William Thomas Parry
{{short description|19th century American politician}}
{{about||the American philosopher and logician|William T. Parry}}
{{infobox officeholder
|name = William T. Parry
|office = Member of the Wisconsin Board of Supervision
|appointer = William D. Hoard
| term_start = June 1, 1889
| term_end = April 30, 1891
| predecessor = James Bintliff
| successor = Position abolished
|state1 = Wisconsin
|state_senate1 = Wisconsin
|district1 = 27th
| term_start1 = January 1, 1883
| term_end1 = January 3, 1887
| predecessor1 = Gilbert E. McKeeby
| successor1 = Levi E. Pond
|state_assembly2 = Wisconsin
|district2 = Columbia 1st
| term_start2 = January 3, 1881
| term_end2 = January 1, 1883
| predecessor2 = Addison Eaton
| successor2 = John McKenzie
|party = Republican
|birth_date = {{birth date|1837|5|17}}
|birth_place = Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, UK
|death_date = {{death date and age|1896|9|10|1837|5|17}}
|death_place = Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
|death_cause = Throat cancer
|restingplace = Silver Lake Cemetery, {{nowrap|Portage, Wisconsin}}
|spouse = {{unbulleted list
| {{marriage|Margaret Williams|1857|1866|end=died}}
| {{marriage|Annie Roberts|1867|1896}}
}}
|children = {{unbulleted list
| with Margaret Williams
| Mary A. (Moss)
| William Parry
| with Annie Roberts
| Flora Parry
| Lemuel R. Parry
| Richard Parry
| Pierce Parry
}}
|occupation = Merchant
}}
William Thomas Parry (May 17, 1837{{spaced ndash}}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.{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97071141/obituary-for-william-t-parry-1837-1896/ |title= William T. Parry Dead |newspaper= The Watertown News |date= September 16, 1896 |page= 6 |accessdate= March 6, 2022 |via= Newspapers.com }}{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/historyofcolumbi00butt/ |title= The History of Columbia County, Wisconsin |year= 1880 |publisher= Western Historical Company |last= Butterfield |first= Consul Willshire |page= [https://archive.org/details/historyofcolumbi00butt/page/918/ 918] |accessdate= March 6, 2022 }}
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.{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1883 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1883 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Heg |editor-first= J. E. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1883/reference/wi.wibluebk1883.i0021.pdf |chapter= Biographical Sketches |page= 481 |accessdate= March 6, 2022 }} 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.{{cite report|url= http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.WIBlueBk1889 |title= The Blue Book of the State of Wisconsin |year= 1889 |publisher= State of Wisconsin |editor-last= Timme |editor-first= Ernst G. |chapter-url= https://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/WIBlueBks/BlueBks/WIBlueBk1889/reference/wi.wibluebk1889.i0013.pdf |chapter= State Institutions |page= 399 |accessdate= March 6, 2022 }}
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
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|184589422|William Thomas Parry}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-wi-hs}}
{{s-bef|before = Addison Eaton }}
{{s-ttl|title = {{nowrap|Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly}} {{nowrap|from the Columbia 1st district}} |years= January 3, 1881{{spaced ndash}}January 1, 1883 }}
{{s-aft|after = John McKenzie }}
{{s-par|us-wi-sen}}
{{s-bef|before = Gilbert E. McKeeby }}
{{s-ttl|title = {{nowrap|Member of the Wisconsin Senate}} {{nowrap|from the 27th district}} |years= January 1, 1883{{spaced ndash}}January 3, 1887 }}
{{s-aft|after = Levi E. Pond }}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before = James Bintliff }}
{{s-ttl|title = {{nowrap|Member of the Wisconsin Board of Supervision}} |years= June 1, 1889{{spaced ndash}}April 30, 1891 }}
{{s-non|reason = Board abolished }}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, William Thomas}}
Category:People from Bangor, Gwynedd
Category:Welsh emigrants to the United States
Category:People from Green Lake County, Wisconsin
Category:People from Portage, Wisconsin
Category:Politicians from Columbia County, Wisconsin
Category:Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly