Capt. John ‘the Minuteman’ Parker

Not the same as John Parker, of Mansfield

"Hero of Lexington and Concord”: DAR Patriot Ancestor #: A087570; NSSAR Ancestor #: P265488; Captain John Parker served with Middlesex County Militia, Massachusetts Militia during the American Revolution.

Biography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Parker_(captain)

John Parker (13 July 1729 - 17 September 1775) was an American farmer, mechanic, and soldier, who commanded the Lexington militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Parker was born in Lexington to Josiah Parker and Anne Stone. His experience as a soldier in the French and Indian War (Seven Years War) at the Siege of Louisbourg and conquest of Quebec most likely led to his election as militia captain by the men of the town.

He was in poor health from consumption (tuberculosis) on the morning of April 19. Tradition reports his order at Lexington Green to be "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." He witnessed his cousin Jonas Parker killed by a British bayonet. Later that day he rallied his men to attack the regulars returning to Boston in an ambush known as "Parker's Revenge."

This was his only military action in the American Revolutionary War. He was unable to serve in the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, and died of tuberculosis in September. Parker's grandson donated his musket to the state of Massachusetts. It hangs today in the Senate Chamber of the Massachusetts State House.

The Parker Homestead formerly stood on Spring Street in Lexington. A tablet marks the spot as Theodore Parker's birthplace; Theodore, a relative (grandson) of Captain John, was a transcendentalist and minister who was good friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

Captain John Parker is still the symbol of one of the largest mutual companies, Sentry Insurance.

Family

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Parker-11016

John Parker was born July 13, 1729, in Lexington, Middlesex, Massachusetts. He was the son of Josiah and Anna (Stone) Parker.

John married Lydia Moore on May 22, 1755, in Lexington . Lydia Moore was born on January 18, 1731, in Lexington, MIddlesex, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Thomas Moore and Mary Holegate.

They had 7 children:

1. Lydia, b. November 8, 1756.
2. Anna, b. January 11, 1759. Married Ephraim Pierce, Jr., of Waltham,
3. John, b. February 7, 1761. Married Hannah Stearns, of Lexington.
4. Isaac, b. May 12, 1763. Married in Charleston, S.C.
5. Ruth, b. December 1, 1765. Married David Bent, Jr.; removed to Nova Scotia.
6. Rebecca, b. June 28, 1768. Married Peter Clarke of Watertown.
7. Robert, b. April 15, 1771. Married Elisabeth Simonds of Lexington.

John Parker died of tuberculosis in September of 1775. The widow, Lydia Parker remarried in Lexington, on 5 November 1778, to widower Ephraim Pierce of Waltham, and died in Lexington on December 15, 1822. His daughter Ann Parker married Ephraim Pierce’s son Ephraim Pierce, Jr.

”Parker Genealogy,” page 87. < AncestryImage >

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References

1. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 < AncestryImage > Parker Genealogy, page 87. (document attached)
2. Register of the District of Columbia Society, Sons of the American ... By Sons of the American Revolution. District of Columbia Society. Page 135. < GoogleBooks >
3. Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 13 2017, 2:49:40 UTC
4. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Parker-11016 cites
   1. Parker, Theodore. Genealogy and Biographical Notes of John Parker of Lexington and His Descendants …… (Worcester, Mass. Press of Charles Hamilton 1893) (Free e-book) p. 47 #17 John Parker. < Archive.Org >
   2. Hudson, Charles, History of the Town of Lexington, Vol. II - Genealogies (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1915) (Free e-book) p. 508. < Archive.Org >
   3. Lexington, Mass. Record of Births, Marriages, and Deaths to January 1, 1898 Part I & II (Wright & Potter Printing Company, Boston 1898)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 57. < Archive.Org >
   4. Lexington, Mass. Record of Births, Marriages, and Deaths to January 1, 1898 Part I & II (Wright & Potter Printing Company, Boston 1898)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 137. < Archive.Org. >
   5. Parker, Theodore. Genealogy and Biographical Notes of John Parker of Lexington and His Descendants …… (Worcester, Mass. Press of Charles Hamilton 1893) (Free e-book) p. 79-87 #17 Capt John Parker, Children are #46-51 < Archive.Org >
   6. Hudson, Charles, History of the Town of Lexington, Vol. II - Genealogies (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1915) (Free e-book) p. 512-513 #9 Captain John Parker < Archive.Org >
   7. Lexington, Mass. Record of Births, Marriages, and Deaths to January 1, 1898 Part I & II. (Wright & Potter Printing Company, Boston 1898)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 58 < Archive.Org >
   8. Coburn, Frank Warren. The Battle on Lexington Common, April 19, 1775. (Lexington, Mass., U.S.A. Published by the author, 1921) (Free e-book) p. 33 < Archive.Org >
   9. Lexington, Mass. Record of Births, Marriages, and Deaths to January 1, 1898 Part I & II (Wright & Potter Printing Company, Boston 1898)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 192 < Archive.Org >
   10. Wikipedia: John_Parker_(captain) < link >
   11. Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850 < AncestryImage >
   12. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [2] Application made by William Theodore Norton, 8 Apr 1896 SAR # 7060.
   13. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [3] Application made by Samuel Harrison Greene 8 Jul 1896; SAR # 7074.
   14. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [4] Application made by George Parker Wentworth, 18 Mar 1902, SAR # 11763.
   15. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 [5] < AncestrySharing > (Gregory Stone Genealogy] >
   16. Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620-1988 < AncestrySearch >
   17. Lexington, Massachusetts Cemetery Records [6] "m. May 25, 1755 Lydia, dau. Of Thomas and Mary Moore of Lexington; Capt. Of minutemen at Battle of Lexington, MA" < AncestryImage >
   18. Massachusetts, Find A Grave Index, 1620-2011 [7] Lydia is not listed as a child for Thomas and Mary Moore on this FAG, only 2 sons, Charles and Isaac. [8] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1857/par
   19. The Massachusetts Magazine (Salem, Mass., 1908-1918); Vol. 4, p. 153-4 orders from Col. Thomas Gardner, Committee of Safety, on May 5, 1775 < Archive.Org >
   20. https://archive.org/details/proceedingsoflex05lexi/page/42/mode/1up
   21. https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/john-parker-lexington