McDonald Wilton family tree » William Sparks (1785-1823)

Données personnelles William Sparks 

• Il est né le 5 février 1785 dans Franklin (Owen), Kentucky, United States.
• Il est décédé en l'an 1823 dans Owen, KY, United States, il avait 37 ans.
• Un enfant de Henry Sparks, Sr. et Lucy Clark Sparks (BARBADOS link )

Famille de William Sparks

Notes par William Sparks

 

Wiliam Sparks was born about 1794 in Kentucky. He was married on August 8, 1815, in Fleming County, Kentucky, to Cordelia Donavan, who was also born about 1794 in Kentucky. By 1840 they were living in Lewis County, Kentucky. Sometime between 1850 and 1860, William Sparks moved with his family from Lewis County to Andrew County, Missouri, where he died between 1856 and 1860. His widow, Cordelia, was still living in 1860.

William Sparks served as a private in a company commanded by Captain Henry Ellis of the 16th Regiment of Kentucky Militia commanded by Col. Porter in the War of 1812. On October 24, 1850 he appeared before a justice of the peace named Stephen Bliss to make application for bounty land under the provisions of the Congressional Act of September 28, 1850. He gave his age at that time as 62 and stated that he had "been drafted as a private"; "volunteered at Millersburg in Bourbon County in the state of Kentucky on or about the 10th day of September, 1814, to serve for a period of six months and continued in actual service for the term of six months and was honorably discharged at Fort Malden, Canada, on the 10th day of March, 1815." He added that "his discharge papers had been destroyed by fire when his mother's house had burned about 1826 in Nicholas County, Kentucky." Unfortunately, he did not mention his mother's name. In 1856 he stated that his mother's house had burned about 1822 rather than about 1826.

On March 7, 1856, William Sparks made application before a justice of the peace named Daniel Van Buskirk in Andrew County, Missouri, for an additional 80 acrees of bounty land for his service in the War of 1812 under the new Act of March 3, 1855. In 1856 he again stated, as he had in 1850, that he was 62 years old. From census record data, it appears that he was more nearly correct regarding his age in 1856 than he had been in 1850. He was probably born, as stated above, about 1794. He signed his application in 1850 and again in 1856 by mark. His son, James H. Sparks, signed as a witness in 1856. His other witness in 1856 was William Stephens. William Sparks was granted an additional tract of 80 acres as a result of his second applciation.

Land Warrant File 45 800-80-55

 

On October 24, 1850, William Sparks of Lewis County, Kentucky, appeared before a justice of the peace named Stephen Bliss to make application for bounty land under the provisions of the Congressional Act of September 28, 1850. William Sparks stated that he was 62 years old and that he had been drafted as a private into the company commanded by Capt. Henry Ellis in the 16th Regiment of Kentucky Militia commanded by Col. Porter. He stated that he had "volunteered at Millersburg in Bourbon County in the state of Kentucky on or before the 10th day of September, 1814, to serve for the period of six months and continue in actual service for the term of six months and was honorably discharged at Fort Malden, Canada, on the 10th day of March 1815." He added that "he procured certificate of his discharge which was destroyed by fire at the burning of his Mother's house in Nicholas County in the state of Kentucky about the year of 1826." William Sparks signed his application for bounty land by mark.

Records in the Treasury Department proved that William Sparks had served as he had claimed and a warrant was issued him for 80 acres of bounty land.

On March 7, 1856, William Sparks made application for additional bounty land under the new Act of March 3, 1855. He made this application before the justice of the peace named Daniel Van Buskirk in Andrew County, Missouri. He again stated his age as 62, although six years earlier he had also given it as 62. From census record data it appears that he was more nearly correct in 1856 and that he was born about 1794. In his 1856 application, he gave the same information regarding his service as he had in 1850. However, he stated that his certificate of discharge had been destroyed by fire in 1822 instead of "about....1826" as he had stated in 1850. He again signed by mark. Under the Act of 1856, two witnesses were required, and James H. Sparks and William Stephens, both residents of Andrew County, Missouri, signed as witnesses. (There can be little doubt but that James H. Sparks was a son of William Sparks.) This application was also approved and William Sparks was issued a warrant for 80 additional acres of bounty acres of bounty land.

(Editor's Notes: The fact that William Sparks volunteered for service in Bourbon County means that he probably was living in or near Bourbon County in 1814. We know that there were Sparks families in Bourbon County as early as 1786. It is also interesting to note that William Sparks stated that his written discharge had been burned in his mother's house in Nicholas County sometime in the 1820's. Nicholas County adjoins Bourbon County on the north-east.)

From census records we know that this William Sparks was the same William Sparks who married Cordelia Donavan in Fleming County, Kentucky, in 1815. (The marriage bond, probably signed a day or two before the actual marriage, was dated August 8, 1815, just five months after he had been discharged from the Army.) Fleming County adjoins Nicholas County on the east and adjoins Lewis County on the south-west.

By 1850, William Sparks had moved to Lewis County, Kentucky. He was listed on the 1850 census as being 56 years of age whereas in his application for bounty land the same year he stated he was 62 years old. It is probable that the census record is more nearly correct and that he was born about 1794. His birth place according to the 1850 census, was Kentucky. His wife Cordelia (Donavan) Sparks, was listed in 1850 as 56 years of age, so she was probably born about 1794 also. Her birthplace was given as Kentucky. Living with William and Cordelia Sparks in 1850 was Edward F. Sparks, aged 21, and his wife, Sally, with their infant daughter, Mellora. Edward was their son. There was also a Moses Evans, aged 5, living with William and Cordelia in 1850 -- he may have been a grandchild.

There were eleven different Sparks families living in Lewis County, Kentucky, in 1850. How many of them were closely related to William Sparks is not known. (See the Quarterly of September, 1957, Vol. V, No. 3, pp.233-34, for the Sparks families on this census.) From subsequent records, we can be sure that the James H. Sparks and the William A. Sparks living near William Sparks were his sons.

By 1856, William Sparks had moved from Lewis County, Kentucky, to Andrew County, Missouri, for he was a resident of Andrew County when he made his second application for bounty land on March 7, 1856. Apparently he died by 1850, for according to the census of Andrew County for 1860, his wife, Cordelia, now aged 65 years, was living with their son, Edward F. Sparks, who had also moved to Andrew County.

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Barre chronologique William Sparks

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