James Matthew Parker

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1850, Northern District, Sampson, North Carolina, USA; Age: 42
• Residence: 1860, Honeycutt, Sampson, North Carolina, USA; Age: 53

Notes:

"Joseph D. Parker (1807-1890), a grandson of John, was a class leader in the church [Andrews Chapel] for several years. He had a skeleton pulpit that was built for the occasion of Bishop Asbury's visit to John Parker's house about 1790. After Joseph's death, the pulpit was preserved by a daughter until the year 1891, when it was accidentally burned. Joseph was originally buried at the family cemetery. When the homeplace was sold, a grandson had the family graves moved to McGee Church. Joseph's old family Bible is still kept in the family." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, Ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 543.

Joseph + Margaret Robinson. Margaret was born on 26 Jan 1806 in Sampson, North Carolina, USA; died on 2 Sep 1855 in Sampson, North Carolina, USA; was buried in McGee United Methodist Church Cemetery, Sampson, North Carolina, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Margaret Parker
• Residence: 1850, Northern District, Sampson, North Carolina, USA; Age: 44

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1790, Sampson, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 1800, Fayetteville, Sampson, North Carolina
• Residence: 1810, Sampson, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 1820, Hall, Sampson, North Carolina, USA
• Probate: 1830, Sampson, North Carolina, USA

Notes:

"Rachel Butler, born about 1800 and died between 1842 and 1850 in Sampson County, married John Parker, born about 1790, son of William Parker (son of John Parker and Rachael Sessoms) and Nancy Owen (daughter of John Owen and Anna Hayes). They had at least nine children. William and the children are listed in the 1850 Census of Sampson County." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, Ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 332.

"William Parker (1759-1829) was a pioneer of Methodism and a member of the first Society formed at Parkers' Meeting House (Andrews Chapel) long before any house of worship was erected in the neighborhood." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, Ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 543.

Information on this family comes from the North Carolina Genealogical Library vertical file. William Alderman Parker (b. 13 Mar 1879- d. ?) compiled the information. William Alderman Parker was the son of Thomas Bradley Parker, son of William Right Parker, son of Zachiariah Parker, son of Richard Parker and Elizabeth Sumner.

[about Andrews Chapel] "On the 2nd of October 1809, a plot of land containing two acres was given by Luke Parker for the sum of 10 shillings, or $1.25, to trustees, viz. Nicholas Parker, William Parker, Thomas Parker, Owen Owens and William Miller, for the purpose of erecting a house of worship for the use of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1816, a church was built of logs and called Parkers Meeting House, mainly through the influence of Nicholas Parker." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, Ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 81.

All notes from Susan Caison Sharp

William + Nancy Ann Owen. Nancy (daughter of John Owen and Living) was born on 15 Jul 1765; died on 11 Aug 1835 in Sampson, North Carolina, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Nancy Parker
• Residence: 1830, Sampson, North Carolina, USA

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1784, Sampson, North Carolina, USA; Early Tax List
• Residence: 1800, Duplin, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 1800, Fayetteville, Sampson, North Carolina

Notes:

"Rachel Butler, born about 1800 and died between 1842 and 1850 in Sampson County, married John Parker, born about 1790, son of William Parker (son of John Parker and Rachael Sessoms) and Nancy Owen (daughter of John Owen and Anna Hayes). They had at least nine children. William and the children are listed in the 1850 Census of Sampson County." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, Ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 332.

The Parker family tree (done by B. F. Bulard) found in the vertical file in the North Carolina Gen. Library lists only four children for John Parker and Rachael "Sessums." Additional info. on the children comes from a chart by William Alderman Parker. I am using his order and his dates for their births. "John Parker was born in Edgecombe Co., North Carolina, as was his wife, and after they were married they moved to that part of Duplin Co. which later became Sampson, or near Owensville, which name was later changed to Roseboro." - William Alderman Parker "John Parker moved from Edgecombe Co. to Sampson Co. In visiting the relatives back in Edgecombe he had to cross two rivers (Neuse and Tar) which placed them north of the Tar River. He and his wife rode horse-back on such trips. One John Parker of Edgecombe Co., bought 80 acres on Dividing Creek in Duplin Co. July 12, 1758, from Jeremiah Bullard, of Duplin Co." Information on this family comes from the North Carolina Genealogical Library vertical file. William Alderman Parker (b. 13 Mar 1879- d. ?) compiled the information. (p. 61)

I have a copy of John Parker's will dated 23 Apr 1800. He gives his wife Rachel 1100 acres of land including the plantation he now lives on between the Little Coharie and South Rivers. He names his sons Josiah Parker, John Parker, William Parker, Nicholas , and______ Parker and his daughters _______ Clark and Elizabeth Parker. Others are also named but I can't read the will very well.

"John Parker, who came from the Tarr River area, was founder of historical Andrews Chapel United Methodist Church (formerly Parkers Meeting House) of Roseboro." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 543.
The stained glass window over the door of Andrews Chapel reads: Andrews Chapel Meth. Church founded by John Parker 1785 Present Location 1842 "John Parker's home was a regular preaching place for as far back as 1785. He raised a large family, all of whom, with one exception, were worthy and pious persons." from The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina. Oscar M. Bizell, Ed. The Sampson Co. Historical Society, Newton Grove, North Carolina, 1983, p. 81.

[William Alderman Parker lists John Parker (born ca. 1720) as one of the children of Isaac Parker (along with Jonathan Parker). The birthdates of the other, apparently older children since they were listed before John, Jonathan (1735) and James (1736), do not seem to support this idea. John Parker's first child Luke was born in 1739. A letter from Robert Wallace Parker to William Alderman Parker found in the Vertical file in the North Carolina Gen. Library mentions Isaac Parker of Northampton Co., North Carolina, and his children: Joseph, Samuel, Jonathan, Sarah, Jonas, Charity, Chestnut, Mary, Nancy, and James. Susannah and John, whom William Alderman Parker names as children in the same family are not named. Joseph and Chestnut are not listed in W. A. Parker's listing. Until I am able to positively identify a direct link between Isaac and John Parker, I am going to assume that they are not directly related. John Parker had roots in Edgecombe Co. and Isaac Parker and his family seem to have been from Northampton Co. SCS]

from Susan Parker Caison Sharp

John Parker, who was born about 1725 in North Carolina, moved from Edgecombe County to Duplin County about 1757. He settled along the west side of Little Coharie Creek in the part of Duplin that became Sampson County in 1784. John Parker became a prominent landowner and planter is considered the first Methodist in Sampson County. Services were held in his house as early as 1785. In 1788, Bishop Francis Asbury of the Methodist Church preached at the Parker home on his trip through North Carolina. A "skeleton pulpit" was built for the occasion and was kept by family members for many years. John's son, Francis, became a Methodist minister and was reportedly ordained by Bishop Asbury. William, Thomas, Sessums and Nicholas Parker, all sons of John, were "worthy and pious men" who helped establish Methodism in Sampson County.

After John's death about 1805, the old home place where services had been held for twenty years, passed to his son Luke Parker, who was considered irreligious. Luke, however, deeded two acres of land for ten shillings on October 2, 1809, for the purpose of erecting a house of worship for the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1816, a log church was built on the property at the urging of Nicholas Parker and was known as Parker's Meeting House. In 1842, the church moved to its present location, a short distance from the original site and is known today as Andrews Chapel Methodist Church.

It is interesting to note that although John Parker was a devout Methodist, he owned a still to produce alcoholic spirits. In his will, he included a specific bequest of the "still" to his son, Luke Parker. The inventory of his estate, taken in 1806, included "1 Three gallon jug the same full of brandy" and "1 case of 14 half Gallon Bottles 7 of them full of brandy." Stills were valuable property owned by prosperous persons in early America and were commonly passed on by the owners to their wives or children in their wills.

Sources: "From Rev. Miles P. Owen's Journal of 1867 About Methodism in Sampson," Andrew Methodist Chapel, File 3254, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina and Oscar M. Bizzell, ed., The Heritage of Sampson County, North Carolina (Newton Grove, NC, 1983), 75-76, 81.

http://www.parkerfamilyhistory.com

http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/a/Andrew_Methodist_Chapel.html

Notes by Susan Caison Sharp

John married Rachael Sessoms about 1738. Rachael (daughter of Nicholas U Sessoms and Elizabeth Hooker) was born in 1733 in Edgecombe, North Carolina, USA; died in 1800 in Duplin, North Carolina, USA; was buried in Andrews Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery, Roseboro, Sampson, North Carolina, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Rachel Parker
• Birth: Abt 1720, Edgecombe, North Carolina, USA

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1784, Granville, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 7 Aug 1786, Granville, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 1790, Granville, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 1810, Granville, North Carolina, USA
• Residence: 7 Aug 1820, Granville, North Carolina, USA

Notes:

John Owen b. c.1742 in North Carolina married c 1760 Anna Hayes. Lived in Granville Co., North Carolina died c 1835 in Sampson Co., North Carolina. from Index of North Carolina Ancestors, North Carolina Genealogical Society, 1981, Vol.1 (Caroliniana Library)
NOTES: Susan Caison Sharp

John married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]