Richard Parker (December 22, 1810 – November 10, 1893) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer, and judge from

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 ...

Biography

Born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, son of Judge and Senator

Richard E. Parker Richard Elliott Parker (December 27, 1783September 10, 1840) was a lawyer, soldier, judge and politician in Virginia. Parker served in the Virginia House of Delegates and the United States Senate, before later serving on the Virginia Supreme Cour ...

. Parker studied law at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in

Berryville, Virginia Berryville is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Clarke County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,185 at the 2010 census, up from 2,963 at the 2000 census. History Berryville was founded at the intersection of the Winche ...

, near

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, where he lived. He was the paymaster at the

Harpers Ferry Armory The Harpers Ferry Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, was the second federal armory created by the United States government. (The first was the Springfield Armory.) It was located in Harpers Ferry ...

, and was also a slave owner. He held several local offices before being elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1848, serving from 1849 to 1851. He was elected judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit of

on January 15, 1851. In this capacity, Parker presided over the trials of

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

and his associates in 1859, sentencing them to death for their raid on nearby Harpers Ferry. He published in 1888 his recollections of the trial. Parker left the court in 1869, when the Union Army occupying Virginia shut courts down, and resumed practicing law in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

, until his death there on November 10, 1893. He was interred in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Winchester. He married Evalina Tucker Moss, but they had no children. Parker's enslaved worker Presley Dunwood, who drove the carriage that took Judge Parker to court during John Brown's trial, published memoirs.

Publication

Archival material

* There are 87 items in the John Brown papers at

Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founde ...

. * There are 134 items in the

Chicago History Museum Chicago History Museum is the museum of the Chicago Historical Society (CHS). The CHS was founded in 1856 to study and interpret Chicago's history. The museum has been located in Lincoln Park since the 1930s at 1601 North Clark Street at the in ...

Research Center. * There are 38 items in the
Stoddert Family papers
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Richard 1810 births 1893 deaths Virginia lawyers Politicians from Richmond, Virginia Politicians from Winchester, Virginia Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia 19th-century American politicians People from Berryville, Virginia John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry American slave owners Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia) Virginia circuit court judges

Biography

Publication

Archival material

References

Further reading

External links