My wife and I own a house and farm on an old section of the Staunton River now Leesville Resovoir in Pittsville, Pittsylvania County Virginia. I have been doing research on the age of our home and history of the property. I have found paperwork a map left by the previous owners The Johnson family that identifies the house as the Old Parker Place. The Johnsons owned the neighboring property and small cabin next door for many years and are listed as having worked with or for the Parkers on their farm from census records I have viewed. I am interested in the history of our home and property, there is an old barn and a much older small cabin on the property that still stands and appears to me to be 200 plus years old. I am interested in any information that might help my research of the property and families that pioneered the area or possibly lived in the home. Our home and property is just a mile or so away from the Old Parker Cemetery Ruins at Parkers Landing that shows up on Google and Apple Maps of the area. I feel the old very small cabin on our property may possibly be an original pioneer dwelling  from the 1700's and if so would want to do my part in preserving it for future reference of the early pioneers in Virginia. Early Parker pioneers of the area before 1800 that I have found in Pittsylvania on or near the Staunton River are John Parker of the Staunton River, William Parker of "OWC" Old Womens Creek and William Parker of the Piggs River. Bedford County is directly across the river from our property, I've seen several items that mention the Parker's previously living in Bedford before moving across the river into Pittsylvania. Any help or thoughts would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Mark Mckeehan

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  • I am a descendent of William Parker and his wife Henrietta who owned land on Cherrystone and Harping Creek in Pittsylvania County, He is usually designated as PG (Pigg River) in the land and tax records. You can track his land records to his son Elijah. This William Parker died in 1838 leaving a will. One of his daughters married a Craft and she is noted as the daughter of William and Henrietta Parker in a Craft family bible. I tried to research a William Alexander Parker since older researchers tied him to my William, but I have found no convincing evidence that such a person ever left any valid records in Calvert County Maryland or Fauquier county VA as alleged, and no such name is on any record in Pittsylvania County, I think he is fictitious. The attribution of George, David, etc. as his sons, I believe to be incorrect and such sons probably are sons of John Parker of the Staunton River. John died in 1811 per the Shelton journals. In another post, I posit the theory that almost all of these Parkers descend from Thomas Parker of Essex County VA whose widow Mildred Donaho Parker moved with her children to Cumberland, then Bedford County VA. The are some problems with this theory as well but it seems the reconstruction most likely.
  • Hi David. William was born in Maryland. Having said that, I have encountered problematic records surrounding him. There seems to have been another William Alexand Parker that lived around this area and was about 5 years younger. I've been actively digging up things and trying to confirm it all for years, but after weighing out all the evidence I really believe the one born in 1735 in Maryland is our man.

    Here are my notes from my research on him that explains my thought process.
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    Investigating: Is this person the father of Benjamin Parker b. 1759 d. 1836? "Our Kin" source says that there were 2 heads of the household named William Parker, and that George Parker is the descendent of one of them. This William Alexander Parker b. 1735 d. 1805 could be their father, but could also be someone entirely different, or perhaps a cousin or other relative to the William Parker that is George, and therefore Benjamin's, father. Still researching.

    Supporting evidence: He's buried in the Parker Family cemetery in Toshes, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, where my family line has definitely been traced to. According to find-a-grave (which does not have supporting documentation to confirm its facts at this time, but I'm working on getting that from the person who created the entry), William Alexander Parker moved from Fauquier County, Virginia to Pittsylvania County, Virginia in 1768. He, along with wife Henrietta Parker, built and lived in the house on the property where the family cemetery is located. He is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery. He was the son of William Henry Parker (1707-1790) and Elizabeth Clark (1705-Unknown DOD).

    https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190921948/william-alexander-par...*dsggih*_ga*MzY5NzMwMDk5LjE2NjY1NDA0NTg.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*ZjZkZjUzNDAtNzc4ZS00ODdmLThiMmMtODEzZDZkNjlmZTMyLjEwOC4xLjE2NzkzNTQ4NDEuNTguMC4w



    Detracting evidence: (1) In early colonial America up until the Revolution, most families of English descent followed the following naming pattern: First born son named for Father's father, second born son named for mother's father, third born son named for Father, 4th born son named for father's eldest brother If this family followed this tradition, then William Alexander Parker would have named his 3rd son after himself. This leaves us with three possibilities: (a ) this William Alexander Parker is not the father of Benjamin Parker and George Parker mentioned in the "Our Kin" source because the third born son's name is Henry Sterling Parker: (b) It is possible that Henry Sterling could have been born earlier than William Alexander Parker b. 1760 d 1839 which would match the naming tradition of the era, and therefore this would be supporting evidence ( c) this family did not follow naming traditions. Additionally , No record of George Parker's parents has been found ("Our Kin", page 649 )
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Do you have DOB and DOD on John Parker? I have 7 of them in my tree, but the only one that could possibly be his father biologically would be the one born ABT 1669 - DOD unknown, which would make him more like William's grandfather's age more than father (but still possible). Also this John Parker I have listed as a great granduncle, but with that said, I don't have a lot of info on him yet, so i could be wrong about his relationship to me.
    William Alexander Parker (1735-1805) - Find a...
    William Alexander Parker moved from Fauquier County, Virginia to Pittsylvania County, Virginia in 1768. He, along with wife Henrietta Parker, built…
  • Chad, Do you know where William Alexander Parker was born? John Parker in Brunswick/Lunenburg had a son named William. Could this be that son?John Parker in a land grant discussed William Parker's children in a land grant. Perhaps William Alexander Parker is one of his sons.
  • Hi Mark, I'm a direct descendant of William Alexander Parker (1735 -1805). His son George Parker (05 Apr 1769 - 5 Apr 1859) and his spouse Frances Oakes (1773 - 26 Jun 1858) owned the Parker Plantation and the Parker Cemetary. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2668204/parker-family-cemetery-

    From what I've researched so far, 3 generations of Parkers lived and died on this property. David Parker (10 Oct 1802) and his wife Mary Amanda Goggins (15 Sep 1831- 25 Dec 1916), their 7 children and 3 of David's siblings are all buried here.

    George's son Ammon Hancock Parker (10 Mar 1807 - 08 May 1880) had a son Robert William Parker (31 Aug 1838 - 09 Apr 1865) who served for the CSA during the Civil War. Robert wrote letters to his wife Rebecca Walker (6 Jan 1840 - 5 Jan 1867) during the war, which were found decades later and published in a book called Lee's Last Casualty. The Life and Letters of Sgt. Robert W. Parker, Second Virginia Cavalry. Robert didn't live on this site, but lived with his parents at a house that still stands and is occupied to this day, called Lone Aspen, located at 5990 Virginia Byway, Bedford, Bedford, Virginia, USA.

    You are welcome to explore my family tree to visit these folks if you'd like!

    https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/87536946/person/12...

    Also, you mentioned that you have paperwork and a map left by the Johnson that identifies the Parker place. Is that something you can share? I'd love to add that to my family tree if possible.

    thanks!
    Parker Family Cemetery in Toshes, Virginia - Find a Grave Cemetery
    As of 1968, a family cemetery near the former Parker home that was almost completely overgrown. At the time, eight graves were identifiable and mark…
  • Super interesting. I'm tracing Parker lineage in that area and would love to learn more.
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