Physical Description  -
 
The jewel itself is about 2 inches long by 1 3/4 inches wide, oval-shaped. Along the outside edge, there is a twisted ribbon band of small clear stones - quartz? At the top and bottom of the ribbon band, there are bows, also made with the same small stones, with a larger stone set in the middle of the bow's knot. The jewels are visible only on the front; on the back side there is only solid metal - pewter? At the top is a metal loop, presumably for a chain, which is no longer with the jewel.
 
On the front of the jewel, the center oval field is a dark blue material, probably enamel over the base metal. On top of the enamel is the symbol of office for a Senior Warden, lightly inscribed around the edges of the symbol, also set with a clear stone in the center of the symbol's base. The symbol is the same size as the enamel field.
 
The back side of the jewel is lightly etched around the perimeter of the oval. In its center is inscribed "Sir Peter Parker Bart"; beneath it is inscribed "SGW" and beneath that, the date 1772. Outside the cartouche is another inscription, added much later, that says "John B.Coleman", with no office or date added.
 
Personal History - Sir Peter Parker, First Baronet
 
Born 1721, probably in Ireland, as the third son of Rear Admiral Christopher Parker, he continued the family tradition by joining the Royal Navy. He was made lieutenant in 1743 and served in various places in Europe and the West Indies until 1760, when he returned to Britain and married Margaret Nugent about 1761. He was knighted on 10 June 1772.
 
In 1775 Parker was made commodore of the Bristol and sailed with a small squadron to the Carolinas, where he fought with General Henry Clinton at Charlestown and Sullivan's Island. After suffering numerous casualties, Parker met Admiral Lord Howe in New York, and campaigned there and in Rhode Island. In 1777 Parker was appointed rear-admiral, and later also commander-in-chief of Jamaica, where he arrived in 1778.
 
While in Jamaica, Parker appointed Horatio Nelson as lieutenant on one of his flagships, then continued to advance him over the next few years. Meanwhile, Parker himself became vice-admiral in 1779 and continued to defend Jamaica until 1782, when he returned to England. He was rewarded for his services with the baronetcy in 1783, and later promoted to admiral in 1787, and admiral of the fleet in 1799. Parker was chief mourner at Nelson's funeral in 1805. He also lost his wife in 1803, and his son Christopher in 1805. Parker died in London in 1811, and is buried at St. Margaret's, Westminster.
 
Parker was an active Freemason and served as Grand Steward and Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Lodge of England in 1772, as well as the Provincial Grand Master of Jamaica in 1778. He was appointed Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England in 1787, and held that position until his death in 1811. In addition, he was a member of the Royal Arch Masons (1772), and served as Grand Master Z (First Grand Principal) in 1792 and 1793. Parker helped to establish the Royal Masonic School for Girls and served as its treasurer for several years.
 
Personal History - John B. Coleman
 
John B. Coleman was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, about 1821, the son of James O. and Lucy O. (nee Hawkins) Coleman. He moved to St. Louis in the early 1840s, where he became a pharmacist and later a physician. In 1850, he married Elizabeth Franklin, with whom he had one son, William F. Coleman. He died in 1861 in St. Louis.
 
Coleman was a member of Missouri Lodge No. 1 in St. Louis, and served as Junior Warden of that lodge in 1850. His brother Stephen O. Coleman was a member of the same lodge, and another brother, Hardin H. Coleman, was a member of the Hopkinsville Lodge No. 37 in Kentucky.
 
No information has yet been discovered as to how Peter Parker's jewel came into John B. Coleman's possession.