John Parker

John Parker


November 1774

I am John Parker, and I am 46 years old. I have a wife and seven children. We are close friends of the Clark family and I spend hours in their study talking about the politics with the Reverend. I am an assessor, a farmer and a joiner. I am also an experienced mechanic.

I must say the common is quite a busy place during the day. Many trades are made there. For instance, just the other day the tinsmith offered to make me a lantern for some chopped firewood. The belfry is located there and it rings every Sabbath day when we go to church. It also rings when there is a special occasion. Many of my things came from trades there. Like my horses' shoes, my silver goblet, my spiders.

Aarrgh! I am the angriest person the the face of Cambridge Farms. Today I went to get gun powder so my sons Isaac and John could go hunting with me, but I couldn't afford it. Yet, it is not just that, we won't have any military training in case of trouble with the redcoats. Still Lydia, my wife made me a gun powder pouch. Let me explain how it works. When I load my gun I bite off the end of the rolled paper and I shake out some powder for the flintspark to burn. Then I pour the rest of the powder down the barrel of the gun, drop in the ball, then stuff it into be a wadding. Bang!


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