In 1609, William Parker invested in the second Virginia Company and became a member of the council. He had shares in the East India and North West Companies as well. Parker used his influence to protect his brother-in-law, Thomas Habington, from the possible consequence of death, after harbouring the forbidden priests at Hindlip. Although Habington was condemned, his wife's pleas to her brother secured his reprieve. Despite revealing the Gunpowder Plot, Parker seems to have retained some connections to the Catholic community. His eldest son of six children, Henry Lord Morley, was also a known Catholic and in 1609, he was suspected of sheltering students from St. Omer's seminary. Monteagle gave permission for his oldest daughter Frances Parker to become a nun, although not willing, at first, to grant her request. He eventually surrendered to his physically handicapped daughter's appeal "in respect that she was crooked, and therefore not fit for the world."