Hugh Parker

Born: 31 Oct 1864, Virginia, South Australia | Died: 23 Nov 1891 (aged 27), Hundred of Pirie, South Australia | Father: David Parker (1822–1888) | Mother: Isabella Kelly (~1825–1867) | Buried: Port Pirie Cemetery, SA

Family Stories

A Name Carried On

Hugh was the second son his parents named Hugh. His elder brother, also Hugh, had died in December 1861 at barely two years old — and in an era when families didn't waste a good name, David and Isabella gave it again to this son born in October 1864. The name honoured David's own father, Hugh Parker, back in Ayrshire. Hugh himself died young, at 27, in 1891 — never marrying or leaving children of his own, but his short life is how the name travelled through the tree twice.

(Research-compiled story, 26 Aug 2026 — see Sources.)

Family

Life Summary

Hugh Parker was born on 31 October 1864 at Virginia, South Australia, the son of David Parker (1822–1888) and Isabella Kelly (c. 1825–1867). He was one of two sons his father named Hugh — he carried the name after his elder brother Hugh (1859–1861), who had died in infancy.

Hugh died on 23 November 1891, aged 27, at Hundred of Pirie, South Australia, and was buried at Port Pirie Cemetery — near his father David, who had died three years earlier. His early death at 27 meant he did not appear among the sons listed in his father's 1888 death notice.

Note on Name

This Hugh Parker is distinct from — and lives alongside, in the records — his elder half-decade brother Hugh Parker (1859–1861), who died aged two. David Parker named both a son Hugh in honour of his own father, Hugh Parker (christened David at Tarbolton, Ayrshire, 1822; father Hugh Parker, mother Christian Fulton). Reusing the name after an infant death was a common practice of the period.

Sources

References

• Father: David Parker (1822–1888) — born Ragged Hill Farm, Tarbolton, Ayrshire; emigrated on Martin Luther 1852; died Hundred of Pirie SA
• Mother: Isabella Kelly (~1825–1867) — died Virginia SA