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MY HOME PAGE
Thomas Clayton Watson
363 NW Caesar CT.
White Springs, Fl 32096
Hello:
My name is Thomas Clayton Watson, son of Charlie Watson And Maudie "Cook"
Watson. My Grandmother on my mother's side of the family was Catherine
Sparks. That?s how I came into this Sparks line. Many people today are
searching for their roots. For what ever reason you are searching yours,
we have put together this little biographic sketch to help you understand
your roots a little better. If your name is Watson, Sparks, Cook, Brown, Hager,
Wilcox, Jayne, Pridamore, Evans, McKenzie, Morris, Ross, Wiley or if you find
yourself linked to these lines, I hope you find this to be informative.
When our forefathers and mothers opened up Kentucky, West Virginia and
Ohio, most of them came into sea ports in Maryland, Virginia or New York.
Ours for the most part I believe came into Maryland and Virginia and moved
toward the mountains to stake out some land and make a place to call home.
Their mode of travel was mostly by river and there are two big ones in
this mountain area that separates Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. They
are the Ohio River and the Big Sandy. Off of the Big Sandy there are two
forks. One is called Livisa Fork and that one goes up through Paintsville,
Prestonsburg and Pikeville, Kentucky. The other one is the Tug River which
separates Kentucky from West Virginia. So we have a tri-state area of Kentucky,
West Virginia and Ohio which come together at Catlettsburg Kentucky, Ironton
Ohio and Kenova West Virginia.
As our parents came into these Mountains it took courage, resourcefulness,
and just plain stubbornness. If you find yourself with these traits you
came by them honestly. As they began to settle the mountain area they had
to contend with the Indians. In fact the name Kentucky was an Indian word
meaning ?Land of tomorrow?. There were several Indian tribes in that region
that we know of. They were the Hurons, the Wyandots, the Shawnee, and even
the Cherokee at times. One of our ancestors was captured by the them and
was held captive for about a year. She escaped from them in Johnson County,
Kentucky and Is buried there just off of US Route 23. A state park has
been established there in her name known as ?The Jenny Wiley State Park?.
Looking at the Sparks clan we know that William Sparks 1725-1802 married
Ann _____. They had at least one child that we know of, born about 1766.
We know him as Thomas Sparks, Sr.
He married Rebecca ______ and had four children, Hannah, Joseph, Eleanor
and Allen. Then he married Dianah Wilcox and they had ten children. They
were Thomas Jr., Sarah, Matthew, Daniel, Lucy, Elisha, Elijah, Dianah,
Nicholas, and one unidentified male born about 1815.
Thomas Jr. Married Catherine Jayne, and they had 12 children, Kesiah, Dorcas,
William Jayne ("Bill"), Dianah, Sarah, Eleanor, Margaret, Thomas
J., Henry J., Daniel, Catherine and John W.
William Jayne ("Bill") Sparks married Elizabeth Hager, and they
had 8 children, James, Thomas J., Daniel, Nelson, Wm. Green/ville, Catherine,
Mary and Richard. Mary was the twin of Catherine and she died at birth.
These are the lines that many of us came through on the Sparks side of
the family.
( A Chronological Narrative of the Search for Ancestors of James Harvey Cook )
September 1989
I have no answer as to who the parents of James Harvey Cook might be.
The story that was handed down to me, Thomas Clayton Watson a third generation
removed, is as follows:
James Harvey's mother was pregnant and before he was born or shortly thereafter,
his father left Kentucky for California due to the beginning of the California
gold rush. We know according to history that on January 24, 1948, James
Marshall discovered gold at Sutters mill, California. By 1849, a large
scale gold rush was under way. San Francisco grew from a small town to
a city of over 25,000 in a year's time.
The baby, James Harvey, was given to "Little Billy" Grubb and
his wife, Sarah Thompson Grubb, to raise. A letter was received by Mr.
& Mrs Grubb from James Harvey's father saying that he had left a trunk
of gold in the old Phoenix Bank of San Francisco for the raising of his
son, and that he was on his way to Oregon. There was no further word from
the parents, so the Grubb family raised him as their own.
However, piecing all the information together, I would say the story goes
more like this:
We were told James Harvey Cook was born on January 8, 1838. His mother
was more than likely a sister to "Little Billy" Grubb or Sarah
Thompson Grubb and when the news of the gold discovery in California in
1848 was received, his father probably left for the gold fields. His mother
may have gone with him. James Harvey was probably born on January 8,1848,
rather than 1838 as we were led to believe because if he were born in 1838
he would have been 10 or 12 at that the time his father and mother left
and should have known them both. However when he married Catherine Sparks,
he said on the records "Father & Mother unknown." Also, in
the 1870 census he gave his age as 21 years old.
In the first marriage records of Lawrence County, Kentucky it read as follows:
June 16, 1868: James Cook to Permelia Burton, married by H. Blankinship
M.B.C. (Minister of Baptist Church). Place: Wm. Burton, Lawrence County.
Name of witness: James Grubb and Levi Lions (the name Lions was very faint,
could be in error).
The next finding was the 1870 census of Lawrence County, Kentucky:
Cook, James m w 21 farm Laborer Ky
Emily P. F w 23 Housekeeping Ky
Rebecca F w 1 Ky
We found him again 10 years later in the 1880 census:
Cook, James H. W m 31 farmer Ky
Emily P. W f 31 Keeping house Ky
Rebecca E. W f 10 Daughter Ky
Mahala J. W f 8 " Ky
Wm. P. W m 6 Son Ky
James S. W m 4 " Ky
Elijah W m 2 " Ky
From 1880 to 1889, we know that two more sons were born, Andrew and
Calvin. After this Emily "Millie" Burton Cook passed away and
was buried at Whitehouse in Johnson County, Ky.
Our next record found was at the Johnson County Court House, Paintsville,
Ky on November 1, 1889:
James Cook of Johnson County, Ky, age
41, being his second marriage.
Occupation: Miner. Birthplace: Lawrence County.
Mother and Father Unknown.
Catherine Sparks of Johnson County, Ky. age 30,
being her first marriage. Birthplace of bride; Johnson CO., Ky. Bithrplace
of Father: Johnson CO, Ky. Birthplace of mother: Floyd County, Ky..
To Be married at William Sparks on the 1st of
November, 1889.
The certificate states that the vows where taken
on October 31,1989, by W.G. Sparks (Brother of Catherine) at his home in
the presence of W.G. Wells and John Gilmore.
After this, they must have moved to West Virginia because they
did not show up in the 1900 census of Johnson Country, Ky. The 1890 census
was destroyed by each state and federal census bureau thinking that each
other had preserved their own copy. However, I'm told that some county's
have their own copy, but I know Johnson County does not.
UPDATE #1 1989
I went to Whitehouse, Ky, in August of 1989 and found the location of
the cemetery. But it was so grown over with weeds, it was impossible to
get to it at that time. There was no road or path to it. The person who
was showing me the location said if we come back in the fall, the trees
would be dormant and we possibly could reach it.
UPDATE #2 1993 May 1993
I have now received James Harvey Cook's Death Certificate and it states
that his father was William Cook, the person that was giving the information
was listed as Tom Cook, Aunt Naomi Yount who was married to my uncle Tom
Cook says this was not her Tom, but was the brother of James Harvey Cook.
I have more pieces to the puzzle but I have not been able to put them together
yet.
It was my good fortune to have been talking to Freeman & Thelma
Cook at the Reunion and they were telling me of a grave that they had found
in Whitehouse, KY that had the name J.H. Cook on the tombstone. As you
know this was what I had been searching for, and Freeman took me up to
the grave site. We found to my surprise the stone still in pretty good
condition. Also we now see on the stone he was born on Jan. 10, 1835, however
his death certificate says Jan. 10, 1837.
On August 17, 1835 - James Grubb married Elizabeth Cook living in Lawrence
County KY. Also living in the same area was the Sparks Family, I think
there is a connection of James Harvey Cook to Elizabeth Cook as James Cook
married Emily Burton at the Grubb home in Lawrence Co. KY. June 16, 1868.
The Tom Cook Who gave information on James Harvey Cook's death certificate
was his younger brother, according to aunt Naomi. I spoke to her on May
5th 1993. It could be that Elizabeth Cook is the sister to the father of
James Harvey Cook, Tom Cook being his brother and William Cook being the
Father. I did find a William Cook who paid taxes in Woodford County, KY.
on May 22, 1790. He showed up in the first census of KY., 1790. Just kin
folks.
By: Thomas Clayton Watson
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