John Parker (c.1651 – in or after 1719) was an English army officer and
Jacobite
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...
conspirator.
Life
His father William Parker was excise commissioner in 1652–3, and later a physician at
Margate; his mother was Judith, daughter of Roger Beckwith of
Aldborough, Yorkshire. Their first known ancestor was
John Parker,
Master of the Rolls in Ireland (died 1564), a native of
Tenterden in
Kent, who went to Ireland about 1540 and became both a senior judge and a substantial landowner in that country.
[Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926]
In 1676 he was appointed captain of a company in the
Duke of Monmouth's regiment in France, and in 1678 he became captain in
James, Duke of York
James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
's regiment. In 1681 he was brigadier-lieutenant, in 1683 lieutenant in the Guards, in 1685 captain of horse; later in that year he was major of
Lord Arran's cavalry regiment, and in 1687 lieutenant-colonel.
Parker followed James II into exile at
St. Germain, and to Ireland where he served with James' Jacobite
Irish Army. He was wounded at the
Battle of the Boyne in 1690, where his troop of cavalry sustained heavy losses.
Arrested in London in 1693 as a party to an assassination plot against
William III William III or William the Third may refer to:
Kings
* William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198)
* William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702)
* William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
, planned to take place in
Flanders, Parker escaped.
In May 1694 he was again taken, in
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, and sent to the
Tower of London, where he was kept in close confinement, and denied writing materials. He had been implicated in the Sieur de Grandval's confession, and in June 1694 a true bill was found against him, but the trial was postponed. On 11 August,
Sir John Friend having bribed a warder, Parker escaped, and a reward was offered for his apprehension.
In the aftermath of the
Jacobite assassination plot 1696, Parker was repeatedly mentioned in the trials of
Robert Charnock and Friend. In October 1696 he accompanied the
Duke of Berwick to London. Berwick contacted his mother
Arabella Churchill, who informed on Parker, who had to flee to France.
In 1702
Louis XIV ordered the arrest of Parker, who by unguarded talk had annoyed
Mary of Modena
Mary of Modena ( it, Maria Beatrice Eleonora Anna Margherita Isabella d'Este; ) was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VII. A devout Roman Catholic, Mary married the widower James, who was then the young ...
and her favourite
Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton. He was confined in the
Bastille from 16 August 1702 till June 1704. On his release, he was forbidden to visit St. Germain. He made offers to change sides via Caillaud, an agent of the English government.
He was back in favour in 1708, and is thought to have died after his correspondence with
William Dicconson ceased, in 1719.
Family
Parker was married twice. By his first wife Johanna Rouse, he had two sons,
Gervais Parker and Christopher. They did not follow him into exile, but attained high ranks in the British army and navy.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, John
1651 births
1719 deaths
English Jacobites
English army officers