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Ephraim H Parker
EPHRAIM H. PARKER, deceased, formerly of Parker City, Pa., was a descendant
of one of the oldest and most prominent families of this section of
Pennsylvania. He was born March 2, 1838, and was the eldest son of Fullerton
and Amelia (Harris) Parker, grandson of Judge John Parker, and great-grandson
of Col. William Parker.Col. William Parker came from Washington county, Pa., in 1798, and settled
on Bear creek, near Bear Creek furnace, now in Armstrong county, erecting
there the first grist-mill and promoting many of the enterprises which served
to open up the country.John Parker, son of Col. William Parker, and grandfather of the late
Ephraim H. Parker, in 1794 surveyed the greater part of the northern section
of Armstrong county and the southern part of Butler county. In 1797 he settled
in Parker township, Butler county, where he purchased 600 acres of land and in
1815 laid out the village of Lawrenceburg, the same now being included in the
Second ward of Parker City. He was an active, energetic and successful
business man and was extensively engaged in farming and stock raising. He was
one of the first associate judges of Butler county and filled that office for
thirty-five years. He married Jane Woods, and they had the following children:
James, John, Juliet, William, Fullerton, Washington, George, Thomas and
Wilson. Juliet married John Gilchrist. Judge Parker died in 1842, at the age
of seventy-six years, and is buried in the Parker cemetery.Fullerton Parker, son of Judge John Parker, was born in Parker township,
Butler Co., Pa., Dec. 15, 1806, and was reared to manhood on the old Parker
homestead, obtaining his education in the local schools. In early life he
operated a tannery and later was actively engaged in the larger part of the
leading enterprises of Parker City. He was one of the projectors and principal
stockholders of the Parker & Karns City and the Karns City & Butler
railroads, which, built in 1873, were important factors in the development of
the Butler oil fields. He was also one of the founders and leading
stockholders of the Parker bridge, which was erected in 1872, and through his
enterprise was founded, in 1871, the Exchange Bank of Parker City, of which he
was president for years. In fact, there were but few enterprises connected
with the growth of this section in which his help was not sought and his
advice followed.In 1832 Fullerton Parker was married to Amelia Harris, daughter of Ephraim
Harris, of Harrisville, Butler Co., Pa. To them the following children were
born: Jame M., who married Andrew J. Haldeman; Julia, who married James M.
Agnew; Ephraim H.; Mary A., who married Parker M. Hollister; William J.;
Amelia, who married Samuel M. McGough; Lizzie, who married Watson C. Mobley;
and Ella P., who married William H. Spain. Mrs. Parker died in 1883, aged
seventy-seven years.Ephraim Harris Parker was reared in Armstrong and Butler counties. During
the Civil war he served as a member of the 18th Pa. Vol. Cav., and after three
years of service was honorably discharged. His first business association was
with his father in the tanning industry at Parker City, and later he became
extensively engaged in the oil business as an operator and producer and
continued along this line until his death, which occurred April 11, 1870. In
politics he was a Republican, but took little part in such matters. For many
years he was a member of the Presbyterian Church.On April 28, 1857, Mr. Parker was married to Margaret Phipps, a daughter of
David and Margaret (Stewart) Phipps, of Venango county, Pa., the former of
whom was a pioneer in the iron and also the woolen manufacturing industries of
that county. His mills were located at what is now known as Kennerdell. He
served one term as associate judge of Venango county and died before he had
assumed the duties of a second term, to which he had been elected. Six
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker, namely: Ada, who was the wife of
David Reynolds Kerr (deaceased); Eva, who is the wife of Louis H. Parker;
Harry J.; who is an extensive oil operator and producer, residing at
Pittsburgh; Jane, deceased, who was the wife of Howard S. Austin; Fullerton,
who is an oil producer and operator at Woodsfield, Ohio; and Margaret, who is
the wife of Charles H. Adams, of Ben Avon, Pennsylvania.Fullerton Parker, youngest son of the late Ephraim H. Parker, is a veteran
of the Spanish-American war. He enlisted May 9, 1898, becoming a private in
Company H, 10th Regiment, and was mustered into the United States service May
11, 1898; was appointed corporal May 9, 1899; and after serving in the
Philippine Islands was honorably discharged at San Francisco, Cal., Aug. 1,
1899, by Col. H. B. Freeman, commandant of that post.Source: Pages 972-973, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed November 1998 by Joyce Sherry for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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