Hi Ross!!! Thanks for all the great information!!! I didn't have most of that information, so it will be a great help. Thanks for taking your time to check it out for me. Greatfully, Susan Sparks "Ross Cameron" <ross.cameron@arch2.nara.gov> wrote: Hi Susan, Missouri did not start official county death register until 1883, so there are no "death certificates" before that for Lawrence County. I checked the published abstracts for the Fountain and Journal and the Chieftain newspapers and found no reference to a Sparks. Another place to find proof of death is probate files. However, I did not find a probate file for him. There is one for Josiah A. Sparks in 1864, who names an heir, Thomas, who appears to be living in California. This family however lived in Vineyard Twp. on the other side of the county. Josiah was born in SC and his children in KY and MO according to the 1860 census. This appears to be a different Sparks family from yours. In the 1880 census, there is a Sparks family in Marionville (family #21) headed by widow, Sarah, 37, born in Ga, with 8 children born in Ga, NC, and Mo. I presume that this is your Thomas Sparks' family. Sarah, widow, b. Aug 1843, is in the 1900 census (Marionville family #8) with grown sons Henry J. and Fred M. She is also in the 1920 Census in Henry's household (Marionville family #90) Fred's date of birth is listed as Jan. 1880, although it perhaps should be 1879 because he was listed as age 1 as of June 1, 1880. I also did not find a tombstone for him indexed in Buck Prairie Township (Marionville). However, Henry J., above, [died 1950] and his wife (?) and son (?) are buried at Marionville IOOF Cemetery. I would think that Henry would have buried his mother there, too, unless she is buried next to Thomas wherever that is. You might check for nearby cemeteries in Stone and Christian county, just in case. Or their tombstones may be down or perhaps they never had engraved tombstones. Thomas is not mentioned in Goodspeed's 1888 History of Lawrence County either. There is a note in the October 1999 Lawrence County Historical Society Bulletin that Stephanee Johnson Smith, 420 Plum Street, Edwardsville, IL 62025, joined the Society and is researching Busby, Sparks and Johnson. This might be your family or the other Sparks family. Ross Cameron >>> Susan Sparks <susansk@netscape.net> 06/26 9:58 PM >>> Hello! I am looking for a death certificate or an obituary for Thomas H. Sparks. He died about 1879 in Lawrence, Marionville, Mo. (I think). Could anyone do a look up for me? Thanks for your help. Susan Sparks Susan Sparks susansk@netscape.net Researching: ABEL, BARTON, BLACKETER, FOX, AND SPARKS ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. Susan Sparks susansk@netscape.net Researching: ABEL, BARTON, BLACKETER, FOX, AND SPARKS ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.