Cynthia Ann Parker

Cynthia Ann Parker, Naduah, Narua, or Preloch (Comanche: Na'ura, IPA [naʔura], lit.'Was found'; October 28, 1827 – March 1871), was a woman who was captured by a Comanche band during the Fort Parker massacre in 1836, where several of her relatives were killed. She was taken with several of her family members, including her younger brother John Richard Parker. Parker was later adopted into the tribe and had three children with a chief. Twenty-four years later she was relocated and taken captive by Texas Rangers, at approximately age 33, and unwillingly forced to separate from her sons and conform to European-American society. Her Comanche name means "was found" or "someone found" in English.

Cynthia Ann Parker
Na'ura
Cynthia Ann Parker, or Narua (Was Found), and daughter, Topsannah (Prairie Flower), in 1861
Born(1827-10-28)October 28, 1827
DisappearedMay 19, 1836 (age 8)
Fort Parker, Republic of Texas
StatusRelocated during the Pease River fight on December 18, 1860 (age 33)
DiedMarch 1871(1871-03-00) (aged 43)
Resting placeFort Sill Post Cemetery
34.669466°N 98.395341°W / 34.669466; -98.395341
Known for
  • Survivor and witness of the May 19, 1836 Comanche raid on Fort Parker.
  • Relocated and recaptured during the December 18, 1860, Pease River fight
  • Assimilation to the Comanche tribe after the raid on Fort Parker.
  • Lived as a member of the Comanche for 24 years.
SpousePeta Nocona
Children
  • Quanah Parker
  • Pecos
  • Topsannah (Topʉsana; Prairie Flower)
Parents
  • Silas Mercer Parker (father)
  • Lucinda Duty (mother)
RelativesJohn Parker (grandfather)
James W. Parker (uncle)
Daniel Parker (uncle)

Thoroughly assimilated as Comanche, Parker had married Peta Nocona, a chief. They had three children together, including son Quanah Parker, who became the last free Comanche chief.

Parker was captured by the Texas Rangers during the Battle of Pease River, also known as the "Pease River Massacre". During this raid, the Rangers killed an estimated six to twelve people, mostly women and children. Afterwards, Parker was taken back to her extended biological family against her will. For the remaining 10 years of her life, she mourned for her Comanche family, and refused to adjust to white society. She escaped at least once but was recaptured and brought back. Unable to grasp how thoroughly she identified with the Comanche, the European-American settlers believed that she had been saved or redeemed by being returned to their society. Heartbroken over her daughter's death from influenza and pneumonia, Parker died within seven years.

She died in 1871. Although initially buried in Anderson County, Texas, her remains were moved twice after her death. In 1910 her son Quanah had her moved to Post Oak Mission Cemetery, Comanche County, Oklahoma; and in 1957 the mother and son were both reinterred in Fort Sill Cemetery in Oklahoma. In 1965 the state of Texas arranged for her daughter's remains to be moved from Texas and reinterred next to the mother and son.

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