John Parker (abolitionist) facts for kids
John P. Parker (born 1827, died 1900) was an amazing American hero. He was an African American abolitionist, which means he worked to end slavery. He was also a talented inventor, an iron moulder, and a successful businessman. Parker helped hundreds of enslaved people escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad. This secret network was based in Ripley, Ohio, where he lived. For almost 15 years, he bravely rescued people seeking freedom. He was also one of the few Black people to get a patent for an invention before the year 1900. His house in Ripley is now a special place called a National Historic Landmark. It has been carefully restored so people can learn about his life.
Contents
John P. Parker's Early Life
Parker was born into slavery in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1827. His mother was enslaved, and his father was white. Because of a law called partus sequitur ventrem, children born to enslaved mothers were also considered enslaved. When John was only eight years old, he was forced to walk to Richmond, Virginia. There, he was sold at a slave market to a doctor from Mobile, Alabama.
While working as a servant in the doctor's home, John learned to read and write. The doctor's family taught him, even though it was against the law to educate enslaved people. Later, while learning to work with iron in a foundry, John tried to escape. He asked a kind widow, who was a patient of the doctor, to buy him. After she bought him, she allowed him to work for money. In 1845, he saved enough to buy his own freedom for $1,800. He earned this money by working in two iron foundries in Mobile and doing other small jobs.
Life as a Free Man in the North
Starting a Family in Ohio
After gaining his freedom, Parker left the South. He first lived in Jeffersonville, Indiana, then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. These cities had larger communities of free Black people and more job opportunities. In Cincinnati in 1848, he married Miranda Boulden, who had been born free. They later moved to Ripley, Ohio, a town known for its strong anti-slavery efforts. John and Miranda had six children together:
- Hale Giddings Parker (born 1851) went to Oberlin College. He became a school principal in St. Louis and later a lawyer in Chicago.
- Cassius Clay Parker (born 1853) also studied at Oberlin College and became a teacher in Indiana.
- Horatio W. Parker (born 1856) became a school principal in Illinois and later taught in St. Louis.
- Hortense Parker (born 1859) studied music and was one of the first African American graduates of Mount Holyoke College. She taught music after getting married and moving to St. Louis.
- Portia Parker (born 1865) became a music teacher.
- Bianca Parker (born 1871) also became a music teacher.
John and Miranda made sure all their children received a good education. Just two generations after slavery, all six children went to college and became part of the middle class.
Helping Others on the Underground Railroad
In Ripley, Parker became a key part of the Underground Railroad. This was a secret network of safe houses and routes. Its members helped enslaved people escape from Kentucky, across the Ohio River, and further north to freedom. Some even continued their journey to Canada. John Parker guided hundreds of people to safety. He continued his dangerous work even though slaveholders offered a $1,000 reward for his capture. The federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made helping enslaved people escape even more risky. Every time Parker went into Kentucky to help, he risked his own freedom. During the Civil War, he also helped recruit hundreds of formerly enslaved people to join the Union Army.
John P. Parker: Inventor and Businessman
Historian Stuart Seely Sprague has studied John Parker's life in great detail. Parker started his career as an iron moulder, someone who shapes metal. He later invented and patented several machines. These included the John P. Parker tobacco press and a harrow (a farm tool for breaking up soil). He patented these inventions in 1884 and 1885. He had actually invented the pulverizer (a type of harrow) when he was still a young man in Mobile in the 1840s. Parker was one of the few Black people to receive a patent before 1900.
In 1865, Parker bought a foundry company with a partner. They named it the Ripley Foundry and Machine Company. Parker managed the company, which made engines, farm equipment like reapers and mowers, and sugar mills. In 1876, he partnered with someone else to make threshers, and the company became Belchamber and Parker. Even though that partnership ended two years later, Parker kept growing his business. He added a blacksmith shop and a machine shop. In 1890, after a fire destroyed his first factory, Parker built the Phoenix Foundry. It was the largest foundry between Cincinnati and Portsmouth, Ohio.
Honoring John P. Parker's Legacy
- The John P. Parker Historical Society was started in 1996. Its goal is to preserve and share information about John Parker and his family. They have worked to restore his house and turn it into a museum with exhibits and educational programs.
- His autobiography, a type of book called a slave narrative, was published in 1996. It was titled HIS PROMISED LAND: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN P. PARKER, FORMER SLAVE AND CONDUCTOR ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. In the 1880s, Parker shared his story with journalist Frank Moody Gregg. Gregg was researching the Underground Railroad but never published his work. Later, historian Stuart Seely Sprague found Gregg's notes and manuscript. He edited the memoir for publication, keeping Parker's original words, and added a detailed biography.
- The John P. Parker House was named a National Historic Landmark in 1997 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. This means it's a very important historical site.
- John P. Parker School in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a school for young children named after him.
- Rise for Freedom: The John P. Parker Story is an opera about his life, created by Adolphus Hailstork.
John P. Parker in Books
- In her children's book, Trouble Don't Last (2003), Shelly Pearsall created a character called "The River Man." This character was based on John Parker, honoring his success in helping enslaved people cross the Ohio River to freedom.
- In Sharon Dennis Wyeth's book Freedom's Wings, part of the My America series, John Parker helps the main character cross the Ohio River.
