| Name |
John Sidney* Sparks |
| Birth |
26 Mar 1811 |
North Carolina  [1] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Census |
1830 |
Jackson Co, Alabama |
| in father's hh |
- Name:
Wm Sparkes
[Wm Sparks]
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Jackson, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: 1 1825-1830 Jacob E.
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: 1 1821-1825 son6
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14: 2 1816-1820 Daniel; Solomon
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19: 1 1811-1815 John S
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49: 1781-1790 1 Wm
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 1 1825-1830 dau7
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14: 1 1816-1820 dau4
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19: 1 1811-1815 dau2
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39: 1 1791-1800 Mrs.
Free White Persons - Under 20: 8
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 10
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):10
next door: (Melinda b 1819 or age 11; not here)
Martin (translated Master) Jones,
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Jackson, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5: 2 1825-1830
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9: 1 1821-1825
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14: 2 1816-1820
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: 1 1801-1810
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49: 1 1781-1790
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9: 1 1821-1825
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19: 1 1811-1815
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39:1 1791-1800
Free White Persons - Under 20: 7
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 3
Total Free White Persons: 10
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):10
(Martin Jones m Rhoda (Martin) Hodges 10 Jul 1804 Jefferson Co TN)
(Wm Jones m Elizabeth Randolph 25 May 1804 Jefferson Co)
same page:
Chesby R Jones (maybe a bro?)
[Cirby R Jones]
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Jackson, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: 1 1801-1810
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29: 1 1801-1810
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 2
Total Free White Persons: 2
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):2
Tho Jone [Thos Jones] (Melinda b 1819 or age 11)
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Jackson, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19: 1 1811-1815
Free White Persons - Males - 50 thru 59: 2 1771-1780
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 1 1825-1830
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9: 2 1821-1825
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14: 2 1816-1820
*** COULD BE MELINDA ***
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49: 1 1781-1790
Free White Persons - Under 20: 6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49: 1
Total Free White Persons: 9
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored): 9
all names on page 101 in sequence:
Edward Berry; Jas Simmons; Geor W. Wichell; Samuel Reynolds; Barbary Lathas; Pashot Pringle; John Jolly; Wm Compbelle; Wm Davis; Thomas Molson; Wm Gowens; Robt G. Hord; David Gowens; Eliphodd Jarvis; Wm Sparkes; Master Jones; Joseph Resk; Abram Goose; Chesby R. Jones; Martin Gowens; Tho Jone; Joel Kee; Saml Kerk; Mans L. Bumalley; Barnet Cheathan; Wm Campbelle
|
| Residence |
Between 1830 and 1833 |
Franklin Co, Tennessee |
| Residence |
Between 1837 and 1838 |
Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana |
| abt |
- Per memoirs of his daughter Eliza Jane Sparks Beaumont, they briefly lived in Louisiana before purchasing land in Texas. Since brother Jacob was in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana in 1940 census, it's assumed that's where they were in Louisiana. The dates are estimated from the dates between Julia who was born in Tennessee and Thomas who was born in Texas.
|
| Residence |
Between 1839 and 1841 |
Pavell Island, Orange Co, Texas |
| Census |
1846 |
Jefferson Co, Texas |
| tax list |
- Name: John Sparks
State: TX
County: Jefferson County
Township: No Township Listed
Year: 1846
Record Type: Tax list
Page: NPN
Database: TX Tax List Index, 1840-1849
|
| Occupation |
Between 1846 and 1848 |
Taylor Bayou Ferry Crossing, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas |
- The most common crossing of Taylor?s Bayou was located at the foot of West 7th Street, Port Arthur, Texas just 200 feet from the back corner of the now Chevron's main office building (formerly Gulf main office building). At this site was a ferry crossing for many years. Jefferson County Commissioners Court authorized a second bridge built to replace the ferry in 1898. This portion of Taylor?s Bayou was filled in about 1912 when a more direct route was dug by Gulf Oil to link their new dock to the Port Arthur Canal. The bridge was moved to its current location on Hwy.87 by 1916.
http://csa.tripod.com/articles.html
|
| Census |
24 Oct 1850 |
Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas |
- 24 Oct 1850 Sabine Pass
residence 215:
Milton H Bloodworth 25 1825 Louisiana farmer
Nancy (Holt) Bloodworth 18 1832 Texas
Benjamin P Bloodworth 2 1848 Louisiana
William Bloodworth 1 1849 Louisiana
Benjamin Holt 55 1795 Mississippi
Thomas C Holt 50 1800 Mississippi
Thomas D Holt 4 1846 Louisiana
William Holt 53 1797 Mississippi
Mary Ann Holt 17 1833 Texas
Thomas R Holt 26 1824 Louisiana
Charles Holt 28 1822 Louisiana
William C Holt 15 1835 Louisiana
Richard Holt 13 1837 Louisiana
Residence 216
Stockholm, Peter D. 31 1819 New York carpenter
Mary 17 1833 Louisiana
William 2 1848 Texas
Elizabeth 0 1850 Texas
Residence 217
Brewer, William 23 1827 Louisiana laborer married in the year
Brewer, Caroline 22 1828 Louisiana
Residence 218
Solomon Sparks 30 1820 Tennessee laborer
Martha C Sparks 30 1829 South Carolina
Lucy Ann Sparks 8 1842 Tennessee
John L Sparks 6 1844 Tennessee
James E Sparks 3 1847 Louisiana
Mary Susan Sparks 1 1849 Texas
Jacob Sparks 22 1828 Tennessee laborer
Residence 219
John S. Sparks 39 1811 North Carolina farmer $150
Melinda Sparks 29 1821 Tennessee
Albert Sparks 9 1841 Texas
Eliza J. Sparks 7 1843 Texas
John F. Sparks 4 1846 Texas
Sarah C. Sparks 1 1849 Texas
James Court 22 1828 Louisiana farmer $20 (married in the year)
Julia Ann (Sparks) Courts 14 1836 Tennessee
|
 |
1850 Texas, Jefferson County, Sabine Pass, Census pg 249
John Sparks and Melinda Jones Sparks, James Court and Julia Ann Sparks Court, Solomon Sparks and family, and Brewer, Stockholm, Holt, Bludworth families. |
| Residence |
Bef 1853 |
Old River Cove, Jefferson Co, Texas |
| Property |
1853 |
Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas |
| purchased |
- Port Arthur News article (attached)
1853 John Sparks purchased 160 acres of land, including the section around what is now DeQueen boulevard at Lakeshore drive. At the time he paid $375 for the land which is worth more than $150,000 today. (1935)
|
| Residence |
1854 |
Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas |
| began home construction |
- "He was a thrifty man, and by September 12, 1853, he had saved enough money to buy two parcels of land, one of them 130 acres and the other of 30 acres, from Allen and Nancy Franklin.
This land, fronting on Lake Sabine, was part of a 250-acre tract that the Franklins had purchased from Thomas Holt in 1851. Sparks immediately set to work building a house, into which he moved his family in time for the birth of another child. Then, within the week, fire destroyed the new home, and the family returned to Pave11's Island, where friends took them in. But by the autumn of 1854 he had started another house which he completed in the spring, and the family returned."
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/port-arthur-4.shtml
The Holts and Franklins were listed in Sabine Pass 1850 census records. This land must have been on the Sabine Pass side of the waterway (Taylor Bayou) rather than the Port Arthur side. However mention is made that his ferry was bout where the Gulf main office building is on West 7th Street in Port Arthur. Would that part of Port Arthur be considered Sabine Pass in the census records?
In 1858 he purchased 100 acres from C.S Hunt on what was known as Old River Cove for $80. That is for sure the Sparks Settlement location.
|
| Residence |
3 Mar 1858 |
Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas |
| purchased 100 acres |
- on March 3, 1858, he purchased an additional 100 acres of land from C. S. Hunt, on what was known as Old River Cove, for $80.
|
| Census |
5 Jul 1860 |
Beaumont (Precinct 1), Jefferson Co, Texas |
| agriculture |
| Census |
12 Jul 1860 |
Sabine Pass (Precinct 5), Jefferson Co, Texas |
- 12 Jul 1860 Precinct No. 5 Sabine Pass
residence 378
James Court 30 mail carrier 500 Louisiana
Julia 24 TN 1856 Tennessee
Mary E 8 1852 Texas
Henry C 6 1854 Texas
Julia A 4 1856 Texas
William F 2 1858 Texas
Elias M 6/12 1859 Texas
residence 379
John Sparks 49 1811 North Carolina farmer 320 2100
Malinda Sparks 41 1819 Tennessee
Albert Sparks 19 1841 Texas
John F Sparks 14 1856 Texas
Sarah C Sparks 11 1849 Texas
Arabella H Sparks 8 1852 Texas
James C Sparks 6 1854 Texas
Worthey C Sparks 4 1856 Texas
Henry E L Sparks 8/12 1859 Texas
residence 380
Samuel Lee 38 1822 Denmark stock raiser 4,000
Eliza 16 1844 Texas
|
 |
1860 Texas, Jefferson County, Sabine Pass census
James and Julia Sparks Court family; John and Melinda Jones Sparks family; and Samuel and Eliza Sparks Lee. |
| Census |
1870 |
Jefferson Co, Texas |
| Morality Schedule |
- Persons who died during the year ending 1st June 1870 in Jefferson County, Texas
Name: John Sparks
Gender: Male
Race: White
Place of Birth: North Carolina
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1811
Age: 59
Month of Death: Aug
Census Year: 1870
Census Location: (City, County, State)
All, Jefferson, Texas
Line: 7
Archive Collection Number: T1134
farmer, cause of death not known
also:
Court (no first name) 2/30, female white, Texas, Oct.
cause of death: "congestion lun" - scratched thru
Drs. ? (copy darkened at edge of page)
|
| Death |
Aug 1870 |
Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas |
- 1870 Ag census taken in Jul and M. Sparks (Melinda) is listed, next after James Court. John is deceased.
Federal Mortality schedule year ending 1 Jun 1870
Sparks, John age 53 born North Carolina, died in October, farmer, cause of death not known.
Note at the bottom of the page states that cause of death for John Sparks "could not be found out, as no physician attended him.
Surname: John Sparks
Year: 1870
County: Jefferson CO.
State: TX
Age: 59
Gender: M (Male)
Month of Death: Aug
State of Birth: NC
ID#: MRT197_312070
Occupation: FARMER
|
 |
Federal Mortality, Texas, year ending 1st June 1870
John Sparks
Court: female child age 2/30, female, died in October of congestion
also on this page is Leopold Block, age 13/30 father was foreign born, died in April of inflamation. Unsure who his father was, probably Leopold.
Also died Clementine Patridge, age 36, Texas died in November of congestion; and her son Worthy Patridge, age 14, died in January, also of congestion. This is the Patridge family with whom Elvina Gentz was staying with in the 1850. She was 15 yrs old and had come ahead to Sabine Pass ahead of her parents who were still in Liberty county. Relationship between the Patridges and the Gentz has not yet been determined; however was Worthy Sparks perhaps named after the elder Worthy Patridge?
|
| Other-Begin |
22 Mar 1936 |
Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Jefferson Co, Texas |
 |
Mrs. Jack C. Beaumont Recalls Early School Days When She Was One of First Five Port Arthur Pupils
Port Arthur News
Sunday, March 22, 1936
Mentioned in article and linked to:
Emma Lee, husband Jack Beaumont, daughter Pearl Beaumont
Fred Gentz and wife Bell Sparks, children Welby Gentz and Helen Gentz and husband M.E. (Mathew Edmond) Nobles
John Sidney Sparks and wife Melinda Jones; their sons: Albert, Frank, William, Thomas, James, Worth, Henry; daughters: Julia, Sarah and husband Frank Brewton and heir children Grace and Frank, Eliza Jane and husband Samuel Lee (parents of Emma Lee); Belle and husband Fred Gentz
|
| Burial |
Sparks Cem, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas |
 |
Sparks Settlement Cemetery
|
| Notes |
- webpage http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lmassia/fam11212.htm
shows born at Gatlenburg, Franklin Co, Tn.
NOTE: (Contact Christine Echels, 8635 Chateau Circle, Bmt 07 about Sparks history)
"History of the Sparks Family," Yellowed pages, Vol XIX, No. 4, 1989
"James, Melinda, William and Julia Ann arrived in Texas in late 1837, having traveled overland by ox wagon. Some of the furniture was transported down the Mississippi River by steamboat. The family first lived on Pavell's Island, which is located at the junction of the Sabine and Neches Rivers. Here John Sparks worked at the Pavell Bros shingle mill, and two other children were born, Thomas in 1839 and Albert in 1841. The family did not live on Pavell's Island very long after Albert's birth."
Taylor's Bayou, established and operated a ferry on what is now the road to Sabine Pass for at least 10 years.
In 1854 purchased a farm a few miles away where Worthy was born.
"The History of the Sparks Family":
Living on the edge of the marshlands of the Gulf Coast has its hazards. Mosquitoes by the millions swarmed up from the bayous and swamps to plague both man and beast. It was not uncommon for the settlers to be housebound until noon, waiting for the clouds of mosquitoes to settle. Disease was a threat to the village. Medical aid was a day's ride by horseback from the remote community. The death of the five Gentz children probably sealed the doom of the Sparks Settlement in the 1880s.
1850 Jeff Co Census: John S. Sparks 39 Farmer val. 50. N.C.
Melinda, 29, TN
Albert 9, TX
Eliza J 7, TX
John F. 4, TX
Sarah C 1, TX
James Court 22, farmer, value 20, LA -
Julia Ann 14, TN
James & Julia newly weds. Date of Census 24 Oct; they were married Oct 15.
Also living with him were William H Smith, 2 years old from Texas; Sarah Lawrey, 14, James Penrod, a laborer from Illinois, and James Dyson, a saddler from Missouri. Recording in Yellowed Pages does now show Melinda.
Moved to Tennessee about 1815; Texas in 1838
Lived in Alabama, Gatlinburg, TN
Several Sparks graves in Cade's Cove TN adjacent to a Methodist Church.
________________
http://sparksfamilytree.net/family_tree/wga84.html#first
SQ 3059:
"John Sparks, probable son of Joseph Sparks, was listed on the 1812 tax list of Franklin County, Tennessee. He was probably named for his uncle, John Sparks. We have no further record of him."
SQ 3356:
"John S. Sparks, probable son of William Sparks, was born on March 26, 1811, in Tennessee. It was probably there that he was married to Malinda Jones about 1834. She was born on March 1, 1819, in Tennessee.Two children were born to John and Malinda before they left Tennessee with their ox team and wagon and moved to the Texas border where the Sabine and Neches Rivers meet on the north shore of Lake Sabine. There John worked in a mill that made cypress shingles by using drawing knives. Later he established a ferry on Taylors Bayou and managed to buy 160 acres of land fronting on Lake Sabine on which he built his home. Here he was joined by his brother, Solomon, and others, and the site became known as "Sparks Settlement." The name was changed to Aurora about 1856, and it finally became the site of the town of Port Arthur in 1895.
"John Sparks was joined by his brother, Solomon Sparks, about 1847,and, according to information given in the HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, TEXAS by Lorecia East, the two families lived just a few hundred feet from each other. They cultivated the land and raised their own food as well as much of their clothing for they raised sheep and carded and spun their own wool. It was John Sparks who established a family buriel ground quite close to his home. The cemetery filled gradually, and as the surrounding property became more desirable, it became necessary to move the graves. They were moved to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Beaumont, Texas.
"John Sparks died sometime between 1860 and 1870. Malinda died sometime after the 1880 census was taken of Jefferson County. She and John were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom we have been able to identify . (Here lists details of children]."
http://www.sparksfamilytree.net/ghtout/npr433.html#H02282
John was buried in Sparks cemetery.
John and Solomon selected the site, a 50 by 50 square which was a short distance from John's home, for their family burial plots. Today a 4' stone monument marks the cemetery site at the junction of DeQueen Blvd and Lakeshore Dr in Port Arthur. A part of the burial ground is now covered with the pavement of DeQueen Blvd. Balance lies under a big hackberry tree which stands just north of the two streets. The site is marked by a beautifully-cut granite headstone identifying the grave of the infant, Arthur Stilwell Smith.
Arthur Stillwell Smith was the son of Mr & Mrs Morgan Smith who had loaded their household effects into a covered wagon and traveled slowly and laboriously to the new town from their home in the Indian Territory. Their son was born in a tentr Lakeshore and Houston Avenue soon after their arrival, and he lived only ten days. He had been named after the new seaport's benefactor, Arthur Stilwell. All of the residents attended the town's first funeral, and the tiny casket was buried in the Old Sparks Cemetery. The marker at this site today was placed here in 1948 by the Port Arthur Teen Canteen members.
___________________
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/port-arthur-15.shtml
Old and Sold Chronology, originally published 1940
history of Port Arthur:
1543 July 25. Survivors of the Hernando de Soto expedition are driven ashore near Lake Sabine by a storm.
1745 Spaniards learn that Frenchmen are trading in the section.
1756 - Spanish establish the Presidio San Agustin de Ahumada and the Mission Nuestra Senora de la Luz del Orcoquisac near the mouth of the Trinity River, and tradition says a log building was erected by the mission near the head of the North Fork of what is now Taylor's Bayou.
1778 - Padre Juan Agustin Morfi records English attempts to establish amicable relations with Indians in this neighborhood.
1838 - John Sparks and family arrive in covered wagon from Tennessee.
1861 - Sparks settlement becomes known as Aurora.
1886-87 - Following an epidemic and a storm, Aurora is abandoned, and the land becomes cattle range.
1895 Arthur E. Stilwell visits the area and plans to build his "dream city." Town of Port Arthur is platted. Ship Canal is begun.
|
| Person ID |
I401 |
Roots |
| Last Modified |
9 May 2015 |
| Family |
Melinda* Jones, (maybe dau?), b. 25 Mar 1819, Middleton, Rhea Co, Tennessee (?) d. Aft 1880, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age > 62 years) |
| Marriage |
1 Mar 1833 |
near Gatlinburg, Franklin Co, Tennessee |
| Children |
| | 1. William E. Sparks, b. 15 Mar 1834, Franklin Co, Tennessee d. Bef 1850 (Age 15 years) |
| + | 2. Julia* Ann Sparks, b. 13 Oct 1836, Franklin Co, Tennessee d. 25 Jan 1925, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 88 years) |
| | 3. Thomas Sparks, b. 2 Jan 1839, Pavell Island, Orange Co, Texas d. 1865, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 25 years) |
| | 4. Albert Sparks, b. 21 Mar 1841, Pavell Island, Orange Co, Texas d. Aft 1 Oct 1861, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas (Civil War) (Age > 20 years) |
| + | 5. Eliza "Elizabeth" Jane Sparks, b. 27 Oct 1843, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 10 Jul 1925, Port Neches, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 81 years) |
| | 6. John Franklin "Frank" Sparks, b. 17 Jun 1846, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. Aft 12 Oct 1864 (Age > 18 years) |
| + | 7. Sarah Melissa Carolyn "Sallie" Sparks, b. 26 Dec 1848, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. Aft 1930, of, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age > 83 years) |
| + | 8. Arabelle "Belle" Sparks, b. 1 Aug 1851, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 6 Oct 1906, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 55 years) |
| + | 9. James Christian (Coleman) Sparks, Sr, b. 10 Dec 1853, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 12 Dec 1898, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 45 years) |
| + | 10. Worthy Crindon Sparks, b. 25 Mar 1856, Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 1 Feb 1948, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 91 years) |
| | 11. Henry E Sparks, b. 21 Dec 1859, Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas d. Aft 1860 (Age > 2 years) |
|
| Family ID |
F187 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
10 Feb 2011 |
1811 - 1870 (59 years)
