Cynthia Ann Parker was born 1826 in Crawford County, Illinois1, the oldest child of Silas Mercer Parker (1802-1836) and Lucy (Duty) Parker. Her younger siblings were John Richard, Silas Mercer Jr., and Orlena. This family and allied families, led by Silas' father John and brother Daniel, moved from Illinois to Texas in 1833. A large group under the family patriarch, Elder John Parker, settled near the headwaters of the Navasota River in present-day Limestone County. In 1834 they completed Fort Parker for their protection on the frontier. On May 19, 1836, a large force of Comanche and allied warriors attacked the fort, killing five men and capturing two women and three children - Cynthia Ann, her brother John and James Pratt Plummer (son of her first cousin). Cynthia Ann spent almost 25 years among the Comanches. James W. Parker, brother of Silas and uncle of Cynthia Ann, spent much of his life and fortune in what became an obsession of searching for her.
Cynthia Ann was named Nautdah by the Comanches, which means "she carries herself with dignity and grace". She became an adopted member of the tribe and, as her unfortunate return to white society attests2, completely embraced "Indian ways". Cynthia Ann married one of her captors, Puhtocnocony (called Peta Nocona by the whites), and they had two sons, Quanah (meaning "smell" or "fragrance") and Pecos (or Peanuts), and a daughter, Topsannah (or Prairie Flower). Peta Nocona became a leader of the Comanches.
In December of 1860, Cynthia Ann and her daughter were among a Native American party captured by Texas Rangers led by Lawrence Sullivan (Sul) Ross. At this point she was separated from her husband, who was killed, and her two sons. Though some of the Rangers urged Ross to set her free to return to the Comanches, he considered it best to try to return her to her white family. Ross knew many settlers had lost children to the Indians, and many of them might feel this was their child or relative. Cynthia Ann and her daughter were sent to Camp Cooper, and there she was identified by her uncle, Colonel Isaac Parker. He took her to his home near Birdville. In 1861, the Texas legislature granted her a league of land, a pension of $100 per year for the next five years, and made her cousins, Isaac Duke Parker and Benjamin F. Parker, her legal guardians. Cynthia was unhappy, never adapted to her new life among the whites, and attempted to escape on several occasions. Her brother, Silas Jr., was appointed her guardian in 1862, and took her to his home in Van Zandt County. When Silas was mustered into the Confederate Army, Cynthia Ann went to live with her sister, Orlena. According to some accounts, the Parker family was negotiating to return her to west Texas and her adopted people when the War Between the States broke out. The chief cause of Cynthia Ann's unhappiness was that she missed her sons and never knew what had happened to them. But in 1864, her sorrow was increased, for her daughter, Prairie Flower, caught influenza and died from pneumonia. Cynthia Ann grieved continously, did not eat well, became sick and died in 1870. She was buried in Fosterville Cemetery in Anderson County near Frankston. Her son, Quanah, moved her body in 1910 to the Post Oak Cemetery near Cache, Oklahoma. He was buried there in 1911. She and her son were moved in 1957 to the Fort Sill military cemetery in Oklahoma.
The city of Crowell, Texas holds the Cynthia Ann Parker Festival annually - a two day celebration to honor the memory of Cynthia Ann Parker. They advertise the event as "a fun and educational weekend showcasing both Native American and European settlers history of the region."
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