MANUSCRIPTS and ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

Edmund Parker photograph

Unprocessed Material — Folder: ViU2023-0038_001

Identifier: ViU-2023-0038

Content Description

This collection contains one photograph of Edmund Parker (1827-98), formerly enslaved at Mount Vernon, standing guard at George Washington's Tomb circa 1890. In 1841, Parker was brought to Mount Vernon, at the age of fourteen, as one of the enslaved people owned by John Augustine Washington III. He married Susan, an enslaved woman Augustine had purchased in 1852, and the couple went on to have nineteen children, including two sets of twins. Parker fled from Mount Vernon during the Civil War, seeking refuge in Union-occupied Alexandria, Virginia. He later lived as a free man, followed by a stint in Pennsylvania, before settling back in Washington. In 1882, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association hired him to serve as the watchman at Washington's tomb, and he served until shortly before his death in 1898.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Between the Covers, 10 January, 2023

Restrictions Apply

Extent

.03 Cubic Feet (1 folder) : 1 photograph

Inventory

1 photograph

Subjects

Physical Storage Information

Folder: ViU2023-0038_001 (Mixed Materials)

Related Collections

Photograph of Edmund Parker Standing Guard at George Washington's Tomb

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