James R Parker

James Parker was born in Missouri on October 11, 1846. He was the son of Agrippa Parker and Caty Cox. The Parkers and the Reeses were both early Wayne-Madison County Missouri families.

During the Civil War, James enlisted in Co. L, 3rd Missouri States Militia Calvary. On October 4, 1864 he transferred to Co. B, 2nd Battalion, 19th Regiment, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He was discharged on October 4, 1867 at Camden, Arkansas. James received a pension for his service.

In 1871, he met and married Mary Ellen Reese in Iron County, Missouri.

In 1880, the family was living in Union Township, Iron County, Missouri, next to James' mother, Catherine Cox Parker Stevenson. The family moved to California in about October 1881 living near the family of Joseph Alexander Stevenson, James' half-brother. A group of relatives from Iron/Wayne County all made the move to Butte County, California, together.

The first Parker home in Butte County was a one room California style house located in the foothills on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, about 15 miles northeast of Chico, California. this house was located on a small stream in Hog Hollow. The land located in this little valley was rocky and not very productive. The Parker family, composed of father, mother and three children, arrived by train from the Ozark Mountains of southeast Missouri. The small house erected to house the small family had a rock fireplace. There were oak trees near the house. The family raised hogs, chickens and turkeys and worked for the nearby farmers. In the two or three years that the family lived at this location, work was scarce and the times were hard.

In 1883, James secured employment from General John Bidwell at the Gee(?) Ranch and moved the family to the ranch. The family lived in a good house and the children of school age attended the Chico Schools. Chico was only a few miles away. George was born there.

About 1886, James filed on a 160 acre homestead located about 9 miles southeast of Chico, just east of the stage road from chico to Oroville. He built a two story home and a barn on the land. They farmed the place and made a good living for the family there. William, Cheslia, Gertrude, and Theodosia were born there. The children were educated at the Stoneman School located about 7 miles away. Later, they attended Chico Normal School, which became Chico State.

General Bidwell named the train station in Magalia "Parker Station" after James Parker. It does not exist any longer.

In about 1909, James and Mary moved to Bakersfield. James passed away in 1911. He and Mary are buried at Paradise, Butte County, California. They had 10 children together.

Here's the record of James' enlistment in the Union Army:

Here's a copy of the marriage record for James and Mary:

UPDATE (5/25/10): Added the photo of James at the top (taken in 1864 when he was discharged from the Union Army), and his discharge papers, below:

UPDATE II (5/25/10): There is some confusion about James' middle name. For this post we've decided to leave it as James "R" Parker. In different family trees he is listed as James Roland or James Reese. Some even have it recorded as James Richard. The Parkers and Reeses were both early Wayne-Madison Co Missouri families. James eventually married a Reese, so the families may have been close and it is possible his middle name was Reese. On the other hand, Roland seems to be the most prevalent name recorded and it's possible James' middle name was somehow mistakenly recorded using the middle name of his son, Cheslia Reese Parker, or his wife's maiden name. On original documents we have his name is only ever recorded as James R Parker.