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Below is a family biography included in The History of Phelps County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889. These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary. Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more. There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.
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Robert T. Parker, civil engineer and surveyor, Phelps County, Mo., was born in New Castle, County Limerick, Ireland, in 1826, and is a son of Robert and Elizabeth (O’Brien) Parker, who spent their entire lives in their native land. The father was a farmer and land lord, and a wealthy citizen. Robert T. is the tenth of their twelve children, and was educated in a private school, receiving excellent mathematical and classical training, and between the ages of twenty and twenty-two years was engaged in studying civil engineering, and in 1848 came to the United States. He spent some time in the South in the interests of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad as civil engineer, and in 1851 came to Missouri, and for nine consecutive years was connected with the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Since that time he has been in the employ of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad; the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad; the Missouri & Western Railroad, and the Louisiana & Missouri River Railroad, which has occupied the greater part of his time up to the present date. He is one of the most thorough and practical civil engineers in Missouri, and has also done considerable work in Kansas and Arkansas for the ‘Frisco Railway Company. In 1887 he was appointed by Gov. Marmaduke surveyor of Phelps County, and in November, 1888, was elected to the same office. He has always been a Democrat in politics, and an earnest worker for his party. He owns a farm of 120 acres near St. James, on which are 3,500 apple trees and 800 peach trees. Besides this property he has a residence in the town, all of which has been earned by his energy and judicious management. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No. 230, and also belongs to the Royal Arch Chapter of that order, He was married in Franklin County, in 1858, to Miss Sarah Smith, who was born in Missouri, and died in 1861, having borne one child that died one year later. In March, 1881, he was wedded to Miss Emma Vining, who was born in Indiana, and came to Missouri with her parents soon after the war. They have one child. Mr. Parker belongs to the Protestant Episcopal Church, and his wife belongs to the Methodist.
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This family biography is one of 71 biographies included in The History of Phelps County, Missouri published in 1889. For the complete description, click here: Phelps County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps
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To view a map of Phelps County, Missouri: Phelps County, Missouri Map
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