John Palmer Parker

John Palmer Parker 1790 - 1868 was the founder of the famous Parker Ranch of Hawaii.

Parker had arrived in Hawaii in 1809 or 1812 jumping off a ship and hiding in a thicket as the ship that brought him to Hawaii drops below the horizon. John Parker comes to the attention of the great King Kamehameha I, the chief who fought to unite the eight separate islands into a single kingdom, and John is given important tasks by the king. John returns one more time to the sea for adventure in Canton during the War of 1812, but then returns to Hawaii to stay for good. Having brought back with him a new, state-of-the-art American musket, John is given the privilege of being the first man allowed to shoot some of the thousands of maverick cattle that roam Hawaii’s remote plains and valleys. These rangy beasts are the legacy of British Captain George Vancouver, who presented Kamehameha with five head just 21 years earlier.

Parker got established, and came in as a bullock hunter. He was a good marksman, good hunter. They would kill these wild beasts and the meat would be salted. They supplied the whaling vessels that came in with meat. And they also would load up on sweet potatoes and other crops that were raised. Hawai‘i was trading meat, animal products, hides and other things, shipping to South America and back to continental United States, before the Western states were really into the business. The hides were far more valuable. The price of meat was not too high. Due mostly to John’s efforts, salt beef eventually replaces the increasingly scarce sandalwood as the island’s chief export. As the need for beef increases, so does John’s fortune and influence. [ [http://www.pacificworlds.com/kawaihae/memories/memory3.cfm Kawaihae, Hawai‘i - Memories: Cattle ] ]

A year after he returned to Hawaii in 1815, he had married Chiefess Kipikane, the daughter of a high-ranking chief, who took the Christian name Rachel. Rachel Parker bears John a daughter and two sons, and the Parker dynasty begins, figuring prominently in the next two centuries of Hawaiian history. “So Parker got established, and came in as a bullock hunter. He was a good marksman, good hunter. They would kill these wild beasts and the meat would be salted. They supplied the whaling vessels that came in with meat. And they also would load up on sweet potatoes and other crops that were raised. [ [http://www.foodreference.com/html/art-parker-ranch.html History of the Parker Ranch in Hawaii ] ]

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Category:Ranchers