May 26, 2023
Pages 4286-4289
Whole Number 166
CARLIN-SPARKS FAMILY CEMETERY
NEAR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
by William H.Gumprecht
[Editor's Note: At least eighteen articles have been published in various issues of The Sparks Quarterly about 18. Josiah and Penelope (Brown) Sparks of early Baltimore County, Maryland, and their descendants. They were the parents of five sons and one daughter. One of the sons, 18.2 Josiah Sparks, Jr.,born ca. 1752, married Rachel Collett ca. 1773. They lived in Baltimore County for most of their lives. Rachel died there in 1818 and Josiah died there in 1846. They were buried in the Carlin-SparksCemetery which is located about fifteen miles north of the city of Baltimore.
[The following account is about a visit to the Carlin-Sparks Cemetery in 1985 made by a great-great-great-great-grandson of Josiah and Rachel (Collett) Sparks. He is William H. Gumprecht of Wilmington, Delaware. He welcomes correspondence with other persons who are also interested in this branch of the Sparks family.]
This small plot is located in a cornfield on the Marshall farm about 0.6 mile west of Maryland State Road 562 (TroyerRoad) just south of the intersection with Sheppard Road. The plot is wooded, covered with underbrush and briars, and very uneven because of groundhog burrows. It is surrounded by a partially-erect iron fence with an opening on the west side. The graves are arranged by family groups, but not in rows. As indicated, many of the gravestones have fallen and some are broken, but their inscriptions are generally quite legible. The inscriptions given below are listed chronologically, beginning with the earliest date of death. The slash [/]following a word or phrase denotes the end of a line on the tombstone and the beginning of a line below it.
1.
In memory of RACHEL SPARKES
wife
of Josias Sparkes
who departed this life
September 28th, 1818
aged 69 years & 9 months
The lifeless body here reclined
has left worthy name behind
A tender parent a virtuous wife
Religion was her guide in life
On earth she gained her neighbors love
and now she dwells in realms above
Pursue her steps and thus prepare
to follow and rejoin her there
2.
In
memory of
WILLIAM PEARCE Sr
who departed this life
July 11th 1835
Aged 60 years and 2 months
[This stone has fallen.]
3.
In memory of
AARON CARLIN
who
departed this
life
the 11th December 1840
Aged 32 years
3 mos.& 8 days
4.
In
memory of
RUTH CARLIN
who departed this life
May 17th 1842
in the 38th year
of her age
[This stone is in a sunken grave.]
5.
In memory of
JOSIAS SPARKS
who departed this life
Janury 19th 1846
in the 94th year of his age
[This stone has fallen and is broken in three pieces.]
6.
In memory of
WILLIAM CARLIN
who departed this life
October 3rd 1847
in the 73rd year of his age
[This stone has fallen; see photograph below.]
 |
| WILLIAM CARLIN GRAVESTONE IN THE CARLIN-SPARKS CEMETERY |
| (Photograph taken in December 1985) |
7.
In memory of
SARAH, wife of
JOHN MAYES
who departed this life
May 4th 185l
in the 7lst year of
her age
8.
In
memory of
MARY SPARKES
died
July l0th 1853
aged 34 years
9.
Sacred
to the memory of
RUTH PEARCE
wife of
William Pearce
who departed this life
March 28th 1858
in the 77th year
of her age
[This stone has fallen and is broken into three pieces.]
10.
In memory of
ELIZABETH
wife of
William Carlin
who
departed this life
April 25th 1860
in the 86th year
of her age
[This stone has fallen and is broken into four pieces. See the photograph below.]
|
| ELIZABETH (SPARKS) CARLIN GRAVESTONE IN CEMETERY NEAR BLACK HORSE, MD |
| (This stone was buried under about an inch of dirt in 1985) |
11.
In memory of
AARON SPARKES
died
September 17th -?-1864
aged
48 years & 5 mo.
[This stone has fallen.]
In addition to the stones noted above, there are also three footstones marked with the initials: "W.C.," "R.C.," and "W.P." All of these stones are broken.
There are also three unmarked stones: (1) one near the west entrance; (2) one near the Ruth Pearce stone; and (3) one in back of the Sarah Mayes stone.
The visit to the Carlin-Sparks Cemetery also affords me an opportunity to give the connection of the Carlin family with the Sparks family. 18.2.8 Rachel Elizabeth Sparks, daughter of 18.2 Josiah and Rachel (Collett) Sparks, married William Carlin on March 19, 1802, in Baltimore County. He had been born ca. 1774 in France and was an adopted son of James and Elizabeth (Clendenin) Carlin, early settlers of Delaware, but who went later to Harford County, Maryland.
William Carlin (nee Guilliame Santee) came to the colonies as a small boy, probably as a stowaway, along with a friend or relative who wanted to escape religious persecution. The Carlins took a liking to the young man and adopted him.
James Carlin, adoptive father of William Carlin, died on March 22, 1827, at the age of 99. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were buried in a church cemetery in Harford County, Maryland. A few years before his death, he made a will to which he added a codicil shortly before his death. He treated his daughter-in-law, Rachel Elizabeth (Sparks) Carlin, very well, leaving her "two feather beds, furniture, and the use of his negro girl. Sally, and her issue." All of his notes and bonds were to be equally divided with her sons, James, Josiah, Aaron, William, and Thomas Carlin, but she was also to receive $500 above her equal share of the estate. Also named as beneficiaries were her daughters, Ruth and Rachel Carlin. Aaron Sparks of Baltimore County was named as the executor, but his name was withdrawn in the codicil.
The relationship between William Carlin and his adoptive father, James Carlin, apparently soured over time, since James's will stated that, "In consiquence[sic] of William Carlin being disposed to waste my estate and rendering it less useful for his children, and frequently treating me personally in a very unbecoming manner, I will to him, the said William Carlin, the sum of twenty dollars and no more."