Alton B. Parker
| Alton Parker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals | |
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In office January 1, 1898 – August 5, 1904 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Andrews |
| Succeeded by | Edgar M. Cullen |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Alton Brooks Parker May 14, 1852 Cortland, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 10, 1926 (aged 73) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Schoonmaker Amy Day Campbell |
| Education | Union University, New York (LLB) |
Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge, best known as the Conservative Democrat who lost the presidential election of 1904 to incumbent Theodore Roosevelt in a landslide.
A native of upstate New York, Parker practiced law in Kingston, New York, before being appointed to the New York Supreme Court and elected to the New York Court of Appeals; he served as Chief Judge of the latter from 1898 to 1904, when he resigned to run for president. In 1904, he defeated liberal publisher William Randolph Hearst for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. In the general election, Parker opposed popular incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. After a disorganized and ineffective campaign, Parker was defeated by 336 electoral votes to 140, carrying only the traditionally Democratic Solid South. He then returned to practicing law. He managed John A. Dix's successful 1910 campaign for Governor of New York and served as prosecution counsel for the 1913 impeachment of Dix's successor, Governor William Sulzer.
Parker was born in Cortland, New York, to John Brooks Parker, a farmer, and Harriet F. Stratton. Both of his parents were well educated and encouraged his reading from an early age. At the age of 12 or 13, Parker watched his father serve as a juror and was so fascinated by the proceedings that he resolved to become a lawyer. However, he trained initially as a teacher and taught in Binghamton. There he became engaged to Mary Louise Schoonmaker, the daughter of a man who owned property near his school. Parker married Schoonmaker in 1872 and became a clerk at Schoonmaker & Hardenburgh, a legal firm at which one of her relatives was the senior partner. He then enrolled at Albany Law School of Union University, New York. After graduating with an LL.B. degree in 1873, he practiced law in Kingston until 1878 as the senior partner of the firm Parker & Kenyon.
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