March 5, 2022
Pages 2095-2096
Whole Number 105
SPARKS ENTRIES IN "THE PIRATES' WHO'S WHO"
Written by Philip Gosse and published by the Charles E. Lauriat Company in 1924 in Great Britain, The Pirates' Who's Who gives particulars of the lives and deaths of famous pirates and buccaneers. On page 285 appear two Sparks references. JAMES SPARKS was a Newfoundland fisherman who, in August 1723, with John Phillips and three others, ran away with a vessel to go "on the account." SPARKS was appointed gunner. (No further record) JOHN SPARKES was a member of Captain Avery's crew and was described by one of his shipmates as being "a true cock of the game." A thief, he robbed his fellow-shipmates, and from one, Philip Middleton, he stole 270 pieces of gold. John Sparkes was hanged at Execution Dock in 1696.
(Editor's Note: Does anyone want to claim either of these characters as an ancestor?)