When Henry Sylvester Sparks was born on 2 March 1917, in Boxley, Newton, Arkansas, United States, his father, Robert Floyd Sparks, was 22 and his mother, Easter Jane Eoff, was 17. He married Ethyl Williams on 30 August 1947, in Caliente, Lincoln, Nevada, United States. He lived in Kentucky Township, Newton, Arkansas, United States in 1920 and Berryville, Carroll, Arkansas, United States in 1930. He died on 1 November 1969, in Fair Oaks, Sacramento, California, United States, at the age of 52, and was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Oroville, Butte, California, United States.