Fayette County Genealogy Project

Isaac SPARKS 
Contributed by Keely Deuschle

SPARKS (pages 305 & 306):

 
The earliest record of the Sparks family in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, is of Isaac Sparks and his purchase of one-hundred and eighty-five acres of the George Washing tract in what is now Perry township near Perryopolis. He cultivated this land, married and left issue: 1. Samuel, died unmarried in Montana. 2. Ellen, married James Arnold, a farmer of Fayette county, later moved to Vermont, where both died. 3. Mary Ann, married Joseph Bute and lived near Perryopolis. 4. Horatio L., of whom further. 5. Jane, cripple, died at the home of her brother, Horatio L.

(II) Horatio L., son of Isaac Sparks, born 1823, died March 5, 1901. he became a resident of Westmoreland county. He learned the tanner’s trade, followed farming and engaged in mercantile business at Indian Head from 1862 until his death. He was a democrat until late in life, then supported Republican candidates. He was a most capable business man, very public-spirited and actively interested in local affairs, holding several town offices. He aided greatly in the development and upbuilding of his town, being progressive and influential. He was a member of the Baptist church, and a man of high moral character. He married Helena Hammond, born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Douglass) Hammond, both born in Ireland of Scotch ancestry, decedents of the famous Douglass clan. They came to this country in early life, settling in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, near West Newton, on a farm, later moved to Monongahela City, where both died. He was a Democrat, and both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Hammond: 1. James, went to Montana in 1852 and died there unmarried. 2. Helena, of previous mention, wife of Horatio L. Sparks. 3. Elizabeth, married John Pershing, a farmer near Mount Pleasant. 4. Mary, died in 1911, unmarried. 5. John D., a dentist of Monongahela City, Pennsylvania; he served in the civil war, was in a Pennsylvania Regiment, died 1908. 6. Nancy, married W. K. Ketchum, of Florida. Children of Horatio L. Sparks: 1. Samuel, deceased, lived at Indian Head, Pennsylvania. 2. James Hammond, of whom further. 3. Isaac L., now living at Indian Head. 4. Ida May, married George W. Campbell, now living at Connellsville, Pennsylvania. 5. Elizabeth, married Cyrus B. Sipe, of Mill Run, Fayette county. 6. John H., deceased. 7. Mary Agnes, deceased. 8. Kate, deceased. 9. Horatio L., Jr., deceased.

(III) James Hammond, second son of Horatio L. and Helena (Hammond) Sparks, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, near West Newton, January 4, 1852, He was educated in the public school at Indian Head and at Mount Pleasant Institute. He worked for his father in his lumber yard and was a gauger in the United States internal revenue service for four years. He came to Uniontown, where for a short time he engaged in the drug business. For several years, he was a clerk in the office of the prothonotary of Fayette county, later served as deputy sheriff. In 1903, he became a clerk in the First National Bank of Uniontown, a position he now fills. He is a Democrat in politics; a member of the First Presbyterian Church; Laurel Lodge, No. 651, Free and Accepted Masons, and the Knights of Pythias.

He married, May 13, 1876, Sarah Iva Stewart, born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Thomas and May Anna (Cramer) Stewart, of Scotch descent. Thomas Stewart came to Westmoreland county from Ohio and there married his wife, being a native of Fayette county. He was a traveling salesman; he died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; his wife in Uniontown. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart: 1. Lemon R., deceased, a merchant of New Jersey and a veteran of the civil war. 2. Irene Adella, married W. S. Gay, who served as sheriff, and lives in Centreville, Iowa. 3. Wiley I., and oil producer of Oklahoma. 4. Clara Belle, married Nelson Gay, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. 5. Emma Amanda, married Daniel B. Leather, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. 6. Sarah Iva, a member of the First Presbyterian Church, married James Hammond Sparks. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Sparks: 1. L. Marie, born May 16, 1877, married George E. Mills, of Millsboro, Fayette county, Pennsylvania. 2. Ray L., born September 10, 1879, now a feed merchant of Republic, Pennsylvania, married Elizabeth Whalen. 3. Wiley Stewart, born February 28, 1894, now a student in Staunton (Virginia) Military Academy. The family residence is at No. 37 Shady Lane, Uniontown.

Source:
Genealogical and Personal History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Under the Editorial Supervision of
John W. Jordan, LL.D.
Librarian of Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia AND
James Hadden of Uniontown, Pennsylvania; author of “Washington and Braddock’s Expeditions Through Fayette County,” and the reproductions of Judge James Veech’s work entitled “The Monongahela of Old, or Historical Sketches of Southwestern Pennsylvania to the Year 1800.”

New York
Lewis Historical Publishing Company
1912
Three Volumes

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