Christopher Francis Parkhurst (sometimes referred to as C. Frank Parkhurst; September 17, 1854 – July 1, 1925)"Judge C. F. Parkhurst of Rhode Island Dies", ''Hartford Courant'' (July 2, 1925), p. 5.E.C. Bowler,
An Album of the Attorneys of Rhode Island
' (1904), p. 166. was an associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1905 to 1917 and chief justice from 1917 to 1920. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Parkhurst was a maternal descendant of

Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...

. He graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1876. From 1892 to 1895 he was a member of the Providence Common Council, and from 1900 to 1902 he served in the Rhode Island Senate. In April 1902, Parkhurst was appointed by the New York Supreme Court to act as ancillary receiver in bankruptcy for the Oriental Print Works Company, and in 1904, Parkhurst was designated by the Rhode Island Supreme Court to serve as master of chancery for considering claims by creditors against the American Tubing and Webbing Company. On February 23, 1905, Parkhurst was elected by unanimous vote of the Rhode Island General Assembly to a seat on the Rhode Island Supreme Court, which had been vacated by the elevation of Justice

William W. Douglas William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

to the position of Chief Justice following the death of

Pardon E. Tillinghast Pardon Elisha Tillinghast (December 10, 1836 – February 9, 1905) was a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1891 to 1905, serving as chief justice from 1904 until his death."News of the Profession", ''Law Notes'', Vol. 8. (March 1905 ...

. On March 9, 1917, the General Assembly elected Parkhurst Chief Justice, following the retirement of Chief Justice Clarke H. Johnson. Parkhurst resigned in 1920 due to poor health.Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Assembly
Rhode Island (1920), p. 500. Parkhurst married Estelle Louise Eliot, with whom he had a son and a daughter. He died of bronchial pneumonia at his home in Providence at the age of 71.

References

Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court 1854 births 1925 deaths Lawyers from Providence, Rhode Island Brown University alumni Rhode Island state senators {{RhodeIsland-state-judge-stub