Bruce, John Wesley Parker was Bushwhacked Nov 07, 1863 in Maries county. He was hanged.
The Day before Daniel Boone Wherry Briggs was shot in the back in Maries county.
Eli Willson(note two l's)was enumerated in Maries county on the 1860 census in Maries county.
Some sites on Ancestry.Com have him listed as Albert Bob Wilson.
However, when Margaret divorced him, the decree read simply Eli Wilson.
May 2, 1869 the suit was abated due to the suggestion that the death of the defendant having been suggested to the court. He had not made any appearances to the court previously.
There is a E. Willson who served under Sterling Price during the Mexican American War. I can not say for certain they are one and the same.
Some sinister reports on the web have suggested that Eli had a hand in death of John Wesley Parker.
Plenty of Parkers were Methodist but all of these Parker chewed tobacco. They were not known to have attend church.
The name originally was spelled Westley