David Parker^[1]

1780 - 1824  (44 years)

• Name	David Parker
  Birth	1780	, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA
  Gender	Male
  Death	Jun 1824	, Hardin, Kentucky, USA
  Person ID	I48299	Master
  Last Modified	30 Mar 2023

  
  

  Father	William Alexander Parker,   b. 1735, , , Maryland, USA d. 1805, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 70 years)
  Mother	Henrietta Hyde Donnell,   b. 1740, , Fauquier, Virginia, USA d. 25 Jul 1823, Toshes, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 83 years)
  Marriage	1751	, , Virginia, USA
  Family ID	F10969	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Frances Arthur,   b. 1780, , , Virginia, USA d. 1824, , Hardin, Kentucky, USA (Age 44 years)
  Marriage	1805
  Family ID	F10963	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	30 Mar 2023

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1780 - , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA Death - Jun 1824 - , Hardin, Kentucky, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  In 1820, David Parker moved his family from the comforts of their home in Culpepper County, Virginia to Hardin County, Kentucky. His brother, Benjamin, who was around 20 years older, had settled in Hardin County many years earlier. The following is an account of their meeting taken from George Parker’s family history written in the 1960's: “In 1929, I wrote to my uncle, Jesse Parker, who was born in 1849, to ask him about the family. He answered promptly telling me an interesting story that was helpful in documenting some of the family tree records and tracing it through Virginia back to England. His story told of two men meeting on a country road. One was traveling through the country by covered wagon with his family and all of his worldly possessions. The other was riding a mule and lived nearby. When they introduced themselves, they discovered that both of their names were Parker. They spent the night together; after comparing stories they found that they were brothers. The brother traveling by wagon was David; the other was Benjamin (born ca, 1759). Uncle Jesse said that this meeting reminded him of the Bible story of the meeting of David and Jonathan.” Various Hardin County court records help shed light on the Parker family. One county record included a bill from Jacob Van Meter, dated 11 May 1824, in which were listed: “3 quarts of brandy, 1 quart of brandy, 52 head of beef, 5 quarts of whisky, 1 gallon of whisky, 2 quarts of whisky, 1 quart of whisky, 1 bottle of whisky and 5 half pints.” Another bill read: “flour, salt, sharpening a plowshear, 4” (pounds) and 33 chillings (shillings)”. Another excerpt from George Parker’s history: “David and this neighbor were good friends but they would go to town, drink together and then decide to fight each other. Neither could whip the other but they would beat each other up terribly. On one such occasion they were both so badly beaten up that they could not even drive home. Friends would load them into their buggies and let the horses take them home. They were both in bed for a week. David was finally able to get up and ride in his buggy over to see the neighbor who was still in bed. They visited awhile then talked about the fight and both agreed that neither could whip the other thus deciding they would just call it a draw and never fight again and they never did.” This is taken from the writing of George M. Parker and his wife, Jewel "400 Years of The Parkers from England to Texas". "David Parker was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1780. It is believed that his family attended the Summerset church. Records in the marriage bond book, page 39, show that "David Parker married Frankie Arthur Parker, April 15, 1805, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia". History records President Arthur and one of the Parkers being partners in a law firm in New York. My father, Isaac, said that his father, George, had told him that his mother, Isaac's grandmother, was related to President Arthur." "In 1813 David and Frankie were living in Culpepper County, Virginia, where my grandfather, George, was born. David and his family moved from Culpepper County, Virginia, to Hardin County, Kentucky, near Elizabethtown, in 1820, when George was seven years old......Four years later in June, 1824, Frankie was baking bread and mistakenly put arsenic in it instead of soda. Both David and his wife died from this poisoning; we do not know if any children died but we do know that five did not die. Because of the stories handed down the Virginia Parkers believe some children did die in this accident" "At this time, Benjamin was sixty-five years old and had a grown family. In spite of his age, the court appointed him guardian of David's children and administrator of his estate......" "The following are quotations from the Hardin County, Ky. court records: Court record #1, page 360: "Monday, July 5, 1824, Benjamin Parker was appointed administrator of David Parker's estate. On motion of Benjamin Parker and Isham Jeffries who took the oath required by law and together with Isham Ready, John Parker and John A. Stephenson, their securities entered into bond in the penalty of $2000 conditioned as the law directs the administration of the estate of David Parker, deceased. It is granted them." "Court Record#2: Appraisal of David Parker estate July 5, 1824, ordered that Joel A. Morrison, Noah English, John Johnson and Josiah H Yager any three of them do after being sworn before some magistrate of this county appraise the personal estate of David Parker, deceased, and make report there of to the court". "Court Record #3, page 3: "January 3, 1825. Inventories of the appraisement and sale of the estate of David Parker, deceased, were produced in court and ordered to be recorded." These records do not give the cause of death of David and his wife but letters written back to the Virginia Parkers indicate that they and some of the children died from arsenic poisoning. The five surviving children were: George, Sally, Joel, James and a son whose name we do not know that moved to Bushnell, Illinois, although it is known that he married a girl named Bird." David Parker, my great, great, great grandfather, and some of his family died of poison, in Kentucky. Whether the poisoning was accidental or intentional is unknown. However, here are some facts that I did gather from county court records. Shortly after the May 1824, birth of my great, great grandfather, James, arsenic was used instead of salt or baking powder in the family’s bread and four members of the family died. The older children, Joel, George, Mary, Sally and another brother survived. Perhaps because they were not home. This event was mentioned in the book, Our Kin, written by M. D. Ackerly and L. Parker in 1930 (page 650) as well as a Parker history compiled by the Virginia Parkers who met yearly for so many years. An entry in the Hardin County court records of a bill from William Rutherford for “making three coffins $12.00 for David Parker Family” and another a few days later for “a coffin for David Parker $5.00” There has been much speculation on this tragic incident. It was evidently considered an accident since there are no court records of an arrest or trial. However, Franky’s life could not have been easy – her husband taking her and their family into a wild, untamed country and being married to what was evidently a hard drinking, hard fighting man. She was not a young woman when James was born, her ninth child in 18 years – well, perhaps in a postpartum depression, she decided she just could not take any more. Or perhaps while Franky was still bedfast from giving birth, one of the younger girls made the biscuits accidentally reaching for the wrong tin. But then, why would arsenic have been kept with the food? Hardin County Court records are still intact and take us through the settlement of David Parker’s estate as well as confirming the approximate date of his death, and the fact that he left children not yet of legal age. Monday, 5 July 1824 – Benjamin Parker made guardian of David Parker’s children and administrator of his estate. Monday, 9 September 1824 – bills: Benjamin to go to Virginia for money. This he did, at his advanced age, riding horseback over 400 miles. It later became necessary for him to again make the trip to Virginia. Monday, 3 January 1825 – Inventories of the appraisement and sales of the estate of David Parker deceased was produced in court and ordered recorded. Monday, 15 May 1826 – Order that settlements with Isham Jeffries, one of the administrators of David Parker deceased was produced in court and approved and ordered to be recorded (Isham Jeffries married Jenny Parker, daughter of Benjamin Parker, David’s brother, 19 June 1820, in Harden County, KY). Monday, 3 July 1826 – A further settlement with Benjamin Parker and Isham Jefferies, administrators of the estate of David Parker, deceased, was produced in court and on being examined and approved by the court, was ordered to be recorded. Monday, 2 April 1827 – A further settlement with Isham Jeffries, administrators of the estate of David Parker, deceased, was produced in court and on being examined and approved by the court, was ordered to be recorded. 11 April 1827 – bills – Benjamin again goes to Virginia for money. Monday, 1 February 1830 - – A further settlement with Isham Jeffries, administrators of the estate of David Parker, deceased, was produced in court and on being examined and approved by the court, was ordered to be recorded. Monday, 1 May 1828 - – A further settlement with Isham Jeffries, administrators of the estate of David Parker, deceased, was produced in court and on being examined and approved by the court, was ordered to be recorded.

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree.