James Parks

by Ken Parks, PS#1406

Though this article has been in the planning stages for several months, it seems particularly timely now in light of the election of our nation's first president of African heritage. While there is no shortage of individuals bearing the Park/e/s surname to serve as subjects, James Parks seems the most fitting to lead off what I hope will be a series of articles on Park/e/s individuals of African-American descent. James Parks was born a slave about 1843, son of Lawrence Parks and Patsy Clark, on the Arlington, Virginia plantation of George Washington Parke Custis. Both his parents and grandparents were buried on the plantation, and it is likely his parents were also born at Arlington. James Parks lived at Arlington his entire life, so his story is inevitably intertwined with that of ...

[Spanning 4 pages, James' biography concludes:]

And so we observe the flow of time at work in this instance. We see a former slave, James Parks, who served a master, the stepson of George Washington, our fi rst president. From his vantage point at Arlington, James Parks could look across the Potomac at our nation's capital where, due to the efforts of the descendants of slaves freed during the Civil War, it would someday become possible for a president of African heritage, whose wife and children descend from former slaves, to occupy the White House. A remarkable flow of events, and one cannot help but wonder what James Parks would think of it all.
... (page 17)

A letter from Charles Edward Parke PS#1233 (former Trustee VI)

My early life was blessed by having a program through 3 years of high school to train me to become a mechanic (my father guided me in that direction).

I graduated on June 13, 1941 with a scholarship stating "Greatest Progress Under the Most Adverse Circumstances." Every day of my senior year, I rode my bicycle 24 miles to and from school. Thereafter I was fortunate to be hired by the Aviation Corporation (The Lycoming Motors), an aircraft engine manufacturer who had a military contract to build the R-680 radial engine. They produced 21 per day, boxed and shipped by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Historian's corner: a philosophy for doing genealogy

by (Fr.) Michael ('Tad") Parks+, PS#425H

Family genealogy can be very frustrating. There are always those loose ends that just refuse to be tied up and finally settled. This is complicated by the fact that all too often there are numerous conflicts in the data that you are working with to produce your family history. It can drive you nuts, so I offer here seven philosophical principles to help keep the main thing, the main thing:

1. First, always remember that family history should be our hobby. It's something we do to give us a change of pace from the rest of our lives, and to satisfy idle curiosity about our heritage. In essence, ...
2. Your family genealogy will never be complete. A common danger inherent in doing family history is believing that at some point in the future we will complete this task and be able to produce the definitive work, a seamless account of a virtuous family. Let me assure you right now, that's not going to happen ...
3. Professional publishing is rarely profitable to a family genealogist. Too many family genealogists think they can produce a volume that will be readily saleable. These rumors are greatly exaggerated. Our genealogical work is about our own families and their history and are, unfortunately, probably of little ...
   [Some excellent tips on publishing follow.]
4. For every fact, there will be a contrary one somewhere. Facts are not necessarily really facts. This is a major hurdle for many beginning genealogists. How can two, three, or more sources—original ones at that—report a fact differently? The answer is: we're all ...
5. All families have their wayward characters, the so-called black sheep. I would seriously doubt there is a single family that was nearly angelic in all of its generations. If you read ...
6. You may never find their graves. I recently read A Pessimist's Guide to History (by Doris and Stuart Berg Flexner) which made me aware of a fact that I had not really acknowledged. Only the lucky ones get to have a funeral and a burial plot. Throughout history, ...
7. Original documents aren't all they are cracked up to be, including the census. While we would like to hold those wonderful original documents—which may later prove to be derivative, not original all—to be the final word on any particular fact, they were created by human beings and are subject to error more often than we would like to think. ...

All in all, genealogy should be a fun pursuit. Do your best to get as near to the truth as you can, but realize there are innumerable shortcomings in research. Document what you do, and be ready to pass it on to the next generation to add to, correct, amplify, and maybe even complete (although I have my doubts).
(page 24)

Missing link: ancestors and descendants of Joseph Howard Parke (LK= BP)

by Jean Churchill #934

The Parke researcher began this fragment line with Joseph Howard Parke (1888 PAŠ1967 Pittsburgh, Alleheny Co., PA). She might have thought that his parents died before 1910 because on that census, at age 22, he is the household head of a boarding house on Marchand St., Pittsburgh with his brother, Ralph McCarrell Parke, and 21 non-relatives. Using census data, I was able to fi nd his father, who was still living. Joseph H. Parke was born February 1862 in Pennsylvania. He married (1) Anna Ella Crawford, daughter of James and Juliet (Forman) Crawford about 1885. In 1900, Joseph and his ...
... (page 26)

Lineage key index-part 2

by Society Staff

In our last issue (Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 12-14), we began publishing the index to the Society's lineage keys, with data as to the founder and other details for the general information of Society Members. This will be a continuing column as there are over 250 lineage keys currently in use. As most Society members know, we keep track of the various Park/e/s lines by assigning them individual lineage keys. A lineage key consists of 1 or 2 letters like A, or JJ or RX. When new members join the Society, we try to find ...
[ LKs A William Parke, B Andrew Park, D Samuel Parks, E Samuel Park, F Thomas Parke, and G James Park(s) are identified.]
... (page 27)

In Memoriam

Mrs. Hazel Alice (Park) Johnson, PS#813 We were recently notified of the passing of Mrs. Hazel Alice (Park) Johnson, PS#813, at Garrison, ...

William Wilson Parks, PS#1367 We have received word of the death of William W. "Bill" Parks on 9 December, 2008 (just two days short of his 87th birthday). ...

Charles William Parkes, PS#1399 We were recently notifi ed of the death of Charles William Parkes, on 8 October, 2008, near his home in California, Missouri. Born in ...
(page 30)

Also in this issue

Contact Information (page 18)

Welcome New Members! (page 31)