October 16, 2023

Pages 2574-2579
Whole Number 124

SPARKSES OF EARLY HARLAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY,
AND CLAIBORNE COUNTY, TENNESSEE

by Paul E. Sparks

It appears quite likely that the progenitor of the Sparkses of early Harlan County, Kentucky, and Claiborne County, Tennessee, was 103.1 William Sparks, Senior, who appeared on the 1830 census of Harlan County. He was born ca. 1765, probably in North Carolina, but he owned land in Grayson County, Virginia, on which he paid taxes from 1797 to 1810. He and his wife, Mary, sold the land, which consisted of 60 acres on Big Fox Creek, a tributary of New River, on November 17, 1810. The deed was recorded in March 1813.

After the sale of land in Grayson County, William Sparks apparently moved to Claiborne County where he purchased an 80-acre tract of land from Jesse Powers on May 10, 1821. He did not stay long in Claiborne County, however, for on May 24, 1826, he purchased 370 acres of land on Brownies Creek in Harlan County from George Rowland.

(For nearly fifty years (1819 to 1867), Claiborne County, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky, had a common boundary, thus records of this branch of the SPARKS family can be found in both Tennessee and Kentucky. It was not until 1867 that Bell County was formed from Harlan and Knox Counties. Since then, Harlan County and Claiborne County have no longer adjoined.)

William Sparks was a farmer. He was also a preacher and performed several marriages in Harlan County. On at least one of these record, he was recorded as W. A. Sparks. He paid taxes on his land until 1832 when he, and his wife, Mary MNU, sold their property to Levi Hoskins and others. In all probability, this sale was made in anticipation of the disposal of their estate in the event of their deaths. After the sale of this property, we have found no further record of this couple; apparently they both died between 1832 and 1836.

As noted above, William Sparks was in Harlan County in 1830 where he was listed as the head of his household. He and his wife were enumerated as having been born between 1760 and 1770. Living with them were two females, born between 1800 and 1810, and four children: one female, born 1810-1820; one male, born 1820 -1825; and one male and one female, born 1825 -1830. Also listed on this census was a household headed by William Sparks, Junior. He and his wife were both born between 1800 and 1810, and they had a son who was born between 1825 and 1830.

We have found no clues as to the parentage, of William Sparks, Senior, although we believe he belonged to the branch of the SPARKS family that went from Frederick County, Maryland, to Rowan County, North Carolina, sometime between 1755 and 1765. As noted above, the first record we have found of William as a taxpayer in Grayson County, Virginia, was dated 1797. At that time, Grayson County had a common boundary with Wilkes County, North Carolina, where a large group of Sparkses lived from its formation in 1777 from Surry County. Surry County had been formed seven years earlier (in 1770) from Rowan County.

Although not specifically named, we believe that William Sparks left two parcels of land in Claiborne County which his children inherited at the time of his death. These tracts, each consisting of 100 acres, were sold on March 29, 1836. In both deeds, the sale was made by the same group of people, who, though not so identified in the deeds, were probably selling land that they had inherited. It is obvious from the deeds that it was a SPARKS family which had inherited the land, although, as was the custom, the husbands of the Sparks women who were married were the ones who did the selling, with the wives simply signing and stating that they did so "without compulsion or restraint" from their husbands.

These Sparks heirs were:

James Sparks;
William Sparks;
103.1.3 Jane Sparks;
103.1.4 Susanna (Sparks) Collins, wife of Mathew Collins;
103.1.1 Elizabeth (Sparks) Tucker, wife of John Tucker;
103.1.2 Polly (Sparks) Sweet, wife of Owen Sweet; and
Cintha (Sparks) Jarmon, wife of Moses Jarmon.

The land was sold to Henry Wilson of Harlan County, Kentucky, who had married Margaret Sparks a few years earlier, and it seems apparent that he and Margaret were "buying out" the other heirs.

The census records of Harlan County and Claiborne County have been most helpful in trying to place these eight heirs into a probable order of birth. The eight children of William and Mary Sparks (as far as we have been able to determine) were: Elizabeth Sparks; Polly Sparks (likely a nickname for Mary); Jane Sparks; Susanna Sparks; William Sparks, Jr.; James Sparks; Cynthia Sparks; and Margaret Sparks. Here is what we have learned about each of them.

103.1.1 Elizabeth Sparks, daughter of William and Mary Sparks, was probably the oldest of the children. According to census data, she was born between 1790 and 1800, thus we have placed her year of birth as ca. 1795. She married John Tucker, ca. 1815. It may have been a second marriage for him, for he was apparently born ca. 1770. Elizabeth and John had five children (4 sons and one daughter) when the 1830 census was taken of Claiborne County, all of them were enumerated as having been born between 1815 and 1830. We have not learned any of their names, nor have we found any other record of this family.

103.1.2 Polly Sparks (her given name was probably Mary) was born between 1790 and 1800, according to the 1830 census of Claiborne County, and we place her year of birth ca 1797. She married Owen Sweet and when the 1830 census was taken of Claiborne County, they had four children (2 sons and 2 daughters), all of whom were enumerated as having been born between 1815 and 1830. We have not learned any of their names, nor have we found further record of this family.

103.1.3 Jane ["Jennie"] Sparks was born between 1790 and 1800 according to the 1840 census of Harlan County; however, on the 1870 census of Bell County, Kentucky, her date of birth appears to have been ca 1802. For these reasons, we place her year of birth as ca. 1799. She was probably born in North Carolina, although on one census her birthplace was given as Virginia. She was listed as Jeney Sparks on the 1840 census; as Jane Sparks on the deeds and on the 1870 census of Bell County; and some descendants refer to her as Jinnie or Jennie. We will refer to her as Jennie Sparks in the following paragraphs, believing it to have been her nickname.

Jennie Sparks apparently never married. Descendants say that she fell in love with a man named Jesse Lay, ran away from home with him, and reared four children in the Harlan-Claiborne Counties area of Kentucky and Tennessee. This story is given some credence by census records in which she was named as the head of her household in the 1840 census as well as the 1850 census. Additional support for this account of Jennie Sparks is given by the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Claiborne County on which a man named Jesse Lay is listed as a close neighbor of James Sparks, brother of Jennie.

(Editor's Note: Jesse Lay, whose age was given as 52 on the 1850 census of Claiborne County, Tennessee, was probably a son, or grandson, of the Jesse Lay who was listed on the 1790 census of Wilkes County, North Carolina. This elder Jesse Lay had obtained grants of 150 acres of land on Linville's Mill Creek in Wilkes County on June 15, 1778, and on November 9, 1784, he obtained grants for 150 additional acres on the same creek. A Thomas Lay and a Thomas Lay, Jr. also obtained land in that area. This elder Jesse Lay was still in Wilkes County in 1793 when he served as bondsman for the marriage between James Beams and Nancy Moore (bond dated September 26, 1793). Earlier, on February 7, 1793, he had signed as bondsman ("100 pounds specie") for David Lay who was charged with "begetting a bastard child on FNU Lay." David Lay and Mary Lay were married in 1794 (bond dated March 26, 1794) with David Lay, Sr. as bondsman.)

Jennie Sparks was probably living in the home of her parents, 103.1 William and Mary Sparks, when the 1830 census was taken of Harlan County. She was probably one of the females, enumerated as born between 1800 and 1810, who were living in that household. With her was a female, born between 1810 and 1820; a male, born between 1820 and 1825; and a male and a female, born between 1825 and 1830.

The earliest official record that we have found of Jennie Sparks are the deeds of Claiborne County mentioned earlier. On these deeds, she signed her name as Jane Sparks, indicating that she was not married at that time (March 29, 1836). She was head of her own household in Harlan County when the 1840 census was taken. She lived on Brownies Creek. With her were three children, two sons and one daughter. (Jennie's daughter, 103.1.3.1 Julia Sparks, had married Barnett Arnett on February 10th of that year and was not living at home.)

Descendants have preserved fairly complete records of the family of Jennie Sparks, and these have been published in a book entitled Pioneer Families of Clay County, Kentucky. This book was edited and published by Kelly and Hazel Smith) Morgan in 1970. In this account of the family of Jennie Sparks, we believe there is an error. The authors state that Jennie Sparks brought four children to Clay County, but they then proceed to name five. Named as a daughter is Polly Sparks who is said to have married Abner Spurlock and moved to Jackson County, Kentucky. We do not believe that the Polly Sparks who married Abner Spurlock could have been a daughter of Jennie Sparks, since she was born, we believe, between 1860 and 1880. See page 2259 of the December 1980 issue of The Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 112, for a list of the children of Samuel E. and Fanny (Sparks) Welch, one of whom, John Welch, married Anna Pearl Spurlock, daughter of Abner and Polly (Sparks) Spurlock.

On the 1850 census of Harlan County, Jennie Sparks headed Family No. 22; with her were her son, Riley (aged 31) and her daughter, Mary A. (aged 17). Living next door was her son, Winright Sparks, aged 24, in Family No. 23. Family No. 24 was headed by Jennie's brother-in-law, Henry Wilson (aged 40) with his wife, Margaret (Sparks) Wilson (aged 40) and their family.

We have not found Jennie Sparks on an 1860 census, but in 1870 she was living at Callaway in newly-formed Bell County, in the household of her daughter, Mary A. (Sparks) McDaniel. We have not learned the date nor place of her death. Here is what we have learned of her children:

103.1.3.1 Julia Sparks, daughter of Jennie Sparks, was born ca. 1818 in Virginia. On February 10, 1840, she married Barnett Arnett in Harlan County. He was born ca. 1803 in Kentucky and apparently was a widower with two children. He and Julia had eight children:

103.1.3.1.1 Mary Arnett,
103.1.3.1.2 Calvin Arnett,
103.1.3.1.3 Malinda Arnett,
103.1.3.1.4 David Arnett,
103.1.3.1.5 America Arnett,
103.1.3.1.6 Elizabeth Arnett,
103.1.3.1.7 Letitia Arnett, and
103.1.3.1.8 Sarah Arnett.

103.1.3.2 Riley Sparks, son of Jennie Sparks, was born ca. 1820 in Virginia. On the 1860 census of Harlan County, he was living with his brother-in-law, Barnett Arnett. He was 40 years of age and described as a mechanic. It was also noted that he was crippled. Relatives report that he could not walk.

103.1.3.3 Winright (or Wainwright) Sparks, son of Jennie Sparks, was born on October 3, 1826, near Tazewell, Tennessee. He died January 20, 1887, in Clay County, Kentucky. On December 31, 1847, he married Rhoda Miracle in Harlan County. She was born September 8, 1829, and was a daughter of Abraham and Fannie (Wilder) Miracle. She died September 14, 1910. Winright served in the 24th and 47th Regiments of Kentucky Infantry during the Civil War. See page 2583 of this issue of The Sparks Quarterly for an abstract of his pension file.

103.1.3.3.1 Nathan Sparks, born on May 25, 1850, in Harlan County.
103.1.3.3.2 William Riley Sparks, was born May 14, 1852, in Clay County, Kentucky. Thereafter, this family became identified with Clay County, and it is there that most of the records are found.

Other children born to Winright and Rhoda were: (assuming this is birth order)
103.1.3.3.3 Mary C. Sparks,
103.1.3.3.4 Abraham B. Sparks,
103.1.3.3.5 Fannie Jane Sparks,
103.1.3.3.6 Rachel Margaret Sparks,
103.1.3.3.7 Julia A. Sparks,
103.1.3.3.8 Henry Clay Sparks,
103.1.3.3.9 America Sparks,
103.1.3.3.10 Elizabeth Sparks, and
103.1.3.3.11 Israel Sparks.

103.1.3.4 Mary Ann Sparks, daughter of Jennie Sparks, was born ca. 1830 in Harlan County. She married William Frank McDaniel, ca. 1868, and they had at least one child, a son, 103.1.3.4.1 Elihu McDaniel, born in the spring of 1870. We have no further information about this family.

103.1.4 Susanna Sparks, daughter of William and Mary Sparks, was listed as 50 years of age on the 1850 census, and as 59 years of age on the 1860 census of Claiborne County, thus she was born ca. 1800. She married Matthew Collins, ca. 1827, and they had at least six children:

103.1.4.1 Matilda Collins,
103.1.4.2 Eliza Collins,
103.1.4.3 Sarah Collins,
103.1.4.4 Seth Collins,
103.1.4.5 Henry Collins, and
103.1.4.6 Matthew Collins.

We have found no further information regarding this family.

103.1.5 William Sparks, Jr., son of William and Mary Sparks, was born ca. 1802 in North Carolina. He married Sarah MNU ca. 1825. She was born ca. 1804 in Tennessee. William was the head of his household on the 1830 census of Harlan County and on the 1850 and 1860 censuses of Claiborne County. According to these census record (and with some degree of speculation) we believe he and Sarah had eight children:

103.1.5.1 Preston Sparks, probable son of William and Sarah Sparks, was born June 25, 1827, in Harlan County. He married Mary Ann Ely on January 25, 1849, in Claiborne County. She was born December 7, 1827, and died January 9, 1873, in Clarke County, Indiana. Preston served in Company C, 81st Regiment Indiana Infantry during the Civil War. (See page 2581 of this issue of The Sparks Quarterly for an abstract of his pension file.) He died December 26, 1862, in Louisville, Kentucky. He and Mary Ann had six children:

103.1.5.1.1 John P. Sparks
103.1.5.1.2 Henry H. Sparks
103.1.5.1.3 George C. Sparks
103.1.5.1.4 William C. Sparks
103.1.5.1.5 Sylvester W. Sparks
103.1.5.1.6 Mary Sparks.

103.1.5.2 William H. Sparks, probable son of William and Sarah Sparks, was born ca. 1830 in Claiborne County. He died March 4, 1892, in Tulare County, California. On October 8, 1851, he married Elmira Goin in Claiborne County. She was born ca. 1832 and died June 9, 1914, in Visalia, California. William H. Sparks served in Company M, 12th Regiment Missouri Infantry during the Civil War. (See page 2582 of this issue of The Sparks Quarterly for an abstract of his pension file.) He and Elmira had at least four children:

103.1.5.2.1 Winfield S. Sparks
103.1.5.2.2 Preston Sparks
103.1.5.2.3 Millard F. Sparks
103.1.5.2.4 Elizabeth Sparks.

103.1.5.3 Calvin Sparks, probable son of William and Sarah Sparks, was born ca. 1832. He died in November 1895 in Claiborne County. He married Jamima MNU, ca. 1849. He served in Company B, 1st Regiment Tennessee Light Artillery during the Civil War. (See page 2580 of this issue of The Sparks Quarterly for an abstract of his pension file.) According to the 1850 and 1860 censuses of Claiborne County, he and Jamima had at least four children:

103.1.5.3.1 Elizabeth Sparks
103.1.5.3.2 John Sparks
103.1.5.3.3 Thomas J. Sparks
103.1.5.3.4 Pleasant Sparks.

103.1.5.4 Nancy Sparks was born ca. 1836.
103.1.5.5 Thomas Sparks was born ca. 1839 in Tennessee. He married Drucilla Ely in 1859 in Claiborne County.
103.1.5.6 Matthew Sparks was born ca. 1842.
103.1.5.7 Margaret M. Sparks was born ca. 1844.
103.1.5.8 Sarah Sparks was born ca. 1847.

103.1.6 James Sparks, probable son of William and Mary Sparks, was born between 1800 and 1810, according to the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Claiborne County, thus we have placed his year of birth as ca. 1804. On the 1830 census, his wife was enumerated with him as having been born between 1800 and 1810 also. With them were two children, a boy and a girl. When the 1840 census was taken, the wife of James Sparks was not enumerated; apparently she had died. With him was a male, born between 1825 and 1830, and a female, born between 1830 and 1835. They were probably his son and daughter.

[Scanner's note: The following language appears in the Quarterly for Sepember, 1991, Whole No. 155, at page 3825: "Since that (the above) article was written, we have received additional information about James Sparks's family which we are pleased to add as well as to make some corrections." Please see pp 3825-28, Whole No. 155-C for corrections and additions.]

We have not found 103.1.6 James Sparks on an 1850 census; apparently he died between 1840 and 1850. We have found an Edmond Sparks, aged 26, on the Claiborne County census of 1850 whom we believe to have been a son of James Sparks. Living in his household was Elizabeth Murry, aged 22, whom we believe to have been his sister.

103.1.6.1 Edmond Sparks, probable son of James Sparks, was born ca. 1825 in Tennessee. He is said to have married Martha Rainey, ca. 1841. He was head of his family on the 1850 census of Claiborne County; on the 1860 census of Union County, Tennessee; and on the 1870 and 1880 censuses of Whitley County, Kentucky. According to these censuses, he and Martha had eight children:

103.1.6.1.1 Sally A. Sparks
103.1.6.1.2 Rebecca Sparks
103.1.6.1.3 William E. Sparks
103.1.6.1.4 Edmond L. Sparks
103.1.6.1.5 Lucinda E. Sparks
103.1.6.1.6 Nancy E. Sparks
103.1.6.1.7 Harvey Rufus Sparks

The 103.1.6.1.7 Harvey Rufus Sparks (son of Edmond), named above, was the subject of an item in the December 1954 issue of The Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 8. According to that account, he had been born in 1843 and died in 1954, thus being nearly 112 years old when he died. Our records are at variance with this statement. According to the 1900 census of Bell County, Kentucky, Harvey Sparks was born in May 1860. With him on that census, was his wife, Omie, whom he had just married. He also had five children:

103.1.6.1.7.1 George Sparks, born in May 1880;
103.1.6.1.7.2 Lizzie Sparks, born in September 1883;
103.1.6.1.7.3 Martha Sparks, born in July 1886;
103.1.6.1.7.4 Sarah Sparks, born in May 1889; and
103.1.6.1.7.5 Mat Sparks, born in June 1895.

Also living in the household was a stepson, General Pennington, born in January 1890.

103.1.6.1.8 M. H. Sparks, a daughter.

103.1.6.2 Elizabeth Sparks, probable daughter of James Sparks, was born ca. 1830. She married FNU Murry.

103.1.7 Cynthia Sparks, daughter of William and Mary Sparks, was born between 1800 and 1810, according to the 1830 census of Harlan County, and we have placed her year of birth as ca. 1806. She married Moses Jarmon (or Jarman), ca. 1825, and when the 1830 census was taken, there were two children living in their household, a boy and a girl, probably their children, born between 1825 and 1830. We have no further information about this family.

103.1.8 Margaret Sparks was born ca. 1808. She married Henry Wilson ca. 1830. He was born ca. 1808 in Kentucky and was probably a son of Richard Wilson. Henry and Margaret had eight children according to the 1850 census of Harlan County.

103.1.8.1 Nancy Wilson, born ca. 1832.
103.1.8.2 James Wilson, born ca. 1835.
103.1.8.3 Lucinda Wilson, born ca. 1837.
103.1.8.4 Richard Wilson, born ca. 1838. According to a descendant, he married Mary Hurst and they had at least one child, a son, named 103.1.8.4.1 Irvin Wilson.
103.1.8.5 Callaway Wilson, born ca. 1843.
103.1.8.6 Sarah Wilson, born ca. 1846.
103.1.8.7 Irvin Wilson, born ca. 1848.
103.1.8.8 Margaret Wilson, born in January 1850.

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