Richard Elliott Parker (December 27, 1783September 10, 1840) was a lawyer, soldier, judge and politician in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Parker served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, before later serving on the Virginia

Supreme Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Virginia is the supreme court, highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and ...

Early and family life

Parker was born at ‘Rock Spring,’

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a county located in the Northern Neck of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross. History As originally established by the Virginia colony's ...

, son of Captain William Harwar Parker and Mary (Sturman) Parker, and grandson of Judge Richard Parker and Elizabeth (Beale) Parker. He studied law under his grandfather Parker at ‘Lawfield,’ his grandfather's residence in Westmoreland County.

Career

After being admitted to the bar, he practiced in Westmoreland, his native county, which he twice represented in the

, although when he was re-elected the vote contested, and the narrow loser would succeed to the seat in the next election.Cynthia Miller Leonard, The General Assembly of Virginia: 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 249, 254 During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, Parker served as Lieutenant colonel in the Thirty-fifth Virginia Regiment Militia. As such, he was in charge of the defense of the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula ...

of Virginia from British incursions. On September 16, 1814, Parker was wounded during the British attack that resulted in the

burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...

. After the war, Parker returned to private legal practice. The legislature elected him a judge of the general court on July 26, 1817. On December 12, 1836, Virginia legislators elected Judge Parker as the United States Senator from Virginia. A Jacksonian, he filled the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Benjamin W. Leigh Benjamin Watkins Leigh (June 18, 1781February 2, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician from Richmond, Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates and represented Virginia in the United States Senate. Early and family life Benja ...

. Parker would resigned from the Senate on March 13, 1837, to accept a seat on the

Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrativ ...

(again elected by his former state legislative colleagues). He refused the cabinet office of

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

offered him by President Van Buren.

Death and legacy

Parker died on his estate, ‘Soldier’s Retreat,’ near Snickersville (now

Bluemont Bluemont is an unincorporated village in Loudoun County, Virginia located at the eastern base of Snickers Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The village's center is located along Snickersville Turnpike ( Virginia Route 734), west of the incor ...

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Com ...

), Virginia, September 10, 1840. He was buried alongside his wife, Elizabeth Foushee Parker at Grace Episcopal Church in Berryville, Virginia in the county of Clarke.

References

* Clarke County Historical Association, Berryville, Va. * Grace Episcopal Church Burial Records * Find a Grave for Judge Richard E. Parker, Grace Episcopal Church, Berryville, Va.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Richard E. 1783 births 1840 deaths Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Party United States senators from Virginia Virginia state court judges Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia People from Westmoreland County, Virginia Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Virginia Democratic-Republicans Virginia Jacksonians 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American judges