John Charles Fremont Sprankle, popularly known as "JCF," was born in Roanoke, Indiana, just west of Fort Wayne. JCF was the youngest of three children born to John D. Sprankle, a "homesteader" from Pennsylvania who, in the mid-1800s purchased a tract of land for farming and established a home near the newly built Wabash-Erie Canal.
On February 05, 1879, JCF married Sarah Elizabeth Rousseau, daughter of a prosperous dairy farmer, in Aboite Township, Allen County, Indiana. They raised four children, Francis John, Cloid Anson, Myrtle Blanche, and Howard Wilson, west of Fort Wayne on what was known as "Homestead Farm."
As his family grew, so did his business. By the turn of the century, JCF was a prominent businessman in Fort Wayne, owning a family company doing civil engineering and flood control projects in the Midwest. In 1913, JCF moved his family and business to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He and his sons continued to operate a dredging business and formed "The Sprankle Company." He retired for a brief time in 1918, then returned to work as a city inspector for the Oklahoma City Engineering Department. JCF often described himself as a "tinkerer" doing furniture making.
JCF is famous in family folklore for his curiosity and sense of adventure. Never idle, he became an avid woodworker and furniture maker in retirement, creating an array of tables and other furniture using inlaid imported woods. He continued to travel extensively by car throughout North America with friends and grandchildren, long before the U.S. had a network of usable roads. On one occasion, he drove all the way from Oklahoma City to New York in first gear. He just didn't know how to shift gears in his new car! Up until his death in 1941 at the age of 85, he enjoyed making extended automobile trips to Canada and Old Mexico. JCF noted in his final years, "My health's fine. If you want to live long, keep busy at something you like to do."
v/r Kenneth A. Sprankle 12/12/2015
Obituary published in THE OKLAHOMAN, DECEMBER 31, 1941:
J. C. F. SPRANKLE
A Masonic service was held at midnight Tuesday at Siloam lodge, 124 Northwest Fifth Street, for J.C.F. Sprankle, 85-year-old retired contractor, who died Monday at his home, 701 Northwest Sixteenth street. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Memorial Park cemetery, under direction of Hahn Funeral Home.
On February 05, 1879, JCF married Sarah Elizabeth Rousseau, daughter of a prosperous dairy farmer, in Aboite Township, Allen County, Indiana. They raised four children, Francis John, Cloid Anson, Myrtle Blanche, and Howard Wilson, west of Fort Wayne on what was known as "Homestead Farm."
As his family grew, so did his business. By the turn of the century, JCF was a prominent businessman in Fort Wayne, owning a family company doing civil engineering and flood control projects in the Midwest. In 1913, JCF moved his family and business to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He and his sons continued to operate a dredging business and formed "The Sprankle Company." He retired for a brief time in 1918, then returned to work as a city inspector for the Oklahoma City Engineering Department. JCF often described himself as a "tinkerer" doing furniture making.
JCF is famous in family folklore for his curiosity and sense of adventure. Never idle, he became an avid woodworker and furniture maker in retirement, creating an array of tables and other furniture using inlaid imported woods. He continued to travel extensively by car throughout North America with friends and grandchildren, long before the U.S. had a network of usable roads. On one occasion, he drove all the way from Oklahoma City to New York in first gear. He just didn't know how to shift gears in his new car! Up until his death in 1941 at the age of 85, he enjoyed making extended automobile trips to Canada and Old Mexico. JCF noted in his final years, "My health's fine. If you want to live long, keep busy at something you like to do."
v/r Kenneth A. Sprankle 12/12/2015
Obituary published in THE OKLAHOMAN, DECEMBER 31, 1941:
J. C. F. SPRANKLE
A Masonic service was held at midnight Tuesday at Siloam lodge, 124 Northwest Fifth Street, for J.C.F. Sprankle, 85-year-old retired contractor, who died Monday at his home, 701 Northwest Sixteenth street. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Memorial Park cemetery, under direction of Hahn Funeral Home.
John Charles Fremont Sprankle, popularly known as "JCF," was born in Roanoke, Indiana, just west of Fort Wayne. JCF was the youngest of three children born to John D. Sprankle, a "homesteader" from Pennsylvania who, in the mid-1800s purchased a tract of land for farming and established a home near the newly built Wabash-Erie Canal.
On February 05, 1879, JCF married Sarah Elizabeth Rousseau, daughter of a prosperous dairy farmer, in Aboite Township, Allen County, Indiana. They raised four children, Francis John, Cloid Anson, Myrtle Blanche, and Howard Wilson, west of Fort Wayne on what was known as "Homestead Farm."
As his family grew, so did his business. By the turn of the century, JCF was a prominent businessman in Fort Wayne, owning a family company doing civil engineering and flood control projects in the Midwest. In 1913, JCF moved his family and business to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He and his sons continued to operate a dredging business and formed "The Sprankle Company." He retired for a brief time in 1918, then returned to work as a city inspector for the Oklahoma City Engineering Department. JCF often described himself as a "tinkerer" doing furniture making.
JCF is famous in family folklore for his curiosity and sense of adventure. Never idle, he became an avid woodworker and furniture maker in retirement, creating an array of tables and other furniture using inlaid imported woods. He continued to travel extensively by car throughout North America with friends and grandchildren, long before the U.S. had a network of usable roads. On one occasion, he drove all the way from Oklahoma City to New York in first gear. He just didn't know how to shift gears in his new car! Up until his death in 1941 at the age of 85, he enjoyed making extended automobile trips to Canada and Old Mexico. JCF noted in his final years, "My health's fine. If you want to live long, keep busy at something you like to do."
v/r Kenneth A. Sprankle 12/12/2015
Obituary published in THE OKLAHOMAN, DECEMBER 31, 1941:
J. C. F. SPRANKLE
A Masonic service was held at midnight Tuesday at Siloam lodge, 124 Northwest Fifth Street, for J.C.F. Sprankle, 85-year-old retired contractor, who died Monday at his home, 701 Northwest Sixteenth street. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Memorial Park cemetery, under direction of Hahn Funeral Home.
On February 05, 1879, JCF married Sarah Elizabeth Rousseau, daughter of a prosperous dairy farmer, in Aboite Township, Allen County, Indiana. They raised four children, Francis John, Cloid Anson, Myrtle Blanche, and Howard Wilson, west of Fort Wayne on what was known as "Homestead Farm."
As his family grew, so did his business. By the turn of the century, JCF was a prominent businessman in Fort Wayne, owning a family company doing civil engineering and flood control projects in the Midwest. In 1913, JCF moved his family and business to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He and his sons continued to operate a dredging business and formed "The Sprankle Company." He retired for a brief time in 1918, then returned to work as a city inspector for the Oklahoma City Engineering Department. JCF often described himself as a "tinkerer" doing furniture making.
JCF is famous in family folklore for his curiosity and sense of adventure. Never idle, he became an avid woodworker and furniture maker in retirement, creating an array of tables and other furniture using inlaid imported woods. He continued to travel extensively by car throughout North America with friends and grandchildren, long before the U.S. had a network of usable roads. On one occasion, he drove all the way from Oklahoma City to New York in first gear. He just didn't know how to shift gears in his new car! Up until his death in 1941 at the age of 85, he enjoyed making extended automobile trips to Canada and Old Mexico. JCF noted in his final years, "My health's fine. If you want to live long, keep busy at something you like to do."
v/r Kenneth A. Sprankle 12/12/2015
Obituary published in THE OKLAHOMAN, DECEMBER 31, 1941:
J. C. F. SPRANKLE
A Masonic service was held at midnight Tuesday at Siloam lodge, 124 Northwest Fifth Street, for J.C.F. Sprankle, 85-year-old retired contractor, who died Monday at his home, 701 Northwest Sixteenth street. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Memorial Park cemetery, under direction of Hahn Funeral Home.
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