A Guide to the Daniel Parker Family Papers

Biographical Note

Anti-missionary Baptist leader Daniel Parker (1781-1844) was born in Virginia to Reverend John and Sarah Parker. In 1802, he married Patsy Dickerson with whom he had eleven children. Parker was ordained to preach by the Turnbull Baptist Church in 1806 and advocated “Two Seedism,” a belief that mankind has been born with either a divine or a diabolical seed since Adam. This conviction separated Parker from most Primitive Baptists, though he retained their opposition to Missionary Baptists. While living in Illinois, Parker published several religious pamphlets and a newsletter, served in the Illinois state senate, and organized the Pilgrim Predestinarian Regular Baptist Church. He moved to Texas in 1834. Arriving in Nacogdoches County, he was elected to the Fourth Texas Congress, but was forbidden to take his seat because the Texas Constitution barred ordained ministers. Parker also led the organization of the Union Primitive Baptist Association, the second Baptist association created in Texas.

Source:

Hesler, Samuel B. "Daniel, Parker." Handbook of Texas Online Accessed April 6, 2011

Scope and Contents

Comprised of correspondence, news clippings, a diary, a scrapbook, and financial records, the Daniel Parker Family Papers, 1836-1890, 1910-1953, chronicle the history of the Parker family from the Republic of Texas to the 1950s. Largely personal in nature = the bulk of the correspondence relates to Daniel or Richard Denny (R. D.) Parker. Additionally, the collection contains tax and financial records from the 19th century, a notebook containing correspondence as well as religious poetry and a biography of Daniel Parker. 20th century documents consist mostly of the personal correspondence, engineering reports, and a diary of Richard Denny.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

The donor retains copyright on all materials by the creator. Written permission must be obtained from copyright holder in order to photocopy or publish from the collection.

Related Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Daniel Parker Family Papers, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project, 2009-2011.

Detailed Description of the Papers