Best known for his military service in Europe under the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession, Parke was the only governor in Britain's American colonies to be murdered.
20 Facts About Daniel Parke
1.
2.
Daniel Parke returned to Virginia after a second stay in England and pursued a career in politics, being elected to the House of Burgesses in 1693 and appointed to sit on the Governor's Council in 1695.
3.
Daniel Parke did not receive the governorship of Virginia as he had hoped, and instead was appointed as the governor of the Leeward Islands in 1706.
4.
Daniel Parke travelled to Antigua in 1706, focusing his efforts on improving colonial fortifications and suppressing smuggling.
5.
Daniel Parke was probably born in Queen's Creek, York County on his father's plantation.
6.
Daniel Parke's father was Daniel Parke, an Englishman who worked as a merchant in London before immigrating to English North America and becoming a planter and politician who sat on the Virginia Governor's Council.
7.
Daniel Parke's mother was Rebecca Knipe, who was a cousin of famed diarist John Evelyn.
8.
In 1685, Daniel Parke married Jane Ludwell, the daughter of planter Philip Ludwell.
9.
Daniel Parke subsequently decided to embark on a career in politics, and was elected to the House of Burgesses a year later.
10.
In 1695, Daniel Parke was appointed to sit on the Virginia Governor's Council.
11.
Daniel Parke subsequently attached himself to the English Army as an aide-de-camp to John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough, a senior commander in the army.
12.
When Marlborough was dispatched to the Low Countries to take command of a Grand Alliance army of English, Dutch and German troops, Daniel Parke accompanied him as part of his general staff.
13.
Daniel Parke did make several attempts to acquire an officer's commission in the English Army while in Europe, though these were consistently rebuffed.
14.
Daniel Parke rode via horseback for eight days non-stop, personally delivering the note to the queen in Windsor Castle, Berkshire.
15.
Daniel Parke claimed that Marlborough had offered him the position of governor of Virginia in reward for his military service in Europe.
16.
Daniel Parke had three daughters with his wife, Frances, Lucy and Evelin, before she died in 1708 in "circumstances owing to his neglect".
17.
Daniel Parke had children with two mistresses: the first was a son named Julius who was sired with a Mrs Barry after meeting her in England and the second was a daughter named Lucy whom Parke acknowledged as his child.
18.
Daniel Parke's mother was Catharine Chester, the wife of Edward Chester.
19.
Daniel Parke ran as a candidate for the constituency of Malmesbury in the 1701 English general election as a Whig candidate, though his attempts to rig the election were uncovered and he was not elected.
20.
Daniel Parke's debts were partially transferred onto Frances, who along with her husband spent years contesting their payment, while some of Parke's slaves were transferred to William Byrd II.