Benjamin Parker - Butcher of Earby

[Awgie]

Searching for any info on Benjamin Parker who was a butcher of Earby

I cannot find a baptism for him but he married Bridget Atkinson at Marton In Craven on 02 Jan 1709.
Both of them are listed as being of the parish

Baptismal entries for their children:-

Elizabeth Parker:-
Daughter of Benjamin Parker
Baptism: 29 Nov 1709 St Peter, Burnley, Lancashire,
Abode: Burnley
Register: Baptisms 1653 - 1727, Page 68, Entry 10
Source: LDS Film 1517690
Burial: 15 Dec 1715 Thornton in Craven
Daughter of Benjamin Parker of Birk Hall, Earby (butcher)

Bridget Parker:-
Daughter of Benjamin Parker of Earby (butcher)
Baptism: 01 Feb 1710 Thornton in Craven
Marriage: 02 May 1741 Thornton in Craven
Spouse: Thomas Riddiough
Burial: 06 May 1789 Thornton in Craven
Burial: 24 Jun 1719 Thornton in Craven
Daughter of Benjamin Parker of Earby (butcher)

William Parker:-
Son of Benjamin Parker of Earby (butcher)
Baptism: 26 Dec 1718 Thornton in Craven
Burial: 04 Jan 1741 Thornton in Craven

Marfield Papers
27th June 1718: Joseph Cowgill entered into a contract with Benjamin Parker a butcher, Bridget his wife and Margaret Atkinson (possibly Bridget''s mother) who resided at Birch Hall, to purchase this small estate which included eight cottages for the sum of £114.

Is the Benjamin Parker listed in the Northowram Register a relative?

Northowram Register
Pages 133-134
1682, Dec.31, a Sabbath day. Meeting at the house of Benjn. Parker of Thornton, Butcher, where besides the family were Thomas Higson of Kelbrooke, Hatter, Joseph Higson of Easeby Linnen Webster, John Parker of Acronley in Lancashire, Rich. Boothman of Salterforth, husbandman, William Ellis of Broughton, husbandman, all of them reputed Quakers, silently sitting in ye house, not a speaker amongst them.
Joseph Higson confessed before Justice Assheton that he was present, but would not tell who else was there neither would he subscribe to his confession.
Benjn. Parker confessed there was a meeting at his house but who were there and what it was about would not confess and would not sign the confession respecting himself. (page 133)

[Wendyf]

Welcome to the site Awgie. I don't think I can add anything to the information you already have. The Benjamin in the Northowram Register would be quite old when he married and had children if he had his own house in 1682, perhaps more likely to be the father.

[Stanley]

I have bumped the Parker Index File. No mention of Benjamin, butcher.

[Awgie]

Thanks Stanley!

Would have replied sooner but have had the dreaded tonsillitis followed by an ear infection. It's tough living up here in Scotland.

Will carry on the search & post anything of interest,

Agnes

[Stanley]

Is tonsillitis and an ear infection worse in Scotland?

[Awgie]

Certainly is!
Doing more Parker research during this lockdown. Parker & King families have a few shared marriages being Quakers. I found the marriage of Henry King & Margaret Overend on Thornton in Craven PR & a ceremony was also held at Benjamin Parker's house:-
Meeting at the house of Benjamin Parker in Thornton
Wheareas Henery King son of Henery King Now of Staintonhall in ye County of Yorke deceased & Margaret Overend of Longcrofts Spner. daughter of Anthony Overend of Graystonegill in ye psh of Bentham & County Aforesd. deceased Having declared their Intentions of taking each other in Marriage before Several publicke Meettings of ye people of God called Quakers in Settle in ye sd. County accordinge to ye good order used Amongst them whose proceedings therein After A deliberate Consideration [sic] thereof were Aproved by ye Sd. meetings they apearing Cleare of All others & haveing Consent of parents & Relations Concernd Now these Are to Certifie all whom it may Concern ty for ye full Accomplishing of ye sd. Intentions this Eleventh day of ye 12th Mo: Called Febreruary in ye Yeare According to ye English Account (1696) they ye sd. Henery King & Margaret Overend Appeared in A publicke Assemblie of ye afforesd. people & others meett together for ty end & purpose in ye house of Benjamin Parker in Thornton in ye Sd. County of Yorke and According to ye Example of ye holy men of God Recorded in ye Scriptures of Truth in A Solemn manner he ye sd. Henery King takeing ye sd. Margaret by ye hand did openly declare as foloweth, friends in ye fear of ye Ld: & in ye presence of you his people do I take this my friend Margaret Overend to be my wife promising by ye Assistance of ye Ld: to be to her A loveing and faithfull husband till by death we be seperated, & then & there in ye Sd. Asemblie ye Sd. Margaret Overend did declare as foloweth friends, in [ye fear of] ye Lord & in ye presence of you his people doe I take this my friend Henery King to be my husband promising by ye Lds. Assistance to be to A loveing & obedient wife to him till death seperate us.
And ye sd. Henery King & Margaret According to Law & Customa of Marriage Now Margaret King as A further Confirmation thereof did then to those presents set their hands

Henery King Margaret King

And we whose Names are hereunto subcribed being present Amongst others at ye Solemnizing of their Marriage & Subscription in in [sic] Manner Aforesd. witnesses there unto Allso to these psents. Subscribed our Names the day & yeare Above written

John Overend
Robert Hall
Margaret Hartley
John Tatham
John Hall
Mary Yewdall
Wiliam King
John Parker
Grace Wood
John King
James Walton
Easter Maud
Lawrence King
Wiliam Hartley
Wiliam Slater
John Slater
Margarett King
Wiliam Ellis
Agnes Rudd
Wiliam Stott
Alis Ingham
John Armistead
Margaret Glover
Wiliam Windle
Jane Ingham
Thomas Rudd
Mary Slater
Thomas Robinson

Stay safe!

[Stanley]

Thanks for that. Interesting account of how the Quakers managed these things!

[jonwicken]

Hello I came across this post through a google search. I am descended from the earlier Benjamin Parker who was a Quaker. His house is recorded in the 1689 Toleraction Act at Thornton.

It is recorded in early papers of the Binns family that his daughter married William King. William and his wife had a daughter Abigail King who married John Binns in 1703 and created a vast number of children and descendants.

A few years ago I looked through the minutes of Settle Monthly Meeting and found the intentions of marriage of William King and Mary Parker, confirming her name as Mary.

The minutes also record that in March 1689, Henry King sent someone to John Parker's due to him 'marrying out' of the Quakers. However you can see from the list of witnessesof that 1696 marriage of Henry and Margaret King that a John Parker is there.

It seems probable to me from the 1682 record you put up (and I had not seen, so was grateful for) that perhaps there were two Johns and the John who married out was Benjamin's son. I am not sure though.

The birth, marriage and burial registers for the meeting are defective as the registers were lost through an accident, so sadly lots of information is lost to family history research. I however have done quite a bit of research into the Kings and unravelling who was who.

Due to the loss of the registers, an attempt was made on reconstituting them in the 1720s and a list of names was made of people buried in the Quaker burial ground at Salterforth.

This is found in the Settle Monthly Meeting records, but the names are not indexed as they are just a list, so you need to look through the register to see it.

One list of names is for people buried at Salterforth before 1716 and this includes Benjamim Parker and his wife, two children of Daniel Parker and an Ellen Parker.

Daniel Parker senior was buried in 1729 so there must have been a Daniel Parker junior and I assume this is the Daniel Parker of Thornton whose will is on the York index for 1750.

The minutes for Settle Monthly Merting are at Leeds, but helpfully there is an index here: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/spe ... y=TitleAsc

You will see there is one reference to Benjamin Parker on page 2 of the 1709 to 1745 minutes:

Name: Parker, Benjamin
Reference: Carlton Hill D13
Meeting: Salterforth and Lothersdale PM 1709-1745
Pages: 2

If Mary Parker married in 1681, her parents Benjamin and his unknown wife must have married before c1660 so Benjamin must have been born before c1639. He last witnessed a Quaker marriage in 1704 so we have a window of his death between 1704 and 1716.

However of course the 1704 witness could have been the younger one, but as he does not witness the 1696 marriage in the house of the Benjamin Parker, it seems unlikely to me.

You will see that as the reference in the above minutes is on page 2, it must be from 1709. I would assume this would either relate to Benjamin senior's death or potentially Benjamin junior marrying out.

It would seem therefore that the Benjamin Parker you are talking about must have been a relative and as he seems to have taken over being burltcher of Earby and given his name I would guess it was his son.

With Mary King born before c1660, a younger sibling could have been born 20 years later so if his son is the Benjamin Parker who married in 1709, he could have been around 30 to 40. And it was perhaps likely he married on the death of his probable father Benjamin, having taken over the business and so was financially secure.

All for now,
Jon

[Stanley]

Jon, thanks for posting that. I am sure it will get attention from others working in the same field.