Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Parkman, Francis

PARKMAN, Ebenezer, clergyman, b. in Boston, Mass., 5 Sept., 1703; d. in Westborough, Mass., 9 Dec., 1789. He was the first minister of Westborough, serving from 28 Oct., 1724, till his death, and was the author of “Reformers and Intercessors” (Boston, 1752); “Convention Sermon” (1761); and a short account of Westborough, which is in the “Massachusetts Historical Collections.” — His grandson, Francis, clergyman, b. in Boston, Mass.,. 4 June, 1788; d. there, 12 Nov., 1852, was graduated at Harvard in 1807, and studied theology under Dr. William E. Channing and at Edinburgh university. He was ordained in December, 1813,. and from 1813 till 1849 he was pastor of the New north church (Unitarian) in Boston. In 1829 he founded the professorship of pulpit eloquence and pastoral care in the theological department of Harvard, and when the Society for the relief of aged and indigent Unitarian clergymen was formed in 1849 he contributed freely to its support, and was its first vice-president, which post he held fill his death. He was president of the convention of Unitarian ministers that met at Baltimore in 1852. He bequeathed a part of his library to Harvard, which conferred on him the degree of D. D. in 1834. He published “The Offering of Sympathy” (1829), and some occasional sermons and addresses. — Francis's brother, George, physician, b. in Boston in 1791; d. there in November, 1849, was graduated at Harvard in 1809, and in medicine at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1813. He gave the ground on which the Harvard medical school in Boston stands. Dr. Parkman was murdered in the college building by Prof. John W. Webster (q. v.). He published “Proposals for establishing a Retreat for the Insane” (Boston, 1814) and a treatise on “Insanity and the Management of the Insane” (1817). See “Trial of Webster for the Murder of Dr. Parkman” (Boston, 1850). —

Francis's son, Francis, author, b. in Boston, Mass., 16 Sept., 1823; d. at Jamaica Plain, Mass., 8 Nov., 1893, was graduated at Harvard, studied law, but abandoned it, and visited Europe in the latter part of 1843 and the beginning of 1844, and in 1846 set out to explore the Rocky mountains. He lived for several months among the Dakota Indians and the still wilder and remoter tribes, and incurred hardships and privations that made him an invalid. An account of this expedition was given in a series of articles in the “Knickerbocker Magazine,” which were subsequently collected and published in book-form. He afterward engaged in literary work almost exclusively, and, notwithstanding his impaired health, accompanied by partial blindness, has attained high rank as a historian and writer. Mr. Parkman visited France in 1858, 1868, 1872, 1880, and 1881, to examine the French archives in connection with his historical labors. In 1871-'2 he was professor of horticulture in the agricultural school of Harvard. His chief work has been a series of volumes intended to illustrate the rise and fall of the French dominion in America, which are distinguished for brilliant style and accurate research. They are entitled, “France and England in North America.” Mr. Parkman in 1892 completed the last work of the series, with a few additions to earlier volumes, forming one continuous series of historical narratives. His publications are “The California and Oregon Trail” (New York, 1849); “The Conspiracy of Pontiac” (Boston, 1851); “Pioneers of France in the New World” (1865); “The Book of Roses” (1866); “Jesuits in North America” (1867); “Discovery of the Great West” (1869); “The Old Regime in Canada” (1874); “Count Frontenac and New France”(1877); “Montcalm and Wolfe” (1884); and “A Half Century of Conflict” (1892).