Congradulation Rebecca! > At last, after 3 years of looking, we finally found my Gr-Grandfather in > August. > > This weekend my mom and I travelled to Sulphur Springs, Hopkins County, Texas > to place a headstone and meet cousins that we never knew we had. > > John Pinkney "Pink" Sparkman was born in 1862 in Mississippi. (We're now > looking for which part of Mississippi). By 1870 he was living in Hopkins > County, Texas with a man named John B. Sparkman and his first wife Sarah. I > haven't found him (yet) between 1871 and 1891, but have clues that lead me to > Texarkana, Texas and Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 1892, we found his marriage > record to Lula Edith McDonald in Van Buren, Crawford, Arkansas. > > By 1900, he and Lula and their 2 surviving children were living in the Indian > Territory, in or around Wetumpka. It was here in 1902 that my Grandfather, > George Latha "Lathy" Sparkman was born, along with his 3 younger brothers. > > By 1910, Pink and Lula and had separated. She was living in Stonewall, > Pontotoc, OK and he was living in Fitzhugh, Pontotoc, OK. Lula's father > resided near Stonewall and I found his obituary in a 1912 newspaper. It was > after this, that she and the children moved into or near Ada. > > As for Pink, nobody seemed to know where he went, but I found a clue on a > cassette tape recording that my father had made of my Grandfather. On that > tape, George stated that his father "was buried somewhere down there in > Texas". > > Looking through Texas has been a daunting prospect and slow going. In early > August a lady in Texas did a lookup for me through the Texas death Index and > found a death certificate for "Pinky Sparkman". One thing led to another and > I was finally able to prove that this Pinky Sparkman and my John Pinkney > Sparkman were one and the same. > > Placing the stone has finally brought closure to this chapter of our family > history. Meeting our Sparkman relatives and continuing the research on this > lineage, will enrich our lives. > > So when you hit that brick wall, don't give up. You never know when, or > where, you might find the clue you need. > > Rebecca Ramsey > Gr-Granddaughter of John Pinkney "Pink" Sparkman > > > ==== OKPONTOT Mailing List ==== > Visit OKbits - Obits & Tidbits from 1883 To Present > http://www.rootsweb.com/~okbits >