Lawyer/Trustee
Centurion, 1867–1915
Born 24 October 1829 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Died 15 January 1915 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Buried Church on the Hill Cemetery
, Lenox, Massachusetts
Proposed by Charles E. Whitehead and Abram S. Hewitt
Elected 2 February 1867 at age thirty-seven
Archivist’s Note: Son-in-law of Benjamin H. Field
Seconder of:
Supporter of:
Century Memorial
Inborn ability and practice before the New York and Federal courts have never produced a keener lawyer than John Edward Parsons. At the time of his death, he had been a member of the Bar for sixty-three years, thus closing a legal career as notable for its length and assiduity as for its eminent success. It were a task of supererogation to review the numerous important litigations in which Mr. Parsons took part, winning judgments for his clients and for himself emolument and honor. Shrewd and penetrating as an adviser, he was masterly in the trial of a cause. His mind and speech had an affinity for the essential; his faculties in action went straight to the strategic point. That he was fearless was demonstrated by the course of the Sugar Trust while he held the legal helm. For he was a man of his convictions; he believed in big business and in monopoly where that made for efficiency. He proved his fearlessness also by his effective participation in the prosecution of the corrupt judges during the time of the Tweed Ring.
Mr. Parsons carried his efficiency into church work and charities. Although a Presbyterian, he did not hesitate to act as Vestryman of the Episcopal Church at Lenox, his summer home, where no Presbyterian church existed. For several years he was President of the Board of Trustees of the Brick Church, a member of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, and of various committees to revise Presbyterian forms of worship. He was also active and generous in the support of hospitals, serving as President of the Women’s Hospital and General Memorial Cancer Hospital. The admiration in which Mr. Parsons was held by the members of his profession was shown when they elected him President of the Bar Association of the City of New York. In visage, figure, mien, as well as ability, he was the embodiment of the keenness of the law. It was a pleasure to look at him. In society he was very pleasant, very affable, a genial host, a sociable fellow-traveller.
Henry Osborn Taylor
1916 Century Association Yearbook
