Richard Parker (1729–1813) was a prominent American lawyer and judge from

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 ...

in the Northern Neck. His father was Dr. Alexander Parker, a prominent physician of

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County on the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,599. ...

. He married Elizabeth Beale, daughter of William Beale. He was a member of the Westmoreland County Committee of Safety in 1775 and represented that county in the House of Delegates in 1778. He was appointed a judge of the general court in January 1788, in which capacity he also briefly served on the first

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

. He remained on the bench of the General Court until his death on April 4, 1813, at Lawfield, his residence in Westmoreland. One of his sons, Richard Parker (1751–1780) became a

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

regimental commander during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and was killed at the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The Britis ...

. A grandson,

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 ...

(1783–1840), was a Virginia jurist and lawyer who served briefly in the U.S. Senate.

Notes

Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia lawyers Virginia state court judges 1729 births 1813 deaths 19th-century American lawyers {{Virginia-state-judge-stub