Patriot Ancestor: Aaron Parker II

Direct Lineage to DAR Patriot

• Generation 1 (The Base): Elizabeth Lillian Lack (1901–1972) FamilySearch

• Generation 2 (Parents): Charleton D. Lack (1858–1939) and Elizabeth Charity Parker HopkinsFamilySearch

• Generation 3 (Grandparents): Cicero Lafayette Hopkins (c. 1820–c. 1890) and his spouse.

• Generation 4 (Great-Grandparents): Samuel Lafayette Hopkins (1795–1861) and Elizabeth Sheffield Parker (1801–1881).

• Generation 5 (Great-Great-Grandparents): Aaron Parker II and Elizabeth Charity Sheffield.

The Direct DAR Patriot Ancestor

From this strict direct line, the verified patriot ancestor who holds an official, proven record with the DAR is:

• Patriot Ancestor: Aaron Parker II

• DAR Ancestor Number: A087254

• Service Type: Soldier / Patriotic Service (North Carolina Militia)

Aaron Parker II was a quintessential early American frontier pioneer, soldier, and family patriarch who helped shape the physical and religious landscape of the emerging American South [WikiTree, Geni].

While there are no surviving painted portraits or personal diaries to tell us his exact physical description or personality quirks, a vivid picture of what he did and what he was like can be reconstructed through his military service, land records, and church affiliations.

What He Did: His Life Profile

1. Fighting a Partisan Guerilla War

Aaron Parker II was a soldier in the North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution [WikiTree]. Service in the North Carolina militia during the height of the British Southern Campaign (1779–1781) was famously brutal. Rather than fighting in massive, orderly battles like those in the North, Aaron and his unit engaged in intense, localized, "partisan" warfare. They defended their communities from raiding British regulars and launched counter-insurgency campaigns against neighboring Loyalist (Tory) factions who remained loyal to the King.

2. Taming the Frontier (The Westward Push)

Following the war, Aaron refused to sit still. He became a classic American pioneer, driven to secure land for his massive family of at least nine children [WikiTree].

• The Migration: He packed up his family and traveled down the Great Wagon Road out of North Carolina into Georgia [Geni].

• Acquiring Land: Utilizing early land grants and lottery systems, he established major homesteads first in Clarke County, Georgia, and later moved further inland to Henry County, Georgia [WikiTree, RootsWeb]. He physically cleared dense, unbroken wilderness to establish successful agricultural plantations.

3. Framing the Early Church

Aaron was a deeply religious man who helped establish the institutional bedrock of his new communities. Records show that he and his family were foundational early members of pioneering Baptist congregations in Georgia, including early iterations of the Mars Hill Baptist Church and the historic Indian Creek Baptist Church in Locust Grove, Georgia [RootsWeb, Facebook].

What He Was Like: His Personality & Character

Based on the historical record of his actions, several clear character traits define Aaron Parker II:

• Incredibly Resilient and Tough: Aaron lived to be roughly 72 years old, and his father (Aaron I) famously lived to be nearly 100 [Geni, Facebook]. To survive the rampant diseases of the 18th-century South, the physical toll of clearing forests by hand, and a bloody war, he undoubtedly possessed exceptional physical grit and a robust constitution.

• A Community Pillar: He was not a lone-wolf mountain man. He was deeply collaborative, moving in tandem with allied families like the Sheffields (marrying Elizabeth Charity Sheffield in 1776) [WikiTree]. His dedication to building churches demonstrates that he valued law, faith, structure, and community safety over lawless frontier living.

• A Devoted Patriarch: Every move he made was deeply calculated to set up the next generation. By chasing land lotteries and frontiers, he successfully secured massive plots of land to pass down to his children—including your ancestor, Elizabeth Sheffield Parker—ensuring his family's wealth and survival for a century to come [WikiTree, FamilySearch].