Missing Link (LK=WQ; Ralph Emerson Parks)

Missing Link (LK=WQ)
Ralph Emerson Parks

PS Newsletter, Vol. 49, No. 2, p. 24-25 (2013)

Ralph Emerson Parks was born on 2 December 1869 in Taylor, Cortland County, New York. He was the son of Calvin Elson (3WQ) Parks and Caroline Fuller. He and his siblings grew up on their parent's farm and attended school in DeRuyter. After graduation, Ralph continued his education at a business college, then taught school for two years before taking employment with a local railroad office.

Then in 1894 Calvin Elson Parks and some of his family, including Ralph, moved to Justice Precinct 2, Harris County, Texas. Calvin and Ralph acquired a large acreage of farmland and became involved with truck gardening. Ralph, as a single man, became a responsible part of the family unit. It was he who gave the death certificate information when his father died. It is interesting to note that while he knew the name of Calvin's father, he did not know his birthplace nor anything about Calvin's mother, so evidently there had not been a lot of interest in family history. His stepmother, Flora continued to live with Ralph until her death in 1922.

By this time he had become very involved in the financial and commercial community of Pasadena. The Pasadena State Bank was organized in 1919 with Ralph serving as president. This successful institution flourished under his conservative business acumen. He was devoted to the community becoming its first mayor when Pasadena was incorporated in January 1924. He was known for his unselfish interest in the welfare of the local population.

Ralph was a member of the Baptist denomination and also the Masons, being a member of the Arabia Temple Shrine in Houston. Ralph died 4 July 1937 at Pasadena, Harris County, Texas. He is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery near his father and stepmother. This is the oldest cemetery in Pasadena. Ralph's mother died several years before the move to Texas. She is buried in Union Valley Cemetery, Cortland, NY

He is the 4th generation of the Missing Link fragment lineage WQ. The first known ancestor of this line is James (1WQ1) Parks born 1780 in Connecticut. DNA results have determined that this line belongs with Robert MA1630 but researchers are still searching for the paper trail connection. For more information please contact either Kimberly Parks PS# 1423 or wobens1899@gmail.com to Jean Churchill Missing Links Ed.