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Welcome To Sullivan County, Indiana
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WILLIAM FLETCHER PARSONSWILLIAM FLETCHER PARSONS was born in Sullivan County on Nov. 10, 1845 to Thomas A. and Nancy (Knotts) Parsons. He spent his young years helping on the family farm in Gilll Township with his younger brothers and sisters: John, Sarah, Wallace, Cynthia Ann, Mary Ellen, Lydia Belle and Alexander. William, or Bill, as he was known, had a large extended familiy living in Sullivan County. His grandparents, Thomas and Sarah (Lane) Parsons, after leaving Ireland in early 1820, had come to Sullivan County via Canada in 1835. Thomas worked as a tanner and furrier to support his large family of eight children. The children all married and settled nearby, working as farmers or canal laborers. All the family were members of the Methodist Church. Bill enlisted in the Civil War as a private in Co. G, 126th Regiment on Oct. 17, 1863. He was captured by southern soldiers at Franklin, TN on Dec. 1, 1864. After being marched to the Andersonville Prison in Georgia, he was stripped almost entirely of his clothes, even his boots. At the end of the war, he returned to Sullivan County, but he never had good health again after enduring the terrible conditions at Andersonville.On Oct. 1, 1867, Bill married Mary Belle Graham, the Daughter of Nelson and Elizabeth Graham. They had grown up together, living on neighboring farms. In 1873, Bill, his wife and two children joined the family migration to Missouri. A total of 12 children were born to this union, three of which died in infancy. In 1903, Bill again joined the family migration to Harper County, OK. There, with the help of his wife and family, he ran the Fern Community General Store until his death in 1913 "SULLIVAN COUNTY 175th ANNIVERSARY" PADUCAH, KY, TURNER PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1991 © Sullivan County Historical Society |
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