Parker Family of Lawrence Co.,
PARKER FAMILY
OF LAWRENCE COUNTY ALABAMA
From "WARRIOR MOUNTAIN FOLKLORE"
By Rickey Butch Walker
JEFF PARKER
After Nancy married Jeff(erson Cleveland) Parker, they
lived on the Oil Well Road. According to Old Land Records
of Lawrence County by Margaret Cowart, Jefferson C.
Parker entered 160 acres of land in the northwest 1/4 of
Section 35 in Township 7 South and Range 8 West on July
16, 1901. The land is located on the Oil Well Road Ridge
about one and a half miles south of Ridge Road. Later
Jeff bought land on the Mountain Springs Road about 1905.
Jeff(erson Cleveland) Parker was considered to be a
half-blood Cherokee Indian. His father William married
Katherine Hardin (census records and her father William
B. Hardin's will say Catherine, also) who was known as
Black Dutch. Katherine was short, dark haired and dark
complected. Katherine was the second wife of William (D.)
Parker. William and his first wife (Charity Castleberry)
had John Campbell, (Bluford),Thursday, (Merry) Martha
(who married Wm. E. Vines), (Mary Elizabeth who married
Wm. E. Vines also), and Manerva. William and
Katherine had Sally Parker, who married a Henderson;
Elizabeth, who married (Albert Josiah) Dunlap; Samantha,
who married William Straud Riddle; Docinda, who married a
Walker; Jeff(erson), who married Nancy (nee) Henderson
(Turner); Joe, who married Scenie Parker, and William
(Henry), who married Mary Beth Reynolds.
Jeff(erson C.) Parker was a farmer and also peddled the
old mountain brew. He farmed some of the Slayton Place
southwest of Mountain Springs Church. Jeff Parker
was involved in the old mountain trade. It was told that
he was the only mountain dew peddler in the mountains. He
made regular routes in his wagon delivering his brew to
local residents for cough syrup or to sip for bad colds.
Of course, some folks would make a hog of themselves and
occasionally get drunk. Jeff would go from house to
house in the mountains ever so often to replenish the
families supplies.
Jefferson C. and Nancy Henderson Parker had the following
children. (William)Hamby (who married Susan Aldridge),
Kate (Mary Catherine who married a Richards),
Jeffy, (Nancy) Zora who married Cleve Spillers, and
Thursday Parker who was Mrs. Gladys LuAllen's
grandmother. Thursday married Pedro Blankenship and they
had one son Elbert.
Jefferson and Nancy lived at their old Mountain
Springs homeplace south of the Mountain Springs Church on
the east side of the road, until their deaths.
WILLIAM (D.) PARKER
Jeff Parker's father was William (D.) Parker. According
to Cowart, William entered 40 acres of land in the
Henderson Cove area in Section 28 of Township 8 South and
Range 8 West on January 28, 1859. The 40 acre tract of
land was just north of Flanagin and Borden Creeks.
William (D) Parker is noted as being the man who got
gored by a bull. William was trying to castrate the bull
to make a steer for plowing and pulling wagons. After
being gored and realizing he was dying, William told the
family to "get the steer well and sell it to help
raise the family". Shortly after he was gored by the
bull, William died of the wound. According to a notice in
July 11, 1878 Moulton Advertiser, states, "We have
just learned of the death of our good friend William
"Will" Parker who was killed by the gore of an
ox one day last week near Moulton.
NOTE: All information in ( ) was added
by Calista Parker a family member.
File contributed by: Calista
Parker