John Frederick Parker (May 19, 1830 – June 28, 1890) was an American

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

for the

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columb ...

. Parker was one of four men detailed to act as

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's bodyguard on April 14, 1865, the night Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre.

Life

Parker was born in 1830, in Virginia. No government or bible record regarding Parker's specific birth date or more specific birth location other than Virginia has been published in government records. By 1855, Parker had moved to Washington, District of Columbia, where he married Mary L.C. Maus on 16 Jul 1855. U.S. Census population schedules reflect that he lived in the District of Columbia in 1860, 1870, and 1880. U.S. Census Records for 1890, which began shortly before Parker's death, are incomplete, as a result of a fire, and he does not appear in remaining incomplete records.

Career

He moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he worked as a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

. He became one of Washington's original

police officers A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

when the

was created in 1861. During his time as an officer, he was charged with

dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...

and conduct unbecoming an officer several times for being drunk on duty, belching in ranks, sleeping on streetcars while at work, relieving himself in public and visiting a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

(Parker claimed the madam had sent for him). Parker was typically reprimanded for these acts but never fired.

Lincoln's assassination

John Frederick Parker grave - Glenwood Cemetery - 2014-09-19

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln, his wife

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Henry Rathbone Henry Reed Rathbone (July 1, 1837 – August 14, 1911) was a United States military officer and diplomat who was present at the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Rathbone was sitting with his fiancée, Clara Harris, next to the pre ...

and his fiancée

Clara Harris Clara Hamilton Harris (September 4, 1834 – December 23, 1883) was an American socialite. She and her fiancé Major Henry Rathbone were the guests of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Lincoln when John Wilkes Booth shot the ...

were attending the play ''

Our American Cousin ''Our American Cousin'' is a three-act play by English playwright Tom Taylor. It is a farce featuring awkward, boorish American Asa Trenchard, who is introduced to his aristocratic English relatives when he goes to England to claim the family e ...

'' at

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box ...

. Parker was assigned to guard the entrance to the President's box where the four were seated. He is known to have, at first, stayed at his assigned post, but he later told family members that he was then released by Lincoln until the end of the play. During the intermission, Parker went to a nearby tavern with Lincoln's valet and

coachman A coachman is an employee who drives a coach or carriage, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of passengers. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full c ...

, got drunk and fell asleep. It is unclear whether Parker ever returned to the theater, but he was not at his post when

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

shot the President. Parker was charged with neglect of duty and tried on May 3, 1865, but no transcripts of the case were kept. He faced the death penalty if convicted, but the complaint was dismissed on a technicality on June 2, 1865. Despite leaving his post the night Lincoln was shot, Parker was still assigned to work security at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. Before Mary Todd Lincoln moved out of the White House following her husband's death, Parker was assigned as her bodyguard. Mrs. Lincoln's dressmaker

Elizabeth Keckley Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (February 1818 – May 1907) was an American seamstress, activist, and writer who lived in Washington, D.C. She was best known as the personal dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. Born into slavery, she was ow ...

overheard Mrs. Lincoln yell to Parker, "So you are on guard tonight, on guard in the White House after helping to murder the President." Parker attempted to defend himself stating that he "could never stoop to murder much less to the murder of so good and great a man as the President. I did wrong, I admit, and have bitterly repented." Mrs. Lincoln told Parker that she would always think he was responsible for the President's death and angrily dismissed him from the room. He then left the White House and got drunk.

Later years and death

Parker remained on the police force until 1868 when he was fired for getting drunk and falling asleep on duty. He later went back to work as a carpenter at the White House. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

complicated by

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

and

exhaustion Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...

, on June 28, 1890. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Glenwood Cemetery. His widow, Mary America Maus, was buried next to him upon her death in 1904 as were their three children. There are no known images of him.

References

External links

John F. ParkerLincoln's Missing Bodyguard
''Smithsonian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, John Frederick 1830 births 1890 deaths Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Deaths from asthma Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia officers People associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln People from Winchester, Virginia