Sparlin/Ryan Dates and Such

In this excerpt from a letter written by my uncle in 1992, "Dad"  is Estal Earnest Sparlin.  Like my uncle, I am providing this information just in case someone doesn't already have it, and I scanned it to remove the transcription step with its potential for errors.

For anyone finding the scan difficult to read, here's the transcription:

Minnie Lucrettia Ryan, born January 11, 1876

Maggie An Ryan, born May 27, 1878

Estella Lonore Ryan, born December 26, 1879

Ernest Eldrige Ryan, born September 20, 1881

Corre Rosett Ryan, born February 10, 1883

Dace Balnose Ryan, born March 6, 1884

Walter Gray Ryan, born April 5, 1885

Fredrich Dean Ryan, born April 6, 1886

Bertha May Ryan, born September 23, 1887

Lulie Edith Ryan, born August 27, 1889

Orson Ryan, born September 27, 1891

Jacob Irvin Ryan, born February 17, 1893

George Ervin Ryan, born February 17, 1893

Claud Clifford Ryan, born June 21, 1895.

I have in addition a few index entries from the online site, On Demand Court Records.  These are dates of Sparlin/Ryan marriages in Oklahoma and represent the date filed at a courthouse.  In this format, the first number of the date is the month.

County: Kay (Newkirk)

Case: Tripp, Harriet and Sparlin, Estal E.

Date Filed: 8/29/1928

County: Kay (Newkirk)

Case: Sparlin, Bertha M. and Paxton, James E.

Date Filed: 11/24/1919

County: Kay (Newkirk)

Case: Utah, Ollie and Sparlin, O.C.

Date Filed: 11/05/1927

County: Pawnee

Case: Sparlin, O C and Ryon, Bertha

Date Filed: 3/20/1906

With enough money and time, the originals of these documents could probably be obtained from their respective courthouses.  No doubt they hold a treasure trove of information.  Unfortunately, there are hundreds of similar documents I would like to order, and my bill would be in the tens of thousands if I paid for all of them I would like to see.

Happy Hunting!

Photo: Three RYAN Sisters of Oklahoma and their spouses, SPARLIN, RICE AND TAYLOR, c.1910s

Adults L-R; Oscar Clarence and Bertha May RYAN-SPARLIN, Cornelius and Dacie Belmore RYAN-RICE, William M. and Lula Edith RYAN-TAYLOR.

Children L-R; Estal Earnest SPARLIN, Ezekial RICE and Lena Viola TAYLOR

The youngest child on the left, Estal, was born in 1907, dating this photo to about 1910.  The place was Ralston or Fairfax, Oklahoma.

Davis Families in Indiana, Lebanon P.O., Jackson Twshp, Boone Co., 1870

At the risk of being geeky, here they are, the 16 separate Davis households enumerated on the census record of my title.

The first number is the family number from the census and roughly indicates proximity, i.e. neighbors can be determined. Columns correspond to the following headings;
given name (surname where it's not Davis and gender where the name is ambiguous)--age--date of birth--place of birth--occupation, followed by notes if any. Naturally, names are prone to error from transcription and dates are only as accurate as memories.

6

• Randolph, 27, 1815, KY, laborer (residing in Jackson family household)

37

• John W. 55, 1815, KY, farmer
• Louisa 33, 1837, KY
• Frances E. (f), 15, 1855, IN
• Mary Martha, 12, 1857, IN
• James D., 10, 1860, IN
• Andrew, 5, 1865, IN
• Leander, 3, 1867, IN

56

• Thomas J., 50, 1820, KY, farmer
• Matilda, 34, 1836, IN
• William D., 15, 1855, IN
• Mary L., 12, 1858, IN
• John R., 9, 1861, IN
• Lindy E. (f), 7, 1863, IN
• Margaret A., 5, 1865, IN
• Harriet, 2, 1868, IN

85

• John F., 36, 1834, IN, hotel?keeper
• Elizabeth J. 26, 1844, IN
• Iowa I. (f), 7months, IN

91

• Howard, 16, 1854, IN, laborer (resides with Mary E. Pollard, age 27, ??maker??)

113

• Harry, 20, 1850, IN, stone cutter (resides in hotel? of the Fullenwider family along with other boarders)

161

• James L., 34, 1836, IN, farmer
• Eliza A., 30, 1840, IN
• Sarah E., 13, 1857, IN
• William F., 1859, IN

178

• Caroline, 37, 1833, IN
• Mary E., 15, 1855, IN
• Rebecca A., 9, 1861, IN
• William W., 7, 1863, IN

208

• William L., 66, 1804, KY, farmer
• Susan, 68, 1802, IN
• William H. Sotherland, 11, 1859, IN. (grandson?)

230

• John T., 45, 1825, IN, farmer
• Orinda, 37, 1833, IN
• James H., 18, 1852, IN, farm laborer
• William M. 16, 1854, IN
• Ester C. Stewart, 18, 1852, IN

265

• Rebecca, 38, 1832, IN
• Calvin M., 17, 1853, IN
• George W., 14, 1856, IN

284

• Annias, 50, 1820, KY, farmer
• Liddie E., 28, 1842, IN
• Sarah M., 12, 1858, IN
• Willard, 10, 1860, IN
• Joseph 5, 1865, IN
• Rosetta 3, 1867, IN

309

• Catherine, 68, 1802, KY
• Martha E., 21, 1849, IN
• John 6, 1864, IN

313

• Thomas J., 38, 1832, KY, farmer
• Elizabeth, 38, 1832, OH
• Hiram A., 20, 1850, IN, laborer in mill (probably a saw mill)
• Alfred A., 18, 1852, IN, farm laborer
• Mary H., 14, 1856, IN
• William I., 10, 1860, IN
• Bauman? L., 1, 1869, IN

365

• William J., 58, 1812, KY, farmer
• Ester A., 52, 1818, IN
• Frances M (m), 22, 1848, IN
• Elzora, 15, 1855, IN
• Harriet J., 1, 1869, IN
• David D. Shelley, 15, 1855, IN (grandson or laborer?)

366

• Charles, 19, 1851, IN, laborer in saw mill
• James, 28, 1842, IN, laborer in saw mill (both young men residing with the family of the saw miller along with other laborers)

I believe my ancestors are here in family 208. Oddly enough, I don't claim any of these other Davises, who I think represent more than one other lineage. These other families I was able to piece together in a fashion while looking through the county as a whole, and I found some references to their separate family trees online, enough to tentatively eliminate them as kin. While the elder couple of William and Susan seem a little lonely here, relationships with their children are more obvious in the earlier census records of 1850 and 1860. The 1860 record I may put up, but the 1850 is a larger project of 230 pages covering District 7 (and an urban area), where it was again that I found the elder William and his wife.

Briefly for my kindred's perspective, William Davis and Susan Howard-->George Washington Davis and Mary Ann Anderson-->Nancy Caroline Davis and Robert O. Ryan-->Bertha May Ryan and Oscar C. Sparlin-->Estal E. Sparlin and Harriet Tripp-->David E. Sparlin

Biography: Oscar Clarence Sparlin

1st photo: Oscar Clarence Sparlin (abt. 1907)  2nd photo: Oscar and Bertha May (Ryan) Sparlin

.

His parents were William Bazel Sparlin of Indiana, veteran of the Civil War, and Sarah Ellen Bryant of Missouri.  They were married 18 Jan 1880 in Jasper, Missouri.  They first lived in Nevada, Vernon Co., Missouri, where the couple was recorded on the 1880 census.  Just before Oscar Clarence was born, his parents moved to Bentonville, Arkansas.  Oscar, according to his birth certificate, was born 19 Dec 1882.  His mother, Sarah, was 18 years old, and William Bazel was 41.  There were other children of this couple, and Oscar told of two sisters, but only one other whose name is known, Juanita Elizabeth (Lizzie), born 14 Aug 1888 in Bentonville.  Oscar was six years old at the time his sister was born.

Before 1989, Oscar’s parents divorced, and his father remarried to Bertha A. Ewing.  Sarah and her daughter, Lizzie, moved in with her brother-in-law, William Johnson, and her sister, another Sarah Elizabeth.  In 1900, they are recorded on the census with this large family in Jasper Co., MO.

Oscar Clarence left Missouri in 1901 at the age of 13.  According to a 1990 letter written by his son, Estal, "he [Oscar] ran away from home with an uncle who was going to Oklahoma."   He found his way in the territory to the Osage and Kaw Indian Reservation, where the census identifies him as a boarder and a farm laborer at the age of 18.

For nearly a decade, the large family of Robert Orson Ryan was also situated in Osage, where Oscar and Bertha, the daughter of Mr. Ryan, must have met.  In 1906 (20 Mar), Oscar married Bertha May Ryan, age 16, in Pawnee Co., OK, just south and west of the Osage Nation.   Shortly after their marriage, their son Estal Earnest Sparlin was born, 7 Aug 1907.  Earnest was the name of one of Bertha’s six brothers, Earnest Eldridge Ryan and, eventually, the name was also passed down to Estal’s first son, David Earnest Sparlin.

Three years after Oklahoma became a state on 16 November 1907, the federal census of 1910 was taken.  Records from this time forward support the character of Oscar Clarence as described briefly in that 1990 letter in which Estal wrote, “Dad would just not keep a job.  He worked in a livery stable, as a janitor at the school, as a carpenter, etc.  Mother finally started taking in washing (I picked it up and delivered it) in order to have a few dollars for groceries.  Mother kept complaining to dad.  Finally they were divorced in 1918.”  It is not surprising, then, that Bertha May and her son, in 1910, are living with Bertha’s father, Robert Orson Ryan, and not with her husband, Oscar Clarence.  Instead, Oscar Clarence is living as a lodger at Coal Creek, Pawnee Co., OK and listed as a laborer at odd jobs.  According to his son, he was always known simply as "Jack," which may reflect his occupation in various trades.

The couple must have been together for some of those years (1910-1918), however, because Estal Sparlin possessed memories of the family and his father’s jobs.  For example, in 1912, they lived in an Indian camp, where Oscar Clarence was a caretaker of the roundhouse (see photo below) in Osage Co. at the Gray Horse Camp, of which Estal had vivid memories.    More significantly, Bertha and Oscar had another child in 1911, a boy they named Oscar Orsen after his father, Oscar, and grandfather, Robert Orson.  At only 18 months old, this boy suffered severe burns to the bottom of his feet and died of the injuries.

Gray Horse Dance Hall 1912, Osage Co., Oklahoma

By 1915, Bertha May decided that her remaining son, Estal, who was 8, should attend school regularly, and the family moved to Fairfax, OK.

In 1918, Oscar Clarence (age 35) filed his draft registration card, required for WWI.  On the card, he listed Bertha May Sparlin as his nearest relative, so they may not yet have been divorced by 12 Sep, the day of the record.  The card also records that he was tall, slender, with brown eyes and brown hair, features as in his photographs.  At the time, he lists his occupation as janitor at a public school, remembered by his son, Estal, in his 1990 letter.  It could not have been long after that Oscar and Bertha divorced.  Estal recalled that it was in 1918.

Oscar Clarence continued to live in Fairfax, at least as late as 1930, when he is listed on the federal census as a deliveryman for a laundry.  He appears to be residing in a boarding house setting, summarily, living a life very similar to the one before his divorce.  Sometime in the years between 1930 and 1952, he moved to Pawhuska, also in Osage Co., and that is where his death occurred.

Puzzle Pieces

The following pieces may or may not fit together to form a picture of Oscar Clarence Sparlin’s father.

PIECE A: BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Oscar Clarence Sparlin’s birth certificate states (according to his son) that his…
Father’s name was William Bazel Sparlin, born in IL.
Mother’s name was Sarah Ellen Bryant, born in MO.

PIECE B: MEMORIES
According to his son, Oscar stated that his…
grandfather was living in IL during the Civil War and served in the Union.
(While this may be true, it’s more likely that Oscar’s father [William B.] served, due to the fact that he would have been in his twenties during the war, 1861-1865. Oscar’s grandfather would more likely have been in his forties.)

According to his son, Oscar stated that he…
had two sisters with which he had lost touch.

According to his son, Oscar stated that his…
family resided in Cassville,[Barry], MO before Oscar was born, moved to Bentonville, AR, where Oscar was born (1882), then moved back to Cassville, [Barry], MO after Oscar ran away from home at age 13 (1895) with an uncle.

PIECE C: MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
A marriage certificate (online) states that …
Mr. William Sparlin married Miss Sarah Bryant in Jasper, MO on 13 Jan 1880.

PIECE D: OSCAR IN OK
A 1900 U.S. Census for Osage, Oklahoma Territory, lists…
Oscar Sparlin, age 17, boarding with a family and working as a farm laborer. Oscar lists the birthplace of both his parents as MO. Himself, born in KS.
(Either this is the wrong Oscar Sparlin or these birth places are incorrect. However, when Oscar ran away from home, he went to OK, where he eventually met Bertha May Ryan and married her. In 1900, according to his birth certificate, he was 17.)

PIECE E: OTHER FAMILY TREES
LDS Family Archives (USER-SUBMITTED) provides this information:
William Brazel Sparling b. 4 Nov 1840, Turman Twp, Sullivan, IN
d. 22 Mar 1925, Cassville, Barry, MO
buried: Rogers, Benton, AR
Father:Moses C. Sparling, Mother:Louisa Dawson, Wife:Sarah Ellen Bryant, b. 22 Oct

PIECE F: WILLIAM B.'S CHILDHOOD CENSUS RECORDS
1850/1860 census records for Turman Twp, Sullivan, IN list…
William Sparling, son of Moses C. Sparling and Louisa Dawson.

1850/Turman Twp, Sullivan, IN
Moses C. Sparling 50
Laviey [Louisa] Sparling 40
Charlotte 24
Nancy 18
James 14
Mahala 11
*William 9 (b. abt. 1841)
Samuel 7
Emmons 3
Benjamin 1

1860/Turman Twp, Sullivan, IN
Moses C. Sparling 60
Levicia [Louisa] Sparling 50
John W. 30
Nancy 26
James M. 23
Mahala 19
*William 17 (b. abt. 1843)
Samuel C. 15
Emins 14
Benjamin P. 10
Charlotte Blackman, servant, 34
Bishop W. Blackman 5

PIECE G: WAR RECORDS
American Civil War Records turn up a…
William Sparlin of Currysville, IN [Currysville is in Sullivan county.]
Enlistment date: 13 Dec. 1864, Company F, 13th Infantry Regiment, Indiana
Rank: Private
Side served: Union
Mustered out: 25 Aug 1865

U.S. Civil War Records confirm enlistment for a…
William B. Sparlin in the 13th Indiana Infantry
Rank: Private
Side served: Union

From the Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934…
William B. Sparlin filed for a war pension in the state of AR, in Feb, 18??. Service: 13? Ind Inf

PIECE H: WILLIAM B.'S ADULT CENSUS RECORDS
The 1920 census for Esculapia, Benton, AR records…
S.C. Sparlin 73, head
Laura E. Sparlin 73, wife
William B. Sparlin 75, widowed (brother to the head of household)

The 1870 census for Turman, Sullivan, IN records…
Samuel C. Sparlin 25
Laura E. Sparlin 25
George E. Sparlin 2 mos.
(This census identifies S.C. Sparlin of AR [above, 1920] as Samuel C. of IN.)

Fitting the PIECES together:
1. By analysis of census data for 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1920, it’s possible to determine that the older brother by two years, William, of Samuel C. Sparlin is William B. Sparlin. In addition to the Civil War Pension Index, the census data also tracks William B. from IN to AR, furthermore, Benton, AR, the same county where Oscar Clarence was born.
2. The family data from Oscar’s birth certificate doesn’t match an Indiana birth for William B. Sparlin, yet his father was William Bazel. Even if the conflicting birth place of MO from the 1900 census provided by Oscar C. is thrown out, the birth certificate remains as IL (at least according to his son—I don’t have the document).
3. If William B. Sparlin of Benton, AR, born in IN, is not Oscar C.’s father, then two William B. Sparlins lived in Benton, AR in the same generation.
4. Oscar passed along a memory of his grandfather from IL serving in the Union Army. In fact, his father was a better age to have served and there exists a good record of a William B. Sparlin from IN who served the Union side and later resided in AR. It doesn’t rule out the possibility that his grandfather served.
5. All these areas of MO and AR mentioned are in the southwest corner of MO, northwest corner of AR, just across the border. In general, the same region. [See records for Sarah Ellen Bryant for more on how her family resided in this area.]
6. 1880, 1900 and 1910 census data with either the name of William B. or Sarah Ellen Sparlin would be helpful.

More puzzle pieces:
In fact, a search does yield more information from 1880 to 1910, still, however, in pieces.

The 1900 census, Jackson, Jasper, MO, contains the following:
William S. Johnson 49
Sarah E. “ 41
Isaac N. “ 20
Ollie J. “ 15
Rhoda E. “ 10
Elvira E. “ 8
Laura E. “ 5
Bertha J. “ 2
*Sarah E. Sparlin 35 sister-in-law, divorced, b. MO, father born KY, mother born NY
Lizzie M. Sparlin 11 niece, b. Aug 1888 AR, father born IN, mother born MO

(Is this Sarah Ellen Bryant, divorced from William B. Sparlin, and their daughter, one of Oscar’s sisters? If she’s William Johnson’s sister-in-law, she must be the sister of Sarah E., because if she was the wife of one of William Johnson’s brothers, her surname would be Johnson. But…two Sarah E.’s? Daughters of the same family? The relationships need to be determined.)

1900 census, Mineral Springs, Barry, MO:
W.B. Sparlin 55, b. IN, Father born KY, mother born VA, married 1 year
Bertha Sparlin 23, married 1 year
Claude Sparlin 1

(Is this William B. Sparlin, remarried, remaining in the southwest corner of MO?)

1910 census, Flat Creek South Ward, Barry, MO:
William B. Sparlin 65, b. IN, Father born KY, Mother born VA, 3rd marriage, married 9 years
Bertha A. Sparlin 33, first marriage, married 9 years
Claudia L. Sparlin 11
Clara M. Sparlin 8

(W.B. Sparlin of 1900 is, in fact, the William B. Sparlin of 1910. The statement that he’s married 9 years to Bertha is, of course, an error. In 1900, he claimed to have been married 1 year, and they have a 1 year old child.)

Possible Scenario:
1. William B. Sparlin was born in Sullivan, IN (around 1840), lived there with his father, Moses C. Sparling, to 1860 or until he enlisted in 1864.
2. He served in the 13th Indiana Infantry in the Civil War.
3. After he was mustered out in 1865, he married a woman for whom we have no record or name.
4. In 1880, at age 39, he married his second wife, Sarah Ellen Bryant, in Jasper, MO, and they settled in Barry, MO.
5. For some years, they lived in Benton, AR, across the border, where their son, Oscar Clarence, was born. Another child, a daughter Lizzie, was also born there.
6. After Oscar ran away from home with an uncle in 1895, the family moved back to Barry, MO.
7. Between 1895 and 1900, William and Sarah divorced.
8. Not long afterward, William married his third wife, Bertha A., and set up a household in Barry, MO, where they had a daughter, Claudia.
9. Sarah and her daughter, Lizzie, found a home with Sarah’s brother-in-law, William Johnson, in Jasper, MO.
10. Sometime, perhaps before 1900, William B. filed in the state of AR for his Civil War Pension earned in the IN infantry.
11. William B. Sparlin and Bertha A. remained in Barry, MO, where they had another daughter, Clara, in 1902.
12. Both William B. Sparlin’s second and third wives died before him. Sarah may have died in 1914; Bertha before 1920.
13. In 1920, William B. is a widower, living with his brother, Samuel C. in Benton, AR. Supposedly, he is buried in Rogers, Benton, AR.

Conclusion: There are missing pieces and some of the pieces don't fit. If you can help piece them together or have some of the missing ones, please leave a comment.