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Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Powell and Sparkman Family Papers
Creator:
Sparkman, John Stedman
Creator:
Sparkman, John
Creator:
Powell, Rodney W.
Creator:
Sparkman Family
Creator:
Stedman, Philip
Creator:
Powell, Alice Ann Sparkman
Creator:
Sparkman, Philip Stedman
Identifier/Call Number: MS.218
Physical Description:
1.3 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1808-1962
Date (bulk): 1808-1919
Abstract: Philip Stedman Sparkman studied and wrote out the vocabulary of the Luiseño people of Southern California, and he corresponded
with Charles F. Lummis and Frederick Webb Hodge. This collection includes family, financial, and legal papers of John Sparkman,
Philip Stedman, Philip Stedman Sparkman, John Stedman Sparkman, Alice Ann Sparkman Powell, and Rodney W. Powell, spanning
mostly from 1808-1919. Photographs in this collection range from 1872-1962.
Language of Material:
English
.
This collection includes family, financial, and legal papers of John Sparkman, Philip Stedman, Philip Stedman Sparkman, John
Stedman Sparkman, Alice Ann Sparkman Powell, and Rodney W. Powell, spanning mostly from 1808-1919. Papers include correspondence,
family papers, financial records, a ledger, and photographs. Loose photographs and a photo album include photos from 1872-1962.
The photo album features mostly Powell family members, with some of Alice Sparkman Powell's family photos as well. The photo
album also includes photographs from R. W. Powell's military service in Cairo, featuring encampments, landscapes, and Bedouins.
The ledger is mostly filled with journal entries from 1880-1901, written by Philip Stedman Sparkman.
Powell and Sparkman Family Papers, 1808-1962, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.218; [folder number] [folder
title][date].
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Philip Steadman Sparkman, 1865-1907
Sparkman was the seventh child in a farming family, born in Herefordshire, England in 1865. He sailed to the United States
in 1875 on the immigrant ship SS Idaho. He slowly made his way west, working odd jobs, and opening a series of short-lived
stores starting in 1880 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and then in towns along the Santa Fe Trail. He eventually settled in the
small town of Rincon, near Valley Center in San Diego County, California where he ran a successful store and prospered as
a local businessman.
Sparkman had taught himself Spanish while in New Mexico, and upon settling in Rincon, became interested in the local Luiseño
Indian culture and language. Sparkman spent years recording all aspects of Luiseño culture, including folklore, religion,
and material culture, but his focus was on their language. He published a preliminary sketch of his study of the language
in
American Anthropologist in 1905. Sparkman was killed at his home on 1907 May 19 at the age of 51. The man suspected of his murder, Francisco Calac,
was declared unfit for trial, and spent the next 20 years at the state asylum in San Bernardino, California.
Discovered among Sparkman's papers after his death were a completed, bound and typed manuscript grammar and dictionary of
the Luiseño language and a written account of Luiseño culture. Both works were acquired, along with other Sparkman papers,
by the University of California and published post-mortem. Sparkman left no heir behind, so his effects were left to his sister
Alice Ann Sparkman Powell, wife of Rodney W. Powell, who served in the British army in Cairo, Egypt during World War I.
References
Crawford, Richard. "Rincon slaying claimed life of respected businessman."
San Diego Union-Tribune, December 16, 2010, p.CZ.2.
Charles Fletcher Lummis Manuscript Collection, 1879-1928, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, MS.1
Frederick Webb Hodge Manuscript Collection, 1884-1956, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, MS.7
Philip Stedman Sparkman papers, 1896-1907, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkley, BANC MSS C-B 1068.
Biographical note prepared by Eloise Nelson, Braun Research Library intern, 2011 June 20. Initial processing completed by
Braun Research Library staff. Processing and finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012
August 30, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC).
Finding aid updated 2019.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cairo (Egypt)
Diaries
Indian baskets
Photographs
Photograph albums
Financial records
Ledgers
Luiseño Indians
Correspondence
Luiseño language
Sparkman Family
Sparkman, John
Sparkman, John Stedman
Powell, Alice Ann Sparkman
Stedman, Philip
Powell, Rodney W.
Sparkman, Philip Stedman