WEST VIRGINIA Index: Hampshire History, PARKERs, PARKER Timeline, PARKER Map
↳George PARKER, John PARKER, Job PARKER, Thomas PARKER
On this page: Pioneer Thomas PARKER
Latest update: Sunday, November 11, 2012
Learn more about our PARKERs in the Family Tree Database .
NOTE
Although WEST VIRGINIA is used on this webpage for convenience,
WEST VIRGINIA was part of VIRGINIA until June 20, 1863.
• Pioneer Thomas PARKER
See Map for places of Thomas PARKER.
To date, not much is known about Thomas PARKER. In 1750 Thomas was already living on his 237 acres on the North River
of Cacapon, when his property was surveyed by George WASHINGTON. [See George PARKER for map.] Thomas moved his
family as the French Indian War started in 1754, when a fort was built on his property, and Thomas sold the land upon which
the fort stood to Robert Pritchard on June 11, 1755. (See George PARKER and FAIRFAX Grants for a description of life in
Patterson Creek during the French Indian War.)
• Road Order "FC, 3:172, 16 November 1749 -- John Kuykendal is hereby appointed overseer of the road from Stony Bridge,
to Parker's on the North River of Cacapon, in the room of John Collins. And it is ordered that all male laboring tithables on the
South Branch below the Trough and on Patterson's Creek work on the same and that the said Kuykendal cause the said road
to be kept in good repair according to law." (Colonial Hampshire County Road Orders by Terry Gruber @ WVGenWeb)
• Survey by George Washington: "12 April, 1750 For Thomas Parker, Sr., 237 acres "where he lives" on the North River;
granted to same, 14 April, 1753 [H-288]" (George Washington's Surveys in Hampshire County @ HistoricHampshire.org)
• Road Order "FC, 4:406, 6 March 1753 -- Joseph Edwards is appointed overseer of the road from Jeremiah Smith's to the
North River near Thomas Parker's, and it is ordered that the tithables eight miles on each side of the said road clear and keep
the it in repair according to law." (Colonial Hampshire County Road Orders by Terry Gruber @ WVGenWeb)
• Road Order "FC, 4:407, 6 March 1753 - John Kuykendall is appointed overseer of the road from the North River near
Thomas Parker's to Peter Tostees Plantation and it is ordered that all tithables on the South Branch below the Trough and all
the tithables from Frees Mill to the North Branch [of Potomac] work on the same under him as overseer and that he clear and
keep it in repair according to law." (Colonial Hampshire County Road Orders by Terry Gruber @ WVGenWeb)
• "H-288: Thomas Parker of Frederick Co. 237 A. in said Co. where he lives on W. side of N.R. of Cacapehon. 14 Apr.
1753" Book H, page 67 (Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775. Vol. II @ Ancestry.com, sourced)
• "The land on which it stood was conveyed to Parker by Thomas Lord Fairfax on June 10, 1753, and it consisted of 237
acres lying on both sides of the road leading from Winchester to Fort Pearsall... located on North river in Hampshire
County not far from the point where present-day United States Route 50 crosses that stream. " (WVGenWeb) [See Fry Map on
George PARKER page.]
• "North River flows under the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) at Hanging Rock" Wikipedia
• French Indian War started in 1754.
FORT THOMAS PARKER
From “Frontier Forts Along the Potomac and its Tributaries” by William H. Ansel, JR.
[quote]
Named for Thomas Parker, its builder, and also known as North River Stockade, this fort was located on North
river in Hampshire County not far from the point where present-day United States Route 50 crosses that stream.
The land on which it stood was conveyed to Parker by Thomas Lord Fairfax on June 10, 1753, and it consisted
of 237 acres lying on both sides of the road leading from Winchester to Fort Pearsall. The fort was probably
built in the autumn of 1754. It appeared to consist of a blockhouse surrounded by a stockade. The location of the
place was probably on the west bank of North River as Parker’s land extended across both sides of the stream,
and such a site would have removed the fort some distance from higher ground in the vicinity that would have
overlooked it. Being on the main trail leading from Fort Loudoun to Fort Pearsall, it became a stopping place for
convoys, couriers, and troops using the road between the larger forts. Washington does not mention this place by
name in his writings, but he shows it on his map of frontier operations as fort “T. Parker.” Apparently it was never
manned by the militia or by troops from the Virginia Regiment, but soldiers bivouacked around of near it on many
occasions. Washington himself camped at this crossing of North river at least twice, the last time being on June 26,
1758, during his march to join General Forbes at Bedford preparatory to the final assault on Fort Duquesne.
In early April 1756, Washington ordered out several parties from Winchester to range the woods in search of Indians
who were causing great damage to the settlers. Among those instructed to engage in this scouting work was Captain
Richard Pearis, who had formerly been an Indian trader, and who was on excellent terms with Cherokee Indians of
North Carolina. Pearis’ party probably consisted of several Cherokees as well as some militia. Proceeding west from
Winchester, Pearis and his company marched to North River, and as they came up to Parker’s fort, they observed that
the place was being surrounded by hostile Indians. Pearis immediately attacked the enemy, and after about thirty
minutes of sharp skirmishing, he was successful in driving the savages away. The commander, of the Indians, a
Frenchman named Sieur Douville, was killed and three warriors were wounded. Pearis lost one of his men killed and
two wounded. The Frenchman was scalped and the trophy delivered to Colonel Washington at Winchester with the
request that the reward offered by the Virginia authorities for Indians killed be paid and divided equally among Pearis’
men. In sending the scalp to Governor Dinwiddie, Washington acknowledged that Douville was not an Indian, but
because of the Frenchman’s importance as a leader of the savages, he hoped that the Governor would pay the bounty.
In the spring of 1756, Captain Joshua Lew, with eighteen men from his company of the Virginia Regiment, encountered
a band of Indians along the North River not far from Parker’s fort. In the skirmish that followed, Lewis’ command killed
one of the enemy and wounded one or two others. The one slain happened to be a French officer who was the leader
of the savages. None of Lewis’ troops was killed or wounded in this encounter. Doubtless, Governor Dinwiddie paid
bounty on this Frenchman’s scalp, as he did in Captain Pearis’ case.
Thomas Parker was probably not at his fort during much of the French and Indian War, as he sold the land upon which
the fort stood to Robert Pritchard on June 11, 1755. Long after the Indian wars were over, on February 20, 1798, Robert
Pritchard conveyed the property to J. Rees Pritchard, a Revolutionary War Veteran, and since this conveyance was 44
years after the fort had been built, it may be assumed that it had fallen into decay and was no longer extant on the
property when the transfer was made. (WVGenWeb)
[end quote]
• Thomas Parker's Fort (1754 - 1760's), near Hanging Rock
A settlers' stockaded blockhouse on the west bank of the North River. It was also known as the North River Stockade.
• "In the early colonial days when this was the frontier, there was a strong-house across the North River on Thomas
Parker's 237 acre land grant. During the French and Indian War the area of the North River Valley was attacked on
at least two separate occasions. In the first documented attack, Sarah Gibbons, daughter of James Gibbons whose
home was on the other side of the Parker grant, was carried off by the Indians. Eight or nine years later Sarah
escaped and returned to her family." (A Brief Look at North River Mills, West Virginia by Stephanie L. Bailes and
Charles C. Hall, posted at HistoricHampshire.org)