See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March, 1978, Whole No. 101, pp. 1976-7:

"Helen Sparks, born March 24, 1893, in Valentine, Nebraska. She waseducated at the University of Nebraska, Colorado State Teachers College,Greeley Teachers College in Colorado, and Columbia University in New YorkCity. She taught for many years, in Cherry County," in the ValentineCity Schools, in Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, and in Winnetka,Illinois. During World War I, she worked at Camp Cody in New Mexico inthe YWCA Canteen and in New York City with the Salvation Army, on thedocks meeting returning service men and serving the famous Salvation Armydoughnuts to welcome the men home. After her mother's death, she movedto Los Angeles and worked for the Los Angeles Board of Education untilher retirement. Then she worked for the Los Angeles County Court forabout two years. In 1967 she moved to La Jolla, Calif., a suburb of SanDiego. Since her retirement, she has done a great deal of volunteerwork. Ms. Sparks has been most generous not only in her continuedsupport of the SPARKS FAMILY ASSOCIATION, but she has supplied much ofthe data for this article and a number of the photographs."

See also her photograph and the following additional article in theQUARTERLY on p. 4073 on the occasion of her 100th birthday:

HELEN SPARKS CELEBRATES 100TH BIRTHDAY

(View photograph)

Helen Sparks was born to Levi Carlton and Bertha Crum (Ludwig) Sparks onMarch 24, 1893, at Valentine, Nebraska. She was educated at theUniversity of Nebraska, Colorado State Teachers College, and ColumbiaUniversity. She taught for many years in the Valentine City Schools andin the Winnetka (Illinois) City Schools. She also taught in the states ofVirginia, Colorado, and New Mexico.

During World War I, Helen worked in the YWCA Canteen at Camp Cody, NewMexico, and then went to New York City where she worked for the SalvationArmy on the docks. There, she was a part of the welcoming group to thereturning service men and served them the famous Salvation Army doughnuts.

After the death of her mother, Helen moved to Los Angeles and worked forthe Los Angeles Board of Education until her retirement. She then turnedto the Los Angeles County Court where she worked for two years. In 1967,she moved to La Jolla, California, where she became well-known for hervolunteer work. Currently, she fives at Victoria Special Care Center, 654South Anza Street, El Cajon, California, 92020. Helen Sparks has been amember of the Sparks Family Association almost from its founding (shejoined in 1954), and she has been one of its most ardent supporters.

Her branch of the Sparks farnily has been the subject of several articlesin the Quarterly, including major
articles in the issues of March 1964, Whole No. 45, pp. 790-807 ("JonasSparks, Died 1805, of Rowan County, North Carolina, and His Descendants")and March 1978, Whole No. 101, pp. 1965 -1984 ("Ancestors and Descendantsof Cornelius Sparks, 1789 -1862").

Many happy returns of the day, Helen!

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1995, Whole No. 171, pg 4513:

DEATH TAKES HELEN SPARKS AT AGE 101

It is with a degree of personal sadness that we report the death of oneof our Association's charter members, Helen Sparks, who passed away onFebruary 11, 1995, at the Victoria Special Care Home in El Cajon,California. She was 101 years of age! Her survivors include a nephew,James Sparks, and a niece, Helen Stutzman.

Helen was born on March 24, 1893, in Valentine, Nebraska. She was adaughter of Levi Carlton and Bertha C . (Ludwig) Sparks and agranddaughter of Joseph and Caroline (Flanegin) Sparks .Great-grandparents were Cornelius and Susannah (Stevens) Sparks, pioneersettlers of Berrien County, Michigan. (See the March 1964 and March 1978issues of the QUARTERLY, Nos. 45 and 101, respectively, for furtherdetails of thIs branch of the Sparks family.) A special article andphotograph appeared In the March 1993 issue of the QUARTERLY on Helen's100th birthday.

We extend our sympathy to Helen's nephew and niece and to other membersof her family.

SQ p. 5376:

"Henry Sparks, son of Matthew and Sarah (Elmore) Sparks, was born inSurry County, North Carolina, about 1826. He was shown in his parents'household in Cass County, Missouri, when the 1850 census was taken; hisage was given then as 24. He signed a receipt for his share of hisfather's estate in 1856, indicating that he was living in Oregon,probably in or near Polk County. We have no further information abouthim."

See the Sparks Quarterly, March 1969, Whole No. 65, p. 1308:
"Henry Sparks, son of Hardy and Susannah (Brown) Sparks, was born onApril 19, 1829, in North Carolina, and died in Monroe County, Indiana, onOctober 10, 1905. According to Geroge Blanchard's history of THECOUNTIES OF MORGAN, MONROE, AND BROWN, INDIANA, published in 1884, hesettled in Greene County, Indiana, in 1842. When the 1850 census ofGreene County was taken he was listed as living with his brother AllenSparks. Henry Sparks married Sarah J. Holder in Greene County, Indiana,in March, 1851 (marriage bond dated March 10, 1851, Book E. p. 247). Shewas born in 1833 and died on August 21, 1911. They had (5) children.

.

!NOTES:
THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1994, Whole No. 165, page 4273: "Henr ySparks,
son of Solomon and Susan Sparks, was born about 1833 in North Carolin a.We
have no further information about him."

SQ p. 2682:

"Henry Sparks, son of James and Elizabeth (Oilman) Sparks, was bornabout 1836 in Lewis County, Kentucky. He served in Company C, 3rdRogiment Iowa Infantry and died on June 10, 1863, from acute bronchitus,which he contracted during his military service and for which he receiveda medicaJ discharge. (See pages 2695 -2696 of this issue of the QUARTERLY[copied below] for an abstract of the pension file by which his motherreceived a Mother’s Pension.)

UNION SOLDIERS NAMED SPARKS WHO APPLIED FOR, OR WHOSE HEIRS APPLIEDFOR

PENSIONS FOR SERVICE IN THE CIVIL WAR

(Editor’s Note: For a number of years we have been publishing abstractsof the pension files of Union soldiers who served in the Civil War.Readers are referred to page 2110 of the June 1979 issue of theQUARTERLY, Whole No. 106, for a detailed explanation of these abstracts.It should be noted that they are not based on an examination of the totalfile of papers preserved in the National Archives in Washington, D.C.,for each of the pensioners (or their heirs) concerned, but rather onthose documents judged by a researcher at the Archives to havegenealogical significance. Xerox copies supplied by the Archives of theseselected papers have been the basis of the abstracts given here.

HENRY SPARKS, son of James and Nancy Elizabeth (Gilman) Sparks, was bornabout 1836 in Lewis County, Kentucky. He died on June 10, 1863,in Clayton County, Iowa. He served in Company C, 3rd Regt. IowaInfantry. File Designation: Mother’s Certificate No. 198,691.

Henry Sparks received a Certificate of Disability for Discharge on April27, 1863, at Memphis, Tennessee. He had enlisted on May 28, 1861, atMcGregor, Iowa, in Capt. S. R. Sladden’s Company C of the 3rd RegimentIowa Volunteer Infantry to serve for three years. Henry Sparks was bornin Lewis County, Kentucky; he was 25 years of age at the time of hisenlistment and was 5 feet, 10 inches tall. He had a dark complexion, blueeyes and brown hair; and he was a farmer. He became ill on October 7,1861, and was hospitalized at Quincey, Illinois, but was sent to thehospital at St. Louis on November 20, 1861. He rejoined his company onMarch 6. 1862. He was left sick on board a transport at PittsburgLanding, Tennessee, on March 20, 1862, and was sent to Evansville,Indiana; he rejoined his regiment on June 8, 1862. He was hospitalized atMemphis, Tennessee, on March 8, 1863; was returned to his regiment onApril 2, 1863; but went back to the Memphis Regimental Hospital with asevere cough and severe pain in his right side. Surgeon B. F. Keablescertified that Sparks had chronic bronchitis caused by exposure, andstated that if his life was to be prolonged, he should be discharged. Thecertificate was signed by Col. Aaron Brown, Commanding Officer.

Henry Sparks returned to his home at Farmersburg, Iowa, where he died ashort time later, on June 10, 1863, of acute pneumonia.

On August 15, 1878, Nancy Sparks, aged 75, a resident of Pleasant Grove,Minnesota, applied for a Mother’s Pension. She said she was the widow ofJames Sparks, and the mother of Henry Sparks who had served in Company C,3rd Regiment Iowa Infantry. Her son had died on June 10, 1863, fromdisease incurred while in the service. She had been dependent upon himfor support. She had been married to James Sparks on March 3, 1820, andhe had died on March 6, 1852, leaving her dependent upon her son, Henry.She appointed William E. Preston, Cleveland, Ohio, as her attorney. J. D.Parks and John Collins witnessed her make her mark.

John Collins and Ellinor Burgan, residents of Pleasant Grove, Minnesota,testified on November 26, 1878, that they had been present when JamesSparks, late husband of Nancy Sparks, had died at Giard, Iowa, in 1852.Nancy Sparks had moved to Minnesota in 1868. She had remained a widow. Onthe same day, John Sparks and Mary Stowe, both residents of OlmstedCounty, Minnesota, testified that Henry Sparks, late son of Nancy Sparks,had contributed to her support after she became a widow and that while hewas in the service, he had sent money to her by fellow soldiers who wereon furlough.

On February 13, 1879, the War Department confirmed Sparks’s militaryservice just as it was stated on his Certificate of Discharge.

On June 15, 1880, J. M. Leach, Auditor of Clayton County, Iowa, certifiedthat between 1863 and 1865, Elizabeth Sparks, widow of James Sparks, hadsold land in Clayton County for $769. (it is apparent that NancyElizabeth Sparks was sometimes called Elizabeth.)

Mrs. Nancy Elizabeth Sparks returned to Clayton County, Iowa, in 1881where she settled at McGregor. She was now 80 years old. On May 2, 1882,she made an affidavit to support her claim for a pension Here arepertinent portions from the affidavit:

"I, Elizabeth Sparks, will here testify that I am the mother of HenrySparks who was a member of Co. C, 3rd Iowa Infantry. I have been a widowfor 30 years. My actual residence in 1863 was Parmersburg, Iowa. I soldmy little place in 1866 and moved to Olmsted, Minnesota. I remained thereuntil a year ago, when I came back to Iowa. My postoffice since my returnhas been McGregor. I had at the time of my son Henry’s death 12 children.

"My oldest daughter’s name is Mrs. Patsey Yates. Her age in 1863 was 43years. My next youngone was Allen Sparks who was married at that time.His age in 1863 was 41 years. He was a member of Co. C, 3rd Iowa Vols.The next one is Barton Sparks. He was also married. His age was 39 in1863. James H. Sparks is next. He was a member of an Indiana regiment.Next is Cyrus Sparks. His age in 1863 was 33 years. He was married. Thenext one was Joseph Sparks, who was also married. In 1863, his age was 31years. He was a member of a Minnesota regiment. He died while in theservice at Helena, Arkansas in the year 1863. Next who died in the year1856 was Mrs. Rebecca Moore. Her age in 1863 would have been 29 years.

"The next in order was Henry Sparks who was a member of Co. C, Third IowaInfantry Vols. His age when his death occurred in the year 1863 was 27years. He was not married. Next is William Sparks whose age in 1863 was25 years. He was not married. He was an invalid. He was afflicted withthe white swelling in one leg which rendered him almost helpless. Thenext is Mrs. Mary Stowe. Her age in 1863 was 23 years. Next is Mrs.Elizabeth Kirk. Her age in 1863 was 21 years. Next is John Sparks whoseage in 1863 was 19 years. He was an invalid also. He had white swellingin his ankle which made him almost helpless. He is my youngest child.

"I further state that no person has been legally bound to support mesince the death of my son, Henry Sparks. He was my main support for hewas the only able-bodied son, unmarried. I sold my little piece of landin 1866 to Horace Bagley. I received $500 for it. That small amount wasused up in a short time."

"Mrs. Sparks signed the affidavit as "Elizabeth Sparks" and her mark waswitnessed by Isaac Matthews and Estella Sparks.

"On April 21, 1882, Dr. Elias Hollingsworth, aged 53, and a resident ofClayton County, Iowa, testified that Henry Sparks had died of quickconsumption.

"Mother’s Certificate No. 198,391 was issued to Nancy Elizabeth Sparks,and she was placed upon the pension roll.

(Editor’s Note: The reader is referred to page 2679 of this issue of theQUARTERLY for further information on the family of James and NancyElizabeth (Gilman) Sparks. Specific reference to Henry Sparks, for whoseservice his mother received a pension, is made on page 2682. Additionalinformation on this family has appeared in the following previous issuesof the QUARTERLY:
December 1957, Whole No. 20-----Family of Albert Cyrus Sparks(1830-1915)
December 1959, Whole No. 28-----Picture of James Sparks(ca.l798-1852)
June 1970, Whole No. 70 -----------Joseph Sparks (ea.1777-l838) ofLewis County, Kentucky.
December 1970, Whole No. 72-----Pension file of Allen Sparks(1822-1907)

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Mar 1992, Whole No. 157, p. 3900:

"Henry Sparks, son of Matthew and Alsey (Osburn) Sparks , was bornabout 1837. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Mary Conleyon November 2, 1857, in Johnson County. [See SQ p. 817.] He was 22 yearsof age and Mary was age 16. She had been born about 1841 and was agranddaughter of Edmund and Lydia (Jaynes) Conley, pioneer settlers ofJohnson County.

"(Much of the information that we have about this couple has beenobtained from THE CONLEY CLAN OF EASTERN KENTUCKY, published in 1984 bythe Magoffin County (Kentucky) Historical Society. We are grateful tothe Society for permission to use this material.)

"After the death of his first wife, Mary (Conley) Sparks, Henry Sparkswas married (2nd) to Sarah A. Calvin on October 24, 1884, in JohnsonCounty. He was 48 years old, and it was his second marriage; she wasaged 35 and it was her first marriage. Henry died sometime before the1900 census was taken of Magoffin County. Sarah was listed on thatcensus with her two sons : Rufus Sparks, aged 15, and John Sparks, aged12.

"Following is a record of the children of Henry Sparks; the first ninewere by his first wife, Mary Conley; the last two were by his secondwife, Sarah A. Calvin:
"a. Dicey A. Sparks was born on January 27, 1859. She wasmarried to John Jackson on December 7, 1879, and they had
seven children: Haywood, Larkin, Mary, Virgie, Nancy, Clarence,and Cynthia.
"b. James E. Sparks was born in May 1861. He was a farmer inMagoffin County. He was married to Nucarious Salyer about
1884. She had been born in August 1859 and was a daughter ofJohn and Anna Salyer . Nucarious and James had
five children when the 1900 c ensus was taken of MagoffinCounty. They were: Cora, Angie , Jessie, Earl, and Daniel.
"c. Ritta Elizabeth ["Liddie"] Sparks was born about 1862. Shewas married twice. Her first marriage was to Jacob B. Jackson
on October 4, 1882, and they had ten children. Jacob died in1918, and Liddie was married (2nd) to James Honaker .
She died in 1944. Children by her first marriage were : James,Mahala, Elizabeth, Henry, Laura, John, Larkin, Allen ,
Polly, and Robert.
"d. Jesse H. Sparks was born about 1865.
"e. Mary A. Sparks was born about 1867. She was married to JackShaver.
"f. Daniel W. Sparks was born in December 1870. He was a coalminer. He was married to Minnie L. Crace on May 29, 1890.
She had been born in February 1872. When the 1900 census wastaken of Magoffin County, she and Daniel were
shown with three children; it is quite likely that they hadother children born to them later. These three children were:
Virgil, Ida, and Adam.
"g. Matthew L. Sparks was born in March 1873. He was marriedtwice. His first marriage was to George Ann May on March 31,
1893. She had been born in January 1877. She and Matthew hadeight children before her death, which occurred in
1913. Matthew was married (2nd) to Cindy Lemaster, and theyhad two children. Matthew died in 1926. Children by his
first marriage were Marsha ["Minnie"], Edward, Ellis, Kelly,Bunis, Bertha, Elizabeth, and Dicey. By his second m
arriage, Matthew had children named Virgil and Dona.
"h. Sarah Elizabeth Sparks was born about 1875.
"i. Josephine Sparks was born about 1878. She was married toJackson Shaver, and they had two children, Frank and James.
"j. Rufus Sparks, son of Henry and Sarah (Calvin) Sparks, wasborn in January, 1885.
"k. John E. Sparks was born in June, 1887."

SQ 393: "Henry Sparks, born November 25, 1841. He married Elizab eth---
and died in April, 1882

SQ p. 408:

"Henry Sparks, brother of William R. and Emerson Sparks,, who wasmentioned frequently in William's letters, was born November 25, 1841.He married Elizabeth E. Grant in Wells County, Indiana, on August 22,1867. They are known to have had at least one child, Oscar W. Sparks,born in 1869. Henry Sparks died in April, 1882.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: He was married to Floy Dobbs, and they had at least n inechildren; however, we have learned the name of only one of them , Opal.

SQ p. 2624:

" Henry Sparks lived in Salina, Kansas. He is said to have had foursons. Isaac Sparks became a most successful businessman in Smithfield,Illinois. He was president of the telephone company, chairman of theBoaxd of Education, and mayor of the town. His photograph appears on thefollowing page."

.
!NOTES:
See Sparks Quarterly, March 1996, Whole No. 173, p. 4594:
"Henry Augustine Franklin Sparks was born in February 1869; he die d in
March 1957. He was married to Olive Stone. Their children were named
Dillard, Verta, Erastus, and Ann D."

See note under his father, Ephriam (228), concerning a phone callreceived by Paul Sparks from Lewis Pembrook Sparks who was Henry ClaySparks's son.

!NOTES:
SQ 3872: Henry H. Sparks was married to Jennie Crance on Decembe r24, 1896,
in Lawrence County, Ohio. She had been born in March 1872 and wa s adaughter
of Jacob and Elizabeth Crance. Henry Sparks died on May 2, 1900, an dJennie
died on October 17, 1905. They had two children, Boyd and Henry Monr oe.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 1984, Whole No. 127, p. 2674:

"DEATH TAKES HENRY HATCIL SPARKS"

"We regret to report the death of Henry Hatcil Sparks who was agenerous
supporter of The Sparks Family Association for several years. He died onJanuary 17, 1984, in the Hickman County (Tennessee) Hospital. He issurvived by a daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Stephenson of Centerville,Tennessee.
"Hatcil Sparks was born on January 21, 1902, and was a son of James J.and Julia (Kelly) Sparks. James J. Sparks was a son of Jesse andElizabeth (Jones) Sparks, and a grandson of Matthew and Sarah (Thompson)Sparks." (JS: This statement is not correct. Hatcil Sparks was a sonof James J. and Julia (Kelly) Sparks, Jr. James J. Sparks, Jr. was a sonof James J. and Rhoda (Murphree) Sparks. James Senior was a son of Jesseand Elizabeth (Jones) Sparks. Jesse was a son of Matthew and Sarah(Thompson) Sparks.)
"See the following issues of the QUARTERLY for further details ofthis family: September 1958, Whole No. 23; June 1961, Whole No. 34;September 1966, Whole No. 55; and June 1968, Whole No. 62."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1990, Whole No. 149, for a majorarticle on the descendants of Jesse and Elizabeth (Jones) Sparks and onp. 3552 for mention of Henry Hatcil Sparks stating "Henry was a highlysuccessful farmer and cattle-raiser in the Only, Tennessee, community."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1991, Whole No. 156, p. 3871:

"Henry J. Sparks was married to Elizabeth Rouse on September 26, 1861,in Boyd County, Kentucky. She had been born in September 1836 in GreenupCounty, Kentucky, and was a daughter of Samuel and Mary "Polly" (Payne)Rouse. Henry served in the 14th Regiment Kentucky Infantry during theCivil War. (See an abstract of his pension file on page 3877 of thepresent issue of the QUARTERLY [reproduced below]). He died on August27, 1905, in Lewis County, Kentucky, and Elizabeth died there on May 13,1917. They had eight children."

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION

HENRY SPARKS, son of Thomas and Catherine (Jayne) Sparks, was born inMarch 1839 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He was married to ElizabethRouse on September 26, 1861, in Boyd County, Kentucky. He served inCompany A, 14th Regiment Kentucky Infantry. File Designation: Inv.Cert. No. 237,155. Wid. Cert. No. 606,330.

"Henry Sparks apparently made application for an invalid pension inthe early part of 1878, for on September 21st of that year, the WarDepartment confirmed his military service to the Bureau of Pensions.Sparks had been enrolled in Company A, 14th Regiment Kentucky Infantry,asa private on April 22, 1863, at Louisa, Kentucky, for a period of threeyears. He had been present for duty until July 1863 when he had beenreported sick and in the hospital at Ashland, Kentucky. He had remainedabsent until December 31, 1863 when he had rejoined his company. He hadbeen present for duty until March 1864 when he had been hospitalizedagain at Ashland. He had rejoined his unit in December 1864 and had beenmustered out with the company at Camp Dennison, Ohio, on July 10, 1865.

"The original application of Henry Sparks is apparently missing fromhis pension file, but he was issued a pension in 1878 under InvalidCertificate No. 237,155. Then, in October 1891, Sparks, age 51, and aresident of Crum, Lewis County, Kentucky, again made application forpension benefits. He said that at the time of his enlistment he had been23 years of age; he was 6 feet, 1 inch tall, and he had a lightcomplexion with dark eyes and hair. He said that because of the exposureto the cold and weather during the march from Louisa, Kentucky, toVirginia in February 1864, he had been stricken with a heavy cold whichsettled in his lungs and also affected his liver. He had been treated atAshland, Kentucky, by Dr. McMillin during the summer of 1864, but thedisease had not cleared up and he was now totally disabled and unable toearn his living as a farmer. Since leaving the service, he had lived inBoyd and Lewis Counties, Kentucky. He was receiving a pension of $16.00per month. E. D. Sparks and G. M. Sparks witnessed his signature. Thereis nothing among the selected papers sent from his pension file by theNational Archives to indicate the action taken by the Bureau of Pensionson this application for increased benefits.

"On September 7, 1897, Henry Sparks responded to a questionnaire fromthe Bureau of Pensions. He stated that he had been married to ElizabethRouse in Boyd County, Kentucky, on September 26, 1861, by the Rev. JohnCrooks. It had been the first marriage for both. To this marriage,eight children had been born, all of whom were living in 1897. They were:

Samuel T. Sparks, born 1862 Everett D. Sparks, born 1870
Mary C. Sparks, born 1865 Anna Laura Sparks, born 1872
Jennie E. Sparks, born 1867 Henry Sparks, born 1874
George M. Sparks, born 1868 James D. Sparks, born 1876

"When Henry Sparks died on August 27, 1905, he was receiving a pensionof $30.00 per month. His widow, Elizabeth Sparks, made application for awidow's pension on September 23, 1905. She said she was 69 years of ageand lived at Valley, Lewis County, Kentucky. She stated that she waswithout any means to support herself. She appointed S. G. Hillis ofVanceburg, Kentucky, as her attorney. T. M. Bowman and J. M. Leewitnessed her make her mark and the application was notarized by 0. P.Pollitt, Lewis County Clerk. Ellis E. Laurance, Boyd County, Kentucky,Clerk, sent a copy of the marriage record of Henry Sparks and ElizabethRouse. They had been married on September 26, 1861, at the home ofSamuel Rouse in the presence of William Craft and Richard Rouse by theRev. John C. Crooks.

"Elizabeth Sparks was issued a widow's pension under Widow CertificateNo. 606,330. When she died on May 13, 1917, she was receiving $60 permonth.

*******************

SQ pg.1551:Sparks Marriages in Boyd County, Kentucky, Marriage Bonds(1860-1905):

Henry Sparks and Elizabeth Rouse, September 26, 1861. (Book 1a, page(124) He single, age 23, born Lawrence County, Ky., father born in NorthCarolina. She single, age 23, born Greenup County, Ky., permissionproved by Saml. Rouse. W. W. Craft, bondsman.

SQ 3865: Henry S. "Doodle" Sparks was born in March 1873. He wasmarried twice. His first marriage was to Coot Kinser. His secondmarriage was to Mrs. Lula (---) Adkins.

SQ p. 4751:

"Henry Thomas and Sara lived in Olive Hill, Kentucky, where hepracticed medicine for many years. He died on April 4, 1937. Prior totheir divorce, he and Sara had three children. They were: HarmonSparks, Clarence Sparks, and Henry Thomas Sparks, Jr. Sara was married,second, to William C. Daniel. She died about 1965. (See page 3864 ofthe December 1991 issue of THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Whole No. 156, forfurther details of the ancestry of Henry Thomas Sparks.)

SQ p. 4639:

"Henry Wadsworth Sparks was born on August 12, 1861. He became aphysician. He was married to Sarah Ellen Boggs in 1885 in LawrenceCounty. She had been born in March 1869 and was a daughter of Hendersonand Mary (Fields) Boggs. Henry began the practice of medicine at Denton,Kentucky, but about 1901, he moved to Ashland, Kentucky. He died there ashort time later on February 26, 1902. Sarah Ellen died in 1909. Theyhad three children: Belva Sparks, Mary Evelyn Sparks, and Sophia LucilleSparks."

SQ p 3904:

"Henry Wilcox Sparks, son of Daniel and Sarah (Jayne ) Sparks, wasborn on November 11, 1836, on Hood Creek in Lawrence County, and this iswhere he spent the rest of his life. He was a most successful farmer andowned a grist mill, sawmill, and a tannery. He was also a justice of thepeace. He was married to Diadema Bentley on August 30, 18 67, in LetcherCounty, Kentucky.

"She had been born in Letcher County on February 10, 1848. HenrySparks brought his bride to Lawrence County where they reared twelvechildren. Diadema died on July 19, 1914, and Henry died on april 27,1923. They were buried in the family cemetery on Hood Creek.

a. Emma Cornelia Sparks was born on March 22, 1868. She wasmarried twice. Her first marriage was to Elijah Brown by whomshe had at least one child, McGuire Brown. Her secondmarriage was to John A. White.

b. Rachel Alafair Sparks was born on September 10, 1869. She was married three times.

Her first marriage was to John C. B. Barker on February 17, 1887. He had been born on October 16, 1858, and was a son of Peter and Marina (Fairchild) Barker. John and Rachel hadseven children: Ida, William, Henry, George, Stella, Eli, andBenjamin.

Rachel's second marriage was to George A. Bayes, and they had four children: John, Gusta, Frank, and Carl.

Rachel was married (3rd) to Henry Lemaster; they had no children. Rachel died on March 15 , 1943.

c. Daniel J. Sparks was born on September 23, 1871. He moved toArizona
where he died at Sefford. He had no children.

d. Peter William Sparks was born on September 22, 1872. He wasmarried to Jenny Hayes on February 13, 1896. She hadbeen born on April 22, 1877, and was a daughter ofMilton and Jane (Cordle) Hayes. According to relatives,Peter and Jenny had four children: James, Nora, Goldie, andMilton. Jennie died February 12, 1912, and Peter died May 29,1941.

e. Clarinda ["Rinda"] Sparks was born on March 9, 1874. Shewas married
to Jack ["Dock"] Wheeler about 1895, and they had at leastthree children: Diadema, Daniel, and Nora. They livedat Minford, Ohio.

f. John Henry Sparks was born on September 7, 1875. He was marriedto
Bertha B. Pack in 1908 in Lawrence County. She had beenborn on May
18, 1887, and was a daughter of Lee and Essie Pack. JohnHenry remained on his grandfather's home placewhere he became a most successful farmer under theguidance of his father. He and Bertha had fourchildren: William, Marjorie , Marvin, and Jewell.

(William D. Sparks, eldest child of John Henry and Bertha(Pack) Sparks, was a highly successful educator and attorney ineastern Kentucky. He was elected Lawrence CountyAttorney while still in the army in Europe during World War II .Subsequently, he was elected as Commonswealth's Attorney (StateAttorney General?). In 1955, he was elected as judge of the 24thJudicial District of Kentucky, a position he held until hisretirement in 1976. He and his wife, the former Mary Lou Branham,had four children: Martha, William, Janie, and Daniel. He died on October 16, 1988. His photograph appears in the QUARTERLY at the top of page 3906.)

g. Angeline Mahala ["Haley"] Sparks was born on June 26,1877. She was married to Joshua Chambers Chandler on July 18,1893. He had been born in October 1874. He and Haley lived atBeaver, Ohio, where they reared three children: William,Selse, and John.

h. Christopher Columbus ["Lum"] Sparks was born on Septermber20, 1878. He served in the U. S. Army in the Spanish-American Warand died in the Philippine Islands while in the service on May 3 ,1901.

i. Benjamin Franklin Sparks was born on March 28, 1881. Hewent to Arizona where he died on April 26, 1941.He had no children.

j. Della Sparks was born on October 14, 1882. She went toArizona where she was a successful business woman. Shedied at Sefford, Arizona, on February 1, 1955. She wasnever married. A photograph of Della Sparks appears in theQUARTERLY on page 3907.

k. Stella Sparks was born on October 14, 1882, and was a twinsister of
Della Sparks. She was married to Stanton B. Nickell in1901 in Law-
rence County, and they had at least one child, a son namedOrie Nickell.

l. Sarah Jane Sparks was born March 8, 1885. She was marriedto Burnham Roberts in 1903. He had been born about 1880and was a son of Reed and Mary Jayne (Smith) Roberts. He and SarahJane had five children: Robert, Ardella, Mary Jane, Zona, andThelma. Sarah Jane died on September 19, 1942."

Herbert Blackman Sparks, Jr. emailed to me the names of thedescendants of Albert Sidney Sparks and the correct name of Herbert'sGrandmother. (Junior's address was (11/99) hspa@@mcgriff.com]

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3944: He was married twice. We have not learned the name o fhis first wife, who is said to have died in a fire. They had tw ochildren, Chester and Virginia. Herbert married (2nd) Sarah Sloas , andthey had four children: Marion, Donald, David, and Jenny Sparks.

SQ pg 2633:

"His mother died when he was less than four weeks old and he wasreared by Ensly and Sadie Cory (dear friends of his older sister, Nol aMay Sparks) as their child. He was never adopted, however, but carriedthe Cory name. He did not know that his original name was Sparks untilhe was 14 years old when the long-held secret was revealed to himaccidentally. Ensly Cory was a farmer and the family lived near Colfax,Indiana. Herschel Floyd Cory (i.e. Herschel Floyd Sparks ) was marriedto Lena J. Hutchison on August 22, 1906. She was the daughter of IraIsiah and Easter (Dunbar) Hutchison. Floyd Cory, as he was better known,was a rural letter carrier out of Colfax, Indiana , for many years. Thefamily owned and operated the Cory Greenhouse until their retirement andsubsequent move to Frankfort, Indiana."

SQ p 4878: "Hiram Sparks, son of Reuben and Margaret (Pruitt) Sparks,was born in Kentucky about 1847. He was still living with his parents(he was then aged 22), when the 1870 census was taken of Crawford County,Kansas, but by 1880 he had been married, although he was shown as afarmer living very near his parents in Sheridan Township, CrawfordCounty. His wife's name was given as Catherine on the 1880 census, andthey had a two-year-old son named John W. Sparks."

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3413: They had a son, Homer Gene Sparks.

SQ p. 1502:
Honora (or Honor) Sparks, was born about 1817, Her grandmother, KatharineSparks, left one-third of her
farm to her while her mother also left property to her in her will of1867. She apparently never married. She was
listed as living alone on both the 1870 and 1880 censuses of NicholasCounty. She gave Kentucky as the birth
place of both of her parents on the 1880 census.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3363: She was married twice, first to --- Delano and secon d to
--- Huddleston.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3469: They had one child, Myron Sparks.

SQ p 4641:

"Hugh Sparks, son of Garrett and Betsy (Boggs) Sparks, was born about1834 in Lawrence County, Kentucky. He should not be confused with arelative, Hugh S. Sparks, who was born in 1829, also in Lawrence County.Hugh was a sixteen- year-old lad who was living with his parents when the1850 census was taken of Lawrence County, but he was not in the familywhen the 1860 census was taken. Undoubtedly, the talk of a civil war inthe United States broke many family ties and Hugh's relationship with hisfamily may have been this kind of casualty. [When the compiler of thisarticle began his genealogical interest in the Sparkses of LawrenceCounty fifty years ago, he was told that Hugh Sparks, son of GarrettSparks, had gone to Kansas, unmarried, and had died while driving asupply wagon during the Civil War. It was not until 1990 that he learnedthat Hugh Sparks had not died during the Civil War, but had married andhad a family of five children]

"We have learned very little about the life of Hugh Sparks. All ofthe information that we have has been furnished by a descendant, Dr. PaulO. Madsen, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. According to Dr. Madsen,Hugh Sparks was married to Virginia Jane Elkins about 1863, probably innewly-formed West Virginia. She had been born about 1836 in Virginia,and her parents were natives of that state. She and Hugh had fivechildren, all born in Virginia. When the 1880 census was taken ofArkansas, the family was in Ruddell Township of Independence County. Wehave learned nothing further of Hugh. Virginia died in 1917 in HuntCounty, Texas."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 176, pp. 4758-60:

FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HUGH SPARKS
BORN ABOUT 1834 IN LAWRENCE COUNTY, KENTUCKY
SON OF GARRETT SPARKS
By Paul O. Madsen

"[Editor's Note: The June 1996 Issue of The Sparks Quarterly, WholeNo. 174, contained an article about Levi Sparks (1778-1851) of LawrenceCounty, Kentucky, and some of his descendants. Levi was the eldest sonof John and Sarah (Shores) Sparks and was a brother of George G. Sparks(1796-1879) whose life and descendants have been featured in the presentissue of the Quarterly.

"[Among Levi Sparks's grandchildren was Hugh Sparks, a son of Garrettand Betsey (Boggs) Sparks, who apparently left his home about 1860 andwas not heard of by his Lawrence County relatives until just a few yearsago. For this reason, much of Hugh's life is still unknown; however, itis gradually being pieced together by a descendant, Dr. Paul O. Madsen.Dr. Madsen has agreed to share the story of the life of hisgreat-grandfather, Hugh Sparks, as he has uncovered it so far. Dr.Madsen lives at White Horse Village, V-157, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania,19073.]

"Hugh Sparks, my great-grandfather, was born in 1834 in LawrenceCounty, Kentucky. His parents were Garrett Sparks and Elizabeth (Boggs)Sparks. (Garrett's name was also spelled Garred, Jarrett, Jarat, Jaared,etc.)

"Little is known of Hugh's early life. He married Virginia JaneElldns who was born in 1836 in Virginia. Extensive searching over aperiod of years In various archives has provided no information onVirginia Jane Elkins and her family. It needs to be remembered thatduring the years that are missing, there was substantial friction infamilies over those who related to the Union and those who related to theConfederacy. Records were lost and destroyed in the war years and theaftermath. This was also the period when the state of Virginia was beingdivided with the creation of the state of West Virginia. Thus, researchbecomes quite difficult.

"Hugh and Virginia Jane were married sometime in 1864 or perhapsearlier. Their first living child was Cynthia Anne Sparks (thegrandmother of the writer) who was born in Virginia on February 4, 1865.Her brother, Hugh J. Sparks, was born January 28, 1867, also in Virginia.

"The United States census records of Virginia and Kentucky for 1860and 1870 con-tain no information on Hugh Sparks. The 1880 census recordsprove that the family was living in Independence County, Arkansas, inthat year.

"The family had moved to Kentucky sometime between 1867 and 1870 forMargaret Sparks, the third child, was born in Kentucky, April 10, 1870.Sarah Sparks was born in 1874, also In Kentucky, and died in her teenyears. Adelaide Sparks was born February 8, 1876, In Kentucky. She diedon April 3, 1956.

"Cynthia Anne Sparks married Robert Franklin Goodman on January 3,1889. They had eight children. Hugh J. Sparks married Laura Etta Brookson February 6, 1889. They had five children. Margaret Sparks marriedNick Brooks on December 25, 1889. They had four children. The recordsIn Independence County, Arkansas, indicate that each couple was marriedby D. M. Tucker, an "ordained minister of the Gospel." The family homewas In the general vicinity of Batesville, Arkansas. Three weddings inone year in the Hugh Sparks family must have caused some excitement.

"Adelaide Sparks married Charles Gaston Crable, but information isscant for her and her husband. Her three children are deceased.

"The descendants of Hugh and Virginia Sparks are now widely separatedthroughout the United States. However, there Is a concentration ofdescendants in the Fort Worth, Graham, and Jean, Texas, areas. Variouscousins have repeated the same basic story to the writer about the exodusfrom Virginia, though there has been some variation concerning details.The basic story is that Hugh Sparks was a man with a temper. He becameembroiled In a dispute with a neighbor, presumably over a land issue,which ended in shooting. Two of the oral stories say that the shootingresulted in a death, but that cannot be confirmed. According to onefamily member who knew "Granny" (Virginia [Elkins] Sparks), the Elkinsfamily assisted Hugh and Virginia Jane in their leaving their home inVirginia, "on the condition that they would sever all ties" with thefamilies in Virginia. Virginia Jane told some of her family members inTexas that she always regretted that she had obeyed the family injunctionto sever all ties.

"The writer searched courthouse records in Batesville, Arkansas, andfound a tax assessment levied against Hugh Sparks for the following:

one poll tax
Two neat cattle (oxen) valued at $10 One mule, valued at $60
One hog, $1. 00
One wagon, $40
All other goods at $50 for a total of $166.22

"The record further indicated that he could not pay the poll tax. Thetotal taxes due were $286.75, which included three state taxes (generalfund, school and sinking fund). The county taxes were for generalpurposes, road and bridge work, and a new courthouse.

"Vital records in Arkansas and Texas yield no information on the deathof Hugh Sparks. Nick Brooks and Margaret (Sparks) Brooks had fourchildren. After Margaret's death, Nick then married Laura Goodman. Theymoved in 1906 to the Graham, Texas, area. Hugh J. Sparks, son of HughSparks, also moved to the area and was buried In Jean, Texas. TheGoodmans (Cynthia Anne Sparks) settled in the Alvarado, Texas, area whereCynthia Anne was buried.

"Virginia Jane (Elkins) Sparks died about 1917. Again, no deathrecord has been found. However, there are records that she went to WolfeCity, Texas, to be of assistance to her daughter who had influenza. Thedaughter survived, but Virginia Jane (Elkins) Sparks caught the flu inthat epidemic and died about that time. Family lore has it that she wasburied in a cemetery there. However, the cemetery records that containthe records for her daughter and her family do not yield any informationon Virginia Jane.

"Genealogical research is often interesting and, more often,frustrating. The writer found in his early research that the name LauraBrooks was in records, but in such a way that there were discrepanciesthat left one completely bewildered. There was a major difference in therecorded ages of each woman. It was also obvious that each Laura Brookswas a part of the family, somehow, though one was not of the direct bloodline. The answer was found when the marriage records mentioned abovewere studied carefully. Margaret Sparks, sister to Cynthia Anne, marriedNick Brooks. Thus, Nick Brooks was the brother-in-law of Cynthia. Nickhad a sister, named Laura Brooks, who married Hugh J. Sparks, brother ofCynthia and Margaret. Margaret died after a few years. In the meantime,Cynthia Anne had married Frank Goodman and became the step-mother toLaura Goodman. When Margaret (Sparks) Brooks died, Nick Brooks thenmarried Laura Goodman, and she became Laura Brooks thus accounting forthe two Laura Brookses. Nick now had a wife and a sister each namedLaura. Cynthia Anne, who had been a sister-in-law to Nick Brooks, nowfound herself in the position of being the step-mother to his wife.

"Since Nick Brooks had married Margaret Sparks and Hugh J. Sparks hadmarried Laura Brooks, the children were double cousins, being relatedboth through the maternal and paternal sides of the family. When NickBrooks married Laura Goodman, their children became half-cousins to thechildren of Laura (Brooks) Sparks and Hugh Sparks.

"Extensive information is available on the various branches of thefamily in the succeeding generations."

See SQ p4855:

"Hugh Sparks, son of Wes and Nancy (Kozee) Sparks, was born on April23, 1856. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Rose Anna["Lady"] Gilbert about 1874. She had been born about 1856 and was adaughter of Thomas Gilbert. She and Hugh had five children before herdeath, which occurred about 1890. Hugh was married (second) to MalindaStephens on June 14, 1896, in Elliott County. She had been born in April1873. Apparently, she and Hugh had no children."
"Hugh Sparks was shown as head of his household on the 1880 census ofElliott County, but when the 1900 census was taken, he was in BoydCounty. He was back in Elliott County in 1908, according to a schoolcensus. We have found no record of his death. By his first marriage hehad five children."

See SQ p4855:
"Hugh Sparks was born on July 20, 1874. He was married to CynthiaAlafair Fannin on January 1, 1894, in Elliott County. She had been bornin August 1877 and was a daughter of Alfred Fannin. Alafair (as she wascalled) and Hugh lived near Hurricane, Kentucky. He died there in 1949,and Alafair died there in 1961. They were buried in the Hugh SparksCemetery on Wallowhole Creek. They had nine children. They were:Malinda Jane Sparks, Emily S. Sparks, Greenville Sparks, James Sparks,John Wesley Sparks, Bird Sparks"

SQ p. 4639:

"Hugh H. Sparks was born on September 17, 1867. A relative statesthat he became a minister; however, no proof has been found that this istrue. He was shot and killed by a cousin while he was a young man. Asthe incident is remembered, Hugh and his cousin, Nathan Gambill, wereriding home at night when they met Milton Caudill, a close friend ofHugh. An argument ensued and lasted until the trio reached Gambill'shouse, where Gambill went in and got his gun. He was ready to shootCaudill when Sparks interposed himself in an effort to shield his friendand was shot by Gambill. Sparks died on June 28, 1892."

Hugh Henry Sparks was born in June 1882. He was married to Lyon. He waskilled in a mining accident.

See SQ p 4857:

"Hugh "Hewey" Thadius Sparks was born on March 1, 1901. He wasmarried to Emma Lee Skaggs on April 28, 1927. She had been born on June20, 1907, and was a daughter of Phillip and Lizzie Ann (Coffee) Skaggs.Hewey was an oil-well-pumper. He and Emma were members of the Big BlaineUnited Baptist Church. He died on November 30, 1971. Emma died on May13, 1985. They were buried in the Morton Sparks Cemetery at Blaine,Kentucky. They had one child, Lucille Ruth Sparks."

THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, Dec 1991, Whole No. 156, pps3850-53:

FURTHER THOUGHTS ON THE FATE OF HUGHS. SPARKS
by Paul E. Sparks.

[Editor's note: A number of years ago, Dr. Paul E. Sparks, presidentof our association, prepared a record pertaining to hisgreat-grandfather, Hugh S. Sparks. Paul wrote this for members of hisimmediate family, but your editor has obtained his permission to publishit here and thus share the story with a larger audience. Not only doesthis provide a fascinating glimpse of the horrors of the Civil War but italso illustrates how persistent research into the lives of our ancestorscan sometimes solve family mysteries of long ago.

[Paul learned part of this story from his grandfather, Colby Sparks,who was born on September 22, 1857, at Mount Savage, Carter County ,Kentucky, and who died on June 3, 1951, at Louisa, Kentucky, at the ageof 93. He was a son of Hugh S. Sparks and Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks. Aphotograph of Colby and his wife, Martha (Chaffin) Sparks, with theirson, James William Sparks (born January 18, 1880), appears on the coverof this issue of the SQ.

[Paul believes that neither his grandfather, Colby Sparks, nor any onein his immediate family, ever knew what had become of his father . Paulhas written: "Many years ago, a person not related to the Sparkses toldme that he well remembered how Colby (my grandfather) and Hugh Sparks(Grandpa's brother) went to West Virginia once to 'track down' a rumorthat their father was alive and living in a remote section of that state."

[A brief autobiography of Dr. Paul E. Sparks appeared in the QUARTERLYof December 1956, Whole No. 16, pp. 183-84. A record of his branch ofthe Sparks family appeared in the QUARTERLY of December 1955 , Whole No.12. Hugh S. Sparks, Paul's great-grandfather, and the subject of thefollowing account, is noted there on page 102; he was born on May 21,1829, and was a son of George and Nancy (Short) Sparks.]

"Most of you who will receive this paper will remember that ourgrandfather, Colby Sparks, told us many times about his experiences as asmall boy during the Civil War. What some of you may not know, however,is that prior to his death, Grandpa and Aunt Rose wrote his memoriesdown. A copy of her notes, typed by our cousin, Margaret Graham Thomas,was sent to me recently. After doing some research, I have changed mymind about the fate of our great-grandfather, Hugh S. Sparks.

"Our great-grandfather, Hugh S. Sparks, participated in the Civil W aras a soldier in the Confederate States Army. Grandpa was fond ofrecalling incidents that happened when his father would come home fromthe war. His last remembrance of his father was when he rode away inFebruary before peace was made, and never returned. Grandpa died in 1951without knowing what had happened to his father.

"After grandpa's death, I wrote to the National Archives to see if anymilitary records could be found of Hugh S. Sparks who had served in the5th Regiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry, Confederate States Army. Ireceived the following information, most of which I have shared with youpreviously:

Hugh S. Sparks was present for duty in Company C, commanded by Capt.Hiram Hawkins, from October 19, 1861, to June 30, 1862. On February 4,1862, he was promoted to First Sergeant. He was captured by Union forceson September 1, 1862, in Lawrence County, and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio.Three weeks later he was transferred to Cairo, Illinois, where he was putaboard the river steamer, The Emerald, and taken to Vicksburg,Mississippi. He was exchanged there on November 1, 1862. No furtherrecords of him have been found.

"At this point in my search, I concluded that Hugh Sparks never didreturn to his family, nor to Lawrence or Carter Counties. Thisconclusion, I am now convinced, was incorrect. New evidence has beenfound that proves that he did, in fact, return to his family and that ,in all probability, he was killed in the guerrilla warfare that markedthe Civil War in eastern Kentucky. I have tried to fit this newinformation into a proper sequence to share with you. I have also triedto fit in the recollections that Grandpa dictated to Aunt Rose.

"On or about December 15, 1862, a party of Rebels, possibly members ofField's Company of Partisan Rangers, captured four Union soldiers (ormore probably Union sympathizers) at Sink Roberts' farm on Cat Fork ofBlaine Creek. As Grandpa described the incident, those men "were fourmore noted characters, viz., Hi Huff, Wash Shelton, James Ross, and MintBall, who were not Union soldiers, but claimed the Union side. They (theRebels) took them by way of Dry Fork to Bruin, a tributary of LittleSandy. Those boys never came back."

"Grandpa continued his tale: "Shortly after this, father and I werepassing where they were buried. Father sang, `Ha! Ha! Ha! Don' t yousee me now crying to free the niggers, when the Rebels pulled thetriggers, and sent you on your way to the happy land of Canaan. ' Whilefather sang, he had me dance on their graves."

"Official records confirm Grandpa's story. These men were capturedand taken to the head of Wells branch, a narrow hollow near the placewhere Lawrence, Carter, and Elliott Counties come together. There theywere shot to death and stripped naked. Their bodies were placed in ashallow mass grave and covered with flat rocks. Several days later, onDecember 30, 1862, the bodies were discovered. After the discovery,Ross's body was taken away and reburied in the Boggs Cemetery on CainesCreek in Lawrence County. The other bodies were reburied on Wells Branchin unmarked graves.

"Note that this incident took place on or about December 15, 1862 .This was about six weeks after Hugh S. Sparks had been exchanged as aprisoner-of-war at Vicksburg. For this reason, I am now convinced thathe did return to his family in Carter County.

"Why were these four men killed? The primary reason, of course, wasthe enmity and hard-feelings caused by the Civil War. It was also saidthat these men were responsible for the arrest and imprisonment of someof their neighbors. At least one of the men was known as a thief and forhis "general cussidness." Al four, according to Grandpa, were "notedcharacters."

"Hiram Huff had enlisted in the Union Army, but had been dischargedbecause of poor eyesight. He had returned home and had joined anorganization called the Home Guards. He was wanted for counterfeiting inJohnson County, Kentucky. Wash Shelton was a constant companion of Hufffrom the outbreak of the war until their deaths. James Ross lived atFielden, Kentucky. He and James Minton Ball were said to have been ontheir way to enlist in the army when they were killed.

"We can only guess about the role that Hugh Sparks played in thesekillings. Quite certainly, he knew of the killings and where the bodieshad been buried. We have no way of knowing whether he participated inthe killings or not. We can be sure that he felt a bitter hatred towardsthese men, as Grandpa's memories show, or he would not have treated theirdeaths so callously.

"On March 16, 1863, Hugh Sparks joined Field's Company of PartisanRangers in Lawrence County. Three months later, at the June 1863 term ofthe Carter County Circuit Court, he and his brother, John W. Sparks,along with ten other men, were indicted by the grand jury for stealing ahorse from H. Easterling which was valued at $4.00. Of course, there wasno trial. That fall, on October 16, 1863, his brother John W. Sparks,was captured in Magoffin County and sent to the prisoner-of-war camp atJohnson's Island, Ohio, where he was kept until the end of the war.

"In January 1865, Field's Company of Partisan Rangers was reorganizedas Company M, 10th Regiment Kentucky Cavalry, Confederate States Army.The regiment was furloughed at the same time and many of the men returnedto their homes. It seems quite likely that Hugh Sparks was home inFebruary 1865, just before peace was made, as Grandpa remembered.

"The final piece of evidence pertaining to the fate of Hugh S. Sparkscomes from Dr. Nelson T. Rice of Blaine, Kentucky, and a Union soldierduring the Civil War. A short time before his death, Dr. Rice told amember of the Ross family that David Ross, a Union soldier and a son ofJames Ross who was killed on Wells Branch, had shot and killed a Rebelsoldier named Sparks. Although the killing may have been for revenge, itwas also an official act, for in early 1865, Union troops in Kentuckywere ordered to kill Rebel Guerrillas on sight without mercy. It isestimated that Federal forces in eastern Kentucky exterminated three ormore guerrillas per month in this way.

"We have searched the military records of the persons named Sparks inthis section of Kentucky who fought on either side in the Civil War. Tothe best of our knowledge, Hugh S. Sparks was the only Sparks who servedin this conflict whose whereabouts we cannot account for after the warended. Little wonder that Grandpa and his brothers never found theirfather nor learned what had happened to him."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, December 1996, Whole No. 176, pp. 4725-6:

"Hugh S. Sparks, son of George G. and Nancy (Short) Sparks, was bornon May 21, 1829, in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Some descendants say thatthe Initial "S" stood for Stokes, but no record has been found to confirmthis statement. A relative also said that he went to Mississippi when hewas a teen-age lad and spent a few years there, returning to Kentuckyabout 1850.

"Most of the information that we have of Hugh Sparks has come from hisson, Colby Sparks, by word of mouth. Colby was almost eight years oldwhen his father left home to return to his unit in February 1865, just ashort time before the end of the Civil War. Colby remembered that he wasa handsome man with black hair and mustache, a fair complexion, and aready smile.

"Hugh Sparks was married to Nancy Curnutte on April 10, 1852, inCarter County, Kentucky, by Daniel Carroll, a Baptist minister. She hadbeen born on October 7, 1834, and was a daughter of William and Polly(Berry) Curnutte. Hugh and Nancy began housekeeping near the village ofMount Savage in Carter County where he worked in the iron industry as acollier. When the 1860 census was taken, they had four children.

"Hugh acquired a Bible, printed in 1857 by the American Bible Society,in which he recorded the births and deaths of members of the family. Thelast entry he made in the Bible was the birth of his son, Hugh Sparks,Jr. in 1862. The Bible is now in the possession of agreat-great-grandson, Colby Sparks.

"The first child of Hugh and Nancy was born in 1853. The birth leftNancy feeling poorly, and a younger sister, Elizabeth Curnutte, came tohelp with the baby and take care of the house. She was afifteen-year-old girl and promptly fell In love with her brother-in-lawand became pregnant. She gave birth to a son in 1855, an event that Hughrecorded in the Bible. She and her son were living in the Sparkshousehold when the 1860 census was taken. (See Item E, 7, below.)

"The activities of Hugh Sparks during the Civil War have been told Inan earlier issue of The Sparks Quarterly and will not be retold here.Evidence points strongly to his death in the spring of 1865 as a guerillain eastern Kentucky, probably in Lawrence County. After his sons weregrown, they made a trip to West Virginia to try to find him, but theyfound nothing. (See the December 1991 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No.156.) [JJS: Reproduced above]

"Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks made some effort to keep her family togetherafter the war ended and her husband did not return. When the 1870 censuswas taken of Lawrence County, she was shown as head of her household inthe lst Precinct. She was 35 years old and was described as"housekeeper." With her were her children: Elizabeth Sparks, 17; JamesSparks, 14; Colby Sparks, 12; George Sparks, 10; and Hugh Sparks, 8.

"Shortly after the 1870 census was taken of Lawrence County, Nancy(Curnutte) Sparks gave birth on September 7, 1870, to her seventh child,a son whom she named William.

"Billy Sparks, as he was called, grew to maturity in Lawrence Countyand was married there to Elizabeth ["Lizzie"] Sammons in 1888. She hadbeen born on March 11, 1868, and was a daughter of Joel and Anna (Copley)Sammons. Billy and Lizzie lived on Yellow Creek in southeastern LawrenceCounty where Billy was a farmer and a Baptist preacher. They had twelvechildren: Nora, Gertrude, Effie, Joel, George, Rosa Bell, Charlie,Lindsey, Bennett, Blanche, Maud, and Ella. Billie died on April 7, 1947,and Lizzie died on November 6, 1963.

"Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks was married to Bobby Stewart about 1877, andthey moved to Iowa where they stayed about three years. Bobby became illand Nancy brought him back to Kentucky. They apparently separatedshortly after their return, and Nancy then made her living byhousekeeping for others. She also stayed one time or another with one ofher children. She was taking care of an elderly couple on Morgans Creekin Lawrence County when she died on June 19, 1913. She was buried in theColby Sparks Cemetery."

SQ pg 3409: They had five daughters: Virgie, Clemmie, Ruby, Sue ,and Ruth Barker. She was raised by her aunt, Sarah Margaret (Sparks)Bair (7024) and uncle George W. Bair.