PARKER E.S.

PARKER E.S. ca. 1828 Hasanoada (Indian Falls) NY/USA 31.08. 1895 Fairfield CT/USA Ely Samuel Parker attended two academies before entering the civil engineering profession at age 21 as assistant engineer on the west end of the Erie Canal. In 1851 he was promoted to first assistant making improvements on the Canal until 1855. With this experience, Parker had received his first major appointment as chief engineer of Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, a waterway commencing south of Norfolk VA, from where it went into Currituck Sound which, in turn, led to Albemarle Sound. This project was not far from the famous Dismal Swamp Canal, which was built 50 years earlier. His next job took him back to the brisk climate of the Great Lakes, where he was the engineer of the Lighthouse District of Huron, Michigan and Superior. In 1857 he was in charge of the federal government at Galena IL. General U.S. Grant met Parker shortly later, and they became good friends. Grant was much interested in engineering and had been disappointed when he was rejected as country engineer at St. Louis in 1860. But upon the outbreak of the Civil War Grant rejoined the Army, whereas Parker as an Indian was rejected. Later he still joined the Army as brigadier general, remaining there with Grant, and after the War became Commissioner of Indian Affairs. During his term from 1869 to 1871, there was no significant hostile activity by the Indians. In 1871, Parker decided to return to the profession he had left. At age 43 only, he stated though ‘Before the war I was in the successful practice of an honourable profession but this profession ran away from me; other and younger men had stepped in and filled my place, old men were discarded’. His later activities were not very successful and included no major projects. He made a small fortune and passed away at age 67. However, Do-Ne-Ho-Geh-Weh (Keeper of the western door) was interred in the land of the Senecas in the shadow of the monument of his idol, Red Jacket, at Buffalo NY. Armstrong, W.H. (1990). Warrior in two camps: Ely S. Parker, Union General and Seneca Chief. Syracuse University Press: Syracuse NY. Fitzsimons, N. (1973). Do-Ne-Ho-Geh-Weh: Seneca Sachem and civil engineer. Civil Engineering 43(6): 98. P Parker, A.C. (1919). The life of General Ely S. Parker: Last grand sachem of the Iroquois and General Grant’s military secretary. Historical Society: Buffalo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely_S._Parker P

PARKER G.L. 23.12. 1884 Wickes MT/USA 12.02. 1946 Washington DC/USA Glenn Lane Parker obtained the BS degree in civil engineering from Kansas University, Lawrence KS, in 1906. He was then instrumentman and assistant division engineer until 1907, and deck officer of the US Coast and Geological Survey in 1908. From 1909 he was from junior engineer to finally district engineer, the US Geological Survey USGS. He was member of the American Geophysical Union AGU, and the American Society of Civil Engineers ASCE. Parker was hydraulic engineer within USGS almost all through his professional career. He had been district engineer at Tacoma WA from 1913 to 1939, and chief hydraulic engineer in charge of nation-wide water investigations until his death. The stream-gaging work was conducted by the USGS Water Resources Branch headed by Parker. During World War II he conducted more than 100 field offices, thereby contributing largely to solving the water problems relating to many phases of war activities. He became widely known through his works in water resources investigations, water power studies, and irrigation works. The 1943 Report, as an example, reports the data of measurements of stage and discharge made on streams, lakes, and reservoirs during a single year. This work was initiated in 1888 in connection with special studies relating to irrigation. In 1943 more than 5,000 gaging stations, including these of Hawaii, were maintained by USGS. The Parker Hall at the University of Kansas was dedicated in 1968 as an US Geological Survey facility. The USGS moved to other offices in 1989, and Parker now houses KGS offices including energy research and stratigraphic research. It is named for Glenn L. Parker, an alumnus and chief hydraulic engineer for the USGS from 1939 to 1946. Anonymous (1933). Parker, Glenn L. American men of science 5: 856. Science Press: New York. Anonymous (1939). G.L. Parker named chief hydraulic engineer. Civil Engineering 9(10): 633. P Anonymous (1946). Glenn L. Parker dies, head hydraulic engineer. Engineering News-Record 136(Feb.21): 273. Anonymous (1946). Death of Glenn L. Parker. Civil Engineering 16(3): 136. P Parker, G.L., Storey, F.B. (1916). Water powers of the Cascade Range 3: Yakima River Basin. Water-Supply Paper 369. Government Printing Office: Washington DC. Parker, G.L. (1941). The Great Basin. US Government Printing Office: Washington DC. Parker, G.L. (1943). Water resources in Alaska. US Geological Survey: Washington DC. Parker, G.L. (1945). Surface water supply of the United States 1943 7: Lower Mississippi River Basin. Water-Supply Paper 977: Washington DC.