Etc. -- Andrew Sparks' 1947  Anniversary | Visitors | Robbery | Conviction
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A lightly edited transcription of a page 1 article in the 22 May 1947 Simcoe Reformer:

Port Rowan Couple Married 62 Years

Port Rowan: Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Sparks of Port Rowan will quietly celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary at their home on Victoria Day, 24 May, when they will be the recipients of numerous messages of congratulations.

They came to Canada 41 years ago from South Devonshire, England, where both were born, where they resided after their marriage and where their seven children were born.

On their arrival in Canada, they settled on a farm at Rowan Mills and eight years later moved to Port Rowan, where they have since resided. They are adherents of the Church of England.

Mrs. Sparks is 87 years of age and was formerly Miss Sarah Jane Osborn [sic], youngest daughter of the late Richard Osborn [sic] and Sarah Carnel. She is the last surviving member of a family of three daughters and four sons. Mrs. Sparks is enjoying fairly good health although her eye-sight is somewhat impaired. She gets around the house with the aid of a cain and by feeling familiar objects.

Mr. Sparks is 85 years old and the eldest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sparks. He is in good health and very active and has never worn glasses to read. He is engaged in the tile and cement business and never misses a day at work with his youngest son, Alfred. Mr. Sparks has one sister, Mrs. William Carart, and five brothers, Richard, Ernest, Thomas, John and Alfred Sparks. Another brother, William, passed away several years ago in England.

Mr. and Mrs. Sparks have four sons, Richard of Hamilton, Tom of Kitchener, Alfred and William of Port Rowan, and three daughters, Mrs. Bessie Giffen [sic] of Port Dover, Mrs. Harold Reeves of Buffalo, and Mrs. Margaret Parker of St. Catharines. 
There also are 20 grandchildren and 18-great-grandchildren.

 

From Port Rowan Personals column, page 19 of the 10 Jul 1947 Simcoe Reformer:

Mr. and Mrs. H. Reeves of Buffalo and Mrs. Bessie Kniffen [sic] and Mrs. F. Porter of Port Dover are visitors of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Sparks.
 
 

A lightly edited transcription of a page 1 article in the 24 Jul 1947 Simcoe Reformer:

Aged Woman Robbery Victim

Port Rowan: Charged with stealing $480 from Mrs. Andrew Sparks, 87-year-old invalid, who resides on William Street, William Hayward, 47, of Chatham, is appearing in police court in Simcoe today.

Hayward is alleged to have visited the Sparks' home about 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at which time Mrs. Sparks was alone. The money was in a purse in the bedroom dresser and was missing when Hayward left. Chief of Police Arthur Foy was notified and on investigating, he learned that Hayward had engaged Evan Pursley to take him by taxi to Chatham.

Chief Foy notified Chatham police and Hayward was arrested Tuesday night by police of that city. Yesterday, Chief Foy brought Hayward back to Port Rowan where he appeared before Justice of the Peace J. F. Biddle and was remanded to Norfolk County jail. Close to $300 of the money stolen has been recovered.

 

A lightly edited transcription of a page 4 article in the 11 Aug 1947 Simcoe Reformer:

Term for Theft from Aged Pair

Pleading guilty to a charge of stealing $485 from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Sparks, aged Port Rowan couple, on 22 Jul, William Hayward, 42, of Port Burwell, was sentenced to nine months determinate and six months indeterminate in the Ontario Reformatory at Guelph by Magistrate H. P. Innes, K.C., in local police court.

Alfred Sparks, son of the couple, testified that the money was in a dresser drawer, $445 belonging to his 84-year-old father, and $40 to his 86-year-old mother. Seven days following the theft he found the purse in their outhouse.

Chief of Police Arthur Foy told the court he saw accused leave the Sparks' home, and at one o'clock the following morning he was apprehended by Chatham City Police.

At the time of his arrest, $286.70 was recovered, along with a $50 postal money order and new clothes valued at $30, leaving $118.30 for which there has been no restitution.

 

 
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