John Frederick Parker

John Frederick Parker
Born May 19, 1830
Frederick County, Virginia
Died June 28, 1890
Washington, DC
Occupation Police Officer assigned as Bodyguard at the White House

John Frederick Parker (May 19, 1830 – June 28, 1890), was one of four men detailed to act as United States President Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard on April 14, 1865, the night Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s theater.

Biography

Parker was born May 19, 1830, in Frederick County, Virginia. Parker moved to Washington, DC working as a carpenter. He became one of the Washington's original policemen when the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia was created in 1861. He was charged with dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer several times for being drunk on duty, sleeping on streetcars while at work, and visiting prostitutes. The charges were all dismissed.[1]

He was responsible for guarding the entrance to the president's box. He is known to have at first stayed at his assigned post, but then wandered away in order to catch a glimpse of the play. During the intermission, Parker went to a nearby tavern with Lincoln's footman and coachman. It is unclear whether he ever returned to the theater, but he was not at his post when John Wilkes Booth shot the president. Parker was charged with neglect of duty and tried on May 3, 1865 but no transcripts of the case were kept. The complaint was dismissed on June 2, 1865. Parker remained on the police force until 1868 when he was fired for sleeping on duty. He died in Washington on June 28, 1890. His grave has no tombstone, and there is no known image of him.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Lincoln's Missing Bodyguard". Smithsonian.com. April 8, 2010. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Lincolns-Missing-Bodyguard.html. Retrieved 2010-04-23. "John Parker was an unlikely candidate to guard a president—or anyone for that matter. Born in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1830, Parker moved to Washington as a young man, originally earning his living as a carpenter. He became one of the capital’s first officers when the Metropolitan Police Force was organized in 1861. Parker’s record as a cop fell somewhere between pathetic and comical. He was hauled before the police board numerous times, facing a smorgasbord of charges that should have gotten him fired. But he received nothing more than an occasional reprimand. His infractions included conduct unbecoming an officer, using intemperate language and being drunk on duty. Charged with sleeping on a streetcar when he was supposed to be walking his beat, Parker declared that he’d heard ducks quacking on the tram and had climbed aboard to investigate. The charge was dismissed. When he was brought before the board for frequenting a whorehouse, Parker argued that the proprietress had sent for him." 

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