Charles Breckinridge Parkhill (June 23, 1859 – May 13, 1933) was a Florida State Senator and a justice of the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

from May 25, 1905 to January 1912.

Life and education

He was the son of Captain George W. and Elizabeth Bellamy Parkhill and was born in the family farm in

Leon County, Florida Leon County is a county in the Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 census, the population was 292,198. The county seat is Tallahassee, which is also the state cap ...

on June 23, 1859. Parkhill obtained his degree at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, and was admitted to the Florida bar in 1882 after moving to Pensacola. He was a member and president of the Hillsborough County Bar Association, a Florida State Bar Association member, and also a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

The Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

, Beta Theta Phi and a grand master of the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...

. For several years he was a member of the

Escambia Rifles The Escambia Rifles are the historical forerunner of Company B, 146th Signal Battalion of the Florida Army National Guard. They trace their history back to 1873. History The Escambia Rifles were established in 1873 in Pensacola, Florida. The com ...

, then Captain of the First Regiment of the Florida State Troops and finally Major of the Third Battalion of the Florida State Troops.

Career

Parkhill was a State Senator for

Escambia County, Florida Escambia County is the westernmost and oldest county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is in the state's northwestern corner. At the 2020 census, the population was 321,905. Its county seat and largest city is Pensacola. Escambia County is incl ...

from 1888 till 1890. He then became a county solicitor, before becoming a Judge of First Judicial Circuit from 1904 till 1905. A Democrat, he took an active part serving on councils and making speeches. He was appointed to the supreme court when Francis B. Carter resigned in 1905, he then stood and was elected for the next six year term in 1906. He was known for his "careful application, fairness and conscientious discharge of his duty". At the end of Justice Parkhill's term, the supreme court was reduced from six to five justices. Therefore when Justice Parkhill resigned at the end of his term there was no replacement.Joseph A. Boyd Jr., Randall Reder,
A History of the Florida Supreme Court
, ''University of Miami Law Review'' (1981), p. 1046-1047. He retired from the court intending to run for the third congressional district of Florida in place of his cousin

Dannite H. Mays Dannite Hill Mays (April 28, 1852 – May 9, 1930) was a U.S. Representative from Florida. Born near Madison, Florida, Mays attended the county schools, the public schools of Savannah, Georgia, and Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virg ...

the current serving congressman. He had also been encouraged to run in the previous congressional elections but declined to run citing that he was not willing to seek another position at the start of his current office. After his unsuccessful attempt for congress he started back up in law practice and then continued his legal career as the city attorney. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

started he served in Washington and abroad as a Major in the department of the judge advocate. In 1920 he returned to Tampa and was elected state attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit and served until his death in 1933.

Personal life and death

He married Genevieve Perry in 1885 the daughter of Governor

Edward A. Perry Edward Aylesworth Perry (March 15, 1831October 15, 1889) was a general under Robert E. Lee during the American Civil War and the 14th Governor of Florida. Early life He was a descendant of Arthur Perry, one of the earliest settlers of New Engl ...

. They had one daughter together before she died just one year later in 1886. Later in 1891 he then married Helen Wall the daughter of Judge J. B. Wall. In total he had five daughters and three sons, one dying a year before he did. Parkhill died in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

on May 13, 1933 at the house of one of his daughters, and was taken back to his

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

home 2 days later before being buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

References

External links

A collection of Charles B. Parkhill Papers 1859-1933 - University of South Florida Digital Collections
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkhill, Charles B. Justices of the Florida Supreme Court University of Virginia alumni Democratic Party Florida state senators American military personnel of World War I 1859 births 1933 deaths