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Webster Parry Collection

 Collection
Identifier: FMS-58

Scope and Contents

The Webster Parry Collection consists of correspondence and genealogical data collected by Webster Parry, a Quaker genealogist of Richmond,Indiana. It includes genealogies of the White, Webster, and Parry families, abstracts of Indiana and North Carolina Quaker records, and lists of deaths, ca. 1890-ca. 1935, in the Wayne County, Indiana area. Parry's ledgers of death records were digitized in 2014 by Ancestry.com. The citation Ancestry uses is "Earlham College; Richmond, Indiana; Quaker Death Records, 1890-1935; Collection: Miscellaneous Vital Record." Parry would record any death he heard about in the Wayne county area, including non-Quakers. So while we would likely have information in our collection on the Quakers he records in his ledgers, we are unlikely to have information on the non-Quakers listed.

Dates

  • 1890-1935
  • Other: Date acquired: 01/01/1992

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access.

Conditions Governing Use

Some materials may be protected by copyright. Permission to reproduce and to publish for commercial purposes must be requested from the Archivist.

Biographical or Historical Information

Webster Parry was born in Richmond, Indiana on September 25, 1848, the son of Mordecai and Gulielma (Henley) Parry. Both parents came from old Quaker families. His father was a native of Pennsylvania. His mother was a granddaughter of Samuel Charles (1759-1849), one of the first Quaker settlers in Richmond. Most of Webster Parry's research dealt with his mother's North Carolina Quaker ancestors and relatives. Webster Parry spent most of his life in Richmond as an accountant. He was also one of the founders of the Richmond Home Telephone Company, and served on the Richmond City Council. He died in Richmond, January 10, 1936.

Note written by

Extent

2.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Method of Acquisition

Gift, Virginia Heiss.

Accruals and Additions

Future material may be forthcoming.

Related Materials

During his lifetime, Parry acquired a reputation as an outstanding Quaker genealogist, although he never published any of his work. Before his death, he began to disperse his collections. His Henley and Charles genealogies went to the Indiana State Library, where they remain. Most of the rest of his material fell into the hands of Edna Harvey Joseph (1890-1973), a Quaker genealogist of Jasper, Indiana. She continued to annotate and supplement Parry's work. On her death, her collection of genealogical material was left to Willard Heiss (1921-1988) of Indianapolis. He placed some of it in the Friends Historical Collection at Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C. This collection is the remainder. A typescript of Parry's genealogical compilations has been prepared and is catalogued separately.

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Archon Finding Aid Title
Description rules
Other Unmapped
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
und

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Friends Collection and Earlham College Archives Repository

https://archives.earlham.edu
Contact:
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