Early Life and Education
Parker was born in Norfolk, Virginia, the son of a slave mother and white father. Born into slavery, at the age of eight John was forced to walk to Richmond, where he was sold to a doctor from Mobile, Alabama. While working in the doctor's house as a domestic servant, John was taught to read and write by the doctor's family, although the law forbade slaves' being educated. During his apprenticeship in a foundry, John attempted escape and had conflicts with officials. He asked one of the doctor's patients, a widow, to purchase him. She enabled him to hire out to earn money, and he purchased his freedom from her for $1,800 in 1845. He earned the money through his work in two of Mobile's iron foundries and occasional odd jobs.
Read more about this topic: John Parker (abolitionist)
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