Columbia County OR Archives Biographies.....Parker, Newton J. February 22, 1867 - 
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Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com November 9, 2009, 12:53 pm

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 207 - 208
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     NEWTON J. PARKER, who is engaged in the real estate business in Vernonia, 
Oregon, is a representative of one of Columbia county's pioneer families, 
members of which have done their full part in the development and upbuilding 
of this section of the state. Mr. Parker was born in Brown county, Kansas, on 
the 22d of February, 1867, a son of Clark L. and Melissa F. (Griffith) Parker, 
the former born in North Carolina in 1825 and the latter in Kentucky in 1837. 
The father was reared to manhood in his native state, where he lived until 
early in the '60s, when he went to Kansas, locating in Brown county, where he 
was engaged in farming until the later '60s, when he turned his face towards 
the setting sun and, with ox teams and covered wagons, made the long overland 
journey to Oregon. During the first three years after his arrival here he 
lived in Portland and during that period helped to rebuild the city, a large 
part of which had been destroyed by a disastrous fire. In 1874 Mr. Parker came 
to Columbia county and took up a homestead about one mile east of where 
Vernonia now stands, and, after building a log house, began clearing the land, 
which was densely covered with timber and brush. A few years later this land 
reverted back to the government, after which he homesteaded another tract of 
timber land three miles northeast of Vernonia. He cleared off about twenty 
acres of the land, developing a good farm and lived there continuously until 
about 1915, when he moved to Lents, near Portland. He and his wife are both 
deceased, dying respectively in 1916 and May, 1918. During all the years of 
his residence in this county Mr. Parker showed himself a man of fine public 
spirit, deeply interested in the welfare of his locality, and contributed to 
its advancement by donating land for the first schoolhouse in the Nehalem 
valley, which he helped to build, and also gave effective service for many 
years as a member of the school board. To him and his wife were born nine 
children, seven of whom are living, namely: Mrs. Julia Bailey, of Roseburg, 
Oregon; Andrew M., Newton and George, who live in Vernonia; Francis, who lives 
at Barview, Oregon; John, who resides in Kalama, Washington, and A. L., who 
lives on the old homestead near Vernonia.

     Newton J. Parker was but a small child when brought to Oregon by his 
parents and he obtained his education in the old log schoolhouse on his 
father's ranch. Thereafter for many years he was engaged in logging in 
association with his brother Andrew, and also took up a homestead of timber 
land on the Nehalem river, adjoining his father's place. He built a log house 
and did some clearing, but later, after proving up on the place, he sold both 
land and timber. For several years he has been engaged in the real estate 
business in Vernonia, in which he is associated with his his brother Andrew, 
and in this they have met with very satisfactory success. They possess a very 
accurate knowledge of property values throughout this section of the county 
and are thus in a position to give valuable advice to their customers, and are 
numbered among the enterprising and progressive business men of this locality.

     In 1888 Mr. Parker was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Williams, who 
was born in Ohio, and came to Oregon in an early day with her parents, who 
settled in Umatilla county. Mrs. Parker died in 1899, leaving a son and two 
daughters: Walter, who lives in Vernonia, is married and has three children, 
Kenneth, Alice and Stanley; Mrs. Della Spence, who lives in Milton, Oregon, is 
the mother of one daughter; and Hazel is married and lives in Portland. In his 
political views Mr. Parker is a republican and has shown a commendable 
interest in everything relating to the prosperity of his community, being a 
strong advocate of those things which tend to promote the material, civic or 
moral standing of his fellowmen. He is a member of the Grange. He is widely 
known throughout the valley and all who know him hold him in high esteem for 
his sterling qualities and the high type of citizenship which has been 
exemplified in his life.

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