Clarence Claybrook Parker
1894 - 1923
Born in 1894, Clarence Claybrook Parker was the only son of Reverend William and Emma Reed Parker. In the 1900 federal census, Clarence was living on 623 State Street with his parents, his baby sister Marie, and his teenage cousin Marilla Miles. In December of 1905, he survived a bout of typhoid fever.
In the fall of 1910, Clarence began attending the music program at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. In January of 1914, his mother Emma died. In the spring of that year, Clarence was the organist and music director for St. John’s A.M.E. Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Kansas City Sun June 6, 1914
In 1914, The Kansas City Sun described Clarence as an accomplished musician. While Clarence was classically trained on piano, he really wanted to play ragtime, of which his father did not approve.
By the time Clarence registered for his World War I draft card in the summer of 1917, he was living in Chicago and making his way as a ragtime musician and teacher. The only surviving photograph of Clarence is him at his piano, surrounded by his band.
Clarence Claybrook Parker, sitting at the piano
While living in Chicago, Clarence contracted tuberculosis. When he knew he was dying, he returned home to Liberty and his father so that he would be cared for until his death. In July 1923, Clarence died at the age of 29 and is buried in an unmarked grave near his mother.