CENTRE LINES

The PARKER Family

This column is part of a feature series which focuses on a different Centre County family each week. Five new columns will be released each month unless some technical difficulty enters the picture.

This column's focus is on PARKER. An effort has been made to identify all persons carrying that name in the 1890 U.S. Census, using the Centre County business directory which was formed from a preliminary review of that census before the larger set of 1890 U.S. Census records was destroyed by fire. (Sadly, the postal directory does not typically provide the ages of females, but it's the best record we've got).

There is one book in the Pennsylvania Room of the Centre County Library in Bellefonte apparently deals in part with the Parker family. It is: Irwin Hoch Delong's The Lineage of Malcolm Metzgar Parker from Johannes DeLang (Lancaster, Pa., 1926).

There are 17 first-name entries for Parker in John Blair Linn's History of Centre and Clinton County (1883). In addition, there are several mentions of the name in Beers' Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania (1898).

And, now, your ancestors' Parker neighbors in 1890:

BELLEFONTE Borough:

Nancy J.--216 E. Howard

LIBERTY Township:

Otto G., Blanchard--3

PHILIPSBURG Borough:

George E., 47, merchant--3rd St. Denisha A. Isabella Henrietta Bella M. George G., 28, blacksmith--Spruce St. Cora W. Mina W. William S. 3 Helen Samuel B., 32 Kate H. George H. 10 Susan P. James, 28, laborer--10th St. Margaret Annie Mary John, 21, machinist--Front St. Mary C.--2nd St. David H., 70, blacksmith William, 49, hotel keeper--Front St. Alice

POTTER Township:

Amos, 63, laborer--Linden Hall Ella Jennie Cora Joseph, 31, laborer--Potters Mills Anna B. Mary E. Phoebe William 1

RUSH Township:

Herbert, 25, laborer--Philipsburg Isabella Patrick, 37, laborer--Philipsburg Annie John E. 17 Mary Catharine Frank P. 9 Nellie Lewis 5 Agnes

SPRING Township:

Matthias, 32, laborer--Pleasant Gap Catharine Josiah 7 John E. 3 James E. 2