Obituary of Jacob Anslem Parker, Crawford County, Illinois Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives Copyright 2000 Jim Admire Note: I have no connection to this family. I'm just posting an Obit that was sent to me by Barbara Dix who is transcribing old news articles for the website. J. A. PARKER DEAD. J. A. Parker died Tuesday morning at 9:30 o'clock following a very brief illness. Monday afternoon he was attacked with heart trouble, from which he seemed to rally, but a second attack the following morning caused his death. Jacob Anslem Parker was aged about 75 years, being born in 1830, at Green, Maine. He was married in the east in 1852 to Mrs. Elizabeth Wentworth and 1859 they came to Illinois to make their home. The history of Mr. Parker's life is a record of the development of this country. By trade he was an engineer and to him was accorded the privilege of running the first locomotive from Indianapolis to Terre Haute on what is now the main line of the Big Four. He also furnished the first time table for this road. On his arrival to Illinois, Mr. Parker engaged in saw milling at York, continuing in this work for a few years and he then came to Hutsonville and together with C. Rogers of this place operated a large furniture  factory near the old mill site in the north part of town. He also shipped considerable walnut lumber, which grew here then in abundance, to southern ports and realized well in this business. When the war came on he had two boats laden with lumber in New Orleans, and he succeeded in protecting his cargo untill close of the struggle, when he disposed of it at a high figure. In 1870, Mr. Parker traded his milling interests here as part payment for the Eagle Iron Works in Terre  Haute, and though heavily indebted, he made the foundry a paying establishment and it is still conducted by his sons. About the same time he entered several hundred acres of land in Indiana near Darwin on which was a fine growth of walnut trees and converting them into lumber sold the land for several thousand dollars. He also purchased six or seven hundred acres of land north of Hutsonville, which he had improved until it is now one of the best farms in southern Illinois. His larger interests being in Terre Haute, he resided in that city for about thirty years, returning to Hutsonville a year or to ago, and making his home on the farm, where he took great pleasure in personally looking after the crops and raising stock. Mr. Parker's was a reserved nature and those who were intimate with him knew him to be a man of noble character and his friendship was one to be desired.  He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Terre Haute Indiana and funeral services were held there Wednesday, intement being made in a Terre Haute cemetery. Mr. Parker is survived by his widow , three daughters, Mrs. N.S. Kidder and Mrs. John O. Warren of Terre Haute and Mrs. Robert Geddes of Indianpolis and two sons, Thatcher A. and George W. Parker of Terre Haute.  The death of the father is the first to occur in his family. The death of J.A. Parker leaves but two resident members of the Royal Arch degree of Masonry. They are C. Rogers and Joel Cox. The chapter was one of the first instituted in the state, but no meetings were held after a fire destroyed their lodge room in the 70's.  Mr. Parker was a member of the local blue lodge. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb Archivist with proof of this consent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Jim Admire