Herbert Parker's family line can be traced back to Burstead, England.
John and Margaret Parker /England
John and Anne Snaggs  Parker/England
Abraham and Rose Whitlock Parker/ (First in America for Herbert's line)Groton,MA, Chelmsford,MA.
Moses and Abigail Hildreth  Parker/Chelmsford,MA
Joseph and Rebecca (Rebecka) Fletcher Parker/Chelmsford,MA
Ameriah and Tamar Munson Parker/ MA, then Morristown, NJ
Jacob and Mary Loy Parker/Preble County, OH, near Alexandria, OH
Christian Henry and Rachel Cassel Parker/ OH, then Ft Wayne, IN
Samuel Christian and Sarah Stufflebeam Parker/ Ohio, then Ft Wayne, IN, then Branch Co,MI in Algansee Township.
Francis Marion and Alice Mary Finch Parker /Branch County, MI, Algansee,MI
Herbert Newton Parker 4-13-1900-12-02-1972 / Branch County, MI,
Herbert spent his entire life in Algansee,MI

Important Tidbits:
Joseph and his son Moses fought in the French and Indian Wars.
Ameriah and his 3 brothers were Revolutionary Soldiers. His brother Lt. Col.Moses Parker was killed at Bunker Hill. Moses is listed and depicted in the famous painting "The Fall of General Warren."  Ameriah was part of the Sons of Liberty and the infamous Tea Party at Boston Harbor.Their cousin Captain John Parker was the man who said,"Hold your fire, but if they want to be at war, let it start here." (loosely paraphrased here)
Jacob fought in the War of 1812 as well as the Maumee Wars. He fought with Mad Anthony Wayne and was with Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox, at The Battle of Fallen Timbers. Herbert's father was named for this General. 
There is a frieze at the Ft Wayne Courthouse(Allen County) honoring Christian Parker, Herbert's Great Grandfather. He served four terms in the Legislature. 
There is a Parker Cemetery in Ft Wayne at St Joe Road and St.Joe Center Road (NE sideof the city) with many Parker pioneers buried there.
Christian and his son Jacob buried the famous John Chapman, making his coffin out of Walnut cut from their property and refined in their sawmill. They buried him on their neighbor's property, Mr. Levi Worth, underneath an old apple orchard, not where the politicians of Ft Wayne say Johnny APPLESEED WAS BURIED. 

Herb was a music lover. The radio was always on in his presence. He watched TV, but his real love was the music on the radio.
He had no formal training in music, but his family was into fiddle playing. He could pick out any song that he personally liked and replay it on his fiddle. He was enarmoured with Elvis Presley and Elvis' love for Gospel Music. A local TV program, out of Kalamazoo, MI on channel 3 was called The Green Valley Jamboree with Rem Wall, and one of the Parker boys (his cousin) played(guitar) on that program. He was so proud of him. 
Hank Williams was one of his particular favorites and he memorized Your Cheating Heart and Jambalaya . I still hear  'Goodbye Joe me gotta go/ me oh my oh / Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou / My Yvonne the sweetest one/ me oh my oh / Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou…"  
My heart would melt when he played, "My Wild Irish Rose." on his fiddle."My Wild Irish Rose;The sweetest flower that grows; You may search everywhere; But none can compare;To my Wild Irish Rose." The tune went C, FC,--F G7 C,--G7,C--G7,C,--D7, G7.(I am not musical, this could be different than what I remember.)Herbert could pound out a few wild ragtime-style chords on the piano. He could call a few square dance moves. He played a melancholy harmonica, usually sitting out-of-doors. Red-Wing comes to mind here.
I wonder if anyone else remembers him when they hear certain music, the way I do?

Herbert Parker had the most amazing, piercing blue eyes. They were his outstanding feature. Strangers (as he became an older gentleman) would comment on the blueness of his eyes.

His other outstanding feature would probably be that he started balding at a very young age.

Herbert was always clean-shaven and freshly bathed. He was very particular about his body and appearance. His looks could be compared to a movie star of the era, Mr. Lee Marvin, who always played the "tough guy."

He actually enjoyed wearing a coat and tie! His ties had to be silk, and he had a cameo stick pin for them. He also often wore cuff links and cuffed dress shirts, Strange behavior for a man who was a poor country farmer, but longed for better things.

I remember that my father had a tobacco-laced, fruity man-smell about him. I miss that, and once in awhile a whiff of something similar will bring him back in  my memory.

Herbert was born just a little too late to be drafted into WWI, but his older brother Earl went. Earl sent the family a cryptic note. It basically said that he would not be able to write for awhile, but not to worry. Well, time went on and on, and they were worried. The infamous influenza of 1918 had attacked everywhere in America, and there were soldiers that died and who were unindentified. The family worried their Earl  may very well have been one of them. Of course, phone calls were very limited , but the family spent hours trying to get through to the US Army authorities, with no luck. After that it was a waiting game, until a telegram arrived. It informed the Francis Parker family that Earl Francis Parker was coming home by train to Quincy,MI. The elation they felt was cut short when a man with dark glasses and 2 white canes with red tips unboarded. Their strong tough soldier returned a broken man with two glass eyes where once his beautiful blue eyes had burned.His mucuous membranes were  all destroyed: kneecaps, hip joints,nasal passages,etc were all affected.  Further, they were not allowed to talk about it, as a moderately generous settlement from the US Army had been worked out. Instead of being on a secret mission to Germany, as the family had been led to believe, Earl spent the entire war in The New Jersey Chemical Proving Grounds making war chemicals (causes of his injuries) that the US Government denied we used such as mustard gas, IT was a terrible blow to 18 year old Herbert who adored his older brother and had planned on joining Earl in his sawmill operation. It was out-of-the-question for whoever had heard of a blind sawmill operator?  Herbert's life changed right along with his older brother.    

In July of 1922, Herbert Parker married his lifelong friend, who was also a lifelong Algansee resident, Mabel B, Goodwin. Mabel was born In Algansee to Charles Augustus Goodwin and Dora Mae Bickford Goodwin, on September 27,1900.
They started married life on Grove Road, in a very modest frame farm house that would serve as their home for the next 50 years.
Mabel  brought with her to the marriage, her 3 year-old-son, Robert LaVerne Goodwin, who although not Herbert's biological son, became Herbert's son. He was born April 1,1919.
Next came Lyle Herbert Parker, born March 18,1923. And yet another son,  Rex Charles Parker was born November 22,1924. Next came a daughter, Juanita Ruth Parker born on January 6,1927, Another daughter was born on February 2, 1931 who they named Mavelyn Alice Parker.(That is correct spelling.)On May 10,1935, Paul Marion Parker joined the family. James Roland Parker arrived June 1,1941 and lastly, Betty Carol Parker arrived on May 23, 1943, 
Robert was born in Coldwater, MI, and Betty was born in Coldwater Hospital, Coldwater, MI. The other six children were home births in the house on Grove Road, in Algansee Township, Branch County, MI.

The picture shown in the photo album frame is Herbert with his new bride at the Goodwin farm, also on Grove Road. He was 22 and she was 21 in the photo. 

Herbert Newton Parker lived his entire life in Algansee,MI, a little tiny village in the southern corner of lower Michigan, in Branch County. He was born to Francis Marion Parker(Frank) and his wife Alice Mary Finch. He was Frank's 7th child, but Alice's 5th child, as Frank's first wife Abigail Noble died before age 20, but after birthing Hattie Noble Parker Bowerman(Walter Bowerman) and Eva J. Noble Parker Phillips. Eva divorced her husband, Ellsworth Phillips, before she turned age 18.

Alice and Frank birthed Earl Francis Parker,(Married Zona Pinchon) Buelah Jane Parker Keller,(Married Melvin James Keller, AKA Jim) Velma Viola Parker Lash(Married Homer E. Lash), Ross Morton Parker who died as an infant of about 1-2 months, and finally, Herbert Newton Parker(AKA Peelie), who was born April13,1900, and  who married Mabel B. Goodwin.

Herbert's sister Buelah produced three children, Baby boy Arlis,who died shortly after birth. Leo Francis(AKA Bus) married Ruby Hite and lived on his parent's farm on Hamman Road in Algansee. Dorthea (AKA Tootie) maried Clarence James(AKA Jim) Hildebrand and produced Max Hildebrand (AKA The Bandit) Jeanne Hildebrand Thomas, and Baby boy Jerry, who died as an infant.
Earl (AKA Hi) had no children, Velma(AKA Dot) had no children.

This family always went by nicknames, so I have included them, as sometimes they are on official records and not the given name.