Saturday, November 5, 2016

Surname Saturday - Sparks from Queen Anne's, MD

This version of my Sparks family tree connects my Sparks family to the original Sparks immigrants in Queen Anne's County, MD.  There are still a lot of gaps to fill in, but I've learned a lot since my original Sparks post in 2011.


My great-grandmother Ariana Sparks was born in Queen Anne's County, MD and later moved to Baltimore, MD with her husband John Councill. Her parents were Samuel Sparks and Susan Godwin. Samuel Sparks is named in land records along with his father Daniel, uncle John, and his siblings and spouses.

The will of James Sparks names sons Daniel, John, and Henson. This is one of the shakier links since I don't have proof that these are the same Daniel and John Sparks named in the land records with Samuel Sparks. The time period and location in Queen Anne's County seem to fit.

The other shaky link is the one from James to William Sparks, Jr. The Sparks Quarterly Issue 124 has an explanation of why James Sparks is the probable son of William Sparks, Jr. According to the Sparks Quarterly, William Sparks  had four sons: William Jr., George, John, and Joseph. Wills and estate settlements of John, George, and Joseph name their children, but none of them are believed to be the James that married Elizabeth Burkhurst.

Sources for the first four levels in the tree are the Sparks Quarterly and the Sparks Family Tree.