Prosper P. Parker

Prosper Powell Parker (December 26, 1835 – March 16, 1918) was a Canadian-born American engineer and politician. During the American Civil War he served as a junior officer under General William T. Sherman, rising to the rank of captain. Following the war he served on the committee that organized Towner County, North Dakota, before moving to Arizona Territory. In Arizona he was twice elected to the territorial legislature and became Speaker of the House during the 21st Arizona Territorial Legislature.

Biography Parker was born to Alpheus and Susan Roxanna (Crooker) Parker on December 26, 1835, in Barnston, Lower Canada. His father was a local farmer while his mother was from Vermont. Young Parker was educated in local schools and at Barnstown Academy. At age 18, he began teaching in local schools before working a year as a clerk at a store in Magog, Province of Canada.

In 1858, Parker accepted a position as a school teacher in Bloomington, Indiana. He took a similar position in Pike County, Missouri, after one term. During the summer of 1859, he traveled with an ox cart to the Pikes Peak area near the present location of Denver, Colorado. After a summer of prospecting he returned to his teaching position in Missouri. Parker died on March 16, 1918. He was buried in Phoenix's Greenwood memorial Cemetery.