Frequently the records of one family will help to sort out the connections in another family. That may be the case with the Sparks and Bowen families.

The deed by the legatees of David Bowen provides evidence of one Bowen/Sparks marriage. From that deed, we can determine that Nancy Bowen, daughter of David Bowen, had married John Sparks.

The marriage records of Mecklenburg Co provide evidence of another such marriage, again involving one of the children of David Bowen.

Benjamin Bowen md Martha Sparks 12 Sep 1803 in Mecklenburg, VA

The third marriage was between Mayberry Bowen and Hannah Sparks.

Her tombstone in Cleveland Co, NC gives her name as "Hannah Bowen, wife of Mayberry Bowen".  She died July 1869 at age of 80y 3m. Maberry Bowen age 60 and wife Hannah age 69, both born VA, were listed on the 1850 Cleveland Co, NC census. According to her tombstone, Hannah was born in 1789. According to her census, she was born about 1781.

Mayberry's father has never been proven. His name did not appear as one of the legatees of David Bowen. However, he moved from Mecklenburg Co, VA to Rutherford Co, NC and lived near other descendants of David Bowen, so he would seem to be a grandson. But which of David's sons was his father?

The following transcript was contributed by William S Tate, a descendant of John Sparks and Nancy Bowen.
 
 

John Sparks & others            }   In Equity
                   [     ]                 }          from
Shemwell Kearny & others    }  Cleaveland County

    This cause coming on for
further directions upon the report of the
clerk to this court made, and the exceptions
taken thereto by the plaintiffs, Joseph Carrol
William M. Sparks, May berry Bowen
and his wife Hannah. Upon consideration
thereof the court is of opinion that
the said Joseph Carrol is a bona fide
purcherser of the entire interest of
the said William M Sparks, in the estate
of Stephen Sparks, deceased, as well of
the realty as of the personalty and that
the conveyance of the same to the said
Carrol by the said Willim M Sparks
is good and (Valid) sufficient to  pass
the same.          and that the said Carrol
is a bona fide purcherser of the interest
of Mayberry Bowen and wife of said
estate but the conveyance for the same
is only sufficient to pass the real estate
of the said Mayberry Bowen and Wife
for and during the life of the said
Mayberry Bowen.  [              ] with their
entire interest in the personalty.

It is therefore ordered adjudged and
decreed that the exceptions taken by plain
tiffs William M Sparks and Mayberry
Bowen and Wife be disallowed.  And
that the second exception taken by [   ]
Carrol be overruled and his first and third
exceptions be sustained.
 and that said Joseph Carrol as assignee
of William M Spark, is entitled to his
entire interest, in the realty and personalty
and that the same be paid to him, and
that of the personalty the interest  [  ] of
Mayberry Bowen and Wife be also
paid to the said Joseph Carrol, as the
assignee of the same and as to the
realty, the same to be paid over to him
to be retained by him during the life
of the said Mayberry Bowen and upon
his death to be repaid into this court for
the said Hannah Bowen, her heirs and
assigns.    and that said payment be
made to said carroll without bond or
security, for its repayment unless the
said Mayberry Bowen or Hannah his
wife shall make affidavit before the
clerk of this court that such bond and
security is necessary to insure to
her the fund aforesaid at the death
of the said Mayberry Bowen.  And
in case the said Joseph Carrol shall
fail to execute to the clerk of this
court a good and sufficient bond
for such purpose to be approved by
the clerk then the clerk shall loan the
funds to any other person or persons on
good and sufficient securities and
pay the interest therefor annually to the
said Joseph Carrol his executors adm
istrators or assigns during the
life of the said Mayberry Bowen. And
upon his death to pay the principal
money to the said Hannah Bowen her
heirs or assigns.       It is further ord
 ordered that the report of the clerk being
[          ] in the foregoing particulars be
[conform...] and it  [        ] therefrom
that out of the realty there is due to
Joseph Carrol assignee of
William M Sparks   $753.54 1/5
To James H Harden as Executor and devisee of W [S]
Weatherford deceased  $753.54 1/5
To Joseph Carrol for the life
of M Bowen and at his
death to Hannah Bowen  $753.54 1/5
To Nancy [Pinson]   $753.54 1/5
To  Calvin Sparks      94.19  1/4
 Stephen Sparks      94.19  1/4
 S McDaniel       94.19  1/4
 William Sparks      94.19  1/4
 Alpheus Sparks          94.19  1/4
 Lewis Sparks      94.19  1/4
 Louisa Justice      94.19  1/4
 F M Justice       31.39  2/4
 A Branton       31.39  2/4
 Christina Justice      31.39  2/4
  and it further appearing that
of the personalty there is due to Shemer
ill Kearny as Executor of
Elizabeth Sparks deceased $2357.41 1/2
To [    James H Harony] Executor
of W S Weatherford     943.04  2/3
To Joseph Carrol as assignee
of William M Sparks     943.04  2/3
To Joseph Carrol assignee of M Bowen  943.04  2/3
Gilbert [Pinson]      943.04  2/3
D Justice        943.04  2/3

    and it further appearing
       that
 that the defendants retaining the sum of
$2357.41 as due to Shemwill Kearny as
aforesaid have only paid into office the
sum of $8450 an insufficient amount
to pay off the several [     ] due to the
plaintiff aforesaid       It is ordered by
the court that the costs of the court as
to the main question be first paid out of
the whole fund and the residue be paid as follows
  out of the realty
To Joseph Carrol assignee
of William M Sparks   $741.54 1/5
J H Hardin  devisee of
W [S] Weatherford     $741.54 1/5
To Joseph Carrol for the life of
Mayberry  Bowen and at his
death to Hannah Bowen  $741.54 1/5
To Nancy [Pinson]   $741.54 1/5
To  Calvin Sparks      92.79 1/4
 Stephen Sparks      92.79 1/4
 S McDaniel       92.79 1/4
 William Sparks      92.79 1/4
 Alpheus Sparks              92.79 1/4
 Lewis Sparks      92.79 1/4
 Louisa Justice      92.79 1/4
 F M Justice       30.84
 A Branton       30.84
 Christina Justice      30.84
and out of the personalty
To J H Harding Executor
of W S Weatherford    927.91  2/3
Joseph Carrol for W M Sparks   927.91  2/3
Joseph Carrol by Bowen & Wife   927.91  2/3
G Pinson      927.91  2/3
[and] to D Justice     927.91  2/3
 and that execution [     ] from this court
against the defendant B F Hilliard and
Shemwel Kearny for the balance due
to plaintiff viz for the sum of $135.04
to bear interest from the 1st day of
August 1859 until paid
  it further appearing from
said report that there is a house and
lot in the Town of Franklinton County
of Franklin parcel of the realty of
the said Stephen Sparkes yet unsold
 It is ordered adjudged and decreed
by the court that the same be sold
on the premises at public auction
after advertisisng the sale for the space of
forty days.  And that he sell the
same on a credit of six months taking
bond and security to himself for
the purchase money and that he
collect the same when due and make
his report to the next court touching
the same.
 It is further ordered that the
clerk be allowed fifty dollars for his
report as to the main question, and
also fifty dollars for his services and
report as to the enquiry relative to
the purchase of Carrol from plaintiff
William M Sparkes and Bowen and
Wife.  It is further ordered that
this decree be certified to the court below
[   ] the intent the same may proceed for the
costs therein to be paid by the defendants
B F Hilliard and Shemwill Kearny.

  A True Copy
    [                    ] Clk
 
 

The above record indicates that Stephen Sparks' five siblings were each entitled to $753.54 1/5 from his estate. However, some of the siblings had died and their share had to be divided equally between their heirs.

From this document, it has been determined that the siblings of Stephen Sparks were:

1) Nancy Sparks who married Benjamin Weatherford on Nov. 12, 1788, in Charlotte Co., VA
2) William M. Sparks who married Judith Thompson in Mecklenburg Co., VA on Jan. 9, 1804
3) Hannah Sparks who married Mayberry Bowen
4) Martha "Patsy" Sparks who married Benjamin Bowen
5) John Sparks who married Nancy Bowen

John Sparks age 77, miller, and wife Nancy Sparks age 70, both born VA, were listed on the 1850 Cleveland Co, NC census. Since John Sparks had died before the case was settled, his share had to be divided between his eight children.

1. Stephen Sparks (doubtless named for his uncle).
2. Sally Sparks, wife of Ignatius M. McDaniel; they appeared on the 1850 census of Cleveland Co., NC.
3. William Sparks.
4. Calvin Sparks.
5. Alpheus Sparks (called Alpha).  He and family were on the 1850 census of Cleveland Co.
6. Lewis Sparks.
7. Louisa Sparks, wife of David Justice; they were on the 1850 census of Cleveland Co.
8. Unnamed daughter who had died; her 1/8 was divided among three daughters named Francis Mary Justice, Amanda Branton, and Christina Justice.

Notice that Nancy Pinson received the full undivided share of Benjamin Bowen and Martha Sparks. Therefore, Nancy must have been their only surviving child.

Gilbert Pinson md Nancy Bowen in Mecklenburg, VA  29 Sep 1824 - Benjamin Bowen (bondsman)

1850 Census of Cleveland Co., NC.
Gilbert Pinson     55    Male, farmer, born in VA.
Nancy Pinson     45    Female
Martha Bowen    79    Female
Martha Pinson    24   Female
Marget Pinson    22   Female
Mary A. Pinson  20   Female
Jane Pinson       19   Female
Sarah Pinson     16   Female
Roxy Pinson       14   Female
George Pinson    18  Male
David B. Pinson   10  Male
James M. Pinson   7  Male

Benjamin Bowen's censuses also indicate that Nancy was an only child.

1820 , Mecklenburg, VA
Benjamin Bowen  1 male >45,  1 female 10-16,  1 female >45
(Benjamin and Martha had been married for 17 years.)

1830, Mecklenburg, VA
Benjamin Bowen  1 male 30-40, 1 male 50-60, 3 females <5, 1 female 20-30

The 1830 census probably reflects Benjamin Bowen, his daughter Nancy, her husband Gilbert Pinson, and the first three Pinson daughters. For some reason, Martha was not listed although she was still living.

Benjamin Bowen was not listed on the 1840 census in Mecklenburg Co. It is not known if he died or left the county. The latest records I have for him in Mecklenburg are:

Mecklenburg Co DB 27 p 156 rec 1837 Benjamin & Martha Bowen to Thomas Moore (from index)

Mecklenburg Co DB 27 p 159 rec 1837 Benjamin & Martha Bowen to Robert Y Overby (from index)

These records help to establish several facts that may be useful in the effort to prove Mayberry Bowen's ancestry.

First, we can establish that Mayberry could not have been the son of Benjamin Bowen. Nancy Bowen Pinson must have been Benjamin Bowen and Martha Sparks' only surviving child. In addition, Mayberry Bowen's wife Hannah Sparks was the sister of Benjamin's wife Martha Sparks. Certainly Mayberry did not marry his own aunt.

1820 Rutherford Co, NC census:
Mabry BOWEN
males 5 (under 10), 0 (10-16), 0 (16-18), 1 (16-26), 1 (26-45), 0 (45+)
females 0 (under 10), 0 (10-16), 0 (16-26), 1 (26-45), 0 (45+)
Mayberry age 26-45 (therefore born 1775-1794)

1830 Rutherford Co, NC census:
Maberry Bowen
males 3 (0-5), 2 (5-10), 2 (10-15), 1 (15-20), 1 (20-30), 1 (30-40)
females 0 (0-5),0 (5-10), 0 (10-15), 0 (15-20), 0 (20-30), 1 (30-40)
Mayberry was age 30-40 (born 1790-1800)

1840 Rutherford Co, NC
Bounin Mabary
males 0 (0-5), 2 (5-10), 0 (10-15), 3 (15-20), 3 (20-30), 0 (30-40), 1 (40-50)
females 1 (0-5), 0 (5-10), 0 (10-15), 0 (15-20), 0 (20-30), 0 (30-40), 1 (40-50)
Mayberry was age 40-50 (born 1790-1800)

(William S Tate gets a special pat on the back for finding this one! The name was seriously misspelled, reversed, and indexed under the letter M too!)

1850 Cleveland Co, NC
Maberry Bowen, 60, male, born in VA  (born 1790)
Hannah Bowen, 69, female, born in VA
Harrison Bowen, 27, male
Samuel C Bowen, 21, male
Richard L Bowen, 18, male
Mary A Bowen, 16, female
Hannah Bowen, 13, female

1860 Flag Pond, Washington Co, Tenn.
Mayberry  Bowen      74  (born 1786)
Hannah  Bowen         73
Mary A. Bowen         22

1870 Cleveland Co, NC
B. Bowen                   53
Elizabeth Bowen         58
Mayberry Bowen        85  (born 1785)

Bowen, Hannah 80y, 3m Jul 1869 w/o Mayberry Poplar Springs Bapt. Cemetery Cleveland Co., NC

Although the records don't agree perfectly, Mayberry's DOB would seem to be somewhere between 1785-90.

David Bowen Sr's other sons besides Benjamin were Bracy Bowen, Lewis Bowen, and Elijah Bowen. Of these sons, Bracy and Lewis both moved from Mecklenburg Co, VA to Rutherford Co, NC. Lewis Bowen and Mabry (Mayberry) Bowen moved first and were listed on the 1820 Rutherford Co census. Bracy Bowen did not move to Rutherford until 1822 according to his pension application.

Elijah Bowen can be eliminated as a possible father for Mayberry simply because he was too young. He did not appear on the tax lists of Mecklenburg Co as age 21+ until 1798, well after Mayberry was born.

Bracy seems to have been the oldest son of David Bowen. His Revolutionary War pension application gave his date of birth as 1762. He was listed for taxes in Mecklenburg separately from his father in 1785.

Lewis Bowen's censuses gave his age as over 45 in 1820, 60-70 in 1830, and 60-70 again in 1840. He was listed under his father for taxes in 1788 and 1789 indicating he was at least age 21 or born by 1767. He was not listed for taxes again until 1792 when he and Benjamin were both listed under David Bowen, their father. Lewis Bowen did not appear on the tax list again until 1796 when he was listed separately.

Mayberry's father must have been either Bracy or Lewis.