Sunday's Obituary - Susan A. Godwin Sparks

Susan A. Godwin gravestone

This obituary was published in the Centreville Record on November 15, 1902 and was originally transcribed by Trish Surles in her book Obituaries from Maryland Newspapers Queen's Anne County for 1902-1903:

Mrs. Sanuel A. Sparks, wife of the late Samuel A. Sparks, died at the home of her son in law, Mr. J. W. Councill, November 2nd, after a long and lingering illness in the 72nd year of her age. She leaves four children, Charles G. Sparks, of Kent Island, Daniel Sparks, of Ravensdale, Washington, and two daughters, Mrs. R H. Councill, and Mrs. J.W. Councill, of near town.

Susan And Samuel A. Sparks were my 2x great-grandparents. Their daughter Ariana Sparks and son-in-law John Wesley Councill were my great-grandparents. Susan is buried in the Chesterfield Cemetery in Centreville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland next to her husband Samuel A. Sparks. 

Thanks to Corey and Douglas Marshall-Steele for taking the gravestone photo and posting it on Find A Grave.

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.

Amanuensis Monday - Will of James Sparks

The will of James Sparks, signed March 21, 1775 leaves his estate to his wife July Sparks, sons Nathan, Daniel, John, Henson, and step-daughter Sarah Meredith. The will was probated in Queen Anne's County, MD.

From land records in Queen Anne's County, MD I knew that Daniel Sparks was the father of my 2x great-grandfather Samuel Sparks. The land records also name a brother of Daniel as John Sparks. It looks probable that James' sons Daniel and John are the same as the ones named in the land records. This would make James my 4x great -grandfather. I became aware of this will due to some shaky leaves on my Ancestry.com tree, so thanks to those that added it to their trees!

Maryland Wills, vol 40-41, 1774-1777, Image 156

Item, I leave unto my loving wife, July Sparks the use of my house and fifty acres of land on His Lordship's Manor that is under lease, during her natural life or widowhood, or the lease holds good.

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son John Sparks one featherbed with a buckram tick and what furniture belonging to it.

Item, I give and bequeath to my loving son Daniel one featherbed with a plain linen tick and all its furniture there belonging.

Item, I give and bequeath to my son, Henson Sparks, one middle sized pewter dish and six pewter plates.

Item, I give unto my wife Juley Sparks one iron pot holding about six gallons. I also give to my loving wife Juley Sparks six yoes and lambs.

Item, I give and bequeath to Sarah Marydith daughter of Juley Sparks an equal part of the rest of my personal estate that is to be divided amongst all the rest of my children.

And lastly, I leave my loving wife, Juley Sparks and my loving son Nathan Sparks my whole and sole executors of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have fixed my hand and seal this 21st day of March Anno Domini, 1775.

The entire will is transcribed in the Sparks Quarterly, along with an explanation of why James is most likely he son of William Sparks Jr. and Margaret Hamilton.

Source for will: Ancestry.com. Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1604-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

Mystery Monday - Meredith or Godwin?

I've posted about this census record before, but I'm taking another look at it in light of some new information.

1850 US Census, 3rd District, Queen Anne's County, MD

In the 1850 census for Queen Anne's County, MD, there are several people with different surnames living in the same household. Samuel and Susan Sparks are my 2x great-grandparents and they have a newborn named Martha Ann. Every tree I've ever seen for the family has Samuel and Ann Godwin as the parents of Susan Godwin, and Susan Godwin as the wife of Samuel Sparks.

There are a couple of marriage records to support this. From the marriage records for Queen Anne's County available on the Maryland State Archives site, Samuel Godwin married Ann Davis on March 23, 1824 and Samuel Sparks married Susan Godwin on July 16, 1849. There is a Rebecca Davis living with the family who is 6 years younger than Ann Godwin, so that indicates there could be a relation to the Davis family. There are also two Meridith children living in the household.

The new to me information is from the death certificate for my great-grandmother Arianna Sparks. I knew that Arianna was the daughter of Samuel and Susan Sparks and had thought that Susan's maiden name was Godwin. The death certificate says that Arianna's parents are Samuel Sparks and Susan Meredith! It's interesting that one of the Meridith children living in the Godwin household is also named Arianna, so it does seem like there is a relationship between the families.

 I can think of several possibilities for the difference in last names for Susan:

• The death certificate could be wrong. The informant was Arianna's daughter Ruby and perhaps she got the name confused with her other grandmother, Mary Ann Meredith, wife of Francis Councill.
• The death certificate could be correct and Susan's maiden name really was Meredith. That raises the question of why the Sparks and Merediths were living with the Godwins? I couldn't find any Queen Anne's marriage records for a Susan Meredith
• Susan could've remarried to a Meredith after Samuel Sparks died. This can be ruled out since Samuel died in 1899 and Susan's estate was filed in 1902 under the name Susan A. Sparks.
• Susan Meredith could've married a Godwin before her marriage to Samuel Sparks. I couldn't find any evidence to support this in the Queen Anne's marriage records.

For now, I'm leaning towards a mistake on the death certificate, although it's possible there was a marriage for Susan in another county. Investigating the Meredith children might shed some light on the relationship to the Meredith family, so I'll follow up on that in a future post.

Mappy Monday - Sparks Land Records in Queen Anne's County, Maryland

I've been amazed at how much family tree information is available in the Maryland land records. Also amazing is that digital images of the records are available on MDLandRec.net. Registration is required, but the site is free and there is no advertising.

The image below is from Book JP 3, page 545, recorded in 1858 in Queen Anne's County, MD. It records the sale of a tract of land owned by my 2x great-grandfather Samuel A. Sparks and his brother Daniel B. Sparks to William F. Parrott.

Queen Anne's County Court records, Book JP 3, page 545, 1858

According to the record, the land was inherited by their father Daniel Sparks from his brother John Sparks and was deeded to John Sparks by William Ringgold on May 5, 1823. The tract of land was called "Heath's Gift" and was located in Spaniard's Neck in Queen Anne's County, MD. It consisted of 7 7/8 acres and bordered the Methodist Meeting House and another tract of land called "Plain Dealing". This record doesn't mention Daniel and Samuel's other siblings, but says that they were tenants in common with their brothers and were each entitled to 1/6 of the property. The deed is signed by Samuel, his wife Susan A. (Godwin) Sparks, Daniel, and his wife Julia A. Sparks.

The Inventory of Historical Properties on the Maryland Historical Trust site has a document describing the house on "Plain Dealing" located in Spaniard Neck. This is one of the properties adjoining the Sparks land, so it should give an idea of the approximate location. The map below is from page 10 of the Inventory of Historical Properties document on Plain Dealing.

Location of "Plain Dealing" in Queen Anne's County, MD

The next record is from Book JW 7, page 518, recorded in 1878. This record names the siblings of Samuel and involves a tract of land "commonly known as "The Sparks Lot". In this transaction, James H. Sparks and his wife Martha M. Sparks are selling "The Sparks Lot" in Spaniard's Neck to Charles Gilliam for $150. "The Sparks Lot" adjoins the land of Charles Gilliam, Eliphat Higgins and faces the public road leading from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the woods to the land of Col. John R. Emory. The land contains about 8 7/8 acres and is the same land which descended from Daniel Sparks, father, to Robert M. Sparks, Martha Sparks, wife of George W. Meredith, Daniel B. Sparks, Samuel A. Sparks, and James H. Sparks, his children. The named children had earlier conveyed their interest in the land unto James H. Sparks, with the exception of Daniel B. Sparks. In this transaction, James says that he will procure a conveyance from Daniel B. Sparks and his wife.

Queen Anne's County Court records, Book JW 7, page 518, 1878

While the second record says that this is the same land the children inherited from their father Daniel, I'm not sure if this is a different tract of land from the first record. The sizes and names are different, plus the brothers Samuel and Daniel sold land in the first record in 1858. Maybe they were adjoining properties and part of the same inheritance.

I didn't know the names of Samuel's siblings or father before seeing this record. Thanks very much to George Sparks for sending me the information about the records! George also sent me a copy of Samuel's death certificate, but unfortunately, it didn't list his parent's names. We still don't know who his mother was. Was there a sixth sibling? The earlier record mentions that each was entitled to 1/6 of the land, but the later record only names 5 siblings. From the names listed in these two records, I came up with the following tree.

To Do:

• See if I can locate the other land records mentioned. 
• The children of Daniel gave conveyance of their interest in the land to their brother James. 
• Is there a record of Daniel giving conveyance to James?
• The land was deeded to John Sparks by William Ringgold on May 5, 1823.
• Search for inheritance records for the father Daniel and his brother John.

Mappy Monday is a GeneaBloggers prompt where you can post map images and how they relate to your research or discuss other aspects of land ownership and your ancestor.

Sunday's Obituary - Samuel A. Sparks

This is a transcription from the Centreville Record published on November 18, 1899 in Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

Sparks, Samuel A., of Kent Island, died at his residence in Coxe's Neck Friday morning. He was a life long resident of this county. The deceased was 74 years of age and leaves a widow and two daughters, Mrs. Robert H. Councill and Mrs. John W. Councill, and two sons, Messrs. Charles G. Sparks, of Kent Island, and Daniel Sparks of South Dakota. Interment in Centreville cemetery.

Samuel Sparks and his wife Susan Godwin were my 2x great-grandparents. Their daughter Arianna Sparks and her husband John Wesley Councill were my great-grandparents.

Thanks to George Sparks for posting the picture of Samuel's grave on FindAGrave and for Dee for sending me the newspaper transcription all the way back in 2004!

Military Monday - Documents of the American Revolution

The American Archives site hosted by Northern Illinois University provides free access to documents of the American Revolution covering the years 1774-1776. The site can by searched for documents or keywords and there is a detailed page on how to search.

I came across the site while doing a search for my Godwin surname and found a document listing the Minute Company that marched from Queen Anne's County, Maryland in 1776.

  

Included in the list were three men with my Queen Anne's County surnames: John Godwin, Thomas Meredith, and James Gould Sparks. One of the Corporals was Thomas Meredith Bryon, so there could be a connection there too. Very interesting to see that some of my families may have participated in the American Revolution. Now if I could just make that link back!

Mappy Monday - Maryland Historical Properties

The Inventory of Historic Properties site by the Maryland Historical Trust contains detailed descriptions of historic properties in Maryland, including maps, family histories connected to the properties, and even ancestral photos in some cases.

My Maryland Sparks family owned a section of the land in Queen Anne's County known as Spaniard's Neck. I've seen references to the Sparks properties called Sparks Lot and Heath's Gift, so I was curious if I could find out more about them. In my first attempt, I typed "Spaniards Neck" into the search bar and got a hit! The only thing is that the search took me off of the site and the hit was in a Community Plan for 2009. Still, it was interesting to see that the Spaniard Neck name was still in use.

Map from Centreville, Maryland Community Plan 2009

I returned to the historic properties site and selected Queen Anne's from the "Search by County" page. I knew that the Sparks property was in or near Centreville, so I concentrated on ones in that area. There were several properties in the Spaniard Neck area, but the closest match to the names I was looking for was one called "Upper Heathworth". The document contained a map of the Spaniard Neck area with the location of the Upper Heathworth property and several photos of the property.

Upper Heathworth

There were several other properties in the Spaniard Neck area and also a mention of Sparks Mill Road in Centreville. I'll have to revisit this site when I have a bit more time to read some of the other histories. The documents I found on the site were pdf files that were made up of pages and photos that had been scanned in. There is a text search on the site, but it wasn't returning anything for me, maybe since the scanned pages aren't searchable. Despite the search limitations, the site is definitely worth a look if you have Maryland ancestors.

Sunday's Obituary - Godwin and Sparks

These death notices were published next to each other in the Easton Star on May 25, 1852.

  
In Spaniard's Neck, Q A co., on Wednesday last, Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of Rob't Sparks.

Near Centreville, on Thursday last, Miss Arianna Godwin, daughter of Capt. Godwin, aged 17 years.

I posted yesterday about how intertwined some of my Queen Anne's County families were. Spaniard's Neck was a section of land in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. A section of Spaniard's Neck was owned by Daniel Sparks. Upon his death, the land passed to his children, Robert Sparks,  Martha Sparks (wife of George W. Meredith), Daniel B. Sparks, Samuel A. Sparks, and James H. Sparks. The land was sold in 1878.

Samuel A. Sparks was married to Susan Godwin and their daughter Ariana was my great-grandmother. I've seen the name Ariana (or Arianna) several times now in the Sparks and Godwin families.

I believe the Elizabeth Sparks named in the death notice may have been the sister-in-law of my Samuel Sparks. I'm not sure yet how Arianna Godwin fits into my family.

Surname Saturday - Godwin, Davis, Sparks, and Meredith

My Godwin, Davis, and Sparks families are from Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

The earliest record I have for these families is from the Index to Queen Anne's County, MD Marriage Records. The index shows that my GGG-Grandparents Samuel Godwin and Ann Davis were married on March 23, 1824 by Rev. Crouch in Queen Anne's County.

Their daughter Susan Godwin was married to Samuel Sparks on July 16, 1849 by Rev. Sumption.

This record from the 1850 census for Queen Anne's County shows an interesting group of families living together. Susan and Samuel Sparks are living with Susan's parents and have a baby daughter, Martha Ann. A couple of young girls from the Meredith family and Rebecca Davis are also living with the Godwins. Rebecca Davis is close in age to Ann Davis Godwin, so they might be sisters. Also of note is that Samuel Godwin's occupation is a sailor.

Godwin family in 1850 census for Queen Anne's County, MD

I am not sure where these Merediths fit into my family, but my GG-Grandparents Francis Councill and Mary Meredith were married on July 8, 1840 in Queen Anne's County. Both the Merediths and the Sparks had daughters named Ariana. Francis and Mary's son John Wesley Councill married Samuel and Susan Sparks' daughter Ariana, so it would appear that all of these families were close.

The previous page in the 1850 census has a Meredith and two other Sparks families, so those might provide some clues.

Sparks family on page before Godwins in 1850 Queen Anne's census

The Sparks family above also has a daughter named Martha Ann. Robert Sparks and his family are living nearby.

Another Sparks family on the same page of the 1850 census

I have a long way to go on sorting out these families. I'd love to hear from anyone else researching any of these surnames in Queen Anne's!

Tombstone Tuesday - Susan Godwin Sparks

According to her tombstone, Susan A. Sparks was born on Nov. 6, 1832 and died on Nov. 2, 1902. She was the daughter of Samuel Godwin and Ann Davis of Queen Anne's County, Maryland. She married Samuel A. Sparks on July 16, 1849. Susan and Samuel are buried in the Chesterfield Cemetery in Centerville, Queen Anne's County, Maryland. The grave behind hers is for Bulah Sparks, 1883-1916. Thanks to George Sparks for posting the picture on FindAGrave!

Sunday's Obituary - Daniel Sparks

Daniel Sparks was the brother of my great-grandmother Arianna Sparks and was from Queen Anne's County, Maryland. I wasn't having much luck finding any information on Daniel when I ran across this snippet of news published in the Baltimore Sun on May 30, 1915. I knew that their sister Martha Sparks was married to Robert Councill.

With the clue that he was living in Seattle, I was able to locate a couple of death notices published in the Seattle Daily Times on Feb. 24 and Feb. 26, 1937. I knew that Daniel was born around 1860, so this fits that he was 76 years of age in early 1937. With this new information, I hope to be able to verify that this is the correct Daniel and find some details on his life in Seattle.

SPARKS -- Feb. 24, 1937: Daniel Sparks; beloved husband of Lee Ella. Services Thursday, 2 p.m. at Johnson & Hamilton's. Friends invited.

Sparks, Daniel-- Route 9, Box 735, 76. February 24.

From FindAGrave, Daniel Sparks is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Seattle, King County, Washington.

Surname Saturday - A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames

I recently ran across A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames With Special American Instances, written by Charles Wareing Bardsley while searching for information on my English surnames. I found the book on Ancestry.com, but the full text is available on Google books at A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames.

I've looked at several books with surname derivations, but this one adds some interesting records and commentary to many of the surnames. The book was published in 1901 after the author's death, so captures research done during the 1800s. This collection represents a lifetime of compiling and collecting information by the author. I can only imagine doing something on this scale before computers!

Here are a few examples from the book for some of my surnames. The numbers at the end of each entry are a count of each surname variation found in city directories such as London and New York.

Variations on my Chilcutt surname

My family spelled this name Councill, although I have seen Counsell and Councell in some of the earlier records. Council with one "l" is also common. I wish he had put his guesses here! This is one of those names that can be especially hard to search for since it has many variations and instances of the word council come up.

Family lore says that we have some Welsh ancestry, so perhaps it is through our Meredith line. I don't know too much about them yet. My ancestor Francis Councill married Mary Ann Meredith in Queen Anne's County, Maryland on July 8, 1840.

My family spelled this name as Sparks, but it's interesting to see that the name may have originated from Sparrowhawk. The earliest records I have on my Sparks family are from Queen Anne's County, Maryland.

I looked Creed up to see if it made any references to my Creedon/Creeden surname. The Irish Creedon surname was sometimes abbreviated to Creed, but I believe it has different origins than the English Creed. Bardsley's book did not include any references to Creedon.

Samuel Sparks - Sunday's Obituary

My Sparks family was from Queen Anne's County, Maryland and at some point the family moved to Baltimore, MD. Samuel was a very common name for the males in the family and it has made it a challenge to distinguish between the families. Another common name was Robert, so that would be a guess for the middle initials. I suspect these first two death notices are not my direct family as I don't think they were in Baltimore yet, but the last one may be related to mine. I definitely have more research to do on this family to sort these all out!

From The Sun, Baltimore, MD on April 20, 1857: Departed this life, Sunday, April 19th, SAMUEL R. SPARKS, in the 59th year of his age?.

From The Sun, Baltimore, MD on March 6, 1878: On 5th of March 1878, after a lingering ? of consumption, SAMUEL R. SPARKS, aged ???.

From The Sun, Baltimore, MD on March 23, 1900: A 3-year old child of Samuel Sparks, of Queen Anne's county, died from swallowing medicine tablets for candy.

Solomon Sparks - Sunday's Obituary

This article about the death of Solomon Sparks was published in the Denton Journal in Maryland on Dec 17, 1881. Chestertown is the county seat of Kent County, MD. My Sparks family is from nearby Queen Anne's County, MD, but I don't know if there is a direct connection. I could not find the death notice mentioned in the article or an actual obituary, but it is interesting that this story was published.

W. Kent Sparks - Sunday's Obituary

This obituary of W. Kent Sparks appeared in the Denton Journal (Maryland) on November 15, 1890. Centreville is in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. My Sparks family also lived in Centreville, but I don't know if they were related to W. Kent Sparks.

Surname Saturday - Sparks

This post was updated on November 25, 2025 to fix broken links and add some additional information. A list of additional posts on the Sparks can be found here: Sparks Family History.

My Sparks ancestors were from Queen Anne's County, Maryland and the family is thought to originate from England. The earliest references I've seen to Sparks in Maryland are for a William and John Sparks who came from Fareham Parish, Hampshire, England, to Maryland in the 1600's. They are possibly two of the four sons of Thomas Sparks and Joanne Davis of Fareham Parish, Hampshire England. The name is also commonly spelled as Sparkes and I've seen my ancestor's records spelled both ways.

Crest at The Sparks Family Tree

From The Sparks Family Tree:
William Sparks was born about 1640, migrated to Maryland and, by 1672, he had purchased land in what was then Talbot County, now Queen Anne's County.  His primary plantation was located "on the east side of Chester River near the head of a small branch of Island Creek."  On a current map of Queen Anne's County, this can be found a few miles southwest of Church Hill, Maryland.  William Sr.'s son William Jr., remained in Queen Anne's County but by 1736 William Jr.'s son, William Sample Sparks, had migrated west to what was to become Frederick County.  In  about the spring of 1754, William Sample Sparks, his sons and some of his cousins moved to "The Forks of the Yadkin" in northwestern North Carolina. 

My Sparks family stayed in Maryland, so they are not part of the North Carolina Sparks. The furthest I've traced my Sparks tree back is Samuel Sparks, born around 1827 in Maryland. He married Susan Godwin in 1849 in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and their daughter Arianna is my great-grandmother. Update: Land records in Maryland showed that Samuel's father was Daniel Sparks.

The Sparks Family Association was a great source of information on Sparks family history. While the association was disbanded after the last founder's death, the information from the quarterly newsletters has been ported here: Sparks Family Association Quarterly Newsletters  It's worth a look if you have Sparks in your family tree.

Here's an early tree referencing Thomas Sparks showing a line from England to Maryland:

1 Thomas Sparks b: Abt. 1615 in Fareham Parish, Hampshire, England
. +Joanne Davis b: Abt. 1619 in Fareham Parish, Hampshire, England m: October 19, 1635 in Fareham Parish, Hampshire Co. En
. 2 William Sparks, Sr b: Abt. 1640 in England d: Abt. 1709 in Queen Annes Co., Md
.... +Mary ( Wright ?)
.... 3 William Sparks, Jr. b: Abt. 1674 in Queen Annes Co., Md d: Aft. 1734
....... +Margaret Ann Hamilton
....... 4 William Sample Sparks b: Abt. 1705 d: Aft. 1764 in Maryland
.......... +Rachel Unknown
.......... 5 William Sparks b: 1725 in Frederick, Md. or Queen Anne's County, Md. d: Abt. 1802 in Surrey Co., NC 

One thing I've found is that most of the research available online is for Sparks that moved away from Maryland. I have not researched this family extensively and would love to get in touch with anyone researching the Sparks that stayed in Queen Anne's County, Maryland. 

Matrilineal Monday - Arianna Sparks

Arianna Sparks - April 18, 1864 - Dec. 16, 1929 - Maryland

Arianna Sparks is one of my great-grandmothers on my Mom's side. Like most of my Mom's ancestors, the original Sparks are thought to have come from England. Her families eventually settled in Queen Anne's County, Maryland and stayed in that area.

Arianna married John Wesley Councill and one of their children was my grandfather Royce Councill.

Notes from Christopher Miller: Arianna Sparks married John Wesley Council and lived on the John Council farm in Centreville, Md, and then later moved to Queenstown, and then finally to Baltimore. Arianna's funeral was held at her home, 749 McCabe Ave, Govans. The service was conducted by Reverald Donald S. Colt, pastor of the Govans Methodist Episcopal Church. She was buried at Baltimore Cemetery.

I've collected a lot of notes on the Sparks over the years, but have not verified them as of yet. Arianna is possibly descended from William Sparks or John Sparks who migrated from Fareham Parish, Hampshire, England, to Maryland around 1663. They are possibly two of the four sons of Thomas Sparks and Joanne Davis of Fareham Parish, Hampshire England.

From The Sparks Family Tree:
William Sparks was born about 1640, migrated to Maryland and, by 1672, he had purchased land in what was then Talbot County, now Queen Anne's County.  His primary plantation was located "on the east side of Chester River near the head of a small branch of Island Creek."  On a current map of Queen Anne's County, this can be found a few miles southwest of Church Hill, Maryland.  William Sr.'s son William Jr., remained in Queen Anne's County but by 1736 William Jr.'s son, William Sample Sparks, had migrated west to what was to become Frederick County.  In  about the spring of 1754, William Sample Sparks, his sons and some of   his cousins moved to "The Forks of the Yadkin" in northwestern North Carolina. 

Another great source of information on the Sparks is The Sparks Quarterly. They charge a one time fee of $5.00 to access the website information, but it is well worth it if you have Sparks in your family.

Here's an early tree referencing the Thomas Sparks. I am not sure of the origins of this one, but it shows the line from England to Maryland:

1 Thomas Sparks b: Abt. 1615 in Fareham Parish, Hampshire, England
. +Joanne Davis b: Abt. 1619 in Fareham Parish, Hampshire, England m: October 19, 1635 in Fareham Parish, Hampshire Co. En
. 2 William Sparks, Sr b: Abt. 1640 in England d: Abt. 1709 in Queen Annes Co., Md
.... +Mary ( Wright ?)
.... 3 [14] William Sparks, Jr. b: Abt. 1674 in Queen Annes Co., Md d: Aft. 1734
....... +Margaret Ann Hamilton
....... 4 William Sample Sparks b: Abt. 1705 d: Aft. 1764 in Maryland
.......... +Rachel Unknown
.......... 5 Matthew Sparks
............. +Sarah
............. 6 William Sparks
.......... 5 William Sparks b: 1725 in Frederick, Md. or Queen Anne's County, Md. d: Abt. 1802 in Surrey Co., NC 

More on my Sparks tree at: My Sparks Tree

One thing I have found is that most of the research available online is for Sparks that moved away from Maryland. I would love to get in touch with anyone researching the Sparks that stayed in Queen Anne's. I definitely still have a lot of research to do on this line!