Contents [hide]

Parke History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Parke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The surname Parke was first used in the Scottish/English Borderlands by an ancient Scottish people called the Strathclyde-Britons. It was a name for someone who lived someone who lived near a park. The surname comes from the Old English word, parc. "Richard, William, Sylvester, John, Robert, Philip de Parco, [were listed in] Normandy 1180-95." 1

Early Origins of the Parke family

The surname Parke was first found in Cumberland, where they held a family seat from early times. One of the first records of the name was when Rober de Parco witnessed a charter by Earl David (c.1202-07) and later witnessed another charter by Walter Olifard (c. 1210.) 2

Further to the south in England, early listings in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include John del Pare in Suffolk, 1273 and later, Roger atte Parke was listed in the Writs of Parliament of 1301. 3

Early History of the Parke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Parke research. Another 154 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1500, 1669, 1695, 1697, 1706, 1710 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Parke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Parke Spelling Variations

The many spelling variations in Medieval Scottish names result from the fact that scribes in that era spelled words according to sound. Translation too, was an undeveloped science, and many names were altered into complete obscurity. Over the years Parke has been spelled Park, Parke, Parks, Parkes and others.

Early Notables of the Parke family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Daniel Parke (1669-1710), who sat on the colonial Virginia governor's Council from 1695 until 1697, and was later the British Governor of the Leeward Islands from (1706-1710)

Parke Ranking

In the United States, the name Parke is the 6,847^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Parke family to Ireland

Some of the Parke family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 102 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Parke migration to the United States +

To escape the uncertainties and discrimination faced in Scotland, many decided to head out for North America. Once they arrived, many Scots fought with relish in the American War of Independence; some went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Many ancestors of these Scots have recovered their lost national heritage in the 20th century through Clan organizations and Scottish historical societies. Among the settlers to North America were:

Parke Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Parke, who landed in Virginia in 1623 5
William Parke, of London, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet 5
Mrs. Martha Chaplin Parke who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet 6
Mr. Thomas Parke who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet 6
Miss Parke who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parke Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Parke, who landed in Virginia in 1724 5

Parke Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Hannah Parke, aged 28, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1833 5
James Parke, who arrived in New York in 1833 5
H S Parke, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

Parke migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Parke Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

James John Parke, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Mary Dugdale" in 1840 7
Hannah Jemima Parke, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Mary Dugdale" in 1840 7
Jemima Parke, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Mary Dugdale" in 1840 7
Andrew Parke, aged 34, a weaver, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Bucephalus"

Parke migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Parke Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Samuel Parke, aged 50, a chemist, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Martha Ridgeway" in 1840
Mr. Andrew Parke, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tamar" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th January 1858 8
Mrs. Jane Parke, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tamar" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th January 1858 8
Mr. William Parke, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tamar" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th January 1858 8
Mr. James Parke, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Tamar" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 28th January 1858 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parke migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Parke Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Daniel Parke who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Parke (post 1700) +

Godwin Parke (1816-1904), American journalist
John Grubb Parke (1827-1900), United States Army engineer and a Union general in the American Civil War
Benjamin Parke (1777-1835), American soldier and politician
Nathan Parke, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Ontario County, 1827 10
Joseph M. Parke, American politician, Delegate to Maryland State Constitutional Convention, 1850 10
John Parke, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Arkansas, 2008 10
John Parke, American politician, Postmaster at Paterson, New Jersey, 1841-43 10
George W. Parke, American politician, Mayor of Bloomington, Illinois, 1861-62 10
Francis G. Parke, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Coatesville, Pennsylvania, 1873-85 10
Elizabeth Parke, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1920 10
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MARY DUGDALE 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840MaryDugdale.gif
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html