Timmons Seburn Literal married Mary C. Urban: July 25, 1877

Index list of marriage records for Lawrence CoTN do not list the marriage of Mary Catherine Urban to Timmons Siteral Literal, but it does list the marriage of Timmons Sparkman to M. C. Urban on July 25 1877. The official performing the ceremony is not shown. The entry is footnoted as follows:

“(On original Record someone has written in Timmons Literal Sparkman)”

Copies of their marriage license and bond only serve to further confuse the situation. An examination of the documents shows that the above footnote is incorrect, wherever the three part name (Timmons, Sparkman, Literal) appears on the document the order is not what is shown in the index note above. Literal always appears as the last name whether it was written in later or not.

On the reverse of the Marriage License(right) it clearly states “Timmons Sparkman Literal”, but this does not clarify the issue as the layout of the document is such that the name Literal could have been easily added without it being as obvious as the insertion on the other side of the document.

The Marriage License(not shown) clearly says Timmons Sparkman in the body of the document. It refers to Mary twice, once as M. C. Urban and once as Mary C. Urban. It is in this portion of the document that the name “Literal” is obviously added to the name Timmons Sparkman (as the surname, not the middle name).

The Marriage Bond(not shown) is not completely filled out. What is filled out states that Timmons Sparkman and M. C. Urban have obtained a license for marriage. The Bondman signatures on the document appear to be James M. White and a Timmons Sparkman, but the signatures do not appear to match the handwriting of whoever completed the document. Since the Marriage Bond was completed after the Marriage License, it is conceivable that the placing of the incorrect names on the Bond was just the result of copying the (incorrect) information from the Marriage License. We know that during this period of time there were at least three other Sparkmans in the area: J.C. Sparkman (Magistrate), William T. Sparkman, and James M. Sparkman.

We cannot come to any concrete conclusion from the contents of these documents, but we do know for a fact that Timmons S. Literal did marry Mary Catherine Urban on the 25^th of July 1877 in Lawrence CoTN. We can also point to these documents as the probable source of the belief by some that Timmons middle name was “Sparkman” whereas others believe that his middle name was “Seburn”, after his uncle, Seburn Littrell.

Following their marriage Timmons & Mary settled in Lawrence CoTN. By the 1880 Census, we find them there with two children, Suzie Louisa and James Carroll. Living with them is Timmons Sister, Sarah. Timmons is listed as a farmer.

From 1878 to 1893, Timmons & Mary would have 6 children: Suzie, James, Presley Eli, John Daniel, Mary Mozella, and Lisley. We have not yet found any record of Timmons & Mary on the 1900 Census. With their absence from the 1900 Census, the destruction of the 1890 Census, and limited information on the 1880 Census, we are unable to pinpoint the area in Lawrence CoTN that they live in other than references to the “2nd  District” (Civil).

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