A close neighbor, Francis Andrew Ross, did enlist on Dec. 13, 1861, just a few weeks before the Parkers arrived. We shall see more about Francis Andrew Ross later in this study. Another close neighbor was James Paul, who with his brother William first entered land in Cleona Township in 1852 and moved to this farm in 185711.
When father Robert Parker died on February 23, 1868, he was buried in the cemetery just southeast of the town of Durant, Iowa, and only about 5 miles south of the Parker farm. Son Samuel and daughter Susanna joined him. Mother Susanna’s body was brought here when she died in 1893. Here is a picture of the grave site which I took in 2006.
