November 1, 2017
Pages 4827-4828
Whole Number 178
CHILDREN OF STEPHEN AND MARY EMILY (HOOVER) SPARKS
The interesting photograph reproduced on the following page has been provided by Enola J. Shepard, R.R. 2, Piggott, Arkansas, 72454. Ms. Shepard reports:
I found this picture in my mother's trunk. The original picture is 16" x 20". What happened to the missing pictures of the parents, I do not know.
The parents of the four sons and one daughter were Stephen Sparks (1834-1907) and his second wife, Mary Emily (Hoover) Sparks (ca.1840-1916), whose photo- graphs appeared on page 4347 of the Sparks Quarterly of September 1994, Whole No. 167. Stephen Sparks was wearing his Civil War uniform in that photograph, as a member of Company F, 67th Regiment Indiana Volunteers of the Union Army. He received a pension in 1888 based on this service, as did his widow following his death on February 27, 1907. These photographs were also provided by Ms. Shepard. Her grandmother was Eliza Jane Sparks, only daughter of Stephen and Mary Emily (Hoover) Sparks.
Stephen Sparks was a son of Hiram and Elizabeth (Albert) Sparks. He was born near Sparks Ferry in Jackson County, Indiana, on January 2, 1834. He was named, we believe, for his grandfather, Stephen Sparks, who had been born June 25, 1775, in that part of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, that be came a part of Allegheny County in 1788. The great-grandfather of Stephen Sparks (1834-1907) was James Sparks (ca.1752-1834), whose life and family were featured in the September 1994 issue of the Quarterly, cited above.
Stephen Sparks and Mary Emily Hoover were married in Jackson County, Indiana, on September 7, 1865, according to Stephen's statement in his pension applica tion. This was after Stephen returned from his service in the Civil War.
This was Stephen Sparks's second marriage; his first wife, Nancy (Jones) Sparks, had died on June 1, 1862, at Medora, Indiana, shortly before he volunteered for the Civil War.
Stephen and Mary Emily (Hoover) Sparks moved to Wayne County, Illinois, shortly after their marriage, and it was there that their five children were born. We are not certain of the order in which the four sons appear in this photograph. The dates of birth as given by Stephen Sparks for these children, in response to a questionnaire from the Bureau of Pensions in 1898, were as follows:
James M. Sparks, born June 21, 1868.
William S. Sparks, born January 26,1871.
Eliza Jane Sparks, born July 25, 1872.
Uriah A. Sparks, born March 13, 1874.
John E. Sparks, born October 13, 1875