Susan Catherine Parker

Susan married Steven S. Freeman in 1847. Steven was born in 1825 in Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Susan married James B. Rapier on 20 Aug 1848 in Whitley County, Kentucky. James was born in 1817 in Whitley County, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sampson married Sarah "Sally" Elizabeth Davis before 1824 in Whitley County, Kentucky. Sarah (daughter of William "Billie" Davis and Sarah Rapier) was born on 8 Sep 1801; died on 2 Jun 1868 in Whitley County, Kentucky; was buried in John Parker Cemetery, Williamsburg, Whitley, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 8 Sep 1802, North Carolina
• Alternate death: 9 Jun 1868, Whitley County, Kentucky

Notes:

"According to the memoir of his grandson Chrisman Harrison Parker, John fought in the War of 1812, and was at the Battle of New Orleans when the British General Packenham was killed." [Parker's Genealogy & History Establishment]

From the memoir of Chrisman Harrison Parker:

"I have heard my grandfather tell how the Torys came and robed his mother while that war was going on; - They come one day; and robed the house; - taking the bedding; emtying the feather-beds or ticks over the ground. The feathers come of them rising above the tops of the trees. They then went into the feild and striped the harness off the horse granfather was plowing, and led Him away. - By this time they had gathered the sheep and cattle; - and horses and drove them away. Lleving my great grandmother and her children destitute - undaunted she geathered leaves to sleep on; living as best she could. Clothed her children and cotten and Flaxe, garments of her own make; - The next morning after the robery; she geathered her children and all the hoes and went into the feild. Those who had hoes howed those who had none pulled weeds and grass: - at last the war ceased, and great grandfather come home, and settled down to honest toil. Where he lived and died.

"My granfather grew up in in North Carolina, and maired there, and when my father was three years olde mooved to Tennsee: where he raised his family. In the War of 1812. Granfather Parker, entered the servis of his country and was at Battle of New Orleans when Pakenham was killed.

"My mother, - Celety - Harrison, Parker lost two brothers in the War of 1812. I have heard my mother say grandmother Harrison kept the clothing of her two lost sons as long as she lived; and once a year would look them over; and weep as she folded them up and laid them carfully away."

John married Elizabeth Carrel on 9 Jan 1793 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Elizabeth (daughter of James Carrel) was born in 1775 in North Carolina; died on 3 Dec 1859 in Whitley County, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

[The paragraph below is from http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kmparker, evidently from info provided by Patrick's late aunt Nancy Jonckheere.]

"Born in 1776 in North Carolina, Billie Davis was famous as a trapper, guide and explorer. He had a disagreement with a bear and lost his arm as a result, but it was the bear who lost the fight. Later, one-armed Billie became sheriff of Whitley County, an office he held for many years. He had considerable presence and could handle just about any problem with words alone. Nancy Jonckheere once found online a copy of an old North Carolina election handout from about 1850, which said was that the candidate was endorsed by 'Billie Davis, the famous one-armed sheriff of Whitley County, Kentucky.' By 1795, when Billie was 19, he was already married to Sarah Rapier, who was born about 1779 in North Carolina. Her brother Jesse moved to Whitley County, Kentucky, as well. Billie and Sarah both lived to a ripe old age and died in Whitley County: Sarah between 1860 and 1870, when she was at least 81 years old; and Billie in 1864 at the age of 88."

*****

We wonder if he wasn't born significantly later than the late 1770s. According to the records of the Kentucky Assembly, William Davis was sheriff of Whitley County in 1848 and 1849, at which time he would have been 72 and 73 years old if he was in fact born in 1776. Memory and oral traditions often exaggerate the age-at-death of particularly colorful individuals.

More absurdly, multiple ancestry.com trees claim that this William Davis is the Union soldier who died on 6 October 1864 and is buried at Cave Hill National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. We have no idea how they imagine that an 82-year-old man was serving as a Union private.

*****

Michele Brooks reproduces a bill of sale for his estate, executed by his son Melton Lewis Davis, which may provide some clues to his ancestry:

Sale Bill Dated 3 December 1864
Son - M.L. Davis 1 pistol $5.50
Son - William R. Davis 3 books 1.60
William Patrick 4 books .50
William Patrick 5 books .60
Dau - Matilda 1 book 1.90
son-in-law Sampson Parker 2 razors 1.40
Son - M. L. Davis 1/2 bushel ?
Seth Freeman
Cousin - James E. White 1 board 1.00
Cousin-in-law - Melton E. White 2 boxes 4.00
Son - M. L. Davis Furniture 55.00
M. L. Davis 1 saddle 1.00
M. L. Davis 1 satchel 3.00
Dau - Matilda Cattle .50

William married Sarah Rapier between 1795 and 1800 in North Carolina. Sarah was born in 1777; died before 1870 in Whitley County, Kentucky. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1778, North Carolina
• Alternate birth: Abt 1779, North Carolina

Notes:

Appears in some online trees as Roper, Rapour, etc. Frequently given as a daughter of William J. Rapier and Elizabeth Thompson; there is absolutely no evidence for this.

Notes:

"John married Jane. According to [great-grandson] Chrisman Parker's memoir, John and his wife raised their children in North Carolina, where their family farm was raided by the Tories while John was away fighting for his country's freedom, and where John lived out his days. Many people believe that our John who later moved to Tennessee and then Kentucky was the John Parker who married Elizabeth Carrell in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on January 9, 1793 and was bondsman for the marriage of William Parker and Candace Austin there on October 28, 1801; that his father was the John Parker who died leaving a will in Wilkes County in 1791, naming his wife Mary, step-daughter Maryann Coons, and his children John, William, James, and Diana. That may be true, but since there are so many Johns and Elizabeths, it's difficult to be sure that you've got the right people." [Parker's Genealogy & History Establishment]

The memoirs of his great-grandson Chrisman Harrison Parker (1823-1914) state that this John Parker was born in England.