which she was then living. She paid $600, but was able to pay only $200 in cash. She signed a mortgage the same day in favor of William Hanson in the amount of $400. (Book X, p. 16).

According to census records and a biographical sketch published in 1887, the son named 91.4 Isaac Sparks was born in 1806 in Ohio. We have found no clue regarding the place of birth nor the date of birth of William, Margaret, and Jonas, who were probably older than Isaac. by 1809, however, the family was living in Kentucky where the son named 91.5 Jerome Bonaparte Sparks was born February 22, 1809. According to W. H, Perrin"s History of the State of Kentucky, 5th ed., published in 1887, Jerome was born in Shelby County, Kentucky, but family records give his birth place as Jessamine County, Kentucky.

The following record of the children of Elenor Sparks has been compiled largely from records preserved by Judge William M. Sparks (1872-1950) of Chicago, a grandson of 91.5 Jerome Bonaparte Sparks, supplemented by census and other official records collected largely by Dr. Paul E. Sparks.

[Webmaster Note: First, the "strike throughs" did not display properly in the following paragraph. Also, I am correcting the paragraph with data sent to me from a descendent of Pauline.

91.1 William Sparks, son of and Elenor Sparks; he was named first in his mother's will and was probably the eldest child. He married Pauline MNU (this could have been a second marriage). He had died by 1850, for his widow, Pauline Sparks, was listed as head of the household when the census of Fayette County, Kentucky was taken that year. The children of William and Pauline Sparks were:]

91.1 William Sparks, son of and Elenor Sparks; he was named first in his mother's will and was probably the eldest child. He married Pauline Postlethwaite (1806-1889) on April 11, 1827 in Shelby, KY. She was the daughter of William Postlethwaite. 91.1 William Sparks had died by 1850, for his widow, Pauline Sparks, was listed as head of the household when the census of Fayette County, Kentucky was taken that year. The children of William and Pauline Sparks were:

91.1.1 Richard J. Sparks, born 1832.
91.1.2 James Sparks, born 1835.
91.1.3 Henry C. Sparks, born 1839.
91.1.4 George W. Sparks, born 1843.
91.1.5 Mary Ellen Sparks, born 1845.

91.2 Margaret Sparks, daughter of and Elenor Sparks; she was named second in her mother"s will. Her date of birth is not known, but she died in 1887. She married FNU Peale and they lived in Pollard, Kentucky, near Sulphur Wells. According to family tradition, Margaret was disinherited by her father when she married Mr. Peale. She had the following children:

91.2.1 William Peale.
91.2.2 Mary Ann Peale. She married FNU Fain.
91.2.3 James Peale.
91.2.4 Catherine Peale. She married FNU Burton.
91.2.5 Hugh Peale. He had a son named Jordan J. Peale.
91.2.6 John Peale, born ca. 1820.
91.2.7 Ellen Peale. She married FNU Broomfield.
91.2.8 Thomas Peale. He became a physician.
91.2.9 George Peale.

91.3 Jonas Sparks, son of ? and Elenor Sparks. In her will, Elenor Sparks left one-fourth of her property to her son Jonas Sparks. He was living in Shelby County, Kentucky, in 1828 when, on September 19, 1828, he mortgaged all of his property, including household goods, because of debts to his brother, Jerome Sparks ($40.00), George Harbold ($75.00), Andrew Finley ($90.00), Brandshaw & Taylor ($40.00), and James H. Melone ($40.00). (See Shelby County Deed Book X, p. 65.) When the 1830 census was taken, Jonas Sparks was listed in Shelby County aged between 20 and 30 (born between 1800 and 1810), with a wife the same age, and with a boy under five years and a girl under five years. There are several deeds on record in Shelby County dated between 1826 and 1834 which reveal that in 1826 Jonas Sparks purchased from Anthony and William Minter some $2000 worth of spinning machinery and equipment ("four throssels of 42 spirates each, 3 carding engines with cards complete, 2 preparing frames of 6 canns each," etc.). Jonas Sparks also purchased a house in Shelbyville from Anthony Minter for $400 in 1825. (Deed Book U, p. 384). He mortgaged his house in 1828 to Isaac Greathouse and in 1834 this mortgage was foreclosed (Book X, p. 7, and Book C2, p. 23.) From this and other records, it is apparent that Jonas Sparks lost everything and probably left the county to start a new life somewhere else. On January 5, 1834, Jonas Sparks sold his share of his mother"s lot in Lexington to his brother Jerome for $130. In this deed (Fayette Co. Deed Book 9, p. 356) Jonas Sparks"s home was given as Hart County, Kentucky. This is our last record of him.

91.4 Isaac Sparks, son of and Elenor Sparks, was born in Ohio on November 11, 1806, and died January 22, 1887, in Jessamine County, Kentucky. He was married in Jessamine County on January 11, 1827, to Mary Ann Hendricks, daughter of Joseph Hendricks. (Book 1, p. 86) She was born in Virginia in 1808 and died on January 28, 1872, in Jessamine County. Both Isaac and Mary Ann were buried in the Nicholasville Cemetery in Jessamine County. Isaac Sparks married as his second wife, Henrietta MNU. by his first wife, Mary Ann Hendricks, Isaac Sparks had the following children:

91.4.1 Joseph Sparks, born 1831, died 1897. He was a dentist.
91.4.2 James Cavanaugh, (or Kavanaugh) Sparks, was born in 1833 and died in 1911.
91.4.3 Isaac Newton Sparks, born 1835, died May 15, 1872. He never married.
91.4.4 Edwin Robert Sparks, born January 31, 1839 (or 1840), died 1917. He married and had a daughter named

91.4.4.1 Mary Sparks (1876-1944) who married Marshall Henry Guerrarrb (1870-1951)
91.4.4.2 Morgan Sparks who married FNU Hughes.

91.4.5 John C. Sparks, born 1844, died young.
91.4.6 John W. Sparks, born January 15, 1847, died 1902. He married Margaret Grandison Crow, daughter of N. R. Crow of Nicholasville, Kentucky, on October 3, 1871. She was born in 1854 and died in 1948. Their children were:

91.4.6.1 Jesse H. Sparks,
91.4.6.2 Holman C. Sparks, born 1880, died 1957;
91.4.6.3 Marion Sparks;
91.4.6.4 John P. Sparks, born 1873, died 1873;
91.4.6.5 Elizabeth Sparks, married FNU Rogers,

91.4.7 Thomas Sparks, born 1849.
91.4.8 Mary E. Sparks, born August 11, 1853 (or 1854), died August 3, 1854.
91.4.9 William Sparks, died young.
91.4.10 Florence Sparks.

91.5 Jerome Bonaparte Sparks was born February 22, 1809, in either Shelby County or Jessamine County, Kentucky, and died November 6, 1873. He married Sarah Dillon Wilmore on August 24, 1829, in Jessamine County (Book 1, p. 104). She was born April 23, 1808, and died September 14, 1883. They were the parents of eleven children:

91.5.1 Jerome B. Sparks was born in 1830 and died in infancy. He was a twin of Sarah.
91.5.2 Sarah D. Sparks was born in 1830 and died in infancy. Twin of Jerome.
91.5.3 Elenor Jane Sparks was born in 1831, died 1869. She married Ephriam Drake.
91.5.4 James Bascomb Sparks was born June 15, 1833, and died August 23, 1895. He was graduated from the Transylvania Medical School in 1857 and at the outbreak of the Civil War was practicing medicine in Harrodsburg. He enlisted in the Union Army at Duncansville, Kentucky. He was 1st Lieutenant, then Major and Surgeon in Company K, 19th Kentucky Infantry. After the war he moved his family to Indiana because former Union soldiers were not very popular in Kentucky. His granddaughter, Mrs. Foster, remembered him as a strict disciplinarian and a faithful member of the Methodist Church. He was married on August 14, 1855, in Burgin, Kentucky, to Harriet Jane Johnson, who was born September 17, 1833, in Hickman County, Kentucky, and died August 30, 1918, in Rushville, Indiana. She was a daughter of John and Mary (Campbell) Johnson. James Bascomb and Harriet Jane (Johnson) Sparks were the parents of the following children:

91.5.4.1 Sarah Elizabeth Sparks, born August 7, 1856, died November 17, 1906. Unmarried.
91.5.4.2 Mary Ellen Sparks, born 3 February 1858, died July 31, 1859.
91.5.4.3 Annie Eliza Sparks, born February 26, 1860, died December 16, 1861.
91.5.4.4 James Johnson Sparks, born May 14, 1862, died August 19, 1865.
91.5.4.5 Nannie Kellar Sparks, born November 1, 1864, died November 26, 1881. Unmarried,
91.5.4.6 Jerome Walter Sparks, born October 9, 1866, died 1954. He married Myrtle Pierce and they had children named

91.5.4.6.1 Mildred Harriet Sparks,
91.5.4.6.2 Robert Bascomb Sparks,
D.5.4.6.3 Josephine Sparks, and
91.5.4.6.4 Marjorie Sparks.

91.5.4.7 Frank McGee Sparks, born November 5, 1868, died November 1, 1945.
He married Nora Davis and they had children named

91.5.4.7.1 James Donald Sparks,
91.5.4.7.2 Marian Ellen Sparks,
91.5.4.7.3 Jean Frances Sparks.

91.5.4.8 Harriet Jane Sparks, born August 24, 1870, died November 30, 1899. Unmarried.
91.5.4.9 William Morris Sparks, born April 28, 1872, in Hancock Co., Ind., died on January 7, 1950, in Rushville, Ind. He married Della Young on November 23, 1897, in Rushville. She was born October 19, 1877, in Rush County, Ind., and died November 14, 1947, in Chicago, IL. She was a daughter of George W. and Nancy (Hinchman) Young. He became Judge of the Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. They had two children,

91.5.4.9.1 Dorothy Young Sparks, born December 31, 1900; and
91.5.4.9.2 William George Sparks, born April 25, 1904.

91.5.5 Margaret Peale Sparks was born March 29, 1835, and died April 27, 1865. She married George D. Cornish and they had children named

91.5.5.1 Willie Cornish,
91.5.5.2 Georgia Cornish,
91.5.5.3 Ludwell Cornish,
91.5.5.4 Jerome Cornish, and
91.5.5.5 Naomi Cornish. She married DeWitt Van Osdol of Harrodsburg, KY.

91.5.6 Ann Eliza Sparks was born January 15, 1837. She married twice. Her first husband was Charles McCabe; her second husband was Dr. Granville Rose.

91.5.7 William Henry Harrison Sparks was born March 28, 1839, and died February 27, 1910. He married Susan Smith and they had three children:

91.5.7.1 Romaine Sparks; she married (first) Frank Lowe, and (second) Will White.
91.5.7.2 Sarah Elizabeth Sparks; she married (first) Simon Biliter, and (second) Dr. Vice. by her first husband she had children named

91.5.7.2.1 Donald Biliter,
91.5.7.2.2 William Biliter, and
91.5.7.2.3 Elizabeth Biliter.

91.5.7.3 James Stone Logan Sparks.

91.5.8 Sarah Catherine Dearing Sparks was born February 13, 1841, and died September 17, 1875. She married Robert Barr. They were the parents of:

91.5.8.1 Thomas Barr, born 1873; he married Emma Combs and they had children named

91.5.8.1.1 Cordelia Barr and
91.5.8.1.Charles Barr.

91.5.8.2 Jerome Barr, died in infancy.

91.5.9 Jerome Anderson Sparks was born January 20, 1843, and died October 10, 1916. He married February 15, 1862, Mollie Noah. They had the following children:

91.5.9.1 Lucy Garnett Sparks, married Samuel Wilson. They had children named

91.5.9.1.1 Orient Wilson who married Dr. FNU Gillespie, and
91.5.9.1.2 Sparks Wilson.

91.5.9.2 Granville Rose Sparks. Unmarried.
91.5.9.3 Jennie W. Sparks, born 1865, died 1892; she married Oliver Garvey. No children.
91.5.9.4 Nimrod Noah Sparks; he married Susie Huggins. They had children named

91.5.9.4.1 Louise Sparks,
91.5.9.4.2 Wilgus Sparks,
91.5.9.4.3 Mabel Sparks,
91.5.9.4.4 Irvin Sparks,
91.5.9.4.5 Oscar Sparks,
91.5.9.4.6 Mary Anna Sparks, and
91.5.9.4.7 Grace Sparks.

91.5.9.5 Thomas Sparks; died in infancy.
91.5.9.6 James L. Sparks; died in infancy.
91.5.9.7 Mary Dunlap Sparks; she married Walker White of Nashville, Tenn. No children.
91.5.9.8 Emma Brown Sparks. She married the Rev. Lon Robinson and had a son named Jerome Littrell Robinson, born 1895,
91.5.9.9 Bettie Read Sparks. She married Bowling.

91.5.10 Elizabeth Dillon Sparks was born November 5, 1846. She married Dr. Marcellus McDaniel and had a son named Allie McDaniel who died in 1905 in Wilmore, Kentucky.
91.5.11 Mary Isabelle Sparks was born January 31, 1848, and died October 7, 1859.
91.5.12 Naomi Brown Sparks was born February 20, 1850, and died November 27, 1858.

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