Thomas Parker (1783âÂÂ1860) was a judge, writer, and philanthropist from Maine, who is the namesake of Parker Hall at Bates College.
Parker was born in 1783 in Edgartown, Massachusetts but moved to Farmington, Maine as a child with his father, Elvation Parker, and eventually worked for a period as a stonemason. In 1807 he married Judith Thomas. Parker served as a County Commissioner for several years and in 1838 Governor Edward Kent appointed Parker to be a probate judge from Franklin County where he served until 1845.
Parker later carried on extensive business in the probate courts. In 1846 Parker published a book on the History of Farmington Maine.
In 1856 he donated $5,000 to Bates College then called the Maine State Seminary, and Parker Hall at Bates is named in his honor.
He died in 1860.