After further studies abroad at hospitals in London and Edinburgh, he returned to Philadelphia and started practicing medicine with his former teacher, Dr. Evans. He inherited the practice just three months later after the death of Evans, and Parke’s patients and peers praised him as a safe and kind doctor.[2] He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1774.[3]
In 1775, he married Rachel Pemberton, the daughter of James Pemberton; Parke later advocated for his father during his 1777 treason trial.
Parke was instrumental in the development of the Library Company of Philadelphia, serving as the Director, then a board member, and on many committees over his fifty-seven years of involvement. He was elected as a curator of the APS in 1795, but did not attend meetings frequently. Additionally, he served as a Manager at Pennsylvania Hospital, and was the President of the College of Physicians from 1818 until his death.[1]
