ISAIAH PARKER, farmer and stock raiser, was born June 5, 1830. He is the son of Joseph and Fana (Howard) Parker. The father was a native of South Carolina, born in 1805. In 1819 he immigrated to Tennessee and settled in Lincoln County, where he remained until 1828. From there he went to Bedford County and bought land in the Twenty-second District. He was a farmer and stock raiser, and at his death, which occurred in 1885, he was worth a large amount of property, owning a large number of slaves before the war. He was a member of the Primitive Baptist Church. The mother was born in Virginia August 12, 1812, and died August 12, 1859. The family is of English-Irish descent.
Our subject was born in Lincoln County, received a limited education, and was married to Miss Mary Razier, a native of this county. To them were born eight children: Charles G., B., A. F., Edward, Joseph, Lizzie, Dora and Willie. Mr. Parker is one of the substantial farmers of the county, owning about 1,200 acres of fine land. He is a firm Democrat and a leading citizen. From 1854 to 1859 he was postmaster in Lincoln County. He was also colonel of the militia in 1858, and was justice of the peace about the same time.
Transcribed by Kathryn Hopkins
Goodspeed Publishing Co. History of Tennessee from the Earliest Time to the Present: Together with an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford & Marshall Counties, Besides a Valuable Fund of Notes, Reminescences [Sic], Observations, Etc., Etc. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1988.