Jacob Parr

JACOB PARR.

When I come to write of such men as the one whose name stands at the head of this sketch, and who have, by perseverance, industry and economy, so successfully carved out their own fortune and standing in society, I am at a loss for language to convey to the reader a proper appreciation of their true worth and merit.

Mr. Parr was born in Sullivan County, East Tennessee, February 25, 1820. He came to this state in 1831, stopping in Bartholomew County for two years, when his father entered two hundred and forty acres of land in the southeastern part of Marion Township, where he settled with his wife and eight children in 1833, when this country was a wilderness, there being only three houses on the Michigan road between Indianapolis and the present village of Northfield. He helped to cut the trees that built the first house in that neighborhood, the nearest being the distance of five miles. He has lived to see the firm tread of civilization march in and take the place of the extensive forest with its many wild animals. In the year 1843 he married Miss Elizabeth Richardson, with whom he lived for thirteen years, when death entered his household and took from him his beloved companion. The result of this marriage was four children, all of whom are dead, except one daughter, the wife of John S. Jones.

In the year 1854, he married Mrs. Amanda Montgomery, of Clay County, a widow with one son, who is now one of Marion Township’s thriftiest farmers and stock traders. This has, indeed, been a happy marriage; no cloud has ever risen to darken their married life. The neighbors say of her that she is the most industrious, even tempered woman they ever knew. The result of this marriage is eight children.

When Mr. Parr, in 1843, married his first wife, his sole possessions were one horse and one suit of clothes; he borrowed money to purchase his license. His only fortune then was a good constitution, temperate habits, sterling integrity and an ordinary education, and by his untiring energy and skilful financeering [sic], he has amassed quite a good deal of this world’s goods, owning, before deeding away to his children, over five hundred acres of land, and at present pays more tax than any man in Marion Township. He has never been sued or sued any man; he is very conscientious and would not harm any one knowingly, and as far as we know, he has not an enemy in the world. He has been an active member in the Methodist Episcopal Church since he was fifteen years of age, and a square-toed Democrat; never scratched his ticket with one exception. He has now passed the age allotted to man and is nearing the evening of life.

Source Citation: Boone County Biographies [database online] Boone County INGenWeb. 2007. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~inboone> Original data: Harden & Spahr. "Early Life and Times in Boone County, Indiana." Lebanon, Indiana. May, 1887, pp. 349-350.

Transcribed by: Julie S. Townsend - June 29, 2007