May 22, 2023
Pages 2178-2189
Whole Number 109
DESCENDANTS OF 17.2.7 JOSIAH A SPARKS (ca.1770-ca.1841)
OF ADAIR COUNTY, KENTUCKY, (continued)
by Paul E. Sparks
17.2.7.6 Josiah A. Sparks, Jr., son of 17.2.7 Josiah A. and Susannah (Phillips) Sparks, was born January 24, 1806, in South Carolina, probably in Union County. He went with his parents to Tennessee and then on to Adair County where, on October 18, 1827, he married Anna Gilkey. G. W. Taylor acted as his bondsman and Jonathan Gilkey was the witness. Anna Gilkey was born October 14, 1803 in South Carolina and was a daughter of Jonathan Henry and Mary (Griggs) Gilkey. (Photographs of Josiah and Anna appear on the cover of this issue of the Quarterly; the originals are owned by Ava M. Everts.)
Josiah and Anna settled down on a 60 acre tract of land "which Josiah bought from his father-in-law in 1830 and which "was part of a 400 acre grant to Jonathan Gilkey. The farm was located on Trace Fork of Crocus Creek in southeastern Adair County. Josiah continued to pay taxes on this land until 1841 when he sold the tract to his brother, Thomas Sparks, for $200.
It was about this time that 17.2.7 Josiah A. Sparks, Sr. died and shortly thereafter Josiah and Anna moved with their growing family westward to Missouri where they settled near the Lawrence-Jasper Counties line, close to present-day Sarcoxie. It was there that their ninth child, 17.2.7.6.9 Elizabeth Jane, was born ca. 1843. Not all the children made the trip; however, for 17.2.7.6.2 John R. Sparks, a son, remained in Adair County where he married Priscilla Reece in 1847.
Another member of the family who also decided not to make the trip was Josiah's mother, Susannah (Phillips) Sparks. She had planned to go with them, but her age and perhaps the thought of making another hard trip prompted her to remain with her son, Thomas Sparks. She died about two years later. Josiah's sister, 17.2.7.4 Sarah Sparks Busby, and her husband, William Busby, made the trip to Missouri at the same time and settled near the same place. It was during this trip that the Busby family Bible was lost while crossing a river, along with some other possessions.
Josiah settled down to farming near Stotts City, Missouri. The story is told that he vowed that if he ever found a good well he would never sell it. There was such a well on the farm he bought, so when the time came for him to make a deed for the farm to a buyer, he excluded the well from the deed, and thus it is "owned" by the heirs of Josiah to this day.
Josiah was elected sheriff of Lawrence County during the tumultous days prior to and during the Civil War in Missouri. Eventually he fell a victim to the strife and was killed by guerillas. He died on October 18, 1864, the 42nd anniversay of his marriage to Anna. She survived him by only two years. They are buried in Moore's Cemetery near Stotts City. They were the parents of eleven children.
17.2.7.6.1 James A. Sparks was born July 24, 1828. He probably died quite young.
17.2.7.6.2 John R. Sparks was born ca. 1829 in Adair County, Kentucky. On May 6, 1847, he married Priscilla H. Reece in Adair County by the Rev. Spencer Janes. Priscilla was born ca. 1829 and was probably a daughter of David Reece. John and Priscilla lived quite near the present-day boundary between Adair County and Metcalfe County; in fact, it is quite likely that their house was on the boundary line for they were included in the i860 census of both counties. They were listed on the 1870 and 1880 censuses of Adair County.
On September 1, 1863, John R. Sparks enlisted in the 13th Regiment Kentucky Cavalry and served until mustered out on January 10, 1865. (See this issue of The Sparks Quarterly, page 2190, for an abstract of his pension file.) He died on January 17, 1881, in Metcalfe County. Priscilla died sometime after 1890. They were buried on the John England farm at Red Lick, Kentucky. They had ten children:
17.2.7.6.2.1 William Riley Sparks was born ca. 1849. On February 6, 1870, he married Nancy J. Janes at the home of her father, Thomas S. Janes, who gave his consent to the marriage. William was 21 and Nancy was 18. The bondsman was J. C. Reece. When the 1880 census was taken of Adair County, they were living in the Leatherwood Precinct and had three children:
17.2.7.6.2.1.1 John L. Sparks was born ca. 1871.
17.2.7.6.2.1.2 Sallie J. Sparks was born ca. 1876.
17.2.7.6.2.1.3 Angeline Sparks was born ca. 1879.17.2.7.6.2.2 Rachel Margaret Sparks was born ca. 1851. On February 8, 1872, she married Albert W. England in Adair County. She gave her age at the time as 21; he said he was 19. His mother, Nancy England, gave her consent to the marriage. Jeremiah Sparks was bondsman and William R. Sparks was the witness. Rachel and Albert had one child,
17.2.7.6.2.2.1 Charles England, born before Albert's death in 1875. Charles was born ca. 1873.
After the death of Albert W. England, Rachel (Sparks) England married (second) Henry Hamilton Roach ca. 1877. He was a son of Meredith and Burley Ann (Sparks) Roach. (See the December 1976 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 96, p. 1865, for further details of this family.)
17.2.7.6.2.3 John Dudley Sparks was born ca. 1853.
17.2.7.6.2.4 David Jackson Sparks was born February 2, 1855. He married Loumira A. Janes on August 10, 1876, in Adair County by the Rev. W. M. England, a United Baptist minister. The bondsman was Jeremiah Sparks.
17.2.7.6.2.5 George W. Sparks was born ca. 1858. He is probably the George W. Sparks who married Eliza Jesse in Adair County on August 30, 1878. He stated that he was 20 years old. and a resident of Metcalfe County, KY, while Eliza gave her age as 16. The ceremony was performed by W. J. Jesse, a minister of the Baptist Church.
17.2.7.6.2.6 Mary Ellen Sparks was born in April 1860.
17.2.7.6.2.7 Louvina A. Sparks was born ca. 1862.
17.2.7.6.2.8 Maticicia Sparks was born ca. 1865.17.2.7.6.2.9 Greenup S. Sparks was born July 13, 1867. He married Elizabeth Womack on September 23, 1888, in Adair County. He was then 21 years old, while she was 17.
17.2.7.6.2.10 Jacob C. Sparks was born October 7, 1869. He married Hibernia Womack on July 22, 1891. She was a daughter of William and Sally (Grider) Womack of Metcalfe County.
17.2.7.6.3 Oney Emily Sparks was born August 31, 1831. She should not be confused with her cousin, 17.2.7.3.4 Oney Emily Sparks, daughter of Samuel and Polly (Aaron) Sparks, who was also born August 31, 1831.
17.2.7.6.4 Thomas J. Sparks was born ca. 1833. He is said to have left Missouri and gone west. (Editor's Note: We believe that there is good reason to believe that this Thomas J. Sparks was the Thomas Dean Sparks, born November 5, 1832, and died March 10, 1897. If we are correct, the middle initial "J" is in error. Thomas Dean Sparks known to have been born in Kentucky, married Ellen McDowell Douglas on December 1, 1857; she was born August 26, 1833, at Liberty, Missouri, and died October 16, 1914, at Elk Creek, Missouri. We are uncertain whether MoDowell or Douglas was her maiden name - she may have been a widow at the time of their marriage. Thomas Dean Sparks and his family were living in Buchanan County, Missouri, when the 1870 census was taken. From descendants we have learned that Thomas Dean Sparks and his wife, Ellen, were the parents of the following children:
17.2.7.6.4.1 Telula I. Sparks, born July 27, 1861, died March 5, 1890;
17.2.7.6.4.2 Drusillah A. Sparks, born August 5, 1863, died April 9. 1866;
17.2.7.6.4.3 William M. Sparks, born November 7, 1865, died November 27, 1879;
17.2.7.6.4.4 Benjamin Franklin Sparks, born January 6, 1868, died May 28, 1944, married Jane Young (1872-1896);
17.2.7.6.4.5 Sarah M. Sparks, born March 12, 1870, died February 14, 1897, married FNU Van Dyke;
17.2.7.6.4.6 Melissa Ann Sparks, born December 2, 1872, died April, 1939, she did not marry.17.2.7.6.5 Jonathan Sparks was born ca. 1835. Relatives remember vaguely that he went to California.
17.2.7.6.6 Mary Susan Sparks was born January 9, 1837. She married Benjamin Paxton.17.2.7.6.7 William Jasper Sparks was born on January 17, 1838, in Adair County and was a small lad when his parents moved to southwest Missouri where he grew to manhood. It was there, in 1857 that he married Eliza Jane Duncan in McDonald County. She was born January 14, 1842, and was a daughter of William and Eliza (Potts) Duncan.
The first two children of William and Eliza Jane were born in Missouri, but by 1862 the couple had moved to Nebraska Territory where, on November 6, 1862 William enlisted in Company G, 2nd Regiment Nebraska Cavalry for a period of one year. (See this issue of the Quarterly, page 2189, for an abstract of his pension file.) After the war ended, he and his family returned to Missouri where, on September 5, 1885, Eliza Jane died at Cave Springs when their 12th child, William Sparks, was stillborn.
In 1889, William Jasper Sparks went to the newly formed state of Montana and settled at Kalispell, Flathead County. Here, on December 27, 1895, he married (as his second wife) Elizabeth A. (Smiley) Lampton, widow of Emmons F. Lampton. William Jasper Sparks died on February 17, 1908, and was buried in the Eureka Cemetery at Kalispell. Elizabeth died on June 10, 1919.
17.2.7.6.7 WILLIAM JASPER SPARKS, 1838-1908
Son of Josiah and Anna (Gilkey) Sparks
William Jasper Sparks was an elected member of the Montana Legislature in 1895. The Legislative Manual of Montana, published that year contained the picture reproduced above along with the following biographical sketch of him: "W. J. Sparks, member from Flathead County, was born in Adair County, Kentucky January 18, 1838. He was educated in the public schools of Missouri and began life as a farmer and school teacher, farming in the summer and teaching in the winter. He has lived in the states of Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska and Montana. He has been a resident of this state six years, having been engaged in the saw mill business and farming since coming here. He has also had experience as a cowboy and a miner. His present avocation is farming. He served in Co. G, 2nd Nebraska Cavalry from 1861 to 1865. He is a Populist.
William J. and Eliza Jane (Duncan) Sparks had twelve children.
17.2.7.6.7.1 Jurenia Frances Sparks was born December 22, 1859, in Missouri. She died on March 3, 1930. She married Lafayette Beck and they had six children:
17.2.7.6.7.1.1 Daniel Beck,
17.2.7.6.7.1.2 Lindsay Beck,
17.2.7.6.7.1.3 Rush Beck,
17.2.7.6.7.1.4 May Beck,
17.2.7.6.7.1.5 Alfred Beck, and
17.2.7.6.7.1.6 Elizabeth Beck.17.2.7.6.7.2 Perry Bascomb Sparks was born July 27, 1861, in Jasper County, Missouri. He died on May 17, 1930, in Magnolia, Ark. He married Victoria T. Noel in 1886. She was born March 21, 1867, at Noel, Missouri, and she died on June 17, 1949, at Tulsa, Oklahoma. They had three children:
17.2.7.6.7.2.1 Melva Sparks was born ca. 1888. She married Albert Woodrow in 1907 and they had eight children.
17.2.7.6.7.2.2 Earl N. Sparks was born August 28, 1890, and died on June 26, 1958. He married Maggie "Biddie" Viola Mitchell in 1917. She was born on November 3, 1898, in Ouchita County, Ark. Earl owned a store at Homer, Louisiana. He was active in the Presbyterian Church and in civic affairs. He "was a veteran of World War I. Earl and Biddie had two children:
17.2.7.6.7.2.2.1 Mary Elizabeth Sparks and
17.2.7.6.7.2.2.2 Winifred Earl Sparks.17.2.7.6.7.2.3 Ray Adna Sparks was born August 11, 1901, in Lawrence County, Missouri.
17.2.7.6.7.3 Melvina Ellen Sparks was born on February 26, 1863, in Nebraska Territory, and she died on February 20, 1933. On February 8, 1880, she married Lewis Dabney Meador in Jasper County, Missouri. He was born February 16, 1856, in Macon County, Tenn.; he died on July 16, 1928. He and Melvina had seven children:
17.2.7.6.7.3.1 Ida Meador was born January 1, 1881, and died on December 11, 1954. She never married.
17.2.7.6.7.3.2 Cora Meador was born February 28, 1883. She never married.
17.2.7.6.7.3.3 Jasper Greene Meador was born August 8, 1887. He never married.
17.2.7.6.7.3.4 Stelle Meador was born December 2, 1890. She married V. M. Duke. They had no children.
17.2.7.6.7.3.5 Ellen Meador was born June 6, 1894. She never married.
17.2.7.6.7.3.6 Ava Meador was born September 25, 1897. She married David Luther Everts. He was born June 27, 1899, a son of Charles and Loretta (Paris) Everts. Ava and David had one child, Jasper David Everts.17.2.7.6.7.4 Ephraim Lafayette Sparks was born November 1, 1864, in Nebraska Territory. He died on October 11, 1924. He never married.
17.2.7.6.7.5 Anna Eliza Sparks was born November 1, 1866, in Nebraska Territory. She died in Kansas on June 13, 1939. She married Miles Keeling and they had five children:
17.2.7.6.7.5.1 Walter Keeling,
17.2.7.6.7.5.2 Elbert Keeling,
17.2.7.6.7.5.3 Adney Keeling,
17.2.7.6.7.5.4 Evert Keeling, and
17.2.7.6.7.5.5 Stella Keeling.17.2.7.6.7.6 Walter Lovette Sparks was born February 8, 1869 in Missouri. He died on February 18, 1940. He never married.
17.2.7.6.7.7 Mary Elizabeth Sparks was born November 7, 1870, and she died on April 26, 1932, in the state of Washington. She married George Keeling and they had three children:
17.2.7.6.7.7.1 Orval Keeling,
17.2.7.6.7.7.2 Roy Keeling,
and 17.2.7.6.7.7.3 Ruth Keeling.17.2.7.6.7.8 Thomas Linneus Sparks was born September 18, 1872, and he died on November 23, 1943, in Idaho. He married Ella May Bowser and they had three children:
17.2.7.6.7.8.1 Linneus Sparks,
17.2.7.6.7.8.2 Frank Sparks, and
17.2.7.6.7.8.3 Alice Sparks.17.2.7.6.7.9 John Millard Sparks was born January 13, 1876, and he died on May 22, 1948, in Idaho. He never married.
17.2.7.6.7.10 Carrie Beatrice Sparks was born October 18, 1878. She married FNU Williamson and they had at least one child, and lived in the state of Washington.
17.2.7.6.7.10.1 Harold Williamson.
17.2.7.6.7.11 Melva Jane Sparks was born November 29 1883. She lived in South Dakota where she died on March 23, 1968. She married Ray Katzenback. They had no children.
17.2.7.6.7.12 William Sparks was born September 5, 1885. He died at birth.
17.2.7.6.8 Josiah P. Sparks was born ca. 1840 in Adair County. When the 1860 census was taken of Lawrence County, Missouri, he was 20 years old and living with his parents.
17.2.7.6.9 Elizabeth Jane Sparks was born ca. 1843 in Missouri. She married Richard McDermott and they lived in Stotts City, Missouri.
17.2.7.6.10 Sarah F. Sparks was born ca. 1845 in Missouri. She died on May 16, 1924, in Stotts City, Missouri. She married Nathan Hottell.
17.2.7.6.11 George W. Sparks was born ca. 1847 in Missouri. On January 31 1869, he married Elizabeth Humbard at Sarcoxie, Missouri, by John Willoughby. George died in 1915 at Cave Springs, Missouri. He and Elizabeth had ten children:
17.2.7.6.11.1 William Arthur Sparks was born November 13, 1869. He lived at Reeds, Missouri. He never married.
17.2.7.6.11.2 James J. Sparks was born September 3, 1871. He died quite young.
17.2.7.6.11.3 Nora Alice Sparks was born September 11, 1873. She married George Moore.
17.2.7.6.11.4 George Elmer Sparks was born January 6, 1876. He lived at Ima, N.M. He never married.
17.2.7.6.11.5 Ann Isabelle Sparks was born April 10, 1878. She never married.
17.2.7.6.11.6 Richard Franklin Sparks was born December 11, 1880; he died on July 17, 1948. He married Amelia Idella Bragg in 1912.
17.2.7.6.11.7 Margaret Pearl Sparks was born March 31, 1884. She married W. T. Gillock.17.2.7.6.11.8 Caswell Perry Sparks was born June 20, 1886, at Sarcoxie, Missouri. He died on February 10, 1931, at Waurika, Oklahoma. He married Fannie Belle Collins in 1909. She was born July 1, 1880, and died on March 19, 1962. They had three children:
17.2.7.6.11.8.1 Troy Edgar Sparks was born August 10, 1910, and died on March 9, 1979. He married Dorothy Ruth Hall at Hastings, Oklahoma, and they had four children:
17.2.7.6.11.8.1.1 Carla June Sparks,
17.2.7.6.11.8.1.2 Perry Edgar Sparks,
17.2.7.6.11.8.1.3 Ray Kent Sparks, and
17.2.7.6.11.8.1.4 Jerry Hall Sparks.17.2.7.6.11.8.2 Fred Sparks was born August 10, 1910, and was a twin of Troy Edgar Sparks. He died in 1916.
17.2.7.6.11.8.3 Pauline Sparks married Melvin Lang at Duncan, Oklahoma., and they had three children:17.2.7.6.11.8.3.1 Melva Sue Lang,
17.2.7.6.11.8.3.2 Herbie Bruce Lang, and
17.2.7.6.11.8.3.3 Gerald Lang.
17.2.7.7 Elizabeth "Betsey" Sparks, daughter of Josiah and Susannah (Phillips) Sparks, was born ca. 1806 in Tennessee. She may have been the Betsey Sparks who married John Martin in Jefferson County, Tennessee, on September 7, 1833. "We have no further information about her.
17.2.7.8 Jane Phillips Sparks was born May 12, 1810, in Tennessee, probably in Jefferson County. She accompanied, her parents to Adair County, Kentucky, where, on October 14, 1828, she married Thomas Ownsby Wright. The bondsman was G. W. Taylor. Thomas was born December 24, 1802, in South Carolina and was a son of George Thomas and Polly (Taylor) Wright.
Jane and Thomas continued to live in Adair County until 1840 when they moved to Sangamon County, Illinois, where they settled on a farm near Springfield. Descendants say that their reason for leaving Kentucky was the strong anti-slavery feelings of Thomas, which were probably supported. by his wife as well. It was apparently well-known that Josiah Sparks, Sr. "was an opponent of slavery. The Wrights were probably accompanied to Illinois by Jane's brother, Truelove Sparks, and his family. (See the December 1979 Quarterly, Whole No. 108, pp. 2160-2166.)
In September 1871, with the Civil War over and. their children largely grown, Thomas and Jane decided to move westward, by covered wagon to Nebraska. It took them three weeks to make the trip to the little village of Watiska in Saunders County. There they joined. Truelove Sparks who had. gone west at the same time.
The Wrights remained, in Nebraska until 1876 when they returned to Springfield, Illinois. There they remained, for a short time and. then went to live with a daughter, Sarah Jane, in Litchfield, Montgomery County, Illinois. It was in Litchfield that Thomas died on July 7, 1881. Jane survived. him about sixteen years and. died on February 10, 1897, at the home of a daughter, Mollie, in Springfield. The Wrights are buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Litchfield.. They were members of the Methodist Church.
Thomas and. Jane (Sparks) Wright had twelve children. They were:
17.2.7.8.1 George Taylor Wright was born in 1829. He died. in Adair County in 1837 at the age of nine years.
17.2.7.8.2 Mary Ann "Mollie" Wright was born November 8, 1830, in Adair County. She accompanied her parents when they moved, to Illinois and there, in Sangamon County, she married James Hardin Crowder on April 10, 1849. He was born in Kentucky on December 24, 1823 3 and was a prominent farmer and. stockman. Mollie died on August 12, 1911, while James died on April 13, 1900. They were buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery at Springfield. They were Methodists. They had no children.
17.2.7.8.3 Elizabeth Frances Wright was born July 11, 1833, in Adair County. On June 24, 1856, she married Thomas Jefferson Crowder at Springfield, Illinois. He was born May 28, 1835 and was a Methodist minister. Elizabeth and Thomas moved to Saunders County, Nebraska, ca. 1868 where Elizabeth died during a typhoid fever epidemic in 1872. Thomas returned to Illinois where he died at Springfield on February 22, 1911. They had no children.
17.2.7.8.4 Isaac Lindsey Wright was born ca. 1835 in Adair County. He married Mary Giffin on August 23, 1857, in Sangamon County. She was born in 1840 in Belmont County, Ohio, and was a daughter of George M. and Sarah Anne (Belleville) Giffin, natives of the Ohio counties of Belmont and Guernsey, respectively. Isaac Wright became a lay Methodist preacher and preached in and around Springfield and frequently assisted Peter Cartwright, the well-known Methodist minister and circuit-rider.
Isaac and Mary moved to Greenwood, Kansas, ca. 1883 and in May of that year, he was drowned while fording a swollen stream near Lenexa, after having preached a sermon there. His youngest child, Pearl May, was born soon after his death. Mary, his widow, died in 1915 at Stillwater, Oklahoma. They had the following children:
17.2.7.8.4.1 Thomas Edward Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.2 Mary Olive Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.3 Rosa Bell Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.4 George Alva Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.5 Charles William Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.6 Isaac Melvin Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.7 James Henry Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.8 Lindsey Henry Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.9 Frank Wimberly Wright,
17.2.7.8.4.10 Harvey Elmer Wright, and
17.2.7.8.4.11 Pearl May Wright.A more detailed record of this family will be given in a subsequent issue of the Quarterly.
17.2.7.8.5 Sarah Jane "Sade" Wright was born March 11, 1837, in Adair County. She married Wilder Brunswick "Mac" Colt on August 29,1855, in Sangamon County, Illinois. He was born at Erie, Pennsylvania, on February 9, 1833, and died at Litchfield, Illinois, on January 15, 1899. Sade Wright died at Litchfield on April 8, 1897.
"Mac" Colt was a Methodist minister who went to California during the Gold Rush and "became wealthy, according to relatives. He was accompanied by a brother who also became wealthy but who chose to return home by ship around Cape Horn; he never reached home nor was he heard of again. Mac served in the Civil War as an officer. He and his family went to Saunders County, Nebraska, ca. 1871. He and Sade had six children.
17.2.7.8.5.1 Arminda "Minnie" Morrilla Colt was born August 27, 1856, in Springfield, Illinois. She taught elocution at McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois, and according to her contemporaries was a "brilliant and talented woman." She compiled the family records of the Wrights and Giffins and others in 1927-28. She married Dr. Milton W. Brubaker on June 25, 1878, in Christian County, Illinois.
17.2.7.8.5.2 Alice Gary Colt was born August 19, 1858, and died on December 5, 1860, at Pana, Illinois.
17.2.7.8.5.3 Wesley Simpson Colt was born December 4, 1860, and died on December 26, 1864.
17.2.7.8.5.4 James Wilder Colt was born August 21, 1867, at Springfield, Illinois. He married Grace Pendleton on June 8, 1888, at College Mound, Macon County, Missouri.
17.2.7.8.5.5 William Owen Colt was born in October 1869, and died as an infant.
17.2.7.8.5.6 Alfred Cookman Colt was born in September 1873, in Saunders County, Nebraska. He died in December 1875, at Winchester, Illinois.
17.2.7.8.6 Susan Philiips Wright was born August 25, 1839, in Adair County, and was probably carried as a tiny baby to Sangamon County, Illinois. There, on October 3, 1858, she married the Rev. Adam Clark Armentrout, a "rising" young preacher of the Methodist Church. He was born February 20, 1835, in Pendleton County, Virginia (now West Virginia).
Susan was converted in early childhood and remained an earnest Christian worker throughout her life. For 48 years she worked beside her husband for the advancement of the cause which they both loved. Adam died on July 17, 1906, at Griggsville, Illinois. She died almost exactly ten years later, on July 26, 1916, at the home of her daughter, Edith V. Skinner. Susan and Adam had the following family:
17.2.7.8.6.1 Luella Clark Armentrout was born July 9, 1860, at Urbana, Illinois. On September 2, 1878, she married Charles A Cockill in Decatur, Illinois. She died on October 10, 1900, at Griggsville, Illinois.
17.2.7.8.6.2 Elmer Armentrout was born June 1, 1863, at Griggsville. He married Ora Gillespie at Hannibal, Missouri, on September 1, 1886. He died in Hannibal in August 1916 after suffering a severe stroke which prevented him from attending his mother's funeral.
17.2.7.8.6.3 Mary Gail "Mame" Armentrout was born June 14, 1866, at Winchester, Illinois. She was married on June 26, 1888, at Moweaqua, Illinois, to J. L. Cosner. Her father officiated at the wedding. She died on January 8, 1892, at Moweaqua.
17.2.7.8.6.4 Gideon Armentrout was born ca. 1869 at Winchester, IL. He was married by his father to Bird Dunn in June 1899 at Perry, IL. "When his mother died in 1916, he was living in Perry, IL.
17.2.7.8.6.5 Elizabeth "Lisbeth" Armentrout was born February 11, 1872, at Pawnee, IL. She was married by her father to Delbert R. Wade on November 12, 1896. In 1916 she was living at Griggsville, IL.
17.2.7.8.6.6 Henry Armentrout was born June 2, 1875, at Mason City, IL. He was married by his father to Stella Hatch at Griggsville, IL., on June 18, 1907. In 1916, he was living at Perry, IL.
17.2.7.8.6.7 Royal Victor "Roy" Armentrout was born March 22, 1877, at Pawnee, IL. On September 22, 1896, he married Louise Todd in Sangamon County, IL. He was living in Chicago, IL., in 1916.
17.2.7.8.6.8 Edith Valentine Armentrout was born February 14, 1879, at Decatur, IL. On November 12, 1903, she married Kyle Foster Skinner at Griggsville, IL. They were living at Griggsville in 1916.
17.2.7.8.7 Martitia Wright was born ca. 1840 and died as an infant.
17.2.7.8.8 Thomas Powell Wright was born in Sangamon Co., IL., on May 6, 1841. He married Ann Eliza S. Gerrish on September 27, 1866, in Sangamon County. He was a farmer and a Civil War veteran. He died on September 17, 1919, ln Springfield, IL., and is buried in the Oak Ridge Cemetery there. He and Eliza had seven children:
17.2.7.8.8.1 Mary "Mollie" Gerrish Wright was born ca. 1867 in Sangamon County, IL. She died on November 28, 1868, at Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, of small pox, and she is buried there in public ground.
17.2.7.8.8.2 Albert "Bertie" Gerrish Wright was born in 1869 at Springfield, IL. He died in 1891 in Kansas.
17.2.7.8.8.3 Lemuel "Lem" Powell Wright was born August 29, 1871. He married Effie Hornbeck. When his father died in 1919, he was living in Springfield, IL.
17.2.7.8.8.4 Isaac Lewellyn Wright was born in 1873 in Saunders County, Nebr.
17.2.7.8.8.5 Luella Wright was born in 1873 in Saunders County, Nebr. She was a twin to Isaac. She died in 1891 in Kansas.
17.2.7.8.8.6 Wesley Simpson Wright was born in 1875 in Kansas. He died in 1877 at Watiska, Nebr.
17.2.7.8.8.7 George Thomas Wright was born October 13, 1884, in Colo.
17.2.7.8.9 An unnamed infant was born to Thomas and Jane (Sparks) Wright in 1846, but died at birth.
17.2.7.8.10 Josiah "Si" Sparks Wright was born in 1848 in Sangamon County, IL. He went to Nebraska and was attending the University of Nebraska when he contracted typhoid fever during an epidemic and died in October 1872. He is buried in the Wyuka Cemetery at Lincoln, Nebr., in the same plot as his sister, Elizabeth Frances, in an unmarked grave. He never married.
17.2.7.8.11 Catherine Arminda Wright was born in 1850. She died while in her childhood.
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| WILLIAM OWEN WRIGHT, and his wife | EMILY VALINDA (GIFFIN) WRIGHT |
| (1852-1893) | (born 1849) |
Photographs taken ca. 1868 in Springfield, Illinois, in the studio of his older brother, Isaac Lindsey Wright.
17.2.7.8.12 William Owen Wright was born August 19, 1852, in Sangamon County, IL. In 1869, he and his brother, Josiah, went to Saunders County, Nebr., by horse and buggy, and by December 15, 1870, William had courted and won Emily Valinda Giffin as his wife. They were married by the Rev. John W. Davis. Emily was born July 2, 1849, in Guernsey County, Ohio, and was a daughter of George Milligan and Sarah Anne (Belleville) Giffin; she was a sister of Mary Giffin who had married William's brother, Isaac Wright, in 1857 in Sangamon County, Illinois.
William Wright was a farmer and also the manager of a grain elevator at Valparaiso, Nebr. He and Emily were caught in the "great Blizzard of 1888" in Nebraska and were saved by turning the reins of the horses loose and letting the horses find their way to the home of her parents. William died on December 15, 1893, leaving his wife with nine children, the eldest having just attained his majority.
Children of William Owen and Emily Valinda (Giffin) Wright:
17.2.7.8.12.1 Luther Clark Wright was born November 22, 1871, in Saunders County. He married Lucy M. Tate on September 10, 1904, and they had five children. Luther died in June 1948 at Inglewood, California.
17.2.7.8.12.1.1 Georgia Mae Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.1.2 Luther Owen Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.1.3 Emily Rebecca Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.1.4 Maurice Clark Wright, and
17.2.7.8.12.1.5 Robert J. Wright17.2.7.8.12.2 William Thomas Wright was born May 24, 1873. He married Adella Mae Cambridge on February 5, 1898, in the Reformed Church at Lincoln, Nebr., by the pastor, the Rev. T. E. Stauffer. Thomas died in 1951. He and Adella had eleven children:
17.2.7.8.12.2.1 Lloyd A. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.2 Vera O. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.3 Owen W. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.4 Delfena E. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.5 Raymond L. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.6 Harold E. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.7 Virgil E. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.8 Leonard E. Wright,
17.2.7.8.12.2.9 Clifford W. Wright, and
17.2.7.8.12.2.10 Marguerite Wright.17.2.7.8.12.3 Frank Taylor Wright was born January 1, 1875. On July 8, 1903, he married Mary Ann Miller. She was born December 15, 1875, and was a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Paul) Miller. Mary Ann was a school teacher and a nurse and she helped her husband to attend Cotner College Medical School. Frank died on July 21, 1958, at Prairie Village, Kansas. Mary Ann died on March 17, 1955, in Lincoln, Nebr. They were the parents of three children:
17.2.7.8.12.3.1 Roberta Evonne Wright married Robert Lee Berger and they had one child,
17.2.7.8.12.3.1.1 Richard Wright Berger, who is a real estate broker in Denver, Colo. The Bergers live at Evergreen, Colo.
17.2.7.8.12.3.2 Pauline Emily Wright married Glenn LeRoy Bennett and they live at Burlington, Iowa, where they own a furniture store. They have two children:
17.2.7.8.12.3.2.1 Glenn Douglas Bennett and
17.2.7.8.12.3.2.2 Patricia Kay Bennett.(Editor's Note: Mrs. Bennett has been most helpful in furnishing data regarding her lineage for this article, including the photographs appearing on page 2187. The Bennetts live in Burlington, Iowa, 52601.)
17.2.7.8.12.3.3 Willard Belleville Wright married Gladys May Heilman and they have one child, Gary Heilman Wright. Willard is a newspaperman and lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
17.2.7.8.12.4 Elizabeth E. Wright was born October 22, 1877. She married Oliver Finney and they had one child. Marguerite Finney. Elizabeth died on September 21, 1906, at Des Moines, Iowa.
17.2.7.8.12.5 Cora May Wright was born September 9, 1879, at Watiska, Nebr. She changed her given name to Coral Belleville because of her grandmother Giffin's surname. She married Erastus Dalson Telford in Litchfield, IL., on November 1, 1900. He was born April 23, 1874, at Salem, IL. He was an attorney and held several governmental positions. Coral Belleville died in August 1967 at Salem, and Dalson died on December 4, 1936, at Dekalb, IL. They had three children:
17.2.7.8.12.5.1 Elbridge W. Telford,
17.2.7.8.12.5.2 Dorothy Telford, and
17.2.7.8.12.5.3 Evelyn Telford.17.2.7.8.12.6 Sarah Jane Wright was born June 16, 1881, and died a few months later.
17.2.7.8.12.7 Effie Belleville Wright was born September 16, 1883. She married Hoyt Porter Woodruff, of Knoxville, Iowa, on March 21, 1907. They had one child,
17.2.7.8.12.7.1 Marian Woodruff.
17.2.7.8.12.8 Pearl Owen Wright was born June 27, 1885. She married Robert R. Hartman in 1902. She died on February 19, 1946, at St. Joseph, Missouri. They had no children.
17.2.7.8.12.9 Edythe Jane Wright was born July 8, 1888, at Valparaiso, Nebr. On August 3, 1910, she married Floyd L. Eraser in Kansas City, Missouri. He was born May 18, 1887, at Milledgeville, IL., and died on January 20, 1959 They had one child,
17.2.7.8.12.9.1 John W. Eraser.
17.2.7.8.12.10 Eve Wright was born March 8, 1891. She married Robert W. Austin on on November 24, 1928, at Leavenworth, Kansas. He was born November 24, 1891, in Minnesota. They had no children.
17.2.7.9 Martha Sparks, daughter of Josiah and Susannah (Phillips) Sparks, was born ca. 1811.
17.2.7.10 Mary "Polly" Sparks was born ca. 1813. On April 12, 1832, she married 20.1.3.5 Timothy England in Adair County by the Rev. Spencer Janes. They had two children before Polly died ca. 1840. (See page 1859 of the December 1976 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 96, for further details about this family.)