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96. Abraham Parker (say 1618–1685)

Abraham Parker was born say 1618 (based on his marriage). He died on 12 August 1685 in Chelmsford. [1] He married Rose Whitlock in 1644. [2, 246]

97. Rose Whitlock (say 1620–1691)

Rose Whitlock was born say 1624 (based on her marriage and the birth of her last child). She died on 30 November 1691 in Chelmsford. [1]


Abraham Parker is said to have come frome Wiltshire, England to Woburn. He was a freeman in 1645. He came to Chelmsford in 1653. [2, 246]

Abraham Parker was the first settler in Chelmsford. [2, 39] Abraham Parker was an original member of the church in Chelmsford in 1665. [2, 11] Abraham Parker's wife was an early member of the church in Chelmsford in 1655. [2, 12] Rose owned the covenant there on 11 (4) 1656. [2, 27]

Abraham is on a 1671 tax list in Chelmsford. [2, 59–60] A 1672 account of his estate for tax purposes says that he owned two oxen, seven cows, one horse, seven swine, 12 sheep, 28 acres of meadow and eight acres of pasture. [2, 246]

On 20: 3: 1673 William Underwood, William Fletcher and Abraham Parker were appointed to lay out a highway in Chelmsford. [2, 40]

Abraham Parker, Sr. was on a 1 September 1674 list of able-bodied men in Chelmsford. [2, 90]

Livestock laws were apparently strictly enforced in early Chelmsford. Abraham's eight swine were impounded for trespassing "fouer times in the same year." [2, 56]

On 24 March 1678/9 Abraham Parker and his two sons Moses and Isaac were accused of selling strong liquor to the Indians. They confessed and promised to desist. [2, 530]

One thousand and five hundred acres lying north of Concord in present-day Billerica was conveyed to Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley, and on 28 February 1651/2 he sold this land to Thomas Chamberlain, James Parker, and Isaac Learned of Woburn for 110 pounds. These three men became citizens of adjoining Chelmsford. [Ref]

The will of Rose Parker, widow of Abraham, of Chelmsford was probated on 15 March 1692/3. [3]

One thousand and five hundred acres lying north of Concord in present-day Billerica was conveyed to Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley, and on 28 February 1651/2 he sold this land to Thomas Chamberlain, James Parker, and Isaac Learned of Woburn for 110 pounds. These three men became citizens of adjoining Chelmsford. [Ref] James Parker was probably Abraham's brother.

Children of Abraham Parker and Rose Whitlock: [1]

i. Anna Parker was born in 8m: 1645. She was baptised on 1: 12m: 1656 in Chelmsford.

ii. Corporal John Parker was born in 8m: 1647. He was baptised on 1: 12m: 1656 in Chelmsford. He died on 14 April 1699 in Chelmsford.

John Parker, the son of Abraham, built a sawmill on Beaver Creeek in 1678 in Chelmsford. [2, 52]

John Parker was on a1 September 1674 list of able-bodied men in Chelmsford. [2, 90]

iii. Abraham Parker was born in 6m: 1651. He was baptised on 1: 12m: 1656 in Chelmsford. He married Martha, the daughter of John Livermore, of Watertown on 15: 5m: 1682 in Chelmsford.

He was a selectman in Chelmsford in 1691 and 1692. [2, 758] Thomas Clark, Abraham and Moses Parker, Stephen Pierce and John Burge and their families were in a garrison together on 16 March 1691/2 in Chelmsford. [2, 134]

iv. Mary Parker was born on 15 or 20 November 1655 in Chelmsford. She married James, the son of Capt. James Parker, on 11 December 1678 in Chelmsford.

v. Moses Parker was born about 1658 in Chelmsford. He married Abigail Hildreth

vi. Isaac Parker was born on 13 September 1660 in Chelmsford. He died on 22 February 1688 in Chelmsford. He married Esther, the daughter of William Fletcher, on 11 April 1681 in Chelmsford.

vii. Elizabeth Parker was born on 10 April 1663 in Chelmsford.

viii. Lydia Parker was born on 17 February 1665 in Chelmsford. She married John Kidder on 3 December (or September) 1684 in Chelmsford.

ix. Jacob Parker was born on 24 March 1669 in Chelmsford.

Endnotes:

1. Vital Records of Chelmsford. Baptisms of Abraham, Anna and John (as ch. Abraham) and births of Elizabeth, Isaac, Jacob, Lydia, Mary and Moses (as ch. Abraham and Rose), pp. 105–12. The marriages of Abraham, Mary (as d. Abraham), Moses, Isaac and Lydia (as d. Abraham and Rose), pp. 282–7. Death of Abraham (as "Sr."), death of Rose (as wid. Abraham), death of John (as Corp.), death of Isaac, pp. 419–22.

2. Wilson Waters, History of Chelmsford (Lowell, MA: Courier Citizen Co., 1917).

3. "Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records," database with images, Ancestry > Middlesex > probate records, vol. 7–10, 1689–1704, image 191.

Revised 03-Jun-2023