John Richard Parker
Encyclopedia
John Richard Parker was the brother of Cynthia Ann Parker
and the uncle of Comanches chief Quanah Parker
. An Anglo-Texas man of Scots-Irish
descent who suffered being kidnapped from his natural family at the age of five by a Native American
raiding party, he returned to the Native American
people of his own free will after being ransomed back from the Comanche. He was a member of the large Parker frontier family that settled in east Texas
in the 1830s. He was captured in 1836 by Comanches during the raid of Fort Parker
near present-day Groesbeck, Texas
.
. This family and allied families, led by Silas' father John and brother Daniel
, moved from Illinois
to Texas in 1833. A large group under the family patriarch, Elder John Parker, settled near the headwaters of the Navasota River in present-day Limestone County
. In 1834 they completed Fort Parker for their protection on the frontier.
On May 19, 1836, a large force of Comanche
and allied warriors attacked the fort, and in what became known as the Fort Parker Massacre
killed five men and captured two women and three children: Parker, his sister Cynthia Ann, Rachel Plummer
and her son James Pratt Plummer as well as Elizabeth Duty Kellogg.
Elizabeth Duty Kellogg was ransomed from the relatively benign Delaware Indians relatively quickly by Sam Houston
. Rachel Plummer endured nearly two years of captivity among the Comanche, and never saw her oldest child, James Pratt Plummer, again. Her second child, born six months after her kidnapping, was murdered by the Comanche, who claimed that the child interfered with her work.
Parker was raised by the Comanche, as were as his sister and younger cousin, John Pratt Plummer. The two boys were ransomed back in 1842. Plummer was returned to his grandfather and was able to readapt to white society, but Parker was unable to readapt and ran away from his family to return to the Comanches.
in West Texas. The Comanche were terrified they too would catch this dreaded killer which had killed over half the tribe during the epidemic years and left Parker to ride out the illness, leaving a girl they had captured on the raid to take care of him. Rather than leave to try to return to her family, the girl nursed Parker back to health. He then returned to Mexico with the girl and restored her to her home and family, and he later married her.
and served with Confederate troops
in Texas. After the war, he returned to Mexico
where he died in 1915 on his ranch. He appeared to have been the only one of the Parker children who lived a happy life.
Cynthia Ann Parker
Cynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah , was an American woman of old colonial stock of Scots-Irish descent who was captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a American Indian band which massacred her family and...
and the uncle of Comanches chief Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker was a Comanche chief, a leader in the Native American Church, and the last leader of the powerful Quahadi band before they surrendered their battle of the Great Plains and went to a reservation in Indian Territory...
. An Anglo-Texas man of Scots-Irish
Scots-Irish American
Scotch-Irish Americans are an estimated 250,000 Presbyterian and other Protestant dissenters from the Irish province of Ulster who immigrated to North America primarily during the colonial era and their descendants. Some scholars also include the 150,000 Ulster Protestants who immigrated to...
descent who suffered being kidnapped from his natural family at the age of five by a Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
raiding party, he returned to the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
people of his own free will after being ransomed back from the Comanche. He was a member of the large Parker frontier family that settled in east Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
in the 1830s. He was captured in 1836 by Comanches during the raid of Fort Parker
Fort Parker massacre
The Fort Parker massacre was an event in May 1836 in which members of the pioneer Parker family were killed in a raid by Native Americans. In this raid, a 9-year old girl, Cynthia Ann Parker, was captured and spent most of the rest of her life with the Comanche, marrying a Chief, Peta Nocona, and...
near present-day Groesbeck, Texas
Groesbeck, Texas
Groesbeck is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,291 at the 2000 census. The community is named after a railroad employee.- History :...
.
Birth and early years
John Parker was born in 1830 in Crawford County, Illinois the second oldest child of Silas Mercer Parker (1802–1836) and Lucy (Duty) Parker. His younger siblings were Silas Mercer Jr., and Orlena. His older sister was Cynthia Ann ParkerCynthia Ann Parker
Cynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah , was an American woman of old colonial stock of Scots-Irish descent who was captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a American Indian band which massacred her family and...
. This family and allied families, led by Silas' father John and brother Daniel
Daniel Parker
Daniel Parker was a leader in the Primitive Baptist Church in the Southern United States. As an elder, Parker led a group who separated from that church and formed the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists...
, moved from Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to Texas in 1833. A large group under the family patriarch, Elder John Parker, settled near the headwaters of the Navasota River in present-day Limestone County
Limestone County, Texas
Limestone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 22,051. Its county seat is Groesbeck.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water....
. In 1834 they completed Fort Parker for their protection on the frontier.
On May 19, 1836, a large force of Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
and allied warriors attacked the fort, and in what became known as the Fort Parker Massacre
Fort Parker massacre
The Fort Parker massacre was an event in May 1836 in which members of the pioneer Parker family were killed in a raid by Native Americans. In this raid, a 9-year old girl, Cynthia Ann Parker, was captured and spent most of the rest of her life with the Comanche, marrying a Chief, Peta Nocona, and...
killed five men and captured two women and three children: Parker, his sister Cynthia Ann, Rachel Plummer
Rachel Plummer
Rachel Parker Plummer was the daughter of James W. Parker and the cousin of Quanah Parker, last free-roaming chief of the Comanches...
and her son James Pratt Plummer as well as Elizabeth Duty Kellogg.
Captivity
The Comanche's population had increased in large part by adopting captured women and children into the tribe, the former as child-bearing slaves and the latter as tribal members. The Comanche made little distinction from tribal members born into the tribe, and those adopted in. Children under puberty were tested for intelligence, strength and courage, and if they seemed acceptable in all, they were adopted into the tribe and taught to be warriors. Grown men captured alive were generally killed, while women over puberty could expect gang rape and slavery.Elizabeth Duty Kellogg was ransomed from the relatively benign Delaware Indians relatively quickly by Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
. Rachel Plummer endured nearly two years of captivity among the Comanche, and never saw her oldest child, James Pratt Plummer, again. Her second child, born six months after her kidnapping, was murdered by the Comanche, who claimed that the child interfered with her work.
Parker was raised by the Comanche, as were as his sister and younger cousin, John Pratt Plummer. The two boys were ransomed back in 1842. Plummer was returned to his grandfather and was able to readapt to white society, but Parker was unable to readapt and ran away from his family to return to the Comanches.
In Old Mexico
As did most young Comanche, Parker participated in many raids into Mexico during the September full moon, the "Comanche Moon", when the dreaded Comanche raids literally devastated Mexico all the way to Central America. On one of these raids, he contracted smallpox. The Comanche were returning from the raid with captives, horses, and other plunder, but stopped briefly when Parker became too ill to ride, somewhere just north of the Rio GrandeRio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
in West Texas. The Comanche were terrified they too would catch this dreaded killer which had killed over half the tribe during the epidemic years and left Parker to ride out the illness, leaving a girl they had captured on the raid to take care of him. Rather than leave to try to return to her family, the girl nursed Parker back to health. He then returned to Mexico with the girl and restored her to her home and family, and he later married her.
Later life
Parker returned to the United States during the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and served with Confederate troops
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
in Texas. After the war, he returned to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
where he died in 1915 on his ranch. He appeared to have been the only one of the Parker children who lived a happy life.
External links
- http://www.rootsweb.com/~okmurray/stories/cynthia_ann_parker.htm