Luther Parker (December 18, 1800 – June 16, 1853) was an American pioneer, teacher, and politician. He served as justice of the peace (the highest constitutional officer) of the Republic of Indian Stream, located in what is now

Pittsburg, New Hampshire Pittsburg is the largest town by area in New England, located in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 800 at the 2020 census. It is the northernmost town in New Hampshire. U.S. Route 3 is the only major highway in the t ...

. He later was an early settler in present-day

Muskego, Wisconsin Muskego () is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,032. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The name Muskego is derived from the Potawatomi Indian name for the ar ...

Biography

Born in

Temple, New Hampshire Temple is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 1,382 at the 2020 census. It is home to Temple Mountain State Reservation, formerly the Temple Mountain Ski Area. History The area was first called "Pe ...

, Parker was a shoemaker and taught school in

Coos County, New Hampshire Coos may refer to: People * Cowasuck, also known as Cowass or Coös, an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe in northeastern North America * Coos people, an Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau in Oregon * Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lo ...

. After his marriage in 1827, he and his wife, Alletta, moved to what would become the Republic of Indian Stream, where he operated a store. Parker helped to draft the Indian Stream Constitution and served as justice of the peace, a role that made him one of the primary leaders of the Republic of Indian Stream. In 1835, the Canadian authorities arrested Parker. In 1836, he and his family moved to

Muskego Muskego () is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,032. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The name Muskego is derived from the Potawatomi Indian name for the ar ...

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

. In 1846, Parker served in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives, first as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and then as a member of the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party, also called the Free Democratic Party or the Free Democracy, was a political party in the United States from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. The party was focused o ...

. In 1851, Parker served on the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors. He died in Muskego in 1853 at the age of 52.

Legacy

Parker's son, Charles D. Parker, served as the

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

from 1874 to 1878. In Muskego, Wisconsin, the cemetery where Luther Parker is buried is named in his honor. In

, a marker on the southwestern shore of First Connecticut Lake commemorates Parker's contributions to the Republic of Indian Stream, while a metal

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

featuring a silhouette of Parker was erected in the town park in 2016.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Luther 1800 births 1853 deaths People from Coös County, New Hampshire People from Temple, New Hampshire People from Muskego, Wisconsin Educators from New Hampshire American shoemakers Wisconsin Democrats Wisconsin Free Soilers County supervisors in Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature 19th-century American educators 19th-century New Hampshire politicians

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links