{"nrhp_refnum":"04000381","name":"Parker, Col. Josiah, Family Cemetery","other_names":["#046-5049"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Approx. 50 yds from jct. of Old Machlesfield Rd. and Macklesfield Ct.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Smithfield","county":"Isle of Wight County","state":"VA","lat":36.97606286700005,"lon":-76.53580614999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-04-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A quarter-acre family cemetery in a wooded, overgrown lot off Old Macklesfield Road near Smithfield, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, on the old Macclesfield estate of the Parker family. It was rediscovered in 2001.","why_significant":"The cemetery is argued to be the burial place of Colonel Josiah Parker (1751-1810), a Revolutionary War officer at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown, later a Virginia congressman. It is said to be the only known surviving tangible reminder of him. Family records, a congressional biographical directory, obituaries and local tradition place his burial there.","narrative":"Set in a wooded, overgrown lot off Old Macklesfield Road near Smithfield, Virginia, this quarter-acre family burial ground was rediscovered in 2001. It lies on the former Macclesfield estate, where the Parker family held land going back to 1638. Visible features include a memorial marker naming Colonel Josiah Parker and relatives, the 1789 gravestone of his father Nicholas Parker, and several brick-covered graves, one with an arched brick vault that local tradition links to the Colonel. Parker (1751-1810) commanded Virginia troops at Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown, led south-side militia in 1781, and later served in Congress. Family records, church burial entries, a congressional biographical directory, 1810 obituaries and local oral tradition place his burial at Macclesfield. A state archaeologist noted that the brick, mortar and vault style fit an 1810 burial. The cemetery was listed for its association with his life.","period_of_significance":"1775 - 1810","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: Family Cemetery","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Wooded, heavily overgrown, undeveloped lot; described as remarkably well preserved. Current use is forestry/landscape.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.967671-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/6813/41681352/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/04000381.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000381/59107589fe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000381/59107589fe-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ser Amantio di Nicolao","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Macklesfield_Road,_leading_to_the_site_of_Josiah_Parker%27s_grave.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ser Amantio di Nicolao</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Macklesfield_Road,_leading_to_the_site_of_Josiah_Parker%27s_grave.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681352","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josiah_Parker_Family_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712199"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/isle-of-wight-county/parker-col-josiah-family-cemetery-04000381/"}