See SQ p4854"
"Robert L. Sparks was born on August 28, 1868. He was married toMollie Gambill in 1890 in Lawrence County. She had been born in April1871 and was a daughter of Chine Gambill. Robert Sparks died about 1940and was buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Boyd County, Kentucky. Heand Mollie had two children: Harrison Sparks and Lonnie Sparks."

He was called Robin in the 1870 census.

SQ p. 4731:

"Robert Lawrence Sparks was born on April 8, 1883, at Peach Orchard,Kentucky. He was a miner. Lawrence (as he was called) was marriedtwice. His first marriage was to Verna Mayfield by whom he had threechildren. His second marriage was to Sue Higgenbotham. They had nochildren. Lawrence died on June 5, 1956, at his home at Williamsburg,Kentucky. His children were: Geneva Sparks, George Earl Sparks, andRobert Sparks. (See p. 185 of the December 1956 issue of THE SPARKSQUARTERLY, Whole No. 16, for the obituary of Lawrence Sparks.) [See next]

"DEATH TAKES ROBERT LAWRENCE SPARKS

"Again we must report the death of a member of the Association. OnJune 5, 1956,, a heart attack proted fatal to Robert Lawrence Sparks ofWilliamsburg, Kentucky. Mr. Sparks was 73 years of age when he died.

"A native of Lawrence County, Kentucky, Robert Lawrence Sparks wasborn April 8, 1882, in the neighborhood of Peach Orchard on Nat's Creek.He was a son of George Graham and Elizabeth (Painter) Sparks; hisgrandparents were Hugh S. and Nancy (Curnutte) Sparks (see the December,1955, issue of the QUARTERLY, page 102.)

"Funeral services were conducted for Robert Lawrence Sparks on June 7,1956, at the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg and burial was in theHighland Cemetery. Members of Williamsburg Lodge No. 490, F. & A. M.were in charge of services at the grave.

"Mr. Sparke's widow, Susie (Higginbotham) Sparks, survives him as doeshis two sons, Earl Sparks of Corbin, Kentucky, and Robert LawrenceSparks, Jr., of Lexington. Three brothers and four sisters survive:Lester Sparks of Chicago; George E. Sparks of Indianapolis; Earl Sparksof Cincinnati; Mrs. Cecil Crowell, Mrs. Ethel Bowden, and.Mrs. HazelDonaldson, all of Hurst, Illinois; and Miss Elizabeth Sparks ofCincinnati."

Robert Sparks's family is found in the QUARTERLY in the September 1997issue, Whole No. 179, specifically on pg 4872. The family of his wife,Lousina Alice Lyon, daughter of Lewis and Polly (Sparks) Lyon, is foundin the QUARTERLY in the June 1996 issue, Whole No. 174, specifically onpage 4653.

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3277: "Robert McHenry Sparks, son of Jonas J. and Polly (Hanki ns)
Sparks, was born on May 21, 1858, at Baptist Valley, Virginia. He married
Martha Hester Maxwell on October 3, 1878. She was born in June 186 2 and
was a daughter of Frank and Evelyn Maxwell. She and Robert had 7 children:
(1) Silas Toby Sparks b. Jan 13, 1880; m. Lula Pruett Sep 9, 1903.
(2) Eva Sparks b. ca. 1882; it is likely that she died in infancy.
(3) Harriet A. Sparks b. Mar 24, 1885, at Baptist Valley, VA. Sh e m.
Walker Ringstaff on May 30, 1906.
(4) Ida May Sparks was b. Dec 1887.
(5) Margaret M. Sparks b. May 28, 1890. She was m. twice. Her fir stm.
was to C. H. Griffith on July 6, 1906, and her second m. was to
Raymond Ellis on Sep. 19, 1934.
(6) William Reece Sparks b. May 1895.
(7) Norman Sparks b. ca. 1904."

SQ p. 1399:

"Robert T. Sparks, born July 12, 1882, in Brady, Texas; he marriedEdna Stowe on April 9, 1912; she was born on April 25, 1892, and diedAugust 9, 1946. They had two children: Raymond T. Sparks, born January9, 1913, was killed in World War II on July 14, 1945; and Joe Bob Sparks,born August 19, 1918."

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September, 1970, Whole No. 71, p. 1337:

A fine photograph of Robert Thomas Sparks appears on the cover of WholeNo. 71 i.e. pg 1351.

"Robert Thomas Sparks, son of Caleb and Rebecca (Wilson) Sparks, wasborn in 1808 in Kentucky; he died on March 19., 1889., in Hancock County,Illinois. In a number of records he was called Thomas Sparks. Accordingto a granddaughter, Eula May Prince., who did research on the family in1956, Robert Thomas Sparks married in the late 1820's and had a daughterwho married a man named Riggs and lived in Lampasas, Texas. This firstwife of Robert Thomas Sparks died and on April 22, 1830, he was marriedto Mary Ann Wallingford in Lewis County, Kentucky. She was a daughter ofJohn Wallingford and was born about 1819 in Kentucky; she died onSeptember 9. 1860, in Hancock County, Illinois.

"In 1848, Robert Thomas Sparks and his family moved from Lewis County,Kentucky, to Illinois; he was listed on the 1850 census of HendersonCounty, Illinois, but by 1851 he was living with his family in DallasCity, Hancock County, Illinois, where he spent the remainder of hislife. According to Mrs. Prince, "He was an ardent Republican and was oneof the few pioneers who voted for both of the Harrisons. He was never sohappy as when arguing politics."

Robert Thomas and Mary Ann (Wallingford) Sparks were the parents of fivechildren."

**********

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, September 2000, Whole No. 195, pp. 5554-5559:

ROBERT THOMAS AND MARY ANN (WALLINGFORD) SPARKS

FURTHER NOTES ON SOME OF THEIR DESCENDANTS

"In the QUARTERLY of September 1970, Whole No. 71, we published anarticle, beginning on page 1336,
entitled "Caleb Sparks of Lewis and Nicholas Counties, Kentucky." Froma record found a number of years after this article appeared, we learnedthat Caleb Sparks had been born on December 3, 1786, in Bourbon County,Kentucky, and that he was a son of a William Sparks who had died inFleming County, Kentucky, prior to February 10, 1800. It was on this datethat Caleb and his brother, Joseph Sparks (born March 1, 1791), wereapprenticed as orphans of William Sparks to William McCormack, a tannerby occupation, "to learn the business of tanning and currying." (FlemingCounty, where William Sparks had died, had been created from Mason Countyin 1798; Mason County had been created from Bourbon County in 1789.)

Caleb Sparks had been 14 years old when his father died and had beenapprenticed to McCormack, while his brother, Joseph Sparks, had been 8years old. As was then customary, each boy was to end his apprenticeshipon his 21st birthday . (See the QUARTERLY of September 1980, WholeNo.111, pp. 2240-41, for the Fleming County Court records pertaining tothese two apprenticeships, as well as an explanation of the law then ineffect in Kentucky regarding orphans and apprenticeships.)

In the QUARTERLY of March 1999, Whole No.185, beginning on page 5116,appears an article entitled "Where Did the Sparkses of Early LewisCounty, Kentucky, Come From?" This article presented evidence that thegrandfather of Caleb and Joseph Sparks, who was also named WilliamSparks, had been a son of Joseph and Mary Sparks, and that he (William)had been born in Queen Annes County, Maryland, on April 27, 1738. ThisWilliam Sparks (born April 27, 1738) was a grandson of the Englishimmigrant, William Sparks, born in or about 1646 in, we believe,Hampshire County, England, who died in Queen Annes County, Maryland, in1709. (See the QUARTERLY of December 1992, Whole No. 160, for an articledevoted to William Sparks, the immigrant, pp.4025-34.)

Caleb Sparks was married in Bourbon County, Kentucky, on October 19,1805, to Rebecca Wilson, a daughter of Ephraim Wilson . They were theparents of as many as twelve children. Their second son was named RobertThomas Sparks. As an adult, he was often called by his middle name,Thomas, but here we will refer to him by his full name except inquotations where he has been called Thomas Sparks .

A great-granddaughter of Robert Thomas Sparks, Eula May (Watters) Prince,born on September 27, 1908, who had done research on this branch of theSparks family, was our principal source for the information on the familyof Robert Thomas Sparks appearing in the QUARTERLY of September 1970.

According to Mrs. Prince, Robert Thomas Sparks was married, first, in the1820s, to a woman (name unknown) who died not long after bearing adaughter. This daughter (name unknown) was believed to have been marriedto a man named Riggs and had lived in Lampasas, Texas. On April 22, 1830,Robert Thomas Sparks was married, second, to Mary Ann Wallingford inLewis County, Kentucky.

On page 934 of the QUARTERLY for September 1965, Whole No. 51, wereported a number of marriage
bonds for persons named Sparks in Lewis County, Kentucky, that had beencopied and placed In the library of the Filson Club in Louisviile,Kentucky. Included in this record is the bond for Robert Thomas Sparksand Mary Ann Wallingford with the date January 8, 1830. This date hadbeen copied incorrecfly, however, as is shown on the photographic copyobtained by Barbara H. Smith, a descendant of this couple, and reproducedon the following page . As seen, this proves that the marriage bond wasactuaily dated April 19, 1830, three days before the marriage.

This record in Lewis County reads as follows: "1830, April the 19th.No.637. Thomas Sparks to Mary Ann Wallingford. John Wallingford, Feepaid . Thomas Sparks over the age of 21 years as proved by his ownoath. And personal Consent of John Wallingford, Father of Mary Ann, givenbefore me Att. Jos. Robb Clerk. I do hereby Certify that ThomasSparks & Mary Ann Wallingford were joined together in holymarriage on the 22nd day of April 1830.
[Date recorded] April 27th 1830. [signed] Thomas Warring."

Some time late in the 1840s, Robert Thomas moved to Illinois, and whenthe 1850 census was taken, he was shown as heading his household inHenderson County, adjoining the Mississippi River. His name appeared asThomas Sparks on this census, as it had in the record of his marriage toMary Ann Wallingford . His age In 1850 was recorded as 40 and he wascalled a laborer. His wife was listed as Mary A. Sparks, age 30, but thiswas surely an error. She died on September 9, 1860, and on her gravestoneher age appears as 45. She must have been at least 35 years old (not 30)when the 1850 census was taken.

Four children had been born to Robert Thomas and Mary Ann Sparks when the1850 census was taken, as follows, all shown as having been born inKentucky:

Catherine S. Sparks, age 18
Lucretia Sparks, age 16
Sarah A. Sparks, age 7
Ephraim Sparks, age 3

Although census takers were directed in 1850 to report the names only ofthose persons living in each household as of June 1, 1850, other recordsprove that for the household of Robert Thomas and Mary Ann Sparks, thecensus taker recorded the names and ages of all four of their childrn,even though the two oldest daughters, Catherine and Lucretia, had beenmarried prior to 1850 and were living with their husbands when thatcensus was taken: Catherine in Hancock County, Illinois, and Lucretia inMonroe County, Missouri . A fifth child, named Rebecca Jane Sparks, wasborn to Robert Thomas and Mary Ann in 1851.

According to the obituary of Catherine Sparks (she died in 1897), she hadbeen born on November 9, 1831. It was In Adams County, Illinois, that shehad been married; the record reads: "Kitty Ann Sparks and Noel Datin weremarried on Nov. 9, 1848." ("Datin" was normally spelled Dayton.) For thefull text of her obituary, see pp. 1337-38 of the September 1970 issue ofthe QUARTERLY. It is interesting to note that Mary Elizabeth Dayton, theeldest daughter of Noel Dayton, was married on May 18, 1844, in MonroeCounty, Missouri, to Samuel Riggs, a brother of Stephen Riggs . StephenRiggs, as shown below, was married to Lucretia Sparks, sister ofCatherine.......

Although Robert Thomas and Mary Ann (Wallingford) Sparks were living withtheir younger children in Henderson County, Illinois, when an 1850 censustaker came to their home on September 30, they soon thereafter moved toadjoining Hancock County, and it was there that their last daughter,Rebecca Jane Sparks, was born. It was there, also, that Mary Ann died onSeptember 9, 1860, at Dallas City. Robert Thomas Sparks continued tolive In Hancock County for the remainder of his life . When the 1880census was taken, he was shown there in the household of his daughter,Sarah Ann, and her husband, Henry Gilbreth. He was called Thomas Sparksby the census taker in 1880 as in 1850. When he died in 1889, hisobituary was published in a Dallas City newspaper, a clipping of whichwas copied for us by Eula May Prince many years ago:

ROBERT THOMAS SPARKS was born in 1808, died March 19, 1889, age 81yrs. He was married to Miss Mary Ann Wallingford, in his native county,April 22, 1830. To them six children were born, five daughters and oneson, four of whom survive him . These are: Catharine [sic] (Kittie) AnnDayton, Nauvoo, Ill.; Sarah Gilbert, Dallas City, Ill.; Ephraim Sparks,Brady, Texas; and Rebecca Jane Walker of Carman, Ill. His wife died Sept.9, 1860. He came to Illinois about the year 1848, and has livedcontinually in Dallas City since 1851. He was an ardent Republican andwas one of the few pioneers who voted for both the Harrisons. He wasnever so happy as when arguing politics. When he was 12 yrs. old he wasafflicted with white swelling, which settled into chronic rheumatism whenhe was about 20 years old. From that time on he was a constant suffererof the disease until some fifteen years ago. The funeral was preachedfrom the residence, by Rev . Herzier, at 3 o'clock Wed. afternoon. Theremains were laid to rest beside his wife in the East Cemetery. Thefamily desire no flowers. Dallas City, Ill....."

(JS Note: Parts of this article are found under the notes for thedaughter of Robert Sparks, Lucretia.)

**********

Our thanks to Robert W. Sparks who provided us with the informationwe have on his great-grandfather Calvin A. Sparks and his descendants.Robert lives at 21551 N. Heidi Drive, Edmond, Oklahoma, 73003 (405)341-7754, and his email address as of October, 2000, wasLTCSparks@@aol.com.

.

!NOTES:
SQ 2773: "Robert Wallace Sparks was born on January 12, 1870. H emarried
Mattie ---. Wallace (as he was commonly called) died in August 192 8 andwas
buried in Rockport Cemetary. He and Mattie had at least five childre n:
Darius, Nora, Hazel, Vera, and Theo."

Roetta Sparks was born on November 3, 1911. She was married twice. Herfirst marriage was to Carl Drysdale, and her second was to Clyde OtisWhite. She and Clyde had three children before Roetta's death on March28, 1944. After Roetta died, her three children went to live with theiraunt, Hallie ["Billie"] (Sparks) Estep. They were Wanda Lee White, JamesC. White, and Phyllis A. White.

SQ pg 3422: Rosa Belle Sparks, daughter of George and Lucinda(Sargent) Sparks, was born on July 13, 1891, at Gimlet, Kentucky. DuringWorld War I, she trained to be a nurse at Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Shemet Howard Lee Judy, and they were married on November 4, 1919, in BoydCounty, Kentucky. He was born on September 11, 1891, at Washington C.H.,Ohio, and was a son of Peter and Drucilla (Kimmey) Judy , natives ofOhio. He served in the Flying School Detachment, United States Army,during World War I. Rosa Belle and Howard worked in a state sanatoriumat Mt. Vernon, Ohio, until 1945, when they moved to Tucson, Arizona,because of health reasons. Howard died there on December 13, 1974, andRosa Belle died there on January 1, 1982. They had one child, SylviaPatricia Judy, born Dec 27, 1926. She is a retired teacher (1989). Shemarried Robert E. Lehner, a geologist. Of her mother, Sylvia wrote,"Mother was an avid reader and a marvelous cook. She enjoyed travel,flower gardens, sewing and music, and she was very fond of animals."

The year and place of her birth are uncertain.

SPARKS QUARTERLY, p. 4730:

"Rose Emily Sparks was born on May 19, 1885. She was never married,but she cared for several nieces and nephews when they were children.She also took care of her parents in their old age, until their deaths.She died on October 21, 1971, and was buried in the Sparks Cemetery onMorgans Creek in Lawrence County. (See p. 1452 of the December 1971 issueof the Quarterly, Whole No. 76, for her obituary. )

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3193: Roy Sparks was born on January 28 1890. He lived in Boo ne,
Nebraska.

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3701: She was married to a man named Paget.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, March 1966, Whole No. 53, p. 977, for thefollowing:

DEATHTAKES RUFUS NEWTON SPARKS

It is with deep regret that we report the death inNovember, 1965, of Rufus Newton Sparks, of
Martha, Kentucky. Mr. Sparks died at the age of 88years following a long illness. Funeral services
were held in the Elizabeth Baptist Church at Marthawith the Rev. Herbert Phillips and the Rev.
Emerson Collier officiating. Burial was in the SparksCemetery there.

A retired merchant and farmer at Martha, Rufus NewtonSparks had been born there on February
24, 1877, a son of George W. and Linnie (Grizzell)Sparks. He was a descendant of John Sparks
(born 1753) of Wilkes County, North Carolina. (Seethe QUARTERLY of December, 1955, Vol. III,
No. 4, Whole No. 13, pp. 91-105.) The Bible recordof the family his his grandfather, Wiley Sparks,
appeared in the QUARTERLY of September, 1957, Vol. V,No, 3, Whole No. 19, p. 214.

Mr. Sparks is survived by his widow, Mrs. AnnaFurguson Sparks; three sons, O. G. Sparks of
Louisville, Kentucky; Dr. Aubrey L. Sparks, ofWarren, Ohio; and Douglas C. Sparks, of Martha;
seven grandchildren, and two sisters, Mrs. CynthiaLyon of Muncie, Indiana, and Mrs. Pearlie
Bailey of Ashland, Kentucky.

Ryan Joseph Sparks weighed 10 pounds 12 ounces at birth and was 22 1/2inches long.

The following information was received on March 25, 2000 by email fromJean Feaster, (blujean@@southwind.net) of Augusta, Kansas, a descendantRudolph Feaster, who was raised by Silas and Julia (Kerr) Sparks, forwhich information we are grateful:

This article appeared in the Winfield (Cowley County, Kansas) Courier onTuesday, June 13, 1893:

HORRIBLE!

A Young Man Dragged by a Lariat Rope the Distance ofTwo and a Half Miles

Yesterday evening a terrible accident occurred to Ed Sparks, ayoung man about 22 years old who resides with his father, two and a halfmiles from the Odessa school house, southwest of this city.
Young Sparks went out to take some of the horses to water. He put arope on one which had been used during the afternoon and on one of whichwas a loop. He got the rope on the horse and accidentally stepped intothe loop. The horse started throwing Sparks down. This frightened theanimal which started to run coming this way.
During the afternoon Jim Bridges had been down to the Magnolia farmwhere he purchased some stock of Col. Greene, who sent John Templar toWinfield to help drive the stock. As Templar was going home he met therunaway horse and taking in the situation tried to stop the animal butwithout avail. He then started to run his pony along side the runawayhorse but had gotten on the wrong side and dropped back but quicklygained the side on which the rope was and succeeded in cutting it whilerunning.
Sparks was taken to Mr. Lambert's one mile beyond Odessa and Dr.Holcomb was summoned. Sparks had been conscious and could give a clearaccount of the accident, but during the night would come delirious attimes. He was lacerated all over. The cuts and bruises were not deepbut Dr. Holcomb says there was not a spot the size of a person's hand onhis body that was not badly lacerated. He did not think there were anyinternal injuries and strangely enough there were no broken bones. Therewas no circulation however and the shock to his system was terrible. Thedoctor worked all night with the patient and came home. He was sent forand went back this forenoon and at 3 o'clock this afternoon he was sentfor again and went out, taking Dr. Emerson with him.
It is Dr. Holcomb's belief that Ed will die, 'though he says if thecirculation can be restored he may survive the reaction.

----------------------

Again, in the Winfield Courier for June 16, 1893 appeared thefollowing article:

EdSparks Dead

Ed Sparks, the young man who met with the horrible accident of beingdragged for over two miles by a horse a few days ago, died to-day at 11o'clock. Funeral tomorrow at Odessa School house at 8 o'clock a.m. Willbe buried in Union Cemetery.

SQ pg 3940: They had at least one child, a son, Elzie. They livednear the Upper Franks Creek School in Johnson County (KY).

SQ p. 4635:

"Samantha Ellen Sparks was born on January 25, 1860. She was marriedto William ["Bill"] T. Hutchison in 1891 in Lawrence County. She died onDecember 5, 1936. She and Bill had two children, Orca Hutchison and RebaHutchison."

SQ 386 mentions marriage to Mary Alvey about 22 Oct 1814 and birth of 12children.

See THE SPARKS QUARTERLY, June, 1959, Whole No. 26, p386:

"SAMUEL SPARKS. Samuel Sparks, fourth son of Solomon and CharitySparks, was born early in the 1790's (he gave his age as 58 on the 1850census) in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was he who administered thefinal settlement of his father's estate in 1829. Samuel Sparks marriedMary Alvey, daughter of William Alvey, in 1814 (the Wilkes Countymarriage bond is dated October 22, 1814; Wiseman Alvey, bondsman). Mary(Alvey) Sparks was born about 1793 in Wilkes County and died about 1851.Samuel Sparks married, as his second wife, Sarah Ellis in 1852 (theWilkes County marriage bond is dated October 26, 1852; William Redding,bondsman). "Samuel Sparks died in 1858--he made his will on January29, 1858, and it was probated in May of the same year. In his will hementioned his wife, Sarah, and the following children: (1) SolomonSparks; (2) Reuben Sparks; (3) Joseph Sparks; (4) Elias Sparks; (5)Ransom Sparks; (6) Noah Sparks; (7) George Sparks; (8) Matilda Gray; (9)Mary Goforth; (10) Malinda Chambin; and (11) Jane Adams. He also had ason named Samuel, born about 1837, who apparently died before 1858."

See page 608 of the SPARKS QUARTERLY for census records of Wilkes County,North Carolina -- 1850 census:
p. 329, 1174-1174
Sparkes, Samuel 58 (M) Wilkes Co. N. C. Farmer $400
Mary 57 (F) "
Noah 21 (M) " Farmer
Elias 19 (M) " Farmer
Ransom 17 (M) " Farmer
George 15 (M) " Farmer
Samuel 13 (M) "
Mary 11 (F) "

Comparing the children named in Samuel's will we note that thefollowing children are not shown in the 1850 census as living with Samueland Mary: Solomon, Reuben, and Joseph. On page 607 of the SQ is thecensus for Wilkes County at p. 302, 779-779 is found the name of JosephSparkes, 27 with his spouse Mary 24, and children Martha 5, and Rachel 9months. Also on page 607 of the SQ on the census p. 310, 894-894 is aReubin Sparkes, 31 with his spouse Nancy, 34, and their daughter,Catherine, 6. And on page 608 of the SQ there is a census record on page348, 1429-1429 of a Reubin, 20, his spouse Belinda, 21, and theirchildren William, 4, and Martha, 9 months.

SQ 3861:

"Samuel Sparks, son of Allen and Elizabeth (Kozee) Sparks , was bornabout 1823 in Lawrence Co., KY. It was there that he was married toNancy Skaggs on November 11, 1847, by Lewis Skaggs. She had been born inNovember 1823 in Kentucky and was a daughter of Lewis Skaggs who gave hisconsent to the marriage. Samuel and Nancy lived on Meadow Branch ofBrushy Fork of Blaine Creek where they bought 425 acres of land in 1857.There they reared seven children.

"On May 21, 1864, Samuel Sparks enlisted as a captain in Company B ,8th Regiment, Kentucky Enrolled Militia and served until he was musteredout on June 22, 1864. (See abstract below) He died on April 12, 1885.Nancy died sometime after 1900. They were buried in the Sparks Cemetaryon Caines Creek in Lawrence County. There follows information abouttheir children.

CIVIL WAR PENSION APPLICATION

"Samuel Sparks, son of Allen and Elizabeth (Kozee) Sparks, was bornabout 1823 in Lawrence County, KY. He was married to Nancy Skaggs thereon November 11, 1847. He served in Company B, 68th Regiment Kentucky Enrolled Militia. File Designation: Wid. Appl. No. 553,737.

"On November 24, 1891, Nancy Sparks, a resident of Blaine, KY., fileda Declaration for Widow's Pension. She stated that she was the widow ofSamuel Sparks who had enlisted as a captain in Company B, 68th Regiment,Kentucky Enrolled Militia on May 21, 1864 and had served until he hadbeen released at Louisa, Kentucky. She had been married to Samuel Sparkson December 12, 1847, by Lewis Skaggs under her maiden name of NancySkaggs. Her husband had died on April 12, 1885, and she was withoutmeans of support except through her own manual labor. She appointed B.H. Harris of Flat Gap, Kentucky, as her attorney. H. H. Gambill and E.W. Boggs witnessed her make her mark.

"The War Department confirmed the military service of Samuel Sparks onFebruary 2, 1892. He had been enrolled on May 21, 1864, to serve as acaptain of Company B, 68th Regiment Kentucky Enrolled Militia and hadbeen mustered out on June 22, 1864.

"On January 8, 1895, Robert Dixon, clerk of the Lawrence County[Kentucky] Court, stated that he was the custodian of the county'smarriage records. He was unable to find a record of the marriage ofNancy Skaggs to Samuel Sparks.

"On April 16, 1895, A. M. Holbrook, aged 58; Teresa Swetnam, aged 83;and William Edwards, aged 70, all residents of Blaine, Kentucky,testified that they had been well acquainted with Samuel Sparks,deceased, and with Nancy Sparks, his widow. Their marriage had been thefirst for both of them. Nancy Sparks had not remarried since the deathof her husband.

"On June 18, 1895, Milton P. Griffith, aged 45, and R. L. Griffith ,aged 42, testified that they had been present when Samuel Sparks died andhad helped prepare him for burial. Prior to his death, the deceased hadcomplained of severe pain caused by rheumatism in his legs. Theattending physician stated that the desease was the cause of Sparks'sdeath.

"On February 24, 1896, the War Department again confirmed that SamuelSparks had served in the 68th Regiment (as above).

"The last document (in chronological order) among the "selectedpapers" sent us by the National Archives from the file of Samuel Sparksis a general affidavit of his widow, Nancy Sparks, dated March 21, 1896.She was now 73 years of age and still a resident of Blaine, Kentucky.She stated that she could not furnish any medical evidence of herhusband's treatment while in the military service, since the regimentalsurgeon was now dead. Neither could she furnish a death certificatesince such records were not kept in her home county. The affidavit waswitnessed by Lincoln Sparks and Lewis Sparks.

"No pension was authorized for Nancy Sparks, probably due to the factthat Samuel only served for 30 days and the 1890 pension law of Congressrequired a minimum of 90 days of military service for a widow to beeligibile."

SQ 1501:

Samuel Sparks, son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Knox) Sparks, was born about1829; he was married to Abigail H. McVey, daughter of John McVey, in 1854(Nicholas County marriage bond dated July 18, 18514). She was born about1836, On May 20, 1857, Samuel and Abbey assigned "all our right in JonasSparks, dec ‘d., land to James Young." From census records, it wouldappear that they had the following children: (See family group sheet.]

.
!NOTES:
SQ pg 3692: They had eight children. However, we have learned th ename of only one of them, Samuel Sparks, Jr.

.

!NOTES:
SQ 3277: "Samuel B. Sparks, son of Jonas J. and Polly (Hankins) Sparks,
was born about 1861. He married Emma Griffith on November 2, 1885 . She
wasa a daughter of Tazewell Griffith. According to the ANNALS OF TAZEWELL
COUNTY, they had nine children: Mattie, Frank, Roy, Glenn, Newton, Walter,
George, Robert and Joseph."

!NOTES:
SQ pg 2923-2924 supplys information on Samuel, his wife and nine children
stating in part: "Samuel Barkley Sparks, son of John and Rebecca (Wareham)
Sparks, was born on October 6, 1848, at the Old Sparks Mill in Blac kValley on
a part of the land claim settled by his grandfather {Joseph (494)} a tthe time
of the American Revolution. He married Mary Magdalene Stayer on Jul y 4,1874.
She was born in 1856 and was a daughter of Aaron and Mary (Defibaugh )Stayer.
Samuel died on September 1, 1914, and Mary died in 1932. They were buried in
the Indian Springs Cemetary at Everett (in Bedford County, PA). The yhad nine
children.

.
!NOTES:
SPARKS QUARTERLY, ppg 4468-9:
"Samuel Buren Sparks, son of Van and Betty (Newton) Sparks, was bo rnon January 5, 1879, in Lampasas, Texas. He became a Baptist minis terand served for a time in a church in Santa Fe, New Mexico; he wa s alsochaplain for the New Mexico Senate, in the state legislature . OnNovember 17 1910, he was married to Mayme Lou Harper in Bell Co unty,Texas. She had been born on September 11, 1891, and was a daug hter ofLee Walker and Lora Elizabeth (Hoover) Harper. Buren (as h e is called)Sparks died on December 13, 1948, at Burnet, Texas. May me died there onDecember 18, 1973.
"The Rev. Buren Sparks made his last appearance as a clergyman in J une1946, according to an account written in a book, Home to Texas b yStanley Walker, 1954, about the funeral of Walker's mother. Walke rwrote: Sparks was dying of cancer and could hardly see, but he wa sstill a delight. He was religious, make no mistake about that, bu t henever forgot that he was a human being. He could tell wonderfu l westTexas and New Mexico cow-country stories. He was a pretty goo d writer;he was a dead shot; and if he felt like it, he would tak e a drink ofwhiskey without apologizing to anyone. His remarks at m y mother'sfuneral were brief, sensible and terribly moving; merciful ly free ofmawkishness and false eloquence. He spoke of her pionee r girlhood, herrugged life, her devotion to her family, her friend s and neighbors, andto her church, and he reminded his listeners o f their loss. That wasit."

.

!NOTES:
SQ p 967:
Samuel Magnus Sparks, son of Enoch Sparks, was born about 1818. A cc-
ording to a biographical sketch of one of his sons, he married Lucinda
Ramsey. However, on the 1850 census of Franklin County, Alabama, his
wife's name was given as Nancy S. Sparks. From various sources, we h ave
found the names of the following children of Samuel Magnus Sparks. T here
were probably others.
(a) James (or Jimmie) Roe Sparks born in 1843.
(b) Enoch Magnus Sparks born 1847.

SQ pp. 4568-9:

"Samuel Nathan ["S.N."] Sparks, a son of William and Sarah (Justiss)Sparks, was born on March 23, 1850, in Wilson County, Tennessee. (On the1850 census of Wilson County, he was listed as "Joseph S. Sparks.") Heaccompanied his parents as they moved to Arkansas, to Illinois, toKansas, and was a young man when the family finally settled in BrownCounty, Texas. It was there that he joined Company 4 of the TexasRangers in 1873.

"Company 4 of the Texas Rangers was authorized by the FederalGovernment and was under the command of Captain John W. Jones. Itconsisted of twenty men who elected their captain. Each man furnishedhis own horse, a Colt six-shooter, and a Needle gun. (A Needle gun was aGerman-made gun that used cartridges with paper caps that had to bepunctured by a firing pin, vernacularly called a "needle," in order to befired.)

"The duty of Company 4 was to patrol and protect the region ofColeman, Brown, Callahan, and Taylor Counties. Indians and cattlerustlers were the chief troublemakers, and the Rangers had to be ready totake to the field at an instant's notice. Tthe company was disbanded in1874, after its mission had been accomplished and it was no longer needed.

"Shortly after leaving the service of the Texas Rangers, S.N. Sparkswas married to Evalina ----- whose maiden name we have not learned. Shehad been born about 1851 in Tennessee. When the 1880 census was taken ofCallahan County, Texas, she and S.N. were enumerated there with twochildren, but about 1900 they moved to the Oklahoma Territory whereEvalina died, apparently sometime before 1908. She and S.N. Sparks hadsix children.

"On June 25, 1908, S.N. Sparks was married (second) to Mrs. Mary R.(Miles) Clemons at Tishomingo, Oklahoma. She had been born on March 23,1866, at Bonnieville, Kentucky. She and S.N. were married on Thurs-day,June 25th, and, according to a newspaper account, on the followingSaturday, they were "chivareed" by their friends and neighbors.

"[Editor's Note: For our younger readers, who may not know the meaningof "chivaree," Paul Sparks, who recalls that in 1933 he and his brideexperienced two chivarees, "one in the little village where I taught; theother at my boyhood home," has written the following explanation:

["The custom of giving a newly-married couple a "chivaree"l (or"charivari") has almost disappeared as a social custom, but it was quitepopular at the turn of the century, particularly in the rural areas ofour country. (Remember the musical, "Oklahoma!") Briefly stated, achivaree began at dusk when friends gathered quietly around the home ofthe newly-weds. Then, at a signal, they announced their presence byringing cowbells, beating on pans and kettles, and by firing guns. Afterseveral minutes of this clamor, the newly-weds would come to the door;the hideous noise would stop; and the crowd would be invited to enter.Inside, there would be candy, cakes, and other sweets, and localinstrumentalists would provide music by which to dance. After a while,the guests would wish the couple a long and happy marriage and disperseto their respective homes."]

S.N. and Mary (Miles) Sparks had one child born on March 8, 1910, namedBirdie. Mary died on May 14, 1932, and S.N. died on July 20, 1940. Hewas buried at Ardmore (not Ryan), Oklahoma.

In all, S.N. Sparks was the father of seven children by his two wives."

Dec 3, 1999, I received by email additional information on Samuel andhis descendants from his great-granddaughter, Connie (Chumley] Gotowala,daughter of Mildred Marie (Hamersley) Chumley and granddaughter of AdaMelvina (Sparks) Hamersley. Her note states in part, "My ancestor wasSamuel Nathan Sparks (1850-1940). He is buried in the Rose Hill Cemeteryin Ardmore, OK (not Ryan, OK). I believe that his mother's maiden namewas Sarah Rebecca Justin (not Justiss). She was born 16 Dec 1920. Sheis buried in the Springer Cemetery in present-day Carter County, OK. Hertombstone lists her as "Mrs. W. C. Sparks."

"His first wife was named Melvina McAnally (sp?). She died around1894 or 1895 and is buried on the old Turner Ranch in Southern Oklahoma.

"My grandmother was his youngest child by his first wife. Her namewas Ada Melvina Sparks Hamersly. She was born Nov. 1, 1889 in Eugene,Ore. The family had made a trip by wagon train to sell horses in theNorthwest. Ada died June 5, 1981, and is buried in Altus, OK. She wasmarried to Charles William Hamersley (spelling is with one "m" ) in 1907in Indian Territory, OK. I have a copy of the marriage licensesomewhere). He is buried in Clarita, OK.

"They had seven children:
1. William Hamersley currently living in Anchorage, AK;
2. Walter Hamersley buried in Eldorado, OK;
3. Josie Mae (Hamersley) Medlock buried in Altus, OK, born inMilburn, OK, married 6 April 1935, Eldorado OK.
4. Ellen B. (Hamersley) Clerico Speth lives in Seal Beach, CA;
5. Mildred Marie (Hamersley) Chumley (my mother) buried in Altus,OK;
6. Wayne Hamersley lives in Altus, OK.
7. Mary Bernice (Hamersley) Brake lives in Weatherford, TX

"The Thomas Sparks who died in 1919 was actually a son of Samuel andhis second wife whose name is unknown. He was younger than Ada and olderthan Birdie. Birdie Sparks was the only child of Samuel and his 3rdwife, Mary. Birdie is still living and lives near me in Oklahoma City,OK. She and her daughter Gayela Word Bynum Hannon, are both members ofthe D.A.R. with Matthew Sparks (1730-1793) listed as their revolutionaryancestor. A friend of Gayela's was instrumental in doing thedocumentation on the Sparks family line.

In regards to the other children of Samuel Sparks, I have thisinformation:
John William (1877-1939) is buried in Golden, CO.
Mary Idella Sparks was born ?. She had seven children. Her firsthusband was Clint Parker. (Here names them) After Clint Parker's death,she was married to Sam Stubblefield and they had one child.
Laura Sparks had no children. Her husband's name was Dal?
Nathan Michael Sparks was born 17 December, 1885 and died 21 May,1969. He is buried in the Orchard Mesa Cemetery in Grand Junction, CO."

!NOTES:
SQ pg 2923 states: "Samuel Russell Sparks was born on February 25 ,1880. He
married Sarah Belle Karns in December 1904. He died on October 10, 1950. He
and Sarah Belle