Amador County Biographies

JAMES F. PARKS 

Transcribed by Peggy Hooper

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm


Was born in Hooper county, Missouri, on the ninth of September, 1835, where he remained until he was 
six years of age, at which time he removed with his parents, to Benton county. His early life was passed 
in his native State, but as youth ripened into man hood, he was not content to remain quietly at home 
while other young men were exploring the much-talked-of gold fields of the Pacific, and he accordingly 
bade adieu to those he loved and started out to seek his fortune with the countless thousands that 
were flocking to the Golden State of California. 

In 1855 he reached his objective point, and at once repaired to Kern river, during the great excitement 
upon the discovery of those " diggins." He did not find what he sought in that locality, and soon after 
engaged in mining in Mariposa county, and after wards in Nevada county. In 1861 he crossed the 
Sierras to the Territory of Nevada, and for the succeeding eight years was engaged in mining at 
Virginia City. In 1869 he went to White Pine District, and from there to Plumas county, California, 
where he was appointed foreman of the Indian Valley mine. On the first day of April, 1873, he came 
to Amador county, to accept the responsible position of foreman of the Keystone mine, where he has 
since been employed. As a foreman he stands second to none in the State, always the same affable 
gentle man, much esteemed by his employers and the people generally. 

His years of experience among the great mines of Nevada, place him in the front rank as a practical 
mining man, and, to add to his other accomplishments, he is a thorough practical surveyor and civil 
engineer, and does all the work in that line for his company. 

Mr. Parks was married October 8, 1871, to Miss Mary Phebey, of Sacramento, and they have four 
children. 

History of Amador, California With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches 
of its Prominent Men and PioneersOakland, California, Thompson and West, 
1881.