Richard PARKER, Congress, VA (1810-1893)

PARKER, Richard, a Representative from Virginia; born in Richmond, Va., on December 22, 1810; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Berryville, Clarke County, Va.; held several local offices; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851); elected judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit of Virginia on January 15, 1851, and served until 1869; pronounced the sentence of death on John Brown, who was captured at Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, Va. (now West Virginia), after his unsuccessful attempt to raise an insurrection in 1859; resumed the practice of his profession in Winchester, Frederick County, Va., and died there November 10, 1893; interment in Mount Hebron Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present