Santa Clara County
Biographies
DAVID PARKER
Following the march of civilization westward in 1853, David Parker, of San Jose, became numbered among the brave pioneers of California, and in the half century that has since elapsed has contributed his full share in the development of its material resources and the promotion of its industrial prosperity. He comes from honored New England stock, tracing his lineage back to the time of the Norman conquest, his ancestors being men and women of intelligence and thrift. A son of David Parker, Sr., he was born November 22, 1829, in Waterville, Me., where his paternal grandfather, Thomas Parker, cleared and improved a good homestead.
A life-long resident of Waterville, Me., David Parker, Sr., was engaged in agricultural pursuits during his entire life, but likewise worked at the trade of a carpenter and builder. He was a man of patriotism and public spirit, and served as a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Sarah Jefferds Wells, who was born September 29, 1798, in Gray, Cumberland county, Me., and died in March 1880, in Janesville, Wis. She was a direct descendant, in the seventh generation, of Thomas Wells, of England, her lineage being thus traced: (1) Thomas, (2) John (3) Thomas, (4) Nathaniel, (5) Robert, (6) Daniel and (7) Sarah Jefferds. Thomas Wells (1), the emigrant ancestor, came from England to Massachusetts in 1635, settling in Ipswich, where he was made a freeman in 1657. He married Abigail Warner, a daughter of William Warner, of Ipswich, Mass. John Wells (2), the next in line of descent, married Sarah Littlefield, a daughter of Francis Littlefield. Their son, Thomas Wells (3), married for his first wife Sarah Brown, who, with their only child, was killed by the Indians while he was away from home. He subsequently married Lydia Ropes Gale, and settled in Newbury, Mass. Nathaniel Wells (4), born August 21, 1705, in Newbury, Mass., was a tanner by trade, and active in public affairs, serving a number of years as town clerk. Removing to Maine, he located first in Androscoggin county, going from there to Wells, York county, the town being named in honor of the family. He resided there until his death, in 1776. He was a man of high moral principles, much respected in the community, and served as the first deacon in the church of which he was a member. He married Dorothy, daughter of John and Hannah (Lord) Light, of Exeter, N. H. Robert Wells (5), was born February 6, 1743, in Wells, Me., and died in the town of his birth at a ripe old age. He married Abigail Jefferds, daughter of Rev. Samuel and Sarah (Wheelwright) Jefferds. Daniel Wells (6) was born in Wells, Me., in 1774, and was there reared and educated. Locating in Gray, Me., in 1796, he lived there until 1807, when he settled in Waterville, Me. In March, 1832, he removed to Bloomfield, Me., where he resided until his death, March 16, 1867, at the venerable age of ninety-three years. His wife, whose maiden name was Susannah Sweetser, was born in North Yarmouth, Me., a daughter of Richard Sweetser, a Revolutionary soldier who married Sarah Matthews.
Sarah Jefferds Wells (7) married, as mentioned above, David Parker, Sr., by whom she had ten children, namely; Susan W., a resident of Janesville, Wis.; Sumner, a farmer, who died in Janesville, Wis.; Abigail W., who married A. F. Adams, and died in Skowhegan, Me.; John, a resident of Beloit, Wis., and who died in San Jose, Cal., in January, 1904, while visiting his brother David; David, the subject of this biographical record; Olive L., who died in Janesville, Wis.; Daniel W., who died in San Jose, Cal.; Gustavus A., of Dayton, Wash.; George W., who died in 1840 in Maine; and Sarah E., who became the wife of A. B. Mathews and died in Breckinridge, Minn.
Brought up in Waterville, Me., David Parker, who, on the maternal side, is a descendant in the eight generation of Thomas Wells of England, was educated in the public schools of his native town, and there served an apprenticeship at the shoemaker’s trade. In 1853 he came by way of the Isthmus of Panama to San Francisco, Cal. Locating in Columbia, Tuolumne county, in 1854, he worked for a short time in the mines, and was afterwards successfully employed as a shoe manufacturer for sixteen years. Removing to San Jose in 1870, Mr. Parker opened a boot and shoe store on Santa Clara street, on the site now occupied by the Porter block, and was there actively and prosperously engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1887. Subsequently investing his money in land, on the Pomeroy road, he set out an orchard, and was there employed in raising fruit for two years. Selling out that property, he bought seventeen acres of land on the Bollinger road, and there set out and improved a fine orchard, which he managed several years. Since disposing of that orchard Mr. Parker has lived retired from active pursuits in San Jose, in the beautiful residence which he erected at No. 421 South Tenth street. A man of superior business judgment and ability, he has acquired considerable wealth, and since coming to San Jose has done much towards the upbuilding of the city, having erected five good residences within its limits.
October 31, 1863, in Portland, Me., Mr. Parker married Abbie Greeley, who was born in North Yarmouth, Me., a daughter of Capt. Joseph Greeley. She is of English descent, her paternal grandfather, Stephen Greeley, a native of Brighton, England, having immigrated to New England at the age of sixteen years, settling in Cumberland county, Me., where he subsequently cleared and improved a farm. A native of Cumberland, Me., Capt. Joseph Greeley began life as a sailor when but eleven years old, and as master of his own vessel was captured by the English in the war of 1812, after which he was in the employ of the United States Navy for a while. Subsequently as a navigator on the frigates Franklin and Brandywine, he spent three years on the Pacific coast, and his daughter, Mrs. Parker, has the log book which he then kept, or abstracts from it. On leaving the sea he settled as a coal merchant in Maine, but came to California to spend his declining days, dying in Columbia, Tuolumne county, in 1868. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucina Poole, was born in Portland, Me., of English ancestry, and died in her native state. Three children were born of their union, namely: William and Jeremiah, both of whom died in Maine; and Abbie, now Mrs. Parker. Mr. and Mrs. Parker are the parents of three children, namely: William Lincoln, of San Jose; Mabel Wells, who married Clarence A. Dorsey, of San Jose, has two children, Clarence Robinson and David Wells; and Abby Etta, wife of George W. Saunders, proprietor of Holly Rock farm, the family residing near San Jose. Mr. Parker is a stanch Republican in politics, a member of the Santa Clara County Pioneers’ Association, and both he and his estimable wife are active and prominent members of the Episcopal Church.
Transcribed
Joyce Rugeroni.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 314-316. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2014 Joyce Rugeroni.