Samuel Parker’s 1st Wife

In 2008 another PARKER FAMILY researcher wrote a report entitled, HISTORY OF THE FAMILY: PARKER OF PIKE COUNTY ARKANSAS.

He puts forth the idea that the spouse of Samuel Parker (1795-1865) was one ELEANOR PARKER b. abt 1802 in SC who appears on the 1850 Mortality Census for Choctaw County MS as having died of dropsy in December 1849.

Let’s look at the regular census for 1850 Choctaw County Mississippi and determine how many men born between 1775 and 1815 DID NOT have spouses when the census was taken. There are only three possibilities ….

1) Samuel Parker living in Western Division b. abt 1793 in NC

2) R J Parker living in Subdivision 23 b. abt 1797 in NC

3) Samuel Parker living in Subdivision 23 b. abt 1800 in NC

Now let’s closer examine each of these individuals…..

#1 is well documented in Wayne Parker’s online tree at

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=parker_2008&id=I00060

This Samuel Parker had only one spouse, Frances Miller, so he can be eliminated as a possible husband of Eleanor.

#2 is also documented in Wayne Parker’s online tree at

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.c gi?op=GET&db=parker_2008&id=I00984

He is Robert J. Parker and had only one known spouse, Nancy, so he can be eliminated as a possible husband of Eleanor.

#3 is my ggggrandfather, Samuel Parker. He is well documented in my Ancestry.com online tree as well as Wayne Parker’s tree at

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.c gi?op=GET&db=parker_2008&id=I00373

Up until now, we knew that Samuel had two wives. The first, name unknown, bore him nine known children between 1822 and 1838. Samuel’s second wife was named Nancy and she bore him two daughters, one in 1853 and one in 1855.

If the process of eliminating possible Parker husbands for Eleanor Parker is valid, then Eleanor (1802-1849) must have been Samuel Parker’s (1795-1865) first wife! Since Eleanor died in 1849 then it is reasonable to assume that Samuel married Nancy within the next year or so and they then had their first child, Clementine, in 1853.

News Abt Samuel Parker 1795-1865

Samuel Parker was born abt 1795 in North Carolina. He and his family were probably living in Alabama for awhile since he had sons born in St. Clair county in 1822 and Lamar county in 1824 and then two other sons were born in Alabama in 1827 and 1831. In 1832 a son was born in McNairy county Tennessee. By 1837 he had moved to Choctaw County Mississippi because he is listed there in the State Census Index. He is in Choctaw county for the 1840 and 1850 federal census of the state. By 1855 Samuel and his family had moved to Pike County Arkansas as he is found there on the 1860 federal census having a daughter born in AR in 1855. A Goodspeed biography states that Samuel died and was buried in Montgomery County Arkansas in 1865.

About Spouses:

Samuel had at least two wives … the first, name unknown, bore him at least six known sons and probably a seventh between 1822 through 1838. Other trees say this spouse was named Nancy Beckerdite but that is incorrect because enough factual data is available online to eliminate her even though she was married to a man named Samuel Parker.

We have only a first name for his last spouse … Nancy. She was born abt 1813 in Georgia and may have married Samuel shortly prior to 1853 when their first daughter was born in Mississippi. Most trees claim that this Nancy was Nancy Pipkin but this is incorrect because enough factual data is available online to eliminate her even though she was married to a man named Samuel Washington Parker.

About Children:

Samuel had at least six known sons and probably a seventh all between 1822 through 1838 as follows:
James Calvin Parker b. 4 Jun 1822 in St. Clair, AL, d. 8 Apr 1878 in Pike, AR
Andrew Calvin Parker (UNPROVED) b.27 Apr 1824 in Lamar, AL, d.10 Sep 1896, Pike, AR
Thomas Cicero Parker b. 1 Nov 1827 in AL, d. 3 May 1870 in AR
Rufus Parker b. 21 Dec 1831 in AL, d. 1882
Samuel Parker b. 25 Mar 1832 in McNairy, TN, d. abt 1878 in OK
John Parker (twin) b. 1838 MS
William Parker (twin) b. 1838 MS, d. 3 Nov 1864 in Prairie, AR

With his wife Nancy, he had two daughters:
Clementine Parker b. Sep 1853 MS, marr. Samuel Babbitt
Leanner (?) Parker b. 1855 in AR

This is basically everything I know about Samuel Parker 1795-1865. If anyone has any information about him and/or his family, I would be most grateful to hear from you. I can be contacted either through my RootsWeb site or my Ancestry.com tree.

UPDATE NOTE!! Since writing this post in Oct 2012 I have developed a lot more information about Samuel and his family. This latest data appears in both of my online trees and some is contained in new posts. jt 12/08/2013

A Great Resource

FindAGrave.com is a fantastic genealogy research tool.  Thanks to the multiple parameters of their search engine, you have a good chance of finding the burial location and possibly a photo of their headstone IF your ancestor’s grave is included in the ever growing database of approximately 87 million listings.  Occasionally, you’ll find that someone has posted a photo, obituary, death certificate, and other valuable genealogy information about the deceased.  Always remember though … data included on headstones, obits, and death certificates is typically provided by well-meaning relatives or neighbors of the deceased and should be verified from another source.