History of Posey County Indiana, The Goodspeed Publishing Co., Chicago,
1886. Reprinted by Unigraphic, Inc., Evansville, IN 1967
[Shelby County]

ALBERT A. SPARKS, editor and proprietor of the Mount Vernon Democrat,
was born in Clay Village, Shelby Co., Ky., February 22, 1855, and is the
next oldest in a family of three sons and one daughter born to the
marriage of Walter J. Sparks and Eliza A. Terrell, natives of Louisville
and Hancock County, Ky., respectively.  Our subject was raised in
Shelbyville, Ky., securing an ordinary English education.  At the age of
twelve years he began learning the printer's trade which he mastered after
a four years' apprenticeship with the Shelby Sentinel.  He then went to
Louisville, Ky., and worked on the Evening News of that city two and a
half years, and later for a short time on the Courier-Journal.  In 1873
he came to Evansville, Ind., and was employed as compositor on the 
Journal of that city.  He then went to New Orleans, La., and was employed
in the office of the New Orleans Times and also the Democrat, for about
two years.  In 1877 he returned to Evansville and accepted a position
on the Courier-Journal, remaining there two years, when he came to
Mount Vernon and purchased the Democrat, which he has since conducted in
an able manner.  Mr. Sparks is, as his paper implies, an unswerving
Democrat and advocates the principles of that party through the columns
of his paper in a bold and fearless manner.  He was appointed postmaster
at Mount Vernon, Monday, November 2, 1885, and entered upon his duties
November 16, 1885.  He is a Mason and a member of the I.O.O.F.  In
February, 1879, he was married to Henrietta (Winings) Roche, daughter
of Dr. Moses Winings, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work.  She
has two sons by her first marriage named Peter W. and John D. Roche.

Sparks Terrell Winings Roche
=
Posey-IN Hancock-KY Vanderburgh-IN LA

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/shelby/sparks.aa.txt