John Parker and Margaret

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Husband John Parker

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           Born: apx 1525
     Christened: 
           Died: May 1581 - (Great Burstead, Essex)
         Buried: 

       Marriage: Bef 1553 - (Essex)

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Wife Margaret

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           Born: 
     Christened: 
           Died: Bef 9 Sep 1594 - South Benfleet, Essex
         Buried: 

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Children

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1 F Anne Parker

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           Born: Abt 1553 - (Great Burstead, Essex)
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Thomas Dore (      -After 1581)
           Marr: 28 Jun 1573 - Great Burstead, Essex

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2 M John Parker

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           Born: apx 1560
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 5 Aug 1613 - Great Burstead, Essex

         Spouse: Mary (      -      )
           Marr: 9 Oct 1606 - Great Burstead, Essex

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3 F Sarah Parker

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           Born:  - (Great Burstead, Essex)
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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4 F Mary Parker

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           Born:  - (Great Burstead, Essex)
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

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General Notes: Husband - John Parker

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The following is on pages 86-88 of an article by Douglas Richardson in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (Vol 153 (January 1999), pgs 81-96). The article is entitled "THE ENGLISH ORIGIN AND ANCESTRY OF THE PARKER BROTHERS OF MASSACHUSETTS and of their Probable Aunt, Sarah Parker, Wife of Edward Converse".

JOHN PARKER was born say 1525. The names of his parents are unknown, but according to his will, he had sisters named Joan and Agnes (or Annes). His wife was Margaret ________. They lived in Great Burstead, described by Samuel Lewis in his "Topographical Dictionary of England" as "pleasantly situated on elevated ground commanding a view of the river Thames. ... The church is an ancient structure ... very spacious, and is a prominent feature in the landscape. ..."

John Parker of Great Burstead, husbandman, at the time of his death owned two houses in Great Burstead and one house in the market-town of Billericay in Great Burstead. In his will dated 15 March 1580/1 and proved 29 May 1581, he asked to be buried in the churchyard of Great Burstead, and bequeathed,

"to Mergreat my wyfe m[y] [two] housses that is to saye the howse that Thomas Boothe now dwelleth in [and the] howse that widdowe Charnell dwelleth in with thaportenance during [her] naturall life and after her decese, I will and my will is that the saied [howses] aforesaid with all and singuler thaportinance shall remayne unto my sonne John and his heires for ever. ... unto my said wife 3 kynne & [ ] ewes and halfe my moveable goods. ... unto [my] sonne in lawe Thomas Doore halfe an acre of my wheate now gro[wing] one the grounde and halfe an acre of land to sowe otts one also [I] will that he shall have 4 bushells of wheat and my will is that his two chyldren Thomas and Amee shall have ether of them one sheep to be delivered within halfe a yeare nixt after my decese. ... unto my two Systers Joan and Annes ether of them 10s within one yeare nixt after my decease also ... to Marian ffuller 3s 4d within one yeare after my decease. ... unto the vicker of great bursteed 5s for a sermon at my buriall. ... unto the poore of great bursteed 10s within one yeare nixt after my decease. ... unto my two daughters Sara and Marye my howse at Billercay within 3 yeares after my decease to them & to their heires of their bodies lawfully begotten. ... ... my executors shall have and in Joye the rent of the said howse at Billericay for the [said] 3 yeares afore specified, to paye and descharge the said legacies [given] in my said will. The rest of all my other goods unbequeated [sic] to my three chyldren John Sara & Marey equallie to be devided, And of this my present will and testament I make and ordayne Margreat my wife and John my sonne mine executors ... Witnesses ... James Harris, Walter Harris, John Trower, Thomas Jooce [Joce] with others."

The subsequent history of Margaret, wife of John Parker, is not known. The Essex Quarter Sessions Court records mention an otherwise unidentified Widow Parker of Great Burstead, who was indicted for victualling without a license in 1607. Although this seems a bit too late for Margaret, widow of John Parker, it is worth noting that her grandson, James Parker, was indicted for the same offense in 1621.

Children:
i. Anne Parker, b. say 1553; m. at Great Burstead, 28 Jun 1573, Thomas Dore (or Doore). He was a legatee in the 1581 will of his father-in-law, John Parker.
Children, first two bp. at Great Burstead, parents' names not stated:
1. Amy Dore, bp. 6 Dec 1574. Her grandfather, John Parker, in his 1581 will bequeathed her one sheep.
2. John Dore, bp. 24 Nov 1577; d. presumably young.
3. Thomas Dore, b. say 1579 (baptism not found). His grandfather, John Parker, in his 1581 will bequeathed to him one sheep.
ii. John Parker, b. say 1560; m. (1) ________, (2) Mary Ashels (or Wheeler).
iii. Sarah Parker, living in 1581 when her father bequeathed to her a joint share with her sister Mary in a house in Billericay in Great Burstead.
iv. Mary Parker, living in 1581 when her father bequeathed to her a joint share with her sister Sarah in a house, as noted above.

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General Notes: Wife - Margaret

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NEHGR159[Oct2005]
Additions and Corrections
PARKER. "The English Origin and Ancestry of The PARKER Brothers of Massachusetts and Their Probable Aunt, Sarah Parker, Wife of Edward Converse," by Douglas Richardson, 153 (1999) 81-96. The following additions were noted by Marian Parker Congdon (Mrs. Guilford Congdon):

153:87. Following a partial transcription of John (c) Parker's will, dated 15 March 1580/1 and proved 29 May 1681 should be 1581, the article indicated that the subsequent history of his widow Margaret (_____) Parker was not known and raised the question of an unlikely indictment in 1607. Margaret's will resolves these loose ends. As Margaret Parker of South Benfleet, widow, she signed her will 19 January 1592/93, and it was proved 9 Sept. 1594. She named John son of my son John Parker of Great Burstead; Sarah daughter of John Parker my son [this is the woman who probably married Edward Converse]; my son John Parker; Anne, daughter of John Robinson my son-in-law of South Benfleet, at marriage or 18; Anne Robinson; Joan Robinson, daughter of Joan Pepper; Amy Dore, daughter of Thomas Dore of Great Burstead [Margaret's granddaughter]; Joan Wilshere of Great Burstead, widow; Rebecca, the girl of my house; Dorothy, the wife of Hercules Robynson; John Marsh of South Benfleet; remainder to John Robynson, executor (F. G. Emmison, Essex Wills: The Bishop of London's Commissary Court, 1587-1599 [Chelmsford, England: Essex Record Office, 1998], 198). Many of the persons named are not identified and may provide clues to Margaret's family. Guilford G.H. Congdon