Sergeant William Parker

not-so-brief collection of biographies

Early Puritan settler. Sailed here aboard the Mathew. One of the founders of Hartford, CT.

Wikipedia Biographical Summary

"...William Parker (1618–1686) was an early Puritan settler in the Connecticut Colony and one of the founders of Hartford. He arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the summer of 1635 after sailing from London on May 21, 1635 aboard the ship Mathew. He settled in Newtowne, the community that is now Cambridge, and became one of the members of Thomas Hooker's congregation. He was one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut..."

"...He married Margaret Prichard in 1636, one of five women on board the Mathew..."

"...He was one of the Hartford settlers who served in the Pequot War and attained the rank of sergeant...."

"...William Parker fathered ten children by his first wife. Prior to 1682 he married a second wife, Elizabeth Pratt, the widow of Lieutenant William Pratt..."

"...William Parker moved from Hartford to Saybrook in 1649..."

"...William Parker was Deputy to the General Court at the special session of 1652, at the May sessions in 1679 and 1681, and at the October sessions of 1678, 1679, 1680, and 1681..."

SOURCE: Wikipedia contributors, 'William Parker (early settler)', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 January 2011, 21:39 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Parker_(early_set...> [accessed 25 April 2011]

Biographical Summary #1

"...William Parker, an original proprietor of Hartford, 1636; his home-lot in 1639 was on the west side of the “road from Seth Grant's to Centinel Hill,” now Trumbull St. He removed to Saybrook, probably within ten years; was deputy, 1672 ; his wife, Margery, d. Dec. 6, 1680. He d. Dec. 21, 1686..."

SOURCE: http://www.foundersofhartford.org/founders/parker_william.htm

Biographical Summary #2

William and Margeret Margery (Pritchard) Parker

William Parker 1612 in England and died December 28, 1686 (another source says December 21, 1686) in Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut. He married Margeret Margery Pritchard in 1636 in Hartford, Connecticut. Margeret was born December 06, 1620 in England and died December 06, 1680 in Saybrook, Connecticut.

William was an original proprietor and land owner in Harford, Connecticut in 1636, where his name is on the west face of the Founders Monument. Here his home–lot in 1639 was on the west side of the “road from Seth Grant’s to Centinel Hill,” now Trumbull St. He too part in the Pequot War (an armed conflict in 1637-1638 between an alliance of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies, with Native American allies - the Narragansett, and Mohegan tribe), against the Pequot tribe.) in 1637 and moved to Saybrook about 1643. He was a pillar in the church in 1646 and a Deputy of Connecticut General Court during the sessions in September 1652, May 1672, May and October 1673, October 1680, May and October 1681, May and October 1682, and May 1683. William was a Sergeant in the Saybrook Train Band, owned land in Saybrook, and he was one of the three appraisers of the estate of George Fenwick in 1660. He was also involved in the inventory of the estate of William Carmackle in 1666.

The History of the Parker Pen Company says: “In the autumn of 1633 William Parker left Dover, England with his wife Margery, aged 17, and eventually set sail from London on the ship “Matthew” departing May 21, 1635. Their ambitious journey no doubt may have been inspired by tales of the great migration in the prior few years by the Wellington Fleet, and several other convoys of ships carrying over thousands of settlers to the New World and The Massachusetts Bay Colony.

SOURCE: http://bapresley.com/genealogy/hawkins/parker/

family

Married Margaret Pritchard in 1636, who had been one of the five women aboard the Mathew. His 2nd wife was Elizabeth Pratt, and daughter Margaret m. Joseph Pratt.