Matthew Sparks

"Matthew Sparks, son of Absalom and Lydia (Elsberry) Sparks, was born about 1797 in South Carolina. He was probably named for his paternal grandfather, Matthew Sparks. He married Elizabeth ---, probably about 1824. She was born about 1807 in South Carolina. Matthew accompanied his parents to Arkansas where he joined his father and brothers in signing petitions to the President and Congress in 1821 and 1825. In 1829, he was listed on a special census taken by the Sheriff of Crawford County, Arkansas, but by 1830 he was in Pope County, Arkansas. With him were his wife and three sons. "Matthew Sparks was apparently a member of the group of Arkansas settlers that went to Texas in 1833. There he received a League of land adjoining the land of his brother-in-law, Friend Boatright, in what is now Lee County, Texas. He may also have been given the Headright Certificate for the land granted to his sister, Edy Sparks. "By 1840, Matthew Sparks had moved to Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, where he was listed with his wife and six children on the 1840 census. When the 1850 census was taken he was in neighboring Sabine County, Texas. All except two of his eight children had apparently left home. The two at home were Elizabeth Sparks, 10, and Nancy Sparks, 7. On August 31, 1850, Matthew Sparks sold his share of the estate of his sister, Edy Sparks. The consideration was $500 which may indicate that he had the actual possession of her Headright Certificate."