Phinehas Parker (1684 - 1744)

Born 1684 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Wilder) Parker — married 14 Jun 1722 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 11 Aug 1744 at about age 60 in Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dana Schreder [send private message]

Biography

The son of James and Mary Parker. ^[1]

On July 18th, 1694, under French incitement, 250 warriors of the Abenaki tribes of Maine raided present day Durham New Hampshire, not far from Portsmouth. 104 colonists were killed and another 27 taken captive. The town was burned including the fort. Taxous, one of the Abenaki chieftains, was apparently unhappy with the loot and captives taken and with about 40 of the warriors travelled to Groton where, on the morning of July 27th, they surprised the colonists there, killing the Longley family as well as James, Mary and Zachariah Parker. They took several captives, including Phinehas Parker, John Longley and his sisters Lydia and Betty. Abraham Parker is never heard of again and is assumed to have either been killed in this raid or died in captivity. The other children; Samuel, James, Mary and the baby Rebecca hid in the tall grass and escaped capture. Rebecca was quiet so they were not discovered^[2]. The four of them can be found later in Woburn, apparently, they moved in with their uncle Josiah (son of James) where Rebecca and Mary marry men from Reading and Woburn. Phinehas was held captive for four years and redeemed by the master of a vessel and returned to Groton, lame of one leg^[3] On 31 May 1699, Josiah Parker petitioned the court for reimbursement of the six pounds ransom. Three years later his petition was granted. ^[4]

He is the only sibling to return to Groton.

There is no birth record in Groton MVR for Phinehas. One problem with the above referenced narrative is that it gives Phinehas an age of 7 when captured. That would make his birth year 1687. His headstone gives him an age of 62 "In his 63rd year" in 1744, which would make his birth year 1682 - which is the birth year of his brother Samuel. There is then a 4 year gap between Samuel and James (1686). Indians killed young children who could not keep up - 7 seems like a marginal number. I am inclined to put Phinehas between his brothers at 1684.

He married first Abigail Scripture with whom he had all of the children save Eunice, a daughter by his second marriage.

The second wife Elizabeth was widow of John Bowers

Name

Name: Phineas /Parker/ ^[5][6]

Marriage

Husband: Phineas Parker

Marriage: ^[7]

Husband: James Parker

Wife: Mary

Child: Phineas Parker

Marriage: ^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ https://jenningsweb.us/ParkerInAmerica.html
2. ↑ There are a number of variations of this story. William Longley was the town clerk up to the time of the attack and he was killed, there are no Mass Vital Records for the deaths of either the Longleys or the Parkers. There is a mention of them in Greens "Groton During the Indian Wars", which has a question mark next to the James&Mary Parker family "The following list of casualties, necessarily incomplete and in part conjectural, is given as an approximation to the loss systained by the town:" [Page 67]. However, we do know of the children and can account for all of them save Abraham. The tidbit about Rebecca being quiet is taken from Lorenzo Dows account. [Page 151, Parker in America]
3. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=m_sWAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA4-PA33&lpg=RA4-PA33&dq=phinehas+parker+lame+of+one+leg&source=bl&ots=7ZEZFjwhFw&sig=9V6t-SowsznivOpjYB3dLwQL--A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS5MTLuKbaAhXHyoMKHfWiBG0Q6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=phinehas%20parker%20lame%20of%20one%20leg&f=false
4. ↑ New England Captives Carried to Canada between 1677 and 1760, during the French and Indian Wars, Volume: volume 1, Coleman, Emma Lewis (Southworth Press, Portland, Maine, 1925), pages 282, 287. Repository: #R13
5. ↑ Source: #S12 Page: p. 5
6. ↑ Source: #S15
7. ↑ Source: #S15
8. ↑ Source: #S15

• reference "Parkers in America"

• WikiTree profile Parker-8227 created through the import of DirectAncs_GM.ged on Oct 5, 2012 by Dana Schreder. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Dana and others.
• Ancestors and Descendants of John Sullivan Hobart, Page 35 by Donald M. Hobart Publication: Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1951 Repository: #R1
• Repository: Residence of Dana Van Wormer Schreder, 7332 Balsam Court, Toledo, Ohio 43615, United States
• William Hobart: His Ancestors and Descendants, Pages 3-22, 52-63: L. Smith Hobart Publication: S.G. Otis & Company, Springfield, Mass., 1886. Repository: #R13
• Repository: Allen County Public Library, 900 Library Plaza, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802
• New England Captives Carried to Canada between 1677 and 1760, during the French and Indian Wars, Volume: volume 1, Coleman, Emma Lewis (Southworth Press, Portland, Maine, 1925), pages 282, 287. Repository: #R13
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVK2-LTQS : 13 December 2015), Phinehas Parker, 1744; Burial, Groton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States of America, Old Burying Ground; citing record ID 47209039, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHVV-CMX : 3 November 2017), Phinehas Parker and Elizabeth Bowers, 14 Jun 1722; citing Marriage, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts; FHL microfilm 859,998.
• Dana VanWormer-Schreder, 7332 Balsam Court, Toledo, Ohio, 43615, dschred@utoledo.edu, 419-866-1805, www.danasdigs.net

See also:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #47209039