Person Page 165

There were five Parker brothers born in England in 1580-1590 period; sons of John and Margery Parker. Jacob of Chelmsford had eight or more children between 1652 and 1667 by wife Sarah; died in Malden in 1669.

According to John L. Parker's 1891 article in the Woburn News, Jacob went from Charlestown to Woburn and thence to Chelmsford with his brothers. According to the town records, he says, Jacob's daughter Sarah was the first child born in Chelmsford, the date being January 14, 1653. Other sources show Joseph Jr., son of Joseph, was the first born in Chelmsford according to tradition (1653, according to Allen's "History of Chelmsford.")

He was a resident of Chelmsford in 1654 and was involved, with the other four brothers. in the settlement of Chelmsford and Billerica. Jacob was one of the early town clerks of Chelmsford. He had nine children by wife Sarah and died in Malden in 1669. His widow presented inventory April 6, 1669.

His widow Sarah later married Capt. John Wayte of Malden for his second wife and she bore him ten children (after nine by Jacob Parker.)

In a letter in the Middlesex Court files, Jacob Parker, town clerk of Chelmsford, addresses John Parker, town clerk of Billerica, as his "dearly beloved brother."

Children as identified in "Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America with a Brief History of Those of the First Generation" by Henry Whittemore and "Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England" by James Savage, with Chelmsford vital records information appended, were:

+++++++++++++++

JACOB PARKER1, the fifth brother, was born in England, probably circa 1625, and came to America ca 1635 and lived in Woburn for a time but settled at Chelmsford which he helped found in 1653 and where he was the first town clerk, continuing in that capacity until his death in 1669. He was a selectman from 1662 on. His home is said to have been near that of his brother Abraham on the south side of the road to Billerica. The majority of land owners here had but six acres each; three had twelve acres, but Jacob had seventeen and only two had more than he. February 1, 1667, he was appointed by the selectmen as one of a committee of three to see that lot-holders build and maintain fences to contain the live-stock. In 1668 a court record called Jacob a brother
of John, deceased. Jacob and his wife Sarah were married about 1650; as his widow she married (2) August 4, 1675, as his second wife, the distinguished Captain John Waite of Malden; she died there January 13, 1708, aet 81, her gravestone inscribed: "Ye Memory of ye Just is blessed."

Question the birthplace - I think it is probably Chelmsford, England.

Thomas and William are prominent names in the lineage given in Burke's "Landed Gentry" (p.641) which begins with Robert Wydecombe of Martock, Somerset, M.P. for Shrewsbury in 1420-21 and 1433, m. Benedicta _____, and had as second son THOMAS Whitcombe (m. Edith, dau. & sole heir of Adam Maveysin of Berwick Mavesyn, Salop -- Thomas and Edith had Thomas, living in 1484, m. Elizabeth ______ and had Thomas who was a Freeman of Shrewsbury in 1493, m. Isabel [dau. of Thomas Poyner] and had William of Berwick Mavesyn [m. Blanche, dau. of Roger Best of Atcham, Salop] whose will is dated 1587...). For ancestors and descendants of Thomas see: Whitcomb Genealogy which states that the first recorded ancestors of this line are Thomas Whitcomb and wife Edith Mavisyn who were b. ca. 1399 (shown as grandparents of Thomas). The Genealogy and Burke's are in apparent disagreement on the line. There is confusion between the names Wydecombe and Witcomb(e). See also http://members.aol.com/lwhitcomb/ljwanc/d0/i0001993.htm#i1993 in 2003 and http://www.memorychest.com/whitcombline/htmg01.htm in 2005. The surname Wydecombe/Widecombe means "wide valley." The surname Whitcombe means "where the withies grow" - withies are a weed used in basket making. In 2003 http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/1094/whitcomb.htm offers another explanation: "The name Whitcomb means "white valley" and originated in the southwestern part of England where cliffs and valleys of white chalk were plentiful. It has been spelled a number of ways including, Whitcombe, Whetcombe, Whiticomb and Whitcom."