Aaron Parker (1689 - abt. 1775)

Born 9 Apr 1689 in Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Abigail (Winship) Parker — married 13 Aug 1712 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 19 Dec 1775 at about age 86 in Westford, Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

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Biography

Aaron Parker was born on April 9. 1689 at Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He was the son of Moses Parker and Abigail Hildreth.^[1] Aaron Parker and Abigail Winship were married by Justice Minott on August 13, 1712, at Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts.^[2] Note: In his genealogy of the Parker family, Francis Parker gives Abigail's last name as Adams.^[3] More recent research says she was Abigail Winship and makes no mention of the name Adams.^[4] Aaron and Abigail had issue born at Chelmsford and Westford:

• Aaron, b. August 19, 1713
• Samuel, b. January 1, 1716/7
• Moses, b. May 16, 1718
• Abigail, b. October 17, 1720
• Mary, b. October 20, 1723
• Lucy, b. January 11, 1725/6
• Elizabeth, b. July 18, 1728
• Isaac, b. May 20, 1731
• Joseph, b. January 2, 1734/5
• Esther, b. July 4, 1738

Aaron Parker died on Dec. 19, 1775, at Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts.^[5], and is buried at the Fairview Cemetery in Westford. The inscription on his gravestone gives his age as "Aged 86 years 7 months and 28 days."^[6] You can see a picture of his grave stone at Find A Grave.

Research Notes

Which Abigail did he marry?

Let's start with Aaron himself.

At the time there are at least 6 distinct Parker lines in Massachusetts: (Note: Dates are either town incorporation or the first Parker birth)

1. Descendants of Deacon Thomas Parker in Reading, who tended to migrate westward to Lexington (1691) and Concord (1779), two at least migrated north, one to Groton (Obadiah) and one (Phinehas) to Pepperell
2. Descendants of the 5 Parker Brothers of Chelmsford and Groton, their descendants at the time can be found in Westford (1729), Chelmsford (1651), Dracut (1721), Groton (1665), Shirley(1720), Harvard (1766), Littleton (1715), Dunstable (1730), Pepperell (1736), Tyngsboro (1792) and Bradford (1714)
3. Parkers of Barnstable (1658), Falmouth (1694) and Truro (1727), I have not seen them migrate much off of the Cape, although quite a few of them show up in Cumberland County Maine.
4. Parkers of Andover (1651) (fond of the name John or Jonathan)
5. Parkers of Billerica (1662) (fond of the name Benjamin)
6. Parkers of Newton (1647)

Searching vital records for those towns for an Aaron born in the 17th century, the only one who shows up is "Arone, s. Mosis and Abigall, Apr. 9, 1689" in Chelmsford.

The birth of his first child is recorded in both Westford and Chelmsford Vital Records:

(Westford) Aaron, s. Aaron and Abigail, at Chelmsford, Aug. 19, 1713

(Chelmsford) Aron, s. Aron and Abigall, Aug. 19, 1713.

In the "History of the Town of Westford, in the County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, 1659-1883 By Edwin Ruthven Hodgman · 1883" p39, ^[7]a road to Chelmsford is recorded as beginning at the Pond Plain to the west of Aaron Parker's old house. A second road to Groton is also anchored on his house.

He is voted a constable in Westford in 1729 at the first town meeting. (ibid)

p242. "Brick-making. This was early begun in the south part. The clay-hills on the farms of George H Elliott and John Wilson furnished the materials for this purpose. The business was carried on by Aaron Parker and his successors..."

The map of Westford in 1730 shows an Aaron (Parker?), not far north of the Concord line and at the intersection of several roads. An 1853 map of Westford show several Parkers in the same area (J.M.Parker, G.A.Parker, G. Parker, O.W.Parker)^[8]

His death is recorded in Westford Vital Records; "Aaron, Dec. 19, 1775, a. 86 y. 7 m. 28 d. GR1" His wife's death is not recorded and the Fairview cemetery has no record of her internment.

So there is only one Aaron Parker at the time, he is a lifetime resident of South Westford, not far from Concord.

Abigail

Various well-credentialed sources indicate she is Abigail Adams, the daughter of Jonathan and Leah (Gould) Adams who was born in Chelmsford Nov 9, 1693.

1. NEHGR for the year 1862 Vol XVI, p42^[9]
2. "Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Familes of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts" William Cutter Vol II Lewis Historical Publishing Company New York 1908 p1114^[10](The text of which is below under "See Also")
3. "The Prominent Families of the Unites States Vol I" Arthur Meredyth Burke The Sackville Press Ltd. London (preface dated 1908) ^[11]
4. In the handwritten birth of Esther Parker there is a carat "Adams" after the mothers name (Abigail)^[12]

Other well-credentialled sourced indicate she is Abigail Winship, the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Poulter) Winship. I have not found a birth record.

1. WHMA in the Boston Transcript^[13] (Note: WHMA has historically been very accurate, I have only found two errors in his work)
2. "Families of Cavendish: Families of Abraham Parker, James Parker, Thomas Parker, Pollard (with Pollard gold mining letters), Skinner, Spaulding (with reminiscences of James Ashton Spaulding) and the family of James Ashton Hall" Cavendish Historical Society, University of Wisconsin pub 1995^[14]

Perhaps less credible:

"A genealogical history of Henry Adams, of Braintree, Mass., and his descendants; also John Adams, of Cambridge, Mass., 1632-1897 by Andrew N Adams, The Tuttle company printers, Rutland VT 1898" p93 gives her "probably" as the daughter of Pelatiah Adams and Ruth (Parker) Adams^[15]

"The progenitors and descendants of Thomas Page Brown and Sarah (sally) Parker, compiled by Blanche Brown Bryant. pub by author, Sprinfield Vt 1938"^[16] Aaron m Abigail Adams Aug 12, 1712 (b Jun 7 1697) (which is the birthdate of the daughter of Pelatiah and Ruth)

Family Search has Abigail Adams (daughter of Jonathan and Leah Gould) as marrying Daniel Locke. ^[17] Take that for what it is worth.

All of the sources which cite "Adams" indicate a marriage year of 1712, none point to a location or a specific calendar date. Meanwhile there is a clear entry in Mass Vital Records Concord of Aaron Parker marrying Abigail Winship^[18]"Aaron, and Abigail Winship, Aug. 13, 1712."

I am inclined to take Abigail Winship as the correct wife. I did not find a first marriage for Abigail Winship (where she might have originally had the name Adams).

Sources

1. ↑ Vital records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Salem, Mass: The Essex Institute, 1999. Open Library Page 105
2. ↑ Concord, Massachusetts births, marriages, and deaths, 1635-1850. Boston: T.Todd, printer, 1895. Open Library Page 80
3. ↑ Parker, Francis J. "Parker Genealogy," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1862. InternetArchive NEHGR 16 (Jan 1862):41, at 42
4. ↑ "Abraham Parker of Bradford Massachusetts and Family, Pt. I," The Essex Genealogist. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) 25 (Feb 2005):33, at 45
5. ↑ Vital records of Westford, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Salem, Mass: Essex Institute, 1915. Open Library Page 300
6. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35626886/aaron-parker Memorial# 35626886; Maintained by: KBStewart; Originally Created by: Brad Potts; Record added: Apr 07, 2009
7. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_the_Town_of_Westford_in_the_C/kTIAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1
8. ↑ https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/scanned-maps/catalog/44-990099742920203941
9. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_England_Historical_and_Genealogical/28MMAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Aaron+Parker%22+Westford&pg=PA42&printsec=frontcover
10. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Genealogical_and_Personal_Memoirs_Relati/kFoLBC2TwFYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Aaron+Parker%22+Westford&pg=PA1114&printsec=frontcover
11. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Prominent_Families_of_the_United_Sta/uxEwAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Aaron+Parker%22+Westford&pg=PA407&printsec=frontcover
12. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9979-999J-Y?i=33&cc=2061550
13. ↑ https://jenningsweb.us/ParkerInAmerica.html
14. ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Families_of_Cavendish_Families_of_Abraha/zk4jAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Aaron+Parker%22+Westford&dq=%22Aaron+Parker%22+Westford&printsec=frontcover
15. ↑ https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00adam/page/92/mode/2up?q=Aaron
16. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/763741/?offset=151541#page=41&viewer=picture&o=search&n=0&q=Aaron
17. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LYXC-18S
18. ↑ https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Concord/aMarriagesP.shtml

See Also:

• Source: S110 Title: Adams of Massachusetts Aaron Parker, son Of Moses Parker (2), was born in Chelmsford, April 9, died there July 28, 1775. He married, in 1712, Abigail, daughter of Jonathan and Leah (Gould) Adams. She died December 19, 1775. They were among the original members of the First Church of Chelmsford. The Parker homestead is now or was lately owned by George Hutchins. Children 1. Aaron. born August 19. 1713 ; mentioned below. 2. Samtrel, born 1717. 3. Moses, born 1718. 4. Abigail, born 1720; married John Senter, of Londonderry, New Hampshire. 5. Mary, born 1723 ; married Oliver Proctor. 8. Isaac, born 1731 9. Joseph born 1735; Married Susan Fletcher. 10. Esther born 1735 Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 2 William Richard Cutter Lewis historical Publishing Company, 1908 - Boston (Mass.) Pg. 1114