January 24, 2022
Pages 2496-2503
Whole Number 121
UNION SOLDIERS NAMED SPARKS WHO APPLIED,
OR WHOSE HEIRS APPLIED, FOR
PENSIONS FOR SERVICE IN THE CIVIL WAR
(Editor's Note: For a number of years we have been publishing abstracts of the pension files of Union soldiers who served in the Civil War. Readers are referred to page 2110 of the June 1979 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 106, for an explanation of these abstracts. It should be noted that they are not based on an examination of the entire file of papers in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., for each of the pensioners concerned, but on those documents pulled from each file by a searcher at the Archives that he or she believed to have genealogical significance.)
| 32.1.8.4.1 JOHN SPARKS, | son of 32.1.8.4 William and Catherine (Tiller) Sparks, was born in Henry County, Kentucky, on May 8, 1838. He married (first) Juriah Schooler on November 14, 1859, in Henry County and married (second) Elizabeth Ann Perry on January 24, 1867, in Bartholomew County, Indiana. He served in Company E, 93rd Regt. Indiana Infantry and in Company G, 54th Regt. Kentucky Mounted Infantry. File Designation: Inv. Cert. No. 485,125. |
John Sparks was issued a Certificate of Disability for Discharge on September 3, 1863, at the Lawson General Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri. Surgeon C. T. Alexander certified that Sparks suffered from a "chronic ulcer of the right leg from kick of a horse prior to enlistment. He is unfit for Invalid Corps." Sparks was 23 years of age; he was six feet tall; he had a dark complexion, gray eyes and dark hair; and he was a farmer.
Sometime prior to February 1885, Sparks applied for an invalid pension. He was living in Clark County, Arkansas, where he had moved in 1866. He said he was almost disabled from his ulcerated leg and had spent quite a bit of time on crutches which rendered him useless as a farmer.
The War Department confirmed Sparks's military service on October 14, 1885. He was enrolled on August 20, 1862, in Bartholomew County, Indiana, in Company E, 93rd Regiment Indiana Volunteers and had served until he received a medical discharge at St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1863. He had also enlisted at Newcastle, Kentucky, on September 20, 1864, as a sergeant in Company G, 54th Regiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry and had served until he was mustered out with his company at Louisville, Kentucky, on September 1, 1865.
The Bureau of Pensions issued Invalid Certificate No. 485,125 to John Sparks and he was placed upon the pension roll retroactive to May 1885.
On April 4, 1898, Sparks responded to a questionnaire from the Bureau of Pensions. He said he married Elizabeth Ann Perry on January 24, 1867, in Bartholomew County, Indiana; he had been married previously to Juriah Schooler, but they were divorced in August 1866, in Bartholomew County. He stated that he had two children under the age of sixteen. They were: Benjamin Franklin Sparks, born on June 7, 1886, and Vernie Victory Sparks, born on March 21, 1889. He said he also had seven other children over the age of sixteen, and would furnish their names and dates of birth if needed.
On May 27, 1909, John Sparks, now a resident of Donaldson, Arkansas, applied for an increased pension. He said he was born in Henry County, Kentucky, on May 8, 1838, and was now 71 years of age. Since leaving the service, he had lived in Columbus, Indiana, from 1865 to 1878; in Clark County, Arkansas, from 1878 to 1885, and in Hot Spring County, Arkansas, from 1885 to the present, Henry M. Borland and John B. Shaw witnessed his signature and the declaration was sworn to before Daniel S. Bray, County & Circuit Clerk of Hot Spring County.
When John Sparks died on June 9, 1912, he was receiving a pension of $15.00 per month.
(Editor's Note: John Sparks was a son of 32.1.8.4 William and Catherine (Tiller) Sparks and a grandson of 32.1.8 Walter and Susan (Prewitt) Sparks. See page 2493 of the present issue of the Quarterly for further information regarding John Sparks and his family. Kenneth Sparks of Norwalk, Connecticut, a descendant of John Sparks, has provided us with the dates of birth of the children of John and Elizabeth Ann (Perry) Sparks as follows:
32.1.8.4.1.1 William Henry Sparks, born February 10, 1868.
32.1.8.4.1.2 Martha Ellen Sparks, born March 21, 1870.
32.1.8.4.1.3 Stephen Edward Sparks, born August 20, 1872.
32.1.8.4.1.4 James Marshall Sparks, born January 29, 1875.
32.1.8.4.1.5 Francis Thomas Sparks, born October 29, 1877.
32.1.8.4.1.6 Charles Calvin Sparks, born July 7, 1879.
32.1.8.4.1.7 Nora Alice Sparks, born November 25, 1881.
32.1.8.4.1.8 John Aicha Sparks, born July 20, 1884.
32.1.8.4.1.9 Benjamin Franklin Sparks, born June 7, 1886.
32.1.8.4.1.10 Verna Victoria Sparks, born March 21, 1889.
32.1.8.4.1.11 Gracie May Sparks, born January 1, 1892.
32.1.8.5 STEPHEN SPARKS, son of 32.1.8 Walter and Susan A. (Prewitt) Sparks, was born ca. 1822, probably in Henry County, Kentucky. His full name was John Stephen Sparks, but he seems always to have been called Stephen.
He married Elizabeth Jane Levi on June 3, 1843, in Allen County, Kentucky, He served in Company F, 9th Regiment Kentucky Infantry and died on April 15, 1862, of wounds received in the Battle of Shiloh. File Designations: Wid. Cert. No. 58,430; Minor Cert. No. 156,620.
Elizabeth J. Sparks, widow of Stephen Sparks, filed Application No. 51,545 for a widow's pension on May 11, 1864; however, no copy of the application was sent from this pension file by the searcher at the National Archives. On July 5, 1864, the War Department furnished the Commissioner of Pensions with a statement of Sparks's military service, but reminded the Commissioner that the record was not complete. Sparks had enrolled in Company F, 9th Regiment Kentucky Infantry Volunteers on October 15, 1861, at Monroe and Allen Counties, Kentucky, to serve for three years or during the war. The Muster rolls of Company F from the date of muster-in to February 28, 1863, (covering the period of Sparks's death) were not on file although the proper authorities had been repeatedly notified of their neglect.
On August 25, 1865, Riley A. Read, formerly Captain and Commanding Officer of Company F, 9th Regiment Kentucky Infantry, and now a resident of Allen County, Kentucky, made an affidavit in behalf of Mrs. Sparks's application. He stated that Stephen Sparks was a member of Company F and was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh and sent to the rear and placed upon a boat to be sent to some hospital. Word had been received from Private Robinson, a member of the same company who was also wounded, that Sparks had died between the battleground and Fort McHenry (sic) and was removed from the boat and buried at that point. This was about the middle of April, 1862. Captain Read said he saw Sparks when he was struck. His thigh was shattered between the knee and the hip by the first fire of the enemy and he was carried off the field. No other word had been received of him other than Robinson's statement.
Widow Certificate No. 58,430 was issued to Elizabeth J. Sparks, and she was placed upon the pension roll at the rate of $8.00 per month.
On August 31, 1866, Mrs. Sparks, aged 40 and a resident of Georgia, Lawrence County, Indiana, made a declaration for pension benefits in behalf her minor children. She asked for an increase in her pension for the following children who were under the age of sixteen years:
32.1.8.5.3 John Solomon Sparks, born July 13, 1851
32.1.8.5.4 William W. Sparks, born April 20, 1854
32.1.8.5.5 Louisa Margaret Catherine Sparks, born November 25, 1857
32.1.8.5.6 Mary Virginia Elizabeth ["Ellie"] Sparks, born June 26, 1860
On January 5, 1867, Mrs. Sparks appeared before R. W. Dunlap, Clerk of the Crawford County (Missouri) Circuit Court, and made another affidavit to support her claim for her minor children. R. T. Richey and E. A. Seay witnessed her sign her name.
On September 11, 1867, Mrs. Sparks modified her earlier declaration by giving her daughters' full names. The 3rd daughter named in her declaration was Louisa Margaret Catherine Sparks while the 4th daughter named in the declaration was Mary Virginia Elizabeth Sparks.
On October 7, 1867, Mrs. Sparks was notified that her claim had been approved. According to a review of the records, she and Stephen Sparks were married on June 3, 1843. She had not re-married nor had any of her children been adopted. The pension for the four children was increased $2.00 per month.
Mrs. Sparks re-married on December 7, 1869; however, the name of her husband was not given in the record. With her re-marriage, her pension benefits stopped. On April 11, 1871, the Probate Court of Howell County, Missouri, appointed Robert T. Sparks, West Plains, Missouri, as the guardian of William W. Sparks, Margaret L. C. Sparks, and Mary V. E. Sparks. On March 4, 1872, the Bureau of Pensions approved the payment of the pensions for these children to Robert T. Sparks, commencing December 8, 1869.
(Editor's Note: The reader is referred to page 2494 of the Quarterly, March 1983, Whole No. 142 for further information on Stephen Sparks and his branch of the Sparks family.)
32.1.8.6.1 ROBERT DENNIS SPARKS, son of 32.1.8.6 Edwin and Elizabeth (Armstrong) Sparks, was born January 14, 1845, probably in Oldham County, Kentucky. He was killed while in the service by falling underneath a train near Cleveland, Tennessee, on March 19, 1865. He was buried in the National Cemetery at Chattanooga, Tennessee. He served in Company F, 145th Regiment Indiana Infantry. File Designation: Father's Cert. No 214,680.
On May 16, 1879, Edwin Sparks, age 56, a resident of Swanville, Jefferson County, Indiana, made a declaration for a father's pension. He said he was the father of Robert Dennis Sparks who had enlisted on January 27, 1865, in Company F, 145th Regiment Indiana Volunteers. On or about March 19, 1865, his son was thrown from a train of cars near Cleveland, Tennessee, and both of his legs were cut off by the cars passing over him. He died from the injuries. Sparks went on to state that he had been married to the mother of Robert Dennis Sparks at Lagrange, Kentucky, on March 1, 1844, by the Rev. Scoby. She died on January 11, 1872, at Saluda, Indiana. Sparks said he was almost wholly dependent upon his son for his support. The only other survivor of his son was a sister, Mary Ann Sparks, born July 19, 1849. He appointed Clemt. W Bennett as his attorney and Daniel Armstrong and A. L. Shannon witnessed him make his mark.
On February 12, 1880, the War Department confirmed the military service of Robert Dennis Sparks. He had enrolled on January 27, 1865, at Columbus, Indiana, in Company F, 145 Regiment Indiana Infantry for one year. He was reported as "Corporal - left in Hospital, Nashville, Tenn. since February 22, 1865." He was carried on the muster roll from March to June 1865 as "Died - - no notice received of when or how he died." The final statement on the report was "Died in Post Hospital, Cleveland, Tenn., March 19, 1865 - - run over by R.R. cars."
During 1881, 1882, and 1883, eleven affidavits were made to support the claim of Edwin Sparks, and he was given two physical examinations. On April 19, 1881, James P. Shuck, 48, and Lucy C. Sparks, 28, testified that before Robert Dennis Sparks went into the service, he worked "out by days work" in order to support his father. They also testified that Robert Dennis Sparks had never married. This affidavit was witnessed by John T. Sparks and Stephen D. Mills. A similar affidavit was made on December 14, 1881, by James P. Shuck, 48; Nancy Sage, 66; Jacob Hensley, 55; and John A. Hamilton, 55, who testified to the inadequate income of Edwin Sparks. They said that in 1864, Sparks had an annual income of about $90.
A physical examination was given Edwin Sparks in late 1881 by Dr. J. H. Matthew who found that Sparks was totally disabled because of an inguinal hernia and also because of varicose veins in his right leg which affected all the veins in his lower body to an extreme degree. Another physical examination was given to Sparks on December 25, 1882, by Dr. A. H. Phillips who found that Sparks was suffering from an ill-defined kidney disorder which "laid him up" for about one-fourth of the time. Thomas McNutt, a justice of the peace, certified that Phillips was a practicing physician in good standing in the community.
On March 8, 1883, John A. Hamilton testified that Edwin Sparks had worked for him many times and that he paid him from 65¢ to 75¢ per day for common labor, and from $1.00 to 1.25 per day during the harvest season. Hamilton said that some days Sparks could do a good day's work, but that at other times, he was unable to work at all.
On March 9, 1883, Jesse Wagner, Jefferson County Recorder, testified that on November 6, 1882, Sparks mortgaged his farm to John A. Hamilton for $135. A month later, on April 20, 1883, Sparks and Hamilton made a joint affidavit. Sparks stated that from the sale of real estate in 1877, he had $430 left which he had paid down on the farm where he now lived, leaving him in debt about $245. Hamilton stated that Sparks lived on a farm that had less than 12 acres cleared and under cultivation.
The Bureau of Pensions ultimately issued Father's Certificate No. 214,680 to Edwin Sparks, and he was placed upon the pension roll, but neither the date of approval nor the amount of the pension can be determined from the information provided by the National Archives from this file.
(Editor's Note: For additional information on Robert Dennis Sparks and the branch of the Sparks family to which he belonged, see page 2495 of the March, 1988 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 121.)
32.1.8.2 RICHARD W. SPARKS,, son of 32.1.8 Walter and Susan A. (Prewitt) Sparks, was born in Henry County, Kentucky, on January 13, 1816. He married Elizabeth Elder in Iowa County, Iowa, on April 10, 1856. He served in Company E, 93rd Regiment Indiana Infantry. File Designations: Inv. Cert. No. 216,345; Wid. Cert. No. 206,819.
On August 25, 1864, Richard Sparks, aged 43, a resident of Columbus, Indiana, applied for an invalid pension. He said he had enlisted on August 20, 1862, at Columbus, Indiana, in Company E (Capt. McGrayell's) of the 93rd Regiment Indiana Infantry. He was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps and was discharged on August 17, 1864. On May 14, 1863, while engaged in battle near Jackson, Mississippi, he had received a gunshot wound which cut off his first and second fingers of his right hand at the second joint. Shortly after he was wounded, he contracted chronic diarrhea which lasted for five months and left him with dropsy of the abdomen and palpitation of the heart. He was now unable to perform his duties as a farmer. He appointed Bennett F. Nitt, Indianapolis, Indiana, as his attorney. Thomas Essex, T. Webber Smith, Robert Moore, and James Yeager witnessed him make his mark and application was sworn to before Albert Jones, Clerk of the Bartholomew County Circuit Court.
On February 7, 1866, Marion Mooney, late Lieutenant of Company E, 93rd Regiment Indiana Volunteers, completed a Commissioned Officer's Certificate of Disability for Richard Sparks. He stated tnat he had enlisted Sparks on September 29, 1862, in Bartholomew County, Indiana, in Company E, 93rd Regiment Indiana Infantry to serve for three years. Sparks had been born in Henry County, Kentucky; he was 6 feet, 1 inch tall; he had a light complexion, dark eyes and dark hair; and he was a farmer. During the last months before before his discharge, Sparks had been transferred to the Invalid Corps by an order from General S. A. Hurbut on January 15, 1864, by reason of a wound received in the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on May 13, 1863.
The Adjutant General confirmed Sparks's military service on July 9, 1870. He was mustered into Company E, 93rd Regiment Indiana Volunteers on September 29, 1862, at Madison, Indiana. On the May-June 1863 muster-roll of that company, he was reported as "Wounded, absent in hospital near Vicksburg, Miss., May 25, 1863." He was transferred to the V.R.C. on January 15, 1864, and was discharged from the V.R.C. on August 17, 1864, on a Surgeon's Certificate of Disability because of a gunshot wound of the hand.
On June 4, 1877, Richard Sparks reapplied for an invalid pension because of the gunshot injury which prevented him from making a living. He said that since leaving the service, he had lived in Bartholomew and Brown Counties, Indiana, where he was a farmer. He appointed L. L. Rowan, Indianapolis, Indiana, as his attorney. John Sparks and Perry Joslin witnessed him make his mark and the application was sworn to before Gabriel E. Miller, Clerk of Bartholomew County, Ind.
Invalid Certificate No. 216,345 was issued to 32.1.8.2 Richard Sparks and he was placed upon the pension roll at the rate of 4.00 per month.
On December 11, 1882, Sparks made a declaration for an increase in his pension; however before any action was taken upon his request, he died on June 11, 1883, in Bartholomew County, Indiana. On June 22, 1883, his widow, Elizabeth Sparks, aged 53, applied for a widow's pension. She stated that she and Sparks had been married in Iowa County, Iowa, on April 10, 1856. Her maiden name had been Elizabeth Elder. They had one child under the age of sixteen years in 1883, Ira W. Sparks, who had been born on August 17, 1867. She further stated that her husband had left no minor children by a former marriage. She appointed F. C. Woodburn of Columbus, Indiana, as her attorney. John W. Maring and Jacob Silverman witnessed her signature.
On August 30, 1883, D. E Evans, Clark of Iowa County, Iowa, sent a copy of the marriage record of Richard Sparks and Elizabeth Elder. They were married on April 10, 1856, by the Rev. William Furnas, a Minister of the Gospel.
On November 3, 1888, Elizabeth Sparks, now aged 59, a resident of Clinton, Illinois, made a declaration that she wanted to re-open her claim to her husband's pension. She appointed Maring, Slusher & Co. of Columbus, Indiana, as her attorneys. N. B. Dorsey and Lora Peggs witnessed her signature, and the request was sworn to before Laura C. Arnold, a notary public.
On October 14, 1890, Ezra W. Sparks, aged 26, a resident of Clinton, Illinois, completed a Declaration for Children Under Sixteen Years of Age for the purpose of obtaining a pension. He stated that he was permanently unable to earn support by reason of rheumatism. He said he was a son of Richard Sparks who had served in Company E, 93rd Regiment Indiana Infantry from August 20, 1862, until August 29, 1865, and who had died on June 11, 1883. Richard Sparks had left a widow, Elizabeth Sparks, who was living. She had been married to Richard Sparks under her maiden name of Elizabeth Elder. He appointed Maring and Slusher as his attorneys. C. F. Bryant and C. D. Harwood witnessed his application.
Widow Certificate No. 206,819 was issued to Elizabeth Sparks, and she was placed upon the pension roll. When she died on August 29, 1917, at Clinton, Illinois, she was receiving a pension of $20.00 per month.
(Editor's Note: The reader is referred to pages 2492-93 of the present issue of the Quarterly for additional data on Richard W. Sparks. As noted there, we believe that Richard W. Sparks was actually married twice, and that Elizabeth (Elder) Sparks was actually his second wife. We believe him to have been the same Richard Sparks who married Mildred Ann Satterwhite in Henry County, Kentucky, on January 7, 1840. There is a record in Johnson County, Indiana, that Mildred and Richard Sparks there filed for divorce in August 1847, but subsequently their attorneys asked that the cause be dismissed. (Order Book Civil E4 Circuit Court, 1846-51, p. 103) Although they were living together in Johnson County, Indiana, when the 1850 census was taken, we believe (but cannot prove) that they were probably divorced soon thereafter. On August 6, 1862, Mildred Sparks married George W. Crittenden in Louisville, Kentucky. On August 21, 1863, when she applied for a mother's pension because of the death of her son, John W. Sparks, while he was serving in the Union Array, she stated that she was the "widow" of Richard Sparks. (See page 1757-1761 of the September 1975 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No. 91, for an abstract of the pension file based on the service of John W. Sparks.)
According to tombstone records of the Powell Cemetery, Hamblen Township, Brown County, Indiana, Richard Sparks died on June 11, 1883, at the age of 67 years, 4 months, and 28 days. A daughter, 32.1.8.2.10 Lora E. Sparks, had died on September 1, 1877, age one year, 10 months, and 4 days. Richard's wife, Elizabeth Sparks, died on August 29, 1917, at the age of 88 years and 22 days. 32.1.8.2.9 Ira Wesley Sparks, youngest son of Richard and Elizabeth (Elder) Sparks, died on June 3, 1884, at the age of 16 years. He was buried in the Needmore Cemetery, Brown County, Ind.)
32.1.8.1.2 THOMAS H. SPARKS, son of 32.1.8.1 Walter K. and Mary Jane (McCoskey) Sparks, was born December 2, 1839. He died on January 25, 1863. He married Elizabeth Ann Kint on November 18, 1861. He served in Company F, 12th Regt. Iowa Infantry. File Designations: Wid. Cert. No. 46,749. Minor Child Cert. No. 89,776.
According to the Certificate of Discharge, Thomas H. Sparks enlisted in Company F, 12th Regiment Iowa Infantry at Dubuque, Iowa, on November 25, 1861. On April 6, 1862, he was taken prisoner and was sent to Montgomery, Alabama. During his imprisonment he developed a severe cough and diarrhea and when he returned to his military unit a few months later, he was unable to perform his duties. He was discharged at Benton Barracks, Missouri, on January 14, 1863. He had been born in Vigo County, Indiana. He was 23 years old when he entered the service; 5 feet, 5 inches tall; he had a dark complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair; and he was a farmer by occupation.
Thomas H. Sparks lived for only a few days after his discharge from the service; he died on January 25, 1863. His widow, Betsy A. Sparks, made application for a widow's pension. Unfortunately, the copy of her original application was not included among the selected papers provided by the National Archives, but apparently it was prepared shortly after Sparks's death. A copy of the marriage record of Thomas H. Sparks and Betsy A. Kint was sent to the Bureau of Pensions by W. H. Burton, Judge of Buchanan County, Iowa, showing that they had been married on November 18, 1861, by the Rev. W. L. Griffith at Hazleton, Iowa.
On June 14, 1864, Capt. W. J. Morse, commanding officer of Company F, 12th Regiment Iowa Infantry, completed an Officer's Certificate to Disability of Soldier. The certificate was made out at a camp at the mouth of White River, Arkansas. Morse stated that Thomas H. Sparks had been a member of his company and "as I am informed is dead and his widow is an applicant for a pension." He said that Sparks had chronic diarrhea and general debility which began while he was a prisoner of war at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After his return to Company F, he was unable to perform any military duties for six months prior to his discharge.
On August 6, 1864, Joseph S. Girton, a resident of Buchanan County, Iowa, made an affidavit that he and Thomas H. Sparks were taken prisoners on April 6, 1862, at Shiloh, Tennessee, while engaged in a battle with the enemy and that they were imprisoned for two months at Montgomery, Alabama. It was there that Sparks had contracted disease from which he never recovered and after they were paroled, Sparks spent most of his time in the hospital until he died. The affidavit was notarized by James B. Dorman, a notary public.
Betsy A. Sparks made an affidavit on November 25, 1864, to support her claim for a pension. She said she could give no further proof as to the origin of the disease which killed her husband. She said that Joseph S. Girton was the only soldier she could find who was with her husband as a prisoner of war. She reminded the Bureau of Pensions that she had forwarded her husband's discharge certificate and also a certificate from his commanding officer. She said she must rest her case for "this I believe is all that I can say or do." She signed her name as Mrs. Betsy A. Sparks, Independence, Iowa. James B. Dorman notarized the affidavit.
On April 17, 1865, Dr. J. S. Love, a physician of Springville, Linn County, Iowa, made an affidavit that he had known Thomas H. Sparks for many years since he had been the family doctor of the Sparks family. He said he knew of no hereditary disease of any member of the family. Sparks had been a sound, able-bodied man when he entered the service in November 1861. He said he attended Sparks on his dying bed and that Sparks said that his disease was brought on by exposure while in enemy hands. Sparks died at Springville, Iowa, on January 25, 1863, of Phsthisis Pulmonalis and diarrhea. The affidavit was sworn to before John P. Carbee, a justice of the peace in Linn County.
Betsy A. Sparks was issued Widow's Certificate No. 46,749; however, she probably received few pension payments for on December 6, 1865, she married Peter Young.
On January 1, 1866, John Kint, age 50, a resident of Hazleton, Iowa, appeared before William H. Barton, Judge of Buchanan County, Iowa, to file an application for a pension for a pension for a minor child. He stated that he was the guardian of Samantha Jane Sparks, daughter of Thomas H. and Betsy A. Sparks. Samantha Jane had been born on November 8, 1862. Her father died on January 25, 1863, and her mother had remarried. W. H. Kint, brother of Betsy A. Sparks, and Jacob W. Husbrouch attested to the declaration.
On June 25, 1866, George Kint and Jacob Husbrouch made an affidavit that they were present in the house of Thomas H. Sparks when his daughter, Samantha Jane Sparks, had been born on November 9, 1862. She was the only minor child of Thomas H. Sparks, deceased. This apparently convinced the Bureau of Pensions for Minor Certificate No. 89,776 was issued to Samantha Jane Sparks.
On November 23, 1916, Betsy A. Young, age 73, of Independence, Iowa, made an application for a remarried widow's pension. She stated that she had been born on October l, 1843, at Defiance, Williams County, Ohio. On November 18, 1861, she had married Thomas H. Sparks. He had died on January 25, 1863, at Waubeek, Iowa, and she had applied for and was issued a Widow's Pension. She continued to receive the pension until she married Peter Young on December 6, 1865. Peter Young had died on April 22, 1911, and she was requesting to again be placed on the pension rolls under the 1916 Act of Congress for remarried widows. C. J. Nelson and Blanche King witnessed her signature.
Betsy A. Young was again issued a pension under Widow's Certificate No. 46,749. When she died on April 9, 1926, she was receiving 30.00 per month. She lived at Oelwein, Iowa.
(Editor's Note: The reader is referred to pages 2491-92 of the March, 1988 issue of the Quarterly, Whole No.121 for additional information regarding Thomas H. Sparks and his branch of the Sparks family.)