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Clarence Lucas Parker
Papers, 1903-1924

SC22107

Quantity: 6 boxes (2.0 cubic ft.)
Access: Open to research
Acquisition: Purchased by the New York State Library
Processed By: Loraine M. Wies, Intern, SUNY Albany, Rockefeller College School of  Information Science and Policy, November 1999

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Biographical Note:

Clarence Lucas Parker was born in Whitesville, New York on September 19, 1849. He was the son of Abraham Martin and Sophronia Putnam Parker. Clarence Parker married Katherine Seymour Yorke in 1875 and they had one son, Hiram Yorke Parker. Katherine Parker died on April 18, 1902. Clarence was remarried on September 8, 1903 to the widow May Stebbins, the daughter of Cyrus B. Martin and Ann Vernette Maydale. His son, Hiram, died on June 8, 1915 in [Taber, Alberta, Canada?].

Parker spent approximately twenty-five years of his life designing and building artesian wells, primarily in the South. At home in Chenango County, New York, where he was a member of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and several Masonic bodies including the Knights Templar, Parker was an avid hunter and conservationist and was very active in Republican Party politics.

In the early 1900s, Parker became disillusioned with the Republican Party for what he perceived to be dishonest activities. He became an early member of the National Progressive Party and was quite active in promoting its platform.

Parker wrote many articles for Forest and Stream magazine and was often in communication with state and federal officials in regards to his views.

Clarence Parker died in Norwich, New York on April 27, 1925. He was survived by his wife, May, and a brother, Lewis B. Parker of Rochester, New York. Parker was interred in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Scope and Contents Note:

Arrangement: Collection is separated into two subject areas - Conservation and Politics.

The papers of Clarence Lucas Parker span approximately twenty-two years, from 1902 to1924. An avid hunter, Parker was an outspoken advocate for the enactment of laws and regulations which would protect the land, forests and wildlife of the New York Adirondacks from what he believed was excessive commercial development. His work concerning conservation issues included correspondence with many elected New York officials, including Governors Frank W. Higgins and Charles Evans Hughes, Senator Franklin D. Roosevelt, Senator Elihu Root, the Honorable H. Leary Austin and the Honorable Gifford Pinchot.

Parker also wrote many articles for Forest and Stream magazine regarding forest preservation, fish and game laws and the use of state lands and waterways by commercial power supply companies. He was often consulted on and made suggestions for a variety of legislative initiatives and was an active lobbyist on conservation issues. For many years, he was a member of the Camp-Fire Club and the Fish, Game and Forest League and wrote detailed reports on the subjects of wildlife preservation, land use and game laws.

While Parker often expressed his pride in his Republican Party roots, in the early 1900s he became quite disgusted at what he perceived to be dishonest activities perpetrated by politicians from his area. In particular, he was incensed by the actions of Sen. Jotham Allds; he strongly believed that Allds was engaging in illegal activities by privately representing commercial lumber interests while sitting on the legislative committees hearing testimony regarding conservation initiatives. Parker engaged in correspondence with many public officials regarding these concerns, including Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Root, Governor Hughes and President Taft.

His disillusionment with the Republican Party led to his affiliating himself with Theodore Roosevelt's National Progressive Party. His activities with the Progressives included correspondence with Roosevelt, President Woodrow Wilson and Governor William Sulzer of New York. In addition, he served on the Progressive Party election committee for Chenango County.

In addition to correspondence and reports, the collection also contains several boxes of newspaper clippings reflecting Parker's interest in both conservation and politics.

Container List:

Box Volume Contents
   

Conservation Correspondence

1 1 1905-1906 - Letters with Governor Higgins's office and letters with the Association for Protection of the Adirondacks
1 2 1907 - Letters with the International Paper Co.
1 3 January-February 1907 - Letters with Forest and Stream magazine; use of water for power; copyright permission from Charles Lincoln
1 4 March 1907 - "Adirondack Grab Bill"
1 5 April 1907 - Letter with Stoddard's Northern Monthly; Adirondack Grab Bill; list of interested citizens
1 6 May-November 1907 - Water storage bill; game protectors
1 7 December 1907 - Game laws
1 8 January-February 1908 - Game laws; land use laws; game protectors
1 9 March-May 1908 - Game laws; land use laws; game protectors
1 10 August-December 1908 - Game laws
1 11 1908 - Constitutional Amendment
1 12 1909 - Mary L. Fisher lands
1 13 1909 - Game laws; land use laws
1 14 1909 - Water power and supply
1 15 1910 - Water storage; investigation of Forest, Fish and Game Commission
1 16 1910 - Game protectors
1 17 October 10, 1910 Letter to Honorable H. Leary Austin and reference to nine envelopes marked "A" to "I" (see Box 4, Folders 1-9)
1 18 1910 - Letter to Honorable Gifford Pinchot
1 19 1910-1912 - Camp Fire Club
1 20 February-March 1911 - Water fowl (file originally included a letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 14, 1921, which is now housed in the vault)
1 21 1911 - Fish, fowl and game laws
1 22 1911 - Letter to William E. Coffin
1 23 1912 - Fish and game laws; letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt
1 24 January-July 1912 - Fish, game and timber laws
1 25 August-December 1912 - Fish, game and timber laws
2 1 November 1, 1912 - Letter to Albert E. Hoyt
2 2 1912 - Mary L. Fisher Lands
2 3 August 14, 1912 - Petition
2 4 1913 - Fish and game laws
2 5 1914 - Permit to keep venison
2 6 1914 - Regarding 1915 Constitutional Convention
2 7 1915 - Forestry and game laws; Constitutional Convention
2 8 1916 - Forestry and game laws
2 9 1917 - Use of dynamite in trout streams
2 10 1918 - Use of dynamite in trout streams
2 11 1919 - Mary L. Fisher lands
2 12 1919 - Game guides and protection laws
2 13 1920 - Adirondack deer; letter from Theodore Roosevelt
2 14 January-March 1920 - Deer hunting laws
2 15 April-December 1920 - Deer hunting laws
2 16 1920 - Mary L. Fisher lands
2 17 1921 - Game laws; Conservation Commissioner
2 18 1921 - Mary L. Fisher lands
2 19 1922 - Conservation Commission
2 20 1923 - Replies from States regarding game laws and the number of deer and hunters killed in recent seasons
2 21 1924 - Guides; licenses for hunting
2 22 February 24, 1924 - Letter to Dr. Chas. C. Adams
   

Reports

2 23 1903 - Newspaper dispatches
2 24 1907 - Game laws
2 25 1907 - "A Close Season for Deer"
2 26 1907 - "Adirondack Forest Lands"
2 27 1907 - "Adirondack Forest Protection"
2 28 1908 - Undelivered speech to Fish, Game and Forest League regarding deer hunting laws
2 29 1909 - People of New York State vs. Mary L. Fisher court papers
2 30 1909 - State of New York vs. Syphert, Harrig, Vincent and Gallagher
2 31 1909 - Water power and supply
2 32 September 17, 1910 - Notes and drawings regarding hydroelectric power supply
2 33 November 1, 1910 - Fish propagation
2 34 1910 - Water power and storage
3 1 1910 - Wellington Kenwell affidavit
3 2 1910 - Regarding James Whipple, Commissioner
3 3 March 6, 1911 - "Spring Shooting of Wild Fowl on Long Island"
3 4 March 9, 1911 - "Statement Relative to Game Laws"
3 5 March 11, 1911 - "Ownership of and Title to All Fish, Birds and Game in the State"
3 6 December 2, 1911 - Report by Honorable Gifford Pinchot to the Camp Fire Club at the Hotel Astor, New York City
3 7 December 4, 1911 - Undelivered statement to Camp Fire Club
3 8 1911 - "Letting Dogs into the Woods"
3 9 1911-1912 Camp Fire Club bulletins
3 10 Hearing from January 30 to February 1, 1912 on An Act in Relation to Fish and Game
3 11 1912 - Meetings of the Board of Trade and Transportation
3 12 October 1912 - A Picture Story of Our Hunting Trip
3 13 November 27, 1912 - Albany, New York news dispatch
3 14 December 1912 - First year of the buck law
3 15 January 15, 1915 - Constitutional Convention
3 16 February 13, 1915 - "Purchase of State Lands on Tax Title and Resale of Same, No. 8"
3 17 1919 - Number of deer and men killed in 9 states
3 18 January 20, 1920 - Adirondack Deer, Part 1
3 19 February 18, 1920 - Adirondack Deer, Part 2
3 20 March 24, 1920 - Adirondack Deer, Part 3
3 21 November 30, 1920 - Game and firearms laws
3 22 December 17, 1920 - "To Help Stop Illegal Killing of Deer"
3 23 January 31, 1921 - Legal size of brook trout
3 24 January 1, 1922 - Regarding appointment of Conservation Commissioner to fill vacancy
3 25 February 12, 1922 - "Adirondack Deer"
3 26 1912-1922 - The Fisher Tract case
3 27 1921 - State of New York vs. Clarence L. Fisher and Florence Fisher Jackson
3 28 January 15, 1924 - Adirondack deer, brook trout, and beaver
3 29 Amendment to Article 7 of the constitution relating to the forest preserve
3 30 "Power"- Wallace C. Johnson, C.E., Niagara Falls, N.Y.
3 31 Statistics on Game and Birds shipped in Maine in 1921-1922
   

Published Works

3 32 1907 - Legislation
3 33 Lincoln's "Constitutional History of New York" brochures
3 34 1907 – Poster-Parker public address
3 35 1907 - Chenango County Humane Society for Children and Animals
3 36 Fish, Bird, and Game Laws
3 37 1911 – Waterfowl (Massachusetts and New Jersey)
3 38 March 9, 1910 - Report opposing Assembly Bill 829 relating to water storage, highways, campsites, dead and down timber and isolated plots of state land
3 39 1910 - Water storage bills
3 40 Postcard "Will you leave any one of the Open" Wild Life Call
3 41 American Game Protectors and Propagation Association
3 42 Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks member brochure and list
3 43 "Cheap Electricity for All" - New York State Conservation Commission
3 44 "The Menace of the Deer" - Henry M. Hyde
3 45 USDA - Farmer's Bulletin 510; Game Laws for 1912
3 46 1913 - New York State Fish, Game and Forest League
3 47 1915 - Constitutional Convention
3 48 "Hands Off the National Parks"
3 49 1921 - New York Forestry Association bulletin
3 50 1921 - New York State Fish, Game and Forest League, annual convention
3 51 New York Conservation Association, Inc. convention bulletin
3 52 Forest and Stream
3 53 Vanishing game
3 54 January 5, 1926 - "Wasting America's Game Birds"
   

Newspaper Clippings

4 1 Envelope "A" - James A. Whipple, Commissioner
4 2 Envelope "B" - Game Protectors
4 3 Envelope "C" - State Lands
4 4 Envelope "D" - Timber Stealing
4 5 Envelope "E" - Suites for Timber Lands
4 6 Envelope "F" - Squatters on State Lands
4 7 Envelope "G" - State Dams and Reservoirs
4 8 Envelope "H" - Work of Protectors
4 9 Envelope "I" - Whipple, Allds, and "The Three Georges"
4 10 Dates unknown
4 11 1904-1907
4 12 1908
4 13 1909
4 14 1910
4 15 January-July 12, 1911
4 16 July 13-December 28, 1911
4 17 1912
4 18 1913
4 19 1914
4 20 1915
    The Adirondack Enterprise
4 21 1915
5 1 January-April 7, 1916
5 2 April 11-December 26, 1916
5 3 January-March 1916
5 4 April-May 1916
5 5 1917
5 6 1917
5 7 1918
5 8 1919
5 9 1920
5 10 1921
5 11 1922-1924
   

Politics - Correspondence

5 12 1907 - J.P. Allds, Governor Hughes's office, President Theodore Roosevelt's office, Oxford Times
5 13 1907-1908 - Senators paid for legal work
5 14 1908 - Candidacy of Governor Hughes for president
5 15 1908 - Senator J.P. Allds
5 16 1909 - Regarding Senator Allds with President Taft and Senator Elihu Root
5 17 1909 - Direct Primaries, Senator Allds
5 18 1910 - Regarding Senator Allds, Judge Ray, Judge Gladding, including letters with Theodore Roosevelt, President W. Taft, Governor Hughes, Senator Elihu Root, The Evening Post
5 19 1911 - Senator Allds
5 20 January-June 1911 - Regarding Governor Dix, parcel post, Senator Elihu Root
5 21 1911 - Judge George W. Ray
5 22 1912 - National Progressive Party
5 23 1912
5 24 1913 - Voter's League, National Municipal League, Chicago Commons
5 25 1913 - National Progressive Party; Governor Sulzer, letter to President Wilson
5 26 1914 - National Progressive Party
5 27 1915 - National Progressive Party
5 28 1916 - National Progressive Party
5 29 January 17, 1917 - Letter to Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
   

Reports

5 30 Governor Hughes and the insurance grafters
5 31 Senator Allds
5 32 [1910] Senatorial Convention
5 33 Prayer by Reverend Edward S. Doan, Rector of St. James Episcopal Church, Marietta, Ga.
5 34 November 5, 1912 - Official canvas and votes
   

Published Works

6 1 1908 - Candidacy of Governor Hughes for president
6 2 1909 - Direct Primaries
6 3 1909 - Committee of One Hundred on National Health
6 4 1909 - The Churchman
6 5 1910 - New York State Legislature
6 6 Alfred Hayes candidacy for Supreme Court Justice of New York
6 7 Herbert Hawkins candidacy for 37th Senatorial District
6 8 The Impeachment of Governor William Sulzer
6 9 October 18, 1913 - The Progressive
6 10 November 1913 - Board of Trade Journal
6 11 1914 - Frederick M. Davenport candidacy for Governor
6 12 1915 - Republicans and the National Progressive Party; immigration problem
6 13 Immigration problem
6 14 1907
6 15 1908
6 16 January-August 25, 1910
6 17 August 26-December 24, 1910
6 18 1911
6 19 December 10, 1912 - The Evening Mail
6 20 1912
6 21 1913+
6 22 Undated
Last Updated: February 18, 2022