Charles H. Parker
Charles H. Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 3, 1890 (aged 75) |
| Occupation(s) | Cutlery maker, industrialist, politician |
| Years active | 1837–1890 |
| Known for | Mayor of Beloit, Wisconsin; member of the Wisconsin State Assembly; president of Parker & Stone Reaper Company; president of Second National Bank of Beloit |
Charles H. Parker (November 16, 1814 – March 3, 1890) was a prominent American cutlery maker, industrialist, politician, and early settler in Wisconsin. He held the office of mayor of Beloit, Wisconsin, twice—first as the city's 5th mayor from 1861 to 1862 and later as the 21st from 1884 to 1887. Parker also served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing Beloit (in 1868, 1869, and 1878). Although mainly affiliated with the Republican Party, he aligned with the Greenback Party during his final legislative term.
Background
Parker was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and received education through local common schools. Following the premature death of his father, his family relocated first to Dedham and subsequently to Canton, Massachusetts. In 1837, he practiced as a cutler in Concord, New Hampshire. His westward move came in 1848 when he settled in Belvidere, Illinois, where he managed the farm of Dr. Jonathan Stone and married Stone’s daughter, Eleanor.
By 1849, Parker had taken a position as a machinist at a reaper manufacturing plant in Beloit for a daily wage of one dollar. Initially commuting weekly from Belvidere, he moved his family permanently to Beloit in 1850. Two years later, he joined forces with his brother-in-law Gustavus Stone to produce agricultural tools—starting with hoes and later expanding their line to include grain sickles and blades for mowing machines. Parker ultimately became president of the Parker & Stone Reaper Company. During his tenure there, John Appleby invented the Appleby Twine Binder.
Public office
Beginning in 1857 and continuing into the 1880s, Parker served as an alderman for Beloit and held the mayoral office in 1861. He was an active member of the county board on multiple occasions. As a Republican, he was elected twice to represent Rock County's 4th Assembly district—which encompassed Beloit and adjacent towns—in the sessions of 1868 and 1869, succeeding Horatio Murray before being succeeded by fellow Republican John Hammond.
In the redistricted Rock County 1st Assembly district, covering Beloit and nearby communities, Parker won election again in 1876 as a Greenback candidate. He secured 1,079 votes against Republican William Alcott’s 972 and was instrumental in fostering cooperation between Greenbackers and Democratic legislators in the Assembly.
Parker ran as the Greenback nominee for Wisconsin’s First Congressional District in 1878. Despite receiving endorsement from Democrats, he was defeated by incumbent Charles G. Williams, who garnered 14,629 votes compared to Parker’s 9,949. No Greenback candidate contested his Assembly seat that year; it was claimed by Republican Richard Burdge.
Banking and personal life
The Parker & Stone Reaper Company ceased operations in 1878. Subsequently, Parker’s son Lowell Holden Parker and partner Fred A. Dennett took over the business and moved production to Milwaukee in 1881 under the name "Milwaukee Harvester," which remained until acquisition by International Harvester in 1902. Lowell Holden Parker eventually sold his interest and returned to Beloit with his father to establish the Second National Bank of Beloit. Charles H. Parker served as its president until his passing on March 14, 1890. Eleanor Parker died in 1900 at age eighty-one. Lowell Holden Parker succeeded his father as bank president and later represented Beloit’s district for one term as a Republican member of the State Assembly.