Thomas E SPARKMAN b. 19 Oct 1897 , Williamson, Tennessee, USA d. 11 Dec 1949 , Butler, Missouri, USA: An Armstrong & A Heffernan

1897 - 1949 (52 years)

Personal Information | Notes | Sources | All | PDF

Name	Thomas E SPARKMAN [1, 2]
Born	19 Oct 1897	, Williamson, Tennessee, USA [3]
Gender	Male
Military	12 Sep 1918	, Butler, Missouri, USA
	draft
Military	20 Dec 1918	St. Louis, , Missouri, USA
Census	22 Apr 1930	, Butler, Missouri, USA
ED 6, pg 2B
Beaver Dam Township Thomas E Sparkman Head Male 32 Missouri Gertrude Sparkman Wife Female 27 Missouri Mary N Sparkman Dau Female 5 Missouri Glen A Sparkman Son Male 3 Missouri Alice Sparkman Mother Female 67 Alabama Thomas is a farmer.
Census	2 Apr 1940	, Butler, Missouri, USA
ED 12-6, pg 1A
Beaver Dam Township Thos E Sparkman Head Male 42 Tennessee Gertrude Sparkman Wife Female 37 Missouri Glenn A Sparkman Son Male 13 Missouri Thos C Sparkman Son Male 8 Missouri Alice Lee Sparkman Dau Female 6 Missouri Verna H Sparkman Dau Female 3 Missouri Alice Sparkman Mother Female 77 Alabama Polk Griffin Aunt Female 75 Alabama
Died	11 Dec 1949	, Butler, Missouri, USA
Buried	15 Dec 1949	, Butler, Missouri, USA
	Address: Sparkman Cemetery Butler County Butler County, Missouri
Obituary	16 Feb 1950	Poplar Bluff, Butler, Missouri, USA
Gospel Advocate
On December 15 it was the lot of this writer to participate in a funeral which was in a personal sense the saddest and most tragic. The sadness and sense of tragedy lie in the loss to their family, the church, and the community of four persons who assuredly stood honored in the sight of God and man. On the preceding Lords day, December 11, after the family had worshiped according to their unvarying custom with the Green Forest Church, about four oclock a sudden tornado struck the home of Thomas and Gertrude Sparkman. The tornado and resulting fire took the lives of Brother Sparkman and their three daughters Alice Lee, sixteen; Verna, Thirteen; and Vera, eight. All four were instantly killed. Sister Sparkman survived the ordeal, but was critically injured. She was saved only by virtue of the good work done by a man who set out to see if anyone could be aided after the tornado had passed, and pulled Sister Sparkman from the wreckage. Brother Sparkman was born at Boston, Tenn., October 19, 1897, the son of the late Charles N. (a well-known gospel preacher of his era in Middle Tennessee) and Alice E. Sparkman. He attended Freed-Hardeman College, where he became a Christian, and was married to Gertrude Gardner in 1923. They established themselves in Butler County, Mo., near Poplar Bluff, where they lived for the greater part of their married lives. Brother Sparkman was a rugged man, yet highly sensitive and kindly. Never have I known a man more ready to be helpful where there was need. He was a deacon in the congregation, loved and respected by all. Sister Sparkman is the soul of consideration and charitableness of spirit. This happy combination of Christian virtues carried over in all their children. I baptized Alice Lee in September, 1948. She was an honor student, coeditor of the high-school paper, buoyant and warm of disposition, and a Christian. Vera and Verna were also excellent students and charming children. Brother Sparkman is survived by his widow, two sons (Glenn of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Carroll, who is a student in Harding College), two sisters (Mrs. Verna Haynes of St. Charles, Mo., and Mrs. Ila Brevard of Promise City, Iowa), and a host of other relatives and friends. Testimony to community esteem was the funeral crowd of near a thousand persons. The funeral sermon was preached by Harbert D. Hooker of Poplar Bluff, Mo.; L. H. Newell of Overland, Mo.; and the writer. Vernon W. Smith.
Person ID	I18399	An Armstrong & A Heffernan
Last Modified	16 May 2020

Family Gertrude GARDNER, b. 11 Dec 1902, , Butler, Missouri, USA , d. 1 Jan 1984, Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA (Age 81 years)

Married 16 Sep 1923 , Butler, Missouri, USA [4]

Children

	1. Mary Nell SPARKMAN, b. 10 Aug 1924, , Butler, Missouri, USA , d. 30 Dec 1930, , Butler, Missouri, USA (Age 6 years)
	2. Glenn Allen SPARKMAN, b. 9 Feb 1927, , Butler, Missouri, USA , d. 7 Aug 2002, Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA (Age 75 years)
	3. Living
	4. Alice Lee SPARKMAN, b. 8 Oct 1933, , Butler, Missouri, USA , d. 11 Dec 1949, , Butler, Missouri, USA (Age 16 years)
	5. Verna Henrietta SPARKMAN, b. 4 Sep 1936, , Butler, Missouri, USA , d. 11 Dec 1949, , Butler, Missouri, USA (Age 13 years)
	6. Vera Pauline SPARKMAN, b. 30 Aug 1942, , Butler, Missouri, USA , d. 11 Dec 1949, , Butler, Missouri, USA (Age 7 years)

Last Modified 16 May 2020

Family ID F6804 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Notes
They were in Butler County by 1900.

Sources

[S2685] 1930 Butler MO, ED 6, pg 2B.
Thomas E Sparkman
[S767] Obituary, Gospel Advocate, 16 Feb 1950, Thomas Sparkman.
... "The tornado and resulting fire took the lives of Brother Sparkman and their three daughters Alice Lee, sixteen; Verna, Thirteen; and Vera, eight." ...
[S2685] 1930 Butler MO, ED 6, pg 2B.
age 32, Missouri
[S2169] Missouri County Marriage, Naturalization, and Court Records, 1800-1991, (FamilySearch.org), Sparkman, Thomas E.
to Gertrude Gardner, 16 Sep 1923, Butler County