James William Parrish, one of the most extensive farmers of the township
of Dimmick, LaSalle county, Illinois, is of Virginia birth and is descended
from a line of farmers, his father and grandfather having been farmers in
the Old Dominion. Great-grandfather Parrish was an English emigrant to this
country. Josiah Parrish, the father of James W. was born in Virginia in
1822, and died in Christian county, Illinois, in February, 1896. His wife,
whose maiden name was Mary Slonaker, died in Virginia. In 1869 he came with
his family to Illinois and settled in Dimmick township, LaSalle county, and
three years later they removed to Christian county, where his younger
children were reared. His family comprised the following named members:
Sarah, wife of Charles Vest, of Keyser, West Virginia; Mollie, the wife of
John Bailey, of Mineral county, West Virginia; Margaret, wife of Ed.
Witcraft, of Iowa; Benjamin, of Christian county. Illinois; Frank, a
resident of Mineral county, West Virginia; George, of Christian county,
Illinois; and James W., whose name introduces this sketch.
James W. Parrish dates his birth in Mineral county, West Virginia, September
30, 1853, and was sixteen years old at the time of their removal to
Illinois. Here at the age of twenty he started to make his own way in the
world, engaging as a farm hand for Arthur Long at a salary of twenty dollars
per month. Afterward he worked for several of the large farmers of the
township and finally settled down with C. R. Brown, probably the most
wealthy and influential farmer of the township, and during his experience as
a wage earner laid by each month a little sum. When he began farming
independently he was in a measure prepared for it. He remained with Mr.
Brown and undertook the management of his large estate. With the exception
of a period spent on his own farm, a half section of land in Nebraska, he
has been a resident of the neighborhood where he married and made his first
start.
Mr. Parrish married Miss Clara Brown, only child of C. R. Brown. The
children of this marriage are Arthur, Rollin and Gertie.
Extracted 17 Jul 2017 by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois, published in 1900, volume 2, pages
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
| Bureau |
 |
Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
