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Ely Samuel Parker was born a member of the Seneca Indian tribe in 1828; his first tribal name was Hasanowanda ("The Reader"). His family had originally adopted the Parker name for use when dealing with the white settlers in the area. His father was a Tonawanda Seneca chief and a veteran of the War of 1812; his mother was descended from an Iroquois prophet.

Parker received his early education from Baptist missionaries on the Seneca reservation; he later enrolled for a time at Rochester High School. He quit school at age 18 and devoted his time to furthering Indian affairs in Washington, D.C. During this period, he came to know Lewis Henry Morgan, and helped aid Morgan in his work League of the Iroquois, one of the first studies of an Indian tribe. In 1852, Parker became the sachem of his tribe and adopted the tribal name Donehogawa, or "Keeper of the Western Door of the Long House of the Iroquois". In the late 1850s, Parker studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and began to work for the federal government, supervising public works projects. During one such project he befriended a local clerk, Ulysses S. Grant.

Parker attempted to join the Army at the outbreak of the Civil War, but could not be released from his construction duties until 1862; even then, he could not get an Army commission due to his Indian heritage. He was finally commissioned as a captain of engineers in 1863, and later that year he became a staff officer under Grant; Grant appointed Parker his military secretary the next year. Parker was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 where he took down Grant's dictation concerning the surrender orders, as he was the only person in the room calm enough to write. Parker remained as Grant's military secretary through 1869, eventually ascending to the brevet rank of brigadier-general. He married Minnie Sackett on December 25, 1867.

Parker was one of Grant's first political appointments when he became President. Parker was named Commissioner of Indian Affairs on April 13, 1869. During his tenure in officer, Parker sought to work both for the United States government and the Indians he represented; however, his attempts to bring justice to various tribes over land deals and treaties earned him many enemies in the process. He was accused of defrauding the government and was tried by the House of Representatives in February 1871. Although he was exonerated of all charges, Parker resigned from office and went into business in New York City. He did well in business; later in life, he held various positions within the New York City Police Department. He died on August 31, 1895. Two years later, his remains were reinterred at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, N.Y. on land that had once belonged to the Seneca tribe. The collection consists of mostly manuscript material, including approximately 30 letters to or from Ely Parker; legal and business material; two leather notebooks from the 1850s and 1860s; and some items that were removed in January 1972 from the extra-illustrated volume The Life of General Ely S. Parker by Arthur C. Parker. All correspondence has been indexed.

He's also listed in 100 Native Americans Who Shaped American History.