John Henry Parker (1830–1915) was the brother of

Cynthia Ann Parker Cynthia Ann Parker (October 28, 1827 – March 1871), also known as Naduah (Comanche: ''Narua''), was a white woman who was notable for having been captured during the Fort Parker massacre at about age nine, by a Comanche war band and adopted in ...

and the uncle of

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

chief

Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...

. 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 Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the 1830s. He was captured in 1836 by Comanches during the raid of Fort Parker near present-day

Groesbeck, Texas Groesbeck is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,631 at the 2020 census. The community is named after a railroad employee. History The city of Groesbeck was dedicated as a township by H ...

Birth and early years

John Parker was born in 1830 in

Crawford County, Illinois Crawford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,817. Its county seat is Robinson. History Crawford County was formed in the Illinois Territory on December 31, 1816, out of Edward ...

, 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

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and brother

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

, moved from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

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

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 sister Cynthia Ann,

Rachel Plummer Rachel Parker Plummer (March 22, 1819 – March 19, 1839) was the daughter of James W. Parker and the cousin of Quanah Parker, last free-roaming chief of the Comanches. An Anglo-Texan woman, she was kidnapped at the age of seventeen, along with her ...

and her son James Pratt Plummer as well as Elizabeth Duty Kellogg.Exley, J.A.. ''Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family''

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 from 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.Fehrenbach, T.R. ''Comanches, The Destruction of a People '' 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 Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

. 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. Plummer was returned to his grandfather and was able to readapt to white society,TSHA Online – Texas State Historical Association – Home
at www.tshaonline.org 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.
at www.rootsweb.com, Cynthia Ann Parker. 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 The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

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 A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

and served with Confederate troops in Texas. After the war, he returned to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where he died in 1915 on his ranch. He appeared to have been the only one of the Parker children who lived a happy life.

Footnotes

References

* Fehrenbach, Theodore Reed ''The Comanches: The Destruction of a People''. New York: Knopf, 1974, . 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

* http://www.rootsweb.com/~okmurray/stories/cynthia_ann_parker.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, John Richard 1830 births 1915 deaths People from Limestone County, Texas People from Crawford County, Illinois Comanche tribe Texas–Indian Wars Battles involving the Comanche Captives of Native Americans People of Texas in the American Civil War