John Parker, Underground Railroad Conductor died
January 30, 1900
Born: 1827 Died: January 30, 1900 Birthplace: Norfolk, Virginia John P. Parker was born in Norfolk, Virginia , the son of a white father and a slave mother. He was sold to a slave agent from Richmond, Virginia at age eight. Parker worker for two years at a foundry and the New Orleans docks as a stevedore and purchased his freedom from his earnings. The price of freedom for John P.Parker in 1845 was $1800. In 1845, Parker obtained a pass to travel north to Indiana, where he was lured by the work offered in foundries near New Albany or Jefferson, Indiana. Near Cincinnati, Parker began his career as a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. Helping a local Negro barber, Parker was able to remove two young girls from Kentucky to freedom in Indiana and Ohio. "He devoted his life to forays in Kentucky, to scouting on both sides of the Ohio River, to taking care of the helpless slaves who had found their way to Ohio and could not get across, to actual fighting for them and against their pursuing masters." Parker before the Emanicipation Proclamation, took an active role in removing an estimated 1000 slaves from bondage. Unlike other abolitionists Parker remained separate from organized church groups, which he viewed as an 'enemy of the people.'
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