our history: INDIAN WARS
disappeared
the
Part 4
Cynthia Ann’s Little Brother
Historians/writers remain divided on
the mysterious life of Indian captive
John Richard Parker
BY MEL W. RHODES
OCTOBER 2015
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
T
32
he singular life of John Richard Parker
is shrouded in mystery; the information on him sketchy at best. Those
who dig into the past looking for threads to
weave into a historically accurate account
seem divided on John, on what happened
to him, what he did. But they all agree the
well-known events of May 19, 1836, forever
changed the course of the 6-year-old’s life.
That morning he, his sister Cynthia Ann
Parker, cousin Rachel Parker Plummer and
her 18-month-old son, and Rachel’s aunt
Elizabeth Kellogg were violently snatched
from Fort Parker, a civilian stockade built
on the Texas frontier near present-day
Groesbeck for protection against hostile
Indians.
Cynthia Ann Parker