Sparks, John Nathan (1876- ), Papers, 1901-1947 (C2798)

3.1 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

The John Nathan Sparks Papers consist of the business and personal correspondence of an employee of the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company of Grandin, Missouri.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Sparks Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by R.B. White on 2 July 1948 (Accession No. 2924).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

John Nathan Sparks was born on 16 July 1876. He was married to Ida Massie on 16 August 1905. They had at least four children: Stacy, Maurice, Louise, and a baby who died. In 1914 Ida Sparks contracted tuberculosis and the family moved to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for her health. After his wife died in 1915, Sparks went to Grandin, Missouri, where he worked for the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company. Apparently he was in charge of buying and selling timber land for the company. He was paid by commission rather than by salary.

In 1919 Sparks married Irene Merchant. They had four children: John Nathan, Charles Howard, Mary, and Ada Mae.

Sparks was active in the Democratic Party and various politicians requested his support over the years. During the years 1943 and 1944 Sparks was in the Northwest U.S. in his capacity as assistant superintendent for the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Sparks Papers are arranged into two sections. The first section consists of business and general correspondence arranged chronologically and then alphabetically within each year. Much of the business correspondence deals with buying and selling land for the Missouri Lumber and Mining Company and reports on the quality of timber on that land. The second section is arranged by subject and includes material on 4-H, machinery instruction booklets, the Masons, miscellaneous Missouri Lumber and Mining material, and scattered copies of The Missouri Miner, the school newspaper of the Rolla School of Mines.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1-2	Miscellaneous photographs, n.d.
f. 3-4	Correspondence, n.d.
f. 5-9	Correspondence, 1901-1919
f. 10-14	Correspondence, 1920
f. 15-20	Correspondence, 1921
f. 21-24	Correspondence, 1922
f. 25-28	Correspondence, 1923-1925, 1929
f. 29	Correspondence, 1930
f. 30	Correspondence, 1931
f. 31	Correspondence, 1932
f. 32-37	Correspondence, 1933
f. 38-47	Correspondence, 1934
f. 48-53	Correspondence, 1935, A-L
f. 54-62	Correspondence, 1935, M-W
f. 63-70	Correspondence, 1936, A-K
f. 71-80	Correspondence, 1936, M-W
f. 81-87	Correspondence, 1937, A-M
f. 88-94	Correspondence, 1937, N-W
f. 95-100	Correspondence, 1938, A-M
f. 101-110	Correspondence, 1938, N-W
f. 111-121	Correspondence, 1939
f. 122-127	Correspondence, 1940, A-K
f. 128-136	Correspondence, 1940, M-W
f. 137-150	Correspondence, 1941
f. 151-161	Correspondence, 1942, A-N
f. 162-173	Correspondence, 1942, R-W
f. 174-178	Correspondence, 1943, A-K
f. 179-199	Correspondence, 1943, M-W
f. 200	Correspondence, 1944
f. 201-208	4-H clubs, 1933-1937
f. 209-218	Machinery instruction booklets
f. 219-244	Masons, n.d., 1913-1947
f. 245	Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, n.d.
f. 246	Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, 1914-1932
f. 247	Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, n.d.
f. 248	Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, 1921-1922
f. 249-303	Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, 1933-1939
f. 304-309	Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, 1940-1943
f. 310	The Missouri Miner, 1941
f. 311-316	The Missouri Miner, 1942
f. 317-321	The Missouri Miner, 1942
f. 322	The Missouri Miner, 1943

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

4-H Clubs
Accounts, 1930s
Archive of Soil Science
Freemasons
Land transactions
Lumber and lumbering
Missouri Lumber & Mining Company
Missouri Miner
Missouri. Highway Department
Order of the Eastern Star
Social Security
Soil Conservation
Sparks family
Sparks, John Nathan (1876- )
Stark, Lloyd Crow (1886-1972)
U.S. Forest Service
White, John Barber (1847-1923)
White, R.B.
Williams, Clyde (1873-1972)
Workers' compensation, Law and legislation