February 3, 2021
Pages 5568
Whole Number 195
QUERY--PARENTAGE OF STEPHEN ALEXANDER SPARKS (1846-1903)
Ms. Jessie Jeffries seeks information regarding the parentage of Stephen Alexander Sparks, her great-great-grandfather, who seems to have used his middle name, i.e., Alexander Sparks, rather than his full name. Family records indicate that he was born in March 1846, in Washington County, Missouri. He served in Company F, 16th Regiment of Missouri Cavalry, on the Union side in the Civil War, as shown in his application for a U.S. pension in 1890. (An abstract of his pension file preserved at the National Archives was published In the Quarterly of September 1970, pp.1349-50. He had served under the name Alexander Sparks.)
Alexander Sparks, as he seems to have been called, was married twice. He married (first) Mary Rose who had died in 1869 at Richwoods in Washington County, Missouri, and (second) to Alice Abigail Lucas. This second marriage took place in Franklin County, Missouri, on December 2, 1874. by his first wife, he was the father of two children according to his pension records:
Chris Sparks, born in 1866, and
William Sparks, born in 1868.by his second wife, who was called. "Abby," he was the father of eight children:
John Sparks, born 1875;
Abby Sparks, born 1877;
Alex Sparks, born 1881;
Luly Sparks, born 1888;
Eugene Sparks, born 1890;
Blanch Sparks, born 1892;
Mary Sparks, born 1895; and
Gracie Sparks, born 1898.
Stephen Alexander Sparks (or Alexander Sparks) died in Washington County, Missouri, on November 4, 1903. His second wife, Abby (Lucas) Sparks, then received a widow's pension following his death; she died on February 11, 1911.
When the 1850 census was taken in Washington County, Missouri, the only Sparks household listed was that headed by Elijah Sparks, age 57, a native of North Carolina. His wife, Nancy, age 53, had been born in South Carolina, according to this census record. (See the Quarterly of March 1985, Whole No. 129, p.2723.) Although Stephen Alexander Sparks was not listed in the household of Elijah and Nancy Sparks in 1850, we wonder whether the census taker may simply have missed him.
Anyone having knowledge of this branch of the Sparks family is urged to write to Jessie Jeffries, 9458 Ranch Lane, Shreveport, Louisiana (71106), with a copy to the editor of the Quarterly.
Page 5568
Whole Number 195
QUERY -- WILLIAM F. SPARKS, BORN IN MONROE COUNTY, MISSOURI
Peg Wilson, 2904 W. Rancho Dr., Phoenix, Arizona (85017) writes: "I am trying to find a William F. Sparks that was born in Monroe County, MO. I don't have any dates or location of his death. Only information that I have is he married Emily J. Sinkler on February 28, 1897, and she died on December 1, 1937. She was buried in the Sunset Cemetery in Madison, MO. If anyone has any information, I would really appreciate it."