The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: MA
Qualifying Service: Private / Civil Service / Patriotic Service
Photo #1 added with permission of Craig Batten, George Washington Chapter, VASSAR
Photo # 2 added courtesy of David C. Schafer, MASSAR
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From the Route 149 cemetery entrance, proceed six yards on the cemetery road. Turn north and walk 28 yards to the gravesite of Dr. Daniel Parker
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Author: David Crandall Schafer
Daniel Parker was born March 25, 1735, at Barnstable, Massachusetts, the eldest son of David Parker and Mary Hawes. He was baptized March 30, 1735. His siblings were Mary and Patience.
Parker’s mother died February 12, 1737, and his father married Mercy Crosby, September 6, 1739, at Barnstable. His half-siblings from his father’s second marriage were David, Ebenezer, Elisha and James.1
Daniel Parker married Mercy Jenkins, a daughter of Joseph Jenkins and Mercy Howland, January 22, 1768, at Barnstable. They were the parents of eight children born from 1769 to 1782: Mercy, Daniel, Joseph, Mary, Seth, Mary, Abigail and Rebecca.2
Throughout the Revolutionary War, control of maritime commerce was an ongoing struggle between the American Patriots and the British. British vessels transported troops to attack coastal communities and plunder goods and supplies. In response, local and state governments authorized ship owners to arm their merchant ships and attack British shipping. The waters of Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds were utilized by British vessels to transport goods and supplies to their New York and Newport garrisons, and were a prime location for attack by privateers. British attacks on the Massachusetts port cities of (New) Bedford, Dartmouth and Falmouth, were persistent, if not always successful.
In September 1779, British Commander George Leonard sailed his squadron to Tarpaulin Cove of Naushon Island. For several days, the British conducted naval exercises near Falmouth Harbor and created the appearance of an imminent attack. In response, Brigadier General Joseph Otis called an alarm at Falmouth for militia companies from the neighboring towns of Sandwich and Barnstable. Lieutenant Ebenezer Baker led his 16-man company from Barnstable to join Falmouth’s defense. The expected attack did not come, and the militia companies were dismissed to their homes. The payroll of Lieutenant Baker’s Company documents Daniel Parker, service of four days, and total wages, rations, and mileage due of eight shillings and eight pence.3
Daniel Parker's service in the community included his selection at the Town Meeting of August 9, 1779, to be one of 25 to be on a committee “to regulate the prices of Labour Innholders, Teaming, etc.” At the Town Meeting of October 4, 1781, Doctor Daniel Parker was chosen one of five “School Agents” for the current year. For Town Meeting held November 25, 1782, Doctor Parker was chosen as Moderator. For the Town Meeting of March 30, 1783, he was selected as a “Fence Viewer.”4
Parker wrote his Last Will and Testament April 1, 1808. He devised his estate to his wife, Mercy, and children, Daniel, Joseph, Seth, Mercy Nye, Mary Fish, Abigail Bursley and Rebecca Parker.
Dr. Daniel Parker died February 18, 1809, at Barnstable. Mercy Jenkins Parker died September 12, 1812, aged 75 years. She was buried beside her husband at the West Barnstable Cemetery.
References:
1. Barnstable Transcript of Records, 1713-1781, Vol. 2, Pg. 400.
2. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol. 23, Part 3, Family of John Howland, Pg. 66-69.
3. Muster/Payrolls of the Revolutionary War (Massachusetts and Rhode Island) Vol. 35, Pg. 226 (image 543).
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.
