Introduction
There were at least three 1800s Pennsylvania gunsmiths named John Parks. This page is about the John Parks who is listed as a gunsmith in 1850 census records of Clearfield County. According to a biographical sketch of one of his sons, this John Parks learned the gunsmithing trade in the town of Bedford, Pennsylvania. Reportedly, two other Pennsylvania gunsmiths named John Parks were a father and son who worked in the portion of Union County that became Snyder County.
Several references indicate that John K. Parks was a gunmaker. I don't know of any surviving firearms that were made by him. If you do, please let me know.
L. Dietle
Information from an 1898 book
Thomas Parks, the principal subject of the above biographical sketch, was deceased at the time of publication, having died in December of 1896. Nevertheless, it appears likely — at least to me — that he provided the information included in the sketch. The telltale sign is the statement, "Thomas Parks, our subject ... located upon the farm where he still resides..."
Biographical sketches like this often contain ancestral information that is based on oral tradition, and over time such traditions can become garbled. Nevertheless, such oral traditions provide useful clues for additional research. For example, even though it seems fairly clear to me that John K. Parks wasn't born at Burn Cabins in 1798, there is evidence that an individual named John Parks (evidently the father of John K. Parks) did own property near Burnt Cabins. To be clear, John K. Parks very well may have been born at Burnt Cabins — just not in 1798. As another example, even though I couldn't find any evidence that the father of John K. Parks was a brickmaker in the town of Bedford, there is convincing evidence that his father was a brickmaker in Huntingdon County in 1798.
I assume that the biographical sketches in the 1898 Beers book were written by roving employees of Beers, and I further assume they were written based on:
In my opinion, such a writing process would add another opportunity for information to become garbled. I say this from the perspective of having written biographical sketches based on my own hastily-written interview notes, along with notes provided by family members.
In the chronology below, I include relevent statements from the Thomas Parks biographical sketch for evaluation by you, the reader, recognizing that the biographical sketch is definitely not documentary evidence.
Chronology
Circa 1784: John K. Parks is believed to be the 66-year-old gunsmith John Park who is listed in an 1850 census record for Bradford Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Based on the age given in that record, his calculated year of birth is circa 1784.
The 1898 Beers book indicates that "John K. Parks ... was born in Huntingdon county, Penn., at Burnt Cabin, in 1798, of Scotch ancestry, and was a son of John and Katie Parks, who located there at a very early day in its history." I sincerely doubt the accuracy of the 1798 birth date, because it is seems incompatible with being trained as a gunsmith (see below) before serving in some capacity during the War of 1812 (see below).
I've noticed that back in the old days, people sometimes identified where they lived, or where something was located, by referencing a nearby landmark. For example, if they said someone was at Turkeyfoot, they sometimes meant that particular someone was in the general vicinity of the Turkeyfoot landmark, but perhaps miles away. Likewise, the 1898 statement that "John K. Parks ... was born ... at Burnt Cabin" doesn't necessarily mean he was born right at the present-day site of Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania.
Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania (40.07819585, -77.89556091) is an unincorporated populated place on the Fulton/Huntingdon county line that is located primarily in Dublin Township of Fulton County, about 28.6 air miles generally south of the town of Huntingdon. According to the 1884 book "History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania", Fulton County was formed from a part of Bedford County in 1850.
Africa's 1883 book "History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania" includes the statement, "The first settlements within the limits of Huntingdon County were doubtless those made by the persons whose cabins were burned by order of Secretary Peters in the summer of 1750, near the village of Burnt Cabins, and probably extending northeastward therefrom along the Tuscarora Valley." I include this quote to provide historical context for the name "Burnt Cabins". Please read the quoted passage carefully; it does not say Burnt Cabins was within the limits of Huntingdon County.
The 1898 Beers book indicates that John K. Parks was reared in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The book also indicates that the father of John K. Parks "was a blacksmith by trade, and also engaged in the manufacture of saddle trees. He erected the first brick shop in Bedford, Penn., where his death occurred." So far, I haven't found any evidence that John K. Parks or his father ever lived in the town of Bedford, Pennsylvania — however, if John K. Parks really did an apprenticeship in the town of Bedford (or some other part of Bedford County) as a minor, I would not expect him to appear in tax lists due to his presumably youthful age. I believe John K. Parks and his father did live in a part of early Bedford County that was used to form other counties; see below.
1787: In regard to the formation of Huntingdon County, Africa's 1883 book "History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania" states: "Population in the northern half of Bedford County had so increased as to warrant the inhabitants in demanding from the Assembly the setting off of a new county, and a bill for that purpose was introduced into the Assembly in 1787. ... On ... September 20th, the bill was compared and finally enacted. ... The town of Huntingdon, on the river Juniata, was fixed upon as the seat of justice for the new county..."
Considering that Huntingdon County and Fulton County were formed from Bedford County in 1787 and 1850 respectively, it becomes clear that if John K. Parks really was born at or near Burnt Cabins in 1784, then he was born in what was then Bedford County. It may be that he was born in the part of Bedford County that became Huntingdon County — a place that in all likelihood was part of Huntingdon County for as far back as John K. Parks could
remember.
1788: In the transcript of the 1788 tax list for Huntingdon Township of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania that is included in the book "Provincial Papers: Returns of Taxables...1773-1784, an individual named John Parks is listed as owning 200 acres of land, two horses, and two head of cattle. I wonder if this is a listing for the father of John K. Parks. It is difficult to evaluate such things, because there were other contemporaneous Pennsylvanians named John Park(s).
I couldn't find Huntingdon Township on the circa 1818 Melish-Whiteside map of Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. I suspect that all or part of Huntingdon Township had already become part of Porter Township when the map was made. Back then, Porter Township was considerably larger than it is now.
1790: As reported above, the parents of John K. Parks were John and Katy Parks. When I read through the Bedford and Huntingdon County portions of the 1908 book "Heads of Families First Census of the United States: 1790", I did not find an individual named John Park(s). I did, however, find individuals named James and Thomas Parks in the Huntingdon County portion of the book; see page 125. I suppose that raises the possibility that John and Katy Parks were living in someone else's household in 1790. When I searched the pdf of the book electronically, I found individuals named John Park(s) in the listings of Chester, Dauphin, Franklin, and Washington counties.
1793: Based on the age of Jane "Park" (wife of the gunsmith John K. Parks) that is given in the 1850 census records of Bradford Township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, her calculated birth year is circa 1793.
Circa 1796 to Circa 1805?: The 1898 Beers book indicates that "In Bedford" John K. Parks "learned the gunsmith's trade, at which he later worked in Blair county." As an educated guess, this gunsmithing apprenticeship would have taken place sometime between age 12 and age 21. If he truly was born in 1784, he would have been 12 years old around 1796, and he would have been 21 years old around 1805. I haven't found any evidence that either John K. Park or his parents lived in the town of Bedford in the 1796 to 1805 timeframe.
If John K. Parks literally worked as a gunsmith in Blair County it must have only been for a short period of time, because Blair County wasn't formed until 1846 (see below), and the same 1898 Beers book indicates that John K. Parks moved to Clearfield County in 1847. It seems possible that the author of the biographical sketch in the 1898 book was simply using the contemporaneous name for the portion of Huntingdon County where John K. Parks had been working before that portion of Huntingdon County became Blair County. For example, if someone's father worked in the city of Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia before Yugoslavia was divided into a number of countries, then nowadays that someone might say his father used to work in Croatia, rather than saying his father used to work in Yugoslavia.
1796: No individual named John Park(s) is included in the transcript of the 1796 Bedford Borough tax list that is included on pages 249 & 250 of the 1884 book "History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania". The list only identifies one gunsmith: Henry Sides.
There were other active gunsmiths in Bedford County in the 1796 to 1805 timeframe, such as Conrad Atley and William Rose.
1798: Click here to see the listing for John Parks, father of the gunsmith John K. Parks, in the 1798 direct tax list (Courtesy of Joanne Damm Rodgers). The list shows him owning one 14 x 16-foot Cabbin, one 20 x 20-Foot Stable, and one 31 x 34-foot Brick Smithery. A portion of the list that I didn't include indicates he had 50 perches of "Lands and Lots admitted to be subject to Valuation." 50 perches is is about 5/16 of an acre. In my opinion, that small property size indicates he was probably living and working in a town. The brick smithery is a match to the cited occupation of the father of John K. Parks that is given in the 1898 Beers book.
The title on the first page of the 1898 direct tax list is "Townships Huntingdon, Barree and west. Robert Dean, Assistant Assessor 5th Subdivision." The written description of the tax list is "A Particular List or description of all Lands Lots Buildings and Wharves owned possessed or occupied on the first day of October 1798 in the fifth subdivision of the second district in the eighth division in the State of Pennsylvania."
1800: No individual named John Park(s) is included in the transcript of the 1800 Bedford Borough tax list that is provided on page 250 of the 1884 book "History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania".
1800: I did not find a a listing for any individuals named John Park(s) in the manuscript 1800 census records of Huntingdon, Barree, and West townships of Huntingdon County. I also did not find a listing for any individuals named John Park(s) in the "Borough of Bedford" or the "Bedford & St. Clair Townships" portions of the alphabetically organized 1800 manuscript census records of Bedford County, Pennsylvania. If you can find an individual named John Park(s) in the 1800 census records of Bedford County or Huntingdon County, please let me know.
1810: No individual named John Park(s) is included in the transcript of the 1810 Bedford Borough tax list that is included on pages 250 & 251 of the 1884 book "History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania".
1810: Click here to see the listing for the household of a John Parks in the 1810 manuscript census records of Dublin Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. This is presumed to be a listing for the household of the father of the gunsmith John K. Parks. According to the 1884 book "History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania", Dublin Township of Bedford County became part of Fulton County in 1850.
Circa 1811: The 1898 Beers book identifies one of the children of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson as "Elizabeth married William Shaw, who died in Blair county, in 1846, and she passed away in Huntingdon county." Based on the nine-year-age of Eleanor Elizabeth Parks that is reportedly documented in 1820 tax records (see below), she was born circa 1811, which is before John and Jane (Parkinson) Parks were married.
1812 to Circa 1815?: The 1898 Beers book indicates that John K. Parks "While a resident of Huntingdon county ... manufactured guns for the war of 1812, in which he participated, being on duty in Buffalo, New York."
Egle's 1876 book "An illustrated history of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania" states: "On the 4th day of May, 1812, the "Huntingdon volunteers" tendered their services to President Madison, in the war with Great Britain, and on Monday, the 7th day of September following, under Robert Allison, captain, and Jacob Miller, first lieutenant, they marched to Niagara. On the 2d of October they arrived at Buffalo. Other companies from Huntingdon county were commanded by Captains Moses Canan, William Morris, and Isaac VanDevander. Dr. Alexander Dean, of the borough of Huntingdon, was chosen surgeon of the Second Pennsylvania regiment." In view of the Buffalo reference, it seems likely that John Parks was a member of the Huntingdon Volunteers. I haven't been able to verify this, because I couldn't find a transcript of a relevant muster roll.
Click here to read a War of 1812 military-service-related article Joanne Damm Rodgers wrote for the Parkes Society newsletter.
1813: Using the information in her 1866 obituary (see below), the calculated birth day of Eleanor Elizabeth Stine "daughter of John and Jane Parke" is July 31, 1813, which is before John and Jane (Parkinson) Parks were married.
1815: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that John Parks is identified as a single freeman in the 1815 tax records of Henderson Township, Huntingdon County. I think that means he was at least 21 years old when the tax record was created, which would mean he was born before the 1798 birth date given in the 1898 Beers book.
1815 to 1843: According to the notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, the 1815 to 1843 Huntingdon Boro/Henderson Township records list John K. Parks as a gunsmith.
1816: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that John Parks and Mary Jane Parkinson were married on January 18, 1816 in Huntingdon County. This appears to be based on Chapter XV of J. Simpson Africa's 1883 book "History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania", which is titled "List of Marriages by Rev. John Johnston, 1787 to 1823, 349 Couples." The introduction to that chapter states, "REV. JOHN JOHNSTON was born near the city of Belfast, Ireland, in 1750, and came to America about 1784. He was installed pastor of the Hart's Log and Shaver's Creek Presbyterian congregations in November, 1787, and of Huntingdon soon thereafter. He married Jane McBeth, of Cumberland County, and for a short time resided in Shaver's Creek Valley. Soon thereafter he moved to Huntingdon, and resided at the southeastern corner of Second and Penn Streets, where he died Dec. 16, 1823." The following excerpt is from that Chapter XV.
If John K. Parks was born in 1784, then he would have been about 32 years old at the time of his marriage to Mary Jane Parkinson. If Mary Jane Parkinson was born in 1793, then she would have been about 23 years old when she married John K. Parks.
1816: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that John Parks is identified in the 1816 tax records of Henderson Township, Huntingdon County, but is no longer listed as a single freeman.
1817: The 1898 Beers book identifies one of the children of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson with the following statement: "Mary Jane is the wife of Jacob R. Coder, of Ohio." Her obituary (see below) includes the statement, "Mary J. Coder, born in Huntington, Pa., January 8th 1817..."
1818: The 1898 Beers book identifies one of the children of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson with the statement: "George E. died in Centre county, Penn. in 1891." A genealogy web page indicates that George E. Parks, son of John Parks and Jane (Parkinson) Parks, was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania in 1818, died in 1884, and is buried in the Union Cemetery in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that some source lists George E. Parkes as having been born at Pennsylvania Furnace in Huntingdon County (Rodgers did not identify the source of the information). Pennsylvania Furnace (40.70580747, -78.00369724) is an unincorporated populated place that is primarily located in Franklin Township of Huntingdon County. It is about 15.3 air-miles north of the town of Huntingdon.
1819: The following excerpt from the 1923 warrant survey map for Dublin Township of Fulton County, Pennsylvania shows the survey of John Park near a waterway that is labeled, "down Little Augwick" The property, which consists of 71 acres and 96 perches was "Surveyed for John Park the 19th day of May 1819 on Warrant for 50 acres dated the 26th day of April..." and was recorded in Book C-175, Page 105. As shown farther below, I believe this survey was for the father of the gunsmith John K. Parks.
By comparing 1819 and 2025 property boundaries, the John Park survey is obviously parcel 05-10-007 and part of parcel 05-10-009 in the Dublin Township portion of the current (November 1, 2025) version of the Fulton County GIS Parcel Viewer. The approximate center of the John Park survey is 40.069, -77.887, which is approximately 0.75 air-miles southeast of the populated place known as Burnt Cabins. Aughwick Road appears to follow a portion of the eastern property boundary between approximately 40.06693850, -77.88446820 and 40.06404580, -77.88611424.
Analysis I used to find and confirm the location of 1819 John Park property:
The 1765 survey of Benjamin Elliott (Book A-47, Page 95) also adjoins the John Park survey, and is described as "a Tract of land situate at the foot of the Tuscorora Mountain and on a branch of Aughwick in the County of Cumberland..." An annotation on the survey image identifies the waterway as a "branch of little Augwick". This survey provides a general sense of where the John Park survey is located relative to the Tuscarawas Mountain, and helps to confirm that the John Parks survey is not directly on the waterway known as Little Aughwick Creek.
Referring back to the 1923 warrant survey map above, one can see that the John Park survey is located near a significant turn in the South Branch of Little Aughwick Creek. Because of the Benjamin Elliot survey we know that upstream from the turn (i.e. south of the turn), the Tuscarawas Mountain is on the east side of the creek and John Park's survey is on the west side of the creek. Compare the warrant survey map to this 1944 topographical map, which shows Burnt Cabins, the Tuscarawas Mountain, and a significant turn of the South Branch of Little Aughwick Creek. Judging from this map comparison, it becomes obvious that the property represented by the John Park survey is near, and somewhere generally south of, the populated place known as Burnt Cabins.
On the aforementioned warrant survey map, Sidney Burney's 1810 survey (Book C-10, Page 145) appears to encompass the site of Burnt Cabins, based on the course of the waterway, the courses of the roads, and the survey being located just north of Sidneys Nob (see the Sidneys Nob reference on the survey image). The survey includes the statement, "Situated in Dublin Township (now Bedford County) at the north end of the Cove Mountains..." Sidneys Nob is at the north end of Cove Mountain, and is identified on the aforementioned topographic map.
Parcel 05-10-002B on the GIS Parcel Viewer clearly corresponds to the 402-acre property that was surveyed on March 15, 1794 for Mary Britton, resurveyed on May 17, 1815 (Book A-84, Page 184), and adjoins the west side of what would become the John Park survey. On the Mary Britton survey, the land that would become the John Park survey is identified as belonging to James Jameson.
The 1788 survey for David Walker (Book C-223, Page 96) adjoins the property surveyed for John Park in 1819, and indicates that the property ( Book C-175, Page 105) was vacant land in 1788. This suggests that the John Park family wasn't squatting on the property at the time of the 1788 Walker survey.
On the December 16, 1815 Nathaniel Kelley survey (Book C-111, Page 62), which is identified with a "10" on the warrant survey map, what would become the John Parks property is identified as "James Ramseys Improvement".
1819: The 1898 Beers book identifies one of the children of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson with the statement: "Daniel G. came to Bradford township, but later removed to Kansas, where he organized Montgomery County, and there died." The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, as updated in January of 2022, refer to this individual as Daniel Garber and as Daniel Garb. A web page about an individual named Daniel Garb Parks indicates he was born on February 17, 1819 in Pennsylvania, died on September 11, 1871, and is buried in the Logue Cemetery in Coffey County, Kansas. I suspect this individual is the son of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson.
Click here to see a biography of a Daniel G. Parks, Jr. who was born in Blair County, Pennsylvania on February 15, 1854. The biography, which is from the 1903 book "History of Montgomery County, Kansas", includes the following statement: "The parents of Daniel G. Parks remained in the east until after the war, when they removed with their family, in 1865, to Woodson county, Kansas, where the father died Sept. 11, 1871. The father and husband in Coffey county, Kansas, was a veteran of the Civil War, having served gallantly as a private soldier of Company "K," 35th Iowa Vol. Inft. He was a man of many good traits of character, industrious and honest. He died as a result of a breaking down, consequent upon the hardships of army life. After his death his widow removed with her family to Montgomery county, as above stated, where she purchased the farm upon which our subject now resides and which he purchased from the heirs after her death in 1892."
1820: No individual named John Park(s) is included in the transcript of the 1820 Bedford Borough tax list that is included on page 251 of the 1884 book "History of Bedford, Somerset and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania".
1820 to 1821: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, report that the tax records for 1820 and 1821 indicate that John K. Parks was unable to pay for the schooling of Eleanor Elizabeth Parks, who was nine years old in August of 1820. If anyone has copies of those records, I would appreciate digital copies for this web page.
1820: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that the family of John K. Parks is listed in the 1820 census records of Huntingdon Borough, not far from the listing for the household of John K. Parks' mother-in-law. I would like to have a copy of the census listings of John K. Parks and his mother-in-law, but I don't have access to the manuscript 1820 Huntingdon County census records.
1821: Dr. Duane L. Beidel's 2020 book "The Little Aughwick Farm" indicates that Daniel Parks obtained a clear deed for the 1819 John Parks property in 1821 by paying $12.18 that the John Parks estate still owed to the state of Pennsylvania. The book indicates this payment was made at the John Parks estate sale, which means that John Parks was already deceased by 1821. This in turn implies that the 1819 property belonged to the father of the gunsmith John K. Parks. (Information from the book was provided by Wes Bumbarger.) Click here to see a photo of the farm that was taken by Wes Bumbarger in November of 2025.
Joanne Damm Rodgers wonders if John Parks is buried on the property represented by the 1819 survey.
1821: Kauffman's 1960 book "The Pennsylvania-Kentucky Rifle" briefly mentions an 1821 Henderson Township, Huntington [sic] County, Pennsylvania gunsmith named John Park. The basis for the Huntingdon County entry is reported to be a 1821 census list. It may be a record from the 1821 Septennial Census.
1821: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that John K. Parks is identified as a gun maker in the 1821 tax list of Henderson Township. Henderson Township of Huntingdon County is located just to the east of the town of Huntingdon, and part of its boundary follows the Juniata River.
1822: The 1898 Beers book identifies one of the children of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson with the statement: "John a resident of Lawrence township, Clearfield county, was in the Union service during the Civil war." Calculating from information on his tombstone, John R. Parks was born on August 30, 1822. According to the Pennsylvania "Record of Burial Place of Veteran" card for John R. Parks, he served as a Private in Company D of the 57th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Civil War and is buried in the Stoneville Cemetery.
1822: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that John K. Parks' father died in 1822. Based on the information in Beidel's 2020 book "The Little Aughwick Farm" that is cited above, this 1822 date may be off by a year or two.
1823 to 1825: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that none of the children of John K. Parks were recorded as poor children in the 1823 to 1825 timeframe.
1826 to 1833: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that all of the children of John K. Parks were included on the list of poor children from 1826 to at least 1833, and also indicates that the list includes the birth dates of the children.
1827 to 1796: The 1898 Beers book indicates that Thomas Parks, a son of John K. Parks and the subject of the biographical sketch in the 1898 Beers book, "was born in 1827, in Huntingdon county, Penn." Thomas Parks is buried in the Bigler Cemetery in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. His tombstone indicates that he was born on January 7, 1827 and died in December of 1896 (I couldn't read the number respresenting the day of death).
1829 to 1830: Page 459 of J. Simpson Africa's 1883 book "History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania" indicates that during the 1829 to 1830 timeframe, Mary Jane Parks participated in the Methodist Episcopal Sabbath School of Huntingdon Borough. I suspect this Mary Jane Parks is the daughter of John K. Parks and Jane (Parkinson) Parks.
1830: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that the 1830 census records of Dublin Township of Bedford County list a John Parks household, and indicate that the 1830 census records of Union Township in Huntingdon County list a John Park, Jr. household, but neither of the households are a match to the family of the gunsmith John K. Parks. I would like to investigate further, particularly in Henderson Township and Huntingdon Borough, but I don't have access to copies of the manuscript 1830 Huntingdon County census records.
1835: The 1898 Beers book indicates that in 1835 Thomas Parks, a son of John K. Parks, "left home and commenced working on the canal, being connected therewith, and boating, for nine years." I suspect that is a reference to the canal described on pages 33 to 37 of Africa's 1883 book. According to that book, the first five canal boats reached the town of Huntingdon on May 26, 1831, and "On the 1st day of June, a letting of the work between Huntingdon and Hollidaysburg was made at Williamsburg."
Circa 1835: The 1898 Beers book identifies one of the children of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson with the statement: "Mrs. Margaret Celey died in Boggs township, Clearfield county." Based on Margaret's age as listed in the 1850 census (see below), her calculated birth year is circa 1835.
1837: Although the survey recorded in Book C-175, Page 105 was performed for John Park in 1819 on an 1819 warrant, the Bedford County warrant register reveals that the property wasn't patented until December 22, 1837, and the patentee was an individual named Daniel Parks.
This is the only John Park(s) I saw in the "P" section of the Bedford County Warrant Register. I didn't find any individuals named John Park(s) in the "P" section of the Huntingdon County or Fulton County Warrant Registers.
1838: According to the obituary of Jacob Franklin Coder in the September 4, 1896 issue of the "Bucyrus Evening Telegraph", he and his wife Mary J. Park were married in 1838.
1840: Here, below, is a listing for the John Parks household in the 1840 census records of Henderson Township, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. One individual in the household is listed as being employed in the "Manufacturing and trades" category, which is consistent with John being a gunsmith. By my calculations, in 1840 John would have been about 56, Jane would have been about 47, Mary Jane would have been about 23, George would have been about 22, Daniel would have been about 21, Thomas would have been about 13, and Margaret would have been about 5. That leaves the three male children in the "10 & under 15" age category of the census as a mystery. Perhaps those three children died young, or for some other reason were simply unknown to the person who wrote the biography of Thomas Parks in the 1898 Beers book.
1843: Click here to see a photo of an 1843 deed (provided by Wes Bumbarger) wherein Daniel Parks and his wife Martha of Air Township, Bedford County conveyed the old 1819 John Parks property to Benjamin Reese of Dublin Township, Bedford County for $200.00. Wes Bumbarger was able to take the photo of the deed courtesy of Dr. Duane L. Beidel.
1843 to 1846: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that John K. Parks and his son Daniel Garber Parks were taxed in Woodbury Township of Huntingdon County from 1843 to 1846. Joanne indicates that those tax lists identify John K. Parks as having an occupation. As mentioned in more detail below, Woodbury Township of Huntingdon County became part of the newly formed county of Blair in 1846.
1844: The 1898 Beers book indicates that in 1844 Thomas Parks, a son of John K. Parks, moved to Blair county from Huntingdon County. As shown below, Blair County did not come into existence until 1846. I suspect that the author of the 1898 piece was using the contemporaneous county name for the area Thomas moved to, rather than using the 1844 county name for the area Thomas moved to.
1845: The 1898 Beers book indicates that after moving to Blair County, Thomas Parks, a son of John K. Parks, moved to Bradford Township of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania in 1845, where he was a farmer.
1846: The 1896 book "A History of Blair County, Pennsylvania..." indicates that the act establishing Blair County was approved by the governor on February 26, 1846 and includes the following language: "That the territory within the townships of North Woodbury and Greenfield, in the county of Bedford, and the territory within the townships of Allegheny, Antes, Snyder, Tyrone, Frankstown, Blair, Huston and Woodbury, and within that part of Morris township lying west of the line lately run by William Reed and other viewers, under an order of court, for the purpose of dividing the same, in the county of Huntingdon, are hereby erected according to said boundaries into a new and separate county, to be called Blair..."
1847: The 1898 Beers book indicates that John K. Parks moved to Clearfield County in 1847, and established his residence in Bradford Township.
1847-1850: The notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers, updated in January of 2022, indicate that according to the Whiskers' 1982 book "The Gunmakers and Gunsmiths of Western PA", John Park(s) is listed as a gunmaker from 1847 to 1850 in records pertaining to Bradford Township of Clearfield County.
1848: The following advertisement is from the August 4, 1848 issue of "Democratic Banner" newspaper of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The advertisement was placed by John Parks of Bradford Township.
1850: In the 1850 census records of Bradford Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania John Park is recorded as a 66-year-old gunsmith living with 57-year-old Jane Park and 15-year-old Margaret Park.
1850: A different individual named John Park is listed as a farmer in an October 16, 1850 census record from Cass Township of Huntingdon County. The listed place of birth appears to be New Jersey. I believe this individual is buried in the Cassville Cemetery in Cass Township. J. Simpson Africa's 1883 book "History of Huntingdon and Blair counties, Pennsylvania" includes a list of tombstone inscriptions that were recorded at the Cassville Cemetery on September 10, 1877. One entry in that list is "Park, John, died Dec. 10, 1851, aged 78 years, 1 month, 5 days, father of Joseph". Calculating from the tombstone inscription, this John Park was born on November 5, 1773. This calculated birth date is consistent with the age listed in the census record.
1856: Burnt Cabins appears on the Dublin Township portion of the 1856 "Directory map of Huntingdon Co., Pennsylvania". This shows that there could easily be confusion over which county Burnt Cabins was located in. I did not see a Huntingdon Township on that map.
1860: After reading the notes of Joanne Damm Rodgers (updated in January of 2022) I think I understand that Jane Parks appears in the 1860 census, but her husband John Parks does not. I have not been able to find Jane Parks in the 1860 census records of Clearfield, Bradford Township, or Boggs Township of Clearfield County. Does anyone know which county and township or town Jane Parks is listed in for the 1860 census?
1860: The listing for the household of Thomas Parks, son of John K. Parks, appears in the 1860 census records of Bradford Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. His mother is not listed as part of the household.
1866: The following obituary is from the June 20, 1866 issue of "The Globe" newspaper of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania:
1866: The following obituary was placed in the June 20, 1866 issue of "The Globe" newspaper of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. I don't believe the reported age at the time of death is correct.
1898: According to his tombstone, John R. Parks (son of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson) died on April 27, 1898. He is buried at the Stoneville Cemetery in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
1898: The following obituary from an 1898 issue of the "Bucyrus News Journal" indicates that Mrs. Mary J. Coder (daughter of John K. Parks and his wife Mary Parkinson) died on September 21.
Biographical information in several 1983 to 2001 books
The 2017 book "Gunsmiths of Bedford County, Pennsylvania" by James B. Whisker abandons the John Parks-related information that was published in the 1983, 1990, and 2001 books, and adopts the research of Joanne Rodgers.
Although it isn't error-free, the following biographical entry from Volume I of the 1898 book "Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania" (J.H. Beers & Co.) provides an introduction to the life of the gunsmith son of John and Katie Parks. The book refers to this gunsmith as John K. Parks. Although the middle initial "K" doen't appear in any original documents that I'm aware of, I sometimes use it on this web page to distinguish from other Pennsylvanians named John Park(s).
An 1842 survey granted to John Ramsey (Book C-186, Page 234) adjoins the northern boundary of the John Park survey, and states, Situate on the South Branch of Little Aughwick-in Dublin township Bedford & Huntingdon Counties..." This survey confirms that the 1819 John Park property is located near the South Branch of Little Aughwick Creek, and is located near a county line, which is represented on the John Ramsey survey. As noted above, Dublin Township of Bedford County became part of Fulton County in 1850. Parcel 05-10-008A on the the Dublin Township portion of the current (November 1, 2025) version of the Fulton County GIS Parcel Viewer clearly corresponds to the aforementioned John Ramsey Book C-186, Page 234 survey. Parcel 05-10-008A is located on both sides of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Biographies in the following publications seem to identify the John Parks of Cass Township, Huntingdon County as a Pennsylvania gunsmith:
