June 14, 2023
Pages 3212
Whole Number 141
NEW INFORMATION ON MARGARET (ALLEN) SPARKS
FIRST WIFE OF 17.2.4.9 ABSALOM SPARKS
In the Quarterly of June 1978, Whole No. 102, pp. 1993-2018, we published an article entitled "17.2.4.1 Richard Sparks, Born in Virginia ca. 1779-1781, Died in Arkansas after 1860, and his wife, Sarah (Peterson) Sparks." With this article, we included a sketch of the life of 17.2.4.9 Absalom Sparks who was born ca. 1801 and died ca. 1851. We believe that Absalom Sparks was a brother of Richard Sparks and that they were sons of 17.2.4 Samuel and Rachel Sparks. Absalom was born in South Carolina, but he moved to Blount County, Tennessee, where he appeared on the censuses of 1830 and 1840. by 1850, he and his family were living in Meigs County, Tennessee.
We are uncertain whether he died in Meigs County or whether he accompanied his family to Texas and died there. We know that his second wife and family were in Cherokee County, Texas, in 1852. We know that Absalom Sparks was married twice. His first wife was Margaret Allen, and they were married ca. 1823. They had seven children before Margaret died in 1838 or 1839. Absalom then married (second) Sarah Ann Rose on March 18, 1841, in Blount County, Tennessee. At the time we prepared the above article, our only knowledge of Margaret Allen, Absalom's first wife, was that she had brothers named James and Isaac and a sister named Amy.
Thanks to a discovery made by John S. McMurray of Rt. 4, Box 42, Kingston, TN (37763), we are now able to report the date of birth and the parentage of Margaret (Allen) Sparks. She was born October 29, 1804, and was a daughter of Robert and Mary Allen. Mr. McMurray has found a sheet of paper in the family Bible of David Carson Sparks (1835-1918), son of Absalom and Margaret, which lists the names and dates of birth of Margaret's parents along with their nine children. Mr. McMurray believes that this list is in the handwriting of David Carson Sparks or possibly that of his son, John Marney Sparks. We can speculate that it was copied from the Allen family Bible. Mr. McMurray has copied this list which we give below; three uncertainties in the handwriting are shown with question marks.
Robt. Allen was born May 22nd 1775
Mary Allen was born April 12 1772
Martha Allen was born December 10 1796
Amy Allen was born November 4 1798
Isaac Allen was born August 9 1800
James Allen was born July 14 1802
Margaret Allen was born October 29 1804
John Allen was born December 6 1806
Eliza [ ? ] Allen was born July 18 1810
Robt. Allen Jr. was born April 29 [or 24?] 1812
Marshall Lairn [?] Allen was born Jany. 9 1815
In listing the children of Absalom and Margaret (Allen) Sparks in the issue of the Quarterly cited above, we noted that there was a daughter named Rachel. Mr. McMurray has found a record of her marriage in Blount County, Tennessee. She married Joseph Humphrey on August 20, 1851. Mr. McMurray has also found that Mary Kate Sparks, shown as a daughter of David Carson and Araminta Angeline (Wilson) Sparks on page 2017 (issue 102), died on February 7, 1983, and was buried in the Kingston Cemetery in Roane County, Tennessee. She had been born on November 13, 1886, and had married L. H. Lowery.
We are most grateful to Mr. McMurray for sharing this information with us.