Revised 5/8/2017. Copyright @2017; The following Documentary Timeline has been compiled and created by Paul Rhetts. It may be copied for research purposes; but it may not be reproduced for inclusion in any printed or electronic distribution of any kind without the express written permission of the author. Any requests to use this information should be sent to Paul Rhetts, LPDPress@q.com.
John WOLFENSBARGER (1754-1840) m. Christina FREY (1759-1832)
s/o John Peter WOLFENSBARGER (1721-1788) m. Hannah SUMNER (1734-1775)
d/o Johann Valentine FREY (1721-1798) m. Anna Barbara BINCKLELE (1722-1791)
17 Aug 1754 John Wolfensbarger born at Lititz, Lancaster, Pennsylvania [SAR74574; SAR70720; SAR72754]
13 Sep 1761 John Wolfensbarger naturalized
22 Nov 1759 Christina Frey born at Heidelberg, York, Pennsylvania [SAR74574; SAR70720; SAR72754] [York County, Pennsylvania, 1765-1803: Quickel's (Zion) Lutheran and Reformed Church: baptism at York Co, PA]
1769 John Sparger, who shortened his name from Wolfenberger, was the son of John Wolfenberger and grandson of Johan Wolfersberger, the immigrant who came to America from Germany. John was born 17 Aug 1754 in Heidelberg, Lebanon, Pennsylvania just outside of what is today Schaeferstown, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was a German farming community centered around the Morovian Church. His father moved the family west to Shenandoah County, Virginia around 1769.
6 Mar 1771 John Sparger adopted the spelling Wolfenbarger after he moved to Shenandoah County, VA. John with others took oath as Vestrymen in Beckford Parish, Shenandoah, Virginia on March 6, 1771. A Vestryman was not a clergy but rather an official. He may have had the role of supervising local parish public services, such as the workhouse, administration of poor relief, or the keeping of parish records (baptisms, deaths and marriages) and so on. It should be explained that while the Wolfersbergers were Lutherans and Reformed Church people, the office of Vestryman in the Episcopal Church, which was the established Church in Virginia at that time, was frequently conferred upon members of other denominations because there were probably not enough Episcopalians in the Parish to fill the offices of Vestrymen. According to land records, John Wolfenbarger purchased land in Shehandoah County, VA, June 5 1781 - two lots in the town of Woodstock.
abt 1773 John Wolfenberger moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. In North Carolina they changed their name from Wolfenberger to Sparger. The children of John Wolfenberger were the first of the Sparger generation. John got involved with the Frey Family from his home town in Pennsylvania. Apparently when they moved to North Carolina he moved with them. In 1773, a planned community called the Friedberg Settlement, in what is present-day Davidson County outside of Winston-Salem was attracting settlers from Pennsylvania through the Morovian Church.
1776 As the Revolution was heating up John Muhlenberg the pastor at the Anglican church located in the heart of Woodstock gave a famous speech from the pulpit. At conclusion of his farewell sermon on January 21, 1776, Muhlenberg threw off his clerical robes to reveal an officer's uniform beneath and shouted, "there is a time to pray and a time to fight..." With that declaration, the story says he then called for volunteers to join the 8th Virginia Regiment under his command. John was probably too old to fight in the American Revolution, but he gave assistance to the Patriots. John W. Sparger and his father John Johannes Wolfersberger/Wolfenbarger Jr. were both patriots even though they didn't serve in the Continental Army. Both of them provided horse/s, stabling, and hay for the Army, according to Virginia Publik Claims records. They are also considered Patriots of the American Revolution by the Daughters of the American Revolution for providing that assistance. John's younger brother Philip joined the militia and fought in the Battle of Cowpens.
1777 John III, son of John, Jr. married Christina FREY at Surry, North Carolina [John married a woman named Christina Frey in Friedberg Settlement, Surry, North Carolina. John sold his property in Woodstock on May 14, 1792 and at this time probably moved to North Carolina permanently. In fact, when his father's grave was being threatened by the construction of a new courthouse in Woodstock, VA he did not answer the call to collect his father's remains. To this day his father's remains are on the property off Main Street somewhere. John Sparger moved 250 miles south to an area known as Wachovia, the land the Moravian Church had purchased, was very much on the frontier, and most of the roads of the North Carolina colony were little more than paths through primeval forests. Some would walk 14 miles to church]
1778 son John W SPARGER born in Friedberg, Surry, NC; married Sarah Lyon at Hillsville, Carroll, VA [died in Fayetteville, Cumberland NC in 1834] He spent his early life in the Mount Airy, Surry County, NC area. John W. SPARGER, Jr married Sarah LYON in 1816 in Hillsville, Carroll County, VA. John was 38 at that time. After John's wife Sarah died, he went to Highland County, Ohio with his son Henry where they joined his brothers Joseph, Reuben and Phillipp who had already settled there. All of the SPARGER'S that moved to Ohio changed their name to SPARGUR. The story told about this name change is as follows: The sheriff called on John to serve a warrant calling John for jury duty. As many others, he had trouble with names of some of the Moravians that lived in the County. The warrant was made out in the name of John W. Sparger. Apparently, John liked this change in name. When his children grew to adults, some of them resettled in Highland Co. Ohio and changed the spelling to Spargur. The reason for this change is not made clear. Those that remained in North Carolina retained the Sparger spelling. Among those who stayed in North Carolina was John W. Sparger (Jr.) who married Sarah Lyon about 1816. After John's wife. Christina, died, Rueben Spargur returned to North Carolina and took his father back to Ohio with him. John W. Sparger died 17 Nov 1840 in Paint, Highland, Ohio. He was buried in Stringtown, Highland, Ohio. His descendants purchased a new grave stone at the New Stringtown Cemetery which reflects the name changes to link the families looking for their origins.
17 May 1779 son Reuben W SPARGER born in Surry, NC [He spent much of his adult life in Highland County, Ohio. He never married. !Sparger 0001, Pg. 1 - "Genealogy of Sparger and Allied Families", by William M. Creasy, Wilmington, North Carolina, June 6, 1936. North Carolina State Library, Raleigh, North Carolina - # GR-929.Z S736C !Marshall 0007, Pg. 509 - "The Heritage of Surry County, North Carolina," Volume I, 1983 - Editor, Hester Bartlett Jackson !Marshall 0322, p. 61]
26 Nov 1780 John Wolfensbarger gave patriotic service in Rev War, giving supplies to Virginia Militia (DAR#A058993; SAR 72754, 70720, 74574) [Census of Pensioners, Paint Twp, Highland Co, OH, p173 lists John W. Sparger, age 83 (doc)] [Daughters of the American Revolution National No. 163783, Public Service Claims of Shenandoah County, in the Virginia State Library at Richmond Aug 29, 1782-"John Wolfenberger for hire of a horse received," history of Shenandoah County Virginia pages 8, 45, 95, 96, 124, 131-134, 709-713. Also references John, Peter, Benjamin Wolfenbarger pg 231, and John (Johannes) Wolfenbarger/Wolfensberger Jnas Vestryman-Beckford Parish pg 523, VA Early Census Index 1783 Shenandoah Tax List, OH 1840 Pensioners List - Paint, Highland County, Ohio, Wolfensberger Family Association historian] [The writings of W. M. Creasy make no mention of Revolutionary War service for John W. Sparger (1754-1840)] [John Wolfenberger for hire of a horse received. 2 L 10 S 00 P]
1 Mar 1781 son Joseph W SPARGUR born in Friedburg, Surry, NC; married (1) Rachel Sumner And (2) Abigail Moore; Buried at Stringtown Quaker Cemetery, Highland, OH [Joseph W. Spargur, born 1 March 1781 near Mount Airy, North Carolina, married Rachel, daughter of Bowater and Rebecca (Burris) Sumner. In 1804 Joseph W., his wife Rachel, their small children, accompanied by his brother Reuben & Rachel’s Uncle Bowater Sumner set out for the “Western Frontier". They settled in a log cabin on Fall Creek, near the present site of New Petersburg in Highland County, Ohio. They cleared several acres of land and established a mill near their home. Reuben, who never married, made several trips back home. In 1815, while visiting his parents near Mount Airy, he became ill and died. He was buried near his parent’s home. Joseph sold this mill to Milton Worley. He then cut a road through the unbroken forest to a location on Rocky Fork Creek, south of the place where Puncheon Run emptied into it. Spargur and David Reese soon had a sawmill, grist mill and a carding mill in operation. Joseph W.Spargur erected a commodious brick home for his family near the mill site. He dreamed of a village around the mill location. On 11 March 1818, he had surveyed and laid out a. town on 15 acres and nine poles, with four main streets. The name chosen was Mount Airy after his birthplace in North Carolina. For several years the Hillsboro newspaper carried a Mount Airy column, reporting the happenings around Spargur’s mills. Phillip W. Spargur, Joseph’s brother, joined him in Ohio in 1809. In 1833, Joseph’s brother Henry W. decided to go to Ohio and his 79 year old widowed father, John W. Sparger, accompanied his son’s family all the way to Ohio on horseback, where he lived until his death 17 November 1840. Joseph's daughter, Christina, married Joseph Allen Beavers 23 March 1837 in Highland County, Ohio. Joseph & Christina left Highland County in the faIl of 1855 and went to Iowa, two miles west of High Point and seven miles east of Leon, Iowa. It was wooded land bordering the Walden River. He secured the land directly from the U.S. Government, which was kept in the famiIy until I 967. They made the trip with their 11 children in 2 covered wagons.—Wolfensberger Associatio newsletter Aug 2003, Vol IX No.3 p3]
5 Jun 1781 John W Spargar purchased land in Shehandoah County, VA, June 5 1781. Deed Book C p. 433, Deed Book K p. 496. Sept 29, 17?5 the following record is found Peter Wolfenberger and Susan his wife, Frederick and Catherine his wife, Phillipp Wolfenbarger and Hannah his wife, Martin Miller and Mary his wife, Jacob Wolfenbarger and Nancy his wife, of Shenandoah County, VA, and JOHN WOLFENBARGER AND CHRISTINA HIS WIFE, of Surry County, NC, children and heirs children and heirs deceased, to Benjamin Wolfenberger of the County of Shenandoah, two lots in the town of Woodstock of which John Wolfenberger died seized and possessed, known as lots 4 and 76 being the same lots one half acre each which were conveyed by Nounce Byrd and Clara his wife to Peter Wolfenberger by deed of lease and release May 24, 1780. Benjamin Wolfenberger who bought the land from thee state was also one of John's sons and qualified as Administrator of his estate. According to the final settlement filed with the Court Sept 10, 1792, he died about Nov 18, 1788 and in the record of disbursement is an item paid David Jordan (School Master), six shillings for reading the funeral service at the burial of the deceased. His property was sold at a sale on May 14, 1792, the proceeds of which amounted to 84 pounds and one shilling and 10 ½ pence. The Administrator's itemized account of disbursements in the settlement of the estate show that he paid out fourteen shillings and six pence more than the receipts of the sale.
1783 Shenandoah Co, VA Early Census Tax List lists John Wolfensbarger
14 Sep 1783 dau Catherine WOLFENSBARGER born at Greenbriar, VA; married George Washington Kouns in 1777 at Surry, NC
1785 dau Hannah W SPARGER born in Surry, NC; married Achilles Deatheridge; died 1827 in Mt Airy, Surry. [one source says 1781]
4 Dec 1785 dau Rachel Sparger born
1786 son Phillipp W SPARGER born in Surry, NC; married (1) Christina Kouns in 1806; (2) Rachel Sumner abt 1810 (see Joseph above) [one source says birth was 28 Sep 1781]
1 Dec 1789 son Henry W SPARGUR born in Surry, NC; married Susannah Roberts on 25 Oct 1816 at Surry, NC
14 May 1792 Shenandoah Valley property sold (see 5 Jun 1781)
1797 son William W SPARGER born in Surry, NC; married Nancy Ann Bryson on 6 Jul 1817 at Surry, NC
1800 Federal Census, Salisbury, Surry, NC-John Wolfinsporger: Males <10=1; males 10-15=2; males 16-25=3; males 45+=1; females <10=3; females 25-44=1 (doc)
1801 dau Nancy W SPARGER born in Surry, NC; married _____ Jackson
1803 dau Sally W SPARGER born in Surry, NC
1810 Federal Census, Surry, NC-John W Spargar: Males 10-15=1; males 16-25=1; males 26-44=1; males 45+=1; females <10=3; females 10-15=1; females16-25=1; females 45+=1 (doc)
1812 Surry Co Tax list
15 May 1817 son Murlin Sparger born At Surry Co, NC [as a youth learned the trade of millwright and carpenter. After locating at his home about four miles north of Mount Airy he continued following his trade and also did farming. Among his contemporaries there was hardly a better business man in Surry County. His success took the special direction of land holding, and he kept adding to his possessions until at one time he was owner of upwards of two thousand acres. About half of this large estate was across the line in the state of Virginia. His home was just half a mile south of the Virginia line and in Mount Airy Township. He died on November 16, 1877. Murlin Sparger married Bethania Cook, who was born near Westfield in Surry County January 4, 1817. Her father, John Cook, was born on a farm near Westfield and spent his entire life there. Mrs. Bethania Sparger died April 27, 1884. Her ten children were named Elizabeth, John Henry, William A., Margaret, Edith, James H., Frank, Priscilla, Mary E. and George W. When not in school as a boy John Henry Sparger was working on his father's farm and early familiarized himself with the management of land on a large scale. At the first call for troops in 1861, when he was twenty years of age, he enlisted in Company I of the Twenty-first Regiment, North Carolina Troops. His regiment was part of Early's division and Ewell's corps. Mr Sparger was present and took part in the first great battle of the war, Manassas, the results of which are known to every American school boy. After that with his regiment he participated in many of the more notable conflicts on the soil of Virginia, and at the battle of Seven Pines he was wounded. He remained with his regiment on duty until he was retired in the spring of 1865, and he arrived home just fifteen days before the final surrender. A courageous soldier, he proved a courageous citizen and did not hesitate to undertake the difficult performance of the duties which confronted the returned Southern soldier. He began farming and in 1868 bought a place in Mount Airy township. That was his first home after his marriage, and he lived there until 1884, when he returned to the old homestead and eventually succeeded to its ownership. Many years have been spent in the profitable task of general farming and stock raising. His farm contains 400 acres, both upland and valley, and while in the midst of picturesque surroundings it is also highly valuable and productive. His home occupies a position commanding an extended view of Johnson Creek Valley and surrounding country. The Virginia state lines borders the farm on the north] [HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA p. 53]
1820 Federal Census, Capt Farkners District, Surry Co, NC-John Sparger Sr: Males 10-15=1; males 45+=1; females 10-15=1; females 16-25=2; females 45+=1; slaves female under 14=1; engaged in agriculture=3 (doc)
1830 Federal Census, Surry, NC-John Sparger: Males 70-79=1; Females 60-69=1 (doc)
1832 Christina Frey died (age 72) at Mount Airy, Surry, North Carolina; gravestone; Buried in Taylor Graveyard (cem.) Bower's Spring, Surry Co., NC within sight of the old home adjoining the property of the SPARGER Orchard Company. There is a group of six graves, said to be those of Christina and some of her family.
1833 John Wolfensbarger moved from Surry Co to Highland Co, OH
1840 Federal Census, Paint, Highland, OH-John W Sparger: age 86; veteran (doc) [living with son Henry??]
1840 Rev War Pension list lists John W Sparger Sr of Paint Twp, Highland Co, OH age 86; p.173 [John W. Sparger,sen., 86, John W. Sparger, sen. – Paint]
17 Nov 1840 John Wolfensbarger died (age 86) at Highland, Ohio; gravestone; Buried in Upper Quaker Cem. Springtown, Paint Twp, Highland Co., Ohio, next to second son. [After his wife Christina died in 1833, John went with his son, Henry and his family to Highland Co., OH riding horseback all the way. He lived with them until his death in 1840. John was buried in Quaker Cem. near Reinsboro, OH] [FindAGrave}
Marshall 0001 - This is the third of four John W. Spargers. He was actually born John Wolfenbarger but changed his name when he moved to Ohio. I have considerable documentation on this interesting and complicated family. He was buried in the old Quaker cemetery in Springtown, Ohio. His son, Reuben is buried with him.
Sparger 0001, Pg. 1 - "Genealogy of Sparger and Allied Families", by William M. Creasy, Wilmington, North Carolina, June 6, 1936. North Carolina State Library, Raleigh, North Carolina - # GR-929.Z-S736C
Marshall 0007, Pg. 509 - "The Heritage of Surry County, North Carolina", Volume I, 1983 - Editor, Hester Bartlett Jackson !
Sparger 0002, p. 1 - Gives the town of his birth and the location of his marriage.
DAR #A058993 & 163783 SERVICE: VIRGINIA
Service Desc: Gave supplies, Claim dated 26 Nov 1780 Rank: PATRIOTIC SERVICE RESIDENCE 1) County: CULPEPER CO - State: VIRGINIA SPOUSE 1) KATHERINE X SAR 72754, 70720, 74574