Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens
Lawrence County Pennsylvania 1897
[p. 406] a gentleman in the prime of life and an enterprising citizen of Wayne township, actively engaged in doing custom and repair work in carriage ironing and in carrying on light farming, raising of small fruits, etc., on his farm near Hazel Dell, is of sturdy Irish parontage, springing from that race that has contributed so much to the prosperity and growth of Western Pennsylvania. His existence began in County Down, Ireland, on Aug. 25, 1845, as a son of John and Agnes (Jackson) Parker. The father was Scotch by birth, and in 1859 emigrated to America with his family, his wife's family having previously come to Allegheny County, where the Parkers stopped two years. In 1861, our subject's father brought the family to Wayne township, where he bought sixty acres of the old Matheny farm from Mr. Fombelle. The property was partially cleared and had a log-house on it, which he made the family home until his circumstances allowed him in 1877 to build a new home, the farm having been cleared and made productive of a comfortable revenue. When he decided to give up active labor, he retired to Wampum, where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred in May, 1897. She was taken from him several years since. John Parker, Sr., was in many essential respects a self-made man; he arrived in this country after a journey of three weeks and two days on the sailing-vessel Constitution practically without means. He made a home for his family of six children, who lived to reflect much honor on their name, the sons inheriting to a large degree the energy, enterprise and perseverance of their father; one of the sons served in the late war as a wearer of the loyal blue, and another is a United Presbyterian minister. He was respected and esteemed by his neighbors and the community at large, and possessed all those qualities which entitled him to be classed as an honest man and a good citizen. The children born to him were: John; William; Sarah; Samuel; Agnes; and James. The Parkers are adherents of the United Presbyterian Church, and the father was a loyal Republican.
After obtaining a rudimentary education, John Parker, Jr., served an apprenticeship at carriage ironing in Noblestown, Pa., and worked as a journeyman at his trade for fifteen years, much of the time serving as foreman in carriage manufactories in Allegheny, McKeesport, and Steubenville. In 1880 he invested his savings in his father's farm, when that gentleman retired from active work, and erected a carriage repair shop with the intention of doing custom work, and he has had plenty to do. In 1885, he built a new house, and five years later still further improved his property and increased the conveniences by erecting a spacious barn. As he devotes time and land to the culture of small fruits, he has found a dairy profitable, also.
Mrs. Parker was formerly Sarah Roberman, whose father was Henry Roberman of Morgan Co., Ohio. To our subject and wife ten children have been given, of whom only John, the eldest, is deceased. Carrie married John Hassler, a telegraph operator of Ellwood City, and has two children, John and Sarah; Howard assists in the work about the home; Estella wedded F. E. Cole, and bore a son, Andrew J.; Harry is attending the State Normal School and preparing himself for the profession of a teacher; Blanche is also attending the Ellwood High School; while the younger children, Grace, Ralph B., Etha M. and Nellie R., remain at home and attend the common schools of the neighborhood. Mr. Parker's farm has such an advantageous location in respect to Hazel Dell, for he has found a profitable sale for a part of his farm in building lots. He is a faithful Republican, and has served two terms as school director, and two terms as township auditor. The doctrines of the Presbyterian Church they accept as the grounds of their religious belief.
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania
Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897
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Updated: 6 Jun 2001