Frontier Blood

Frontier Blood: the Saga of the Parker Family. Jo Ella Powell Exley. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2001. $29.95, hard cover with dust jacket, 331 pages. ISBN 1-58544-136-8.

This book on the Parker family was written by Jo Ella Powell Exley, who is also the author of Texas Tears and Texas Sunshine: Voices of Frontier Women.

I was impressed by the book. As the cover states, it sets the well-known stories of Cynthia Ann and Quanah Parker "in the context of the stubborn, strong, contentious Parker clan..." Early in the book I would have liked to have seen more information on Elder John Parker, father of Daniel, James, Silas, Benjamin, et al. But probably such records are sparse anyway. In the end I would have liked to have seen some information on the descendants of Daniel, James, Rachel, Cynthia Ann, and Quanah -- the five principle characters of the story. But this mainly is a story of Cynthia Ann and Quanah, whose stories cover roughly half the book. So Exley reaches her objective -- to tell their stories in context of the broader Parker family.

Exley is better with western history than Baptist history, as far as I can tell. She seems to confuse Separate Baptists with Free Will Baptists. She also gives the impression that Daniel Parker grew up in a preacher's home. More likely is that Daniel was probably a preacher as early as his father was, and possibly even ordained before his father. Expressions Exley either coined or borrowed concerning Daniel -- the "practical mystic" and the "anti-missionary missionary" -- are both very appropriate when understood properly.

This book was winner of the 2002 Western Books Exhibition Award of Merit and the 2001 Summerfield G. Roberts Award. According to Publishers Weekly, "Vivid, unsparing accounts, much insight into the pioneer experience and the details of early interracial relations will make this book popular among devotees of the history of the American West."

I recommend the book -- great for the students of Texas and southwestern history; good for those interested in the Parker family and Baptists in East Texas. Better for that second purpose is Frontier Religion. These two will make a good companion set.

 

Frontier Religion focuses on the preacher, Daniel Parker, so you might find it more interesting.