Cynthia Ann Parker and her daughter in 1861

Cynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah (also sometimes spelled "Nadua" and "Nauta"), was an Anglo-Texas woman of Scots-Irish descent who suffered being kidnapped twice in her lifetime - once from her natural family at the age of nine by a Native American raiding party, and once from her Indian family at the age of 34 by Texas Rangers. Cynthia Ann was a member of the large Parker frontier family that settled in east Texas in the 1830s. She was captured in 1836 by Comanches during the raid of Fort Parker near present-day Groesbeck, Texas. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Scots-Irish (also called Ulster Scots) is a Scottish ethnic group that historically resided in Ireland which ultimately traces its roots back to settlers from Scotland, and to a lesser extent, England. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... For other uses, see Texas Rangers. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ... // Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Evolutionary theorist Charles Darwins expedition on the HMS Beagle. ... Year 1836 (MDCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Fort Parker massacre was an event in 1836 in which members of the pioneer Parker family were killed in a raid by Native Americans. ... Groesbeck is a city located in Limestone County, Texas. ...

Recapture by Texas Rangers at Pease River

In December 1860, Cynthia Ann and her daughter were among a Native American party captured at the Battle of Pease River by Texas Rangers led by "Sul" Ross.^[1] After fierce fighting, the Comanche realized they were losing and fled. Ross and several of his men pursued the chief who had been giving orders. The chief was fleeing alongside another rider. As Ross and his men neared, the other rider held a child over her head; the men did not shoot, but instead surrounded and stopped her. Ross continued to follow the chief, eventually shooting him three times. Although the chief fell from his horse, he was still alive, and refused to surrender. Ross's cook, Antonio Martinez, who had been taken captive in Mexico after Nocona killed his family, identified the captured chief as Nocona. With Ross's permission, Martinez fired the shot that took Nocona's life.^[2] She was later found in a pudding cup. 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Combatants Texan Rangers Militia Comanche Noconi Band Commanders Sul Ross Peta Nocona reported killed by Sul Ross, but this is strongly denied by his son Quanah Parker Strength 60 men Unknown, but the best guesses are 20 in the band, including 16 women and 2 children Casualties 3 reported. ... For other uses, see Texas Rangers. ... Lawrence Sullivan Ross (Sul Ross) (September 27, 1838 – January 3, 1898) was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. ...

When Ross arrived back at the campground, he discovered that the woman his men had captured had blue eyes. He assured her that no young boys had been killed in the battle, so her sons, Quanah and Pecos were safe.^[3] The woman could not speak English, and did not know her name or where she came from. After much questioning, she remembered a few details of her capture as a child. The details matched what Ross knew of the Fort Parker Massacre of 1836.^[4] Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (c. ... The Fort Parker massacre was an event in 1836 in which members of the pioneer Parker family were killed in a raid by Native Americans. ...

Though some of the Rangers urged Ross to set her free to return to the Comanches, he considered it best to try to return her to her white family. Ross knew many settlers had lost children to the Indians, and many of them might feel this was their child or relative.^{[citation needed]} Ross sent the woman to Camp Cooper and sent a message to Colonel Isaac Parker, the uncle of a young girl kidnapped in the raid. When Parker mentioned that his niece's name was Cynthia Ann Parker, the woman slapped her chest and said "Me Cincee Ann."^[4] Isaac Parker took her to his home near Birdville. In 1861, the Texas legislature granted her a league (about 4,400 acres) of land, a pension of $100 per year for the next five years, and made her cousins, Isaac Duke Parker and Benjamin F. Parker, her legal guardians. For other uses, see league. ...

Death

Cynthia Ann Parker's gravestone

Cynthia Ann never adapted to her new life among the whites, and attempted to escape on several occasions. Her brother, Silas Jr., was appointed her guardian in 1862, and took her to his home in Van Zandt County. When Silas was mustered into the Confederate Army, Cynthia Ann went to live with her sister, Orlena. According to some accounts, the Parker family was negotiating to return her to west Texas and her adopted people when the American Civil War broke out. The chief cause of Cynthia Ann's unhappiness was that she missed her sons and never knew what had happened to them. In 1863, her daughter, Prairie Flower, caught influenza and died from pneumonia. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about 1862 . ... Van Zandt County is a county located in the state of Texas. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In her grief, Cynthia Ann stopped eating. She became sick and died in 1870. She was buried in Fosterville Cemetery in Anderson County near Frankston. Her son, Quanah, moved her body in 1910 to the Post Oak Cemetery near Cache, Oklahoma. He was buried there in 1911. She and her son were moved in 1957 to the Fort Sill military cemetery in Oklahoma. Thanks to her son, Cynthia Ann Parker was finally reunited with her Comanche family. MAny people looked at her at her funeral and died by the look of her face. Also her butt. 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Frankston is a town located in Anderson County, Texas. ... Quanah Parker Quanah Parker (c. ... Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Cache is a city in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Fort Sill is a United States Army post near Lawton, Oklahoma; about 85 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. ... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ...

Aftermath

The city of Crowell, Texas holds the Cynthia Ann Parker Festival annually - a two day celebration to honor the memory of Cynthia Ann Parker. They advertise the event as "a fun and educational weekend showcasing both Native American and European settlers history of the region." The town of Groesbeck, Texas holds an annual Christmas Festival at the site of old Fort Parker every December. The original fort has been re-built on the original site to exact specifications. Crowell is a city located in Foard County, Texas. ... Groesbeck is a city located in Limestone County, Texas. ...

The 1956 movie The Searchers, which was based on an Alan Le May novel, directed by John Ford, and featured John Wayne as an obsessed frontiersman searching for years for his kidnapped niece, is widely believed to have been principally based on Cynthia Ann Parker's story; Natalie Wood and her younger sister Lana Wood portray the kidnapped woman at different ages. The Searchers is a 1956 epic Western film directed by John Ford, which tells the story of Ethan Edwards, a bitter, middle-aged loner and Civil War veteran played by John Wayne, who spends years looking for his abducted niece. ... Alan Le May (January 3, 1899 - April 27, 1964) was an American novelist and screenplay writer most remembered for the novels upon which the motion pictures The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne and The Unforgiven (1960) with Burt Lancaster and Audrey Hepburn were based. ... For other persons named John Ford, see John Ford (disambiguation). ... For other persons named John Wayne, see John Wayne (disambiguation). ... Natalie Wood (July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was a three time Academy Award nominated American film actress. ... Svetlana Smedley (born Svetlana Gurdin March 1, 1946), better known as Lana Wood, is an American actress and producer born to Russian emigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko. ...

External links

• Biography of Cynthia Ann Parker - Roots. Web
• Cynthia Ann Parker - from Handbook of Texas online
• Account of the 1836 attack Parker's Fort from Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas by John Henry Brown published 1880, hosted by The Portal to Texas History
• Cynthia Ann Parker - Comanche (By Adoption)
• Ride the Wind, a novel of Cynthia Ann Parker by Lucia St. Clair Robson

John Henry Brown (October 29, 1820–May 31, 1895) was an American historian, journalist, author, military hero, and a politician who served as a state legislator and as mayor of both Dallas and Galveston, Texas. ...

References

is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in Central Texas. ... Texas A&M University Press is a scholarly publishing house associated with Texas A&M University. ...

Footnotes

1. There is some confusion about the correct birth and death dates for Cynthia Ann Parker. Different sources place her birth from 1825 to 1827 in Coles, Clark or Crawford counties of Illinois, and her death from 1864 to 1871 in Anderson County, Texas. However, her presence in the 1870 Anderson County census makes an earlier death date unlikely.
2. Writing in the Crowell Index in October 8, 1909, Tom Champion opined, "...I am convinced that the white people did more harm by keeping her away from them than the Indians did by taking her at first."