The last of Lincoln's men in Olympia dies at eighty
Judge John G. Sparks — territorial auditor, justice of the peace, temperance worker and twenty-two-year Methodist — is carried to his grave by the bar and the Masons.
The old pioneers are dropping off one by one, and at 12:30 this morning the silent messenger called Judge John G. Sparks, another of Abraham Lincoln's appointees, over to the far beyond. Few men were more highly esteemed in the community for personal character and staunch republicanism, and though he had exceeded the three score years and ten allotted to man, his death was a surprise because of its suddenness. Mr. Sparks was of Scotch descent, was born in 1811, near New Albany, Indiana, and was consequently 80 years of age.
He went to Illinois in 1832, studied law under Judges Allen and Underwood, and was admitted to the bar in 1844. He practiced in the courts of Illinois until he went to Columbia, California, and continued the practice of his profession until 1857. After locating at The Dalles, Oregon, for two years, he went to Walla Walla, and in that city was appointed internal revenue assessor by President Lincoln, which office he filled until after President Lincoln's death in 1865. It was in 1862 that he moved to Olympia, and in '69 and '70 served as territorial auditor, to which office he was elected by a joint convention of both houses of the legislature. He has also served several terms as justice of the peace.
Judge Sparks was a thorough man in every respect, and has been identified with every progressive movement for the advancement of the city's interests. For 22 years he has been an active member of the Methodist church, a strong temperance worker and an honored citizen. As a politician he was among the most active of territorial days, and even at his advanced age kept well posted on national and state affairs. The deceased was a brother to the noted J. A. J. Sparks, commissioner of the general land office under President Cleveland.
Judge Sparks was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, being connected with Olympia Lodge No. 1. He leaves two daughters—Mrs. Charles Peterson and Mrs. J. S. Brewer—and a son, Frank, who now resides at Marion, Ill.
The funeral services will be held in the Methodist church at 1:30 tomorrow, the funeral discourse to be delivered by the pastor, Rev. F. E. Drake. The services will be under the direction of the Thurston County Bar Association, after which the burial will be conducted by the Masonic Fraternity. Death was due to pneumonia.
At a meeting of the bar association of Thurston county this afternoon, Messrs. T. N. Allen, N. S. Porter and M. A. Root were appointed to draft resolutions to the memory of the deceased. Judge Dennison, N. S. Porter, M. A. Root, O. C. Lacey, T. N. Allen and John R. Mitchell were appointed honorary pallbearers. The members of the Masonic Fraternity will hold a special meeting today.
“The old pioneers are dropping off one by one, and at 12:30 this morning the silent messenger called Judge John G. Sparks, another of Abraham Lincoln's appointees, over to the far beyond.”
Sparks arrived in Olympia in 1862, served as territorial auditor under a legislature that elected him by joint convention, and lived long enough to see Washington on the edge of statehood. His death marks the passing of the appointed generation that ran the territory — the men whose names are now street signs and county histories.
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