Thomas Parke (merchant)
Thomas Parke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1729/30 Swaledale, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 1819 |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, banker, privateer, slave trader |
| Years active | Late 18th century |
| Known for | Liverpool-based merchant and slave trader; partner in Parke & Heywood; director of Liverpool’s fire insurance office; partner at Heywood's Bank |
Thomas Parke (1729/30 – 1819) was a prominent Liverpool-based merchant, banker, privateer, and slave trader. During the late eighteenth century, he was instrumental in the commercial networks that financed both the African and Atlantic slave trades.
Early life
Originating from Swaledale, Yorkshire, Parke was the son of Thomas and Hannah Parke of Low Row; his father worked as a hosier and lead miner. He initially engaged in the linen trade alongside his brother John. His brother-in-law, Christopher Wilson I of Kendal, who was also involved in hosiery, provided merchandise that Parke exported to markets in North America.
Slave trade
Parke made substantial investments in the Atlantic slave trade until his withdrawal in 1792. He collaborated with Christopher Wilson II of the Low Wood Gunpowder Company, which supplied gunpowder crucial for commerce in West Africa.
As part of Liverpool’s Company of Merchants trading to Africa, Parke formed a partnership with Arthur Heywood. Their enterprise, Parke & Heywood, conducted approximately 50 slaving expeditions from 1783 to 1793, establishing itself as one of Liverpool’s top ten firms involved in the slave trade. They held significant influence in local insurance circles and maintained business relations with Thomas Staniforth and Joseph Brooks Jr. Their operations included employing Captain Joseph Fayrer.
Among their clients were Rainford, Blundell & Rainford based in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1790, the firm Thomas Parke & Co., comprising five partners, was responsible for around 1.1% of Liverpool’s total slave trade activity. Subsequently, Parke transitioned from direct involvement in slave trading to manufacturing cotton goods for the trade—a venture that included participation from one of his sons.
In addition to his trading interests, Parke served as a director of Liverpool’s fire insurance office (founded in 1777) and held a partnership role at Heywood's Bank.
Personal life
Parke married Anne, daughter of William Preston.
Their children included:
- Thomas John, the eldest son, who married Bridget Colquitt, daughter of John Colquitt IV. He became a partner in William Gregson, Sons, Parke & Morland and co-established Old Swan Charity School (1792) alongside Thomas Staniforth, Richard Watt, and Joseph Jackson.
- John and Preston Fryer both faced bankruptcy. John initially worked within the textile sector specializing in "African check" fabrics before serving as consul to Iceland.
- James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale.
Their daughter Alice wed Sitwell Sitwell, while another daughter, Anne, married John Croome Smythe.
Parke’s residences included an initial home on Water Street, followed by moves to Duke Street and ultimately Highfield House in West Derby, Liverpool—a property formerly owned by Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl—which he acquired circa 1781.