1Frank Sylvester Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut, Including Robert Parke, of New London, Edward Parks, of Guilford . . ., pp. 40-41 (1906).
"19. WILLIAM3PARKE, (Samuel2, Robert1), was born at Stonington, Conn., July 11, 1678; where he married Jane Bordwyn, May 9, 1699. He was a husbandman in Stonington until about 172, when he bought land in Plainfield, Conn., Nov. 26, 1712, and settled in that town, where he lived until his death, Feb. 18, 1750.
Children:
65 Hannah<sup4, b March 23, 1700; m. R. Richardson.
66 William<sup4, b Oct 31, 1701.
67 Isaac<sup4, b June 1, 1703.
68 Abigail<sup4, b June 25, 1705.
69 Sarah<sup4, b Feb. 23, 1706-7; m Ezekial Whitney, July 22, 1730, at Canterbury, Conn.
James,, bapt. Sug. 1709; m Jane McDowell; at Voluntown, Nov. 1732.
Samuel<sup4, b August 13, 1711.
Rachel<sup4, b Nov. 19, 1713.
Mary<sup4, b May 15, 1716; m Jones.
Thankful<sup4, b June 27, 1717; m Enock Whitney, Dec. 21, 1634. Child: Samuel Whitney.
Theoda<sup4, b Aug. 4, 1719; m Benjamin Gallup, May 22, 1735, at Voluntown. He was baptized at Stonington, Nov. 1, 1696.
Zerviah<sup4, b Feb. 19, 1721-2; m John Wedge, of Preston, June 27, 1739.".
1Frank Sylvester Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut, Including Robert Parke, of New London, Edward Parks, of Guilford . . ., pp. 32-33 (1906).
"4. SAMUEL2 PARKE, (Robert<sup.1, was born in England, and did not come with his father and brothers, but came later, probably about the time of his father's death in 1665; as it was one of the conditions of Robert1 Parke's will that his son Samuel should settle upon some land that he willed to him, within a certain time. He was a farmer in Stonington between the years 1672 and 1685. He is mentioned as living in Stonington in 1684, by his brother William, of Roxbury, in his will made that year. Samuel married Martha . . . . . . .
The Diary of Thomas Minor, of New London, has two entries relating to Samuel Parke. July 29, 1673, "Deacon Parke and his two brothers were here." April 20, 1674, the 20 day wee read the letter at samuell parks."
Children:
16 Samuel3, b about 1672
17 Martha3, b June 5, 1674.
18 Robert3, b May 8, 1676.
19 William3, b July 11, 1678.
20 Thomas3, b April 11, 1680.
21 Joseph3, b Jan. 7, 1682.
Eiizabeth3, m John Bennett, 1687.".2Richard Anson Wheeler, History of the Town of Stonington, County of New London, Connecticut, from its First Settlement in 1649 to 1900, . . ., pp. 527-528 (1900).
"1. ROBERT PARK, . . .
CHILDREN:
. . .
3 SAMUEL, b. ------- in England, m. Hannah -------.
. . .
Samuel Park (No. 3) m. Hannah ---------
CHILDREN:
17 ROBERT, b. --------.
18 WILLIAM, b. --------.".
1James Savage, John Farmer and Orlando Perry Dexter, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: A-C, Vol. 1, p. 213 (1860-2).
"BORDEN, JOHN, New London, may have been s. of the preced. m. 11 Feb. 1662, Hannah, eldest d. of William Hough, had John, Samuel, Hannah, William and Sarah, tw. and Joanna, who. were all bapt. at New London, the last was b. 11 Jan. 1680. He liv. at Lyme, and d. 1684.".
1Frank Sylvester Parks, Genealogy of the Parke Families of Connecticut, Including Robert Parke, of New London, Edward Parks, of Guilford, and ..., pp. 25-28 (1906).
"1. ROBERT PARKE1, (or Sir Robert Parke, as he has been sometimes called), was born in Preston, England, in 1680(sic). He was a personal friend of John Winthrop, to whom he addressed a letter relative to his proposed journey to New England, in February, 1629-30. Following is a copy, preserving all the quaint old orthography: ROBERT PARKE TO JOHN WINTHROP, 1629-30. "To the Right Worshipfull Maigr. John Winthrop Esquier in Gratton in Suffolke give this with speede I pray you. "To the Right Worshfull, Sir: - I vnderstand by some of my frendes that you are suddenly to goe into New England. If it be not to laite for me, to provide my selfe with cattell and shiping, I doe porpose to goe with you, and all my company, if please God to permit vs life and health. I have sente to my sonne and to Mathewe Harrison, to by for me six coues, and three mayers, and a horse ; soe, I beseech you, giue them directions to take the beste coures for me that you shall thinke fit for to be done, hoping you will do the beste that you can to fordere my jurny. Furder, I woulde desire you to giue me directiones what househould I shall take with me, and for howe longe we shalbe vittle vs, and what day we shall set forwardes from London ; but as for our selfes, we wilbe at Stratford the laste weke in February : and thus with my loue and serius remembred, in haiste, I reste, com'iting you vnto the Almightie,
" Your assured frend to commande. RO: PARKE. "From Easterkeale in Lincolnshire, this xxvijth day of February, 1629." (1629-30.) From the above, it will be seen that he was a man of some means. He did not come to the new world through dire necessity or to better his condition, but rather through a desire to have more religious liberty. He was of that large number of emigrants mentioned in Green's "History of the English People:"
"They were in great part of the professional and middle classes; some of them men of large landed estates; some zealous clergymen like Cotton, Hooker and Roger Williams; some shrewd London lawyers or young scholars from Oxford. The bulk were God-fearing farmers from Lincolnshire and the eastern counties. They desired in fact 'only the best' as sharers in their enterprise, men driven forth from their fatherland not by earthly want or by the greed for gold, or by the lust of adventure, but by the fear of God and the zeal for a Godly worship." He and his family sailed from Cowes, Isle of Wight, for America, on board the "Arabella," with seventy-six passengers, March 29, 1630, and landed in Boston, Mass., June 17, 1630; making the voyage in seventy-eight days. He lived for a time at Roxbury, Mass.
"Robert Parke, of Wethersfield, came in 1630; went back same year carrying an order by our Governer to his son John, in England to pay money, probably the first bill of exchange drawn in America." -- Savage's Genealogical Dictionary.
In 1639 he went, with his son Thomas, through the wilderness to Wethersfield, Conn., with the first settlers there.
He resided at Wethersfield about ten years, and in 1649 removed to Pequot, (now New London,) Conn. He was a resident of the town plot of New London for about six years, and then removed to lands which he owned on the Mystic river. In the first book of the town records of New London, the two Winthrops, John and Deane, are uniformly entitled "Mr." as are also Jonathan Brewster and Robert Parke, when they appear in the records of the plantation; but all others are styled "Goodman," or mentioned by Christian and surname, without any prefix. When Mr. Blinman, (the first minister of the Gospel who preached regularl) in New London <l >), came in 1650, there was no meeting house. During the first years of his ministry he preached in the barn meeting house which stood on the corner of Hempstead and Granite streets. It belonged to Mr. Robert Parke. August 29, 1651, the following vote of the town is recorded: "For Mr. Parke's barne the Towne doe agree for the use of it until midsummer next to give him a day's work a peace for a meeting house, to be by the Saboth come amoneth." In 1652 Mr. Parke sold his house lof to Mr. William Rogers, of Boston. He was elected a Freeman of the colony in April, 1640, a Representative or Deputy to the General Court, September, 1641, and again in August, 1642. He was a Selectman in 1651, and again a Representative in 1652. In 1658 he was a Selectman of Southertown, (afterwards named Mystic and now known as Stonington,) Conn. Robert Pa.ke married 1st, Martha, a daughter of Capt. Robert and Elizabeth (Ansty) Chaplin, of Bury, England. Her father gave her portion of £300. It is probable that she died in England before the family came to this Country, as no mention has been found of her here. He married 2nd, at Wethersfield, about 1644, Mrs. Alice Thompson. She was the widow of John Thompson, of Preston, England, and the mother of Dorothy Thompson, who became the wife of Thomas Parke. There is upon record a curious order of the General Court of Marrachusetts, dated May 30, 1644, in favor of Robert Parke, to the effect: " That he may proceed in marriage with Alice Thompson without further publishment." He died at Mystic, February 4, 1664-5, aged 84 years. The diary of Thomas Minor, under date of Feb 1664, has the following: "The 4th of ffebruarie mr perke departed this life and was buried the 7th day being Tuseday in the yeare 1664." His grave is in the White Hall graveyard, at White Hall, Mystic, Conn. His house was east of the present road and southeast of the burial ground, and stood just south of a small knoll, somewhat rocky. His will is dated May 14, 1660, and was admitted to probate March 14, 1664-5. This will mentions only three children, William, the oldest; Samuel and Thomas. One authority has stated that his oldest son, named Robert, stayed in England and had the homestead; others have said that he may have had other children, possibly Joseph, Richard, Edward and Ann. Children of Robert1 and Martha Parke: 2 William2, b in England. 3 Thomas2, b " 4 Samuel2, b " Anne2, b " lived at Roxbury, Mass., where she married Edward Payson, August 20, 1640, and died Sept. 10, 1641. She had one child who died young.".2Harwood E. Park, Parke and Chaplin, The American Genealogist, Vol. 33, p. 13 (1957).
"Henry R. Stiles in the History of Ancient Wethersfield (1904), 2:256, states that Robert Parke was born at Preston, never Liverpool, England, but actually he was from Woopit, co. Suffolk; also, that he married Martha daughter of Capt. Robert "Chapin or Chaplin of Bury St. Edmonds," but actually she was his sister. Alfred L. Holman in Blackman and Allied Families (1928) p. 144, states that Robert Parke married Martha daughter of Capt. Robert and Elizabeth (Ansty) Chaplin of Bury, England, and gives as his source, F. S. Parks, Parke Families of Connecticut (1906), pp. 25-28, where indeed some data of value are given, but they should be handled with care and revised in light of subsequent discoveries. Donald L. Jacobus, Granberry and Allied families (1945) identified the wife of Robert Parke as Martha Chaplin, baptized at Semer, co. Suffolk, 4 Feb. 1583/4, married there 9 Feb. 1601/2, daughter of William Chaplin.".