Richard Park

Not the son of Robert Parke, Jr. & Martha Parke

THE PARK FAMILY

Richard Parke aka Park, Parks, Perk

RICHARD PARK [#1932], b. England abt. 1602, d. Cambridge Village, MA between 12 Jul and 19 Oct 1665, m(1) Eng. MARGERY ?, b. England abt. 1595, d. Cambridge, MA abt. 1650, m(2) 1 Sep 1656 Sarah (Collier) Brewster, b. 1613, d. Duxbury, MA 26 Apr 1691.

Richard Park may have been a son of Thomas Park of the Isle of Ely. His occupation was that of a miller. At the age of 33, with his wife, aged 40, he left London in the ship Defence which sailed on August 19, 1635 and arrived at Boston on Oct. 3. He settled in Cambridge where, on Feb. 8, 1635-6, his home was near Fresh Pond. He was a proprietor of Cambridge in 1636, and by 1639 he owned acre with house and outhouses adjoining the "Cow Common" in Cambridge. In the division of lands in 1647-8 he was granted 11 acres on the south side of the river in Cambridge Village, now called Newton. He was also granted 13 acres adjoining the west end of the lot he bought from John Betts, to make up his full division.

In 1648 a highway to Dedham was laid out through his Cambridge Village land. Around 1800 a very ancient dwelling house was pulled down which was suppossed to have been built by Richard Park. It stood within a few feet of the spot now occupied by Eliot Church. Previous to 1652 Richard owned 600 acres of land in the northwest part of Cambridge Village. Richard received another 100 acres, lot 78 of the Shawshine grant (later Billerica), June 9, 1652,[5/59] however it appears he never took up residence there. A Richard Park (perhaps his son) signed a document Oct. 17, 1664 pledging his loyalty to and satisfaction in the then present government.[5/75]

Richard Park was appointed constable on Nov. 10, 1656, and on Jan. 11, 1657 he and Edward Jackson, Samuel Hides, and John Jackson were named a committee to lay out and settle highways at their end of town. In 1661 he signed a petition to retain his connection with the Cambridge Church, and in 1663 he was released from military duties on account of his age.

In his will, dated July 12, 1665, Richard mentioned his wife, his son Thomas, and his two daughters. It was witnessed by Hugh Mason and Thomas Wiswall and recorded June 16, 1666.[6/2:260] Richard's son Richard was not mentioned in the will and had either died, already been provided for, or had alienated himself from his father. The inventory of the estate was taken Oct. 19, 1665 by John Sherman and John Spring and totaled 972 pounds.[6/2:261] On Sept. 26, 1678 widow Sarah Park of Duxbury sold her interest in the estate to Thomas Park for 45 pounds 15s. It is not clear what the evidence is for giving Margery's surname as Crane.

Children:

• 2. Thomas, b. Eng. abt. 1628, d. Newton, MA 11 Aug 1690, m. Cambridge, MA 1 Dec 1653 Abigail Dix, b. Watertown, MA 2 May 1637, d. Newton 3 Feb 1690-1
• 3. Isabel, b. Eng. abt. 1629, d. 31 Mar 1665, m. abt. 1648 Francis Whitmore, d. 12 Oct 1685
• 4. Elizabeth, b. Eng. abt. 1631, d. 19 Sep 1690, m. Edward Winship, d. 2 Dec 1688

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Richard Parke, a miller, born in England about 1602. He sailed from London in the ship Defense August 10, 1635, bringing with him wife Margery and three children. Ship records name Richard Perk 33, Margery Perk, Isabel Perk age 7, and Elizabeth Perk age 4. Son Thomas was not listed on the ship's manifest.

The family arrived in Boston Oct 1635 and settled in Cambridge, Their house was near the Commons; and was removed in 1800. In 1647 Richard owned 11 acres in Newton village (now Cambridge, where Harvard College stands).

In 1657, Richard Parke was to lay out and settle highways in the village along with Edward and John Jackson, and Samuel Hyde. He sent a petition to the Court requesting to retain his connection with Cambridge church, if Cambridge Village was set off.

In 1663, Richard was released from militia training due to his age - which might suggest he had reached the age of 60. Perhaps this was the source of a birth year of 1602.

Richard took a second wife, circa 1656. She was Sarah Collier, daughter of William & Jane Collier of Duxbury, and the widow of Love Brewster, son of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower. After Richard's death, she moved back to Duxbury where she was a member of the Plymouth First Church. Thomas purchased her life estate in the land of his father, 26 Sep 1678.

Richard died sometime between the making of his will, July 12, 1665, and its probate, October 19, of that year. He left his son Thomas, all his housing and lands in Newton [was Cambridge Village] after the death of his wife. Thomas appears to have inherited the 600 acres tract. Other tracts were divided equally between daughters Isabel and Elizabeth.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Parke-12

Info from new (merged) Find A grave memorial

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119613457/richard-park

Biography researched and written by Evelyn Park Blalock. Please do not publish elsewhere without providing full and proper credit. Thank you.

See 1st Settlers Monument.

Source of birth and death information: Richard Park's exact birth date is unknown, but is estimated by many historians to be about 1609. The identity of his parents is still unknown. The date of his death is recorded in Massachusetts Vital Records.

Richard Park and his wife Margery were married in England, and together they had three known children: Thomas, Isabel and Elizabeth. The family sailed on the 'Defence' from London to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving with Reverend Thomas Shepard's company on October 3, 1635.

A miller by trade, Richard first settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1642, he was listed in records as the "proprietor" of Cambridge Farms (in an area that now sits within the boundaries of Lexington). In 1647, Richard and his family removed to Newton, Massachusetts, becoming one of its founding families. While in Newton, he served in many positions of service for the community, including constable. Richard also served upon the committee charged with laying out the highways of Newton and surrounding areas.

Margery died in March 1656 and is buried in the East Parish Burying Ground. In September 1656, Richard married Sarah Collier Brewster, widow of Love Brewster. Sarah is remembered in Richard's will of July 12, 1665, which was witnessed by Elder Wiswall and Captain Hugh Mason.

In this will, Richard leaves to his “only son Thomas" all his housing and lands in Newton, to be passed to Thomas after the death of Richard's second wife, Sarah. All but the 600 acres with buildings was equally divided between Richard's two daughters, Isabel and Elizabeth. In the inventory of his estate, taken by John Sherman and John Spring on October 19, 1665, the dwelling house, barn, outhousing and 600 acres of land were appraised at 660; 20 acres elsewhere was appraised at £100; and the whole of his estate was valued at £972.

Though a home was provided for her in Newton through Richard's will, widow Sarah removed to Duxbury after his death, reuniting with the Plymouth First Church.

Notes

• Removed Birth: August 08, 1609 Hadleigh, Suffolk, England (United Kingdom)
• disconnected Richard Parks as son. DNA testing has disproved the connection.

References

• Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V, pages 360 - 363 < AncestryImage >. “We do not include [a son] Richard Park in this family.”
• https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119613457
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: May 19 2021, 21:11:11 UTC
• REF: The Warner-Harrington Ancestry - Frederick Warner, 1949 (pg.485) *[2] Parke Families of Massachusetts - Frank S. Parke, 1909 (pgs.25-30)
• [3] One Branch of the Booth Family - Charles M. Booth, 1910 (pg.112)
• [4] The History of Newton - Francis Jackson, 1854 (pg.382)
• [5] The History of Cambridge - Lucius R. Paige, 1877
• [6] Middlesex County Probate (First Series Docket 16442)
• http://parkesociety.org/?page_id=223 R Richard Parke (ca. 1602 England – 1665 MA) [Moniker: Richard (MA, 1635,R)].