My Family Tree

[kdd: my impression is that 2 different "John and Mary Parham" families have been conflated together. Our William could have been son of the John Parham and Mary Booth of Gloucester Co, VA, and not the John Parham of Bristol below, William Parham is not mentioned in George Booth's will of 1763 altho other grandsons are (George, John, Thomas, Matthew) There is no proof at this time of who William's parents are. See "Historical Southern Families, Vol II" pg69, corrected in Vol VI, pg78, Thomas d.1827, s/o George Parham, had a son named Littleton in Sussex Co, VA. Our William and Peggy Parham also named a son Littleton.]

The Bristol Parish Records of Virginia give John's birth and baptism dates as 26 September and 6 November 1731, and names his parents as John and Mary. It's possible that John could have been born at a later date, and probable that a clerical error was made in recording the name of his father - since this entry was recorded after the earlier entries for his brothers William, Isham, and Thomas, all of which recorded Thos and Mary as parents.
On 16 March 1761, John was granted 485 acres by the Earl of Granville in the Province of North Carolina for 10 shillings sterling and annual rent covenants. John served as a Sargeant in the Granville Regiment of Militia from the early 1760's to at least 1771 or after. In 1762, when the Militia was called upon to suppress the uprisings of groups of farmers who were protesting against the mother country for lack of representation, high taxes, and discrimination in the courts, John was paid 2 pounds, 8 shillings for 12 days of service. On 5 August 1766, John, his brother Isham, and 3 others were found guilty in cases involving illegal voting and were each fined 5 pounds proclamation money.
John may have been married twice, since he was known to have 12 children who were born over a span of 30 years. By 1782, John's estate included 1225 acres. In 1783, he sold 3 Parsels of land, in 1797 another, and in 1799 he sold the original 485 acres. About this time or shortly after, he moved to Elbert County, Georgia. It is assumed that his health began to fail in early 1804 when he wrote his will that was probated 20 April 1805. His estate included a small tract of land on Dove's Creek, 6 Negroes, various livestock, tools, and home furnishings. In his will, he named his wife Mary, and his children. He gave his estate to his wife Mary for life, with provision that after her death it was to be given to his children. He appointed his son Isham as one of the 3 executors.
John's 12 children were: Lucy Harriett, born 10 May 1791, married James Morris, had 2 children or more; Elizabeth, born 1760, married a Mr Bennett; Kennon, born 7 September 1762, married Milly, served in Revolutionary War; John "Jack", born 1764, died in 1840's, married Mary "Molly" Shemwell, had 6 children; Isham Jr, my ancestor; Nancy, born 1775, married a Mr Sargent; Mary, born 1776, married a Mr Upshaw; Thomas, born 1727, married Patsy Beardon, had 6 children; Hole berry, born 1778, married David Hicks; Mildred, born 1779, married Cornelius Crenshaw; Frances, born 1784, married Charles Bearden; and Dickson, born 1787, married Elizabeth Hicks.
(Ref: In A Pear Tree by Marjorie Parham Hailey; North Carolina Review, Vol 18)

More detailed biography here -
https://home.comcast.net/~lynn.parham/parham.htm
Note the children mentioned in John's will do not include a William:
Elizabeth Bennett
Dickson Parham
Thomas Parham
John Parham
Lucy Parham
Mildred Parham
Mary Upshaw
Cannon Parham
Frances Parham
Holebery Hicks
Isom Parham
Nancy Sargent