The Col. Josiah Parker Family Cemetery is located south of the village of Rescue at “Macclesfield,” in a wooded area overlooking Ballard’s Creek, in the northern reaches of Isle of Wight County. The cemetery is the only known reminder of Col. Josiah Parker, who is buried here. Of extraordinary distinction, he was recognized for his service during the Revolutionary War at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, and Brandywine. Parker was the first U.S. congressman to decry the practice of slavery, and, as chairman of Naval Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, he was key in establishing the U.S. Navy. Parker was born in 1751 and raised at his family homestead “Macclesfield,” where he died in 1810.