George Parkman (February 19, 1790November 23, 1849), a

Boston Brahmin The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University; Anglicanism; and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English coloni ...

and a member of one of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's richest families, was a prominent physician, businessman, and philanthropist, as well the victim in the sensationally gruesome Parkman–Webster murder case, which shook Boston in 1849–1850.

Family

Samuel Parkman (August 22, 1751June 11, 1824) and Sarah Rogers had five children: Elizabeth (1785), Francis (1788), George (1790), Samuel (1791), and Daniel (1794). Samuel Parkman had also had six children by his previous marriage to Sarah Shaw.New England Historic Genealogical Society database. Birth Records of Boston, Massachusetts, 1800-1849. Samuel Parkman, George's father and family patriarch, had bought up low-lying lands and income properties in Boston's West End.''The Fiend in the Cellar''; James and Lois Cowan; in prep. 2010 He also founded and was part owner of the towns of

Parkman, Ohio Parkman is a census-designated place in southern Parkman Township, Geauga County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 44080. It lies along U.S. Route 422 at its intersection with State Routes 88, 168, and 528. Demo ...

and Parkman, Maine. His sons from his first marriage oversaw the

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

properties, while his second set of boys were responsible for the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

parcel. Samuel's daughters inherited wealth as well. The most notable was George's sister Elizabeth Willard Parkman, whose spouse Robert Gould Shaw (17761853), grandfather of

Robert Gould Shaw Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into a prominent Boston abolitionist family, he accepted command of the first all-black regiment (the 54th Mas ...

(October 10, 1837July 18, 1863,

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

colonel during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

), grew his wife's share of the fortune to become the senior partner in the most powerful commercial house in a city glutted with the proceeds of the China Trade.According to the ''Descendants of the Rev. Daniel Rogers of Littleton, Mass.'' New England Historic and Genealogical Society Register. Vol. 39. David Clapp and Son, 1885, Robert Gould Shaw’s father and Sarah Shaw, Samuel Parkman’s first wife, were brother and sister. Therefore Elizabeth Parkman Shaw’s half-siblings were direct cousins to her husband. The eleven Parkman scions united in marriage with the Beacon Hill families of Blake, Cabot, Mason, Sturgis, Tilden, and Tuckerman. Of his eleven offspring, Samuel chose George as the one to administer the Parkman estate.The 1850 pretrial deposition given by Charles Kingsley, business manager for George Parkman, to John Andrews would convey this picture of his boss’s personality.

Early life

George Parkman's poor health as a youngster led him to want to study medicine. He entered the freshman class of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

when he was 15 years old, and delivered the "Salutory Oration" in 1809. Despite his assured wealth, a lecture by

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educa ...

inspired him to take an interest in the terrible state of asylums for the mentally ill. He spent two years at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

obtaining his medical degree.Sullivan, 31; American Experience/Murder at Harvard/ People & Events (c. 790-1849); Holmes, 17-18. After returning to Boston, he traveled aboard the to Europe and was under the charge of a former Bostonian,

Benjamin Thompson Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolut ...

, who introduced him to the Minister to France,

Joel Barlow Joel Barlow (March 24, 1754 – December 26, 1812) was an American poet, and diplomat, and politician. In politics, he supported the French Revolution and was an ardent Jeffersonian republican. He worked as an agent for American speculator Wil ...

. Barlow introduced him to many doctors in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. While there, he observed the pioneering and humane treatment methods of two famous French psychiatrists,

Philippe Pinel Philippe Pinel (; 20 April 1745 – 25 October 1826) was a French physician, precursor of psychiatry and incidentally a zoologist. He was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of ps ...

and Étienne Esquirol. He studied at the

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (french: Hôpital universitaire la Pitié-Salpêtrière, ) is a teaching hospital in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Part of the and a teaching hospital of Sorbonne University. History The Salpêtri� ...

for his graduate work. "My first knowledge of the Salpêtrière, was with the high privilege of the guidance of its great physician, Pinel, and of his new illustrious associate, Esquirol. Pinel received me kindly, and inquired with much interest after Benjamin Rush, who had lately written his book on Diseases of the Mind," Parkman wrote from Paris. That same interest helped to cement the relationship between Parkman and Pinel. The 70-year-old Pinel's ideas impressed Parkman. Under teachers like Pinel and Esquirol, Parkman practiced at the Parisian Asylum, and learned the history and treatment of mental "diseases." At this time Parkman developed his own path of his career. He spent time in England studying with men of Science, as well. Parkman returned to the U.S. in 1813. The

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

called for the service of young men and Parkman “received a commission as a surgeon in a regiment of the third brigade belonging to the first division of the Massachusetts militia.” He began in South Boston and simultaneously served as a physician to the poor with a desire to replicate the practices of Pinel and Esquirol. Parkman believed that psychiatric institutions should reflect a residence-like setting, where patients could enjoy hobbies and socializing and participating in household chores, as permitted. Parkman thought Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital was a good model and talked to the faculty of Massachusetts General Hospital about having a lunatic hospital connected to it. In 1817, he wrote two papers, ''Remarks on Insanity'' and ''The Management of Lunatics'' in an effort to convince the trustees of the Massachusetts General Hospital that he could supervise an asylum they were considering opening. That same year he offered to raise $16,000 for the construction of a full-size institution. Unfortunately, the trustees interpreted the offer as a proposal to fully endow the project. Later, the McLean Asylum for the Insane was established, but the trustees feared the taint of corruption if Parkman had held an appointment he had endowed. Rufus Wyman, the father of Jeffries Wyman and

Morrill Wyman Morrill Wyman (July 25, 1812 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts – January 30, 1903 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) was an American physician and social reformer. Best known today for his work on hay fever, he was one of the most respected doctors o ...

, who both were involved in the Parkman–Webster murder case, was appointed. Parkman retired, but continued his interest in medicine and insanity. He would visit and entertain them, he bought them an organ, and opened up his own mansions during cholera and

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemics for the treatment of patients.

Later life

Parkman was involved with the organization and publication of '' The New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery'' with

John Collins Warren John Collins Warren (August 1, 1778 – May 4, 1856) was an American surgeon. In 1846 he gave permission to William T.G. Morton to provide ether anesthesia while Warren performed a minor surgical procedure. News of this first public demonstrat ...

and John Ware in 1823. When his father died in 1824, George took complete control of the family estate and bought vast amounts of land and

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

in Boston, including many poorly maintained

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...

s. Money lending and real estate augmented his income; he also sold the land for the new

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

and the

Charles Street Jail The Charles Street Jail (built 1851), also known as the Suffolk County Jail, is an infamous former jail (later renovated into a luxury hotel) located at 215 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. It is listed in the state and national Registers o ...

. In 1837 he revisited Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, and he sent a letter and some sketches to the ''Boston Medical and Surgical Journal'', describing some Parisian hospitals. Parkman was a well-known figure in the streets of Boston, which he walked daily, collecting his rents (a thrifty man, he did not own a horse). He was tall, lean, had a protruding chin, and wore a

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditional ...

. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. said that "he abstained while others indulged, he walked while others rode, he worked while others slept." Frances "Fanny" Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow (18171861), wife of the poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

(18071882), called him "the lean doctor... the good-natured Don-Quixote." He was reported to have a net worth of $500,000 in 1846, roughly $12,500,000 in 2012 money.

Death

Parkman was murdered on Friday, November 23, 1849. After an extensive search by Derastus Clapp and other police officers from Francis Tukey's newly formed Boston police force,Bemis 153-4; Stone 87-9; Sullivan 105 Parkman's

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...

and partly burned body was discovered on November 30 by Ephraim Littlefield, a

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

at Harvard Medical School. Parkman's funeral was held on December 6, an event for which thousands of people lined the streets of Boston. John White Webster (May 20, 1793August 30, 1850), a professor of chemistry and

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

at Harvard Medical School, was

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...

of killing Parkman in a sensational trial.

Legacy

The murder of George Parkman, and the subsequent publicity surrounding Webster's trial and eventual execution was deeply disturbing to Parkman's widow and children. They became virtual recluses in their home at 33 Beacon Street, and neither of Parkman's two children (George Francis and Harriet) ever married. When their mother died in 1877, they inherited the entire estate. After his sister Harriet's death in 1885, George Francis remained the sole heir to this considerable fortune. At the time of George Francis' death on September 16, 1908, the estate was valued at nearly $5.5 million. Nearly all of this estate was left to the City of Boston, one of the largest bequests ever made to it. George Parkman's house still stands at 8 Walnut Street in Beacon Hill.

Works

''Insanity''
(Boston, 1818)
''Management of Lunatics, with Illustrations of Insanity''
(Boston, 1822)

Notes

References

* * *''Dictionary of American Biography,'' vol. 19, pp. 592–3. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936.
Jim Fisher, "The Webster-Parkman Case"
* D. W. Harrison, 1971, Library Journal, August, 96:2533

National Humanities Council. * King, Vandall T., 2006, Mineralogy and Chemistry at Harvard 1800-1865: In Search of John White Webster - an Innocent Man, Journal of the Geoliterary Society, volume 21 (#2): pp. 5–24

''Harvard Magazine'', July–August 2003.

American Experience, PBS documentary - WGBH. * Edward C. Papenfuse, 2001, "Was Simon Schama Fair to the Facts of the John White Webster Case?", Maryland State Archives.
Beth Potier, "Murder at Harvard"
''Harvard Gazette'', 3 October 2002.
Professor's Murder Trial Begins
Mass Moments Website
Katherine Ramsland, "All about George Parkman"
Crime Library. * Simon Schama, 1991, Dead Certainties: Unwarranted Speculations, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, p. 333. * James W. Stone, ''The Trial of Prof. John White Webster''. Boston: Phillip Sampson & Co, 1850. * Robert Sullivan, ''The Disappearance of Dr. Parkman.'' Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1971. * Thomson, Helen, 1971, Murder at Harvard, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, p. 318. * Webster, John W. and ''The Boston Journal'', ''The Trial of Prof. John W. Webster Indicted for the Murder of Dr. George Parkman'', Boston: Redding & Company, 1850.

External links

WorldCat

Historic American Buildings Survey
Library of Congress. 8 Walnut Street (House), Boston, Suffolk County, MA {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkman, George 1790 births 1849 deaths 1849 murders in the United States 19th century in Boston Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Businesspeople from Boston Physicians from Massachusetts Harvard Medical School alumni People murdered in Massachusetts People from Beacon Hill, Boston 19th-century American businesspeople