Our Sparks History
Our Sparks History
Nathan Sparks was born in 1775 in Rowan County, North Carolina, but moved, as an infant, with his family to Surry County, North Carolina to what is now Ashe County. He was 8 or 9 years old when he accompanied his parents Matthew and Sarah Thompson Sparks on their move to Georgia. He remained there after his father was killed by Indians, in 1793, and it was in Oglethorpe County, GA that he married first to Sarah "Sally" Elsberry in about 1800. Sally died not long after their marriage.
"Nathan was married (second) to Nancy Hancock on September 2,1802, probably in Georgia. She had been born on September 17 , 1782, and was a daughter of Martin Hancock. According to a descendant, she was a first cousin of General Winfield Scott Hancock, born on February 14,1824, in Pennsylvania, who was a Union officer during the Civil War; he was the Democratic candidate for the United States Presidency in 1880."
"Nathan Sparks moved his family to Tennessee sometime between 1805 and1809. (His
son Isaac was born in Georgia in 1805; his son Martin was born in Tennessee in
1809.) It is quite likely that Nathan was accompanied to Tennessee by his
brothers, Jesse Sparks, Bailey Sparks, Isaac Sparks, and Hardy Sparks, as well
as by his mother, Sarah Sparks. Apparently, the five families settled
first in Humphreys County."
"Nathan Sparks did not stay very long in Humphreys County, and on February 15, 1812, he bought 208 acres of land from Charles Hayes in Wilson County. He paid $500 for the tract that was located on Spring Creek. Martin Hancock and Joan Doak witnessed the deed. Nathan remained in Wilson County for the rest of his life; he and his household were enumerated there on the 1820, 1830, and 1840 censuses." 1
Nathan Sparks and Nancy Hancock Sparks were the parents of at least nine children. The first three were born in Georgia, and the last six children in Tennessee. As the children reached adulthood and were married with families of their own, they still remained close. Several of the families can be seen moving together from one location to the next. Many of the families eventually moved to Texas. See the Census Pages for information on the Nathan Sparks family in early census records. Nathan's seventh child, and the youngest son, was William C., born in October of 1815. Our family descends from William Sample Sparks through Matthew, Nathan and William C. Sparks. Click on one of the names below for the history of these Sparks family members with ties to our Texas Sparks'.
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1 Source: (Sparks Quarterly, December 1995, Whole No. 172, pp. 4548-4574.)
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