James Sparks (abt. 1744 - 1834)

Born about 25 May 1744 in Cranbury, Middlesex, New Jersey

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 25 May 1834 at about age 90 in Jackson, Indiana, United States

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James Sparks is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 294523
Rank: Private

James Sparks is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A107874.

Biography

James Sparks was born about 1744 near the village of Cranbury in Cranbury Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey. (Cranbury is located twenty-two miles northeast of Trenton, the state's capital.) Available records indicate that James was apparently the eldest son of Richard Sparks (ca.1725-ca.1792) who was a resident of Middlesex County as early as 1750. James was a good-sized lad when his father moved the family to the western frontier of Pennsylvania sometime be tween 1763 and 1765. It was there that James Sparks served during the American Revolution, providing service for which he later would receive a pension. The Sparks family settled in what became Forward Township of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. At that time, this part of western Pennsylvania was claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia.

When James Sparks moved to Kentucky in 1782, he probably did so in the company of his brother, Daniel Sparks, whose name we have found on a 1782 tax list of Jefferson County, Kentucky. Another brother, Walter Sparks, had moved there by 1786 . On June 20, 1783, James Sparks received a warrant (No. 908) for 200 acres of land in Kentucky from the state of Virginia for his having been a "soldier of the Virginia line." Virginia still claimed western Pennsylvania in 1783, for which reason James Sparks's war service was considered as having been rendered to Virginia. Furthermore, the area that became Kentucky in 1792 was, until then, part of Virginia, and land there was freely given by Virginia to its veterans of the Revolution. By 1780, Virginia had divided Kentucky into three counties: Jefferson, Lincoln, and Fayette. (See Old Kentucky Entries and Deeds by Willard Rouse Jillson, published in 1926 by the Filson Club.) As noted, Kentucky became a separate state in 1792.

The earliest official record we have found thus far in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to mention James Sparks pertains to a law suit dated April 6, 1785, in which Edward Tyier sued James Sparks and won a judgment of five pounds. On the same day, James Sullivan also sued James Sparks and won the same judgment. On May 4, 1785, Sparks sued Edward Brant. These cases involved disputes over land ownership, caused largely by the "metes and bounds" system of land measurement then in use. Based on landmarks which would often decay or change, this system resulted in endless confusion and litigation.

The Jefferson County, Kentucky, tax lists of 1789 survive and contain the name of James Sparks as well as that of his brother, Daniel Sparks. James was also a member of a Jefferson County jury on November 4, 1789, and again on March 6, 1792.

On April 1, 1794, James Sparks bought a 63-acre tract of land from David Leitsch (or Leech) through Leitsch's attorney, John Gillam. The land was located on Broad Run, a tributary of Floyds Fork (usually spelled without the apostrophe). Sparks paid Leitsch thirteen pounds and two shillings. Walter Sparks, brother of James, was one of the witnesses to the deed, which was recorded on page 140 of Deed Book 4 of Jefferson County. The other witnesses were George Markwell and Nicholas Russell.

One day earlier, on March 31, 1794, Walter Sparks had purchased a neighboring tract of 96? acres on Floyds Run from William Crooks. At about the same time, Daniel Sparks, brother of James, purchased a tract of 343 acres in the same general area, also from David Leitsch. Daniel's land was located on Broad Run. All three tracts were located in that portion of Jefferson County which became part of Bullitt County in 1796. The new boundary line passed directly through land owned by Daniel Sparks. The 63-acre tract belonging to James Sparks was entirely in the new county of Bullitt. According to his pension application, James Sparks left Jefferson County in 1800 and went to Vincennes in Indiana Territory, where he and his family lived until 1803. They then returned to Jefferson County, probably accompanied by other settlers who had become tired of living under the threat of Indian raids. On his return to Jefferson County, Kentucky, Sparks probably took up residence on his 63-acre tract of land that he had purchased earlier from David Leitsch. James Sparks and his family continued to live in Jefferson County for several years. On August 8, 1808, he and his wife, called "Caty Sparks" in the deed, sold their 63-acre tract to James's brother, Daniel Sparks "of Bullitt County." The land was described in this deed as a part of "Leitsch's original 14,000 acres." Daniel Sparks gave his brother fifty pounds for this tract. Valentine Sparks, a son of Daniel, was a witness to the deed, which was recorded on page 677 of Bullitt County Deed Book B.

James Sparks was listed as the head of his household in Jefferson County when the third U.S. census was taken in 1810, but sometime prior to 1813, he moved his family to Bullitt County where, on September 11, 1813, he bought 96 3/4 acres of land from his nephew, Elijah Sparks (son of his brother, Walter Sparks). The consideration was $73. This land was located on Goose Creek and was in that part of Bullitt County that would become a part of Spencer County in 1824.

James Sparks continued to pay taxes in Bullitt County until 1819, but during that year he moved to Jackson County, Indiana, to join his sons who had already gone there about 1811. (Indiana had still been a territory in 1811, but had become a state in 1816.) James arrived in Carr Township, Jackson County, in time for him to be named, and his household to be enumerated, on the 1820 U.S. census. James left few records in Indiana. When the 1830 census was taken, the enumeration of the household of his son. Henry Sparks, in Lawrence County, Indiana, appears to have included James Sparks and his spouse.

On November 28, 1826, James Sparks, described in the deed as a resident of Jackson County, Indiana, sold the land that he still owned on Goose Creek in Spencer County, Kentucky, to his son, Stephen Sparks, for $400. (Spencer County Deed Book B, page 62.) Three years later, in 1829, however, James and his son, Stephen, were sued over this transaction. Daniel Sparks, a nephew of James Sparks (whose father was James's brother, Walter Sparks) brought suit in Chancery Court to require James and Stephen Sparks to sell the 96-acre tract to him. He was successful and then paid his uncle and cousin $270 for the land. (Spencer County Deed Book B, page 271.)

The last record that we have found of James Sparks is the application he made in November 1833 for a pension for his Revolutionary War service. He made his application in accordance with the provisions of an Act of Congress dated June 7, 1832. This law provided that any Revolutionary War veteran, regardless of his health or financial means, who had served at least two years in the Continental Line or state troops, volunteers or militia, was eligible for an annual pension equal to his pay as a soldier. (In James Sparks's case, this would be forty dollars a year.) A provision was made, also, for a pensioner's heirs to claim any unpaid portion following his death.

Husband of Catherine (Caty) Newkirk

Father of Stephen Sparks; Ailcy Newkirk; Benjamin Sparks; Henry Sparks; James Jr. Sparks and 4 others

Brother of Benjamin Sparks; Richard "Shantunte" Sparks; Ruth Sparks; Walter Sparks; Elizabeth Sparks and 4 others

James married Catherine. They had four children:

1. Elizabeth (Sparks) Rector (~1783 - ~1850).
2. Moses Sparks
3. Stephen Sparks
4. Ailcy Sparks

James died 25 May 1834 in Jackson, Indiana, United States aged 90. He is buried in Sparksville, Indiana.^[1]

James is recognized by both the Sons of the American Revolution and by the Daughters of the American Revolution as a Patriot Ancestor.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45332193/james-sparks : accessed 18 January 2022), memorial page for James Sparks (1752–25 May 1834), Find a Grave Memorial ID 45332193, citing Sparks Cemetery, Sparksville, Jackson County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by Sue McDuffe:) (contributor 47122067) .
2. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 18 Jan 2022), "Record of James Sparks", Ancestor # A107874.