February 1, 2022
Pages 4792-4793
Whole Number 177
QUERY
WILLIAM J. ["JAY"] SPARKS (1850-1924)
[James W. Sparks, whose address appears at the end of this query, has asked us to publish this item regarding his great-grandfather, William J. Sparks, whose nickname was "Jay."]
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1 William J. ["Jay"] Sparks, a son of 1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1 King David and Martha Elizabeth (Bass) Sparks, was born October 26, 1850, in Owen County, Indiana. It is apparent that he was named after his paternal grandfather, the Rev. William J. ["Billie"] Sparks. [See the Sparks Quarterly of March 1988, Whole No. 141, pp. 3176-3206, for an article entitled "Further Notes on the Descendants of Reuben & Cassie (Buttery) Sparks, of Early Wilkes County, North Carolina," which is devoted to this branch of the Sparks family.]
Sometime between October 1850 and November 1852, Jay Sparks's parents moved from Indiana to Marcey Township, Boone County, Iowa. A map of Boone County shows King David's farm adjoining that of his father, the Rev. William J. (Billie) Sparks. It was here that Jay grew to manhood and was educated. Jay was married twice, and I will attempt to provide the information currently available on both of his families in the hope that a reader of the Quarterly may be able to help in filling in details.
Jay Sparks's first marriage was to Caroline Frances Holbrook on November 8, 1871. Frances, as she is remembered by many of the living relatives, was born ca. 1840 in Iowa. She died in Yankton, South Dakota, in 1900. To this union were born five children:
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.1 Albert Clinton Sparks, born May 28, 1872, in Boone County, Iowa; he died on August 19, 1961, in Rapid City, South Dakota. He married Lucy Vaughn.
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.2 Andrew Atrus Sparks, born ca. 1876, in Boone County, Iowa.
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.3 Thomas James Sparks, born May 22, 1877, in Boone County Iowa; he died on February 23, 1922, at Yankton, South Dakota.
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.4 Rosa Ellen Holbrook Sparks, born September 17, 18--. (Her year and place of birth are uncertain.)
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.5 Chester Sparks, born in April, 18--, not sure where.Jay and Frances Sparks left Boone County, Iowa, and moved west, arriving in Yankton, South Dakota, on December 24, 1889. This is where the dates seem to get mixed up. Albert Clinton Sparks, their oldest son, and his wife, Lucy (Vaughn) Sparks, celebrated their fifty-ninth wedding anniversary in November 1959, and the article published about them in the Rapid City, South Dakota, newspaper stated that Albert Clinton Sparks had arrived in South Dakota on December 24, 1889, when he was 16 years of age. If the December date is correct, then he would have been 18 years of age.
Jay's second marriage was to Anne Sophie Harvey in either 1901 or 1902. At the time of the marriage, Anne had a son, John Harvey, from a previous marriage, who had been born on September 29, 1889. Jay and Anne Sparks had four children:
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.6 Mable Elizabeth Sparks, born May 17, 1902, at Yankton, South Dakota; she died there on March 9, 1989.
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.7 William Manily Sparks, born in February 1904, at Sioux City, Iowa.
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.8 Clifford Sparks, born March 29, 1906, at Sioux City, Iowa.
1.2.5.1.3.1.1.1.1.9 Clara Jule Sparks, born August 10, 1908, at Sioux City, Iowa.
Jay Sparks died on January 16, 1924, in Yankton, South Dakota; he was buried in Aten, Nebraska. According to the obituary of their daughter, Mable Elizabeth Sparks, Jay and Anne Sparks traveled to Sioux City, Iowa, by covered wagon in 1903. They left Sioux City and moved to Thurston County, Nebraska. Then, according to the same obituary, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska. From there, they moved to Smithland, Iowa, then returned to the Yankton, South Dakota, area in 1918. I suspect that the "area" was Aten, Nebraska, which was a tiny town just across the river in Nebraska.
If anyone reading this article has information on either family of Jay Sparks, please contact me,
James W. Sparks
938 Henderson #2
Ogden, Utah 84404
(Phone: 801-393-5614).