Charles B. Parker
There are individuals in every community who by pronounced ability and force of character rise above the heads of the masses and command a place among the leaders of their locality. Characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that never fail, such men always make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personalitv serves as a stimulant and incentive to the young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising class Charles B. Parker, of the firm of Parker & Wood. very properly belongs. A native of this county, he has traveled far and wide over the western part of the United States and been engaged in business as a railroad contractor in many states. For the past ten years he has been a resident of this city of his birth and a member of the manufacturing company of Parker & Wood, manufacturers of all kinds of wood work. His life has been characterized bv indomitable energy and perseverance, and the success to which he has attained has been the result of the utilization of these qualities.
Charles B. Parker, the son and only child of Joseph and Eliza (McEIwain) Parker, was born in Washington C. H. October 25, 1875. His father was born in Warren county, this state, and reared to manhood in that county. As a young man he learned the carpenter trade and followed the building and contracting business all of his life. He came to Fayette county shortly before the Civil War and married Eliza McElwain, a native of the county, and located in Good Hope, where he lived for a number of years. He then moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he followed his business as a builder and contractor for a sliort time. In 1878 he returned to Good Hope, in Fayette county, Ohio, where his death occurred in the same year, his wife still surviving him. He was reared as a Baptist, while his wife has been a life-long member of the Methodist church.
Joseph Parker was the son of Joseph and Julia (Holcomb) Parker, natives of Ohio. Joseph Parker, Sr., was a Hardshell Baptist preacher, although the meager compensation of the preachers of the early days compelled him to follow some other occupation for a means of livelihood. He farmed for many years in Warren county, and later in life moved to Good Hope, Fayette county, where he died at an advanced age. His wife afterwards died in Washington C. H. Rev. Joseph Parker and wife reared a family of four children: Capt. John B. Parker, of Portland, Oregon; Mrs. Catherine Yeoman, of the state of Washington; Joseph B., the father of the immediate subject of this sketch, and Charles F., deceased. The parents of Eliza McElwain, the wife of Joseph Parker, Jr., were William and Maria ( Nye) McElwain, early settlers of Fayette county, Ohio, where they died at an old age. Maria was an aunt of the renowned poet and wit, "Bill Nye," and the daughter of Major Ichabod Nye, who made a gallant name for himself in the War of 1812. The original McElwain stock came from Scotland and the first members of the family settled in Virginia. William McElwain and wife reared a family of nine children, Capt. John McElwain, Mrs. Nancy Burner, Mrs. Mollie Nitterhouse, Judge Thomas D., Mrs. Eliza C. Parker, Mrs. Asenath Blanchard. Robert T., Mrs. Eva McLean and Mrs. Willie Carmean.
Charles B. Parker was reared in Washington C. H. and received the best education which was afforded by the city schools. Upon reaching his majority he went to Arizona and located in Kingman, where he engaged in the mercantile business and mining for three years. In 1896 he returned to Washington C. H., and a year later returned to the West, where he was engaged in railroad construction work. His father had been a builder and contractor and in this way he had acquired a fair knowledge of the business. He remained in the West and Southwest until 1904, when he returned to Washington C. H. and, in company with J. M. Wood and C. F. Parker, organized the Parker & Wood Manufacturing Company. They manufacture all kinds of wood work and have in their employ from twenty to thirty people all the time. Owing to the excellence of their work and their honest methods of dealing, they have built up a large trade in their line and are classed among the most prosperous and substantial firms of the city. Mr. Parker was married June 21, 1910, to Harriett E. Swope, the daughter of George B. and Mary (Pringle) Swope, and to this union have been born two children, Charlotte S. and Harriett Ann. The mother of Mrs. Parker is deceased, while her father is still living in Washington C. H. Mrs. Parker is one of three children born to her parents, the others being John and Opal.
Politically, Mr. Parker has always been allied with the Republican party, but owing to the fact that he has been away from the county so much and since returning been so busy with his manufacturing interests, he has not had the time to take an active part in political affairs. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, while he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)