Individual Details
John M. Sparks
(11 Mar 1843 - 8 Jan 1873)
John M. Sparks was the third child of John and Mary Ann (Kirkpatrick) Sparks, and was born in Wisconsin about 1843. He died at the age of 29 in Correctionville, Iowa on 8 January 1873. It was an unfortunate death. Sparks operated a farm. The young man and a friend went out early on a fine January day to gather wood. A blizzard sprang from nowhere and both men froze to death before they could return home.
Sparks' death left his young wife to raise four children. Mrs. Sparks was the former Caroline M. Hake, who was born 13 September 1842 in Trumble County, Ohio. She and Sparks were married at Lisbon, Grant County, Wisconsin, 8 March 1866.
Caroline Sparks continued to live in Iowa. At length she married a second time, to a farm laborer on an adjoining farm. The man was John Prosser and he married the widow Sparks on 10 September 1883 at Ida Grove, Iowa. After about one year he deserted his wife and disappeared. Mrs. Sparks retained an attorney named Blodgett in 1885 to put through a divorce. She was advised at that time that the divorce was approved and recorded.
In 1899 she sold the property in Iowa and moved to South Dakota to the home of one of her sons, William L. Sparks. In the late 1920's she applied for a pension based on her first husband's Civil War service with the Union Army. When she began to fill out the papers she discovered there was no record of her divorce of some forty years before. Blodgett was revealed to be a less-than-reliable attorney, who apparently had never carried through the divorce action. He had been run out of the county for misapplication of fees. There is no evidence that Caroline Sparks was awarded a pension because of her inability to produce a divorce record. She died 30 January 1930.
Sparks enlisted in the Union Army as a Private at Mifflin, Wisconsin, 13 August 1862. He was assigned to Company E, 30th Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and mustered at Mineral point, Wisconsin. He was nineteen years old. He stood 5 feet 8½ inches tall, had dark complexion, hazel eyes and light hair, and his occupation was farmer. He was discharged by reason of a disability at the Post Hospital at Louisville, Kentucky, 12 August 1865.
There were four children born of the marriage.
Sparks' death left his young wife to raise four children. Mrs. Sparks was the former Caroline M. Hake, who was born 13 September 1842 in Trumble County, Ohio. She and Sparks were married at Lisbon, Grant County, Wisconsin, 8 March 1866.
Caroline Sparks continued to live in Iowa. At length she married a second time, to a farm laborer on an adjoining farm. The man was John Prosser and he married the widow Sparks on 10 September 1883 at Ida Grove, Iowa. After about one year he deserted his wife and disappeared. Mrs. Sparks retained an attorney named Blodgett in 1885 to put through a divorce. She was advised at that time that the divorce was approved and recorded.
In 1899 she sold the property in Iowa and moved to South Dakota to the home of one of her sons, William L. Sparks. In the late 1920's she applied for a pension based on her first husband's Civil War service with the Union Army. When she began to fill out the papers she discovered there was no record of her divorce of some forty years before. Blodgett was revealed to be a less-than-reliable attorney, who apparently had never carried through the divorce action. He had been run out of the county for misapplication of fees. There is no evidence that Caroline Sparks was awarded a pension because of her inability to produce a divorce record. She died 30 January 1930.
Sparks enlisted in the Union Army as a Private at Mifflin, Wisconsin, 13 August 1862. He was assigned to Company E, 30th Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and mustered at Mineral point, Wisconsin. He was nineteen years old. He stood 5 feet 8½ inches tall, had dark complexion, hazel eyes and light hair, and his occupation was farmer. He was discharged by reason of a disability at the Post Hospital at Louisville, Kentucky, 12 August 1865.
There were four children born of the marriage.
Events
| Birth | 11 Mar 1843 | Wisconsin |  | ||
| Marriage | 8 Mar 1866 | Grant Co., Wisconsin - Caroline M. Hake | |||
| Death | 8 Jan 1873 | Correctionville, Woodbury Co., Iowa | | ||
| Burial | Correctionville Cemetery, Correntionville, Woodbury Co., Iowa | |
Families
| Spouse | Caroline M. Hake (1842 - 1930) |
| Child | Wesley B. Sparks (1867 - 1943) |
| Child | William Lamont Sparks (1868 - 1933) |
| Child | Nellie E. Sparks (1871 - 1892) |
| Child | John Ellis Sparks (1872 - 1961) |
| Father | John Sparks (1814 - ) |
| Mother | Mary Ann Kirkpatrick (1820 - 1876) |
| Sibling | Sarah E. Sparks (1838 - ) |
| Sibling | Columbus Calvin "C. C." Sparks (1841 - 1910) |
Endnotes
1. Find A Grave.
2. Find A Grave.
3. Find A Grave.