Parker, Edmund, 1827-1898
Dates
- Existence: 1827 - 1898
Biography
Edmund Parker came to Mount Vernon in 1841, as one of the enslaved people owned by John Augustine Washington III. Parker was married to Susan, an enslaved woman, also owned by Washington III. During the Civil War, Edmund Parker ran away from Mount Vernon, seeking refuge in Union-occupied Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., where he cooked for Union troops. In subsequent years he lived as a free man with his family in Alexandria and Pennsylvania, before settling in Washington. Parker eventually worked as the watchman at Washington’s tomb.
Places
- Mount Vernon (Va. : Estate) (Other)
Topics
Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:
702. Mt. Vernon, Va. Gen. Washington Tomb., 1898
Mount Vernon Estate, Tomb, November 23, 1895
Mount Vernon Estate, Tomb, circa 1894
Mount Vernon Estate, Tomb, Undated, Date of gift - December 7, 1995
Mt. Vernon. Va. Gen. Washington's Tomb. , 1898
Views of Mount Vernon spanning more than 100 years. The Robert Waldsmith Collection consists of approximately 315 stereographs and cabinet cards by Alexander Gardner, N. G. Johnson, Luke D. Dillon, and others. Highlights of the collection include: several west front views of the Mansion, including the earlist known one by Frederick Langenheim, circa 1856; an early view of the tomb, circa 1857, and a collection of Washington statues and buildings honoring the first President.