James Parton (February 9, 1822 – October 17, 1891) was an English-born American biographer who wrote books on the lives of

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressm ...

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, and contributed three biographies to ''Eminent Women of the Age''.

Biography

Parton was born in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, England, in 1822. He was taken to the United States when he was five years old, studied in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

White Plains, New York (Always Faithful) , image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png , seal_link = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , su ...

, and was a schoolmaster in Philadelphia and then in New York. He moved to

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

, where he died on October 17, 1891. Parton was the most popular biographer of his day in America. Parton's nonfiction combined elements of novel writing, which made his books quite popular.

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

once thanked him "for the pleasure you have given me in biographical works which you have had the faculty of making more interesting than romance—(let me trust it is not by making them in part works of imagination)." His first wife, Sara (1811–1872), sister of

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

, and widow of Charles H. Eldredge (d. 1846), attained considerable popularity as a writer under the pen name

Fanny Fern Fanny Fern (born Sara Payson Willis; July 9, 1811 – October 10, 1872), was an American novelist, children's writer, humorist, and newspaper columnist in the 1850s to 1870s. Her popularity has been attributed to a conversational style and sense ...

. They were married in 1856. Her works include the novels, '' Ruth Hall'' (1854), reminiscent of her own life, and ''Rose Clark'' (1857); and several volumes of sketches and stories. In 1876 Parton married Ellen Willis Eldredge, his first wife's daughter by her first husband, Charles Eldredge. With Ellen (and previously Fanny Fern), he raised Ethel, the daughter of Grace Eldredge (Fanny Fern's daughter) and writer

Mortimer Thomson Mortimer Neal Thomson (September 2, 1832June 25, 1875) was an American journalist and humorist who wrote under the pseudonym Q. K. Philander Doesticks. He was born in Riga, New York and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He attended Michigan Universi ...

(also known as Philander Doesticks). Although never legally adopted by Parton, she took his last name upon reaching her majority. Ethel Parton became a famous writer of children's books about 19th-century life in Newburyport, MA, published in the 1930s and 1940s. James and Ellen had two children, Hugo and Mabel. Hugo's children, who constitute James Parton's legal and genetic grandchildren, were * James Parton (1912–2001), founder and publisher of the magazines ''

American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...

'' and ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

'' * Nike Parton (1922–2005), a prominent Florida artist.

Selected works

*''Life of Horace Greeley'' (1855) *''Life and Times of Aaron Burr'' (1857) *''Life of Andrew Jackson'' (1859–1860) 3 volumes *''General Butler in New Orleans: History of the Administration of the Department of the Gulf in the Year 1862: With an Account of the Capture of New Orleans, and a Sketch of the Previous Career of the General, Civil and Military'' (1864) *''Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin'' (1864) *''Famous Americans of Recent Times'' (1867) *''Eminent Women of the Age; Being Narratives of the Lives and Deeds of the Most Prominent Women of the Present Generation'' (1868) (Twelve biographies of women, of which Parton wrote three: Florence Nightingale, Mrs. Frances Anne Kemble, and Jenny Lind Goldschmidt) *''The People's Book of Biography'' (1868) *''Life of Thomas Jefferson'' (1874) *''Life of Voltaire'' (1881) *''Noted Women of Europe and America: Authors, Artists, Reformers, and Heroines. Queens, Princesses, and Women of Society. Women Eccentric and Peculiar. From the Most Recent and Authentic Sources'' (1883) *''Captains of Industry'' (two series, 1884 and 1891)

References

;Attribution *

External links

* * * * http://www.answers.com/topic/parton-james {{DEFAULTSORT:Parton, James 1822 births 1891 deaths 19th-century American historians People from Canterbury 19th-century American biographers Writers from Newburyport, Massachusetts 19th-century American male writers American male biographers English emigrants to the United States