Captain John F. Parker
May 21, 1908 - November 10, 1910

A Biographical Sketch of American Samoa’s Fifth Naval Governor: Captain John F. Parker, U.S. Navy  (Term of Office: May 21, 1908-November 10, 1910) 
By Stan Sorensen, Historian, Officer of the Governor, Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799

On May 21, 1908, Captain John F. Parker, U.S. Navy (Retired) relieved Commander Charles Brainard Taylor Moore, and became American Samoa's sixth naval governor (until November 10, 1910). (6. Sorensen 2003: 1; 1d. Bryan 1927: 53)

On July 28, 1908, in his Annual Report to Secretary of the Navy Truman H. Newberry, Captain John F. Parker, Governor of American Samoa, informed his superior that 128 major and 37 minor operations were performed at the hospital's new operating room. (2f. Letter, Parker-Newberry: 07/28/1908)

On March 10, 1909, Captain John F. Parker, Commandant, U.S. Naval Station Tutuila, writing to Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer, sent this "list of names of employees who will remain under the direct orders of the Inspector of Public Works:

(2f. Letter, Parker-Meyer: 03/10/1909)

On April 2, 1909, Tui Manu'a Elisara died on Ta'u. Governor John F. Parker paid tribute to him by saying, "Tui Manu'a was the last of a line of kings in the Manu'a Group, his title being changed to District Governor from the date of the hoisting of the American flag in those islands. He was a devout Christian and a faithful supporter of government, and his loss....is keenly felt." (1a. Gray 1960: 161-162)

On January 25, 1910, a special meeting was held to consider the incidence of hookworm in the Territory of American Samoa. The meeting was attended by "all the representatives of the various districts, counties and villages, Governor [Captain John F.] Parker, the Secretary of Native Affairs, the Captain of the Yard, Doctor [P.S.] Rossiter and the Chaplain." Dr. Rossiter (who later became Surgeon  General of the Navy)  "found that 82.5 per cent of 250 Samoan civilians examined, and a like percentage of members of the Fita Fita, were infested, which indicated that at least half of the population of Tutuila harbored the worm, and he concluded that a major public health crisis was at hand."  (1d. Bryan 1927: 70; 1a. Gray 1960: 168-170)

On February 19, 1910, American Samoa's Governor, Captain John F. Parker (USN, Ret.) enacted his "Regulation No. 1-1910: Preservation of Public Health." This regulation was amended many times, and by 1931 included the following subsections: "1. Disposal of Human Excreta; 2. Breadfruit; 3. Quarantine; 4. Importation and Sale of Medicines and Drugs; 5. Importation and Sale of Opium; 6. Compulsory Vaccination Against Smallpox; 7. Yaws (Tonas); 8. Drinking and Bathing Places; 9. Conjunctivitis; 10. Trained Samoan Nurses; 11. Medical Practitioners, and 12. Public Health Orders." (1a. Noble 1931: 66-71)

On November 10, 1910, Commander William Michael Crose relieved Captain John F. Parker, and took office as the seventh naval governor of American Samoa (until March 14, 1913). (6. Sorensen 2003: 1)