Columbia County OR Archives Biographies.....Parker, A. L. October 1, 1875 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com November 9, 2009, 11:43 am Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 203-204 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company A. L. PARKER, to whom belongs the distinction of being the first white child born in the upper Nehalem valley, in Oregon, is one of Columbia county's industrious, successful and substantial farmers and has been active and influential in matters pertaining to the general welfare of his community. Born on his father's old homestead, one mile east of Vernonia, on the 1st of October, 1875, he is a son of Clark L. and Melissa F. (Griffith) Parker, the former born in North Carolina in 1825, while the latter was born in Kentucky in 1837. His father went to Kansas in the early '60s, farmed there for a few years, and later in that decade came to Oregon, crossing the plains with ox- teams and covered wagons. He remained three years in Portland, during which time he helped to rebuild the city after the great fire. In 1874 he came to the Nehalem valley, Columbia county, and took up a homestead, one mile east of Vernonia, the land being covered with timber and brush. After building a log house, he began the task of clearing the land. He lived there a few years, when the land reverted to the government, after which he took a homestead timber land, three miles northeast of Veronia. At that time wild game, such as elk and deer, were plentiful and the streams abounded with fish, so that the family larder was always well supplied with food of that kind. He cleared about twenty acres of this land and improved and developed it into a good farm, on which he lived until about 1915, when he moved to Lents, near Portland, where his death occurred in 1916. His wife passed away in May, 1918. He was a public-spirited man, contributing to the advancement of his community. He donated land for the first schoolhouse in the Nehalem valley, which he helped to build, and also served many years as a school director. Of the nine children born to him and his wife, seven are now living, namely: Mrs. Julia Bailey, of Roseburg, Oregon; Andrew M., Newton and George, who live in Vernonia; Francis, who lives at Barview, Oregon; John, of Kalama, Washington; and A. L. The last named received his education in the district school of Nehalem valley and assisted his father in the operation of the home farm until his marriage, in 1900, when he established his residence on the old homestead, where he has lived to the present time. He is the owner of two hundred and seventy-five acres of good land, thirty acres of which are in cultivation, largely in hay, and he also has a fine young filbert orchard. He runs a nice band of sheep and a few cows and is very comfortably situated, the place being well improved and productive. In 1900 Mr. Parker was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Gray, who was born in Umatilla county, Oregon, and is a daughter of Nicolas and Jane (Russell) Gray, both of whom are deceased, the father dying in California in 1926 and the mother in Portland, Oregon, about 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Gray crossed the plains in an early day, settling in California, where they lived a few years, and then came to Oregon. Mrs. Parker's great-great-grandmother was scalped by the Indians during the war of 1855-6 in eastern Oregon, and was left for dead, but got away and recovered, living to tell the story of her experience: She had hidden her baby under a log, but the Indians found it and dashed it to death on the log beside which it had been hidden. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have three children: Alvin, who graduated in forestry from the Oregon Agricultural College in 1927, is now employed in the United States forestry service in California; Benita is the wife of Edwin Condit, a teacher in the Vernonia high school, and they have a daughter, Delilah, now in her second year; Veldon is a senior in the Vernonia high school. Mr. Parker has taken a commendable interest in the public affairs of his community, having served four years as constable and many years as a member of the school board. He belongs to the Grange. He follows progressive methods in his farming operations, is a good manager and is meeting with a measure of prosperity fully commensurate with his efforts. Hospitable and generous in disposition and kindly and affable in manner, he has a large circle of stanch friends throughout the community, who esteem him for his genuine worth as man and citizen. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/columbia/bios/parker979gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb