Children of John Parker
On first inspection, there appear to be missing children of John Parker and his wife, Elizabeth. There are eight years between the births of John Jr. and Nathaniel Sr. There are an astonishing twenty years between the births of Nathaniel Sr. and Elizabeth! Many children could have been born in these gaps of time. That, in addition to Elizabeth's birth in Spotsylvania, begs the question, "Where were these Parkers from 1700 to 1728?"
I do not have an answer for that question... yet. I do suspect the so-called known birth years of John Parker's children are either incorrect or John Parker had a wife before Elizabeth. I also suspect daughter Elizabeth may not have been born in Spotsylvania. Or, perhaps, all of John and Elizabeth Parker's children were born in Spotsylvania. John Parker did not purchase land in Hampshire County until 1747, after the births of all his children. We do not know when or where John Parker married his wife, Elizabeth, whose surname may be either Bond or Taliaferro.
According to William H. Ansel Jr., author of "Fort John Parker" from his book, Frontier Forts Along the Potomac and its Tributaries:
John Parker died in 1760 before the Indian troubles were over. He left surviving his wife, Elizabeth, who later married Thomas McGuire; four sons, Robert, Richard, Nathaniel and Aaron; two daughters, Elizabeth, who married John Hall, and Catherine, who married William Forman.
Ansel appears to put to rest ideas of additional children... but who is William H. Ansel Jr. and what sort of expertise does he possess? William H. Ansel Jr. was a historian and former treasurer for the state of West Virginia (23 January 1914-13 December 1988). He now lies buried in the Springfield Hill Cemetery in Springfield, West Virginia.
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