North Alabama Parker's

Comment

Comment by Steve Nicholson 1 day ago

I've got this e-mail from Ronald Parker and this is his theory. It's still a hot debate as many Parker's are searching for this info.

If Calista told you there was a Parker related to William D. Parker in the Parker Family DNA Project, well, that would be me. I'm P192 there, and there is a close relation, descended from Hezekiah V. Parker from Tennessee. Together, we make up the 2 members of Family Group #26 in the project. The "Hezekiah people" are in the process of getting a more detailed DNA analysis, which should shed light on how closely we are related. Genealogy shows that our common ancestor was no later than the 1700s.
I've investigated the Sampson hypothesis, and don't find it likely. I'd like to investigate the John and Elizabeth Currells hypothesis, but I haven't found anything except a lot of people on Ancestry.com simply stating the names and nothing else, so it's hard to even start looking.
Here's some thoughts on Thomas/Charlotte vs. Sampson/Charita:

I think that William D. Parker, Rhoda (Parker) Castelberry, John Thomas Parker, and Lewis E. Parker are the children of Thomas and Charlotte Parker, and all 4 of these children moved into Parker's Cove in the 1830s (the idea that they are siblings comes from collected stories).

Here is my (evolving) story, and my evidence:

Thomas Parker was born in Tennessee or Kentucky about 1780. He married a woman named Charlotte who was close to his age. Together, they had 6 or 7 children, most, or all, of whom were born in Tennessee. By 1819, they were living in Limestone County, in the Alabama Territory. I have a copy of the Limestone County AL Court record of Thomas Parker's Last Will and Testament, dated June 4, 1819. In it, he refers to his beloved wife, Charlotte, and to an unspecified number of children, none of whom he names, and none of whom are yet "of age". (William would have been 19 or 20 years old, nearly "of age", and John T., my ancestor, would have been 12, at this time.) Thomas Parker refers to his properties at Round Island Creek and Swan Creek, both of which are on the northern, Limestone County, side of the Tennessee River. I find Thomas Parker in the Limestone County Census of 1820 with 2 sons (William would have come of age, married and moved out), and 3 or 4 daughters (there are two women over 21 years old, Charlotte and an older daughter, or, perhaps, a sister, or sister-in-law). One page away from Thomas, in the 1820 Limestone Co. census, is John W. Neely (Polly [Neely] Parker's father, and a few years later, John T. Parker's father-in-law.) Thomas Parker seems to have died in 1826. Charlotte appears in the 1830 Limestone Census as the head of household, with a son in his 20s (Lewis?), and 2 teenage daughters.

I lose track of William Parker in the 1830 census. But John Thomas Parker appears in the Limestone County Census for 1830 with his wife Polly (Neely) and their baby (this would be "William", named for John's big brother, William?). I also have Limestone County records of sales of livestock and corn crops being sold by John T. Parker to his sister-in-law, "Margaret (Peggy) Neely" in 1832 (Margaret appears in later census records in Lawrence County, as a close neighbor of John T. and Polly Parker). Finally (for Limestone County), I have a record of the sale of 85 acres of land, located west of Elk River in 1839, by John T. Parker and Mary "Polly" (Neely) Parker to Benjamin Lentz.

In the 1840 Lawrence County census records, I find William, with his wife and children. Nearby, I find my John T. Parker.

Some think that the parents of the 4 siblings who moved into Parker's Cove were Sampson and Charita. Sampson and Charita Parker appear in the 1850 Lawrence County census, but they do not seem to be living next to those I believe are siblings. I believe Sampson and Charita had sons named William and John (and James and Elisha and others). I believe that this is what is causing the confusion. (Furthermore, I think there is some reason to believe that Sampson and Charita, as well as their presumed son, James Oliver Parker, may appear in the 1850 Lawrence County Census by mistake, and that they were living in, or near, Danville in Morgan County, but counted as if they were in Lawrence. The Lawrence County 1870 Census lists a "Danville Post Office", but Danville is in Morgan County, but only a mile from Lawrence County. James O. Parker is buried at Danville.)
end of argument

If you have any influence with Calista, try to get her to talk one of her male Parkers into getting the DNA test. I've tried, but she doesn't see the value even in asking them. The DNA could prove (to a very great likelihood - or disprove) that her William D. and my John T. were brothers. We only have circumstantial evidence, albeit strong, that they were brothers.

Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Ronald Parker

Comment by Christian A. Parker 1 day ago

Marylin or Steve, have either of you been able to confirm the parents of William D., John T., Lewis, and Rhoda? I've not been able to though my hunch is John "Sampson" and Charita Parker. Do either of you have any information on these two?