Sydney [Sullivan] Parker Incoming Letters, 1932-1971

The papers of Jameson Parker (1909-1972) are largely diaries (1923-1964), copies of personal letters he wrote, and the letters he wrote to his wife Sydney [Sullivan] Parker Walling. Both the diaries and letters contain much about his social life and his observations on books he read and people he met. The papers from the 1930s and 1940s have material on the political scene in Washington, D.C. stemming from Parker's contact with his father-in-law Mark Sullivan, columnist for the New York Herald-Tribune. There is also material on Parker's work with the family steel firm in Baltimore (1933-1939), his work as an investment analyst with Trail and Middendorf (1939-1942), work with the Maryland Public Expenditure Council (1940-1942), and the U.S. Naval Reserve (1942-1945).

In 1950 Parker was a member of the U.S. Economic Mission to the Philippines which began his career with the State Department. Subsequently he was with the Office of Public Affairs, Department of State (1950-1952, 1955-1959). He was also attached to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels (1952-1953) and in Bonn (1959-1964).

Parker left the State Department to become director of Gunston Hall, George Mason's home in Lorton, Virginia. He remained in this post until his death in 1972.