Herbert Parsons (October 28, 1869 – September 16, 1925) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Early life

Parsons was born in New York City on October 28, 1869. He was the son of

John Edward Parsons John Edward Parsons (October 24, 1829 – January 16, 1915) was an American lawyer in New York City. He was president of the New York City Bar Association from 1900 to 1901 and the president of the Cooper Union from 1905 to 1915. Early life Pa ...

, a former president of the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

, and Mary Dumesnil McIlvaine. Parsons attended private schools in New York City, St. Paul's School,

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, and was graduated from

in 1890.

Career

He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1894 and commenced practice in New York City. He served as member of the board of

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

of New York City in 1900–1904. He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Fifty-ninth, Sixtieth, and Sixty-first Congresses (March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1911). A 1910 run for reelection to the Sixty-second Congress was unsuccessful, and Parsons resumed the practice of law in New York City. He served as delegate to all Republican New York State conventions from 1904 to 1920, and to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s in 1908, 1912, 1916, and 1920. During the

First World War 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 ...

he served on the general staff of the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

Personal life

Parsons was married to Elsie Worthington Clews, an anthropologist and folklorist of the indigenous people of the American Southwest. She was the daughter of financier and author

Henry Clews Henry Clews (August 14, 1834 – January 31, 1923) was a British-American financier and author. Early life Clews was born on August 14, 1834, in Staffordshire, England.Ingham, John N. "Clews, Henry." 'Biographical Dictionary of American Business ...

. They were married in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

on September 1, 1900. Together, they were the parents of: * Elsie "Lissa" Parsons (b. 1901) * John Edward Parsons (b. 1903) * Herbert Parsons (b. 1909) * Henry McIlvaine "Mac" Parsons (1911–2004), a noted

behavioral psychologist Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual ...

. Parsons died in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

, September 16, 1925. He was interred in Lenox Cemetery.

Sources

References

External links

Cartoon of the Day (November 16, 1907)
HarpWeek {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Herbert 1869 births 1925 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Yale University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)