Capt. P. W. Parker, farmer, Potts Station, Ark. What is usually termed genius has little to do with the success of man in general. Keen perception, sound judgment and a determined will, supported by persevering and continuous effort, are essential elements to success in any calling. Col. Parker, who is one of the substantial tillers of the soil in Pope County, is a fair example of what can be accomplished in the voyage of life when a determined hand is at the helm. He was born in Union County, S. C., in January, 1825, and his parents, Silas R. and Martha (Aikin) Parker were natives also of the Palmetto State. The Parkers are of English descent. Silas R. Parker removed with his family from South Carolina to Pope County, Ark., in 1858, and bought land there. To his marriage were born five sons, and two daughters. The eldest son, Allison Parker, came to Arkansas two years prior to his father, and Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, came to this State three years before her father. She was married in South Carolina to Andrew K. Henry, and she and Capt. P. W. Parker are the only members of the family now living. The mother died in 1860, and the father died either in 1867 or 1868. Capt. P. W. Parker was married in 1862, to Miss Martha D. McArthur and they became the parents of seven children. The eldest died in infancy, the next, Lora Lee (deceased), Lulu E., William R., Louis D., Ninna C. (deceased), and Effie B. Capt. Parker, as he is usually called, is the owner of 162 acres of land in Pope County, and has eighty acres under cultivation. In June, 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, Company B. Second Arkansas Cavalry under Col. McIntosh, and on the organization of the company he was elected captain, serving as such until the organization of the regiment at Corinth. Being then over age he resigned and came home. In 1862 he organized the old men's company under Gen. Hindman, and then went into the regular service in Sherman's battalion as private, serving in that company until cessation of hostilities. His company was disbanded on Red River in Arkansas, but on account of the unsettled state of affairs he did not return to his home until August, 1865. When he did return home he found his farm in a very dilapidated condition, but this he soon remedied, and since then has been successfully engaged in tilling the soil. Capt. Parker held the commission as captain of Light Horse Company at Russellville, Ark., under Gov. Rector prior to the Rebellion. He was also appointed by Gov. Hughes to serve on the State board of equalization in 1886. Politically he is a Democrat. He and his estimable wife are members of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian and are esteemed and respected by all.
Goodspeed’s Biographical & Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas, 1891 Pope County http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jblaney/gdspd7.html