Parker family members gathered this past

September from eight different states in

Utah, often referred to as the crossroads of

the west. Literally that’s what Salt Lake City

was for nearly 100 Parker cousins, proba-

bly the largest

gathering of

Parker cous-

ins ever held.

There was a

lot of excite-

ment to finally

meet family

from all over

the Parker

Tree, many

who had been

working to-

gether doing

family re-

search, but

had never

met in

person.

This Reunion differed from all other Parker

Reunions held in the past, because it

brought together such an accomplished

group of Parker researchers with a singular

goal: Identify the proper Parker family tree

branch that leads to the right forebears.

There has been a controversy within the

Parker family that the Parker roots grow

back through Ireland instead of through

Massachusetts, according to early records

and long-held family beliefs. Although

family links back to Ireland have not yet

been identified, DNA testing has pointed

indisputably to Ireland, not to Massachu-

setts. This Reunion was the first time that

cousins Jerry Parker, Bob Smith, and

Greg Parker had met each other.

These avid “Ireland-Theory” researchers

represent three different branches of the

Parker family tree: Joshua Parker (Jerry),

Caleb Parker (Bob), and a distant cousin,

Greg Parker whose great grandfather is

Thomas Bryant Parker born in 1797. It’s

not yet known where Greg fits into the

Parker Family Tree, although all three are

definitely related through their DNA.

Continued on page 2

Parker Family Reunion 2012 – All One Family

Fall-Winter 2012 A PARKER FAMILY PUBLICATION VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 2

“While we are living in

the present, we must

celebrate life every

day, knowing that we

are becoming history

with every work, every

action, every deed.” Mattie Stepanek

Parker Family

Records

4

Family of Faith 6

Edith May

Wilbanks

7

Parker Family

Artists

7

Photos of

Joshua?

9

Joshua’s grave

marker

9

Martin Parker 11

Clues in Gene-

alogy research

13

Reunion Starts

Early

14

Memory book 14

IN THIS ISSUE

Connecting with other branches of the Parker Tree

Jerry Parker, Bob Smith, and Greg Parker at the Parker Family Reunion

“Parker Family Records” Now A Part of LDS Church’s Vast Collection

All One Family continued

a visit to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City,

where Bob presented the two volumes of books. A

thrilled staff member in Publications Donations Depart-

ment received them (below). June and Suzanne

watched and took the photos. For me, Suzanne, this

was an

amazing mo-

ment and

tears filled

my eyes. The

dream of

these quality

books now

available for

all the Parker

Family was

realized.

We were in-

formed that

the church

intended to

scan and in-

dex the books so that they could be made available on-

line for a greater reading audience. Then the hard copy

books would be stored in a special archival storage vault

for safe keeping. Thus, continuing the hope of preserv-

ing Parker Family records and research for future gen-

erations being fulfilled.

All Parker family members at the reunion were hoping to

connect with the Parker Family and their roots, but for

Robert Smith and Suzanne Hansen the day had a special

meaning. That vision reached a pinnacle this September

when Robert and June arrived in the Salt Lake Valley af-

ter their long drive across the U.S from New Jersey.

After years of work, planning, dreaming and lengthy con-

versations about preserving all the information that Bob

had on his computer with other Parker researchers, finally

became a reality. The two volume book, Parker Family

Records, that was printed and published by Bob in his

genealogy room at his home was donated to the LDS li-

brary, the most prestigious genealogy library in the world

so other Parker Family researchers across the world can

take advantage of them.

The day after arriving on September 7, Bob and I made

Also at the Parker Family Reunion was Diann Wells, a

professional genealogist and author, who shared this:

“When I began studying the ward records of the families

and followed up with obituaries, death records, marriage

records, and census records, I came to the conclusion the

Massachusetts origin was not correct. All the records

pointed to the New York, Joshua Parker. Beyond that

there was no documentation to prove otherwise. “

“Then five or six years later, Greg Parker from Oklahoma

sent me a packet of information concerning DNA testing

and the possible connection of the Virginia Parker fam-

ily to the New York Parker family. Having attended

many of the DNA classes at LDS and National Genealogi-

cal Conferences, this was not foreign to me. Thurston,

my husband, was part of a grand DNA project at BYU that

included many Wells’ lines. It was very helpful in deter-

mining who connected where, solving many mysteries.

Thank you for the gathering of the Joshua and Drusilla

Parker descendants this month (September 2012). “

“I was in the parking lot

the first day and a

woman asked me if I was

Diann Wells. ‘Yes, I am,’

I replied to Sharon Chris-

tensen. We had never

personally met. “

“During the dinner I got

up to get some napkins

off the head table and a

man asked if I was Diann

Wells. ‘Yes, I am,’ I said

to Robert Smith. Again

we had never met.”

The next day I spoke

with Greg Parker. It was

good to put faces with

those good researchers.”

Page 2

Robert Smith and the Family History Library Donation Representative Receiving the Books

The L.D.S. Church Family History Library Entrance

Diann Wells, a descendant of Charles Henry.

PARKER PRESS

Page 3 PARKER PRESS

Friday, the first day of the

Parker Family Reunion fol-

lowing dinner, fourteen-year

old Jaycee Jensen, a de-

scendant of Daniel Parker

opened up the reunion and

spoke on, “Discovering the

Past and Inspiring the fu-

ture.” She shared how hear-

ing the stories of her pio-

neer ancestors and volun-

teering at This is the Place

Heritage Park helped her to

become interested in family

history.

“One of the things that really

helped me connect with the past was when my

Grandma Suzie (Suzanne Hansen) showed me photos

belonging to one of my ancestors. They helped me re-

late so much more to the fact that they were people

who had lived and had feelings that I share,” Jaycee

said. She then went on to give all in attendance a chal-

lenge to discover and share with their children and

grandchildren, inspiring the generations to come to ap-

preciate their roots.

Jerry Parker was the first to present a class on Satur-day, September 8th. He gave us insights into the lives of Joshua and Dru-silla Parker that he had discovered while writing their chronology.

His chronology or compila-tion of events and dates were taken from source documents and the dis-coveries and facts that many family members have shared over the years. Jerry put them all in one place.

“There are many things that impressed me as I compiled the book”, Jerry said. “But these four items had a high impact on me:”

1. The importance and value of friends. “David Rogers, another carpenter (chair-maker) who lived close to Joshua on Varick St. in New York City in 1837, invited Joshua to a meeting to hear the LDS missionar-ies after David and his family were baptized before

Parker Family Reunion—Class Overviews

Jerry Parker

Jaycee Jensen

Christmas in 1837. Joshua was impressed with the words of Parley P. Pratt and Elijah Fordham as they preached the Gospel to a small group that had assembled. Joshua was baptized on January 9, 1838 by Elijah Fordham. He then met Wandle Mace who became New York City branch president and Orson Pratt, as well as Orson Hyde. He met David La Baron in Macedonia, IL. These men, their lives and testimony, would impress and be with Joshua for the balance of his life.”

2. The importance of following the prophet and Church leaders. “Joshua heeded the call by Joseph Smith to go to Nauvoo to help build the Nauvoo Temple. Before the Saints left the city, David Rogers called him to join the 34th quorum of Seventy. Joshua stayed behind in Nauvoo to help complete the temple after the exodus of the saints in early 1846. He stayed behind with Wandle Mace and Orson Hyde until May when the work was finally complete. In 1852 Joshua and his family heeded Brigham Young’s call for all the Saints in Iowa to come to the Salt Lake Val-ley. It was a difficult decision for Joshua and Drusilla for their daughter Mary Melissa was only 6 weeks old when they left.”

3. The importance of Temple work. “Joshua and Dru-silla received their endowments and were sealed together soon after the completion of the Endowment House on Temple Square in 1855. They later performed proxy bap-tisms for their family members who had died. In addition their children, Orson, Mary Melissa, and Daniel also per-formed proxy baptisms after the Logan Temple was com-pleted in 1884. They set a good example for us to follow, knowing the importance of priesthood ordinances in the Lord’s Plan.”

4. Overcoming adversity and challenges. “Joshua and Drusilla had to overcome adversity in their lives. His father died when he was only 9 years old. His mother passed away when he was 19. (Drusilla was left an orphan at age 12). He lost his left eye. They encountered the mob perse-cutions in Nauvoo. He and Drusilla lost two boys before the age of one. They pulled a hand cart 1000 miles across the plains with a young family. They established a home for their family in the desert of Utah. As I think of their lives and compare it to mine, I am grateful for their exam-ple and courage to press on and know how blessed we are today.”

The publication compiled by Jerry Parker, Family of Faith and Courage: Joshua and Drusilla Hartley Parker A Chro-nology is available on the Parker Family Dropbox, in the “Parker files–Joshua folder or by requesting an electronic copy from Jerry. E-email him at Parker328@gmail.com.

A printed copy is also available for $15 including postage.

“This is a living document,” Jerry stated, “there will be ad-ditional editions made as more information is discovered.”

Class Overviews Continued on Page 4

Robert Smith was the second pre-senter. He talked about “going wider and deeper” in our Parker family tree. He focused on Daniel Parker a possible brother to Joshua that married Sarah Rogers, Joshua b.1809’s father.

“It is generally agreed that Joshua Parker - born 1778, my fourth-great grandfather, had a brother named Daniel Parker. However, nothing other than his name was known. Not one cousin that I’ve worked with in my family had the slightest bit of informa-tion on this Daniel Parker, other than his name.

Sometime around 2005 my research

on Joshua Parker (Drusilla) turned to-wards his elusive father, presumably he was also named Joshua Parker. He was probably born sometime around the 1750s or even earlier. To assist in the search for this great grand parent, I began gathering informa-tion on all of his siblings, (Daniel, Talmage, Susan, and Mary). If I were able to find records on, or better still a living descendant of any of them, it could be very helpful in the overall research on my G...Grandfather Joshua that married Susan Rogers.

After reading The Revolutionary War in the Hacken-sack Valley by Adrian Leiby, a book about how the war affected the residents in Northern NJ and by ex-tension the lower Hudson Valley (Cortlandt Manor area), I developed a theory about my oldest Joshua Parker. He and his young family had possibly moved to escape from the ‘war zone’ of the Cortlandt Manor, in Westchester County area, during the early years of American Revolution.

They possibly traveled up the Hudson River, to a small village in upstate New York called Pittstown. Pittstown was, and still is, a rural farming area about fourteen miles east of Troy, NY. The theory was based on the fact that none of my known Joshua Parker family could be found in the first US Census in Westchester County, where he was born. In fact, I was unable to find the Parker family in either the 1790 or 1800 censuses, however, searching all the US censuses from every state available, I was able to find just one Joshua Parker Family that could match my known family. This Pittstown family was almost a perfect match, in age, and quantity of children.

I only half-believed in the theory at first. But the more I looked at this family the better it seemed to fit. I expected that the next document I researched or found would be the one to disprove my theory com-pletely. However, instead of disproving it, each new document or find, only strengthened the theory.

Through Rensselaer County tax records, I subsequently found in state archives in Al-bany, NY were the names of two other known family members . At first I was only looking for Joshua Parker, but then there appeared both a second Joshua and then a Daniel Parker. Two Parkers were being mini-mally taxed along with an apparent older Joshua who was taxed more heavily the previous year. Wow, two Joshuas and one Daniel. This was beginning to look better and better.

I next looked at Albany County, New York deeds and saw that the Joshua Parker from Pittstown eventually sold his farm and bought property in Lancingburgh, NY (a Troy, NY suburb) and several other

‘investment’ properties in the city of Troy itself. However, this Joshua’s wife was named Mary (in both deeds). Is she a sec-

ond wife? In our family the youngest child born to Joshua, married to Sarah, was also named Mary

Joshua (the less taxed Parker) was not seen again in Albany or Rensselaer counties after 1803. (We know our Joshua married Sarah Rogers in NYC in 1802). However, the Joshua Parker (the more heavily taxed one) and Daniel Parker were both still found in Troy until 1814. Joshua (the more heavily taxed one) then sold all his property and again disappeared from the Troy area of NY. I never found him again, however Daniel relocated across the Hudson River and was owner of a shipyard near the Eire Canal en-trance. He lived there until he died in 1867.

And this was only the beginning of the adventure. I pre-pared a 61 page booklet on Daniel’s family and the chart below showing Daniel and his eight children. Both are available in the ‘Parker Files’ folder in the Dropbox.

Class Overviews Continued on Page 5

Page 4 PARKER PRESS

Robert Smith, Parker-Family Research Specialist

Class Overview continued

Greg Parker was the final pre-

senter on Saturday at the Reun-ion. He shared his love of DNA research which has become quite a hobby. He said: “DNA proves that we are closely related.” Then he drew a diagram on the white board showing his family pedi-gree chart starting with himself then his father Bryron Nelson Parker and then his grandfather Joseph Faulkner Parker born 7 April 1841 in Palymyra, Marion County, Missouri. He married Adelia Cooley 11 June 1889 in Salt Lake City.

Greg later mentioned to me, “My grandfather Joseph Faulkner Parker shook the hand of President Joseph Smith

near the doors of the Nauvoo Temple when he was about 3 years old. One of his sisters was born in Nauvoo, Illinois, and his mother moved her children via wagon train to SLC in 1850 after her husband died in Council Bluffs.”

It was then I started wondering, Since living in such a close prox-imity, did Joshua and Drusilla know this other Parker family and their common ancestors?

As Greg spoke and wrote about family members, we started get-ting a whole new perspective about other branches in our Parker family tree as we wit-nessed the tree growing much wider.

He then went on to talk about his lineage and how it goes back to Ireland. “Joseph Faulkner’s father was Thomas Bryant Parker, born Oct 1, 1797 in Gray-son County Virginia married Mar-tha Ann Nelson on 25 Oct 1835 in Palmyra, Marion County, Missouri and then he died on 27 July 1850 in Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

“His father was William Parker who was born 10 April 1748 in

Ballyhay, Cork County, Northern Ireland. He immigrated to America and died in Surry County, North Carolina.

Finally his father was John Parker. John was born about 1725 in Northern Ireland and He married a Hannah (last name unknown) about 1747.”

Joseph Faulkner Parker also served an LDS Church Mis-sion in Michigan and in the Midwestern U.S. in the late 1880s. Adelia became the plural wife of Joseph and they became the parents of six children: Malvina, Ada Lavern, Ariel F., Frances Marie, Florence Adelia, and Bryon Nelson Parker, Greg’s father.

Adelia’s profession was ob-stetrics and she was a well-qualified nurse and midwife. At the age of twenty-eight in 1902, she was called by Lydia C. Wells, who was then President of the Joseph Ward Relief Society, to take the class in obstetrics which was sponsored by the General Board of Relief Society. While in her practice she brought nearly one hundred babies into the world.

Joseph served in the Utah Indian War, and was awarded a medal as a commendation at the 9th Annual Encampment, Sons and Daughters of the Indian War Veterans and Pioneers of Utah.

Joseph then moved to Joseph, Sevier County, Utah set-tling there as a farmer. His wife died 6 Jan, 1908, and Joseph later died and was buried there as well. For more information and more in-depth details on this line go to the Parker family files in the Dropbox where Greg has uploaded the information.

Class Overview continued

Page 5

Joseph Faulkner Parker and Family

Byron Nelson Parker

Joseph Faulkner Parker

Greg Parker

Adelia Cooley Parker

PARKER PRESS

by Suzanne Hansen

It appears that the Parker

family has always had reli-

gious values and principles

in their lives whether it was

practicing a faith or marry-

ing in a church.

Robert Smith has uncovered

that some of those religious

roots go wider in the Parker

family and especially in the

siblings of Joshua Parker

and their posterity. Perhaps

it was this religious bent and

upbringing that drew Joshua

to the message of the Mor-

mon missionaries, although

none of Joshua’s other sib-

lings joined the Church.

Joshua also remained stead-

fast through many trials by

fire, adversity, and persecu-

tions that came to Joshua

and his fellow Mormons. It

was Joshua’s and Drusilla's

character and deep conviction that supported them

through their travels on the long, dusty trails that

eventually led to the Salt Lake Valley, a place of safely

where they could worship according to the dictates of

their hearts.

While this nation was founded on the basis of religious

freedom, the Mormons did not experience much of it.

They even had troubles in the Salt Lake Valley before

the Church ceased the practice of polygamy. That’s

when Utah was allowed to be admitted into the Union

as the 45th state. (1896)

As we connect with different parts of Joshua’s and

Drusilla’s posterity we discover that not all of their

children, as grown adults, shared the same religious

convictions of their parents. Some did, others were

lukewarm, some not at all.

Their 12th child, my own great grandfather, Daniel

Parker, did not serve a mission, although at a young

age he served in the

church organization.

There are no writings

from his youth that

share his thoughts and

feelings about his reli-

gious intentions or

hopes for the future.

The first realization that

there were Parkers who

took their faith seriously

enough to serve a mis-

sion for the Church were

brought to light when

Melanie Dewsnup

wrote a story about John

Thomas Parker that was

published in Parker

Press, in the Spring

2007 issue.

Although Fredrick A

Parker, Joshua’s son did

not serve a mission, five

of Fredrick’s sons did:

Lorenzo R Parker, Joseph A. Parker, Don Carlos

Parker, Fredrick A Parker, Jr. and John Thomas

Parker.

In Parley Parker’s family, Jesse Vernon Parker,

Parley’s 8th son was called to serve a mission in Hol-

land in 1912 until 1914. Also Orin (Melvin) Parker

was called to serve a mission in the Southern States

mission in 1927.

From Mary Melissa and Joseph Summerhays fam-

ily, a very large family of 15, all lived to adulthood,

and all their sons served missions for the Church. Cal

and William ended up serving two missions.

We’d love to hear about any others that might have

served Missions. They will be added to “Parkers of

Faith— Mormon Missionaries in the Family” that when

completed will be uploaded in the Parker Family

Dropbox. We desire everyone to have access.

Page 6 PARKER PRESS

JOSHUA PARKER’S SON AND GRANDSONS Joseph, Lorenzo, Don Parker (Back L to R)

Fredrick A, Jr., Fredrick A, Sr., John Thomas (Front L to R)

[Photo Courtesy Of Melanie Dewsnup]

Parkers of Faith—Mormon Missionaries in the Family

By Suzanne Hansen

Page 7 PARKER PRESS

Edith Wilbanks is still a beauty at almost 90. She is the daughter of Drusilla Parker and John Wilbur Beau-vais

Edith was born on July 18, 1922, married, and raised a wonderful family.

She became a widow in 1998 and has made the best of life.

She loves music and played the piano “by ear” most of her life. She’s always has been a talented artist and also enjoys drawing. In the 1980’s she took up oil painting, and tole painting and greatly enjoyed it.

Edith made the trip to Salt Lake City for the Parker Re-union. With her sweet personality, contagious laugh and beautiful smile, she won the hearts of all cousins.

She has memories of those by-gone days and of her Parker grandparents. “Grandpa Parker (Charles Henry) was a portly person and not very tall. And Grandma

Parker (Ida Zackrisson) was a very nice lady.

90 Years Young

Parker Family Artists

Recently another artist n the Parker family have been discovered, Frank Erickson Jr., he is descending from the Charles Henry Parker family (above). This grandson of Charles Henry was born Dec. 29, 1922, in Salt Lake City to Frank W. Erickson and Sylvia Parker Erickson.

He served in the Navy during World War II and later earned a Mas-ter of Fine Arts degree from the University of Utah.

While studying at the U, Frank worked as a

medical illustrator, of-ten standing in the op-erating room drawing the steps of the surgical procedures as they were happening. Frank's mentors were a well known Utah artists Le Conte Stewart and Alvin Gittens.

Frank taught art at sev-

eral public schools: Orem High School, and then the Junior high school level at Granite Park and Glendale Junior High schools.

Edith May Wilbanks

Alice, Charles Henry, Drusilla, Ida, Sylvia (Front left to right) Leo, Charles Leroy (Roy), Theo (Back)

Frank Erickson Jr.

Grandma Ida loved children and was always there for us. She also taught all us kids Swedish but none of us retained it. She was a strong person and always busy. Working on braided rugs, knitted, embroidered, and kept the house spotless.

She was a Mormon but loved her coffee and on occasion, a sip of wine and beer. She’d make bread for several friends that would bring in extra money to help out. She did her baking in a wood burning stove and also made Swedish Bread. We called it ‘Cawka bread.’

[Note: Swedish Christmas bread is called Kaka]

She would give it to us kids, hot with fresh butter and current jam, then send us out to play. Grandma had long wavy hair that was salt and pepper color. She curled her little band on her forehead with rag curlers. Even though they had trials, they enjoyed life.”

Drusilla May Parker

Continued on Page 8

Page 8 PARKER PRESS

Parker Family Artists continued

Utah and the intermountain west, and was the recipient of many na-tional and international awards for his work. In 1981, he wrote and published, The Lexicon of Color Mixing”: An artists guide

to oil painting using Triad Color Combinations.

Eventually succumbing to his heart problems he fought most of his life, Frank Erickson passed away on November 16th, 1989 at the young age of 66.

He was survived by his wife Gloria, and his three children Frank, Steven, and Gaye; all of whom are excel-lent artists in their own right.

Uncle Bud’s legacy still lives on through his amazing artwork that still inspires and lifts others.

A master of color theory, Bud created any color he needed with only the col-

ors red, yellow, blue, and white on his pallet.

I was thrilled to discover there are several other artists in Charles Henry’s family. We’ll spotlight them in an up-coming newsletter.

Frank Erickson, Jr. taught private lessons for over 30 years in the studio behind his home where he

inspired others to develop their own artist skills.

“Uncle Bud” as he was known for his a great sense of honor that seemed to show up in his creative hand made greeting cards for his family. These fun cards were col-lected over the years by Howard Erickson and are still treasured (at right) Not too many people got these cards. Each card was unique and different and designed with the personality of the person he was giving them to in mind.

Life took and unexpected twist when Frank was faced with some heart issues. Sadly enough after undergoing heart surgery three times, and receiving one of the first suc-cessful artificial heart valves, Bud's doctor insisted he quit

teaching in public schools, and that was when he created the Phranque's Gallery of Fine Art, which he and his wife Gloria opened in Holladay, Utah.

Frank was the instructor of many of the finest artists in

I heard from Keith Parker that his younger sister Elaine had a photo of Joshua or his father. I contacted her and she sent me the photo. (below left) She explained,

”My Father, Don Carlos Parker, gave this picture to me when I was a teenager to put in my Book of Remem-

brance. I don't know who had the original copy or where they obtained their copy.

“I imagine it came from his Father, Fredrick A. Parker’s files. I received the pictures (all of 1”x1”) of my three generation line. Grandfather, Fredrick A. Parker and wife Mary Thomas, Great Grandfa-ther, Joshua Parker(1809) and wife Drusilla D. Hartley. Great Great Grandfather Joshua Parker (no wife pic-

ture). I never thought much about the picture (Left hand side) until the questions started to come up about who and what was our true Parker line.”

Upon reviewing the picture,

we know it couldn't be Joshua’s father, if it was a photo, as photography wasn't widely available until about the early 1860’s. It looks more like a print from a charcoal, which it could be. Both men resemble each other—white hair and beards, but Joshua b.1809 (Below right) only

had one eye.

If not a likeness of Joshua b.1778, that is Joshua 1809’s father, perhaps it could be a brother—same style of clothing, white hair, white beard, maybe in his 50’s. We

do have photos of Caleb and Benjamin and it isn't them. Perhaps this could be an older brother (Moses or Aaron)?

Keith said, “It is definitely a Parker. My Father, who died

in 1973, resembles the pic-ture. It would be interesting to see if anyone can identify who this truly is?”

Contact us at Parker Press if you’ve seen this picture be-fore or if you recognize him.

Page 9 PARKER PRESS

Joshua ? By Suzanne Hansen

At the Parker Reunion in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2004, Cecil Parker told me of a beautiful rock, that would be carved to become a headstone. But the story goes back even further as I discovered when talking to a Parker cousin I hadn’t met before, Howard

Erickson, a descendent of Charles H. Parker.

First, let me share my first experience with family headstones that was on Memorial Day in 2000. I went with my parents to all the family headstones in three different cemeteries and it took most of the day.

My mother seemed con-cerned that I know where they all were, I watched as they both had such a feeling of love and respect for each grave, and Dad took a trimmer to complete the finishing touches. Flowers were placed with thick wire to

A Replica Of What Joshua’s Headstone Might Have Looked Lke

hold them up.

They talked about Joshua and Drusilla Parker not having headstones. I couldn’t imagine why they hadn’t had one. Here is what Howard Erickson shared going back long before my experience. I felt better knowing they had once had headstones and an explanation of what happened to them.

“I recalled about 1938 I had gone to the cemetery with my grandmother Ida Fredricka Zack-risson Parker. We walked down to see Joshua and Drusilla’s graves, and there were two very weath-ered wooden head-stones with their names and dates on them. I distinctly remembered them.

They each stood about three feet tall with a simple rounded top. Each stood in a sandstone base about 20" long and 6" to 7" wide.” “I clearly remember the Continued on Page 10

Howard & Adel Erickson

Joshua and Drusilla Parker Headstones

Page 10 PARKER PRESS

Headstones continued

sandstone base Although by 1945 the wood markers were already gone and only the bases remained. The bases had grooves running down the middle about 1" wide and 18" long where the wood had been set in the stone.

“I have memories of going up the old wooden stairs to my grandmother’s attic, and looking around. The floor was 1 by 2 flat boards and there was nothing up there except an old trunk. I was curious and went over to it and popped open the lid and there was all kind of photos and papers inside I didn’t have an appreciation for what was in that truck like I would have now. But that mem-ory still holds great fondness for me.

“When my grandmother died. Roy (Charles Leroy Parker) and Drusilla (Drusilla May Craddock) had passed away so it was up to aunt Alice (Alice Morris) to take

care of things and she seemed to have no regard for old pictures or papers. She rushed through things and threw the trunk and its contents away before I got there. They were gone, but the impression stuck in my head all these years.“

“Through the years I had always thought that I would like to put a new headstone on Joshua and Drusilla grave and was pleased when I heard that it had finally been done.”

Many of Joshua’s and Drusilla’s descendants had similar thoughts about honoring them by making sure that a new headstone or some kind of a marker was placed on the graves. But for many years nothing was done.

Then around 1994 one of Parley’s de-scendants, Hugh Parker who was the son of Melvin Parker traveled from Rex-burg Idaho where he was living to visit the Salt Lake City Cemetery and no-ticed there were no headstones for Joshua and Drusilla Parker. His strong desire to make sure they had one, finally made it happen.

When I asked him how that came about Hugh said, “Well I was up in the Sawtooth mountains which is in a range

of mountains in the Idaho wilderness near Meadow Lake, and was enjoying all the beauty I was surrounded by. My eyes caught view of a large oblong white like boulder and the thought came that I would like that for my headstone someday. So I hauled it home. “It sat on my

front lawn for 10 years. Finally I decided it was time for my great grandparents to have a new headstone. So I discussed it with my Cousin Cecil and others to get the right information to be engraved and we moved ahead. The stone turned out to be large enough to get all their children placed on the back side and in all costing $500.00. When some of other Parkers heard about it, they gave contributions to help, and once completed, I hauled it to Salt Lake City to the city cemetery.

“And then came the challenge of finding the right spot. It took us a while to locate the exact gave plot and fi-nally we dug down into the dirt about 3 inches and found the original sandstones that held the original markers for Joshua and Drusilla and placed the stone on them.

“When discussing the plans for installing the new head-stone, the City Cemetery told me, ‘We charge a fee of $100.00 to allow you to personally put down a cement base on the site to fasten the stone.’

“I was surprised to hear that because I was going to haul the cement with my sons and put it down in the City Cemetery, we’d be doing the labor so at the time we didn’t do it.”

Photos of the new headstone for Joshua and Drusilla Parker have flooded the internet as family members now had something to mark their final resting place, but for Hugh the job still needed finishing. While con-tacting Hugh, for the Parker Family Reunion in the sum-mer of 2012, he reported,

“I finally made arrangements to have the headstone anchored with cement. For some reason it ‘s never hap-pened so I hope to get that completed this year.”

In September 2012, as many Parker descendants,

continued on Page 13

Hugh and Evva Parker

Entrance Gate of Salt Lake City Cemetery

Page 11 PARKER PRESS

At the conclusion of the Parker reunion in 2012, June and I traveled south on Utah I-15. This trip was always in my mind, even before we left New Jersey for the re-union in Utah. I wanted to drive south on I-15 for two reasons. First: in 1965 when I was on 30 days leave from my Navy ship in Long Beach I had traveled up and back on Route 15 and wanted to try to find a piece of that old road today. Second: Interstate I-15 goes very near both Scipio and Holden. This was the genealogy part of the trip, to try to find more information on Mar-tin Parker. Martin died in Holden and his wife Mary Rob-ins was from Scipio.

Jeff and Annie Sanders had previously found a head-stone marked "Mark Parker" in the Holden Cemetery. However, this photo had a washed out look. I wanted to get a better picture and if possible more information about this grave to be sure it belonged to Martin. I felt there must be more information somewhere in the Hol-den-Scipio area of Utah.

Yeah, I found that section of old Route 15. (Above) In 1965 I drove right thru the center of Holden on it, (today it is called Main Street). Interstate I-15, is a mile away and is the bypass that goes around Scipio and Holden, small world!

It was fairly easy to locate the Holden Cemetery. Hol-den is very small, only a half a dozen streets. One of

those streets is perpendicular to “Old Highway 15” It was marked ‘Cemetery Road’. We followed that road and ended up at Holden Cemetery.

This cemetery is well-maintained, plenty of manicured

green grass and the gravestones, as can be seen in the photo below, were in great shape.

By the time we got to the Cemetery the sun was setting. I took a new photo of the “Mark Parker ” gravestone. (Below)

We then left for the Paradise Inn. A room that we had already booked for the night, a few miles down the road, in Fillmore. Fillmore is the County seat of Millard County. The next morning after breakfast we stopped in the County Court House (hall of records) where county land records are kept. I looked for Parker deeds. No land re-cords with Martin’s name on them were found.

While in the Fillmore courthouse the clerk helping me asked what prompted my search. I told her of Martin and the exploding cannon.

Continued on Page 12

Main Street (Old Utah 15) Going Through Downtown Holden

Holden Cemetery Entrance

Martin Parker - Follow-up Story by Robert Smith

Holden Town Cemetery

Martin Parker - Block 176, Lot#4, Grave #7

She had never heard the story, but said that a former mayor of Holden was in the front office that very morn-ing and she went to get him. I introduced myself but he too had never heard the story. Then he asked me if I had been to the Post Office?

“Post office?” I said in an inquisitive tone. “Well, that is where the cemetery records are kept,” he stated. “They are in the Post Office’s safe.”

So after we finished looking at deeds in Fillmore it was back to Holden. I entered the Holden P.O. There was only one person working there. When I mentioned the cemetery book, she went to the safe and pulled it out. There it was, the record I needed on Martin. I now had the proof and there was no doubt this was Martin’s grave.

(See the Dropbox “Parker Files” folder for details and a copy of the document that was found there.)

After leaving Holden we headed back up I-15 to Scipio, UT. In addition to getting some good genealogy time in Scipio this is also where I- 70 begins and that is the road

we were going to travel to get to Colorado.

Scipio was where Mary Robins came from before marry-ing Martin Parker and eventually moving to Holden. After Martin’s untimely death and funeral, a pregnant Mary Parker and two children under eight years old returned to Scipio where Thomas Martin Parker was born. It is assumed she lived with her parents in Scipio.

There is a cemetery in Scipio, but I was unable to find Robins buried there. We stopped at an Antique store in Scipio (June and I both enjoy antiquing).

We didn’t plan on making any stops to shop for antiques

on our trip west, but for some reason we made this one.

While June was shopping I was making small talk the

shop owner. When I lamented about not finding any

Robins in the cemetery he asked if I had checked the old

pioneer cemetery. “Pioneer cemetery?” I asked. “Yes, I

have a complete listing in the back room,” he said, as he

disappeared behind a curtain covering a doorway in the

back wall of the store.

About a minute later he returned with a notebook. In in

was exactly what I was looking for. He gave us direc-

tions and a copy of a map of the Pioneer Cemetery.

We did find the old Pioneer Cemetery. For all the details

on the Scipio stop and the Pioneer Cemetery we visited

complete with photos and a copy of the Pioneer Ceme-

tery map, go to the “Parker Files” in the Dropbox.

(By the time you read this, all the “Martin Parker Follow-

up” story should be uploaded there.)

We finally hit the road heading east on I-70 towards

Colorado and our next genealogy stop. Ouray, Colorado.

The next day we were in Ouray. We went to the court-

house (for deeds), the town hall (for marriages), and the

Ouray Library. For those not familiar with Ouray, it is a

mining town in Colorado that Mary Agnes Leonora

[Robins] (Parker) (Eaton) Burke ended up in after she

and her son, Joseph Sinclair Eaton left John Eaton in

New Mexico.

Martin’s complete story is already in the Dropbox in the “Parker Files” folder. Look for the updated “Ouray” com-plete with more photos.

US Post Office Holden, Utah

PARKER PRESS Page 12

Martin Parker continued

Ouray Colorado

Page 13

Watching Clues In Genealogy Research By Melanie Dewsnup

Melanie Dewsnup has always had a passion for climb-ing her family tree, and with a young family she’s al-ways excited when she gets a chance to do some re-search. She suggested five clues to watch for. “There are many sources where clues can be found and Melanie

submitted the following idea that she ran across.

In the “Family History Monthly” January 2012 the fol-lowing idea was shared suggesting that if we look very closely at public records there are Five Hidden Sto-ries a Birth Certificate Can Tell.

It was interesting to discover in Utah, no governmental agencies were required by law to record births prior to 1898. Though not required to do so, Salt Lake City and Ogden began registering births in 1890 and Park City began registering births in 1892

1. Time of Birth Birth certificates usually include just the day and month of birth, but if the time is also given, this could indicate a multiple birth. In this case, the time of birth would have been important for legal reasons, for example which twin would one day be first in line to inherit family property.

2. Absent Name Occasionally the name column has been left blank. In some cases names were added later, and re-corded in the ‘Name entered after registration’, but sadly, this often means that the child died before it could be baptized.

3. Father’s name Even if a birth certificate bears a father’s name, the child could still be illegitimate. Mothers were legally allowed to record the name of their child’s father on

PARKER PRESS

the birth certificate, even if the father was not pre-sent to confirm this. But after the 1874 Births and Death Registration Act, fathers had to be present at registration for their name to appear.

4. Informant Don’t forget to check who registered the birth, as certificates include additional information about them—a potential extra branch of your family tree.

5. Married Names The mother’s maiden name is usually given, but in some cases mothers had been married before, and so their former and current married names will also be listed.

Robert & June, Michael & Suzanne Viewing The New Grave Stone Of Joshua And Drusilla Parker In Salt Lake Cemetery

traveled long distances, visited the cemetery, they saw a completed stone, giving them a deep sense of connec-tion with our Parker heritage.

I remember the quote by an unknown author "Like branches on a tree, our lives may grow in different direc-tions yet our roots remain as one."

Robert Smith mentioned after viewing the gave that the cemetery looked much different than he imagined. He was glad he able to see it in person.

On behalf of all of Joshua and Drusilla's descendants, we thank Hugh Parker for his vision and tremendous ef-forts to restore the grave site of our pioneer forebears.

This brings to mind another quote:

“Gone But Not Forgotten.”

Headstones continued from Page 10

Page 14 PARKER PRESS

It was Sunday, September 4, 2012, I was on the Inter-state (I-80). June and I had already crossed New Jer-sey, we were in western Pennsylvania when I saw a sign at an exit, for Mercer, PA. I remarked to June, “That’s the town that Drusilla Hartley was born in.” We soon crossed into Ohio staying in Wooster, Ohio the first night.

The next day we crossed Ohio and Indiana and into Illi-nois—the gas was $4.29 a gallon so we pushed on till we crossed the Iowa line. We stayed in Davenport. It just happened that we’d be very near Ankeny, Iowa by noon the next day. That is where Debbie Hadden lives. She is the daughter of Barbara Gibby, a descendant of Charles Henry Parker. I called her and made arrange-ments to have lunch together.

We had never met, but have been E-mailing and col-laborating on Genealogy since 2001. Debbie and several of her sons met June & I for lunch at a Chilis Restau-rant, We had a great hour together. I gave her copies of the handouts I planned to use at the reunion and most of the hour was spent on Genealogy. So, for me the Parker Reunion began several days earlier than for eve-ryone else. We were soon on the road again.

The Reunion Begins Early By Robert Smith

The next day we were in Wyoming and following the Mor-mon Trail, part of the way. We were at 9000 feet eleva-tion—there were rugged mountains all around. I don't see how Joshua and Drusilla made this trip pulling a hand cart with small children in tow? It doesn't seem Possible!! On Thursday we came out of those mountains and saw our destination, Salt Lake City. We arrived about 3 pm— “Let The Reunion Begin!”.

Reunion Memory Book

Chris Marsh was one of the attendees at the Parker reunion, she said, “ I was delighted to meet all of the cousins at the at the reun-ion. I felt instantly bonded to those whom we met there. What a great blessing it was to learn more about family. My sister and I loved every minute we were able to be there. Thank you.”

I think everyone felt the same!

A Parker Reunion Memory Book was produced and sent to those that ordered one. It included a group photo by Robert Perry. Along with a directory of those who attended ,which included Eight lines of Parker de-scendants, and a photo overview of the events and ac-tivities enjoyed at this years reunion.

A special thanks to Michael Hansen, my husband, for his

support with the reunion and this publication. And to Robert Smith for his generous support in assisting with the printing and binding of the booklet. It was a labor of love, and we truly hope that the contents and photos will be enjoyed by all for years to come.

Matthew, Christopher, Debbie Hadden, Robert Smith (L to R) Tanner (in front)

If you ordered a memory book and didn’t receive it or would like to know more infor-mation about the book please contact, Suzanne Hansen.

A PDF copy of the Parker Reunion Photo Memory Book will soon be available to all. Look for it in the Parker Family Dropbox in the folder ‘Parker Files’ titled: Parker Reunion Photo Memory Book 2012

By Suzanne Hansen

Parker Press Suzanne Hansen, Editor

2397 Palmetto Drive Taylorsville, Utah 84129 suzannehansen@comcast.net