William Harold Sparks

William Harold Sparks
Written by his daughter Evelyn Sparks Rawlings in 1984

He was born 1 November 1889 in Centerville, Davis County, Utah. His father was Joseph Thomas Sparkes and his mother was Rozina Francis Rose.

William’s father died when he was nine years old. He was the second of seven children. There were four of these children who died very young. He helped his mother support the younger children. He worked at any job or work available. He completed six full years of school. He was a very quiet man and easy going. He got a job doing office work at the mines. He met and fell in love with Caroline Mabel Soderborg and they were married 8 Sept 1909.

The first little girl, Evelyn Mabel was born 23 July 1910. She was dearly loved by her parents. Another baby girl was born 19 Jan 1913, Helen Augusta, after William and Caroline had separated. They did divorce before Helen was born.

She had a very bad fall and had become an invalid. She had to sit in a wheelchair or in the bed, but she was always cheerful and a food companion. Caroline went to live with her mother and took her two baby girls with her. Augusta and Aunt Clara took care of them. William went to visit his girls.

William met and married Ethel Millgate 15 Oct 1915. Caroline Mabel died 1918, 25 Feb at 10:30 a.m. At Augusta’s home, dying of chronic nephritis.

In 1918 Father came for us to live with him and our stepmother. We moved up to Bingham Canyon. We went to school there and graduated from Bingham High. We did not have a car so we walked everywhere up and down the streets of Bingham, not too exciting. If we would go into Salt Lake City, we would go by the B&G Bingham and Garfield train. We’d go to the top of Bingham Canyon and there were three tunnels cut for the train. One of the tunnels went through the mountain and down to Salt Lake. William was an office worker in the Bingham Canyon, at Utah copper mine. Later it was known as the Kennecott Copper Mine.

William loved gardening and flowers. Even in the mining area, Father William had a garden and a few flowers that were so hard to grow in that soil. William was never harsh or hard. When he left in the morning he would tell his girls to “mind their mother” and they usually did.

We never missed our night meeting which was Sacrament meeting in those days. Father was very busy in the church as he was Ward Clerk for 28 years in Bingham serving under four Bishops, which were all the years we daughters lived at home and then some.

William passed away 5 July 1961 after a long and useful good life.

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