William Jay Parks Bio USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, 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. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Jan Lokensgard In the winter of 1888, William Jay Parks and his wife, Cornelia Elizabeth Petrie moved to the Park Rapids/Osage area. They had first come to Minnesota by wagon train in 1877, settling in the Rochester and Dodge County areas. William, known as Jay, and Cornelia were from New York where they had married in about 1873. Cornelia was descended from the Petrie's of Mohawk Valley, Herkimer County, New York. Her Petrie ancestors were among the German Palatinate immigrants from Germany who came to New York in 1710. Johan Jostą Petri, the elder, and his wife Catherine were Huguenots who fled the Alsace region of France after 1685 when Louis the XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and began persecuting and warring against the Protestant population. Church records still exist where they settled in the town of Breitscheid, Nassau-Dillenburg, Germany. Their son, Johannes Jost˛ Petri, baptized 28 Feb 1664, married Anna Gertrude von Ringh, about 1684. Johannes died there in 1700 and was buried on 24 June. Anna Gertrude and her children petitioned for permission to leave Germany during the Palentine emigrations of 1709. Their petition is still on record in the Wiesbaden Archives. Johannes and Anna Gertrude Petri had 6 children. The oldest son, Johann Jostł Petri, was born in Strassburg, Alsace in 1686 and baptized 13 Oct 1689. He married Cordelia DeMuth, daughter of Jacob DeMuth, in 1706. He was a soldier in Col. Nicholson's expedition to Canada in 1711. At that time the German Palatines were being housed and boarded in temporary camps along the Hudson River in the New York area. By 1715 they were living at Schoharie, NY, and in 1725 they were granted a portion of land in the Burnetsfield Patent, also know as the German Flats. Of their nine children, son Daniel4 Petrie was the seventh. During the Revolutionary War, Captain Daniel4 Petrie was tortured and killed at his mill in Little Falls, NY by the Tories and Indians on 21 June 1782. He had married Elizabeth Catherine Foltz, b. 1 Dec 1721 d. 3 Mar 1807, daughter of Melchert and Margaret Foltz. They had eleven children, the second being Jacob D.6 Petrie. Col. Jacob D.6 Petrie was born in Herkimer County 1740 d. Petries Corners, Columbia, NY 1823. He was an ensign in the Revolution and a Colonel by 1795. He married before 1772, Maria (?) b. abt 1750 d. 8 Jun 1813, Columbia, NY. Their first child was Daniel J. 7 Petrie, b. 14 May 1772. Daniel J. 7 Petrie, m. 1791 Ann Paul Seghner 9 Apr 1791, daughter of Paul Seghner and Elisabeth Eysaman. Of their six children, one was son Rudolph8 Petrie. He married Elizabeth 'Betsy' Vrooman, daughter of Teunis Vrooman. Their son, Loren D.9 Petrie, b. Feb 1834 NY, d. 10 June 1896, Park Rapids, MN; m. bef 1855 NY, Angeline Lariby, b. July 1834, NY, d. 8 Sep 1895, Park Rapids, MN. Loren and Angeline Petrie had six children who were born in NY. Cornelia m. Wm Jay Parks. Daniel W., Sheriff of Hubbard County for 26 yrs, m. Ione or Jane Rockwell 1 Oct 1881 Byron, MN. They moved to the Park Rapids area in 1882 They had four children; Larkin O., m. Georgina Steele; Frank, m.1 Laura Wynn 5 Jul 1888, Hubbard Co, m. 2 Lizzie Batger 26 Nov 1896, Hubbard Co; Louisa, m. Arthur Benham 3 Apr 1886 Hubbard Co.; and Walter Petrie. Children of Wm Jay Parks and Cornelia Petrie Parks were: 1. Lilly May Parks b. 4 Aug 1874, N.Y., d. 14 March 1958, Osage, MN. Married Oscar G. Steele, 4 Feb 1893. He died 26 May 1934. They had 3 children.2. Minnie Rebecca Parks b. 23 July 1877, N.Y., d. 31 Dec 1951, Park Rapids, MN, m. 2 Sep 1900 Hubbard Co. Robert J. Smith, who died in 1936. They had 5 children. 3. Homer Alfonso Parks b. 22 May 1878, Byron, MN., d. 18 March 1955, Park Rapids, MN. Married Annie Caroline George, 4 May 1918. They had 5 children. 4. Ervin W. Parks b. 14 Jan 1879, Byron, MN. , d. 7 Nov 1926, Osage Twp, Becker Co. MN. Nov 1926, Osage, MN, m. Annie Neuner. They were separated. Ervin was killed when his pickup truck rolled over on West Hwy. 34. He was a carpenter. 5. Albertis Parks b. late in 1879 d. 14 Sep 1906, near Moorhead, MN. At 27 years of age, Albertis was killed when he slipped while trying to hop a freight train. 6. Dennis Parks b. 14 Aug 1880, Dodge Center, MN., d. 15 Jan 1953, Park Rapids, MN, m. 2 Dec 1909 Hubbard Co, Emma Amelia George. They had 9 children. 8. Louisa Parks b. 8 March 1886, Dodge County, MN., d. 9 May 1953, Park Rapids, MN, m. 1 Jan 1906 Hubbard Co. Melvin C. Johnson. He died 16 May 1978, Park Rapids, MN. They had 10 children. 9. Clarence Elmer Parks b. 26 March 1888, Dodge Center, MN., d. 12 Feb 1966, Park Rapids, MN, m. Ethel Pearl Clemons, 15 Feb 1911. She died 1942, Baudette, MN. They had 16 children. 10. Albina Parks b. 7 Sep 1890, Becker Co. d. 8 Feb 1977 Park Rapids, m. Perry G. Brill. 1 Child. 11. Larkin Parks b. 10 Aug 1892 Osage, Becker Co., d. 10 Jun 1959, Seattle, WA, m. Agnes Neuner. They had 4 children. 12. Amy Parks b. 30 May 1895, Osage, Becker Co, MN, d. 28 Apr 1984 Weattle, WA, m. Ren Phelps, d. 31 Jan 1984 Seattle. They had 4 children. 13. Geneva Luretta Parks b. Osage, Becker Co, MN, d. 25 Oct 1962, Park Rapids, MN, m. George Sanderson d. 1936. Geneva was a teacher and later a x-ray technician. They had one child. If you have any further information on these families and their descendants, please submit to HCGS. Sources: Parks, by Lucille Parks Grover; Compendium of Early Mohawk Valley Families, Vol. 2, by Maryly B. Penrose, Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc.; The Mohawk Valley Petries and Allied Families, by Hazel Patrick, 1979; The Palatine Families of New York, by Hank Jones; The Early Palatine Emigration, by Walter Allen Knittle, Ph. D., Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co, 1965. From: Jan Lokensgard