Misplaced Pages

William Thomas Parry

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
19th century American politician For the American philosopher and logician, see William T. Parry.
William T. Parry
Member of the Wisconsin Board of Supervision
In office
June 1, 1889 – April 30, 1891
Appointed byWilliam D. Hoard
Preceded byJames Bintliff
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 27th district
In office
January 1, 1883 – January 3, 1887
Preceded byGilbert E. McKeeby
Succeeded byLevi E. Pond
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
from the Columbia 1st district
In office
January 3, 1881 – January 1, 1883
Preceded byAddison Eaton
Succeeded byJohn McKenzie
Personal details
Born(1837-05-17)May 17, 1837
Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
DiedSeptember 10, 1896(1896-09-10) (aged 59)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Cause of deathThroat cancer
Resting placeSilver Lake Cemetery, Portage, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Margaret Williams ​ ​(m. 1857; died 1866)​
  • Annie Roberts ​(m. 1867⁠–⁠1896)​
Children
  • with Margaret Williams
  • Mary A. (Moss)
  • William Parry
  • with Annie Roberts
  • Flora Parry
  • Lemuel R. Parry
  • Richard Parry
  • Pierce Parry
OccupationMerchant

William Thomas Parry (May 17, 1837 – September 10, 1896) was a Welsh American immigrant, businessman, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly, representing Columbia County.

Biography

William T. Parry was born in Bangor, Gwynedd, in Wales, and received his basic education there. He emigrated to the United States as a child in 1849, and settled in the town of Manchester, Wisconsin, which was then part of Marquette County. He lived there until adulthood. He moved to Berlin, Wisconsin, in 1858, and then moved to Portage, in Columbia County, Wisconsin, in 1859.

At Portage, he clerked for the business of A. D. Forbes for six years until starting his own merchant business partnership, known as Parry, Bebb, & Muir (later Parry & Muir). He continued running that business until his retirement in 1892.

He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly on the Republican Party ticket in 1880 and was re-elected in 1881. In 1882, he was elected to a four-year term in the Wisconsin State Senate. During his time in the Legislature, he was active in supporting temperance legislation.

In 1889, he was appointed to the State Board of Supervision by Governor William D. Hoard, and served on the board until it was disbanded in 1891. The board oversaw the state's mental hospitals, schools for state orphans and for the blind and deaf, and the state prisons. It was replaced by the State Board of Charities and Reform.

He moved to Milwaukee in 1892. He died there on September 10, 1896, after a long and painful battle with throat cancer.

Personal life and family

William Parry married twice. His first wife was Margaret Williams, they married at Randolph, Wisconsin, on June 30, 1857. They had two children together before her death in 1866. The following year, Parry married Annie Roberts—who was also a Welsh immigrant—at Utica, New York. They had four more children. Parry was survived by his second wife and all six children.

References

  1. ^ "William T. Parry Dead". The Watertown News. September 16, 1896. p. 6. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Butterfield, Consul Willshire (1880). The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin. Western Historical Company. p. 918. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  3. Heg, J. E., ed. (1883). "Biographical Sketches" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 481. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  4. Timme, Ernst G., ed. (1889). "State Institutions" (PDF). The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 399. Retrieved March 6, 2022.

External links

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded byAddison Eaton Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Columbia 1st district
January 3, 1881 – January 1, 1883 		Succeeded byJohn McKenzie
Wisconsin Senate
Preceded byGilbert E. McKeeby Member of the Wisconsin Senate from the 27th district
January 1, 1883 – January 3, 1887 		Succeeded byLevi E. Pond
Government offices
Preceded byJames Bintliff Member of the Wisconsin Board of Supervision
June 1, 1889 – April 30, 1891 		Board abolished
Categories: