Last month a group of vintage late-19th-century Pekin business advertising cards, featuring photographs of the downtown buildings where these businesses were located, was added to our Local History Room collection. Beginning today, we will take each of the cards one per week (in no particular order) and examine them to find out what we can find out about the businesses and businessmen featured on them, and what they can show us about Pekin’s history.
This week we will start with the card of Pekin attorney William E. Parker, who is identified on his card as “Attorney and Counselor at Law,” as well as “General Land Agent and Conveyance.” Parker evidently specialized in real estate transactions and establishing title to landed property. (As an aside, the back of this particular card shows a name and address written in pencil, in cursive hand: “James D. Richmond, 4045 Lincoln, 7 Blocks N. of Easton” – apparently a previous owner of this business card, but I’ve been unable to find out anything about that name and address.)
The card says Parker’s law office was “over Heisel & Co.’s Dry Good Store” on Court Street in downtown Pekin, and shows Parker’s shingle on the second floor – and also in the photograph on the card is the sign of L. Heisel & Co. The 1870-71 Pekin City Directory says Heisel & Co. was located on the south side of Court St., seven doors west of Capitol. This agrees with what the directory says about the location of Parker’s law office: south side of Court, six doors west of Capitol (upstairs).
The building in which Heisel’s grocery store, and in which Parker had his law office, no longer exists. Simply for providing a photo of part of that building, this business advertising card is a special relic of Pekin’s past.
The old Pekin city directories show that William E. Parker was a partner in the firm of William B. Parker & Son. Both father and son and their law firm appear in the 1861 Root’s City Directory of Pekin as well as the 1870-71 Sellers & Bates City Directory of Pekin. However, they and their firm do not appear in any later city directories.
William E. Parker’s entry in the 1861 directory says: “Parker William E., firm of William B. P. & Son, res. Chestnut, es., 1st d. s. Broadway,” which means William E. Parker lived on the east side of Chestnut St., one door south of Broadway. Chestnut is today a part of South Fourth St.
In comparison, the 1870-71 city directory’s entry reads: “Parker W. E., lawyer, ss Court 6 d w Capitol (up stairs); bds es Chestnut 2 d s Broadway.” That means Parker lived on the east side of Chestnut St., two doors south of Broadway.
Why do the Parker father and son disappear from Pekin city directories after 1871? The answer is found in Charles C. Chapman’s 1879 “History of Tazewell County,” page 388, in the chapter that lists and provides brief descriptions of the law careers of the pioneer members of the Tazewell County Bar. There we read:
“William B. Parker and his son Edward Parker, men of fine education and good abilities, but who lacked the perseverance so necessary to the success of a lawyer. They died respectively in the years 1873 and 1874.”
From this we learn not only the years of death of the Parker father and son, but we also know that William E. Parker was William “Edward” Parker. The compiler of Chapman’s list of Tazewell County attorneys evidently considered that the Parkers weren’t very successful lawyers, due to a lack of “perseverance” – a word that would suggest that they gave up. But gave up on what? They apparently didn’t give up on being attorneys, since records indicate they both maintained that profession until their deaths.
William E. Parker’s father William Buckman Parker, was born 4 March 1808 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Luther and Sarah Parker. He married Susan G. Kenney (1812-1876) on 14 Sept. 1831 in Natick, Massachusetts, and had a family of two daughters and three sons: Ella F. (who died young), Robert Henry Buckman “R.H.B.” (1832-1864), William Edward (1839-1874), and Elizabeth K. (1846-1933) who married George Henry LaDew (1845-1925).
The Parker family first appears in the U.S. Census in 1850, when they were double-entered as residents of Tazewell County. Their first 1850 census entry shows W. B. Parker, 42, attorney, born in Massachusetts, living in Tremont with Susan Parker, 37 (W. B.’s wife), and children Robert, 18, Edward, 11, George L., 7, and Elizabeth, 4. The other 1850 census record shows William B. Parker, 42, lawyer, born in Massachusetts, living somewhere in Tazewell County with Susan Parker, 38, Robt Henry, 18, born in Massachusetts, W. Edward, 11, George, 7, and Elizabeth, 4.
In the 1860 census, we find “Wm B. Parker,” age 52, lawyer, born in Massachusetts, living in Pekin with Susan, 48, Edward, 21, George, 16, and Elizabeth, 13. In the same census, the eldest son Robert is enumerated as “R. H. Parker,” 27, constable, born in Massachusetts, living in Pekin with his wife Mary E. Parker, 20, born in Illinois, and a relative named Thomas Parker, 16, born in Ohio. Tazewell County marriage records show the marriage of “R.H.B. Parker” and Mary Ellen McMullen on 16 March 1858.
On 15 Aug. 1861, William E. Parker enlisted in the Union Army and was mustered into the 31st Illinois Infantry, Co. I, serving as a wagoner. He later registered for the Civil War draft in the summer of 1863.
After the war, in the 1870 U.S. Census we see Wm B. Parker, 61, lawyer, born in Massachusetts, living in Pekin with Susan G., 57, keeps house, born in Maine, Wm E. Parker, 31, lawyer, born in Illinois, and “Parker Elizth K.,” 23, at home, born in Illinois.
William B. Parker and his wife Susan and their children are all buried in Lakeside Cemetery. William B.’s grave marker says he died 19 Sept. 1873, and Susan’s says she died on 29 Oct. 1876. In his will, William B. Parker bequeathed a couple of lots to his widow Susan and daughter Elizabeth, and directed that the remainder of his estate was to be divided equally among all his living heirs. He named Susan and his son William E. as executors of his estate.
It must have struck the Parkers as very tragic that William E. Parker died at age 35 (his grave marker gives his date of birth as 22 June 1839) on 11 Sept. 1874, not quite a year after his father. He had never married nor had any children.
