[1][2] He was part of the complex network of business interests and finance behind the African and Atlantic slave trade of the later 18th century.

Originally from Swaledale, Yorkshire, he was the son of Thomas and Hannah Parke of Low Row; his father was a hosier and lead miner.

The firm was significant as a major player in the local insurance trade, and its business had many dealings in common with the partnership of Thomas Staniforth and Joseph Brooks (junior).

[13] Parke reduced his investment in the direct trade, and concentrated more on the production of cotton goods for it, a business in which one of his sons was involved.

[19] Parke lived in Water Street;[28] later he moved to Duke Street, and resided at Highfield House, West Derby, Liverpool, previously owned by Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl, which he bought about 1781.