Posted on: Clark Co. Wi Biographies Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Wi/ClarkBios/10764 Surname: Sparks, Calkins, Messing, Eager, Chandler, Howe, Tyrell ------------------------- Additions to the biography of Robert W. Sparks, found in the 1891 Bigraphical History of Clark and Jackson Counties, WI. The parents of Robert W. Sparks were James Freeman Sparks and Sylvia (or Silvia) Calkins. James Freeman was born July 23, 1818 in Summit, Schoharie County, New York, and died June 1, 1902 in Clark County, Wis. He is buried at Sherwood Cemetery in Clark County, Wis. He was married to Sylvia Calkins on August 20, 1837. She was born September 5, 1813 (some sources have listed the year as 1814, and others have listed it as 1819). She was the daughter of Martin Luther Calkins and Hannah (maiden name not known). Sylvia died January 23, 1871 in Plainfield, Wis., and is buried there. The parents of James Freeman Sparks were Thomas Sparks and Mary Howe. An article titled "The Descendants of Thomas Sparks (1790-1869) and his wife Mary (Howe) Sparks (1795-1862)" by M. Ward Wilson was published in The Sparks Quarterly (The Official Publication of The Sparks Family Association), Vol. XVIII, No. 1, March,1970. The March/April 2001 issue of Everton's Genealogical Helper notes the name and address of the contact person for The Sparks Quarterly as Russell E. Bidlack, Sec.-Treas./Editor, 1709 Cherokee Rd., Ann Arbor, MI, 48104-4498. Mary Howe's parents were Cyrenius Howe and Sarah Tyrell. An account of the ancestors of Mary Howe is found in the book, Howe. Genealogy of Abraham of Roxbury, James of Iswich, Abraham of Marlborough, Edward of Lynn, MA, with appendix, by D.W. & G.B. Howe, published 1929. Mary is descended from Edward Howe of Lynn, MA. This book can most likey be found at most major genealogical and family history libraries. Robert W. Sparks, the subject of the above biography, had two brothers who married two other Messing sisters. John Sparks (my ancestor) married Augusta Elizabeth Messing in 1885, and Jess Sparks married Laura Louise Messing in 1892. Descendants of these three pairs of siblings are to be found throughout the United States. For more information regarding the Sparks,Messing, Eager and Chandler lines, please e-mail me. Robert W. and Julia had five more children besides the ones listed in the biography: Margaret Elizabeth, born Dec. 1, 1892, Inez Lillie, born Nov. 8, 1894, Walter George, born Aug. 25, 1898, Kenneth Rollin, born Dec. 17, 1900, and Loren Milton, born Aug. 20, 1902. In 1905, Robert and Julia, with their nine youngest children removed to Hood River, Oregon. (Laura Grace remained in Wisconsin). Robert died in Hood River on September 4, 1936, and Julia died August 13, 1939, in Hood River.