By Caroline Jones, Library Assistant
On May 19, 1836, a young Cynthia Ann Parker was taken captive during the Comanche raid of Fort Parker. She lived as a Comanche woman for 25 years, marrying a Comanche warrior and having three children, until she was recaptured by Texas Rangers on December 19, 1860 in the Pease River Battle (also referred to as the Pease River Massacre by some scholars). In researching Parker I not only found her life story compelling, but both the variety and the credibility of the sources of her story intriguing and at times conflicting.
Cynthia Ann Parker was born to Lucy and Silas Parker in Crawford County, Illinois. The Parker clan made the journey to Texas and constructed Fort Parker along the Navasota River around 1835. According to Grace Jackson’s biography Cynthia Ann Parker, three generations of Parker’s lived at Fort Parker, along with several other families who followed them to Texas from Illinois. Having left the fort during the Battle of San Jacinto, all returned on April 25, 1836 after the Texan victory. On May 18th, Texas Rangers protecting the fort were disbanded and sent home to their families. The next day, Fort Parker was raided by the Comanche, killing many and taking five captive, including Cynthia Ann and her younger brother John.
Renamed Naudah, Parker grew up as a Comanche. The Handbook of Texas Online notes that Parker resisted attempts made by white traders to ransom her back, but was eventually recaptured at Pease River on December 19, 1860. Parker was forced to leave her husband and two sons behind, never knowing if they survived the attack. Her young daughter, Prairie Flower (or Topsannah) was captured with her. Together, they made the journey to Fort Cooper where the surviving members of the Parker family identified and claimed them. Living again with her biological family was a struggle and she made many escape attempts. She moved from her uncle’s home in Birdville to her brother’s in Van Zandt County where she and Prairie Flower lived the rest of their lives. Prairie Flower died of pneumonia in 1864, but it is unclear exactly when Cynthia Ann died. Unfortunately Parker never knew that her surviving son, Quanah Parker, became known as the “last great Comanche Chief.”
I first became interested in this story when I found an image of the letter Quanah Parker wrote to Governor Campbell in the Texas Treasures online exhibit. I started looking through the TSLAC catalog for more information on Cynthia Ann in our collections. A surprising find was Comanche Moon: A Picture Narrative about Cynthia Ann Parker, Her Twenty-Five Year Captivity among the Comanche Indians, and Her Son, Quanah Parker, the Last Chief of the Comanches, a comic book version of the story constructed in the style of Texas History Movies. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s collections include several copies of this book, including a limited edition hardback gifted by the author to TSLAC. Another interesting book I found was Tracking the Texas Rangers: The Nineteenth Century. The authors question the motives of historical players in this story, such as Texas Governor and former Texas Ranger Sul Ross, and how through cultural bias, revisionist history, and political conquests, major elements of Parker’s story have been altered. Even the political and historical stature of her son Quanah brought the story of the white Comanche woman “into the realms of myth, legend, and folklore” (Tracking the Texas Rangers, 202).
Cynthia Ann Parker’s story is fascinating for its place in women’s history, Texas frontier stories, and the narratives of “Indian captives.” But its sources, their political leanings, and revisions are of equal interest to historians and curious readers alike.
Books mentioned in this post:
- Tracking the Texas Rangers: The Nineteenth Century, ZN745.81 G463tr
- Comanche moon: a picture narrative about Cynthia Ann Parker, her twenty-five year captivity among the Comanche Indians, and her son Quanah Parker, the last chief of the Comanches, 970.3 P223JA1 1979
Where did they take Cynthia after The Texas Rangers Captured her? I know she ended up in Ft. Worth, but I read somewhere she was taken to a mill in Glen Rose?
Thanks for reading! You may find more information about Cynthia Ann Parker in the books mentioned in the post. Here is a link to the Humanities Texas post about Parker, including links to the Texas Plains Trail Region and other perhaps helpful sites: https://www.humanitiestexas.org/programs/tx-originals/list/cynthia-ann-parker
Feel free to send your question to our reference folks at ref@tsl.texas.gov for more information about Parker resources and any other Texas topics of interest.
My 4th grade Teacher in Stamford, Texas was Ms. Parker, don’t recall her first name, but she told us she was a direct descendant of Quanah Parker.
The yrs of note (4 me) were 1963-1964. She was very stoic & had incredible posture, so it wasn’t difficult to imagine her having Indian heritage.
I had the same experience…my 4th grade teacher was Mrs. Parker at Dupree Elementary school in Lubbock, Texas and as I remember, she told us she was a descendant of Quanah Parker. I would love to know how she was related to the great Comanche chief. As I remember, she was gray haired, stoic but fairly short. She was a kind but demanding teacher who I respected and remember.
Cynthia Parker was my Grandmothers Cousin.Our family has a book out all about her being taken .I am proud to say she was my blood kin.
Somehow Cynthia Parker is related to me as well I’m trying to find out where I fit all into this mix
Cynthia Ann Parker is also my cousin from my Grandfather side
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne is a book about Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Commanches.
My mother’s Aunt Emma Parker Scott from Stow Mass. told us years ago that way back the family was captured by the Indians. I am trying to find out if Cynthia was any relation of my Parkers from Mass. My mother’s father, my grandfather, had sort of Indian features and so did his nephew my mother’s cousin. I am my family’s genealogist and found many of my trees but this is something I have always wondered about. Thank you for reading my query. Anne Laube
Hello, we will direct your question to reference staff.
I just read the book named “Rride the Wind” and fell in love with it. How factual was the book, about her life?
Hello, we will direct your question to our reference staff.
I have also read Ride the Wind and agree that it is an excellent story about Cynthia Ann Parker. I purchased the book at Fort Parker historical site and was told that both the Parker side of the family and the Indian side of the family agree that it is the most accurate representation of her life.
My grandmother was a Parker too. We were told that we were related to Quannah Parker. My great grandfather was born in Indian territory (Oklahoma). Our family have always lived in and around Mangum and Lawton Oklahoma. Our Texas family members lived on the border of Oklahoma around the red River. How does one go about DNA testing for Indian heritage?
Good afternoon,
We will refer your query to our reference staff.
Is the Parker family of Jesse Parker (1776-1849) and Elizabeth Ann Barker (1812-1898) of Walker County Texas related? This Jesse Parker was involved in the struggle for Texas independence.
Who were the other people kidnapped along with Cynthia Ann Parker? I have always heard that I am related to one of the other girls.
Thank you for your comment. Please direct queries related to our collections to reference staff at ref@tsl.texas.gov or 512-463-5455.
Anyone with a newspaper.com membership search under the location, Robinson, IL. The Robinson Argus will pop up. Then search Denison. An article that was in that newspaper on July 8, 1875 about Gen McKenzie writing from Fort Sill about Cynthia Ann Parker’s Comanche son looking for information on his mother and sister. It was written to the quartermaster at Denison, TX. The reply told of Cynthia Ann and Prairie Flower’s death. The letter called Quanah Parker by Cit-ra. Perhaps a misspelling of Quanah or a nickname.
I a descend from the same Parker family as Cynthia Ann but my ancestors did not go with them to build Fort Parker. They stayed in Crawford County, IL. My third great grandmother was Elizabeth Parker. She was married to John Harvey Allison. His second wife was another Parker cousin but she was from the Texas family, Elizabeth Starr.
Omg! He is my family I am trying to trace everything down!