January 25, 2022 2:22 PM

Pages 506
Whole Number 31

PERSONS NAMED SPARKS LIVING IN IOWA IN 1850


Number Person Age M/F Born Occupation Net Worth
Jasper County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Dist. No. 16, enumerated September 5, 1850, by Cary D. Shelledy.
(P. 761) Sparks, Truelove 39 (M) Kentucky Farmer $1000
182-182 " Sarah 40 (F) "    
  " Stephen 15 (M) Illinois    
  " John 14 (M) "    
  " William 13 (M) Iowa    
  " Jeremiah 11 (M) Illinois    
  " Mary 8 (F) Iowa    
  " Angeline 6 (F) "    
  " George 3 (M) "    
  " Eliza 2 (F) "    
  " Margaret 5/12 (F) "    
(p. 764) Sparks, John 43 (M) Tennessee Farmer $3000
193-193 " Elizabeth 43 (F) Kentucky    
  " Jeremiah 21 (M) Illinois    
  " Matthew 18 (M) "    
  " Panina 14 (F) "    
  " William 10 (M) Iowa    
  " John 8 (M) "    
  " Elizabeth 6 (F) "    
  " Samuel 3 (M) "    
  Matthews, Mary 77 (F) PA    
  Smith, Samuel 18 (M) Ohio Farmer  


Page 812-815
Whole Number 46

PERSONS NAMED SPARKS LIVING IN IOWA IN 1850

Copied from the 1850 Census by Carrie Grant Heppen


The area that became the state of Iowa on December 28, 1846, had been a part of the vast tract called Louisiana sold by Napoleon to the United States in 1803. Except for an occasional explorer or trapper, however, Iowa was rarely visited by white men until ca. 1830, when settlers began to infiltrate. As the Indians gradually gave up their rights to the land, white men came in ever greater numbers. In 1836, the white population numbered 10,531; it more than doubled during the next two years, and by 1840 had reached 43,112. When the census of 1850 was taken, Iowa had a population of 192,212. These settlers bad come generally from the eastern and southern states and were largely of British ancestry.

From 1812 until 1821, Iowa was a part of Missouri Territory; from 1824 until 1834, it was unorganized; it was then attached to Michigan Territory, but in 1836 it was made a part of Wisconsin Territory. In 1838 it became a territory in its own name, and in 1846 was admitted to statehood.

In 1850, Iowa consisted of 49 counties; some of these counties were subdivided in later years and today there are 99. The 49 counties in 1850 were: Allamakee, Appanoose, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Buchanan, Cedar, Clarke, Clayton, Clinton, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Frernont, Henry, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Muscatine, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Scott, Tama, Taylor, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, and Winneshiek.

Persons named Sparks lived in only the following Iowa counties in 1850: Appanoose, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Davis, Dubuque, Jasper, Jefferson, and Lee. Of the 192,212 persons living in Iowa in 1850, only 76 were named Sparks.

The reader is reminded that on the 1850 census, each family group represented a household and that besides the parents and children, a household might include relatives and hired hands. In each instance where a person named Sparks appears on the census, the entire household of which he was a member is given. In the following list, the page number refers to the page in the volume containing the particular county named. The two numbers given below the page number are those supplied by the census taker. The first was the house number, the second was the family number. These two numbers are often the same, but when two families lived in the same house, the sequences would thereafter be different. These numbers are useful to the genealogist because one can frequently judge how near one family lived to andther by comparing the numbers. For example, in Clinton County we know that the family of Joel Sparks and that of Edward B. Sparks appear to have lived side-by-side, since Joel Sparks is numbered 473-482 and Edward B. Sparks is numbered 474-483.


Number Person Age M/F Born Occupation Net Worth
Appanoose County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Independence Township
(Vol. 1, p. 24) Census taken on November 13, 1850, by Samuel L. Caldwell.
13-13 Sparks, Daniel P. 34 (M) (born) Pennsylvania Farmer $1,000
  " Mary A. 22 (F) Delaware    
  " Daniel P. 2 (M) Iowa    
Rochester Township
(Vol. 1, p. 34) Census taken on November 16, 1850, by Samuel L. Caldwell
15-15 Waples, Leah 45 (F) Delaware . .
  " Margaret 17 (F) "    
  " Edward 10 (M) "    
  " William 8 (M) "    
  " Elizabeth 5 (F) "    
  Sparks, William 29 (M) Ohio Farmer $100
Cedar County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Rochester Township.
(Vol. 1, p. 187) Census taken on September 4, 1850, by J. H. Robinson.
185-185 Sparks, David T. 28 (M) Indiana Farmer $600
  " Susan E. 22 (F) "    
  " Albert T. 3 (M) Iowa    
  " Aquilla J. 1/12 (F) "    
Rochester Township
(Vol. 1, p. 187) Census taken on September 4, 1850, by J. H. Robinson.
194-194 Sparks, William 23 (M) Indiana Farmer $100
  " Lucinda 17 (F) "    
Clayton County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Mendon Township.
(Vol. 1, p. 352) Census taken August 22, 1850, by Etepolet Price.
659-659 Sparks, James 50 (M) Kentucky Farmer $1,200
  " Elizabeth 45 (F) "    
  " Allen 27 (M) " Farmer $400
  " Barton 26) (M " Farmer $200
  " James 24 (M) " Farmer $300
  " Harriet 22 (F) "    
  " Cyrus 21 (M) " Farmer  
  " Joseph 19 (M) " Laborer  
  " Rebecca 16 (F) "    
  " Henry 14 (M) "    
  " Mary 12 (F) "    
  " Elizabeth 9 (F) "    
  " John 5 (M) "    
Clinton County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Bloomfield Township
(Vol. 1, p. 430) Census Taken October 5, 1850, by J. D. Bourne.
473-482 Sparks, Joel 56 (M) New York Farmer .
  " Lydia 56 (F) " "    
  " John M. 20 (M) " "    
  " William 25 (M) " "    
474-483 Sparks, Edward E. 27 (M) New York Farmer $1,000
  " Mary 26 (F) Ohio    
  " George 2 (M) "    
Jasper County, Iowa, 1850 Census, continued:
District No. 16.
(Vol. 2, p. 764) Census taken September 6, 1950, by Cary D. Shelledy.
193-193 Sparks, John 43 (M) Tennessee Farmer $3000
  " Elizabeth 43 (F) Kentucky    
  " Jeremiah 21 (M) Illinois Farmer  
  " Matthew 18 (M) " Farmer  
  " Panina 14 (F) "    
  " William 10 (M) Iowa    
  " John 8 (M) "    
  " Elizabeth 6 (F) "    
  " Samuel 3 (M) "    
  Matthews, Mary 77 (F) Pennsylvania    
  Smith, Samuel 18 (M) Ohio Farmer  
Fairfield Township.
(Vol. 3, p. 119) Census taken October 15, 1850, by R. W. Steele
40-41 Sparks, A. R. 29 (M) Virginia Druggist $400
  " Sarah Ann 25 (F) Pennsylvania    
  Markle, Elizabeth 15 (F) Ohio    
  Bighorn, D. S. 26 (M) North Carolina Speculator  
  " Hannah M. 21 (F) Massachusetts    
Lee County, Iowa - 1850 Census
28th Division.
(Vol. 3, p. 600) Census taken September 5, 1850, by Thos. Cherry.
313-313 Sparks, Thomas 36 (M) Iowa (? see note below) Farmer
  " Sarah 36 (F) Iowa    
  " Elizabeth 16 (F) "    
  " Martha 14 (F) "    
  " Mary 12 (F) "    
  " Sarah 7 (F) "    
  " Harriet 6 (F) "    
  " Louisa 4 (F) "    
  " Marion 3/12 (F) "    
  " Ann (Arena?) 3/12 (M) "    
[Note: Iowa was given as the birth place for all members of this family, but since there were almost no white settlers in Iowa at the time Thomas and Sarah were born, ca. 1814, the census taker probably intended Indiana as the birth place of at least the older members of this family.)
29th Division.
(Vol. 3, p. 880) Census taken September 13, 1850, by John M. Newcomb.
797-803 Barber, Luther, Sr. 58 (M) Connecticut Farmer $500
  " Levia 50 (F) "    
  Darrow, Willard 25 (M) New York Farmer  
  " Margaret 17 (F) Ohio    
  Sparks, William F. 8 (M) Iowa    
  Anston, Genette 10 (F) Ohio    


Pages2689-2694
Whole Number 128

PERSONS NAMED SPARKS LIVING IN IOWA IN 1850


In the Quarterly of June 1964, Whole No. 46, pages 812-815, we published what we thought then to be a complete record of persons named Sparks appearing on the Federal census for Iowa taken in 1850. Since then, however, a number of other Sparkses have been found who should have been included. Rather than simply listing these additions, we have thought it best to re-publish the entire record.

What follows is, we believe, a complete listing of all persons named Sparks that were recorded as living in Iowa in 1850. Census takers then, as now, make mistakes, of course, so we cannot claim that no one was missed. We suggest that individuals and libraries that are maintaining a complete file of the Quarterly note on the issue for June 1964 that this revised and corrected list appears in the December 1984 issue.

[Note: The recommended note for the June 1964 issue has been inserted.]

The area that became the state of Iowa on December 28, 1846, had been a part of the vast tract called Louisiana that had been sold to the United States by Napoleon in 1803. Except for an occasional explorer or trapper, however, the area that would become Iowa was rarely visited by white men until about 1830, when settlers began to infiltrate. As the Indians gradually gave up their rights to the land, white settlers came in ever greater numbers. In 1836, the white population numbered 10,531; it was more than doubled during the next two years, and by 1840 had reached 43,112. When the census of 1850 was taken, Iowa had a population of 192,212. These settlers had come generally from the eastern and southern states and were largely of British ancestry.

From 1812 until 1821, Iowa was a part of the Missouri Territory; from 1824 until 1834, it was unorganized; it was then attached to Michigan Territory; but in 1836 it was made a part of Wisconsin Territory. In 1838 it became a territory in its own name, and in 1846 was admitted to statehood.

By 1850, Iowa had been divided into 49 counties. Many of these counties were subdivided in later years and today there are 99. Persons named Sparks lived in only the following Iowa counties in 1850: Appanoose, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Davis, Dubuque, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Keokuk, Lee, and Muscatine. Of the 192,212 persons living in Iowa in 1850, only 88 had the name Sparks.

The reader is reminded that on the 1850 census, each family group represented a household and that, besides the parents and children, a household might include relatives and hired hands. In each instance where a person named Sparks appears on this census, we have copied the entire household of which he was a member.

The page number refers to the page in the volume containing the particular county named. The two numbers given below the page number are those supplied by the census taker. The first was the number that he assigned to the house or building while the second was supposed to represent the family. These two numbers often start out the same, but when two families lived in the same house, the sequence of numbers was, thereafter, different. These numbers are useful to the genealogist because one can frequently judge how near one family lived to another by comparing the numbers. For example, in Clinton County we know that the family of Joel Sparks and that of Edward E. Sparks appear to have have lived side-byside, since Joel's household is numbered 473-482 and Edward's is numbered 474-483.

Number Person Age M/F Born Occupation Net Worth
Appanoose County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Independence Township
(Vol. 1, p. 24) Census taken on November 13, 1850, by Samuel L. Caldwell.
13-13 Sparks, Daniel P. 34 (M) Pennsylvania Farmer $1,000
    "  Mary A. 22 (F) Delaware    
    "  Daniel P. 2 (M) Iowa    
Center Township.
(Vol. 1, p. 34) Census taken on November 16, 1850, by Samuel L. Caldwell
15-15 Waples, Leah 45 (F) Delaware    
  " Margaret 17 (F) "    
  " Edward 10 (M) "    
  " William   8 (M) "    
  "  Elizabeth   5 (F) "    
  Sparks, William 29 (M) Ohio Farmer $100
Cedar County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Rochester Township
Page 94. Census taken September 4, 1850, by J. J. Robinson.
184-184 Sparks, James 26 (M) Indiana Farmer $1,000
  "  Elizabeth 20 (F) "    
  "  Mahala 2 (F) Iowa    
Rochester Township.
(Vol. 1, p. 187) Census taken on September 4, 1850, by J. H. Robinson.
185-185 Sparks, David T. 28 (M) Indiana Farmer $600
    "  Susan E. 22 (F)   "    
    "  Albert T.   3 (M) Iowa    
    "  Aquilla J. 1/12 (F)   "    
Rochester Township
(Vol. 1, p. 187) Census taken on September 4, 1850, by J. H. Robinson.
194-194 Sparks, William 23 (M) Indiana Farmer $100
    "  Lucinda 17 (F)   "    
Clayton County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Mendon Township.
(Vol. 1, p. 352) Census taken August 22, 1850, by Etepolet Price.
659-659 Sparks, James 50 (M) Kentucky Farmer $1,200
    " Elizabeth 45  (F)   "     
    " Allen 27 (M)   "  Farmer $400
    " Barton 26) (M    "  Farmer $200
    " James 24 (M)   "  Farmer $300
    " Harriet 22 (F)   "     
    " Cyrus 21 (M)   "  Farmer  
    " Joseph 19 (M)   "  Laborer  
    " Rebecca 16 (F)   "     
    " Henry 14 (M)   "     
    " Mary 12 (F)   "     
    " Elizabeth   9 (F)   "     
    " John   5 (M)   "     
Clinton County, Iowa - 1850 Census
District 5.
Page 194. Census taken September 21, 1850.
170-179 Sparks, Levi  25  (M) Maryland  Joiner  $30
  (Living in a boarding house)
Bloomfield Township
(Vol. 1, p. 430) Census Taken October 5, 1850, by J. D. Bourne.
473-482 Sparks, Joel 56 (M) New York Farmer  
    "  Lydia 56 (F)   " "    
    "  John M. 20 (M)   " "    
    "  William 25 (M)   " "    
474-483 Sparks, Edward E. 27 (M) New York Farmer $1,000
    "  Mary 26 (F) Ohio    
    "  George   2 (M)   "    
Davis County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Soap Creek Township.
Page 535. Census taken September 14, 1850, by Samuel T. Caldwell.
54-55 Sparks, Stephen 29 (M) Indiana Farmer  
  "  Mary 29 (F) "    
  "  John W. 6 (M) Missouri    
  "  Elizabeth 5 (F) "    
  "  William W. 3 (M) "    
  "  Jacob Z. 4/12 (M) "    
Bloomfield Township
Page 319. Census taken October 23, 1850.
  Fitzpatrick, William H. 29 (M) Tennessee  Farmer $300
     "  Rebecca 25 (F) Indiana    
     "  Jacob J. 7/12 (M) "    
  Sparks, Zachariah 23 (M) " Laborer  
Dubuque County, Iowa - 1850 Census
District 7.
Page 52. Census taken on September 12, 1830, by Jesse M. Harrison.
360-363 Sparks, Levi (1.2.5.5.3.3) 52 (M) Pennsylvania Farmer $500
  "  Zulena C. 50 (F) Virginia    
  "  Edwin (1.2.5.5.3.3.1) 20 (M) Ohio Stone mason  
  "  Levi 18 (M)   "    
  "  Zulima 10 (F)   "    
  "  Catherine 9 (F)   "    
Page 233. Census taken on December 6, 1850, by Jesse M. Harrison
1732-1784 Haislet, Zilla 43 (M) Ohio    
  "  James 29 (M) Michigan    
  "  McManus 18 (M)   "    
  "  George 15 (M)   "    
  "  Lemuel 13 (M) Iowa    
  "  Louisa 11 (F)   "    
  "  Franklin 5 (M)   "    
  Spurgeon, Priscilla 18 (F) Ohio    
  Sparks, Edwin 20 (M)   " Bricklayer  
  Bonhand, Thomas W. 44 (M) Virginia Miner  
  Straw, Peter 24 (M) Germany Miner  
    "  John 26 (M)    " MIner  
  Stipp, John 22 (M) Ohio Miner  
Henry County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Jackson Township.
Page 256. Census taken November 13, 1850.
1357-1357 Chambers, Joseph 33 (M) Virginia Farmer $1300
    " Mary 33 (F) Pennsylvania    
    " Thomas P. 6 (M)   "    
    " Sarah A. 4 (F) Iowa    
    " Asa S. 2 (M) "    
  Sparks, Jonathan 20 (M) Pennsylvania    
  Patterson, Eliza J. 30 (F)    "     
Jasper County, Iowa - 1850 Census
District No. 16.
Page 761. Census taken September 5, 1850, by Cary D. Shelledy.
182-182 Sparks, Truelove 39 (M) Kentucky Farmer $1000
  "  Sarah 40 (F) "    
  "  Stephen 15 (M) Illinois    
  "  John 14 (M)   "    
  "  William 13 (M) Iowa    
  "  Jeremiah 11 (M) Illinois    
  "  Mary 8 (F) Iowa    
  "  Angeline 6 (F)   "    
  "  George 3 (M)   "    
  "  Eliza 2 (F)   "    
  "  Margaret 5/12 (F)   "    
Page 764. Census taken September 6, 1850, by Cary D. Shelledy.
193-193 Sparks, John 43 (M) Tennessee Farmer $3000
    "  Elizabeth 43 (F) Kentucky    
    "  Jeremiah 21 (M) Illinois Farmer  
    "  Matthew 18 (M)    " Farmer  
    "  Panina 14 (F)    "    
    "  William 10 (M) Iowa    
    "  John 8 (M) "    
    "  Elizabeth 6 (F) "    
    "  Samuel   3 (M)    
  Matthews, Mary 77 (F) Pennsylvania    
  Smith, Samuel 18  (M) Ohio Farmer  
Jefferson County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Fairfield Township.
(Vol. 3, p. 119) Census taken October 15, 1850, by R. W. Steele
40-41 Sparks, A. R. 29 (M) Virginia Druggist $400
    " Sarah Ann 25 (F) Pennsylvania    
  Markle, Elizabeth 15 (F) Ohio    
  Bighorn, D. S. 26 (M) North Carolina Speculator  
    "  Hannah M. 21 (F) Massachusetts    
Keokuk County, Iowa - 1850 Census
District 26.
Page 275. Census taken October 26, 1850.
773-773 Sparks, Elizabeth 51 (F) Tennessee    
  "  Rebecca 15 (F) Indiana    
Lee County, Iowa - 1850 Census
28th Division.
(Vol. 3, p. 600) Census taken September 5, 1850, by Thos. Cherry.
313-313 Sparks, Thomas 36 (M) Indiana Farmer  
    "  Sarah 36 (F)      
    "  Elizabeth 16 (F)      
    "  Martha 14 (F)      
    "  Mary 12 (F)      
    "  Sarah 7 (F)      
    "  Harriet 6 (F)      
    "  Louisa 4 (F)      
    "  Marion 3/12 (F)      
    "  Ann (Arena?) 3/12 (M)      
[Editor's Note: No indication of the place of birth was given by the census taker for anyone in this family except for Thomas.)
29th Division.
(Vol. 3, p. 880) Census taken September 13, 1850, by John M. Newcomb.
797-803 Barber, Luther, Sr. 58 (M) Connecticut Farmer $500
    " Levia 50 (F)   "    
  Darrow, Willard 25 (M) New York Farmer  
    "   Margaret 17 (F) Ohio    
  Sparks, William F. 8 (M) Iowa    
  Anston, Genette 10 (F) Ohio    
Muscatine County, Iowa - 1850 Census
Sweetland Township.
Page 391. Census taken November 1, 1850.
80-80 Sparks, John 27 (M) Kentucky Potter $800
  "  Sarah H. 25 (F) Indiana    
  "  Elihu E. 4 (M) Iowa    
  "  Mary J. 2 (F)   "