Christopher Olson lives in Lakeland, Florida, and has spent a decade researching this story with thousands of sources and several regional research assistants.Since I am no relation to the Sparlings (as far as I know), I often get the question, what drove you to their family story? Honestly, I had been outlining a fictional story of an immigrant family that had come to the United States, with the idea that they ended up in the Pacific Northwest. I had started building out the genealogy of their family, reviewing ages and how each generation aligned with key events in Seattle’s history. I thought, wouldn’t it be interesting if one of the children or grandchildren worked in the original Edison light plant in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. That plant, along with a large portion of Seattle’s downtown burned down in the great fire so surviving information about the plant and its location were scattered in various histories. I ended up writing a fourteen-page article about the plant and in the process noted that Frederick W. Sparling was one of the original financers and board member of the new company and Frederick H. Sparling was one of two electricians.After doing some further research on these men and their relation to the plant, I learned that each had had exciting lives but the story from the obituaries were only superficial details. I wanted to know more and that developed into over a decade of going down rabbit holes to answer questions, each creating three more questions. Eventually, the entire picture came together of their energized lives and their families. Along the way, I uncovered loose ends that had been lost to history as the family had spread outside of Seattle and it afforded me the opportunity to correct some of the items for the family. In the end, I feel I repaid them for sharing their story with me.By day, Christopher is a senior director of engineering and design and has thirty years of experience in the IT and construction industry. He’s a family genealogy volunteer, certifies 100-year-old homes for the Lake Morton Century Home Project and volunteers for Lakeland’s Historic Preservation Board and is serving currently as its chairman.Read more about this authorRead less about this author