John Arnsparger ^{1 3 4}

   Other names for John were John Armsparger ² and John Arnspiger.⁴

  Noted events in his life were:

• He appeared on the 1880 US Census in Sandersville District, Fayette County, KY on 16 June 1880. ²

1880 US Census
Page 187D, District 61, Family 253, Roll 0412
Sandersville District, Fayette County, Kentucky
John Armsparger..Self..53..KY..Blacksmith

(Living with wife, 7 un-married children, 1 married son, 1 daughter-in-law, and 1 grandson.)

NOTE - If his birth date was 17 Feb 1826, then his age should have been 54 instead of 53.
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John married Sarah Frances Stone, daughter of Hiram Stone and Sarah, on 25 August 1853 in Bourbon County, KY.¹ (Sarah Frances Stone was born on 28 April 1835 in Bourbon County, KY,^{1 4} died on 19 July 1856 in Bourbon County, KY ¹ and was buried after 19 July 1856 in Cherry Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Newtown, KY ¹.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 25 August 1853, in Bourbon County, KY. ¹

  Marriage Notes:

Name: John Amsparger
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 25 Aug 1853
Event Place: Bourbon, Kentucky, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Birth Year (Estimated): 1828
Spouse's Name: Sarah F Stone
Spouse's Gender: Female
Spouse's Age: 18
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1835
Page: 17
Record Number: 6138

Citing this Record
"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5Z8-S6D : 17 May 2018), John Amsparger and Sarah F Stone, 25 Aug 1853; citing Marriage, Bourbon, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 183,145.
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John next married Maria Offutt, daughter of Sanford Offutt and Mary Ann Berryman, on 5 February 1857 in , Fayette County, KY. (Maria Offutt was born on 6 July 1840 in , Fayette County, KY and died on 18 May 1935 in , Scott County, KY.)

  Marriage Notes:

It would seem that this marriage, if there ever was an official ceremony, was a short lasting marriage. The only available record is a reference to a "John Arsperger" married on 31 Jan 1857 in Fayette County, Kentucky but that record does not provide the name of the bride. Sometimes these records from Kentucky are the actual marriage bond papers and not the marriage ceremony which some researchers believe actually occured on 5 Feb 1857.

Whatever the date for the marriage may have been, it probably would have included John Arnsparger's two infant sons, William and Hiriam, born in 1854 and 1855. If the marriage did occur on 5 Feb 1857, then Maria Offutt would have been only 16 years old at the time while John was 30. Supposedly, their own son, John Jr., was born in July of 1857 about 5 months after the marriage ceremony. No birth records for John Jr. are available and it is not known what happened to him until he appears with his own wife in the 1880 US Census.

The next question to solve is if her given name was just "Maria" or "Maria Margaret". The reason for this is that if Maria and Margaret were really two different persons then perhaps the marriage between John Arnsparger and Mari Offutt might have lasted until 1860. There is a tantalizing 1860 US Census record from Centerville, Bourbon, Kentucky as follows:

1860 US Census
Page 115, Family 819, Roll 356
Centerville, Bourbon, Kentucky, United States
22 Aug 1860
Jno Arnsparger..53..Kentucky..Master Blacksmith
Maria Arnsparger..20..Kentucky
Wm Arnsparger..5..Kentucky
Jno Arnsparger..2..Kentucky
Wm. Harp..19..Kentucky..Blacksmith

This could be an 1860 US Census record for John and Maria along with John's oldest son, William, age 5,and their own son, John Jr., age 2. Living with them was John's nephew, William Harp, age 19 who was the son of John's sister, Elizabeth. Missing from the census was John's other son, Hiriam, who would have been about 4 years old at the time. There are no other records about Hiriam so he might have died before 1860. The biggest problem with this census is that John Arnsparger was shown as 53 years old instead of the expected 34. Was this an enumerator error or did the couple split up and this was some other yet unidentified John Arnsparger?

In the meantime, if Margaret were a different person than Maria, then it must have been Margaret that shows up as living at home with her parents on the same 1860 US Census. She was shown as 19 years old whereas Maria was shown as 20 years old which could indicate that they were two different sisters.
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John next married Nancy Offutt, daughter of Sanford Offutt and Mary Ann Berryman, on 25 June 1861 in , Fayette County, KY.^{2 3} (Nancy Offutt was born on 2 September 1844 in , Fayette County, KY,^{2 5 6} died on 13 January 1914 in Christianburg, KY ^{5 6} and was buried on 14 January 1914 in Grove Hill Cemetery, Shelbyville, KY ^{5 6}.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 25 June 1861, in , Fayette County, KY. ³

• They appeared on the 1880 US Census in Sandersville District, Fayette County, KY on 16 June 1880. ²

1880 US Census
Page 187D, District 61, Family 253, Roll 0412
Sandersville District, Fayette County, Kentucky
John Armsparger..Self..53..KY..Blacksmith
Nancy Armsparger..Wife..35..KY..Keeping House
Sarah Armsparger..Daughter..18..KY..At Home
Nancy Armsparger..Daughter..13..KY..At School
Caroline Armsparger..Daughter..12..KY..At School
Laura Armsparger..Daughter..10..KY..At School
Mary Armsparger...Daughter..7..KY
Sally Armsparger..Daughter..5..KY
Reliford Armsparger..Son..3..KY
William Armsparger..Son..25..KY..Blacksmith
Liza Armsparger..Daughter-in-Law..19..KY..At Home
Clarance Armsparger..Grandson..1..KY

NOTE - William Armsparger was a son born to John's first wife, Sarah F. Stone.
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  Marriage Notes:

Name: John Arnsparger
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 25 Jun 1861
Event Place: Fayette, Kentucky, United States
Gender: Male
Spouse's Name: Nancy Offutt
Spouse's Gender: Female

Citing this Record
"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1D-BCWN : 29 November 2018), John Arnsparger and Nancy Offutt, 25 Jun 1861; citing Marriage, Fayette, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 9,007.
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