Francis Parker first appears in the Lowestoft records when his daughter is baptised in 1700/1. His wife was Ann Moore. We have no idea where they came from, or where they married. Francis died in 1738/9; Ann in 1762.

Their fourth son, Simon Parker, was a sailor. Although we know his wife was called Margaret Moss, we have yet to find a marriage for the couple. There is a ten year gap in their children, from 1741 to 1751. We know from an unproven will that Simon was serving on H.M.S. Marlborough for at least part of that time. Whatever action he was involved in, he returned to Lowestoft and lived there until his death in 1798. His wife died in the same year.

Their eldest son, Simon Parker, was also a sailor, probably a fisherman. He married Lydia Maffrey in St Margaret’s Church, Lowestoft in 1765. They had ten children. Simon lived until 1811; Lydia outlived him by 7 years and, fortunately, left a will.

Their second youngest child, William Parker, was also a sailor who went to sea at the age of 11. He was later listed as a master mariner and was employed for 59 years in the merchant sea service. According to his will, he owned a share in the Brig Matilda. William was married, firstly, in 1803, to Amy Clarke who died in 1806. Then, in 1807, he married Esther Clarke by whom he had four children. After Esther’s death in 1848, he employed a housekeeper named Emily Moore and married her in 1852. William died in 1853.

Both sons were sailors. The younger, George Parker, was born in 1816. Merchant marine records give his description as being 5ft 6in tall, fresh complexion and with brown hair and hazel eyes. George married Louisa Albrow in Great Yarmouth in 1841, but they lived almost all of their married lives in Lowestoft. They had 6 children. Apart from his time at sea, George also worked in the fish market for some time. Around 1878, he was paralysed but lived a further 9 years. The couple latterly lived with their youngest son, Robert, who was employed both as a sailor and a sail maker and left a handwritten account of some of his travels, which makes fascinating reading.

Their fourth child was John Parker who was a sailor. Born in Kirkley, Lowestoft, in 1849, he married in Earsdon Parish, Northumberland in 1872. His wife was Mary Ann Lumsden of Blyth. The couple settled in Blyth, having had their first son in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. They had a further 10 children, two of whom died as children. John and Mary Ann lived in Northumberland Street and Jersey Street and are reputed to have run a fish shop there.

Their sixth child was our grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Parker, who was born in 1886 and died in 1968. Elizabeth was first married to Richard Charlton Marshall and had three daughters, Georgina, Mary and Frances. Richard was killed in action in the Dardanelles in 1915. She later married James Banks France.