A. A. (Amos Andrew) Parker

Born in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, in 1791, Amos Andrew Parker studied at New Ipswich Academy and graduated from the University of Vermont before reading law with James Wilson in Keene. After practicing law in Epping, he moved to Concord, where he founded the New Hampshire Statesman.

Parker is best remembered as the author of Trip to the West and Texas, based on an 1834–35 journey of roughly eight thousand miles through New York, the Midwest, Louisiana, and Texas. Published in 1836, the book became a notable early travel narrative, blending personal observation, regional description, and commentary on Texas during a turbulent period.

He also wrote later in life, including a book about Lafayette’s visit to the United States, and he lived to the remarkable age of 101, dying in 1893. That long life gave his writing a distinctive perspective: part eyewitness record, part reflection on a country expanding at great speed.