The Parker Family

Part 1

According to the history of Chatham Co., North Carolina, some of the earliest settlers came into the area in the early to mid-1700s. By 1760, the Haw River Valley was very well settled and the Colonial Assembly voted to create Chatham County effective April 1, 1771.

There were many Parkers in the Chatham area during this early history. It's not clear which Parkers were related or might be our ancestors. Peter Parker took out a land grant in 1746. His home was just south of the Granville Line. In 1774, Richard Parker, a former Justice of the court, was voted to the Assembly.

Our earliest confirmed Parker ancestor was Josiah Parker who was born, according to some sources, on Aug. 31, 1812 in Chatham Co., N.C. Josiah's 1850 census record says he was born in Orange Co., N.C., but his 1860 record says Chatham Co. We know very little about Josiah's early life, but on Dec. 7, 1838 in Guilford Co., N.C., Josiah Parker and Jabez Hunt appeared before a clerk of the court to secure a bond of marriage pledging Josiah's commitment to marry Parthenia Hackney. It's presumed that the couple were married that day or soon thereafter. Josiah and Parthenia (Hackney) Parker had the following children:

• Eliza Parker, b. ~1840 in Guilford Co., N.C., m. James Albert Hubbard on Sept. 6, 1870 in Guilford Co., N.C., d. June 6, 1923 in Guilford Co., N.C.
• Leonidas Parker, b. ~1843 in Guilford Co., N.C.
• Leander Parker, b. ~1846 in Guilford Co., N.C.
• Lisander Parker, b. ~1850 in Guilford Co., N.C.
• Permandes Parker, b. Oct. 8, 1851 in Guilford Co., N.C., m. Mahalia Stanley on Dec. 3, 1878 in Guilford Co., N.C., d. Aug. 26, 1930 in Johnson Co., Mo.
• Barnett Parker, b. April 5, 1859 in Guilford Co., N.C., m1. Roxanna Hull on Oct. 26, 1879 in Guilford Co., N.C., m2. Louisa Jane Wagoner on May 31, 1891 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., d. Sept. 13, 1942 in Campbell Co., Tenn. (see death certificate).

Josiah Parker's 1840 census record shows him living with his wife and a son under age 5. It's not known what happened to that son since he does not appear in 1850 or 1860 census records. It's interesting to note that in the 1830 census, a Joseph Parker lives near a Joseph J. Hackney in Chatham Co., N.C. Joseph Parker has two sons in the 15 to 20 age range and Joseph J. Hackney has a daughter in that same age range. Given the proximity of these two families, it's possible these gentlemen were the fathers of Josiah Parker and Parthenia Hackney; however, more evidence will be needed to confirm this. Although the marriage bond was secured in Guilford Co., the 1830 census identifies no male Parker in the correct age range to be our Josiah and there are no Hackneys in Guilford Co. in 1830 or 1840.

According to the 1850 Census, Josiah and Parthenia Parker had three children. Note that Josiah Parker's first name is "Joseph" in the census record.

By the 1860 census, the family had grown to six children and Josiah's name was correct.

Josiah and Leonidas likely served in a North Carolina regiment during the Civil War. A Leonidas Parker and a J. B. Parker served in the 33rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment. On one of fifteen surviving service records, J. B. Parker is said to be Josiah B. Parker. Josiah was in Company H and Leonidas in Company E. Both were conscripted into service on July 1, 1862; however, they were conscripted far from their homes, Josiah in Hertford County (one record says Forsyth County which is much closer to his home in Guilford County) and Leonidas in Anson County. It's not known how accurate these recruitment county designations were, particularly for conscripts. If these are our ancestors, then Josiah would have been 50 years old at the time of his conscription and Leonidas would have been 18. While Leonidas would have met the minimum age for conscription at the time, Josiah would have been 15 years above the maximum age of 35. The confederacy did raise the maximum conscription age throughout the war, however. Perhaps some recruiters bent the limits in order to meet their goals. We are pretty confident that Josiah and Leonidas died before 1870, so the fact that these two individuals died during the war lends some credence to the idea that they are our ancestors. Leonidas was killed at Chancellorsville in 1863 and Josiah died from one of many illnesses he contracted during the war including typhoid, rheumatism and smallpox. Josiah appears to have spent more time in the hospital than with his unit, something you might expect from a 50 to 53 year old farmer who did not volunteer for service. The final entry for Josiah is "absent - supposed [presumed?] to be dead" in early 1864. He was last paid in March 1863. We can imagine that these two individuals were our Josiah and Leonidas, but we cannot be certain.

By the time of the 1870 census, the family was much smaller. Parthenia's name was shortened to Parthia. Her age and place of birth were inaccurate. She would have been 55 or 56 years old and, according to prior and subsequent census records, she was born in Virginia. While Eliza married (James) Albert Hubbard on Sept. 6, 1870 (see marriage register), this doesn't explain her absence from the family's census record since it was supposed to reflect the family status as of June 1, 1870. Since she and James had two stepsons (ages 18 and 15) in the 1880 census, it can't be ruled out that Eliza was previously married. Her 1923 death certificate indicated she was the widow of Albert Hubbard. Her husband seems to have gone by both James and Albert over the years, as evidenced by various census records, his marriage record and his wife's death certificate. Permandes (best guess of spelling based on 1860 census record) was now listed as Peandus. In later records his name was generally some variation of Permandus (as it was spelled on his gravestone); however, his descendants believe his name was Phenandis while his 1878 marriage license indicated his name was Philander. Finally, Barney's age seems off by a year or two. All of these inconsistencies are understandable given that Parthenia and her sons could not read or write.

In 1871 at the age of 12, Barnett J. (Barney) Parker ran away from home. It was said that he ran away because of his bossy sisters. The 1870 census suggests he had no sisters living at home, so this may or may not be true. He is said to have worked on the railroad with his first job as a cook for a section gang.

Not much is known about those years between 1871 and 1888. How long he worked for the railroad is unknown and when he turned to farming is unknown. According to this marriage license, Barney married Roxanne Hull on Oct. 26, 1879 and the story is told that they had a son named Gurney, but there is no record of this. Some family members say that the child died at birth. Roxanne Hull Parker died in 1888. The 1880 census records indicate that Barney Parker and Roxanne Hull were living in Guilford County. They also show Parthenia Parker living alone.

We do not know where Barney and Roxanne Parker lived when Roxanne died. However, at some point after the 1880 census and possibly after 1888, Barney Parker moved to Claiborne Co., Tenn. where he married his second wife Louisa Jane Wagoner on May 31, 1891 (see marriage record). Louisa Jane Wagoner was the daughter of Richard Wagoner and Millicent Willis. She was born in March 1866 in either Kentucky (per 1880 and 1920 censuses) or Tennessee (per 1900 and 1910 censuses) and died in 1936. Here are the 1900, 1910 and 1920 census records for the Barney and Louisa Jane Parker family.

By 1910, Barney and Louisa Jane had three additional children. Paralee is clearly written as the name of their five year old; however, this is very likely Carralee/Cary/Carrie who appears as Cary in the 1920 census.

By 1920, only the three youngest children were still living with Barney and Louisa Jane.

Barnett and Louisa Jane (Wagoner) Parker

Children of the marriage of Barney and Louisa Jane Parker were:

• James Roscoe Parker, b. December 24, 1895 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m1. Cora Ellison on August 5, 1917 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m2. Cordelia (Axie) Cox Baldwin, d. June 7, 1973 in Zanesville, Muskingum Co., Ohio
• William Bryan Parker, b. September 1896 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m. Teresa Webb, d. March 8, 1958 in Knoxville, Tenn.
• Milton Kasper Parker, b. May 23, 1898 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m1. Margaret Jane Seal on July 4, 1919 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m2. Agnes Louise Rutherford on May 14, 1926 in Campbell Co., Tenn., d. July 27, 1977 in Lincoln Co., Ky.
• Roxanne (Roxie) Parker, b. Dec. 29, 1899 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m. Silas Treece in Jacksboro, Campbell Co., Tenn. in 1919, d. Dec. 30, 1983 in Campbell Co., Tenn.
• Cora Louella Parker, b. Aug. 4, 1902, d. 1909
• Carralee (Carrie) Parker, b. Aug. 8, 1904 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m1. Otis Miracle in 1927, m2. Turley Lay in 1935, d. Jan. 11, 1940 in Monroe Co., Mich.
• Stella Dean Parker, b. Dec. 25, 1906 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m. William Arby Russell, Sr. in Campbell Co., Tenn. in 1936, d. April 23, 2002 in Caryville, Campbell Co., Tenn.
• Ditmus Thomas Parker b. May 16, 1908 in Claiborne Co., Tenn., m. Laura Presnell on Dec. 24, 1924 in Campbell Co., Tenn., d. Aug. 10, 1978 in Jacksboro, Campbell Co., Tenn.

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