Cynthia Ann Parker

In the early 1830s, the Parker family, along with many others, moved west. Settling about 30 miles from what would become Waco, Texas, they built a fort as protection from Indian raids. The Comanche raided the settlement a couple of years later, during which several children were abducted.

One of those kids was Cynthia Ann Parker, who later gave birth to the last warrior chieftain, Quanah, for the Comanche. Quanah later took the name Parker to honor his mother, becoming known as Quanah Parker.

As I was working for a while in that area, and also because that fort is still standing, I drove there to tour the premises. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and left 2-3 hours later, going back to my apartment in Waco.

Knowing my eldest daughter had an interest in Native American stories, I emailed her concerning my experiences at the fort. She replied saying she was in process of reading a book about Indian raids on settlements and the kidnapping of children.

The raids were often done often for money (people would pay ransoms demanded for the return of the kids) but also to introduce “new blood” into the Indian village. Those being “closed societies,” it did not take long before most everyone was related to everyone else.

During the course of our emailing back and forth with my daughter, it was established that just about the time I was touring the fort, she had been reading the chapter in her book dealing with Cynthia Ann Parker.