James Parker Sr. (1725-1797)
- Guidance
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This white person has 2 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
This person is related to Rutgers University history. See our research guide Rutgers University & Slavery for more information about finding university affiliates and archival sources in our database.
- Record Title
- James Parker Sr. (1725-1797)
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-01328
- Given Name
- James
- Family Name
- Parker
- Birth Date
- 29 January 1725
- Death Date
- 4 October 1797
- Sex
- Male
- Biographical Description
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James Parker Sr. (1725–1797) was a wealthy enslaver who lived in New Jersey. After his death in 1797, his family donated land from the Parker estate to Rutgers University (then called Queen's College). The nucleus of Rutgers-New Brunswick’s historical campus (with Old Queens, Winants Hall, and Kirkpatrick Chapel) is located on the land donated by the Parkers.
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The following biographical note was created by the New Jersey Historical Society, which holds several manuscript collections pertaining to the Parker family:
James Parker (1725-1797), the son of Janet Johnstone (d.1741) and John Parker (1693-1732), served in the colonial military as a young man. Some time after 1746, he left the army and partnered with Beverly Robinson and Andrew Johnston in a mercantile business. The company traded with the West Indies and in 1750-1751, Parker traveled to Jamaica for business reasons. Soon after this trip he settled in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to manage the family estate, which included the mansion known as “The Castle.” He married Gertrude Skinner (d.1811), the sister of Cortlandt Skinner (1727-1799), and with her started a family.
Parker served in a number of different capacities throughout his lifetime. He was an agent for the East Jersey Proprietors; an agent for the Hunterdon and Sussex County properties of Sir Robert Barker, an absentee landlord; a lawyer; a councilor under Governor William Franklin (1764-1775); and mayor of Perth Amboy (1771). In 1775, he declined the appointment as one of Perth Amboy’s delegates to the Provincial Congress, choosing instead to stay neutral during the escalating conflict. Though he had loyalist connections and sympathies, he remained neutral and moved his family to the farm he called “Shipley” in Bethlehem (now Union), Hunterdon County, New Jersey. In November of 1777, James Parker and two others were taken as loyalist hostages to ensure the safety of patriot captives. Parker was soon allowed to return to his family at “Shipley,” where they remained until the end of the war. In 1783, the Parkers moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey for two years before returning to the family home in Perth Amboy. James Parker died on October 4, 1797, leaving his son, James (1776-1868), to manage the remaining family lands. - Keywords
- white person
- enslaver
- Rutgers University history
- Organization
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Rutgers University
- Relationship to Rutgers
- Benefactor
- Sibling of
- Elisha Parker (1724-1755)
- Mary Parker (1727-1813)
- Lewis Johnstone Parker (1731-1760)
- John Parker (1729-1762)
- Spouse of
- Gertrude Skinner Parker (1739-1811)
- Related Person
- Ann Lawrence Parker
- References
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MacKenzie, George Norbury, ed. Colonial Families of the United States of America. Vol. 3. Baltimore: Seaforth Press, 1912. Page 380.
Parker Family (Perth Amboy, NJ), Collection 1676-1946 (MG 18). The New Jersey Historical Society. https://jerseyhistory.org/guide-to-the-parker-family-perth-amboy-nj-collection-1676-1946mg-18/.
- Same As
- Parker, James, 1725-1797 (SNAC)
- James Parker (1725–1797) (WikiTree)
- James Parker (Find a Grave)
- Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker
- Linked Sources
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Author:
- Runaway ad for Jack, by James Parker Sr. (Runaway ad for Jack, by James Parker Sr., New-Jersey Gazette, March 13, 1782.)
- Linked Events
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Additional Participant in:
- 1782-03 Freedom seeking: Jack (Role: Enslaver, Advertiser)
- 1805-04-27 Birth: Phebe-Gertruda (Role: Deceased)
Part of James Parker Sr. (1725-1797)
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