Matthew Arnold Parker
Hemphill, Sabine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(May 17, 1801 - March 19, 1862) First chief justice of Sabine County, Republic of Texas. Parker was born in Georgia. He came here from Louisiana in 1822, settling at this site which was on land later included in his headright grant from the Republic. In 1836 he served in the Defensive Sabine Volunteers. President Sam Houston appointed him chief justice (or county judge) in Dec. 1836, and he was on a commission to detect fraudulent land claims in 1840. After his wife Mary (Isaacs) died (1845), he married Elizabeth Lowe. He was father of 16 children. He died in DeWitt County, and was buried near Nordheim.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Georgia-born Matthew Arnold Parker came to Texas from Louisiana in 1822, settling on land later confirmed as his headright grant in Sabine County. He served in the Defensive Sabine Volunteers in 1836, and that December President Sam Houston appointed him the county's first chief justice, a post akin to county judge. Parker later sat on a commission rooting out fraudulent land claims, married twice, and fathered sixteen children before his death in 1862.
Why it matters
As the first chief justice of his county under the Republic of Texas, Parker helped lay the legal foundations of self-government in a frontier that had only just won its independence.
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Related people
- · Matthew Arnold Parker
- · Sam Houston
Themes & tags
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