Sparks, John B.

SPARKS, MATTHEWS, SHERMAN, NOBLE, ROBISON, SYLVESTER

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/15/2009 at 09:33:43

John B. Sparks stands in the front rank with the farmers and stock-raisers of Lynn Grove Township, Jasper County. He was born May 29, 1842, in Lee County, this state, to John R. and Elizabeth (Matthews) Sparks. The father, who was born in Green County, Ky., March 16, 1806, was reared on a farm, and received but a limited education, until after growing to manhood, when he attended school with his two eldest children. He left home when about twenty years of age and went with a party overland to Illinois, settling first in Morgan County. He worked by the month on a farm until his marriage, about three years later. He then bought a farm in Illinois, and in 1836 came to Iowa with an ox-team and horse and wagon.

Locating on Government land in Lee County, John R. Sparks built a log house, where the family resided for six months. He tried several townships and counties for farming, and finally, in 1845, came to Jasper County, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of Government land in this township. The family lived in a log cabin for nine years, and at the end of this period was erected the house in which our subject lives. With the help of his boys and his wife, he became the owner of five hundred acres of choice farming land. During the days of the old-line Whig party, he was very active in politics, and on the birth or the Republican Party voted for Fremont. He was honored with different local offices, among them being that of County Commissioner. In the progress of education and religion he was greatly interested, and was always ready to support all laudable enterprises. He was one of the most highly respected and honored men in the county, and was widely known, the family being the second to locate in this part of the county. He died August 17, 1886.

The mother of our subject was born in Green County, Ky., to William and Mary Matthews, who were Kentucky people and who engaged in farming. The father died in Kentucky, and after his demise the widow, with her large family of children, went to Illinois, and later came to Iowa, in 1845, settling in Jasper County. She died at the home of our subject at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs. Elizabeth Sparks was born January 7, 1806, and died June 7, 1886. She had born to her eleven children, eight of whom grew to maturity, and five of whom are yet living, as follows: Jeremiah S., of whom a sketch will be found on another page of this volume. Peninah, the wife of Thomas Sherman (see sketch); our subject, Elizabeth and Samuel T. All of the children are engaged in farming, with the exception of the husband of Elizabeth, A. E. Noble, who is a banker in Casey, Guthrie County, this state.

Mathew W. Sparks, the grandfather, was united in marriage with Mary Robison. Both were natives of North Carolina. The husband was an early settler in Kentucky, and came to Iowa in 1856 with his two sons, spending his last days here. He was a son of William Sparks, Jr. The father of the last-named was William Sparks, Sr., and was a native of Maryland. The family originally came from Wales, and its members were among the early settlers in Maryland. Traditional history tells us that they were pioneers in no less than five different states.

The gentleman of whom we write, like many another farmer boy, received but a limited education, and has all his life followed agricultural pursuits. He was married November 22, 1877, to Miss Amanda M. Sylvester, who was born August 29, 1851, in the Prairie State. She is the daughter of Dickson and Ann Sylvester, who came from Delaware. In 1852, they located in Iowa, in this county and township, and the father still lives here, making his home with a son. The mother died a few years ago. Six children have come to bless the home of our subject and his amiable wife, and all are living, except Ernest T., and are as follows: Daisy A., born August 25, 1878; Ada E., August 28, 1880; Ralph S., August 27, 1881; Nancy W., December 27, 1882; and Orphia E., October 9, 1888. After his marriage, our subject rented the old home with his father, and lived there until 1880, at which time he moved to his own farm. In 1887, he bought out the heirs in the homestead and again located there. The land is devoted to mixed farming and stock raising. In his political views he is a stanch Republican, and polled his first vote for President Lincoln. He and his estimable wife have been valued members of the Methodist Protestant Church for many years. Portrait and Biographical Record, Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, IA Page 666.