John Parker (pioneer)

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For other persons named John Parker, see John Parker (disambiguation).

Elder John Parker (1758 - 1836) was an American settler and Predestinarian Baptist minister who immigrated to Texas before the Texas Revolution, and was killed during the Fort Parker massacre in 1836, along with several members of his family, and others of the "Parker clan".

Parker was born on September 6, 1758 in Baltimore County, Maryland. His family moved to Virginia while Parker was young, and in 1777, at age nineteen, he left home to fight in the American Revolution. Two years later, in November 1779, he married Sarah "Sallie" White before returning to war. After returning home in Virginia, the Parkers' first child, Daniel Parker, was born on April 6, 1781. Other children soon followed.

About 1785, Parker moved his family to Georgia in search of opportunities for a better life. In 1803, he once again moved the family, including Sallie, eight children, Daniel's wife, Martha "Patsey" Dickerson, and their daughter. They settled near Nashboro (present Nashville), Tennessee. By 1817, their family had grown to eleven children, many of whom had married and had children of their own. The family then moved to Illinois.

In 1824, Sallie died, and in 1825, Parker married the widow Sarah "Sallie" Duty, who had several daughters who had married into the Parker clan. At age seventy-five, Parker and most of his family moved to Texas in 1833.

During 1835, some of Parker's sons built a fort on the head-waters of the Navasota River, near present Groesbeck in Limestone County, Texas. Parker's Fort was built as protection for the families who all had land grants located on the frontier of what was then called the Comancheria.

On May 19, 1836, Parker and other members of the Parker clan were killed at the Fort Parker massacre. He was initially captured and died after his genitals were removed and he was scalped. His wife was seriously wounded but eventually recovered.