Whole Number 45
1.2.5.6 JONAS SPARKS (DIED 1805)
OF ROWAN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
AND HIS DESCENDANTS
by Russell E.
(Compiler's Note: A number of people have contributed valuable information for the preparation of this sketch. William P. Johnson has done extensive research in North Carolina, while Paul E. Sparks has searched many Kentucky records. Louise Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah, a descendant of Jonas Sparks through his son David, has helped immeasurably; among her contributions has been the portrait of Mary Sparks Hunter, daughter of David. Helen Sparks of Los Angeles and Col. Leonard C. Sparks of Washington, D.C., both descendants of Jonas' grandson, Cornelius Sparks, have contributed valuable data and very kindly read and corrected the manuscript for this sketch.)
1.2.5.6 Jonas Sparks was a resident of Rowan County, North Carolina, from ca. 1760 until his death in 1805. He lived in that portion of Rowan County that became Davie County in 1836, often referred to in early records as 'the forks of the Yadkin,' about ten miles from Salisbury. Jonas Sparks was, in all probability, closely related to 1.2.5.1 Solomon Sparks, 1.2.1.2.2 Matthew Sparks, and 1.2.1.2 William Sample Sparks who moved from Frederick County, Maryland, to Rowan County, North Carolina, in the late 1750's and early 1760's.
We have not been able to determine exact birth dates for any of these Sparks pioneers, but judging from the birth dates of their children, it appears that all four were born between 1725 and 1740. We are certain that William Sample Sparks was a son of 1.2.5 Joseph Sparks, whose wife's name was Mary and who died in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1749.
[NOTE: We now know that 1.2.1.2 William Sample Sparks was a nephew of this 1.2.5 Joseph Sparks, his father, 1.2.1 William Sparks, Jr., being a brother of 1.2.5 Joseph Sparks.
We now know also that Jonas Sparks, who died in Rowan County, North Carolina, in 1805, was a son of Joseph Sparks (died 1749). Thus, 1.2.5.6 Jonas Sparks and 1.2.1.2 William Sample Sparks were first cousins, although William Sample Sparks was about a generation older than Jonas.]
1.2.5 Joseph Sparks did not leave a will and his widow, Mary Sparks, was appointed administratrix. The inventory of his estate was taken on May 1, 1749. William Sample Sparks and Rachel Sparks signed this inventory as kinsmen. It seems probable because of the close association of Solomon Sparks, Matthew Sparks, William Sample Sparks, and Jonas Sparks after they came to North Carolina that they were all brothers, or at least closely related. A son of Matthew Sparks, who made application for a pension for his service in the Revolution, referred to his Uncle James Sparks--probably still another brother of the four just named. (See the Quarterly of June, 1961, Whole No. 34, pp. 556-566, for data on Matthew Sparks, and the Quarterly of December, 1955, Whole No. 12, pp. 97-98, for data on Solomon Sparks.
Our earliest record of Jonas Sparks in Rowan County is the tax list of 1761--in Caleb Osborn's District the name of Jonas Sparks appears along with that of Matthew Sparks and Solomon Sparks.
The earliest record of Jonas Sparks acquiring land in Rowan County is a deed dated January 1, 1763, by which he purchased for 20 pounds a tract of 130 3/4 acres from Solomon Sparks. (See Rowan County Deed Book 5, p. 275.) This was the lower portion of a 290-acre tract of 'vacant land' which Solomon Sparks had purchased on August 28, 1762, from the Right Honorable John Earl Granville. (Rowan County Deed Book 5, p. 228.) This land was located, according to the description in the deeds, on the south side of the Yadkin River just opposite the point at which Muddy Creek flows into the Yadkin. On the same date that Solomon Sparks sold this portion of his tract to Jonas Sparks, he sold the remaining 159 1/4 acres to Valentine Vanhouser. In 1761, Solomon Sparks had purchased a tract of 250 acres on the south side of the Yadkin (Rowan County Deed Book 4, p. 389) immediately below the mouth of Muddy Creek, and it was on this tract that Solomon lived for a number of years before moving to what is now Yadkin County, then a part of Surry County, North Carolina. Thus, Jonas and Solomon lived on adjoining land for several years after 1763.
In 1764, Jonas Sparks served on a jury in Rowan County, as did also Solomon Sparks and William Sample Sparks.
Whether Jonas Sparks was married when he came to North Carolina, we have not been able to determine, nor do we know the date of birth of his oldest child. We know that his daughter Elizabeth Sparks was born in 1765. It is possible that she was the oldest of his children. No record of the name of the wife of Jonas Sparks has been found. He married a second time in 1786, but it was his unknown first wife who was the mother of his children.
A few years before the Sparkses moved from Maryland to North Carolina, a family that was later to become famous in American history had settled along the Yadkin River. This was the Boone family, Squire Boone, father of Daniel, having moved there with his family from Pennsylvania in May, 1750. Another prominent family that had preceded the Sparkses to the Yadkin River was that of Morgan Bryan who had moved there from Virginia in 1748. (Daniel Boone, the famous frontiersman, married Rebecca Bryan, daughter of Morgan Bryan, in 1755.) [NOTE: Rebecca Bryan was not a daughter of Morgan Bryan but was a daughter of Joseph Bryan who was a son of Morgan Bryan. See SQ p. 3885.]
These three families, the Boones, the Bryans, and the Sparkses, became close friends, and on September 25, 1773, members of all three of these families set out to find a new home in the wilderness of what is now Kentucky. Daniel Boone had spent two years exploring (from May, 1769, to March, 1771) and, according to his autobiography which he wrote with the aid of John Filson in 1784, when he returned home he was 'determined to bring them [his family] as soon as possible at the risk of my life and fortune, to reside in Kentucke, which I esteemed a second paradise.' He then relates that he sold his farm on the Yadkin 'and what goods we could not carry with Us; and on the 25th of September 1773, we bade farewell to our friends and proceeded on our journey to Kentucke, in company with five more families .' The other five families were those of his brother, Squire Boone, Jr., James, Morgan, Jr., and William Bryan (all brothers), and Jonas Sparks. Each of these men was accompanied by his wife and several children, some of whom were approaching maturity. According to Dr. J. Bryan, whose article on this migration was reprinted in the Quarterly of September, 1953 (pp. 13-16, Whole Number 3), enough of the sons were old enough to carry rifles so that there was a total of some twenty armed men. The path followed by this emigration party has become known in American history as the Wilderness Trail.
When they reached Powell's Valley, which is located near the present border between Western Virginia and Tennessee, they were joined by five other families, including forty well-armed men. The following description of the events which followed is taken from Dr. Bryan's article: 'The daily order of march was for the armed men to take the lead, then came the women and children on horseback, then the cattle and young stock driven by the older boys and young men, who thus brought up the rear, and acted as a rear guard. In this order, they took their daily march, and proceeded without incident worthy of note until October 10th, when they were crossing Powell's River for the last time, as they approached 'Cumberland Gap.' While moving, the cavalcade would stretch out on the road for a mile or so. The armed men had forded the river and were halted and formed in line to proteot the company, expecting attack, if at all, from the front. While the main force were thus on guard, other men were helping the women and children to ford the river. The time consumed in fording the river had brought the rear guard up to within half a mile or less cf the river. While some of the women and children were still in the midst of the stream, the entire company was startled by a sudden and heavy fireing in the rear Some of the armed men hastily mounted and rushed back across the river, and as they got fairly on the bank, met one of the young men, wounded, dashing up, who reported that they had been fired on from ambush. The men soon came upon the indians, and after a sharp fight, drove them off, to find the other six young men dead. All had received fatal wounds at the first fire, showing the Indians had lain in the thicket at the roadside, and, as the company was too strong for them, they had allowed the cavalcade to pass by, but when the seven young men came up, it was too tempting for Indian enmity to resist. They evidently each picked his man, took deliberate aim, and but one, sent their bullets but too true, killing outright the six and wounding the seventh.'
According to Dr. Bryan, Elizabeth Sparks, daughter of Jonas, who was then about nine years old, was one of those 'still in the midst of the stream' when the attack was made. She 'was riding a gentle horse and carrying a baby brother before her.'
One of the six young men killed was Daniel Boone's eldest son, James. After burying their dead, the group decided not to proceed any further until Spring. In his autobiography, Boone stated: 'Though we repulsed the enemy, yet this unhappy affair scattered our cattle, brought us into extreme difficulty, and so discouraged the whole company, that we retreated forty miles to the settlement on the Clench River. We had passed over two mountains, Powell's and Walden's, and were approaching Cumberland Mountain, when this adverse fortune overtook us.'
An Indian war now broke out, known as Lord Dunmore's War, and the emigrants remained in their settlement on the Clinch River for two years. During this time, Daniel Boone served the government of Virginia in various ways, including the building of a fort on the Kentucky River which was called Boonesborough. Finally, on June 14, 1775, he returned to his family and led those who wished to continue to Kentucky to the new fort.
Jonas Sparks did not remain in Kentucky, but sometime prior to 1778 he returned with his family to their old home on the Yadkin. Several members of the Bryan family also returned to Rowan County. In 1778, Jonas Sparks was taxed in Rowan County on property valued at 4 pounds, 3 shillings and 6 pence. He moved back on the farm that he had purchased originally from Solomon Sparks and did not acquire additional land for a number of years. In 1784, for example, he was taxed 17 shillings on this farm of slightly over 130 acres.
Sometime prior to 1786, 1.2.5.6 Jonas Sparks' first wife died. Possibly she died in Kentucky before the family returned to North Carolina. On September 5, 1786, Jonas Sparks obtained a marriage bond in Rowan County to marry Mary Eakle. The bond was signed by Peter Little, while Hugh Magoune signed as witness. Mary Eakle had been twice a widow when she married Jonas Sparks. Her first husband, whom she married ca. 1751, was Capt. Daniel Little (born in 1731, died December 10, 1775), who was a prominent citizen of Salisbury in Rowan County. (He held numerous high offices in Salisbury: Constable, Jailer, Commissioner, High Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, and Captain of the Militia.) Daniel and Mary Eakle Little had seven children:
Peter Little;
Daniel Little, Jr.;
John Little,
Henry Little,
James Little,
Lewis Little, and
Mary Little.
In 1779, Mary Little, widow of Daniel Little, married as her second husband, Jacob Eakle (also spelled Eckle); the Rowan County marriage bond was dated January 5, 1779, and Mary's name appeared as Anne Mary Little; the bondsman was John Lewis Beard, while the witness was William R. Davis. Jacob Eakle (or Eckle) died, date not known, and Jonas Sparks became Mary's third husband.
According to a tradition among the descendants of Jonas Sparks's son, David Sparks, this second wife was a 'Dutch woman,' (that is, German), and David, who would have been about eighteen years old at the time, strongly objected to his father marrying her. Later, however, David married the 'Dutch woman's' pretty daughter, whose name was Mary Little. A descendant who could remember Mary recalled many years ago that she had a German accent. Daniel Little is said to have come to Rowan County from Pennsylvania ca. 1750. Without doubt, both he and Mary, his wife, were Pennsylvania Dutch.
On May 3, 1788, 1.2.5.6 Jonas Sparks again purchased land from Solomon Sparks, who had moved by this time to Surry County, North Carolina (that part which became Yadkin County). On this date, for 150 pounds, Solomon deeded to Jonas 82� acres on the south side of the Yadkin River opposite the mouth of Muddy Creek, just below and adjoining his earlier purchase from Solomon. This was a portion of the tract of 250 acres purchased by Solomon in 1761. The deed (see Rowan County Deed Book 11, p. 436) was signed by mark by Solomon and his wife, Sarah, and was witnessed by two of Solomon's sons (Solomon Sparks, Jr., and Joseph Sparks) and by Jonas's son, David Sparks. One year earlier, 1.2.5.1 Solomon and Sarah had sold the lower portion of this tract, comprising some 160 acres, to Zephemiah Harris (Rowan County Deed Book 11, p. 271). Also in 1788, Jonas Sparks purchased from James Lindsey for 80 pounds a tract of 330 acres 'in the Forks of the Yadkin' (Rowan County Deed Book 11, p. 630), and the following year sold to Roland Jones for 35 pounds a portion of this land comprising 111 acres (Rowan County Deed Book 11, p. 747). On October 29, 1789, Jonas Sparks sold to his son, William Sparks, for 40 pounds, the tract of 82� acres on the Yadkin River that he had bought from Solomon Sparks in 1788. (See Rowan County Deed Book 11, p. 835.)
The 1790 census of Rowan County, North Carolina, lists three Sparkses living in the Salisbury District as follows:
| Jonas Sparks | 2 males over 16 | 3 males under 16 | 3 females |
| David Sparks | 1 male over 16 | 2 males under 16 | 1 female |
| William Sparks | 1 male over 16 | 2 males under 16 | 3 females |
The extra male over 16 years of age living with 1.2.5.6 Jonas Sparks was his son, 1.2.5.6.2 Jonas Sparks, Jr., who did not marry until 1796. Perhaps the three males under 16 were his wife's children by one of her previous marriages, since Jonas's will makes it clear he had only three sons. David and William were his other two Sons; both of whom had married and had children prior to 1790.
On August 17, 1804, Jonas Sparks sold to Lewis Little, his stepson, a tract of 100 acres for 100 pounds (Rowan County Deed Book 19, p. 194). Then, on May 3, 1805, just a few days before writing his will, Jonas Sparks sold 120 3/4 additional acres of his land on the Yadkin River to his son William for 600 pounds.
On May 11, 1805, Jonas Sparks made his will. He described himself as 'very weak in body' and he apparently died soon afterward. He signed with his mark, probably because of his illness. It reads as follows: (See Rowan County Will Book D, p. so.)
In the name of God, Amen, the 11th of May 1805. I Jonas Sparks, of Rowan being very weak in body but of perfect mind and memory, thanx be to God for it, therefore calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make [and] ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say principally and first of all I give & recommend my soul unto the hands of God who gave it & for my body I recomend it to the earth to be buried in a descent and christian like maner at the discretion of my executors nothing doubting, but at the general resurrection, I shall receive the same again, by the mighty power of God and as touching such worldly estate, where with it had pleased God to bless me with in this life, I give, devise and dispose in the following manner and form:
I give & bequeath unto my well beloved wife Mary Sparks, the dwelling house where I now live and a sufficient maintenance of the plantation during widowhood or lifetime, one desk, a bay mare & six pewter plates & two pewter basons, one flax wheel, one bottle, one pot, one old small pot, one looking glass, one coffee mu, one corner cuberd, one grddel, pare of dogs, one old coper kettel, one stillard.
I give & bequeath unto my son Jonas Sparks, junr., dec[eased] widow, Anna Sparks during her widowhood the land & plantation where she now lives.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my grandson Joseph Sparks, son of Jonas Sparks, jun. & his heirs forever all the land & plantation and premisses with all the pertanning their unto where I now live.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my daughter Rachel Griggs one silver dollar & no more.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my daughter Easter Caton one silver dollar & no more.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth Bryant one silver dollar & no more.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my son William Sparks one silver dollar & one half of the waggon which we have now in use between us for the use of both the plantation and one third of the fishery.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my son David Sparks one silver dollar & one third of the fishery.
Item, I give & bequeath unto my three grand children, my son Jonas Sparks children, Elizabeth Sparks, Jamixnah Sparks and Joseph Sparks, the balance of all my stock of every kind with the ballance of my house hold furniture & plantation utintinals to be equally davided between them three children. And further I do by this present, constitute and appoint my son David Sparks & Josuah Caton my whole & sole executors and administrators & I do utterly disallow, revoke and disanull every other former testaments, wills, legacies & executors by me in any way before this time named, willed & bequeathed ratify & confirming this & no other to be my last will & testament in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this day & year above written.
| [Witnesses:] Rowland Jones Jacob Hill | his Jonas X Sparks(Seal) mark |
As was noted earlier, the wife named Mary whom Jonas Sparks named in his will, was his second wife, and he had no children by her. We may assume that he named all of his living children in his will, as well as his deceased son, Jonas, Jr. It is possible, however, that there was a daughter omitted, perhaps because she had died earlier without issue. Lewis Little, born November 4, 1770, a son of Daniel Little and his wife Mary (who became Jonas Sparks's second wife), is known to have married a Tabitha Sparks. Since there was this family connection and because Jonas Sparks sold land to Lewis Little in 1804, it is possible that Tabitha was another daughter of Jonas; perhaps she had died prior to 1805.
We have not been able to determine the order of birth of the children of Jonas Sparks named in his will. We know that Esther was born in 1770 and Elizabeth in 1765, but since he named Esther before Elizabeth in his will, it is apparent that Jonas Sparks did not name them in the order of their birth. Following are the data we h
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