January 24, 2022
Pages 1578-1597
Whole Number 83
SPARKS FAMILIES OF THE ESTILL COUNTY AREA OF KENTUCKY
by Paul E. Sparks
Data relative to Sparkses of the Estill County area of Kentucky have been published earlier and should be referred to by our readers. These can be found as follows:
| Subject | No. | Whole Number |
Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLARK COUNTY | |||
| 1800 Census | 63 | 9 | March 1955 |
| Marriages (1793 -1868) | 722 | 41 | March 1963 |
| ESTILL COUNTY | |||
| 1810 Census | 65 | 9 | March 1955 |
| 1820 Census | 891 | 49 | March 1965 |
| 1830 Census | 1324 | 70 | June 1970 |
| 1840 Census | 1027 | 56 | December 1966 |
| 1850 Census | 219-220 | 18 | June 1957 |
| Marriages (1810 -1851) | 746 | 42 | June 1963 |
| Births (1852 -1862) | 330 | 23 | September 1958 |
| William Harrison Sparks | |||
| (1834 -1906) | 1393-1401 | 74 | June 1971 |
| FAYETTE COUNTY | |||
| 1790 Census | 4 | 1 | March 1953 |
| 1790 Census | 63 | 9 | March 1955 |
| 1800 Census | 63 | 9 | March 1955 |
| JACKSON COUNTY | |||
| Births (1852 -1852 | 331 | 23 | September 1958 |
| LEE COUNTY | |||
| Marriages (1875 -1885) | 934 | 51 | September 1965 |
| MADISON COUNTY: | |||
| 1800 Census | 63 | 9 | March 1955 |
| 1810 Census | 65 | 9 | March 1955 |
| 1820 Census | 892 | 49 | March 1955 |
| 1830 Census | 421 | 27 | September 1959 |
| Marriages (1830-1900) | 935 | 51 | September 1959 |
| OWSLEY COUNTY | |||
| 1850 Census | 1011-12 | 55 | September 1966 |
| Births (1852-1862) | 348 | 24 | December 1958 |
(Editor's Note: The area of Kentucky which we are considering in this article, and which we are designating as the "Estill County area" includes present-day Estill, Owsley, Jackson, and Lee Counties; however, these counties at one time were parts of either Fayette, Clark, or Madison Counties, thus records from seven counties will be under consideration.)
The first official record of a Sparks family in this section of Kentucky is found on the 1787 tax roll of Fayette County, Virginia (later Fayette County, Kentucky) when 44. Isaac Sparks paid taxes on himself, one male above 16 years of age, one horse, and six cattle. We believe this Isaac Sparks to be the progenitor of the Sparks clan in this section of Kentucky.
Fayette County, Virginia, was created in 1780 when the Kentucky District was divided into three counties: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln. Isaac Sparks continued to pay taxes in Fayette County until 1792, at which time the part of the county in which he was living became a part of Clark County. (On June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state admitted into the Union.) Isaac Sparks paid taxes in Clark County, Kentucky, from 1793 to 1806 when the portion of Clark County in which he lived was taken away to become a part of Estill County. Then, for the next thirty-five years, the Sparks families in that area were identified with Estill County. Not until 1843 was Estill County's boundaries changed, at which time Owsley County was formed. Two more portions of Estill County were to be taken: Jackson County took part in 1858, and Lee County took a final bite in 1870. As each new county was formed, persons named Sparks went with it.
Isaac Sparks was probably in Kentucky earlier than 1787. In 1777, Isaac Sparks (believed to be the same man who paid taxes in Fayette County in 1787) had claimed a preempt of 1,000 acres of land in Kentucky. As reported on page 2147 of the Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Vol. 21, the following certificate was issued by the Commissioners of Kentucky District at a court held at Harrodsburg on February 25, 1780: "Isaac Sparks by George Smith this day claimed a preempt of 1000 acres of land at the state price in the District of Kentucky on account of marking and improving the same in the year 1777 lying on Brasheirs Creek on the west waters of the same adjoining the Harrodsburg Trace to include any improvements made by George Smith satisfactory proof being made to the Court they are of the opinion that the said Sparks had a right to preempt on 1000 acres of land to include the above location and that a Certificate issue accordingly." (Brashears Creek has its source in southern Shelby County, and flows southwestwardly until it empties into Salt River at Taylorsville, the county seat of Spencer County.) It has not been determined what happened to this claim. Disputes and litigation over land were quite common in early Kentucky, and it was probably much easier to give up a claim than to undergo the time and expense of a trial.
In 1789, Isaac Sparks signed a petition which was presented to the General Assembly of Virginia to create a new county from portions of Fayette and Bourbon Counties. The petition, as publisheçl on page 130, Filson Club Publication, No. 27, 1914, was as follows: "The petition of us the Subscribers of the Counties of Fayette and Bourbon ... that the upper parts of Fayette and Bourbon Counties be struck off, for the purpose of forming a new County... beginning at the mouth of Boone's Creek and up said creek to the mouth of Boggs Fork thence in a direct line to Blue Licks on the main Licking River then follow the Mason County line to Madison County. November 6, 1789." Among the signers were Isaac Sparks and Elijah Sparks. In many respects, the proposed county would have resembled the area which became Clark County in 1792, but apparently the petition was not effective at that time.
In 1791, Isaac Sparks purchased land in Fayette County from John and Elizabeth Niblack. Unfortunately, when the Fayette County courthouse burned ca. 1802, many records were damaged or completely destroyed. Among the damaged documents was the deed from the Niblacks to Isaac Sparks, dated July 12, 1791, which was so badly damaged that neither the location, the acreage, nor the price can be determined. (See Fayette County "Burnt" Records.)
A suit was filed in the Fayette County Circuit Court in 1803 against Isaac Sparks. The records show that on Jan 19, 1803, John Smith brought suit against Isaac Sparks and Peter Gosey. In dispute were 1,000 acres at the head of a branch running into the Kentucky River on the dividing ridge between the Red River and Upper Howards Creek which had been surveyed by William Suddith of Clark County on August 24, 1802. The outcome of this suit is not known. (Upper Howards Creek is in south-eastern Clark County, while the Red River empties into the Kentucky River where Clark, Estill, and Madison Counties join.)
The data which follow include other early records copied from official sources in the Estill County area of Kentucky and which pertain to persons named Sparks. No attempt will be made in this article to tie these families together; however, in a future article, we wifl try to arrange the relationships.
| Persons named Sparks Who Paid Taxes in Fayette County, Virginia, 1787 -1792, and Fayette County, Kentucky, 1793-1816 |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Taxpayer | Acres | White Males Over 21 |
White Males Over 16 |
Horses | Cattle | Slaves |
| 7 July 1787 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 19 November 1788 | Isaac Sparks | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 1789 & 1790 | (No Sparkses) | ||||||
| 1791 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Elijah Sparks | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 11 October 1792 | Isaac Sparks | 130 | 1 | 8 | |||
| 26 Aug 1793 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| " " | Elijah Sparks | 70 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1794 | (No Sparkses, Clark Cty formed in 1972) | ||||||
| 17 June 1795 | William Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1796-99 | (No Sparkses;
No tax book for 1798) |
||||||
| 2 May 1800 | William Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 24 April 1801 | William Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1802 -1807 | William Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1808 - 1813 | (No Sparkses) | ||||||
| 1814 | James Sparks(Samuel Ayers, agent) |
2 | |||||
| William Sparks | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 1815 | William Sparks | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 1816 | James Sparks(Samuel Ayers,agent) |
2 | |||||
| William Sparks | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Persons named Sparks Who Paid Taxes in Clark County, Kentucky, 1793 -1822 | |||||||
| Date | Taxpayer | Acres | Water Shed |
White Males Over 21 |
White Males Over 16 |
Horses | Cattle |
| 1793 | Isaac Sparks | 70 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Elijah Sparks | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 6 June 1794 | Isaac Sparks | 70 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| """ | Elijah Sparks | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 24 June 1795 | Isaac Sparks | 100 | Bull Run | 1 | 3 | ||
| """ | Elijah Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 7 December 1796 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 7 | ||||
| """ | Elijah | 1 | 2 | ||||
| """ | William Sparks | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 11 June 1796 | David Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 24 June 1797 | William Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 17 June1797 | Isaac Sparks | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 1798 | (No tax book) | ||||||
| 12 April 1799 | William Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Isaac Sparks | 100 | Red Riv | 1 | 1 | |||
| Elijah Sparks | 1 | 2 | |||||
| 10 May 1800 | George Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 22 May 1800 | Isaac Sparks | 100 | Red Riv. | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 22 May 1800 | William Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 15 April 1801 | William Sparks | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 15 April 1801 | Isaac Sparks | 100 | Red Riv. | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 17 April 1801 | Elijah Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 28 June 1802 | Isaac Sparks | 100 | Bull Run | 1 | 1 | ||
| 28 June 1802 | Elijah Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 28 June 1802 | William Sparks | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 28 June 1802 | John Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 28 June 1802 | George Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 16 March 1803 | Elijah Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 22 March 1803 | John Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 22 March 1803 | William Sparks | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 22 March 1803 | Isaac Sparks | 100 | Bull Run | 1 | 1 | ||
| 23 August 1804 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 23 August 1804 | Elijah Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 20 March 1804 | John Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 20 March 1804 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 20 March 1804 | William Sparks | 100 | KY. Riv. | 1 | 1 | ||
| 20 March 1804 | George Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 13 April 1805 | William Sparks | 100 | Ken. Riv. | 1 | 1 | ||
| 13 April 1805 | John Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 17 June 1805 | George Sparks | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 17 June1805 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 30 March 1806 | William Sparks | 100 | Ken. Riv. | 1 | 3 | ||
| 26 May 1806 | John Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 26 May 1806 | George Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 26 May 1806 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1807 | (No Sparkses) | ||||||
| 13 May 1808 | Elijah Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 1809-1813 | (No Sparkses) | ||||||
| 1814 & 1815 | Elijah Sparks | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 1816 | Rutha Sparks | 0 | 1 | ||||
| 1817 | (No Sparkses) | ||||||
| 1818 | Isaac Sparks | 1 | |||||
| 1819 -1822 | (No Sparkses) | ||||||
| Taxpayers named Sparks in Estill County, Kentucky, 1808-1851 | |||||||
| Date | Person named Sparks |
Acres | Water course |
White Males Over 21 |
White Males Over 16 |
Horses | Value |
| 1808 | |||||||
| May 16 | Isaac | 1 | 1 | ||||
| " " | William | 300 | Whiteoak | 1 | 3 | ||
| " " | Isaac, Seigner | 50 | Whiteoak | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| June 17 | John | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 1809 | |||||||
| April 10 | Isaac | 50 | Whiteoak | 1 | 1 | ||
| "" | William | 300 | |||||
| Taxpayers named Sparks in Estill County, Kentucky, 1808 -1851 | |||||||
| Date | Person named Sparks |
Acres | Water course |
White Males Over 21 |
Horses | Value | |
| 1843 | Thomas | 40 | White Oak Cr. | 1 | 1 | $125 | |
| John | 1 | ||||||
| Isaac | 100 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 170 | ||
| Burnet | 50 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 70 | ||
| William | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||||
| Samuel | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| Isaac | 200 | Hell Creek | 1 | 2 | 275 | ||
| Robert | 50 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 175 | ||
| 1844 | Thomas | 100 | White Oak Cr. | 1 | 1 | 190 | |
| Isaac | 50 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 250 | |||
| John | 1 | 25 | |||||
| Samuel | 1 | 3 | 75 | ||||
| Burnett | 50 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 1 | 175 | ||
| Robert | 50 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 1 | 175 | ||
| 1845 | Thomas | 100 | White Oak Cr. | 1 | 1 | 180 | |
| William | 1 | 1 | 40 | ||||
| Samuel | 1 | 3 | 30 | ||||
| Thomas, Sen. | 1 | ||||||
| John | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| Isaac | 104 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 2 | 185 | ||
| Barnete | 50 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 75 | ||
| Robert | 50 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 125 | ||
| 1846 | John | 12 | White Oak Cr. | 1 | 12 | ||
| Barnett | 50 | War Fork | 1 | 2 | 375 | ||
| " | 50 | War Fork | 1 | ||||
| Isaac | 100 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 2 | 250 | ||
| Thomas | 40 | White Oak Cr. | 1 | 1 | 170 | ||
| Thomas, Sr. | 1 | ||||||
| William | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||||
| Samuel | 1 | 4 | 65 | ||||
| 1847 | Frances | 104 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 190 | ||
| Barnette | 100 | War Fork | 1 | 2 | 240 | ||
| John | 1 | ||||||
| Thomas | 1 | 2 | 33 | ||||
| Thomas | 1 | ||||||
| Samuel | 1 | 3 | 75 | ||||
| 1848 | John, Jr. | 1 | 1 | ||||
| John, Sr. | 1 | ||||||
| Joseph | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Frances | 104 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 175 | |||
| Barnete | 150 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 2 | 340 | ||
| Samuel | 1 | 2 | 50 | ||||
| William | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||||
| Thomas | 1 | 2 | 40 | ||||
| 1849 | Joseph | 1 | 1 | 10 | |||
| Frances | 104 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 175 | |||
| John | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| Daniel | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||||
| John | 1 | ||||||
| Thomas | 1 | 2 | 15 | ||||
| Samuel | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||||
| William | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||||
| Barnett | 150 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 2 | 465 | ||
| 1850 | John | 1 | 1 | 45 | |||
| Thomas | 50 | White Oak Cr. | 1 | 1 | 120 | ||
| Samuel | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||||
| Joseph | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||||
| Frances | 105 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 225 | |||
| John | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| William | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||||
| Daniel | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||||
| Barnett | 150 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 2 | 575 | ||
| " | 100 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 325 | |||
| Thomas | 1 | ||||||
| 1851 | Thomas | 50 | Station Camp Cr. | ||||
| William | |||||||
| William | 625 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| Barnett | 350 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| Joseph | |||||||
| Daniel | |||||||
| Frances | 104 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| John | |||||||
| John | |||||||
| Samuel | |||||||
| Thomas | (exempt) | ||||||
| Taxpayers named Sparks in Owsley County, Kentucky, 1844 -1852 | |||||||
| 1844 | Ephraim | 1 | 2 | $100 | |||
| Ephraim, Jr. | 1 | ||||||
| William | 1 | 1 | 40 | ||||
| James | 1 | 2 | 40 | ||||
| Isaac | 1 | 2 | 100 | ||||
| 1845 | James | 200 | North Fork | 1 | 3 | 250 | |
| Ephriam | 1 | 3 | 75 | ||||
| Ephriam, Jr. | 1 | ||||||
| Harvey | 1 | ||||||
| Isaac | 1 | 2 | 60 | ||||
| 1846 | Robert | 100 | Sturgeons Cr. | 1 | 2 | $140 | |
| Ephriam | 1 | 2 | 45 | ||||
| Ephriam, Jr. | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| James | 1 | 3 | 50 | ||||
| Isaac | 1 | 2 | 80 | ||||
| 1847 | William | 1 | |||||
| Robert | 100 | North Fork | 1 | 1 | 130 | ||
| Ephriam, Sr. | 1 | 2 | 65 | ||||
| Ephriam, Jr. | 1 | 1 | 50 | ||||
| James | 300 | North Fork | 1 | 2 | 350 | ||
| Isaac | 1 | 2 | 80 | ||||
| 1848 | Robert | 90 | Sturgeons Cr. | 1 | 1 | 310 | |
| " | 10 | "" | |||||
| Harvey | 1 | 1 | |||||
| James | 200 | Devils Creek | 1 | 1 | 500 | ||
| Ephriam | 1 | 2 | 25 | ||||
| Ephriam | 1 | 1 | 60 | ||||
| William | 1 | ||||||
| 1849 | Robert | 95 | Sturgeons Cr. | 1 | 1 | 520 | |
| " | 50 | "" | |||||
| Silvester | 1 | ||||||
| Ephriam | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||||
| John | 1 | ||||||
| Sollomon | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||||
| Harvey | 1 | ||||||
| Ephriam | 1 | 2 | 55 | ||||
| Willaim | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||||
| Isaac | 1 | 3 | 75 | ||||
| 1850 | E. J. (?) | 1 | 1 | 50 | |||
| John | 1 | ||||||
| W. G. (?) | 1 | ||||||
| Isaac | 1 | ||||||
| Silvester | 1 | ||||||
| 1851 | Ephriam | 1 | |||||
| John | 1 | ||||||
| Robert | 100 | Sturgeons Cr. | 1 | 1 | 335 | ||
| 1852 | Robert | 120 | Sturgeons Cr. | 1 | 1 | 530 | |
| Harvey D. | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| Tobias | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| Wm. T. | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||||
| John | 1 | 1 | 35 | ||||
| Solomon | 1 | 1 | 50 | ||||
| Ephriam | 1 | ||||||
| Sylvester | 1 | ||||||
| Isaac | 1 | 3 | 50 | ||||
| Taxpayers named Sparks in Jackson County, Kentucky, 1858 -1866 | |||||||
| (Estill County's part of taxable prop | |||||||
| 1858 | Barnett | 200 | Station Camp Cr | 1 | 1 | $700 | |
| John | 50 | 1 | 1 | 170 | |||
| Frances | 50 | 100 | |||||
| Daniel | 190 | (Estill County) | |||||
| Levy | 70 | Indian Creek | 1 | 300 | |||
| (Laurel County's part of taxable prop) | |||||||
| 1859 | Jeremiah | 196 | Laurel Fork | 1 | 1 | 400 | |
| John | 75 | South Fork | 1 | 1 | 150 | ||
| Frances | 144 | South Fork | 1 | 100 | |||
| Daniel C. | 25 | South Fork | 1 | 25 | |||
| Barnett | 216 | Station Camp Cr | 1 | 3 | 700 | ||
| Isaac | 50 | Sand Lick | 1 | 1 | 200 | ||
| 1860 | Daniel | 25 | South Fork | 1 | |||
| " | 220 | Ross Creek(Estill County) |
200 | ||||
| Frances | 200 | Station Camp Cr | 30 | ||||
| Solomon | 50 | War Fork | |||||
| John G. | 25 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 150 | ||
| " | 50 | War Fork | |||||
| Barnett | 225 | War Fork | 1 | 2 | 300 | ||
| Robert | 500 | War Fork | 1 | 1 | 550 | ||
| Jeremiah | 300 | Indian Creek | 1 | 540 | |||
| Isaac | 50 | Buck Lick | 1 | 1 | 150 | ||
| (Editor's Note:On the tax lists of Jackson County for the years 1861 through 1864 provision was made for recording for each taxpayer the number of children between the ages of 6 and 18.These figures are inserted in this transcript in parentheses following the taxpayers name.) | |||||||
| Year | Sparks | Acres | Water course |
White males Above 21 |
Children Aged 6-18 |
Horses | Value |
| 1861 | Daniel | 75 | 2 | ||||
| John | 75 | 3 | |||||
| " | 50 | ||||||
| " | 312 | ||||||
| Isaac | 50 | ||||||
| Jeremiah | 300 | ||||||
| Ely | |||||||
| Barnett | 216 | 5 | |||||
| Robert | 27 | 5 | |||||
| 1862 | Isaac | 50 | |||||
| Sally | 300 | ||||||
| Robert | 500 | 5 | |||||
| Barnett | 100 | 4 | |||||
| Daniel | 75 | 2 | |||||
| Jane | 75 | ||||||
| 1863 | Rawmon ? | ||||||
| Barnett | 216 | 6 | |||||
| Daniel C. | 75 | 3 | |||||
| Jeremiah | 300 | ||||||
| Isaac | 50 | ||||||
| Polly | 300 | 6 | |||||
| John G. | 125 | 4 | |||||
| 1864 | Jeremiah | 300 | Indian Creek | 1 | 1 | 1 | $465 |
| Mary | 350 | Station Camp Cr. | 6 | 1 | 430 | ||
| Barnett | 116 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 3 | 2 | 400 | |
| George | |||||||
| Daniel C. | 75 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 3 | 1 | 150 | |
| John G. | 125 | Station Camp Cr. | 1 | 4 | 1 | 150 | |
| 1865 | Barnett | 1 | 525 | ||||
| Jeremiah | 300 | Indian Creek | 1 | 450 | |||
| Mary | 500 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| Isaac | 50 | ||||||
| John G. | 125 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| Daniel | 75 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| Barney | 116 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| 1866 | Eli A. | 90 | Station Camp Cr. | ||||
| Isaac | 120 | Indian Creek | |||||
| Jeremiah | 300 | Indian Creek | |||||
| Thomas | |||||||
| Barnett | 215 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| George | |||||||
| John | 125 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||
| Daniel | 75 | Station Camp Cr. | |||||