Title: Stephen D. Parrish Papers, 1864-1938

Extent:

Stephen D. Parrish (26 Jun 1857-7 May 1944) was born in Gonzolas, TX to Socrates Parrish and Mary H. (Adams) Parrish. Stephen was the oldest of seven children:

Martha "Mattie" Parrish (b. 1858)

William A. Parrish (b. 1862)

Jacob Parrish (b. 1864)

Lurinda "Lula" Parrish (b. 1865)

Owen Parrish (b. 1870)

Elisha Parrish (b. 1870)

Stephen Parrish's father moved to Texas from Madison County, KY in 1855 just before Stephen's birth. In 1858, Socrates returned with his family to Madison County, KY where he served as sheriff for 16 years. The Parrish family then moved to Lawrence, KS in 1870. While living in Lawrence, Stephen worked as a salesman for a short time. He later worked for two years as an assistant postmaster in LeRoy, KS (65 mi north of Lawrence). The family remained in Kansas for four years before returning to Kentucky without Stephen in 1874. A year later, Stephen left Kansas to rejoin his family in Madison County, KY, where he served as deputy sheriff for two years. During this time, Stephen worked alongside his father, who also served as a deputy sheriff before eventually becoming constable of Madison County. In 1877, Stephen entered Central University (Central University was located on the site now occupied by Eastern Kentucky University) and studied there for two years before graduating in 1879. Parrish then attended Louisville Law School from 1879-80. After graduating from law school, Parrish returned to Madison County in 1880 where he began his first law practice with H. S. Douthitt. Soon after, Parrish went into joint practice with John Chenault.

From 1883-84 Parrish served as Madison County School Commissioner. On October 7, 1886, Parrish bought the Richmond Herald and began work as the paper's editor-in-chief. In 1888 Stephen Parrish married Florida H. Million (1863 - 30 Sep 1949) who later became a Madison County attorney. Stephen practiced law throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. His primary legal focus appears to have been in real estate and collection litigation. Beginning in the late 1920s and continuing throughout the 1930s, Parrish developed a deep interest in Constitutional history, law and interpretation. He maintained continued correspondence with Constitutional scholars during this time and did much personal research on the subject. During the late 1930s Parrish was among several thousand lawyers contacted by the National Committee to Uphold Constitutional Government of which he may have been a member. The committee was formed in 1937 in opposition to President Franklin Roosevelt's court-packing scheme and gained much notoriety for its New Deal opposition.

Stephen Parrish died at the age of 90 on 7 May 1944. He was a longtime member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Methodist Church, and the Democratic Party. At the time of his death, Parrish was the dean of the Madison County Bar Association. His wife Florida died 20 Sep 1949.

Author: Daniel Weddington

Subjects (links to similar collections)

Languages of Materials

Administrative Information

Scope and Contents:

The Stephen D. Parrish Papers consists of personal and professional correspondence, court case documents, and family scrapbook material. The first set of correspondence was culled from a scrapbook kept by Stephen Parrish in a Congressional Record book. These specific documents appear within the date range of 2 Aug 1880 - 21 Oct 1885. Although these documents have been arranged in chronological rather than original order, Stephen D. Parrish's personal index containing both the names and the page number from which the documents originally appeared in the scrapbook may be found in the first folder. Please note that Parrish's index is incomplete and, as such, some names that appear on the documents from the scrapbook do not appear in the index.

The documents from the scrapbook section primarily contain material from Parrish's early law practice. Many of the documents are addressed to Parrish and another attorney, John Chenault, with whom Parrish had a joint firm. The majority of the cases concern the collection of debts and fees as well as property disputes. There is also a great deal of information regarding the sale of land, land contracts, certificates and property negotiation. Finally, there are minor documents to be found pertaining to patent litigation as well as Parrish's time spent as Madison County School Commissioner. Note that some of the documents from this section are damaged and are difficult to decipher.

The second set of correspondence primarily concerns the later years of Parrish's law practice. Parrish took an avid interest in Constitutional history and law during this time and thus many documents associated with this interest may be found. The documents in this section would be of great use to Constitutional scholars and documents from the National Committee to Uphold Constitutional Government would be of excellent value to those researching New Deal opposition. Included in this section is a photograph of the interior of what appears to be a general store ca. 1931. All letters are considered addressed to Stephen D. Parrish unless otherwise indicated.

Also included in this collection is a family scrapbook kept by Stephen D. Parrish's sisters, Mattie and Lula Parrish. The scrapbook was kept in a druggist account book which most likely belonged to Elijah Robinson, a druggist in LeRoy, KS, ca. 1860s. There are several documents from and regarding Central University as well as many newspaper clippings which include birth announcements, obituaries, general news topics and anecdotal passages. In addition to the Parrish content, the book contains record of the sale of medical supplies ca. American Civil War period. Further information regarding this scrapbook (including a selected index of entries) may be found at the end of this finding aid.

Detailed Description
Box 1