William Parker, of Tiverton

Not the same as William Parker, of Edgecombe County and not the husband of Mary Parker

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Parker-4848

William Parker was born on the 15th of May, 1675, at Scituate, Plymouth Colony (Plymouth County, MA), the son of William Parker & Mary (Turner) Parker.[1][2]

William Parker married Rachell Clark on 2 Mar 1696/97 in Scituate, Massachusetts.[3] The marriage records for Scituate list three marriages for a William Parker - with Mary Rawlings in 1639, with Mary Turner in 1651, and with Rachell Clark in 1697. The first two are for his father William Parker.

Children of William Parker and Rachell, recorded in the original town records of Scituate, Massachusetts are:[1][2]

1. William (twin), born 30th of March, 1704; baptized the 16th of Sept., 1705.[4]
2. Nathanael, born the 1st of April, 1698; baptized the 16th of September, 1705.[4]
3. Rachel, born the of 12th July, 1700; baptized the 16th of September, 1705.[4]
4. Martha (twin), born the 30th of April, 1702; died the 10th of May, 1702.[5]
5. Mary (twin), born the 30th of April, 1702; died the 11th of May, 1702.[5]
6. Miriam alias "Mary" (twin), born the 30th of March, 1704; baptized the 16th September 1705.[4]
7. Miles, born the 13th of September, 1706; baptized the 22nd of December, 1706.[6]
8. Alexander, born the 28th of March, 1709; baptized the 12th of July, 1713.[7]
9. Joshua, baptized the 12th of July, 1713.[7]
10. Elisha, baptized the 28th of July, 1717.[8]

The removal of Wm. & Rachel from Scituate to Rochester, Plymouth County, is confirmed from a deed dated the 23rd of December, 1713, where Wm. is selling land in Scituate, while he is a resident of Rochester, but "late of Scituate". (Plymouth Deeds, Vol. 10, pg. 473)

There is no known record for his death in Massachusetts, but he & Rachel make their marks on a final deed, dated the 6th of June, 1738, at Plymouth County. They are of Tiverton, Bristol County, Massachusetts Bay (as of 1747, Tiverton, Newport County, R. I.) & are selling land in Rochester, Plymouth County (part of Wm.'s homestead) to Jonathan Toby of Sandwich, Barnstable County, Mass. Bay. The deed is acknowledged by Wm. on the day it was written, but Rachel acknowledges the deed the 5th of September, 1738. It's important to note that the deed is not recorded until the 8th of July, 1746. (Plymouth Deeds, Vol. 38, pgs. 88-89.) That may be a clue as to Wm.'s death. However, the year 1738 is the last they are heard of in Massachusetts records. It may be that they died in Tiverton, Rhode Island, perhaps even owned land there, but the Rhode Island deed records are being blocked by the Mormon church, so access is not readily available.

The notion that William removed to North Carolina seems implausible given that he lived in New England all of his life & there are no deeds or records which make such a connection. Even the Will of the William Parker of N. Carolina, mentioned in the below research notes, does not support any connection to William Parker of Scituate, Rochester, Dartmouth & finally Tiverton. The wife & children's names do not match at all. With this in mind his estimated death date is after the 6th of June, 1738, & the location should be where he is last seen: Tiverton, Bristol County, Massachusetts Bay (now R.I.).

Some unsourced family trees list 1742 in Massachusetts or 1750 in North Carolina.

Research Notes

There is no record of death of William Parker in Scituate, Massachusetts.[3] Massachusetts Vital Records search in Ancestry does not indicate any record for William Parker, son of William and Mary, who died in Massachusetts in the general timeframe of 1730-1750.

Some online family trees indicate 1742 in Freetown, Massachusetts, but no source has been identified for this, including Freetown Vital Records (checked via Ancestry, July 2019).

Some family trees indicate 1750 in Chowan, North Carolina. The basis for this appears to be a will of William Parker dated 27 Dec 1750 in Chowan, North Carolina.[9] That will identifies his wife as Ann Parker, and refers to children Judith Duke (wife of Thomas Duke), Ann French, James, William, Thomas, Benjamin, John, and Mary Fryer. It is not clear why this would be the same William Parker as location and wife's name do not match.

Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Original Vital Records of Scituate, MA, Vol. 6, pg. 128, 8th entry from the bottom, William; next 7 entries, his children.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Parker, William. p. 287 in Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850; Volume I - Births, New England Historic Genealogy Society (Boston, 1909). Available here at archives.org
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Parker, William. p. 229 in Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850; Volume II - Marriages and Deaths, New England Historic Genealogy Society (Boston, 1909). Available here at archives.org
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Second Church of Scituate Records, pg. 27: "1705... Nathanael Parker, William Parker Rachel Parker and Miriam, alias Mary Parker, Children of William Parker and Rachel his wife: September. 16."
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Original Vital Records of Scituate, MA, Vol. 6, pg. 237, mid page. Mary & Martha together.
6. ↑ Second Church of Scituate Records, pg. 28: "1706... Miles Parker Son of William Parker and Rachel his wife December, 22."
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Second Church of Scituate Records, pg. 33: "1712... Alexander & Joshua Parker children of Wm Parker &, Rachel his wife July. 12."
8. ↑ Second Church of Scituate Records, pg. 37: "1717... Elisha Parker Son of Wm Parker and Rachel his wife of Rochester was Baptized July 28. 1717." Wm. & Rachel were now living in Rochester.
9. ↑ William Parker will dated 27 Dec 1750. Wills, 1663-1789; Author: North Carolina. Division of Archives and History; Probate Place: North Carolina. North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Available here at Ancestry.com
10. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LTV4-KN2