Parker's mother was Cynthia Ann Parker, a white woman captured by the Comanches in 1836, when she was about 12, who had married a Comanche chief, Nocona. After 25 years, in 1860, she was recaptured by the whites, and died in 1864. Parker's father also died about that time, leaving him a teenage orphan.

He grew to prominence in the tribe, becoming a paramount chief and a judge in the tribal Court of Indian Offenses. He encouraged the adoption of some white ways but also promoted traditionalist ways such as peyotism and polygamy. He was active in the fight to legalize the Peyote religion.

The town of Quanah, Texas, is named after him.

References

Dictionary of American Biography
Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Molin, Paulette. Encyclopedia of Native American Religions: An Introduction. (New York: Facts on File, 1992)
Neeley, Bill. The Last Comanche Chief: The Life and Times of Quanah Parker. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1995)
"Quanah Parker." [Includes portrait]. Available at: http://www.lone-star.net/mall/texasinfo/quanah.htm
White, David. "Quanah Parker." [Includes portrait]. Available at: http://www.pan-tex.net/usr/p/pampa-hist/pa04000.htm

Indexes

Native American and Alaskan Native, Inuit
USA
19th Century
20th Century
Rulers, Nobles, Chiefs, Presidents, Prime Ministers
Law
Native American and Alaskan Native Religions
School-age Years, Adolescence
Orphaned (Both Parents)
Adoptees/Fosterees from Wealthy, Famous, Noble or Divine Birth Families
Parent(s) Died, Disappeared or Became Incapacitated