William Henry Sparks, son of Thomas and Achsah Love Sparks, was born on January 16, 1800, in Green County, Georgia. Private tutors educated Sparks and his younger brother, Ovid Garten (b. ca. 1815), until they were ready to attend college. After his graduation from the law school of Yale College, Sparks began practicing law in Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia. He was elected as a Putnam County representative to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1825.

Sparks moved to Adams County, Mississippi, around 1826. He married Maria Amanda Green Carmichael of Rural Grove Plantation, Adams County, on October 17, 1827. The couple lived in Adams County for a short time and then relocated to Louisiana, where Sparks operated Glenwood Plantation near Napoleonville, Assumption Parish. The couple had nine children, including Alexander, Charles, Frances (Fannie), James, Thomas, and William Sparks.

After leaving Glenwood Plantation, Sparks purchased Mount Pleasant Plantation near Port Hudson, East Baton Rouge Parish, in 1849. He ran Mount Pleasant Plantation until February of 1851. Sparks purchased Limerick Plantation near Monroe, Ouachita Parish, in August of 1851. He retroceded Limerick Plantation to its grantors on May 12, 1852. Sparks’s wife died in Monroe on October 5, 1853. Sparks remained a widower for seven years. He met Susan Chambless of Red Lick, Jefferson County, Mississippi, in late 1860. The couple married on May 1, 1861. Sparks published his only book, The Memories of Fifty Years, in 1870.

Shortly after the death of his second wife, Sparks married Caroline (Carrie) Agatha Hoffmanoff of New Orleans in late 1871. With the help of his third wife, Sparks continued to publish articles and poems in newspapers until his death in Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia, on January 13, 1882. He was interred at Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, beside his second wife, Susan.

Of Russian heritage, Caroline (Carrie) Agatha Hoffmanoff was living with her sister in New Orleans before she married William Henry Sparks in 1871. She was Sparks’s constant companion, and she acted as his secretary until his death in January of 1882. After her husband’s death, Carrie Sparks moved to Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, where she worked as a secretary for a Mrs. Godart. In early 1883, Carrie Sparks accepted a position as a secretary with the dance school of Louise Louis in Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi, where her late husband’s maternal relatives, the Blewetts, Harrisons, and Whitfields, lived. In late 1883, Carrie Sparks moved to Washington, D.C., where she lived until her death around 1889.

This collection consists of correspondence, typescripts of correspondence (photocopies), and biographical material written by or pertaining to William Henry Sparks and his wife, Caroline (Carrie) Agatha Hoffmanoff Sparks. The letters date from 1871 to 1883, and they were written to William Sparks’s brother, Ovid (Gart), his wife, Josephine (Joe), and their two daughters, Harriet (Hattie) and Sallie H. The first letter, dating from May of 1871, was written by William Sparks to his brother, Ovid. The letter contains news of family and friends, and it contrasts the business and agricultural prospects in New Orleans with those in Georgia. The second letter, dated July 16, 1874, was written by William Sparks to his niece, Sallie, congratulating her on her recent graduation from Wesleyan College, Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, and offering advice on continuing her education after graduation. The remaining letters were written by Carrie Sparks to her sister-in-law, Josephine, and her nieces, Harriet and Sallie. The letters relate family news such as the business acumen of Ovid Sparks’s son, Willis, and the health of family members. Carrie Sparks also mentions mutual family friends, the places she and her husband visited, and the poor health of her husband. Of particular interest is a letter dating from August of 1883. In the letter, Carrie Sparks mentions her sister and a niece, Athalee, and she congratulates her niece, Sallie, on her recent marriage. She also offers her niece a bit of advice on men.

There are photocopies of typescripts of the original correspondence in the collection. The biographical material includes a professional journal article written about the life and writings of William Henry Sparks. Also included are copies of two poems of Sparks that were published in newspapers.

1. Correspondence. 1871-1883; n.d. 1 folder.
2. Correspondence (Typescripts). 1871-1883; n.d. 1 folder.
3. Biographical Material. 1874; 1977; n.d. 1 folder.