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| Cousin Tommy Palmer and His Son Visiting the Palmer Plantation in Virginia |
2013 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion
Hospitality Room 7-9 p.m. Friday evening at the Days Inn & Suites in Huntsville.
Saturday - Texas Independence Day,
March 2, 2013
Huntsville Public Library Community Room
The 2013 Reunion Will Focus on Palmer/ Parmer Family Genealogy!!!
Reunion Begins March 2, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. and Will Continue until 5:00 p.m. in the Community
Room of the Huntsville, Texas Public Library.
The Huntsville Library has WIFI access, so if you have a laptop, be sure and bring it
along.
If you get into Huntsville early on Friday, you might want to drop by the Walker County
courthouse. Martin Parmer's estate papers are there and if you descend from one of Martin's many children who lived
in Walker County, you may find a wealth of information about that ancestor too. The Walker County Courthouse will be
closed on Saturday.
Bring your Family Pictures, Family Albums, Family Genealogical Charts, Family Artifacts, etc!!!! We
will have access to the Johnnie Jo Sowell Dickenson Genealogy Room of the Huntsville Public Library as well as plenty of copy
machines to copy shared genealogies, records, photos and other information. If your Palmer/Parmer family data does
not appear on the Tribal Pages web site yet, bring it with you and we will add it and scans of your family pictures to the Tribal Pages web site during
the reunion.
We will celebrate Texas Independence Day, Sam Houston's Birthday, and We Will Remember the Day Martin Parmer died. Be sure and let alll the Palmer/Parmer cousins know about the
2013 Reunion.
Cousin Tommy Palmer will be making a presentation about his recent visit to the Palmer Plantation outside
of West Point, Virginia this year.
Cousin Kameron Searle will be speaking about Martin Parmer's presence on the Internet on sites such as
Wikipedia and changes that can and should be made. He will be soliciting your ideas and computer expertise.
Hotel rooms for the 2013 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion have been reserved at the Days Inn & Suites in Huntsville, Texas. 40 Rooms have been blocked under "Palmer/Parmer Reunion" for each of the nights of Friday, March
1, 2013 and Saturday, March 2, 2013. Call the Days Inn and Suites at (936) 438-8400 to reserve your room.
There will be a BBQ lunch meal catered by McKenzie BBQ. The cost of the BBQ lunch will be $11.00 for adults and children ages 12 and older. For children under 12 the
cost of the meal will be $5.00. Cousins Kameron K. Searle and Tommy Palmer have teamed up to plan the 2013 Palmer/Parmer Family
Reunion. Cousin Valerie Wood, who did such a wonderful job with the 2011 reunion, has kindly agreed to assist the 2013
reunion with email communications. If you would like to help, send us an email at
The Martin Parmer Family Reunion quilt sewn by Frances Goforth for the 2005 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion
will be on display in the Johnnie Jo Sowell Dickenson Genealogy Room of the Huntsville Public Library. Many of you who attended the 2005 reunion will remember signing this quilt.
The quilt was donated to the Johnnie Jo Sowell Dickenson Genealogy Room of the Huntsville Public Library when cousin Frances
Gorforth passed a few years ago.
The one of a kind Panel 37 from the 2011 Mural of the Reading of the Texas Declaration of Independence portraying
Martin Parmer will also be on display along with the one of a kind signers pen with Martin Parmer's autograph engraved
upon it. Both of these items were custom made for the 175th celebration of Texas Independence held at Washington-on-the-Brazos
on March 2, 2011.
| See Frances Goforth's Palmer/Parmer Reunion Quilt |
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| Taylor Pendley and Frances Gorforth Display Martin Parmer Quilt in 2005 |
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| Signers Panel #37 Portraying Martin Parmer by Artist Dmitri Koustov |
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| The Martin Parmer Pen |
| Possible Photograph of Martin Parmer Located |
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| Scan of Tin Type Courtesy of Michele Gorman |
| Comparison Courtesy of Rex Stovall |
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| Comparison of Michele Gorman's Tin Type with Charles Norman Drawing |
It seems very likely that this tin type may have been used as the model for Charles Norman's drawing
of Martin Parmer for his 1936 painting Reading of the Declaration of Independence. What do you think?
If this is Martin Parmer, it is a much older Martin Parmer, and Charles Norman appears to have drawn Parmer as he may have
appeared years earlier at the time of the Convention at Washington.
| 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion Pin |
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Wow!! 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion on Televison
| Photo Courtesy of Cousin Angela Peterson |
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| Some of the 160 Cousins Present at Washington-on-the-Brazos on Saturday Feb. 26, 2011 |
You Tube Video of Palmer/Parmer Cousins Behind Rolling Thunder Cannon and Cousin Kameron Searle Firing Rolling Thunder in
Period Attire.
2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion Was a Huge
Success !!! Reunion Founder Taylor Pendley Declared This Year's Reunion "The Largest Ever!!!"
The Webmaster Will Load Some Pictures From This Year's Reunion Here on the Front Page
and Create a 2011 Reunion Page Later.
It's Finally Here!
2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion
February 25th, 26th and 27th, 2011
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Reminder! Please Bring Items to Donate for the Silent Auction on Saturday
Night as a Fundraiser for the 2013 Palmer/Parmer Reunion!!!
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160 Cousins from All Over the United States Have Already Confirmed for the 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family
Reunion So Far!
We Hope to See You There As Well!!
We have already outgrown the first venue for the reunion and we will be meeting for the Saturday evening
meal and reunion activities at the First Baptist Church, 301 Church Street, Navasota, Texas (Saturday
Evening, February 26, 2011). Following the meal on Saturday evening, our speaker will be cousin, Kameron Searle, who
will talk about Martin Parmer's many activites and important roles at the Independence Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos
in March 1-17, 1836.
Friday, February 25, 2011 - Evening "Meet and Greet" at Comfort Inn Hotel.
Saturday, February 26, 2011 - Morning and Afternoon at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Evening - Reunion and Dinner at First Baptist Church in Navasota.
February 27, 2011 - Afternoon Sunday Ceremony Honoring the Descendants of the
Signers of Texas Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos.
Special News! Texas Declaration of Independence Signed by Martin Parmer Will Be on Display in Austin, Texas Now until April
21, 2011. Click Here for Details.
2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion
The 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion is being organized by cousins Valerie Wood and Katherine Serna.
Valerie's telephone # is (903) 536-2229 and her email address is valeriesbunch@aol.com . Katherine's email address is serna_77541@yahoo.com .
The 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion will be held at Navasota, Texas and Washington-on-the-Brazos
on February 25th, 26th and 27th, 2011. The reunion is open to descendants of Martin Parmer and the descendants of Martin
Parmer's siblings.
Since this will be the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence, we recommend
you make your room reservations early.
Click on the links to the two important pdf files below with the most up-to-date information
about the 2011 Palmer/Parmer Reunion.
Click Here for 2011 Family Reunion Schedule Flyer pdf.
Reunion Dinner Plate Order Forms pdf. - Due February 5, 2011
Tentative Schedule of Activities for Washington-on-the-Brazos
Reunion Hotel Information
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| Tommy Palmer Had This Artistic Rendering of Martin Parmer in Buckskin Prepared for the 2011 Reunion |
More Special News: The Star of the Republic Musuem Invites the Descendants of Martin Parmer to Leave Their Comments on Their
New "Signers Forum." Click Here to Leave Your Comments about the 2011 Reunion, the 175th Anniversary of the Texas Declaration
of Independence and/or Palmer/Parmer Genealogy Information for Other Family Members.
Important News!
Descendants of Signers to Be Honored at Washington-on-the-Brazos!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
| 175th Annivesary Texas Declaration Independence |
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| Special Program for Descendants at Washington-on-the-Brazos, Sunday, February 27, 2011, at 2 p.m. |
Help Us Update the 2011 Reunion Email List !
As email addresses are constantly changing and our reunions are two years apart, our email list has gotten
terribly out of date. If you would like to be included in emails regarding the 2011 Palmer /Parmer Family Reunion in
Navasota and Washington-on-the-Brazos, please send your current email address to the reunion organizers: Valerie Wood
at her email address valeriesbunch@aol.com and/or to Katherine Serna at her email address serna_77541@yahoo.com .
Click Here to See 2009 Reunion Photos !
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Daniel Hill Book, Martin Parmer; Lion of the West
Update!
Dear Valerie and Palmer/Parmer family members....
Many Thanks for the invitation and information for the 2011 Palmer/Parmer
reunion at Washington on the Brazos!!! It sounds like it will be a great event. Unfortunately, I won't be
able to attend the reunion this year. I want all those persons who received copies of my book manuscript "Martin
Parmer; Lion of the West" at the 2009 reunion to know that I will send each recipient the updated edition, GRATIS,
when it is ready (note: I will just ask for the cost of postage to send out the approx. 600 page book to your
address when it is ready....about $8.50 postage). I registered my "Research Rough-Draft" book manuscript in
2009, after the reunion, with the Missouri State Historical Society;
and with the Kansas City Public Library "Missouri Valley Special Collections."
The updated book has incorporated a bunch of new findings and updates, from
my 2009 research trip. The new edition has a complete index, a host of new figures giving time-period documentary
evidence, new photographs of Parmer/Palmer homesites in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Virginia, complete Bibliography
and Endnotes, extensive family group information in the Appendix as well as listing of all Martin Parmer family residence
locations with GPS coordinates, complete credits and Preface including all information about my research, and corrections
throughout all chapters and with improved narrative to make the story flow smoothly from chapter to chapter.
My problem at present is, although I have the names of all the original
rough-draft book recipients, I don't have mailing address information for most of you. Please send me your
name and mailing address, and your original copy registration number from the back page (p.531) of your "rough-draft" copy,
and I will see to it that you receive the new addition as soon as it is ready.
All My Best to the Entire Palmer/Parmer Family.......Cousin Dan Hill
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2011 Palmer/Parmer Reunion Advertisement Appears in Alamo Gala Program
The 50th Anniversary Gala of John Wayne's movie, "The Alamo" world premiere was celebrated at the Alamo
on October 9, 2010 by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. A half page advertisement for the 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family
Reunion appeared in the Commemorative Program for this event.
| October 9, 2010 Commemorative Program |
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| 50th Anniversary Gala of "The Alamo" World Premiere |
Special thanks and congratulations go out to our cousin, Judy Tannehill, for her efforts to make the Commemorative
Program for this event such a huge success and for helping the 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion to place an advertisement
in this wonderful publication. Our thanks also go out to all of you who contributed towards the $200 cost for the
placement of this advertisement. Below is the advertisement as it appeared in the Commemorative Program.
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| 2011 Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion Advertisement |
The ad reads as follows:
Martin Parmer/Palmer
Martin Parmer was born in Virginia in 1778 as Martin Palmer, but during his adult life, he changed the spelling
of his last name to Parmer.
He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was chairman of the committee that drafted the
Constitution of the Republic of Texas. Not only was he a statesman, but a frontiersman, pioneer, and Indian fighter
often called "The Ringtailed Panther."
The 2011 Parmer/Palmer Reunion is to be held February 25, 26, and 27 at Washington-on-the-Brazos and in
Navasota.
Valerie Wood 903-536-2229
On Facebook: "The Parmer Palmer Family"
And Visit the Websites---
The Star of the Republic Museum at Washington on the Brazos is looking for descendants of the 59 signers
of the Texas Declaration of Independence for a special ceremony at the 175th anniversary of Texas Independence next year (2011).
All descendants of Martin Parmer are eligible for this special ceremony.
We are encouraging all descendants of Martin Parmer to contact Dr. Shawn Carlson at The Star of the Republic
Museum at Washington on the Brazos State Park so that we will all be on the Star of the Republic Museum's mailing list
for this exciting event.
The Star of the Republic Museum needs your ancestor's name (Martin Parmer), your name, mailing address,
telephone number and email address. Plans are in the works to attempt to combine the descendants ceremony with the Palmer/Parmer
Reunion if possible.
Shawn B. Carlson, Ph. D. Curator of Collections and Exhibits Star of the Republic of Texas Museum P.O.
Box 317 Washington, Texas 77880 Office: 936-878-2461, ext. 241 Fax: 936-878-2462 email: scarlson@blinn.eduhttp://www.starmuseum.org
Remember to Bring Your Family Tree/Genealogy to Reunion to Be Put on Martin Parmer
Family Tree
If we do not have your genealogical information on the Martin Parmer Family Tree
at: http://martinparmer.tribalpages.com, then be sure and bring your genealogy data, photos and other information to the reunion. We will be bringing
a computer and a scanner, and if we can get a computer connection we will be putting your data online right there at
the 2011 reunion.
Martin Parmer Family Tree
| "Martin Parmer - Agent for Texas" |
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| Martin Parmer's Autograph from Martin Parmer Scrip, 1836 - Collection of Kameron Searle |
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We are the descendants of Martin Parmer and his siblings. On this home page you
will find information regarding the Palmer/Parmer Family Reunion which is held every two years.
Martin Parmer Family Tree
See the Martin Parmer Family Tree at the link below. If your family line is not on it,
then you need to send me your line. Or bring copies of your ancestor charts and pictures to the reunion in March.
See the page for more details.
Martin Parmer Family Tree
We will also highlight the life and the many historical contributions of Martin Parmer, his ancestors and
his descendants in the history of the United States and Texas.
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| Martin Parmer's Grave in the Texas State Cemetery |
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| Click Photo to Go to Texas State Cemetery Page |
Headstone Text
MARTIN PARMER BORN IN VIRGINIA, JUNE 4, 1778 DIED IN JASPER
COUNTY, MARCH 2, 1850 - - A DELEGATE TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF MISSOURI ,1821 - SENATOR IN LEGISLATURE OF MISSOURI
- - - SECOND IN COMMAND IN THE FREDONIAN WAR IN TEXAS, 1826 MEMBER OF THE CONSULTATION 1835 - SIGNED THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
1836 ---- PARMER COUNTY, TEXAS, NAMED IN HIS HONOR Erected by the State of Texas 1936
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"A small party of infatuated madmen at Nacogdoches have declared Independence and invited
the Indians from the Sabine to the Rio Grande to join them and wage a war of Murder, plunder and desolation on the innocent
inhabitants of the the frontier--The leader of this party is Martin Parmer..." Stephen
F. Austin to the Citizen's of Victoria - Letter dated January 1, 1827 regarding Fredonian Rebellion.
"One man in the throng was especially conspicuous and, if possible, he
seemed more eager for the fray than any other. This was old Martin Palmer, 'the ring-tailed panther'...
"...Palmer was a man of more than ordinary parts, of most extraordinary strength of mind
and body and brave as a lion. He was of large stature and bronzed of feature, always dressed in buckskin hunting shirt
and leather trousers, with a panther skin cap, wore his hair long and platted in Indian style, and was indeed a unique figure.
I first saw the 'Panther' at our home on Taylor's Bayou and he impressed me as a most extraordinary character.
"On this occasion the'Panther' was well mounted and
armed, and in high glee, eager for a brush with the enemy;..." Creed
Taylor - Texas Revolutionary War veteran and Texas Ranger regarding Martin Parmer's military service at the first battle of
the Texas Revoution at Gonzales on October 2, 1835.
"On motion of Mr. Everitt, the house went into an election for officers for the provisional government.
The rule in this case , being suspended,
Mr. Martin nominated for governor, S. F. Austin.
Mr. Parmer nominated for governor, Henry Smith.
Mr. Everitt nominated for lieutenant governor, J. W. Robinson.
When there appeared for Henry Smith, for governor, 31
For
S. F. Austin, " 22
For J.
W. Robinson, lieut.do. 52
Whereupon, Mr. Henry Smith was declared duly elected governor, and J. W. Robinson, Lieutenant governor."
Journals of the Consultation at San Felipe de Austin, November 12, 1835. Henry
Smith was the first American Governor of Texas and Martin Parmer nominated him for the position against Stephen F. Austin.
"Mr. Parmer gave an interesting account to his friends at Old Washington in 1836 of
his escape from San Antonio. He was a wonderfully fascinating talker and his recital of this even greatly amused
those who heard him. He was a man absolutely without fear and held the Mexicans in contempt."
Charles B. Stewart - First Secretary of State of Texas - Delegate to the Convention
at Washington - Signer Texas Declaration of Independence.
"Mr. Parmer was of a nervous temperament. He had a stubborn and determined will and
showed impatience of delays. Many interesting stories were told of his prowess among the Indians. He was an interesting
talker and was frequently seen in the midst of an admiring group, relating incidents of his adventures. He was a unique
character but with all he was a man with the best of impulses - honest, brave and heroic."
Col. Stephen Blount - Delegate to Convention at Washington - Signer Texas Declaration of Independence.
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| Independence Hall |
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| Click on Picture to Go to Washington Sate Park Web Page |
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The 2003 Palmer/Parmer Reunion included a tour
of Independence Hall located at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Though only a replica, Independence Hall is constructed on
the exact spot where Martin Parmer signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in March, 1836.
| Martin Parmer - The Ring Tailed Panther |
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| Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence |
Martin Parmer's signature on the Texas Declaration of Independence can be seen on the Internet by clicking
the link below. Parmer's signature can easily be found by locating Sam Houston's signature and counting down three signatures.
MARTIN PARMER'S SIGNATURE ON THE TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
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Thanks for Visiting!
Hope to See You in 2011!!
President
Valerie Wood
889 CR 131
Centerville, Texas
75833
Tel - (903) 536-2229
2011 Palmer/Parmer
Family Reunion
Washington-on-the-Brazos
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