Joel Parker
| Joel Parker | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 20th Governor of New Jersey | |
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In office January 20, 1863 – January 16, 1866 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Smith Olden |
| Succeeded by | Marcus Lawrence Ward |
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In office January 16, 1872 – January 19, 1875 |
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| Preceded by | Theodore Fitz Randolph |
| Succeeded by | Joseph D. Bedle |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly | |
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In office 1847–1851 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 24, 1816 near Freehold Township, New Jersey |
| Died | January 2, 1888 (aged 71) New York City, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Signature |  |
Joel Parker (November 24, 1816 – January 2, 1888) was an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 20th Governor of New Jersey from 1863 to 1866, and again from 1872 to 1875.
Parker was born near Freehold Township, New Jersey to Charles and Sarah (Coward) Parker. His father was a member of the New Jersey Legislature for several years, and served one term as state treasurer. Joel attended the College of New Jersey (later known as Princeton University), graduating in the class of 1839. He worked in the law office of Henry W. Green and was admitted to the bar in 1842. He married Maria Mott-Gummere in 1843 and the couple had two sons and a daughter.
A Democrat, he was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1847, where he served until 1851 when he was appointed the "prosecutor of pleas" of Monmouth County. He continued to be active in politics and served as a New Jersey elector in the 1860 presidential election, casting his vote for Stephen A. Douglas.
In 1860, New Jersey Governor Charles Smith Olden appointed Parker Major General of the New Jersey militia.
He was nominated for governor by the Democratic Party in 1862, and ran as a "War Democrat" who supported a military solution to the American Civil War rather than accommodation of the Confederacy. He defeated Marcus L. Ward by the largest margin in New Jersey history up to that time.
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