SPARKS FAMILY OF NICHOLAS COUNTY, KENTUCKY
Sparks, John (~1770 - 1814) - male
b. ABT. 1770
d. 1814
father: Sparks, William (1738 - <1786)
mother: Moore, Martha (*1741 - )
SQ p. 5128:
"John Sparks, born ca. 1770, died 1814. He was married to Catherine Waddel in 1792. Information regarding him and his family can be found in the QUARTERLY of September 1972, Whole No. 79, p. 1498; and December 1980, Whole No. 112, p. 2262." (A list of the children follows on page 5129.)
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY of September 1972, Whole No. 79, p. 1498:
NOTES ON DESCENDANTS OF JOHN AND KATHARINE (WADDELL) SPARKS OF BOURBON AND NICHOLAS COUNTIES, KENTUCKY
By Russell E. Bidlack
A former member of the Association whom we believe is now deceased, Mrs.Edna Briggs, once reported that about 1943 she visited a Mrs. Clara Sparks, widow of John J. Sparks. Mrs. Sparks had been born on October 7,1855; she was 88 years old at the time Mrs. Briggs interviewed her. Her maiden name had been Clara Bramlett. She stated that her husband’s father had been John Franklin Sparks (sometimes called Franklin), The father of John Franklin Sparks was Jonas Sparks, who had a brother named William Sparks.
According to Clara Sparks, the brothers Jonas and William Sparks had settled in Nicholas County, Kentucky, having come there from Virginia, but originally they were from North Carolina. The two brothers owned land together, and she remembered that the families had had trouble dividing the land in Bourbon and Nicholas Counties.
There can be no doubt that these two brothers about whom Clara Sparks spoke were the WILLIAM SPARKS, born July 30, 1793, who married Catherine Knox, and JONAS SPARKS, born about 1799, who married Elizabeth Knox, both of Nicholas County, Kentucky.
Actually, Jonas and William Sparks were born in Kentucky, not Virginia as Clara Sparks believed. Their father, JOHN SPARKS, who was probably born about 1770 was married in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1792 (marriage bond dated August 22, 1792). He married Katherine Waddell, who, according to Dr. J. S. Gallaway‘s Memories of Old Times in Paris, Kentucky,published in 1939, was a daughter of James Waddell. Her nickname was Katy(sometimes spelled Caty). John Sparks died in Bourbon County, Kentucky,in 1814 or 1815. His wife, Katharine (or Katy), died in 1843 in Nicholas County. (The Margaret Waddell, aged 83, born in Maryland, who was living with William Sparks (son of John) when the 1850 census was taken may have been the mother of Katharine and thus the grandmother of William Sparks.) John Sparks ‘s will, dated August 13, 1814, in Bourbon County, left his property to his wife "Caty." Because he owned land in adjoining Nicholas County as well as Bourbon County, there are deeds pertaining to his estate in Nicholas County in which his children are named. There are also deeds that indicate he owned land in Fleming County, Kentucky. On August 16, 1808, for example, he purchased for 180 pounds a tract of 104 acres on Fleming Creek in Fleming County (Book B, p. 376) from James Henderson of Clermont County, Ohio; John Sparks was described in this deed as "of Bourbon County." He sold this tract to William Wishard on July 22, 1811(Book D, p. 411) for $800.
John Sparks was probably closely related to other Sparkses who settled in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in the late 1780’s. These were:
William Sparks, Sr., paid taxes in Bourbon County as early as 1787.
William Sparks, Jr., paid taxes in Bourbon County as early as 1787.
George Sparks, paid taxes in Bourbon County as early as 1787.
Joseph Sparks, paid taxes in Bourbon County as early as 1795.
Michael Sparks, paid taxes in Bourbon County as early as 1795.
John Sparks's will was dated August 13, 1814, and was probated in February 1815, thus proving that he died sometime between those two dates.
On August 8, 1825, William Sparks of Nicholas County (Book G, p. 90) "did swear out a writ of tiere facie against the estate of John Sparks, decd." This was apparently a legal step by which the land belonging to John Sparks in Nicholas County could be advertised and sold, which was done, and William Sparks purchased said land. In this document of August 8,1825, the heirs of John Sparks were identified as follows:
Katharine Sparks, widow; Michael Stokes, late Michael Sparks; widow and relict of Benjamin Stokes, deceased; Mary Ann Stokes, Catharine Stokes, and Harriet Stokes, heirs of the said Benjamin Stokes, deceased; Isaac Baker and Martha his wife, late Martha Sparks; Jonas Sparks; Susan Sparks; and Katharine Sparks, Jr. (The name Katharine was sometimes spelled Catherine in these records.)
Katharine Sparks, widow of John Sparks, lived in Nicholas County following her husband’s death. On January 6, 1843, she made her will which was probated in the August 1843 court, proving that she died between January and August, 1843. She described herself in the will as “aged and infirm”. She divided her 36-acre farm between her daughter Elizabeth and a granddaughter, Honor Sparks. She left her “bed and bedding” to a grandson named Thomas Baker.
From probate records, deeds, census records, and other documents in Bourbon and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky, we know that John and Katharine (Waddell) Sparks had the following children: (See their sheets.]
spouse: Waddel, Katherine (*1770 - )
- m. 1792 in Bourbon County, KY
1) child: Sparks, Elizabeth (*1793 - <1869)
d. BEF. FEB 1869 in Nicholas County, KY
father: Sparks, John (~1770 - 1814)
mother: Waddel, Katherine (*1770 - )
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1972, Whole No. 79, pp. 1501-02:
Elizabeth Sparks, who was born about 1800, is believed to have been a daughter of John and Katharine (Waddell) Sparks. There is no reference to a daughter named Elizabeth in the 1825 deed (Nicholas County, Book G, p.90) where the other heirs of John Sparks were listed. However, Katharine Sparks, widow of John, who made her will on January 6, 1843, mentioned the thirty-six-acre farm “where I live with my daughter, Elizabeth." Earlier, on April 23, 1835, Katharine Sparks and Elizabeth Sparks had purchased a 33-acre tract on Hinkston Creek in Nicholas County for ten dollars from Drusilla Thornburgh (Book L, p. 15). On March 9, 1836,Katharine and Elizabeth Sparks sold 35 acres of land for $1.00 to a man named Alvin Branch (Book L, p. 156). On November 19, 1838, Elizabeth Sparks purchased a tract of 36 acres in Nicholas County for $333.33 from Pratt Hughes and his wife Sarah (Book L, p. 5147). She sold this to E. H. Wilson for $610 on May 21, 1853 (Book P, p. 550).
This same Elizabeth Sparks made her will on December 6, 1867, which was probated at the February 1869 meeting of the Court in Nicholas County (thus we know that she died between December 1867 and February 1869). In her will, Elizabeth Sparks named her children as Honor Sparks, Sally Varner, and Kitty H. Wilson. (This will is recorded in Book H, in Nicholas County.) Katharine Sparks, widow of John Sparks, not only called Elizabeth her daughter in her own will of 1843, but she also left one-third of her 36-acre farm to her "granddaughter, Honor Sparks."
One might speculate that Elizabeth Sparks was a daughter of Katharine(Waddell) Sparks by a previous marriage. Since she was listed on the 1850 census as fifty years of age, however, this is unlikely since John and Katharine were married in 1792. It is possible that she was actually the daughter-in-law of Katharine and was thus the widow of an unknown son,but this again seems highly unlikely. On the census records from 1810 to 1840, a female is enumerated in the family of John and Katharine Sparks whose age fits that of Elizabeth,
while no son is so enumerated.
We know from the will of Elizabeth Sparks that she had three daughters. Who was her husband? Was her maiden name Sparks, and did she marry a man named Sparks, or were her three children illegitimate? If the latter is the case, we can speculate that her father may have disowned her and omitted her from the division of his property, while her mother later brought her into her own home, Perhaps someday a descendant will be able to provide us with the truth. Following is the information we have been able to gather regarding Elizabeth’s three children: (See notes for children.)
spouse: ???, ? (*1784 - )
------child: Sparks, Sarah (~1814 - )
------child: Sparks, Honora (~1817 - )
------child: Sparks, Kitty Harriet (~1819 - )
2)child: Sparks, William (1793 - 1864)
b. 30 JUL 1793
d. 20 MAR 1864
father: Sparks, John (~1770 - 1814)
mother: Waddel, Katherine (*1770 - )
See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1972, Whole No. 79, p. 1499:
"William Sparks, son of John and Katharine (Waddell) Sparks, was born on July 30, 1793, and died on March 20, 1864; he was married to Catherine Knox (called Caty) in 1820 (Nicholas County marriage bond dated May 18,1820). She was born December 3, 1797, and died January 11, 1845. (These dates are taken from Dr. Robert Peter’s History of Bourbon, Scott,Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky, published in 1882. There are several deeds dated 1818 and 1819 by which William Sparks purchased land on Hinkston Creek in Nicholas County. (Hinkston Creek forms most of the boundary between Bourbon and Nicholas Counties; it flows northwestward to empty into the South Fork of the Licking Creek.) On August 21, 1821, Caty Sparks purchased for $33.25 from Lydia Swearington a tract of 33 acres on Hinkston Creek (Book E, p. 627); whether this was William’s wife or his mother cannot be determined since they both had the nickname "Caty."
William Sparks and his brother Jonas appear to have been in some form of partnership. On October 22, 1836, for example, they purchased for$2800 a tract of 113¼ acres in Nicholas County from John and Nancy Fugate. (Book L, p. 199) On December 19, 1851, they purchased a tract of 69 acres for $2 ,094 in Nicholas County from John Crouch (Book P, p.377). On March 16, 1852, they purchased a tract of 514 acres for $1771from Daniel and Rachel Thomas (Book P, p. 1406). Apparently it was this property that Clara (Bramlett) Sparks recalled in 1943 that the families later had difficulty dividing.
From a deed in Book 1, page 76 in Nicholas County, Kentucky, dated May 14, 1864, we know that William and Catherine (Knox) Sparks had the following children: (See family sheet)
spouse: Knox, Catherine (1797 - 1845)
- m. 1820 in Nicholas County, KY
------child: Sparks, Elvira (~1821 - )
Sparks, Elvira (~1821 - ) - female
b. ABT. 1821
father: Sparks, William (1793 - 1864)
mother: Knox, Catherine (1797 - 1845)
spouse: Huffstrutter, James (*1817 - )
- m. ABT. 21 SEP 1841 in Nicholas County, KY
------child: Huffstrutter, Louisa (~1842 - )
------child: Huffstrutter, William W. (~1846 - )
------child: Huffstrutter, John F. (~1848 - )
------child: Huffstrutter, James (~1858 - )
------child: Huffstrutter, Susan (~1863 -
------child: Sparks, Joseph W. (~1823 - )
Sparks, Joseph W. (~1823 - ) - male
b. ABT. 1823
father: Sparks, William (1793 - 1864)
mother: Knox, Catherine (1797 - 1845)
spouse: ???, Christiana A. (~1835 - )
------child: Sparks, William J. (~1858 - )
------child: Sparks, Edward (~1860 - )
------child: Sparks, Mary Lee (~1863 - )
------child: Sparks, Benjamin J. (~1866 - )
------child: Sparks, Jemima E. (~1876 - )
------child: Sparks, Elizabeth (*1828 - )
------child: Sparks, Susan (*1828 - )
father: Sparks, William (1793 - 1864)
mother: Knox, Catherine (1797 - 1845)
spouse: Crouch, George W. (*1824 - )
------child: Sparks, Harriet (1833 - )
Sparks, Harriet (1833 - ) - female
b. 2 NOV 1833
father: Sparks, William (1793 - 1864)
mother: Knox, Catherine (1797 - 1845)
SQ p. 1500:
Harriet Sparks, daughter of William and Catherine (Knox) Sparks, was born Nov. 2, 1833; she married William J. Inlow, son of Abraham and Susan (Sparks) Inlow. He died June 19, 1886, age 52. They had a son named Elliott Inlow, born Dec. 18, 1866. (This is from Bowen’s History of Montgomery County, Indiana.)
spouse: Inlow, William J. (*1830 - 1886)
------child: Inlow, Elliott (1866 - )
3)------child: Sparks, Michael (~1795 - ) female
b. ABT. 1795
father: Sparks, John (~1770 - 1814)
mother: Waddel, Katherine (*1770 - )
SQ p. 1500:
Michael Sparks (sometimes called Micha), daughter of John and Katharine(Waddell) Sparks, was born about 1795. Although this was a daughter with what is usually considered a man’s name, it is interesting to speculate that she may have been named for the Michael Sparks who first paid taxes in Bourbon County in 1795. She was married to Benjamin Stokes in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1815 (marriage bond dated April 30, 1815). He died before 1825. They had the following children: (See family group sheet]
spouse: Stokes, Benjamin (*1789 - )
------child: Stokes, Katherine (*1817 - 1848)
------child: Stokes, Mary Ann (*1825 - )
------child: Stokes, Harriet (*1825 - )
4)------child: Sparks, Jonas (~1799 - 1855)
b. ABT. 1799
d. 1855 in Nicholas County, KY
father: Sparks, John (~1770 - 1814)
mother: Waddel, Katherine (*1770 - )
SQ p. 1500:
Jonas Sparks, son of John and Katharine (Waddell) Sparks, born about 1799; he died in 1855 in Nicholas County, Kentucky. He married Elizabeth Knox (called Betsey) in 1821 (Nicholas County marriage bond dated October30, 1821). She was born about 1802, (She may have been a sister of Catherine Knox who married William Sparks, brother of Jonas.) As noted in the sketch of William Sparks, Jonas and William owned a number of tracts of land in Nicholas County in partnership. In his will, dated October 26,1855, Jonas Sparks mentioned his wife, Elizabeth, and the following three children: John, Samuel, and Margaret Ann.