See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1956, Whole No. 15, pg. 160 for thefollowing:

OBITUARY OF MRS. ESTELLA SPARKS

In the September, 1955, issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY we reported thedeath of William Granvil Sparks. We must now report the death of hiswidow, Mrs. Estella (Morse) Sparks who passed away on June 22, 1956, atthe home of her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. B. P. Wallin ofGrant, Nebraska.

Mrs. Sparks was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Morse and was bornAugust 31, 1874, at Belleville, Wisc. She was eighty-one years old at thetime of her death. At an early age she moved with her parents, brotherand sister by covered wagon to Kansas and later to Faulkton, S.D. Whenstill a small girl she was baptized in a river near Faulkton and joinedthe Methodist Church to which faith she remained a faithful member untilher death. At Easter time of this year she was presented her fifty year
membership pin of the church at Soottsbluff which was her home.

From Dakota the family moved to Beatrice, Nebr., and on March 7, 1894,she was united in marriage to William Granvil Sparks at Beatrioe. Eightchildren were born to this union: Mrs. Alta Crook and Mrs. Lucile Millerof Scottsbluff, Nebr.; Mrs. Edith Wallin of Grant, Nebr.; Chester Sparksof Kearney; Ralph Sparks of Fort Collins, Cole.; Norbert Sparks of NorthPlatte, Nebr.; Mainard Sparks of Denver, Cole. One son, Wallace, passedaway in 1930.

In 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Sparks moved with their family to a farm south ofParton, Nebr. They spent the next seventeen years on farms in Perkins,Keith and Lincoln counties and in 1932 they purchased a home in NorthPlatte and retired. While living in North Platte, she was an activemember in community affairs and belonged to the Mary Lincoln group of thechurch and the HOA club. About five years ago she was presented the goodneighbor award in North Platte. Three and a half years ago she
and her husband purchased a home in Scottsbluff and moved there to benear their two eldest daughters.

Mrs. Sparks was loved by all who knew her and was a kind, loving andfaithful wife and mother, and will be greatly missed by her family andfriends. She and her husband had celebrated their 61st weddinganniversary on March 7, 1955. She was preceded in death by her husband,and son, Wallace, her father and mother, one brother, Henry Morse.Besides her seven children she leaves to mourn her passing one sister,Mrs. Lucy Burcham of Loveland, Cob., twelve grandchildren, sixteengreat-grandchildren, and many other relatives and a host of friends.

Funeral services were held at the Adams Funeral Home in North Platte,June 24, 1956. The Rev. Luverne Hicks, pastor of the Methodist Churchofficiated. Interment was in the family lot in North Platte cemetery.

[Editor’s Note: In the obituary of William Granvil Sparks hisgrandparents’s names were given but no birth and death dates had beenfound at that time. We have since learned that Calvin Sparks (grandfatherof William Granvil Sparks) was born on Dec. 3, 1823 and died at Hoag,Nebr., on July 3, 1903. Mahala Carmichael, wife of Calvin Sparks, wasborn April 7, 1824, and died March 5, 19l0.]

Martha (Motley) Sparks is shown in the 1850 census of Center Township,District 40, Greene County, Indiana as Patsey Sparks age 40. See theSPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 427, Whole No. 27.

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!NOTES:
See notes under Benjamin for information regarding her birth and death.

SQ p. 3551: "He served in the Confederate States Army and died ofmeasles at Camp Cheatham, Tennessee, on November 9, 1861.

SQ p. 3632:

"Mary Ann Frances Murphree was born on February 18, 1844. She wasmarried three times. He first marrige was to David McClure ("Mac")Cooper on January 17, 1861. He had been born about 1829 and was a son ofJohn and Hannah (Walker) Cooper. He served in the Confederate StatesArmy in the Civil War and died on September 20, 1861, at Nashville,Tennessee. By a most remarkable coincidence, his son was born on thatsame day.

"After the death of her soldier-husband, Mary Ann Murphree was married(2nd) to Jonathan J. Lancaster on December 18, 1864. He had been born onMay 24, 1837, and was a son of Paschal and Margaret (Halbrooks)Lancaster. He and Mary Ann had nine children before his death whichoccurred on January 7, 1883. After his death, Mary Ann was married (3rd)to J. T. Powers. She died on September 22, 1891. She and her secondhusband were buried in the Trinity Cemetery in Humphreys County,Tennessee."

A photograph taken about 1870-5 of Mary Ann Frances Murphree appearsin the SPARKS QUARTERLY on page 3632. A photograph taken in 1928 of thesons of Mary Ann appears on page 3635, and a photo of her daughter RachelHannah (Lancaster) Robbs taken about 1916-1917 appears on page 3634.