Silas Parsons (c. 1800 – September 17, 1860) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 1849 to 1851.Thomas McAdory Owen, ''History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Volume 4'' (1921), p. 1324.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Parsons was a brother of General Enoch Parsons, a lawyer in

Claiborne, Alabama Claiborne is a ghost town on a bluff above the Alabama River in Monroe County, Alabama. History Situated near the Federal Road, Claiborne began during the Mississippi Territory period with a ferry over the river. During the Creek War a large st ...

, who was the Whig candidate for governor in 1835, and of Generel Peter Parsons, for many years a prominent lawyer and politician in East Tennessee. Parsons lived for a time in east

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, moving to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

around 1819 and first settled in

Jackson County, Alabama Jackson County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,579. The county seat is Scottsboro. The county was named for Andrew Jackson, general in the United States Army and afterw ...

, as a farmer. He was elected sheriff of the county in 1823, serving until 1826, and during that time he

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

to gain

admission 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 ...

Legal and judicial career

Parsons practiced for a short time at

Bellefonte, Alabama Bellefonte is a ghost town in Jackson County, Alabama, United States, near the site of the Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station. It is located roughly two miles southeast of Hollywood, Alabama. Demographics Bellefonte was listed on the 1860 and ...

, then went to

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

, in 1831, and entered a partnership with Colonel Byrd Brandon, and later with Judge Hopkins. By 1837 he was noted to be "one of the most prominent attorneys of North Alabama".Robin Sterling, ''People and Things from the Marshall County, Alabama, Guntersville Democrat'' (2016), p. 70. He was elected the first chancellor of the northern division in 1838 by the legislature, but declined the office. In 1849, Parsons was appointed by Governor Chapman, and later elected by the legislature, to fill the vacancy on the supreme court bench caused by the resignation of chief justice

Henry W. Collier Henry Watkins Collier (January 17, 1801 – August 28, 1855 in Bailey Springs, Alabama) was the 14th Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1849 to 1853. He was born in Lunenburg County, Virginia, son of James Collier and Elizabeth Boul ...

and elevation of associate justice

Edmund Strother Dargan Edmund Strother Dargan (April 15, 1805 – November 22, 1879) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama, and then a representative to the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War. Son of William & Frances Dargan, he was born near ...

. Parsons remained on the bench for two years, then was reportedly forced by failing health to resign. He thereafter moved to Texas and resided on a plantation about ten miles from Austin, Texas.

Personal life and death

Parsons married a Miss Reed, a daughter of Colonel John Reed of Madison, Alabama. They had no children. While on a visit to Huntsville in 1860, he died, and was buried at that place.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Silas 1800s births 1860 deaths U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama