January 25, 2022

Pages 599-609
Whole Number 36

SPARKSES IN NORTH CAROLINA -- 1850 CENSUS

by William Perry Johnson

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According to the 1790 census of North Carolina, around 86 persons named Spark(e)s were living in six of the fifty-four counties: Anson, Northampton, Rockingham, Rowan, Surry, and Wilkes. In the sixty years between 1790 and 1850, several Spark(e)ses moved to other North Carolina counties; many left North Carolina and settled in other states to the north, west, and south; a few remained at or near the original North Carolina homestead of their forefathers; and a few came from Virginia into North Carolina.

by 1850, according to the Federal census of that year, a total of 282 men, women, and children named Spark(e)s were residents of eighteen (roughly 20 per cent) of the 79 North Carolina counties then in existence:

Name of County	Number of Spark(e)ses
Anson	5
Ashe	2
Buncombe	5
Burke	12
Caldwell	11
Cherokee	7
Cleveland	39
Davis	6
Edgecombe	2
Iredell	6
Lincoln	1
McDowell	5
Rockingham	7
Rutherford	4
Surry	34
Wake	1
Wilkes	86
Yancey	49
Total----------------	282

The 1850 population of North Carolina was 869,039. Thus, roughly, one person out of every 3,000 was named Spark(e)s. However, in the counties where there were several Spark(e)s families, the ratio was closer to one out of every 100.

In the following list, the page number refers to the page in the volume containing the particular county named. The two numbers given below the page number are those supplied by the census taker. The first was the house number, the second was the family number. These two numbers are often the same, but when two families lived in the same house, the sequences would thereafter be different. These numbers are useful to the genealogist because one can frequently judge how near one family lived to another by comparing the numbers. (Thus, in Burke County we know that the family of George Sparks (470-470) lived very near that of William Sparks (471-471).) Opposite each person's name is given his age, whether male or female, and the state in which he was born. Where the census taker listed occupation and value of real estate owned, this information is also given.

Following is a detailed listing of the Spark(e)ses found on the 1850 census of North Carolina, arranged alphabetically by counties:

(Continued)

Anson County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
Cedar Hill District; Post Office, Burnsville.
(p. 422)
699-699	Floid, James P	24	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Margaret	17	(F)	" "
	Smith, Sarah	57	(F)	" "		$500
	Sparks, Neoma	62	(F)	" "
Diamond Hill District
(p. 433)
777-777	Sparks, John	38	(M)	North Carolina	Macanic
	" Francis	42	(F)	" "
	" James A.	10	(M)	" "
	" Zachry	4	(M)	" "
Ashe County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 17)
123-123	Sparks, John	66	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$400
	" Elizabeth	62	(F)	" "
Buncome County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p.236)
562-562	Sparks, Abs.	50	(M)	North Carolina	Laborer
	" Margaret	45	(F)	" "
	" Sidney	18	(M)	" "	Laborer
	" John	15	(M)	" "
	" Cate	12	(F)	" "
Burke County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 366)
470-470	Sparks, George	31	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Nancy	32	(F)	" "
	" Jeremiah	10	(M)	" "
	" Joseph	5	(M)	" "
	" Emily	3	(F)	" "
	" James	24	(M)	" "	Miner
	" Erwin[?]	20	(M)	" "	Miner
471-471	Sparks, William	57	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Rachel	56	(F)	" "
	" John	19	(M)	" "
	" Mary Ann[?]	16	(F)	" "
476-476	Hodge, George	35	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$1000
	" Lucinda	35	(F)	" "
	" Robert	6	(M)	" "
	" Martha	2	(F)	" "
	Sparks, Jesse	23	(M)	" "	Labourer
Caldwell County, North Carolina -- Census
Summer's District
(p. 573)
337-337	Sprarks, James	48	(M)	Surry County, N. C.	Farmer
	" Nancy	43	(F)	Burke Co., N. C.
	" William	12	(M)	" " "
	" Marcus	10	(M)	" " "
	" Mary	6	(F)	Caldwell Co., N. C.
	" Thomas	4	(M)	" " "
338-338	Sparks, Sarah	50	(F)	Surry County., N.C.
	" Elizabeth	26	(F)	Virginia	(insane)
	" Benjamin	21	(M)	Burke Co., N. C.
	" Elizabeth	70	(F)	Maryland
Cherokee County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 9)
51-51	Sparks, Saml. P.	29	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Mary	22	(F)	" "
	" Jeremiah	5	(M)	" "
	" Jackson	1	(M)	" "
(p. 27)
176-176	Sparks, Solomon	60	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Julia	44	(F)	" "
	" Joel	22	(M)	Kentucky
Cleveland County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 407)
180-180	Sparkes, Lewis	37	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$100
	" Sarah	48	(F)	" "
	" John L.	8	(M)	" "
	" Caleb L.	7	(M)	" "
	" William A.	5	(M)	" "
	" Aensley	11/12	(M)	" "
	Jones, Simerena [?]	40	(F)	" "
(p. 408)
190-190	Sparkes, Thomas	42	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Rachel	36	(F)	" "
	" Morgan	14	(M)	" "
	" Caty	12	(F)	" "
	" Albert	10	(M)	" "
	" Roxannah	8	(F)	" "
	" Elizabeth	6	(F)	" "
	" Rufus	4	(M)	" "
(p. 409)
194-194	Sparkes, Alpha	32	(M)	North Carolina	Overseer
	" Louisa	33	(F)	" "
	" Nancy	10	(F)	" "
	" John T.	8	(M)	" "
	" Monroe	4	(M)	" "
	" Martha	2	(F)	" "
	" Harvey G.	8/12	(M)	" "
(Note: The last four names of the above family appear on page 602 in the Quarterly)
Cleveland County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 443)
447-447	Sparkes, John	77	(M)	Virginia	Miller
	" Nancy	70	(F)	"
(p. 454)
526-526	Sparkes, Linsey	25	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Frances	23	(F)	" "
	" William H.	1	(M)	" "
(p. 489)
782-782	Sparkes, Barnet	42	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$200
	" Nicey	40	(F)	" "
	" Craton	15	(M)	" "
	" Thomas	13	(M)	" "
	" Barnet M.	11	(M)	" "
	" Hiram	10	(M)	" "
	" Joshua	7	(M)	" "
	" Katharine	4	(F)	" "
	" Rebecca	2	(F)	" "
	" Unicy	1	(F)	" "
784-784	Sparkes, William	66	(M)	Virginia	Farmer
	" Judy	66	(F)	"
	" Margaret	30	(F)	North Carolina
	Wright, Mary	73	(F)	Virginia		$500
Davie County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 45)
314-314	Sparks, Martha E.	51	(F)	Virginia		$1200
	" James	22	(M)	Davie Co., N.C.	Farmer
	" Emily	19	(F)	" " "
	" Harvey	16	(M)	" " "
	" Charles	10	(M)	" " "
	Benson, Samuel (black)	34	(M)	" " "
(p. 51)
360-360	McDaniel, James	50	(M)	Davie Co., N.C.	Farmer
	" Sarah	44	(F)	" " "
	" Alfred	21	(M)	" " "	Laborer
	Sparks, Catherine (mulatto)	20	(F)	" " "
Edgecombe County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 48)
----376	Sparks, John	22	(M)	North Carolina	Overseer
	" Martha	20	(F)	" "
	Wadkins, R.	13	(M)	" "
	Johnson [?], Oewel [?]	9/12	(M)	" "
Iredell County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 196)
1431-1441	Sparkes, Thomas	33	(M)	North Carolina	Stiller
	" Catharine	33	(F)	" "
	" Michael	9	(M)	" "
	" William A.	7	(M)	" "
	" John C.	4	(M)	" "
	" Adalain J.	1	(F)	" "
Lincoln County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 223)
537-548	Hagan, Simon	27	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$1500
	" Jane	66	(F)	" "
	" Jane	30	(F)	" "
	Sparks, Solomon	12	(M)	" "
McDowell County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 309)
794-794	Sparks, Ivan A.	24	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Elizabeth	22	(F)	" "
	" Esther E.	3	(F)	" "
	" Susan	1	(F)	" "
(p. 312)
830-830	Mitchel, Hiram [?] J.	30	(M)	North Carolina	Mason	$300
	" Mariah	23	(F)	" "
	" Narcissa	5	(F)	" "
	" William S.	2	(M)	" "
	" Caledonia A.	1/12	(F)	" "
	Sparks, Sarah	22	(F)	" "
	Rector, Thomas	16	(M)	" "	Apprentice
	Schism, William	35	(M)	" "	Mason
Rockingham County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 8)
110-110	Sparks, Mathew	67	(M)	Virginia	Farmer	$300
	" Mary	57	(F)	"
	" S. P.	21	(M)	"
	Stires, Martha	23	(F)	North Carolina
	Snow, Joe (black)	25	(M)	" "
(p. 10)
131-131	French, Thomas	39	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$250
	" A. H.	29	(F)	Virginia
	Sparks, M. T.	26	(M)	"
	French, M. S.	4	(F)	North Carolina
	" M. E.	2	(F)
	" M. A.	8/12	(F)
(p. 32)
448-457	Sparks, William H.	26	(M)	Virginia	Overseer
	" C. M.	28	(F)	North Carolina
	" S. E.	3	(F)	" "
Rutherford County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 595)
976-1000	Sparks, Calvin	53	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$337
	" Susan		(F)	" "
	" Eliza J.		(F)	" "
	" M. R.		(F)	" "
Surry County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
The Southern Division
(p. 169)
119-120	Wood, Francis	32	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$100
	" Elizabeth V.		(F)	" "
	" Luvina		(F)	" "
	Sparks, Elizabeth		(F)	" "
120-121	Sparks, Alexander	26	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$100
	" Mary J.	20	(F)	" "	(married w/i year)
	Briant, Vicy	18	(F)	" "
	" Lewis	50	(M)	" "	Shoemaker
(p. 174)
189-190	Sparks, Russel	37	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$500
	" Nancy	34	(F)	" "
	" Louisa	10	(F)	" "
	" Sally C.	5	(F)	" "
	" John A.	4	(M)	" "
	" Martha D.	3	(F)	" "
	" Mary M.	2	(F)	" "
	" Solomon M.	2/12	(M)	" "
	Denney, Jacob K.	52	(M)	" "	Labourer
(p. 175)
207-208	Sparks, Benjamin	63	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$500
	" Sarah	60	(F)	" "
	" Solomon	25	(M)	" "	Farmer	$320
	" Martha	23	(F)	" "
	" Sally	18	(F)	" "
	" Benjamin	17	(M)	" "	Farmer
	Frasier [?], Andrew	18	(M)	" "	Laborer
(p. 175)
208-208	Sparks, Joseph	33	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$100
	" Martha	27	(F)	" "
	" Benjamin T.	6	(M)	" "
	" William R.	5	(M)	" "
	" John A.	4	(M)	" "
	" Sarah A.	3	(F)	" "
	" James L.	1/12	(M)	" "
	Bully, John	46	(M)	" "
(p. 185)
347-348	Sparks, William Z.	58	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$150
	" Mary	37	(F)	" "
	" James	21	(M)	" "
	Bange, Uriah	10	(M)	" "
(p. 189)
419-420	Rhinehart, Christian	36	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$200
	" Rachel	30	(F)	" "
	" Mary M.	13	(F)	" "
	" James F.	10	(M)	" "
	" Sarah C.	5	(F)	" "
	" Elizabeth C.	6/12	(F)	" "
	Sparks, Elizabeth	25	(F)	" "
	McGuire, Philips	31	(M)	" "	Physician
(p. 192)
454-456	Sparks, William	23	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Araminta	23	(F)	" "
	" James W.	10/12	(M)	" "
465-467	Sparks, Abednego	29	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" Mary	21	(F)	" "
	" Jinsey A.	1	(F)	" "
Wake County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 237)
990-990	Lynn, Christopher	38	(M)	North Carolina		$419
	[Listed as mullatto; perhaps an error. WPJ]
	Lynn, Candice	35	(F)	North Carolina
	" Mary	13	(F)	" "
	" Martha	10	(F)	" "
	" Jane	7	(F)	" "
	" Caroline	4	(F)	" "
	" Frances	6	(F)	" "
	" Louisa	7/12	(F)	" "
	Sparks, Elizabeth	65	(F)	" "
Wilkes County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 254)
59-59	Sparkes, Sidney	44	(M)	North Carolina	Pauper
	Gambill, Hugh	20	(M)	" "	Farmer
	" Nancy	22	(F)	" "
	" Felix	1	(M)	" "
(p. 256)
87-87	Sparkes, Reubin	50	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$800
	" Phebe	43	(F)	" " "
	" George	20	(M)	" " "
	" Lewis	18	(M)	" " "
	" Sally	13	(F)	" " "
	" John	9	(M)	" " "
	" William	6	(M)	" " "
(p. 257)
102-102	Sparkes, Nancy	52	(F)	North Carolina		$600
	" Hugh	17	(M)	" "
(p. 266)
231-231	Sparkes, Tempe	62	(F)	Wilkes Co., N. C.
	" Malinda	26	(F)	Surry Co., N.. C.
	Tedder, Rosey	27	(F)	Wilkes Co., N. C.
	" Elijah	2	(M)	" " "
(p. 270)
278-278	Lands [?], Thomas	57	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$400
	Combs, Liday	58	(F)	" " "
	Riddle, Jane	39	(F)	" " "
	Combs, Clara	23	(F)	" " "
	" Levy [?]	22	(M)	" " "	Farmer
	Riddle, Jesse	15	(M)	" " "	Farmer
	" Lucinda	13	(F)	" " "
	" Jacob	12	(M)	" " "
	Sparks, Wesley	16	(M)	" " "	Farmer
(p. 272)
312-312	Brown, Robert	30	(M)	Virginia	Farmer	$150
	Sparks, Elizabeth	50	(F)	Wilkes Co., N.C.
(p. 276)
368-368	Sparkes, Joel	53	(M)	Wilkes Co., N. C.	Farmer	$150
	" Charlotte	24	(F)	" " "
	" Caroline	4	(F)	" " "
	" George	2	(M)	" " "
	" Nancy	1	(F)	" " "
(p. 286)
512-512	Sparkes, William	53	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer
	" Milly	44	(F)	" " "
	" Hugh	8	(M)	" " "
	" Lotty	6	(F)	" " "
	" Martha	3	(F)	" " "
	" Whitfield	1	(M)	" " "
(p. 302)
779-779	Sparkes, Joseph	27	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$200
	" Mary	24	(F)	" " "
	" Martha	5	(F)	" " "
	" Rachel	9/12	(F)	" " "
(p. 303)
790-790	Sparkes, Richmond	36	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$250
	" Sarah	33	(F)	" " "
	" Hugh	14	(M)	" " "
	" Asey Ann	12	(F)	" " "
	" John	8	(M)	" " "
	" Joel	6	(M)	" " "
	" Susan	4	(F)	" " "
	" Abner	1	(M)	" " "
(p. 310)
894-894	Sparkes, Reubin	31	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$500
	" Nancy	34	(F)	" " "
	" Catherine	6	(F)	" " "
(p. 315)
964-964	Sparkes, Emanuel	39	(M)	Ashe Co., N.C.	Farmer
	" Mary	36	(F)	Wilkes Co., N.C.
	" Jane	10	(F)	" " "
	" Reubin	8	(M)	" " "
	" Elizabeth	6	(F)	" " "
	" Sally	4	(F)	" " "
	" Catherine	8/12	(F)	" " "
975-975	Sparkes, David	27	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer
	" Keza [or Kiza]	27	(F)	Ashe Col, N.C.
	" Jane	7	(F)	Wilkes Co., N.C.
	" Daniel	5	(M)	" " "
	" Polly	1	(F)	" " "
	Holbrook Vira (mulatto)	7	(F)	" " "
978-978	Spicer, Joseph	27	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$400
	" Jane	68	(F)	Virginia
	" Washington	25	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.
	Sparks, Tennessee	19	(F)	" " "
(p. 329)
1169-1169	Sparkes, Colby	49	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Baptist Preacher	$700
	" Sarah	46	(F)	" " "
	" Rincy	24	(F)	" " "
	" Christiana	22	(F)	" " "
	" Sarah	20	(F)	" " "
	" Nancy	17	(F)	" " "
	" Lena	14	(F)	" " "
	" Ruth	11	(F)	" " "
	" Julia	8	(F)	" " "
	" Mioma [Naomi]	4	(F)	" " "
(p. 329)
1174-1174	Sparkes, Samuel	58	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$400
	" Mary	57	(F)	" " "
	" Noah	21	(M)	" " "	Farmer
	" Elias	19	(M)	" " "	Farmer
	" Ransom	17	(M)	" " "	Farmer
	" George	15	(M)	" " "	Farmer
	" Samuel	13	(M)	" " "
	" Mary	11	(F)	" " "
(p. 344)
1373-1373	Sparkes, Joel	30	(M)	Surry Co., N. C.	Farmer
	" Mira	30	(F)	Wilkes Co., N.C.
	" Caroline	5	(F)	" " "
	" Lavinia	3	(F)	" " "
	" Edward	1	(M)	" " "
(p. 348)
1429-1429	Sparkes, Reubin	30	(M)	Wilkes Co., N.C.	Farmer	$150
	" Belinda	21	(F)	" " "
	" William	4	(M)	" " "
	" Martha	9/12	(F)	" " "
1437-1437	Sparkes, James	28	(M)	Surry Co., N. C.	Farmer
	" Sophia	25	(F)	" " "
	" Mary	2	(F)	Wilkes Co., N.C.
(p.368)
1864-1864	Sparkes, David	27	(M)	North Carolina
	" Keziah	27	(F)	" "
	" Jane	8	(F)	" "
	Holloway, John	6	(M)	" "
	" William	4	(M)	" "
	" Fanny	2	(F)	" "
Yancey County, North Carolina -- 1850 Census
(p. 426)
598-631	Sparks, Thomas M.	45	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$1200
	" Jeremiah T.	7	(M)	" "
	" Joseph W.	5	(M)	" "
	" Matthew L.	3	(M)	" "
	" Mary A.	40	(F)	" "
	" Cyntha A.	15	(F)	" "
	" Nancy M.	13	(F)	" "
	" Sarah A. E.	9	(F)	" "
	" Mary E.	1	(F)	" "
601-634	Sparks, Jeremiah	38	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$200
	" Samuel D.	18	(M)	" "	Laborer
	" William	16	(M)	" "	Laborer
	" Charles	14	(M)	" "
	" James	5	(M)	" "
	" Rachel	35	(F)	" "
	" Mary E.	10	(F)	" "
	" Jane E.	8	(F)	" "
	" Caroline	4	(F)	" "
	" Jemima J.	1	(F)	" "
(p. 430)
647-681	Sparks, Wilson	28	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$200
	" William K.	5	(M)	" "
	" Thomas G.	2	(M)	" "
	" Stephen C.	1/12	(M)	" "
	" Mary	26	(F)	" "
	" Susannah	4	(F)	" "
(p. 431)
654-688	Sparks, Matthew	37	(M)	North Carolina	Ironsmith	$300
	" John	15	(M)	" "
	" Elizabeth	30	(F)	" "
	" Jane	13	(F)	" "
	" Mary	11	(F)	" "
	" Ann E.	9	(F)	" "
	" Evoline	8	(F)	" "
	" Sophronia	6	(F)	" "
	" Matilda	2	(F)	" "
655-689	Sparks, Harden	31	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer	$300
	" Stephen A.	9	(M)	" "
	" Elizabeth	22	(F)	" "
	" Nancy M.	5	(F)	" "
	" Barsheba M.	4/12	(F)	" "
657-691	Sparks, Barsheba	51	(F)	North Carolina
	" George	19	(M)	" "	Laborer
	" Allen	17	(M)	" "	Laborer
	" Reuben	12	(M)	" "
	" Whitfield M.	7	(M)	" "
(p. 431)
662-697	Sparks, James	21	(M)	North Carolina	Farmer
	" John M.	2	(M)	" "
	" George W.	2/12	(M)	" "
	" Jane	23	(F)	" "
	" Mary A.	4	(F)	" "

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