I had a distant cousin reach out on Ancestry earlier this month, and I ended up diving back into the Prater line to find our connection. Since I did the work, I figured I should share! So this is a listing of the children of Emily Cassid Prater (1886-1968) who married Eliga Sparks (1883-1965) August 11, 1906, in Lawrence, Ohio.
Emily was the daughter of Elijah Prater and Zilpha Holbrook.
Between the various state vital records on births, marriages, and deaths, combined with the U.S. Census records and Social Security Administration Index, I have confirmation that Emily and Eliga Sparks had the following children:
Betty Marion Sparks born February 22, 1906, in Kentucky. She married Giles William Bandy April 25, 1927, in Virginia. She died October 15, 1977, in Grundy, Virginia.
Dave William Sparks born October 23, 1909, in Floyd Co., Kentucky. He married Hettie Ferrell January 19, 1934, in Virginia. He died October 7, 1962, in Richlands, Virginia.
Kelley Sparks born April 2, 1911. He married Rosie Nipper in 1934 in West Virginia. He was a coal miner and died in a partial shaft collapse February 11, 1941, in Grundy, Virginia.
William Turner Sparks born June 29, 1914. He married Stella West September 21, 1935, in Virginia. He died December 11, 1963, in Grundy, Virginia.
Chester Meredith Sparks born March 29, 1919, in Virginia. He died June 23, 1923, in Blackey, Virginia.
Eunice Rena “Una” Sparks born July 3, 1920, in Virginia (according to her delayed birth record - later records claimed 1922). She married (1st) Alvie Christian November 10, 1936 (divorced September 6, 1943) in Virginia. She claimed to be 18 but named her parents. She married (2nd) Pasquale Paslins August 9, 1946, in North Carolina (apparently eloped). I couldn’t find a record of the dissolution, but she claimed on her next marriage license to have never been married previously, and names her parents. She married (3rd) Ivan Lee King August 24, 1951 (divorced September 18, 1964) in Virginia. She died July 6, 1992, in Hopewell, Virginia.
Susie Sparks born February 13, 1922, in Virginia. She married Willard Crockett Bandy September 23, 1937 (divorced October 24, 1974) in Virginia. She died June 14, 2015, in Virginia.
Della Sparks born April 12, 1923, in Virginia. She married Dennis Seaber Hooper April 19, 1947, in Portsmouth, Virginia. She died December 29, 1996.
Kizzie Sparks born September 21, 1925, in Virginia. She married Joseph “Joe” Justus between his finalized divorce from Lizzie Justus (daughter of Andy Justus and Mary Smith) May 11, 1949, and the census in 1950. She died August 7, 1991, in Grundy, Virginia.
Okay - that's just spooky. This morning, I was drafting a future post for my connection to the May family that lived in Lewis County, KY:
"America Ann May (1839-1926), stood out for having an unusual name. She married Evan H. Day (b. 1839) in 1861, and later became the second wife of Henry Clay Prater (1836–1920) of Lewis County, Kentucky."
Here's my ancestry page on Henry:
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/152394881/person/232425747548/facts
Henry had a daughter from his first marriage: Emily J. Prater (1862–1931) - clearly a different Emily, but uncanny that we're working in the same general area there.