The Parker Family Saga
The True Story of a Captive Comanche Bride
When pioneer Silas Parker arrived at the crossroads of a vast blackland prairie and the post oak woodlands along the Navasota River in the early 1800s, he had no idea that his life, and that of his children, would soon change forever. The Parker story is most well known for the capture of nine-year-old Cynthia Ann who went on to marry Chief of the Nokoni Comanche tribe, Peta Nocona, and was later recaptured by Texas Rangers and returned to her family at the age of thirty-four.
![](https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/kitchen-area-of-the-parker-cabin-at-log-cabin-village-a-house-museum-consisting-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=96d29b8a3c6c45abff675c0f3eed0a03 320w, https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/kitchen-area-of-the-parker-cabin-at-log-cabin-village-a-house-museum-consisting-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=e88268007ce00f541820964aabebbd66 540w, https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/kitchen-area-of-the-parker-cabin-at-log-cabin-village-a-house-museum-consisting-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=b76b14fc84441582930d780106ab0e69 768w, https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/kitchen-area-of-the-parker-cabin-at-log-cabin-village-a-house-museum-consisting-1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=715708b48f9e3d209a833b1233688a0f 1024w)
A Comanche Raid on Fort Parker
Parker, together with his brother and father, claimed land south of the river and established a small settlement, building cabins and a large stockade, undeterred by the fact that Native Americans, including the Comanche, considered this country their own.
Known as Fort Parker, the settlement drew other pioneers to the region, creating a community around the confines of the stockade where farming and livestock raising proceeded uneventfully until the morning of May 19, 1836. Joined by allies from the Kiowa and Kichais tribes, the Comanche attacked the fort, killing Silas Parker along with four other settlers and kidnapping five inhabitants including Parker’s son John and nine-year-old daughter Cynthia Ann.
![](https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/archive/Blog/Peta-Nocona_cropped.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=49d2f1382c1257b0fae63f9e101b0e46 320w, https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/archive/Blog/Peta-Nocona_cropped.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=8c3e04ea0c3e03c9e8a19c203d5f735e 357w)
Tah-con-né-ah-pe-ah
While four of the captives were eventually released, Cynthia Ann remained with the tribe for twenty-five years, eventually marrying chief of the Comanche Quahadi band, Peta Nocona, and producing three children with him, daughter Topsannah and two sons, Pecos and Quanah. Peta Nocona, also known as Puhtocnocony, or Tah-con-ne-ah-pe-ah, was the son of Iron Jacket.
Captured Again
In December of 1860, during a raid on a Comanche hunting camp along Mule Creek, Texas Rangers captured Cynthia Ann and her infant daughter and returned them to family members. It was believed that Peta Nocona died in the raid. A photograph taken in Fort Worth shows Cynthia Ann, her hair cut short in the Comanche tradition of mourning, with Topsannah in her arms. But Cynthia Ann never adapted to her new life, and despite multiple attempts to run away, she was never allowed to reunite with her Comanche family. Topsannah (known as Prairie Flower) died of influenza in 1864 and, devastated, Cynthia Ann followed her to the grave six years later. Her son Quanah had escaped capture at Mule Creek, however, and as an adult he would serve as final chief of the Quahada Comanche and help his people make the difficult transition to life on the reservation.
![](https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/archive/Blog/Cynthia_Ann_Parker_4819386194.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=5ca283dfe813c5661d765d38f8725a1a 320w, https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/archive/Blog/Cynthia_Ann_Parker_4819386194.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=02cd1814a9640fcd91eea3387453351c 540w, https://texas-time-travel.imgix.net/images/archive/Blog/Cynthia_Ann_Parker_4819386194.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=6ae863e7e2e630cdf1268fe7d29fa0da 676w)
The Parker family story survives in interpretation at a reconstruction at Old Fort Parker in Limestone County. Nearby Fort Parker State Park embraces the peaceful Navasota River environment that once motivated Silas Parker to settle his family here. Visiting both the fort and the park allows visitors to experience the natural landscape and details of pioneer life while imagining the tragic events that would end up defining one of the most compelling stories of the Texas frontier.