Luther Parker

Luther Parker (December 18, 1800 – June 16, 1853) was an American pioneer, teacher, and politician. He served as a justice of the peace for the Republic of Indian Stream, located in what is now Pittsburg, New Hampshire. He later was an early settler in present-day Muskego, Wisconsin.

Biography

Born in Temple, New Hampshire, Parker was a shoemaker and taught school in Coos County, New Hampshire. 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, Waukesha County, Wisconsin Territory. In 1846, Parker served in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives, first as a Democrat and then as a member of the Free Soil Party. 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 from 1874 to 1878. In Muskego, Wisconsin, the cemetery where Luther Parker is buried is named in his honor. In Pittsburg, New Hampshire, a marker on the southwestern shore of First Connecticut Lake commemorates Parker's contributions to the Republic of Indian Stream, while a metal stele featuring a silhouette of Parker was erected in the town park in 2016.