Hedley S. Vicars Parker

1856-1935

Hedley S. Vicars Parker (poet, balladeer, and newspaper columnist) was born on 14 September 1856 in Miramichi, New Brunswick. Early in Parker’s life his family moved from Derby, Miramichi to Newcastle where Parker attended Harkins Seminary [sic] in Newcastle. In his early twenties, Parker moved to New York where he found a job working for the Herald. After a few years he was promoted from compositor to the editorial staff, and later given a job working on the shipping pages. When the Herald was absorbed by the New York Tribune, Parker left the newspaper and began writing for The Sun. Parker took a year-long leave of absence from The Sun near the end of the 1890s and returned home to Newcastle, where he edited a small local paper called the Union Advocate. In 1899, he wrote a poem entitled “The Days of Duffy Gillis” and in 1902, one titled “The Man Behind the Boathook.” After his leave was over, Parker returned to New York but would constantly return to the Miramichi on vacation. Other than Parker’s six poems in Miramichi Poet: 6 Poems by Hedley Parker, collected and edited by Louise Manny, no other works have been discovered.  Parker died in New York City on 11 October 1935.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Miramichi

Archival Material

• The man behind the boathook / by Hedley Parker
  ⌄
  Location

  Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

  Retrieval Number

  MC682

  Date Range of Material

  1902

  Extent

  1 p. of textual material

  Scope and Content Note

  This record contains a single item, "The Man Behind the Boathook" by Hedley Parker, a typescript poem about fishing on the Miramichi in New Brunswick.