Hi List I know we have discussed this issue in the past as there is no certainty as to the wife of John Parker, the father of the 5 immigrant brothers. It seems that so many people accept that Joane Drake was his wife, but there is no evidence that this is the case. Can anyone tell me what source they use for that information? Someone must have entered it into a biography or a book about the Parkers are whatever but I do not know where. I do find reference to it on the FTM CD #100 of marriages, but I do not believe those are not just extracted records but information from other sources, some questionable. But that is the only reference I can find. We do know that baptismal records for the children of John Parker indicate their mother was named Ann. Now, my name is Joanne, and I am fully aware that a nickname for that is Anne. Therefore we can not eliminate the possibility that John Parker's wife Ann is not just a shortened version of Joane. So I continue to keep an open mind. Other researchers indicate there was also a wife named Margery. It certainly appears he may have been married more than once, the son John being several years older than the next youngest sibling. I did review all of the Parish Register EXTRACTIONS for marriages of John Parker between 1607 and 1619 that are available at the LDS website. I ignored ALL submitted information. Obviously not all parishes are included in the extractions. I focused on women named Ann, Margaret, Margery, Joan, and Jane, since these are the given names almost exclusively attributed to the wife/wives of John Parker. There were 59 extractions for a marriage of John Parker between those years. 40 of them were for women with names that were not of the 5 listed above. 19 were for women named as above. They are noted below with date and location (all in England). 1. Margaret Parker Aug 3 1607 Withersfield, Suffolk 2. Ann Molleins Jan 19 1607 Hermitage, Dorset 3. Anne Calver Dec 11 1608 Burlingham, St Peter, Norfolk 4. Margaret Hutchings Jun 16 1608 Holy Trinity, Exeter, Devon 5. Annys Copyn Jul 9 1609 St Clement Danes, Westminster, London 6. Joan Shervy Aug 22 1609 Norton, Fitzwarren, Somerset 7. Anne Golley Jul 2 1610 Hedgerly, Buckingham 8. Anne Gelley Jul 2 1610 Hedgerly, Buckingham 9. Anne Houghton Dec 3 1610 Little Horwood, Buckingham 10 Jone Baker Oct 29 1611 Fenton (Kesteven), Lincoln 11 Johannes Clewley Jan 30 1611 Kingsley, Stafford 12 Jane Woodbridge May 23 1611 Cheerley, Buckingham 13 Jaine Clark Jun 20 1613 Watermillock, Cumberland 14 Anne Doncking Nov 29 1614 St Crux, York 15 Annam Bradley Nov 3 1614 Puddington, Bedford 16 Anne Kettle April 9 1616 Knebworth, Hertford 17 Margaret Terry Dec 1 1617 Shipbourne, Kent 18 Margt Byshop Nove 16 1618 Cople, Bedford 19 Anne Pettit Jan 19 1619 Cheveley, Cambridge Of these I felt that several would be eliminated for reasons of distance. John Parker appears to have been a man of reasonable financial means, but I would not anticipate that he would travel across a great distance in England to marry. Historically it seems that most people married individuals from their own general location. Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Lincoln, Stafford, Cumberland, and York all seemed to be fairly distant from Great Burstead in Essex. This would eliminate 7 of the above marriages. Closer or adjoining counties of Suffolk, London (Middlesex), Hertford, Kent, Bedford, Norfolk, and Cambridge all seem more likely. We can also probably eliminate #17 and #18 as we know that the christening records of the children indicate their mother was Ann, which is not a nickname for Margaret. Additionally, Johannes was a form for the masculine John so I am inclined to believe that this record is more likely an error. But it can not be eliminated without further evidence. So I have eliminated 9 of the 19 noted. And there are certainly other parish records out there that are not available to me at present. My point in this exercise is to show that we have no way of determining WHO is the "Ann" that is the mother of John Parker's children. Which is frustrating indeed. With all that said - does anyone have any OTHER candidates for the wife of John Parker? Is there any evidence of yet another name connected to John? I am very curious as to where the first reference to Joan Drake is made and the resource used. I am open to discussion and assistance in narrowing down our options. For now, my records simply show that John Parker's wife was named Ann... with a side note that others consider a Margery or Joan Drake as a possibility. Happy Parker Hunting!!! Jo Hogle