- Veteran of Zion's Camp (1834)
- Deputy Sheriff of Hancock County, Illinois
- Captain in the Nauvoo Legion
- Sheriff of Pottawattamie County, Iowa
- Utah Pioneer
Biography
Sheriff John D. Parker was born 22 November 1799 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York, United States to Abel Parker (1780-1842) and Mary Davis (1777-1842) and died 27 February 1891 Kanarraville, Iron County, Utah, United States of unspecified causes. He married Harriett Sherwood (1806-1880) 1828 . He married Almeda Sophia Roundy (1829-1912) 3 February 1846 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. He married Samantha Roundy (1824-1906) 3 February 1846 in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.
Zions Camp Participant
This Judith Mehr rendition depicts struggles endured by members of Zion's Camp, an expeditionary force to help Church members in Jackson County redeem their brethren.
One of the most interesting episodes in the early history of LDS Church was the march of Zion's Camp (1834). The members of the Church in Missouri were being persecuted, and the Prophet Joseph made it a matter of prayer and received a revelation on February 24, 1834. The Lord instructed the Prophet to assemble at least one hundred young and middle-aged men and to go to the land of Zion, or Missouri. (See D&C 130:19–34.)
Zion’s Camp, a group of approximately one hundred and fifty men, gathered at Kirtland, Ohio, in the spring of 1834 and marched to Jackson County, Missouri. By the time they reached Missouri, the camp had increased to approximately two hundred men.
Although we find no record of his baptism, Parker must have been an early convert to the Church for by 1834 he was a member of the Zion's Camp mission to relieve the suffering saints in Missouri. The History of the Church records: "Among the most active of those who were engaged in taking care of the sick at the [Zion's] Camp, burying the dead, etc., were John D. Parker, John Tanner, Nathan Tanner, Joseph B. Noble, Brigham Young, Joseph Young, Heber C. Kimball, Luke S. Johnson and Eleazar Miller."
Possibly because of the faithfulness demonstrated by Elder Parker during Zion's Camp he was named a year later in 1835 as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy placing him among the ranks of the General Authorities.
Missionary Labors
In 1841, he was named in a special conference as a missionary to serve in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1842 he was back in Nauvoo, Illinois where the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote: These are not the only ones who have administered to my necessity and whom the Lord will bless. There is Brother John D. Parker ... My heart feels to reciprocate the unwearied kindnesses that have been bestowed upon me by these men. They are men of noble stature, of noble hands, and of noble deeds; possessing noble, and daring, and giant hearts and souls.
Lawman
Elder Parker seems to have been close to the prophet. He served as one of the Prophet's bodyguards and often accompanied him on trips seeking refuge. He was also a lawman, serving as a Deputy Sheriff in Hancock County, Illinois during the Nauvoo era and as Sheriff in Pottawattamie County, Iowa during the exodus west. In September 1842, the Prophet wrote: " I accompanied the brethren and Emma to my house, remaining there a few minutes to offer a blessing upon the heads of my sleeping children; then called a few minutes at the house of my cousin George A. Smith, on my way to my retreat at Edward Hunter's. John D. Parker accompanied me as guard.
He also served as an officer in the Nauvoo Legion, at the time the largest single military unit in the United Stated and at its peak numbering a force almost half as large as the entire regular United States Army. He was, in fact, one of the organizers. From the History of the Church Vol.4, Ch.15, page 295: "Minutes of the Meeting which Organized the Nauvoo Legion. "Pursuant to an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Nauvoo, entitled, "An ordinance organizing the Nauvoo Legion," passed February 3, 1841, a court-martial, composed of the commissioned officers of the militia of the state of Illinois, within the city of Nauvoo, assembled at the office of Joseph Smith, on Thursday at 10 o'clock a.m., the 4th day of February, 1841: present--John C. Bennett, quarter-master general of the state of Illinois; Lieutenant-Colonel Don Carlos Smith; Captains Charles C. Rich, Wilson Law, Albert P. Rockwood, William Law, Titus Billings, Stephen Markham; first lieutenants, Francis M. Higbee, John T. Barnett, John D. Parker." Also read the following: "Saturday, 24.SEP 1842--The legion was called out for general parade, and reviewed by General Law. In the evening, Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Markham was elected Colonel of the 1st Regiment, 1st Cohort, to fill the place of Colonel George Miller, promoted; and Captain John D. Parker elected to fill his place; and Captain Thomas Rich to fill the place of Major Wightman, deceased.
As a lawman, Elder Parker on at least one occasion had to arrest the Prophet himself. Whether this was a ploy to keep mobocrat lawmen from arresting the Prophet or merely enforcing a legally issued but ultimately bogus writ of arrest is not certain. The verbiage makes the second seem more likely. On. Monday, May 6, 1844, the Prophet wrote: "I had a warrant served on me by John D. Parker, issued by the clerk of the circuit court of Carthage, on the complaint of Francis M. Higbee, who had laid his damages at $5,000. but for what the writ does not state. I petitioned the municipal court for a writ of habeas corpus which I obtained."
After the prophet's martyrdom, Elder Parker was on October 11, 1845 appointed captain of the eleventh company for the trek west. Elder Parker maintained a closeness with the presiding brethren of the Church after the saints west west. As the saints faced increasing difficulties over the practice of plural marriage. Brigham Young determined to meet the legal challenges. He started a winter trip to face a Federal Magistrate. It is recorded: "December 1872, The second day's journey brought them to Kanarra, in Iron county. Here they met the veteran life guard of the Prophet Joseph Smith, John D. Parker, "who wept like a child because President Young was going back to face his enemies in the court room, which he considered an act of madness."
Marriage and Family
In researching Elder Parker, Grampa Bill finds a difficulty. The International Genealogical Index (IGI) states that he was married on February 3, 1846 to Almeda Sophia Roundy, by whom he fathered ten children, yet the Prophet recorded on January 8, 1844, "At eleven went to my office to investigate a difficulty between John D. Parker and his wife. After laboring with them about two hours, brought about a reconciliation." Whether Parker remarried after death or divorce, or the IGI misreports the date of his marriage, Grampa Bill does not know. It is also possible that the IGI is reporting a plural marriage.
- First marriage ended in divorce by 1862 when Harriett Sherwood remarried in Morgan County, Illinois
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Dorcas Parker (1829-1832) | |||
| Nephi Parker (1833-1834) | |||
| Moroni Parker (1835-1850) | |||
| Samuel Parker (1836-1839) | |||
| Martha Parker (1838-1839) | |||
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Jared Curtis Parker (1847-1847) | |||
| John Davis Parker (1849-1865) | |||
| Malinda Parker (1851-1937) | 4 April 1851 Kanesville, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States | 29 March 1937 St. George, Washington County, Utah, United States | William Heber Roundy (1846-1899) |
| Charles Parker (1853-1935) | |||
| Mary Ellen Parker (1857-1866) | |||
| Betsy Jane Parker (1859-1951) | |||
| Otho Parker (1862-1866) | |||
| Lauretta Parker (1865-1880) | |||
| Almeda Sophia Parker (1868-1947) | |||
| Samantha Ann Parker (1872-1915) | |||
Siblings
Residences
References
See Also
- John Parker
- Parker Family
- Parker in Saratoga County, New York
- Parker in Hancock County, Illinois
- Parker in Pottawattamie County, Iowa
- Parker in Iron County, Utah