THE GENEALOGY 
OF 
WM. THORNTON PARKER, A. M., M. D, 
OF BOSTON, MASS. 
BORN. JANUARY 8th, 1818. 
DIED. MARCH 12th. 1855. 
Contributed by his son, .. 
WM. THORNTON PARKER, M. D., 
NEWPORT, R. T. THE GENEALOGY 
OF 
WM. THORNTON PARKER, A. M., M. D. 
OF BOSTON, MASS 
BORN. JANUARY 8th, 1818. 
DIED. MARCH 12th, 1855. 
Contributed by his son, 
WM. THORNTON PARKER, M. D., 
NEWPORT, Ti. I. 
NEWPORT, R. I.: 
JOHN P. SANBORN, Printer. 
1888. GENEALOGY OF 
WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER, A. M., M. D. 
Contributed by his son, W. Thornton Parkkr, M. D., Newport, R. I. 
William Thornton Parker was the son of Dr. Benja- 
min Parker. He graduated at Dartmouth, in 1838; studied 
medicine with Dr. A. L. Pierson, of Salem, and received 
his medical degree at Harvard, 1841. Soon after receiving 
his medical degree, Dr. Parker settled in South Boston where 
he established himself in an excellent practice and made for 
himself an honorable reputation as a skilful physician and 
surgeon and a devout and consistent Churchman. He 
was a man of great ability, both in his profession and 
in art-—his anatomical atlas being a work of remark- 
able beauty and professional accuracy. He married 
Miss Clementina Morse, daughter of Hon. Elijah Morse, of 
Boston, and granddaughter of William Jackson, Esq., M. IX, 
of London, England, son of William Jackson, one of the 
Aldermen of London. The marriage took place at 'Trinity 
Church, Boston, January 8th, 184b, Rev. Joseph Clinch 
officiating. He died at Jamaica Plain, Mass., March 12th, 
1855, aged 37 years. (See New Eng. (ten. Register, July, 
1887—p. 263 et seq.) 
Dr. Parker’s genealogy can be traced as follows: His first 
ancestor in America was Abraham Parker, who early settled 
in Woburn, Mass., being taxed there September 8tli, 1645, 
the first tax payer in the country on record. He was made 
freeman the same year. lit* married November 18th, 1644. 4 
GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER. 
Miss R ,ose Whitlock, by whom he had the following chil- 
dren:— 
1. Ann, born October 29, 1645. 
2. John, born October 30, 1647. 
• 3. Abraham, born November 8, 1650; died 1651. 
4. Abraham, born August, 1652. 
5. Mary, born November 20, 1655. 
6. Moses. 
7. Isaac, born September 13, 1660. 
8. Eliza, born April 10, 1663. 
1/ !’ C <Ui‘1’ l born March 24, 1669. 
10. Jacob, \ 
Mr. Parker died August 12, 1689. 
Mrs. Parker died November 13, 1691. 
Abraham, son of the above, married July 15th, 1082, Miss 
Martha Livermore, and removed to Chelmsford, Mass., and 
later to Bradford where, on the 19th of February, 1702, he 
was received into the Church, with Martha his wife, by let- 
ters of admission from the Church at Chelmsford. 
His children were 
1. Abraham. 
The following account of the family of Abraham Parker 
will he found in YoL.XYI. of N. E. Gen. Register, p. 41 et 
seq. 
Abraham Parker was the first of the family in this coun- 
try. Of the date and locality of his birth there is no known 
evidence, but it is presumed that he came from Wilkshire in 
England. He first settled in Woburn, where he married 
M iss Rose A hitlock, November 18th, lb44. \\ as admitted 
freeman in 1645 and removed to Chelmsford, probably upon 
its incorporation in 1653, with his brothers Jacob, James and 
Joseph, a fifth brother John having settled about the same 
time at Shawsheen, now Andover. The homestead of Abra- 
ham Parker was set off to him September 29, 1662, and com- 
posed 24 acres near the middle of the town. He held several 
minor offices in the town, and his name appears frequently GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THORNTON }‘AliKEIL 
as a member of various committees for town purposes. He 
died at Chelmsford August 12, 1685. His will, dated six 
days previous, is on tile on Suffolk Probate Records, and was 
proved three years later before Sir Edmund Andros. His 
widow died Nov. 30, 1691. Her will is on tile on Middlesex 
Probate Records. His children were baptized by the Rev. 
.1. Fiske. Abraham, Jr., married Martha, daughter of John 
Livermore, of Watertown, July 15, 1682. His daughter 
Mary married her cousin James, son of (’apt. James Parker. 
He was killed in Groton by the Indians, July 27, 1694. 
Moses Parker, brother of Abraham, Jr., married Abigail 
Hildreth. His son, Joseph Parker, was Lieutenant inasnow 
shoe company formed 1724, to operate against the Indians. 
His son, Lt. Colonel Moses Parker, was wounded at Bunker 
Hill and died a prisoner in Boston, July 4, 1775, aged 43 
years. 
Abel Parker was also at Bunker Hill and was severely 
wounded in the tight. March 14, 1778, was made Ensign in 
the Continental Army, and October, 1779, Lieutenant in the 
same; 1802, Judge of Probate. (See Collections of the N. 
H. Hist. Soc., Yol. III., p. 258.) 
These facts are contributed by Hon. Francis J. Parker, of 
Boston. 
Abraham Parker, Jr., was admitted into the Church 
April 23, 1710. He with his wife, Elizabeth Brad- 
street, were of the one hundred and one members dismissed 
from the mother church to form its first colony. The East 
Precinct in Bradford, now the Church in Groveland, was in- 
corporated June 17, 1726. 
His son, Bradstreet Parker, born July 23, 1729, married 
about 1749-50 Miss Rebecca Baleh, daughter of the distin- 
guished Rev. I)r. Baleh, who was once offered the Presidency 
of Harvard College. Rebecca Baleh Parker was born 
August 9,1729, and died May 6, 1790. Bradstreet Parker 
died April 8, 1809. Their children were:— 
1. Benjamin, born 1751, died 1752. 6 
GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THORNTON PARK El!. 
2. Moses, born 1756, died 1887. 
8. Hannah, born 1757, died 1788. 
4. Benjamin, born 1759, died 1845. 
5. Abigail, born 1768, died 1824. 
6. Nathan, born 1765, died 
7. Mary, born 1767, died 
8. Bradstreet, born 1770, died 1798. 
9. William Bradstreet, born 1772. 
10. Elizalieth, born 1775. 
Through the marriage of Abraham Parker to Miss Eliza- 
beth Bradstreet, the Parkers were related to the Bradstreet 
family, and by the marriage of Bradstreet Parker to Miss 
Baloh, to the family of Balehs. 
'Fhe descendents of Abraham Parker have made honorable 
records in the military and civil history of New England and 
indeed their names are to be found in positions of honor 
north and south, east and west. 
Benjamin Parker, A,. M., M. 1). was born in the old Par- 
ker homestead in Bradford, Mass. This old house was built 
by his grandfather, Abraham Parker, Jr., and is still 
standing and in the possession of the Parker family. 
Dr. Benjamin Parker was educated at Duinmer Acad- 
emy, then one of the most famous schools in New Eng- 
land. He was prepared for college by Master Moody, a very 
eminent teacher. He completed his education at the Uni- 
versities of Harvard and Dartmouth. Soon after graduating 
in medicine lie removed to Virginia, where he acquired a 
lucrative practice, considerable property and a most honora- 
ble record. Dr. Benjamin Parker married for his first wife 
a Mrs. Brown, of Virginia, who died soon after the birth of 
her first child, Maria Parker. This daughter married Gov- 
ernor Dimand, of Rhode Island. For his second wife lie 
married Miss Hannah Moulton, of Athenson, N. H., Septem- 
ber 28, 1816. Dr. Benjamin Parker was a man of great ability 
and influence and of commanding presence, a friend of Dr. 
Benjamin Rush and of the Randolphs of Virginia, and was 
at one time thought of as a possible candidate for President 7 
of the United States. Of the Parker family. Dr. Cogswell, 
of Bradford, has said: “They all had abundance and there 
was not a poor one among them. Dr. Benjamin Parker 
married well and was always a marked individual, a perfect 
gentleman of the old school, a faithful and honorable physi- 
cian and a sincere and devout Christian. The arms of the 
Parker family have been carefully preserved. The crest is a 
leopard’s head, guardant, erased at the neck; or. ducally 
gorged; gu. Arm;; gu. A chevron between three leopards’ 
heads; or. Supporters; two leopards' regardant ppr.; each 
gorged with a ducal coronet; gn. The motto is Dare to be 
Just. The same arms and motto are now held by Sir Thomas 
Parker, Earl of Macclesfield, England. Of Dr. W. Thornton 
Parker, his son, the following notices from the Boston Medi- 
cal Journal of March 22, 1855, are slight tokens of his worth. 
They were written by his friend and classmate, Wm. Wal- 
lace Morland, A. M., M. I)., of Boston, Mass. 
By the death of Dr. Parker, both the Profession and the 
community have sustained a real loss. To eminent profes- 
sional abilities he added that sound judgment, highly honor- 
able feeling and exceeding kindness of heart, which, united, 
constitute the truly “good physician. " From early and in- 
timate acquaintance with him we feel that we can speak with 
confidence of his attainments, his exertions for usefulness, 
his qualities of heart and mind. For many years “we have 
been friends together,’’ and the sadness which the departure 
of a valued associate brings with it is mingled with an unus- 
ual amount of very grateful and pleasant reminiscence. 
Active and industrious in his habits, Dr. Parker established 
an extensive practice for himself, in South Botson, immedi- 
ately after taking his medical degree. There are many in 
that portion of our city who can testify to his unflinching 
integrity, his entire devotion to the interests of those entrust- 
ed to his medical care, his acute discrimination of disease, 
and his faithfulness, to the very last of his career as a prac- 
titioner. To this trait, indeed, is much of his ill health, 
latterly, ascribed. Overwork did a vast deal towards (level- 
GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER. 8 
oping the slow but sure disease of which lie (lied. Unwilling 
to yield, he struggled on, visiting his patients continuously, 
often leaving his bed for several successive nights, when ill 
able so to do. Compelled at last to quit an excellent prac- 
tice and to resign the home comforts his industry had gath- 
ered, he sought health both in Chiba and by a residence of 
some months in Europe, lmt without avail. With a strong 
will and a large share of good spirits which once animated 
him, he toiled almost to the last day of his life, to supply 
the failure of the means formerly afforded by his professional 
exertions. Occupation was his life. He never seemed un- 
happy when employed. Pleasantly retired in a beautiful 
neighboring town, lie wrought with pen and pencil, amid 
much physical trial, but surrounded with warm friends and 
delightful influences. To most of his medical brethren here, 
liis skill as an artist is well known. We do not know, in the 
ranks of the profession, anyone who at all approached him in 
the art of delineation and design. In pen-drawinghe was an 
adept; in coloring, his hand was unrivalled. We have seen 
his copies from the most splendid anatomical plates, which 
we literally prefer to the original. In sketching, as well as 
in copying, he was peculiarly felicitous. One of the most 
touching circumstances connected with our remarks upon 
this accomplishment, is the fact that the last work done In- 
ins hand was executed for the writer of this slight tribute to 
worth. These drawings, finished only a few days before his 
death, have a value that can attach to such works alone. lie 
who could so use the pencil might And in it almost a support. 
By a medical man, especially in these days of minute inves- 
tigation, the talent cannot be too highly estimated. 
Constantly occupied through the past winter, and enjoying 
much of that social comfort which was ever grateful to him, 
he has at last gently passed from earth, solaced by the conso- 
lations and hopes of religion. Violent hemorrhage from the 
lungs was the final agent in the gradual process of dissolu- 
tion. A first and comparatively slight attack, a fortnight 
since, when able to be about his house, was succeeded by pro- 
CENEALOdY OF WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER. GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER. 
9 
fuse bleeding- shortly after. He slowly sank, and after a 
restless night on Sunday, 11th inst., went into a quiet sleep 
on Monday morning, from which lie awoke in “the better 
land.” 
At a meeting of the Boston Society for Medical Improve- 
ment, Monday evening, l*2th inst., Dr. Storer referred to the 
decease of Dr. Parker, and offered the following resolution:— 
“Resolved—That this Society has heard with regret of the 
decease of their late associate William T. Parker, M. I)., 
who had endeared himself to many of his medical brethren 
by his high-minded, honorable conduct, and to a large circle 
of friends by his uniformly kind and faithful devotion to the 
duties of his calling, until compelled by declining health to 
relinquish them." 
Voted, That the Secretary transmit to his widow this ex- 
pression of our regret for his memory, with our deepest 
sympathy for her loss. 
The following appreciative notice of Dr. Parker is taken 
from Yol. IX, Medical Communications of the Mass. Medical 
Society for 1855. 
He had improved well his opportunities for study; and 
by gentlemanly manners, constant industry, and with the air 
and resolve of one who knew he should succeed, he very 
soon acquired an extensive practice in South Boston, where 
he chose his residence. It was a location where, at that 
time, a vast deal of labor had to be done for a comparatively 
small remuneration. But be was none the less ready and 
faithful for all that; and, when overwork began to under- 
mine his health, he could not in season persuade himself to 
deny anyone, to favor himself. Compelled at last to relin- 
quish a practice already lucrative, and to resign the home 
comforts his industry had gathered, he repaired to Cuba and 
afterwards to Italy, without any benefit; and then submit- 
ted to his fate. He retired to the beautiful village of 
Jamaica Plain. There, amid much physical suffering, and 
surrounded by warm friends and delightful influences, with 
cheerfulness and determination he toiled almost to the last GENEALOGY OF WILLIAM THORNTON PARKER. 
day of his life, to supply, in some measure, the means for- 
merly derived from professional exertions, as well as to 
gratify his inbred thirst for occupation. He never seemed 
unhappy when employed. Happily he had uncommon.skill, 
both with the pen and pencil. Ilis accurate and highly-fin- 
ished anatomical drawings are well known to most physicians 
in the vicinity of Boston. Indeed, he had a critical apprecia- 
tion of art, as well as nice, practical skill; and his comments 
on the works of the great masters which he saw at Florence, 
show him to have been a true connoiseur. By great pru- 
‘dence, by the cheering sympathies of friends, and the 
sustaining influences of profound religious hope, his life was 
prolonged much beyond his own expectation: but at last 
profuse hemorrhage suddenly laid him low; and he died 
March 12, 1855, aged thirty-seven years. 
MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE. 
“For all tlie Saints who from their labors rest, 
Who Thee by faith before the world confess’d. 
Thy Name, O Jesu, be forever bless’d. 
Alleluia!”