Arabelle "Belle" Sparks b. 1 Aug 1851 Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 6 Oct 1906 Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas: Our Family History

1851 - 1906 (55 years)

Name	Arabelle "Belle" Sparks
Birth	1 Aug 1851	Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas
Gender	Female
Census	12 Jul 1860	Sabine Pass (Precinct 5), Jefferson Co, Texas
	12 Jul 1860 Precinct No. 5 Sabine Pass residence 378 James Court 30 mail carrier 500 Louisiana Julia 24 TN 1856 Tennessee Mary E 8 1852 Texas Henry C 6 1854 Texas Julia A 4 1856 Texas William F 2 1858 Texas Elias M 6/12 1859 Texas residence 379 John Sparks 49 1811 North Carolina farmer 320 2100 Malinda Sparks 41 1819 Tennessee Albert Sparks 19 1841 Texas John F Sparks 14 1856 Texas Sarah C Sparks 11 1849 Texas Arabella H Sparks 8 1852 Texas James C Sparks 6 1854 Texas Worthey C Sparks 4 1856 Texas Henry E L Sparks 8/12 1859 Texas residence 380 Samuel Lee 38 1822 Denmark stock raiser 4,000 Eliza 16 1844 Texas
		1860 Texas, Jefferson County, Sabine Pass census James and Julia Sparks Court family; John and Melinda Jones Sparks family; and Samuel and Eliza Sparks Lee.
Census	7 Jun 1880	Jefferson Co (District 41), Texas
	Note: It appears the first page is the Sparks Settlement. And the 2nd page seems to be the Port Neches, Grisgsby Bluff area, a few miles north. 7 Jun 1880 District 41 Justice Precinct No. 2 Page 1 residence 1 Gentz Fred 35 Dec 1845 laborer Prussia Prussia Prussia R. Belle 28 Aug 1852 TX NC TN Welby 8 Jun 1872 TX NC TX H.M. 7 Feb 1873 TX NC TX M.J. dau 6 1874 TX J.W. son 4 1876 TX Buler 2 dau May 1878 TX J. Lee 4/12 son Jan 1880 TX Charlotte 77 mother widow Prussia NC TX (census taker just carried the NC down the columns. Only person from NC is Belle's father. residence 2 Lee, Samuel 62 farmer Denmark Denmark Denmark E. Jane 36 Oct TX NC TN Emma A. 12 Jul 1868 TX Hayes, Eliza Black 19 Jan 1861 servant Texas Texas Alabama Eddy, Albert 37 Jul 1843 carpenter Ireland Ireland Ireland Sparks, William E. 27 Mar 1853 TX residence 3 Melinda Sparks 61 Mar 1819 TN VA TN Worthy 24 Mar 1856 TX NC TN James 26 son Dec 1854 TX NC TN Ella 23 Nov 1857 dau-in-law TX TN PA Thomas George, Black 8 1872 servant TX residence 4 Sparks, Caroline 60 May 1820 self widow SC VA SC Sparks, J.M. 26 Aug 1854 son TX residence 5 Kilgore, James S 28 1852 Mar Michigan Michigan Michigan Elizabeth 50 Oct 1830 mother wid Michigan Michigan -- Columbus 28 25 May 1855 brother Texas Michigan Michigan Susan F. 20 Feb 1860 sister Texas Michigan Michigan Eugenia 17 Jun 1863 sister Texas Michigan Michigan Swift, Fuller 3 May 1877 nephew Texas Michigan Michigan Swift, Ida 3/12 Feb 1880 niece Texas Michigan Michigan residence 6 Brewton, W.P. 47 Aug 1833 Sarah C. (Sparks) 30 Dec 1850 Grace 15 Feb 1865 TX Silas F. 10 Oct 1870 TX Esther 8 Dec 1872 TX Almond 6 Apr 1874 TX Inas 3 dau Aug 1877 TX John Smith 14 June 1866 TX TN PA residence 7 Gray, H.L. 33 head Sep 1847 Michigan VA MI Gray, S.E. 33 wife Aug 1847 LA PA Indiana Carey, Coy 11 son May 1869 TX Indiana Louisiana Clara 7 dau Mar 1873 TX Indiana Louisiana Gray H.E. son 9 Sep 1871 TX MI TX Smith, T.F. 21 Apr 1859 TX TN PA Courts, E.M. 20 1860 TX unk TX ___________ page 2 8 Jun 1880 residence 8 Yantz (Gentz), Wm Apr 42 1838 farmer Prussia Prussia Prussia Susan 31 Jan 1849 wife TX GA LA Leuvinia 12 Jan 1868 dau William Y. 10 Jan 1870 son H.L. 6 mos Nov 1879 son residence 9 J. T. Rogers 28 Aug 1852 TX TN TX Izzie J. Rogers 27 Aug 1853 TX NY LA C. O. Rogers 3 Dec 1877 Wm. A. Rogers 1 Sep 1879 Levina Keith 68 Feb 1812 mother-in-law tx ga tn residence 10 Keith, O 39 Feb 1841 Self TX OH LA Margaret 39 Jun 1841 TX TN TN George 7 Jun 1873 son LA TX TN William O. 5 Mar 1875 son Berry, Lethean female 11 Jan 1869 servant TX Prussia Prussia
		1880, Texas, Jefferson County, District 41 Gentz, Fred and family, with Charlotte Gentz; Samuel Lee and family, Melinda Jones Sparks, and family; Brewton, Smith, Gray, Emmett Courts.
Census	21 Jun 1900	Beaumont (Ward 3), Jefferson Co, Texas
	Grand Avenue Gantz, W.G. Jan 1870 30 TX TX TX Bell Feb 1872 28 m 8 yrs 1892 TX TX TX 2 births 2 living, Ligh May 1894 6 Hall son Mar 1898 2 Clampett, Mary A. Aug 1863 37 roomer widowed MS KY MS Clampett, Joseph, Apr 1883 17 MS MS MS Gantz, Frank Dec 1845 54 Germany Germany Germ imm 1849 Bell Aug 1850 49 m 30 yrs 1870 TX NC TN 12 births 5 living Stanley Jan 1891 TX Earl May 1896 4 TX Courts Helmer Mar 1862 38 m 6 yrs 1894 TX TX TX Claud E. Nov 1876 23 TX Germ TX Beatrice Aug 1896 3 TX Hal Sep 1897 2 TX
		1900 Texas, Jefferson Co, Beaumont, 3rd Ward, Census Helmer and Claudie Courts and family, Grand Avenue
Death	6 Oct 1906	Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas [1]
Other-Begin	22 Mar 1936	Port Arthur News, Port Arthur, Jefferson Co, Texas
Other-Begin		Mrs. Jack C. Beaumont Recalls Early School Days When She Was One of First Five Port Arthur Pupils Port Arthur News Sunday, March 22, 1936 Mentioned in article and linked to: Emma Lee, husband Jack Beaumont, daughter Pearl Beaumont Fred Gentz and wife Bell Sparks, children Welby Gentz and Helen Gentz and husband M.E. (Mathew Edmond) Nobles John Sidney Sparks and wife Melinda Jones; their sons: Albert, Frank, William, Thomas, James, Worth, Henry; daughters: Julia, Sarah and husband Frank Brewton and heir children Grace and Frank, Eliza Jane and husband Samuel Lee (parents of Emma Lee); Belle and husband Fred Gentz
Burial	Magnolia Cem, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas
		Magnolia Cemetery - Sparks, Arabella Gentz
		Magnolia Cemetery, Main Entrance 2291 Pine Street; Beaumont, Texas Magnolia Cemetery History webpage http://www.magnoliacemetery.org/index.asp?page=history
Notes	"The History of the Sparks Family": Living on the edge of the marshlands of the Gulf Coast has its hazards. Mosquitoes by the millions swarmed up from the bayous and swamps to plague both man and beast. It was not uncommon for the settlers to be housebound until noon, waiting for the clouds of mosquitoes to settle. Disease was a threat to the village. Medical aid was a day's ride by horseback from the remote community. The death of the five Gentz children probably sealed the doom of the Sparks Settlement in the 1880s. Those five children were buried in Sparks cemetery (see Notes: John S Sparks) ---------------- Aravella was born October 1 1851 on Taylor Bayou at Sparks?s Ferry. She married Ferdinand (Fred) Genzt on Christmas day at Aurora what is now called Port Arthur, Texas.During the winter of 1885 the settlement was swept by an epidemic that took a heavy toll of both children and adults. Fred and Aravella suffered the greatest lost, five children in such a short time. I have not found out any of the children or adults, or who died during that epidemic. It is hard to say just who died during this time. May have been all or part of the children listed above were the victim of the epidemic. Or were there more that was born and died that wasn?t listed?Of Fred and Aravella children I have only found out about one child. Helen was born in 1871 at Aurora. Her children were born there, do not know if she and the family were living there at the time of the epidemic or not. Helen and Matthew Nobles at one time lived at 2508 Pennsylvania Ave. Beaumont, Tex. JamesWillisSparks29 added this on 30 Sep 2007 http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/3139485/person/-1696532198/story/0ed60411-dd15-4163-adea-90372f033cf9?src=search
Person ID	I411	Roots
Last Modified	5 Apr 2011

Father	John Sidney* Sparks, b. 26 Mar 1811, North Carolina d. Aug 1870, Sparks Settlement, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 59 years)
Mother	Melinda* Jones, (maybe dau?), b. 25 Mar 1819, Middleton, Rhea Co, Tennessee (?) d. Aft 1880, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age > 62 years)
Marriage	1 Mar 1833	near Gatlinburg, Franklin Co, Tennessee
Family ID	F187	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Ferdinand "Fred" Gentz, (immigrant), b. 21 Dec 1844, Dewichow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Prussia d. 04 Oct 1927, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 82 years)

Marriage 25 Dec 1869 Jefferson Co, Texas [2]

Name: Ferdinand Gantz
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 25 Dec 1869

Spouse: Isabella Sparks

Marriage City: Jefferson
Marriage State: Texas

Source: Texas Marriages, 1851-1900

Children

+	1. Welby R Dunbar Gentz, b. Jun 1872, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 02 Jan 1936, Port Neches, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age ~ 63 years)
+	2. Helen Maude Gentz, b. 05 Feb 1873, Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 06 Nov 1956, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 83 years)
+	3. Jane Malinda "MJ" Gentz, b. 24 Jul 1874, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 25 Jul 1960, Orange, Orange Co, Texas (Age 86 years)
	4. J.W. Gentz, b. 1876, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 1886, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age 10 years)
	5. Buler Gentz, b. May 1878, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 1886, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age ~ 7 years)
	6. J.Lee Gentz, b. Feb 1879, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 1886, Aurora, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age ~ 6 years)
+	7. Stanley Christopher Gentz, Sr., b. 04 Jan 1891, Jefferson Co, Texas d. 12 Jun 1966, Galveston, Galveston Co, Texas (Age 75 years)
	8. Thomas Earl Gentz, b. May 1896, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas d. Aft 1945, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas (Age ~ 50 years)

Family ID F192 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 22 Apr 2011

Event Map

	Birth - 1 Aug 1851 - Sabine Pass, Jefferson Co, Texas
	Census - 12 Jul 1860 - Sabine Pass (Precinct 5), Jefferson Co, Texas
	Marriage - 25 Dec 1869 - Jefferson Co, Texas
	Death - 6 Oct 1906 - Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas
	Burial - - Magnolia Cem, Beaumont, Jefferson Co, Texas

= Link to Google Earth

Documents

Sparks and Aurora
Originally published in about 1940, and published on the Internet by "Old and Sold, Turn-of-the-Century wisdom for today." Tells of life among the Sparks and families who lived in the Sparks Settlement in the mid to late 1800s. (d)
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/port-arthur-4.shtml

Sources
[S185] Beaumont Enterprise Obit 10/6/06 8:2.

[S350] Marriage Books A&B Jefferson Co 1837-1899.