John Evans Parker (1795 - 1881)

Born 4 Oct 1795 in Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia, United States of America

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Belle (Powers) Parker — married 22 Apr 1819 (to 9 Dec 1823) in Caroline County, Virginia, United States

Husband of Gabriella (Sale) Parker — married 22 Apr 1827 in Caroline County, Virginia

Husband of Rebecca (Shepherd) Parker — married 10 Mar 1831 in Spotsylvania Co., VA

Descendants

Died 25 Jul 1881 at age 85 in Athens, Fayette County, Kentucky, United States of America

Biography

John was born on 4 October 1795 in Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia, the eighth of ten known children and the youngest of five sons of Watts and Mary Lightburn Parker.

John was married three times:

On 22 April 1819 at the age of twenty-three, he married Mary B. Powers in Caroline County.

After Mary's death a few years later, he married Gabriella Sale on 22 April 1827, also in Caroline County.

And after her death, he married Rebecca Shepherd on 10 March 1831 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, at the age of thirty-five.

John was the father of twelve children, five sons and seven daughters:

1. Mildred Ann Parker
2. Patrick Robb Parker
3. Alexander Tennant Parker
4. Mary Lightburn Parker
5. Lucy Watts Parker
6. Stafford Lightburn Parker
7. Martha Lightburn Parker
8. John Henry Parker
9. Sarah Frances Parker
10. Watts Parker
11. Virginia Caroline Parker
12. Anis Preston Parker.

On 25 July 1881, at the age of eighty-five, John died of unknown causes in Athens, Fayette County, Kentucky.

1820 census

John Evans Parker is listed in the 1820 Census for Caroline County, with 1 white male 19-25, 1 26-44; 1 white female 16-26, 1 male black 26-44, 1 over 44, 1 black female 14-25, and a total of 4 persons engaged in commerce.

1830 census

John Evans Parker is listed in the 1830 Census for Caroline County, Virginia, with 1 white male 15-20, 1 20-30, 1 30-40, and 3 male slaves 10-24.

1840 census

John Evans Parker is listed in the 1840 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky, with 1 white male under 5, 1 5-10, 1 40-50, 2 white females under 5, 1 5-10, 1 male slave under 10, 3 female slaves under 10, and 1 24-36. One person was engaged in manufacturing and trades.

1850 census

John E. Parker is listed in the 1850 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky, as a shoe maker, age 56, born in Virginia, with real estate valued at $1,000.00 and 6 slaves. His wife, Rebecca, is 37 and was born in Virginia. Also listed are Alexander T. Parker, age 18, Mary Parker, age 16, Lucy Parker, age 14, Stafford Parker, age 11, Martha Parker, age 9, John Parker, age 7, Sarah Parker, age 5, and Watts Parker, age 2, all born in Kentucky.

1860 census

John Evans Parker is on the 1860 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky as a boot and shoe maker, age 64, born in Virginia, with real estate worth $700 and personal property worth $3,000. Also listed are M. L. (a female), age 25; L. L. (a female), 23; Stafford, 22, student of mald... (can't read it); Martha, 20; J. H., 16; Sally, 14; Watts, 11; V. C. (a female), 9. All are born in Kentucky except for John Evans Parker.

1870 census

John Evans Parker is listed in the 1870 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky as age 75, born in Virginia with real estate worth $700. Also listed are Mary, 35; Stafford, 32, a physician with real estate worth $400; Martha, 30; John, 27; Sallie, 26; Jennie 23; and Harrison Spencer, 14, a domestic servant who can not read, cannot write. All persons except John Evans Parker are listed as born in Kentucky.

1880 census

John Parker is listed in the 1880 Census for Fayette County, Kentucky, as a white male widower, 85, with daughter Mary, 47; son Stafford, a physician, 31; daughter Martha, 34; daughter Virginia, 25; and Walter Warfield, 80, aborer. All were born in Kentucky but John Parker. John Parker and both his parents were born in Virginia.

Migration

John Evans Parker moved to Kentucky in 1832 from Caroline County, Virginia. He first moved to Woodford County, then Walnut Hill in Fayette County, and then to Athens in Fayette County. He is listed in the 1850 Census of Fayette County, Kentucky as a shoemaker. This material about John Evans Parker was written by my father, James Parker LaBach.

NOTE: The following information is from notes of Eleanor Parker Hopkins. She researched the Parker family extensively. Information on births, marriages, and deaths she copied from the Parker Bible. Other information came from court records, family correspondence, and family anecdotes.

JOHN EVANS PARKER and his twin sister Mildred were born October 4, 1795. He was the son of Watts Parker and Mary Lightburn. It is said that the house he was born in was "a mansion with 20 windows across the front," and made of English brick. When he was five years old his father was commissioned Quarantine Officer at Port Royal. Their house is believed to have been on the Rappahannock River and John Evans Parker used to tell of the family's oyster shoals and how much he liked "Yar" soup. Other records indicate that the family may have had a second house in the town. The War of 1812 must have been a busy time for the Parker family. Family tradition has it that Sir Peter Parker with the English Squadron came up the Rappahannock River. The Officers of the Squadron of Sir Peter Parker came on shore and called on the Watts Parker family, compared notes, and said they were related to the family. One story has it that Sir Peter offered the family the protection of the British fleet. He was killed later in one of the battles of the war. This Sir Peter Parker was the nephew of the British Admiral, Sir Peter Parker, of Revolutionary War fame. Watts Parker also died in 1812, probably before this visit. John Evans may not have been home at the time of the visit of the British Squadron. He later received a pension for his service in Capt. Gray's Virginia Militia during the War of 1812.

It was the family custom to send the sons to England to be educated. The oldest son, Stafford Lightburn Parker, took advantage of this opportunity. Upon returning to America he became a lawyer, and later Speaker of the House of Virginia, and Registrar of the Land Office. John Evans refused to go, and stayed in America. When he was 23 he married Mary B. Powers (April 22, 1819). They had two children Mildred Ann Parker who lived only two weeks; and Patrick Robb Parker who lived a little over a year. His wife Mary died December 9, 1823. Three years later he married Gabriella Sale (April 22, 1827). She died November 26, 1829, less than three years after their marriage. He married Rebecca Shepherd on March 10, 1831. She was the daughter of William and Rebecca Moxley Shepherd, a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia (Spottsylvania County). This marriage is documented both in the Parker Bible and the records of Spottsylvania County. Their first child, Alexander Tennant Parker, was born January 1, 1832.

It must have been that same year that the family decided to move to Kentucky. Family tradition has it that John Evans Parker came by boat to Kentucky by way of New Orleans; and that his wife and her mother, Rebecca Moxley Shepherd Bullock, came to Kentucky by way of Cumberland Gap. Whatever the route they followed, they went first to Woodford County and then to Walnut Hill. Their second child, Mary Lightburn Parker, was born September 9, 1833 at Walnut Hill. Two years later they were living in Athens where the remainder of their ten children were born. John Evans was Police Judge of that town for a number of years, and Chairman of the Trustees of the Corporation.

In Athens John Evans set up a tannery and continued to operate this business for many years. The house they lived in was a log house on the main street of the town. The house, much altered in later years, stood until the 1970's. The Parker house in Port Royal where John Evans had grown up was taken by Union soldiers and used as a hospital during the War Between the States. The soldiers broke up much of the furniture and what was saved was stored in Mr. Garrett's barn. The house was burned before the War was over. Unfortunately, Mr. Garrett's barn was the barn in which John Wilkes Booth took refuge after assassinating President Lincoln. In the capture of Booth the barn was burned down, and the rest of the furniture lost.

The Garrett's were friends of the Parkers in Virginia. One story is that in his last illness John Evans was smiling so happily in his sleep that his daughter asked him about it. He replied, "I was dreaming I was at a dance at Mr. Garrett's." John Evans Parker is described as 6 feet tall with blue eyes and sandy hair. He loved to dance and enjoyed all forms of social events. His obituary reads "Mr. Parker was distinguished through the long period of his life in this county as an honorable, upright and just man. No stain rests upon his character. The proud inheritance he leaves to his surviving children is that of a preeminent love of justice and truth, which above all else was the predominant and all pervading inspiration of his life. He was honorable from principle; just because it is right to be just, and truthful because it was true to be so. His reason for doing right was that it was right."

John Evans Parker died July 25, 1881, and is buried in the Cemetery at Athens along with his wife and five of his ten children.^[1]

Citations

1. ↑ wiebach1, "John Evans Parker, 1795-1881," LaBach Family Tree, Ancestry.com. URL; http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=eb026b88-bb0e-4eda-b2ee-b97238f91706&tid=19184945&pid=767426062. For family tree, click here. Accessed 16 Apr 2018 by Patricia Prickett Hickin.

Acknowledgments

• This person was created through the import of LaBach Family TreeApril28_2011.ged on 05 May 2011.

Sources

• wiebach1, "John Evans Parker, 1795-1881," LaBach Family Tree, Ancestry.com. URL; http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=eb026b88-bb0e-4eda-b2ee-b97238f91706&tid=19184945&pid=767426062. Accessed 16 Apr 2018 by Patricia Prickett Hickin.