Frederick Addison Sparks was born on July 11, 1879. He attended the public schools of Provincetown, but when he was sixteen years old he entered the Massachusetts training ship, the Enterprise, where he completed the navigation course in 1897. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he enlisted in the navy and saw active duty aboard the cruiser the Bancroft in Cuban waters. At the close of the war, he entered the Merchant Marine, serving for three years in the Pacific and then serving in the Atlantic from 1902 until 1907. In 1907, he became master of the yacht, the Machigonne, owned by a former governor of Massachusetts, William L. Douglas.

Frederick married Ethel Maria Mack in Provincetown on 10/12/1904. She was the daughter of Burton Mack and Minnie Mailman.

The death of Fred Sparks is one of the mysteries of the sea. He and his engineer, Albert A. Ferris, were commissioned to take a motor yacht from Plymouth to Boston, a trip of just a few hours. They left for Boston on Wednesday afternoon, telling their wives that they would be home that night. On Friday, the yacht was picked up in the bay about halfway between Plymouth and Boston. The men were nowhere to be found.

Frederick Addison Sparks was born on July 11, 1879. He attended the public schools of Provincetown, but when he was sixteen years old he entered the Massachusetts training ship, the Enterprise, where he completed the navigation course in 1897. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he enlisted in the navy and saw active duty aboard the cruiser the Bancroft in Cuban waters. At the close of the war, he entered the Merchant Marine, serving for three years in the Pacific and then serving in the Atlantic from 1902 until 1907. In 1907, he became master of the yacht, the Machigonne, owned by a former governor of Massachusetts, William L. Douglas.

Frederick married Ethel Maria Mack in Provincetown on 10/12/1904. She was the daughter of Burton Mack and Minnie Mailman.

The death of Fred Sparks is one of the mysteries of the sea. He and his engineer, Albert A. Ferris, were commissioned to take a motor yacht from Plymouth to Boston, a trip of just a few hours. They left for Boston on Wednesday afternoon, telling their wives that they would be home that night. On Friday, the yacht was picked up in the bay about halfway between Plymouth and Boston. The men were nowhere to be found.