d'Ulua, and next year in the occupation of the island of Martin-Garcia in the Argentine Republic. After his return from these expeditions he was made rear-admiral in 1840 and vice-admiral in 1846. In 1854 he was placed at the head of the third squadron for operations in the Baltic, dis- played great talents for organization, and in De- cember was promoted admiral.
PARSONS, Anson Virgil, jurist, b. in Gran-
ville, Mass., in 1799 ; d. in Philadelphia, Pa., 23
Sept., 1882. He studied law in Litchfield, Conn.,
under James Gould, was admitted to the bar in
1826, and settled in Harrisburg, Pa., where he prac-
tised until his appointment in 1840 as president
judge of the court of common pleas of the Dau-
phin judicial district. In 1842 he became secre-
tary of the commonwealth. He returned to the
bench as judge of the court of common pleas of
Philadelphia in 1843. During this service the fire-
men's riots occurred, and as Judge Parsons, by his
rigorous dealing with the cases before him, in-
curred the enmity of the lawless element, his life
was frequently threatened. He resumed practice
in 1851, when the judiciary became elective. With
Judge Edward King, he published " Select Gases
in Equity " (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1851-'3).
PARSONS, Charles, artist, b. in Rowland's
Castle, Hampshire. England, 8 May, 1821. He
came to this country at an early age. and was edu-
cated in the common schools of New York city.
Later he learned the art of lithography, and be-
came a skilful illustrator. Since 1861 Mr. Par-
sons has been at the head of the art department
of Harper and Brothers. His leisure hours, at
long intervals, have been devoted to the painter's
art, in landscape and marine views, and in oil and
water-colors. He belongs to the New York water-
color society, and is an associate of the National
academy of design, and frequently sends pictures
to their annual exhibitions. Among his recent
paintings are " An Old Orchard, Long Island "
(1844) and " Amagansett, L. I." (1887).
PARSONS, Charles Carroll, soldier, b. in
Elyria, Ohio, in 1888 ; d. in Memphis, Tenn., 7
Sept., 1878. His father died when the son was an
infant, and he was brought up in the family of his
maternal uncle, a physician in Elyria. He was
appointed to the U. S.- military academy by his
cousin. Judge Philemon Bliss, then member of
congress from Ohio, and graduated in 1861, being
promoted at once to 1st lieutenant in the 4th artil-
lery. Pie served in West Virginia, and then with
the Army of the Ohio in Tennessee and Kentucky,
commanding a battery after July, 1862, and cover-
ing the retreat to Louisville in September. He
was brevetted captain for gallantry at Perryville
and major for Stone River. Prom January till
March, 1863, he was on sick leave, and, being un-
able to return to the field, was assistant professor
of ethics and English at West Point till September,
1864, after which he again commanded a battery
till the close of the war. " Parsons's battery " was
noted in both the National and Confederate armies,
and many stories are told of his courage and dar-
ing. At Perryville. where his battery was tempo-
rarily served by partially drilled infantrymen,
forty of his men were killed by a furious charge
of the enemy, and the rest driven back, but Par-
sons remained with his guns until he was dragged
from them by a huge cavalryman by order of
Gen. McCook. At Stone River he repelled six
charges, much of the time under musketry fire,
and he was often mentioned in the olficial reports.
After the war he was on frontier duty, and in 1867
was chief of artillery in Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's
Indian expedition. He returned to duty at West
Point as professor in 1868, and remained there till
30 Dec, 1870, when he was honorably discharged
at his own request, and in 1871 he took orders in
the Protestant Episcopal church. He held charges
in Memphis, Tenn., Cold Spring, N. Y., and Ho-
boken, N. J., and then again in Memphis, till his
death, which took place during the yellow-fever
epidemic of 1878, after he had worked untiringly
for two months among the victims of the disease,
both as clergyman and as nurse.
PARSONS, David, clergyman, b. in Amherst,
N. H., 28 Jan., 1749; d. in Wethersfield, Conn., 18
May, 1823. He was graduated at Harvard in 1771,
and licensed to preach, and was pastor of the Con-
gregational church in Amherst, N. H., from 1782
till 1819, declining the chair of divinity in Yale in
1795. Brown gave him the degree of D. D. in 1800.
He was an accomplished scholar, and successfully
prepared students for college. He gave the land
on which Amherst is built, and largely contributed
to the establishment of that institution. He pub-
lished the " Annual Election Sermon " before the
Massachusetts legislature (1788) and an " Ordina-
tion Sermon " (1795).
PARSONS, Henry Betts, chemist, b. in Sivas,
Asia Minor, 20 Nov., 1855 ; d. in Tucson, Ariz., 21
Aug., 1885. He was graduated at the school of
pharmacy of the University of Michigan in 1876,
and for two years had charge of the pharmaceutical
laboratories there, also delivering lectures. In 1878
he became special assistant in the chemical divis-
ion of the department of agriculture in Washing-
ton, and was professor of materia medica and
botany in the National college of pharmacy. These
appointments he resigned in 1881 to accept the
post of chemist-in-chief of a large drug firm in
New York city, whose laboratory was built and
equipped under his supervision. Failing health
led to his resignation from this place in 1884, and
he was then editor of the " Druggist's Circular "
until his death. He was a trustee of the New York
college of pharmacy, and a member of the com-
mittee of revision in 1880 of the " U. S. Pharma-
copoeia." His published papers are numerous,
and include analyses of various plants, reports on
sorghum, with thousands of analyses, exhaustive
communications on berberina, opium, quinine, ni-
trous ether, the oleates, and similar topics. His
" Method for the Proximate Analysis of Plants "
was published in the chief chemical journals of the
world, and universally adopted, appearing in all the
text-books on the subject.
PARSONS, Jonathan, clergyman, b. in Springfield, Mass., 30 Nov., 1705; d. in Newburyport, Mass., 19 July, 1776. He worked at a trade for several years, was graduated at Yale in 1729, and was pastor of the Congregational church in Lyme, Conn., in 1731-'45. In 1731 he married Phoebe, sister of Gov. Matthew Griswold. At the time of his ordination Mr. Parsons was an Arminian, but about 1740 he adopted the views of George Whitefield, held revival meetings, and went on a preaching tour, which so scandalized a part of his congregation that, when he offered to resign, his proposition was almost unanimously accepted, although 150 persons had been added to his church in one year. He then became pastor of the newly organized church in Newburyport, in which he continued until his death. Whitefield died in his house, and Mr. Parsons preached his funeral sermon. He was a man of strong intellect and accurate scholarship, although of violent passions. His publications include numerous letters in Prince's "Christian History" and "Lectures on
