September 23, 2023
Pages 4500-4512
Whole Number 171
50.x.8 QUARTUS STRONG SPARKS (1820-1891)
TEACHER AND PREACHER
by Paul E. Sparks
[Editor's Note: Quartus Strong Sparks was one of the early converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormon Church. He had a most unusual and colorful life, a large portion of which was devoted to his religion, and he has become a part of the Church's history. Relatives have also kept records that help to give us a picture of him and of his role in the Mormon Church.
[In all probability, the grandfather of 50.x.8 Quartus Sparks was 50. David Sparks of Maine, who was born ca. 1745. David Sparks's birthplace is not known. He served in the Massachusetts Line for three years during the Revolutionary War. He was at the surrender of General Burgoyne in the fall of 1777. He received a pension for his military service. (See pp. 2100-2103 of the June 1979 issue of the Sparks Quarterly, Whole No. 106, for an abstract of his pension file.) Our readers are reminded that until 1820, Maine was a part of the state of Massachusetts. ]
50. David Sparks married Jane Baton on October 21, 1780, at Brunswick, Maine. It may have been his second marriage. According to the Vital Records of Top sham, Maine, on November 6, 1768, David Sparks and Mrs. Anna Danford published their intentions to marry. Another entry also states that on July 9, 1786, Darkis Sparks and John Dunlap published their intentions to wed. She could have been a daughter of David Sparks.
Sparks was living in the town of Brunswick when the 1790 census was taken of Cumberland County, Maine. Also enumerated in his household that year were two females. He and his spouse were also enumerated on the 1800 and 1810 censuses of Cumberland County. They were then the only members of David's household, with both of them having been born prior to 1755. He died on March 6, 1820, at Brunswick, Maine. We have found no further record of him.
50.x David Sparks, probable son of 50. David and Jane (Baton) Sparks, was born at Bowdoinham, Maine, ca. 1783. At that time, Bowdoinham was a small village in that portion of Lincoln County that became Sagadahoc County in 1854, and was just a few miles northeast of the town of Brunswick. It is because of this proximity that we believe 50.x David Sparks, born ca.1783, was a son of 50. David Sparks, born ca.1745.
According to family tradition, 50.x David Sparks (born ca.1783) became a sailor, and it may have been during his travels that he met Mercy Thayer of Belchertown, Massachusetts. She had been born on December 6, 1782, at Ware, Massachusetts, and was a daughter of Silas and Perley (Pond) Thayer. She and David were married on April 21, 1804, at Northampton in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. (See page 441 of the December 1959 issue of the Sparks Quarterly, No. 28, for a query pertaining to this family.)
(David Sparks, probable son of David and Jane [Baton] Sparks, has sometimes been confused as a member of another branch of the Sparks family that was in this area of Maine about the same time. So far, we have been unable to establish any relationship between these two branches. See also pp. 2078-2079 of the March 1979 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 105.)
During the War of 1812, 50.x David Sparks was drafted at Westhampton, Massachusetts, into Captain Southworth Jenkins' Company of Lt. Col. Thomas Langley's Regiment of Massachusetts Militia. He served at or near Boston from September 13, 1814, until November 7, 1814. The company was formed at Williamsburg in Hampshire County. (See pp. 4512-13 of this issue of the Quarterly for an abstract of his bounty land file.)
Quite of bit of the information we have about David Sparks has come from his widow's application for bounty land. On March 9, 1858, at the age of 73 years, she testified that she and David had been marrried on "--- day of April 1804 by Solomon Williams, a clergyman, and that her name before her marriage was Mercy Thayer. Her husband had died at sea on the -- day of -- 1821 and she was a widow."
Mercy Sparks was shown as the head of her household when the 1820 census was taken; her husband, David Sparks, may have been on an ocean voyage at the time. She was enumerated in the town of Westhampton. With her were two males, 0-10 years of age, and two females, also 0-10 years of age. In all likelihood, they were her children.
After the death of her husband, David Sparks, in 1821, Mercy Sparks married William Sluck; however, we have not learned the place or the date of the marriage. We do not believe that she and Sluck had any children. He was dead when she made her application for bounty land in 1858. We have found no record of her death.
There are two principal sources of information about the number of sons and daughters of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks. The more important source is a diary of one of their grandsons, Henry Weeks Sanderson. The other source is the 1820 and 1850 censuses of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. According to these sources, it appears that they had eight children, four sons and four daughters.
50.x.1 David Sparks, Jr. was born January 22, 1804.
50.x.2 Jane Sparks was born April 28, 1805.
50.x.3 Jemima Sparks was born ca. 1807.
50.x.4 Mary Jane Sparks was born November 10 (or 16), 1809.
50.x.5 Louisa Sparks was born September 29, 1811.
50.x.6 Jonathan Sparks was born ca. 1815.
50.x.7 Dwight Sparks was born ca. 1818.
50.x.8 Quartus Strong Sparks was born October 27, 1820.50.x.1 David Sparks, Jr., son of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, was born January 22, 1804, at Northampton, Massachusetts, according to information furnished to us by Mrs. Alba J. Anderson of Spanish Fork, Utah, in 1978. She gave as her source of information the diary of a grandson of David and Mercy Sparks. David Sparks, Jr. is said to have died ca. 1806.
50.x.2 Jane Sparks, daughter of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, was born April 28, 1805, at Northampton, Massachusetts. She may have been named for her paternal grandmother, Jane (Baton) Sparks. No further information has been found of her; she had probably died prior to 1809 when her sister, named Mary Jane, was born.
50.x.3 Jemima Sparks, daughter of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, was born ca. 1807 in the village of Chesterfield in Hampshire County. Massachusetts. We have no further information about her.
50.x.4 Mary Jane Sparks was born November 10/16, 1809, at Northampton, Massachusetts; apparently she was the second child of David and Mercy Sparks to bear the name of Jane. She was married twice. Her first marriage was to James Sanderson in July 1827 in Massachusetts. He had been born June 30, 1804, at Chester, Massachusetts, and was a son of Sylvanus and Charlotte (Cooley) Sanderson. James Sanderson was a school teacher during the winter months and farmed during the growing season. He also managed a toll bridge (probably across the Connecticut River) which he owned with a man named Thompson. Mary Jane was also able to manage the bridge and sold bread and beer to travelers.
MARY JANE (SPARKS) SANDERSON (1809-1898)
James and Mary Jane had probably started west when he died on September 13, 1845, at Saint Louis, Missouri. He left her with three children. She was married, second, to Moses Martin Sanders on March 21, 1847. They apparently had no children.
A few years ago, Margaret M. LeRoy of Salt Lake City wrote the following:
"Mary Lucinda (Sanderson) LeRoy, a great-granddaughter of Mary Jane, remembered well as a child that she was staying with her grandparents when Mary Jane came to live with them. She was still quite slender and was comely, but not pretty. It was said that she was most capable and had been a leader and teacher in the Methodist Church. Mary Lucinda would read to her great-grandmother because her vision was poor. Then she became ill and went to live with her son, Henry Weeks Sanderson, at Fairview, Utah. There she spent the last six years of her life, dying on November 20, 1898, at the age of 89 years." The children of James and Mary Jane (Sparks) Sanderson were:
50.x.4.1 Henry Weeks Sanderson was born March 13, 1829, at Blandford, in Hampden County, Massachusetts. He married Rebecca Ann Sanders on March 7, 1850, at Pigeon Grove in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. She had been born on March 5, 1832, in Montgomery County, Illinois, and was a daughter of Moses Martin and Amanda Armstrong (Fawcett) Sanders.
HENRY WEEKS SANDERSON (1829-1896) Son of James and Mary Jane (Sparks) Sanderson
Shortly after their marriage. Henry and Rebecca Sanderson moved westward to Utah. He died there in Sanpete County on November 18, 1896. Rebecca Ann died on October 6, 1907.
(Henry Weeks Sanderson was the author of a diary that has provided several items about the life of 50.x.8 Quartus Sparks. Henry was a pupil in a school taught by his Uncle Quartus and was apparently well-acquainted with him. It is from this diary that we have learned that Quartus was teaching school on Long Island when he visited his sister, Mary Jane (Sparks) Sanderson, and her family in Hartford, Connecticut. Another entry tells that his uncle, Jonathan Sparks of the U.S. Army, was supposed to visit them in Illinois, but never did arrive. He also wrote that his uncle Quartus was a prominent man in San Bernardino, California.)
Henry Weeks and Rebecca Ann (Sanders) Sanderson had fifteen children; however, we have learned the names of only eleven of them.
50.x.4.1.1 James Sanderson was born May 5, 1851, at West Jordan, Utah. He died on February 15, 1883.
50.x.4.1.2 Mary Jane Sanderson was born January 10, 1853, at West Jordan, Utah. She died on May 22, 1923.
50.x.4.1.3 Amanda Sanderson was born October 21, 1854, at Salt Lake City. She died on November 13, 1956.
50.x.4.1.4 Julia Sanderson was born September 26, 1856, at Green River, Wyoming. She died on March 22, 1941.
50.x.4.1.5 Rebecca Ann Sanderson was born January 5, 1858, at Salt Lake City. She died on May 22, 1935.
50.x.4.1.6 Henry Weeks Sanderson, Jr. was born April 18, 1859, at Fillmore, Utah. He died on August 26, 1860.
50.x.4.1.7 William Henry Sanderson was born January 11, 1861, at Fairview, Utah. He married Elfleda Hurst on September 8, 1881, at Salt Lake City. She had been born January 29, 1864, at Springville, Utah, and was a daughter of Philip and Lucinda Harris (Guymon) Hurst. William Henry died on October 30, 1932, at Eimo, Utah. Elfleda died on February 3, 1941, at Orangeville, Utah. They had ten children:50.x.4.1.7.1 Julia Adelaide Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.2 Mary Lucinda Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.3 Isabel Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.4 Harriet Elfleda Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.5 William Harrison Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.6 Marcellus Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.7 Samuel Sylvanus Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.8 Philip Hurst Sanderson,
50.x.4.1.7.9 Walter Sanderson, and
50.x.4.1.7.10 Rebecca Sanderson.
William Henry Sanderson (1861 - 1932)
50.x.4.1.8 Martha Malissa Sanderson was born October 7, 1862, at Fairview, Utah. She died on November 22, 1895.
50.x.4.1.9 Maria Louise Sanderson was born August 10, 1864, at Fairview, Utah. She died on January 2, 1898.
50.x.4.1.10 John Martin Sanderson was born July 5, 1866, at Mt. Pleasant, Utah. He died on November 6, 1946.
50.x.4.1.11 Ada Adelia Sanderson was born March 23, 1868, at Fairview, Utah. She died on July 10, 1951.50.x.4.2 Mary Louisa Sanderson was born June 17, 1833, in Massachusetts. She is said to have been married, but we have not learned the name of her husband. She died on May 5, 1895.
50.x.4.3 Mary Jane Sanderson was born in 1841 at New Canaan, Connecticut. She died in Nebraska in 1849.
50.x.5 Louisa Sparks, daughter of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, was born September 29, 1811, in Massachusetts. She was quite likely the Louisa Sparks (aged 37, born in Massachusetts) who was living in the household of David Champlain (aged 42, born in New York) when the 1850 census was taken of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Also enumerated in this household was a young girl, Mary E. Sparks, age 12, born in Massachusetts. Relatives say that Louisa Sparks married David Champlain. She corresponded with the family for many years and told of a sister who became a lecturer and spoke throughout the country. She never disclosed the nature of the lectures, however. Louisa is said to have died in 1898.
50.x.6 Jonathan Sparks, son of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, was born ca. 1815. He is said to have served in the United States Army. According to the diary of James Weeks Sanderson, mentioned above, Jonathan wrote to his sister, Mary Jane (Sparks) Sanderson, that he was planning to visit her in Illinois, but he never did get there. We have no further informa- tion about him.
50.x.7 Dwight Sparks, probable son of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, was born ca. 1818 in Massachusetts. He was quite likely the Dwight Sparks (aged 32, born in Massachusetts) who was living in the household of Francis Daniels (aged 30, born in Massachusetts) when the 1850 census was taken of Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Dwight Sparks was described as a laborer. He may have had a nephew, Dwight Coridon Sparks, son of Quartus and Mary (Hamilton) Sparks, and who was named for him. We have no further information about him.
50.x.8 Quartus Strong Sparks, son of David and Mercy (Thayer) Sparks, the principal subject of this article, was born October 20, 1820, in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. He was christened on February 13, 1821, at Northampton, Massachusetts. According to a descendant, he was named for a relative, Quartus Thayer. He grew to manhood in Hampshire County, and it was probably there that he received his education. He became a teacher, a career that took him to Long Island (Suffolk County) New York, and it may have been there that he was converted and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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| QUARTUS STRONG SPARKS |
| (1820-1891) |
[Editor's Note: Much of the information about Quartus Sparks that follows is taken from a four page manuscript written about 1978 by Delia Orme for her husband's family, but which she has shared with us. Her mother-in-law, Loretta (Sparks) Orme, was a daughter of Dwight Coridon Sparks. See 50.x.8.5 below. We are not able to provide documentation for the facts presented by Mrs. Orme.]
Sparks rapidly became a leader in the church by his skills in teaching and preaching, and soon became an elder. He was described as "of gentle manners and a ready flow of language." In November 1841, just one month after reaching his twenty-first birthday, he was instrumental in organizing a church at Setauket on Long Island. by October 1842, he had converted twenty members in New Jersey in the counties of Warren, Sussex, and Morris. In May 1843, church records show that he reported eighteen members at Westfield, Massachusetts.
The growth of the newly-created church was not without personal danger to its leaders. Some members of other organizations felt threatened and were bitterly opposed to a church with new doctrines and practices, and they frequently expressed their opposition with open hostility. An entry in the Journal of Church History made on July 3, 1843, states:
Elders Ezra T. Benson, Q. S. Sparks, and Noah Rogers preached at Cabbotsville, Massachusetts. While Elder Rogers was preaching, some persons threw stones through the windows. One hit Elder Benson on the thigh. The mob threw stones at them which flew like hail when they left the room but did not injure the brethern.
From May to September 1844, Sparks presided at the General Conference of the church in Connecticut, and it may have been there that he met and courted Mary Holland Hamilton. They were married on August 3, 1844, in Hartford. Mary had been born July 26, 1821, at Chester, Massachusetts, and was a daughter of John and Mary Hamilton. She had been christened on October 14, 1821. The first child of Quartus and Mary was born May 25, 1845.
According to the diary of his nephew. Henry Weeks Sanderson, Quartus Sparks accompanied the church leaders on their move to Nauvoo, Illinois, and it was there that his nephew was his pupil. It was also there that the church leaders were attacked by a mob and their founder, Joseph Smith, was killed on June 27, 1844. His death convinced the other church officials that they must move to the far west.
Records in the Journal of Church History indicate that the church leaders instructed Elder Samuel Brennan (or Brannan) of Saco, Maine, to "charter a ship; fill it with saints; and settle in a new country." Brennan proceeded to charter a 450-ton sailing vessel, Brooklyn, for $1200 and made plans to go to the far west by sailing around Cape Horn and then north to California. They stocked the ship with food and supplies. Other items in the cargo were three flour mills, a printing press, and a 179-volume library. They set sail from New York City on February 4, 1846, with 238 persons, 70 men, 68 women, and 100 children. Among these were Quartus and Mary (Hamilton) Sparks; their son, Quartus Strong Sparks, Jr.; and Mary's mother, Mary Hamilton.
The journey lasted nearly six months and covered nearly 16,000 miles. Two babies were born on the trip, a little boy named Atlantica and a little girl named Pacifica. Ten persons died and were buried at sea. The ship made two stops for supplies and water, one at Juan Fernandez Island, the other at Honolulu, the ship having been blown off course. After enduring storms, bad food, and illness, the ship finally reached San Francisco on July 31, 1846.
The Sparks family settled down at the Mission Dolores in San Francisco shortly after leaving the Brooklyn. Quartus continued to have a keen interest in the church's activities and was a member of a group of men who established a community near the confluence of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin Rivers in 1846/47. They named the little community NEW HOPE. A State Registered Landmark tablet (No. 436) has been erected on National Highway 99 to memorialize the event. It reads as follows:
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NEW HOPE - 1846
FIRST WHEAT
Approximately six miles west twenty Mormon pioneers from ship Brooklyn founded first known agricultural colony in San Joaquin Valley. Planted first, wheat; also crops they irrigated by pole and bucket method; and erected three houses; operated sawmill and a ferry across Stanislaus. Settlement later known as Stanislaus City.
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| The Brooklyn, a 450-ton pre-Gold Rush Trading Vessel |
| Courtesy: M.M. de Young Memorial Museum |
50.x.8 Q. S. Sparks and his family lived in San Francisco for several years and were there during the gold-rush days when law and order was almost unheard of. Ultimately, vigilante committees were required to restore a form of order. He tried his hand at mining and was able to acquire quite a lot of real estate. Three more children were born to him and Mary.
For some reason, Quartus and Mary Sparks "fell away" from the Mormon Church. An entry in the diary of Elder Parley Parker Pratt records that on "Saturday, August 3, 1851, Baptized in San Francisco Bay the following persons: ... Quartus S. Sparks, Mary H. Sparks ... [and others]. Confirmed those baptized as mentioned above and blessed the following infants, viz. Quartus S. Sparks, Mary H. Sparks ... [and others]." Actually, the Sparkses were re-baptized, and Quartus renewed his interest in the growth of the church. He presided over the San Francisco Mormon Branch temporarily when Elder Brennan was asked to visit Brigham Young in Utah.
In 1853, Sparks moved his family from San Francisco to San Bernardino, a thriving Mormon community. He is said to have had "several thousand dollars" when he arrived, but he met with financial trouble and was soon "broke." He taught school there and was paid $76.00 for teaching for three months. He was the principal of the San Bernardino City Schools in 1854. He was also the principal speaker when San Bernardino became a city on July 4, 1854.
On October 8, 1854, Quartus S. Sparks was sent on a church mission to Los Angeles. His son, Dwight Coridon Sparks, was born the following spring, on May 25, 1855. Shortly thereafter, he and Mary were divorced. She later (in 1859) married Charles Wesley Wandell in Beaver, Utah, and, according to relatives, they had three children. These children were:
Jacob Wandell, born June 26, 1860;
Annie Wandell; and
Still Wandell.
Mary died on October 30, 1898, at Salt Lake City, Utah.
Quartus Strong Sparks was married three more times after he was divorced by Mary Holland (Hamilton) Sparks. His second marriage was to Lucy Jane MNU in 1856. They were divorced in 1860. His third marriage was to Ann Buck, and relatives say that they had a son named Albert Sparks who was born in 1862. Quartus and Ann were divorced in 1875. His last (and fourth) marriage was to Lizzie MNU. We do not know whether other children were born to these marriages.
The last entry in the Journal of Church History is dated December 12, 1857. It is as follows: "Brother Wall had just returned from a mission to Australia and brought back of company of saints with him to California. He was accosted on the street and later was called on at his hotel room by apostate Mormons he says threatened to kill him. In that group he names Dr. Andrews, Mr. Chatman, Quartus S. Sparks and others he knew but did not name. He got away and continued his journey to Salt Lake."
Quartus Sparks was admitted to the bar of San Bernardino in 1858. He soon acquired a good reputation as a criminal lawyer and was named among the leaders in his practice. One of the anecdotes preserved about him as a lawyer is as follows:
His client was charged with grand larceny in stealing a horse. His associate counsel in the case tried to have a consultation with him in order to agree upon a line of defense and prepare some instructions for the jury. But Sparks could not be got down to such business. His associate finally asked him what he expected to rely upon, to which he answered: "I rely on God Almighty, Q. S. Sparks and the jury."
He probably knew that the law and the facts were against his client, but by his tact and his address, he so worked upon the jury as to secure an acquittal, notwithstanding that the accused was seen stealing the horse from the pasture at night and was caught riding the horse the next day.
Sparks entered into all phases of the civic life of San Bernardino. Along with his law practice, he found time to write poetry and was a prominent public speaker. He was elected to the city council; he was a justice of the peace; and he ran for county recorder. He also had a law office in Los Angeles and was listed there in the city directory in 1887, 1888, and 1890. He lectured for a temperance organization, and people came from far and near to hear him.
Quartus Sparks died at San Bernardino on August 5, 1891, at the age of seventy. His death was caused by "a catarrh of the bladder." His death announcement in a newspaper stated: "He was a pioneer of the state as early as 1852 and he took an active part in the formation of the American Party in California. In 1856, he organized the proceedings for the first Fourth of July celebration ever held in San Bernardino County. The press of that county and southern California speak of him in the highest terms of eulogy as one who helped to create the county and state."
Quartus Strong Sparks had five children by his first marriage; he may have had another child by his third marriage. As seen in the following paragraphs, our information on some of these is quite limited. We shall welcome any additional information that our readers can offer.
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| Quartus Strong Sparks, Jr. (1845-1918) |
| with his wife, Caroline Frances (Carlow) Sparks (1846-1928) and their Great-Granddaughter, Maxine (Barraclough) Groher |
| Photograph taken in California in 1918 |
50.x.8.1 Quartus Strong Sparks, Jr. was born May 25, 1845, at Hartford, Connecticut, and he was just a baby when he went with his parents on the long ocean voyage around the tip of South America to California. He was a fair-sized boy when his parents were divorced and, in all likelihood, after the settlement, he went with his mother to Utah Territory. It was probably there that he grew to manhood and married Caroline Frances Carlow (or Carlo) ca. 1866. She had been born on October 7, 1846, at Winchester, Iowa, and was a daughter of Nathaniel Hudson and Mary Hannah (Richey) Carlow.
The first child of Quartus and Caroline was born in Utah Territory ca. 1867, but by the following year they had moved to Lincoln County, Nevada, where their second child was born in 1869. They were still in Lincoln County when a special census was taken of Nevada in 1875, and the regular federal census was taken in 1880. by this time, they had six children. Caroline's father, Nathaniel Carlow, aged 61, was also living in their household.
Quartus Strong Sparks, Jr. died on January 25, 1918, at Santa Monica, California, and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery there. Caroline died on November 30, 1928, at Hollywood, California. They were the great-grandparents of Maxine Groher who has been most helpful in the preparation of this article and who has provided several of the photographs. Quartus and Caroline Sparks had six children:
50.x.8.1.1 Quartus Strong Sparks, III, was born ca. 1867 in Utah. Relatives say that he was never married.
50.x.8.1.2 William Heber Sparks was born ca. 1869 in Nevada. Relatives say that he was never married. He died in Utah.
50.x.8.1.3 Mary Ella Sparks was born ca. 1871 in Nevada. She married Bartley Nelson Anderson, and they were the maternal grandparents of Maxine Groher.
50.x.8.1.4 Lulie Nellie Sparks was born ca. 1873 in Nevada. She married Harry Fetsch.
50.x.8.1.5 Caroline F. Sparks was born ca. 1876 in Nevada. She married Dr. Herbert King.
50.x.8.1.6 Charles F. Sparks was born ca. 1878. He lived at Oceanside, California. He married Laura MNU and they had three children:50.x.8.1.6.1 Quartie Sparks. See the September 1970 issue of The Sparks Quarterly, No. 71, for a reference to Quartie Sparks.)
50.x.8.1.6.2 Allie Sparks, and
50.x.8.1.6.3 Sybil Sparks.
50.x.8.2 Mary Elizabeth Sparks, daughter of Quartus Strong and Mary (Hamilton) Sparks, was born June 26, 1847, in San Francisco. She married Albert Barber.
50.x.8.3 Edward Hamilton Sparks, son of Quartus Strong and Mary (Hamilton) Sparks, was born February 7, 1849, in San Francisco. He was a small boy when his parents were divorced. Apparently, he went with his mother to Utah where, in 1866, he enlisted in the Utah Territory Militia at Beaver. Many years later, in 1917, he applied for a pension based on his military service. (See pages 4521-23 of this issue of the Quarterly for an abstract of his pension file.) It is this pension application that has furnished most of the information we have about this man and his family. He married Bessie Jefferies on December 12, 1870, at Salt Lake City by Bishop Winder. The license was issued on December 10, 1870. Edward Sparks died on May 11, 1926. They had the following children:
50.x.8.3.1 Bessie Lizette Sparks was born August 18, 1871. She had died before her father made application for a military pension in 1917.
50.x.8.3.2 Mary Edna Sparks was born March 12, 1874.
50.x.8.3.3 Edward Hamilton Sparks, Jr. was born January 31, 1876.
50.x.8.3.4 William Jefferies Sparks was born April 25, 1879. He had died before his father made application for a military pension in 1917.
50.x.8.3.5 Earle Franklin Sparks was born March 23, 1882. He had died before his father made application for a military pension in 1917.
50.x.8.3.6 Genevieve Elizabeth Sparks was born April 11, 1885. She had died before her father made application for a military pension in 1917.
50.x.8.3.7 Cleveland Sparks was born June 30, 1888. He had died before his father made application for a military pension in 1917.
50.x.8.3.8 Phyllis Lucille Sparks was born April 30, 1890.
50.x.8.3.9 Pearl Jefferies Sparks was born January 16, 1893.
50.x.8.4 Mary Hamilton Sparks, daughter of Quartus Strong and Mary (Hamilton) Sparks, was born in San Francisco. We have no information about her.
50.x.8.5 Dwight Coridon Sparks, son of Quartus Strong and Mary (Hamilton) Sparks, was born May 25, 1855, in San Bernardino, California; he may have been named for an uncle, Dwight Sparks. He was just an infant when his parents were divorced, and he went with his mother to Utah. It was there that he grew to manhood. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Clarissa Loretta Sperry on May 9, 1876, in Juab County, Utah. His second marriage was to Lillie May Black on September 12, 1900, in Sanpete County, Utah. We have learned the name of only one child of Dwight Sparks. She was Loretta Sparks, born on May 27, 1901, to Dwight and Lillie May Sparks. (See page 3368 of the March 1989 issue of the Quarterly, No. 145, for an obituary of Loretta [Sparks] Orme.) Dwight Sparks died on July 13, 1932, at Nephi, Utah.
50.x.8.6 Albert Sparks, probable son of Quartus Strong and Ann (Buck) Sparks, was born ca. 1862 according to information furnished by relatives.