Robert Parke was an early settler of Connecticut, dying in 1665 at Mystic, New London County. His WikiTree profile currently shows parents Robert Parke (Sr.) and Alice Chaplin, a cousin of his wife Martha Chaplin. Is there sufficient evidence for this?
An excellent starting point for researching these Parke/Chaplin families is here: http://www.mrzsp.demon.co.uk/chap-park-notes.htm
Regarding the origin and presumed father of immigrant Robert Parke, this website states: "This Robert was known to have been born circa 1580 from his age. Early references give his birthplace as Preston, Lancashire although later it was realised that he was from Suffolk. There are no Parke baptisms recorded in the BTs for Preston, Suffolk around this time however a baptism of a Robert Parke, son of Robert has been found at Poslingford on the 3 Jun 1580. Unfortunately the mother’s name is not given however it is assumed that Robert baptised in Poslingford is the immigrant and the son of Robert of Acton. This seems to be a plausible hypothesis but is not proved. It is a pity that the eldest son of Robert of Acton is not named in his father’s will."
Regarding the presumed mother of Robert Parke, this website states: "Alice Chaplin daughter of William of Tarnes Farm was born after 1554 (under 21 in 1575) and was left property in Acton. Robert Parke of Acton had a wife called Alice who is named in his will. An Alice Chaplin married a Richard Parke[r] at All Saints Sudbury on 27 Sep 1579. It is probable but certainly not proven that Alice Chaplin daughter of William of Tarnes Farm is Robert Parke’s wife Alice."
But then we have an interesting and "reputable" secondary source, Gary Boyd Roberts' "The New England Ancestry of H.R.H. The Princess of Wales" in NEHGR 136 (1982), p. 102 and p. 335. Roberts unfortunately cites no sources -- is he playing fast and loose with the evidence?
On p. 102 Roberts gives the firm statement that Robert Parke "was a son of Robert Parke of Gestingthorpe (will dated Feb. 1592/3, proved 3 Apr. 1593) and Alice Chaplin (married Sudbury, Suffolk 1579, daughter of William Chaplin of Long Melford, Suffolk, whose will is dated 1575, when his daughter Alice was still a minor), grandson of William Parke of Gestingthorpe (will dated 25 Mar. 1551, proved 13 May 1551), and great-grandson of another William Parke of Gestingthorpe, d. 1531. This last was likely a son or a third William Parke of Gestingthorpe, living 1484, probable son of John Parke of that place, heir of his father in 1455, son of another John Parke of Gestingthorpe, heir of his father in 1414, son of Robert Parke of Gestingthorpe, d. 1400, and Margaret ----, d. 22 Aug. 1408.
The problem with all this is that it fails to mention that (1) the will of Robert Parke, Sr. fails to mention his son Robert, and (2) it fails to mention that the marriage record for Alice Chaplin, presumed mother of the immigrant Robert, is recorded as having married a Richard Parker, not Robert Parke. Is Roberts jumping to unwarranted conclusions?
In a later segment of the same article, on page 335 of vol. 136 of NEHGR, Roberts states that immigrant Robert Parke's wife Martha Chaplin "was her husband's first cousin and a daughter of William Chaplin of Semur, Suffolk... William Chaplin and his sister Alice Chaplin, wife of Robert Parke of Gestingthorpe, were children of another William Chaplin, of Tarnes Farm, Long Melford...
Next, we have the problem of the alleged mother of Robert Parke's great-grandfather William Parke -- for William's ancestry (as currently shown on WikiTree) see this chart: http://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Parke-Family-Tree-68
William's mother is an Elizabeth Ogilvy, daughter of Alexander Ogilvy, who was son of John Ogilvy and Marion Seton, daughter of John Seton and Catherine Sinclair. Problems with this:
--Roberts (quoted above) made no mention of Elizabeth Ogilvy marrying into the Parke family, and I cannot find any other source for this alleged marriage.
--At first glance it seems that John Ogilvy didn't have a son Alexander by either of his Seton wives; see http://www.thepeerage.com/p264.htm -- Of course The Peerage.com is not gospel, but it seems to provide good sources for this particular family.
Is there any reason NOT to detach Elizabeth Ogilvy as the wife of William Parke, and/or detach Alexander Ogilvy as the son of John Ogilvy?
