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| {{Short description|American kidnapped by Comanche Indians (1830-1915)}} | |||
| '''John Richard Parker''' ( |
'''John Richard Parker''' (1830–1915) was the brother of ] and the uncle of ] chief ]. An Anglo-Texas man who was kidnapped from his natural family at the age of five by a ] raiding party, he returned to the ] 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 central ] in the 1830s. He was captured in 1836 by Comanches during the ] near present-day ]. | ||
| ==Birth and |
==Birth and early years== | ||
| John Parker was born in |
John Parker was born in 1830 in ], the second oldest child of Silas Mercer Parker (1804–1836) and Lucinda Duty. His younger siblings were Silas Mercer Jr., and Orlena. His older sister was ]. This family and allied families, led by Silas' father ] and brother ], moved from ] to ] in 1833. A large group under the family patriarch, Elder John Parker, settled near the headwaters of the Navasota River in present-day ]. In 1834 they completed Fort Parker for their protection on the frontier. | ||
| On May 19, 1836, a large force of ] and allied warriors attacked the fort, and in what became known as the ] killed five men and captured two women and three children: Parker, his elder sister Cynthia Ann, ] and her son James Pratt Plummer as well as Elizabeth Duty Kellogg.<ref name= Exley>Exley, J.A.. ''Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family''</ref> | |||
| ==John Parker and the Comanches== | |||
| John Parker was raised by the Comanche, as were as his sister and younger cousin, John Parker Plummer. Although the two boys were ransomed back, John was unable to adopt to white life, and returned to the Comanche. (He escaped his white family, which then knew to watch his sister a great deal closer when she was recaptured) Although most attention in that tragedy centered on his sister, and her tragic double kidnapping, first by the Comanche, the second time by the ], an extremely interesting sidelight of this story is what became of Cynthia's younger brother John. John Richard Parker adapted well to the wild Comanche life where one was free to roam the Llano Estacado from the Wichitas to Mexico. John became a Comanche through and through, and though recovered by the family once, returned of his own free will to the Comanche, and probably would have lived his life out among them quite happily, but fate intervened. | |||
| == |
===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.<ref name="Exley"/> The Comanche made little distinction among 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.<ref name= Fehrenbach >Fehrenbach, T.R. ''Comanches, The Destruction of a People ''</ref> Grown men captured alive were generally killed, while females over puberty could expect gang rape and slavery.<ref name="Fehrenbach"/> | |||
| Elizabeth Duty Kellogg was quickly ransomed from the relatively benign Delaware Indians by ]. 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.<ref name="Exley"/><ref name="Fehrenbach"/> | |||
| ⚫ | As did most young Comanche, |
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| Parker was raised by the Comanche, as were his sister and younger cousin, James Pratt Plummer. The two boys were ransomed back in 1842, when Parker was 12 and Plummer was 8. Plummer was returned to his grandfather and was able to readapt to white society,<ref> at www.tshaonline.org</ref> but Parker was unable to readapt and ran away from his family to return to the Comanches.<ref name="Exley"/> | |||
| ⚫ | ==Later |
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| ⚫ | |||
| == |
==In 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 devastated Mexico all the way to Central America. On one of the raids, he contracted smallpox.<ref name = "Cynthia Ann Parker"> at www.rootsweb.com, Cynthia Ann Parker.</ref> The Comanche were returning from the raid with captives, horses, and other plunder, but they stopped briefly when Parker became too ill to ride, somewhere just north of the ] in West Texas.<ref name="Cynthia Ann Parker"/> The Comanche were terrified that they, too, would catch this dreaded killer, which had killed over half the tribe during the epidemic years, and they 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.<ref name="Exley"/> He then returned to Mexico with the girl and restored her to her home and family. He later married her.<ref name="Cynthia Ann Parker"/> | ||
| ⚫ | http://www.rootsweb.com/~okmurray/stories/cynthia_ann_parker.htm | ||
| ⚫ | ==Later life== | ||
| ⚫ | Parker returned to the United States during the ] and served with ] in Texas. After the war, he returned to ], where he died in 1915 on his ranch. He appeared to have been the only one of the Parker children who lived an apparently good life.<ref name="Exley"/> | ||
| ==Footnotes== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| * ] ''The Comanches: The Destruction of a People''. New York: Knopf, 1974, {{ISBN|0-394-48856-3}}. Later (2003) republished under the title ''The Comanches: The History of a People'' | |||
| * Powell, Jo Ella Exley''Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family'' | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| *''Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family'', by Jo Ella Powell Exleyy Jo Ella Powell Exley (Author) | |||
| ⚫ | * http://www.rootsweb.com/~okmurray/stories/cynthia_ann_parker.htm | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, John Richard}} | |||
| .<ref name = "Cynthia Ann Parker">, Cynthia Ann Parker.</ref>. | |||
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Latest revision as of 21:44, 30 September 2024
American kidnapped by Comanche Indians (1830-1915)John Richard Parker (1830–1915) was the brother of Cynthia Ann Parker and the uncle of Comanche chief Quanah Parker. An Anglo-Texas man who was 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 central Texas in the 1830s. He was captured in 1836 by Comanches during the raid of Fort Parker near present-day Groesbeck, Texas.
Birth and early years
John Parker was born in 1830 in Crawford County, Illinois, the second oldest child of Silas Mercer Parker (1804–1836) and Lucinda Duty. His younger siblings were Silas Mercer Jr., and Orlena. His older sister was Cynthia Ann Parker. 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 elder sister Cynthia Ann, Rachel Plummer 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 among 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 females over puberty could expect gang rape and slavery.
Elizabeth Duty Kellogg was quickly ransomed from the relatively benign Delaware Indians 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 his sister and younger cousin, James Pratt Plummer. The two boys were ransomed back in 1842, when Parker was 12 and Plummer was 8. 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 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 devastated Mexico all the way to Central America. On one of the raids, he contracted smallpox. The Comanche were returning from the raid with captives, horses, and other plunder, but they stopped briefly when Parker became too ill to ride, somewhere just north of the Rio Grande in West Texas. The Comanche were terrified that they, too, would catch this dreaded killer, which had killed over half the tribe during the epidemic years, and they 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. He later married her.
Later life
Parker returned to the United States during the Civil War 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 an apparently good life.
Footnotes
- ^ Exley, J.A.. Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family
- ^ Fehrenbach, T.R. Comanches, The Destruction of a People
- TSHA Online – Texas State Historical Association – Home at www.tshaonline.org
- ^ The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker at www.rootsweb.com, Cynthia Ann Parker.
References
- Fehrenbach, Theodore Reed The Comanches: The Destruction of a People. New York: Knopf, 1974, ISBN 0-394-48856-3. Later (2003) republished under the title The Comanches: The History of a People
- Powell, Jo Ella ExleyFrontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family