Frank Nesmith Parsons Explained

Frank Nesmith Parsons
Birth Date:3 September 1854
Birth Place:Dover, New Hampshire
Death Place:Franklin, New Hampshire
Occupation:Jurist
Party:Republican
Office1:Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
Term Start1:1925
Term End1:1928
Office2:Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
Term Start2:1902
Term End2:1924
Office3:Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
Term Start3:1895
Term End3:1902
Office4:Mayor of Franklin, New Hampshire
Term4:1895
Office5:Member of the Executive Council of New Hampshire
Term Start5:1893
Term End5:1894

Frank Nesmith Parsons (September 3, 1854  - August 9, 1934) was a lawyer, politician, and Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from 1902 to 1924.

Biography

Parsons was born in Dover, New Hampshire on September 3, 1854, the son of Rev. Benjamin F. Parsons, a prominent New Hampshire Congregational minister.[1] [2] He was educated at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire and at Dartmouth College, graduating in the class of 1874.[3]

After teaching for several years, Parsons studied law and passed the bar in 1879. He became the law partner of Austin F. Pike, a successful lawyer and politician; their partnership continued until Pike's death in 1886. Parsons married Pike's daughter Helen on October 26, 1880. She died on March 6, 1914.[3]

Parsons was appointed the State Law Reporter in 1891. A Republican, from 1893 to 1894 he served on the New Hampshire Executive Council.[3] In 1895 Parsons was elected as the first mayor of Franklin, and in the same year he was appointed an associate justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. In 1902 he became Chief Justice, and continued in this post until 1924. In 1912, Parsons was also president of the New Hampshire Bar Association.[4] From 1925 to 1928 he served as a state representative.[5] In 1889[6] and 1930 he represented Franklin at state constitutional conventions, serving as president of the convention in 1930.[7]

Parsons was actively involved in community affairs, serving on the Franklin school board and board of water commissioners, as president or director of several local banks, as president of the board of trustees at Pinkerton Academy, president of Franklin Hospital, and president of the New Hampshire Historical Society.[3]

He died at his home in Franklin on August 9, 1934.[2]

References

  1. Book: Reno, Conrad . Memoirs of the Judiciary and the Bar of New England for the Nineteenth Century . I . Leonard A. . Jones . Boston . Century Memorial Publishing Co. . 17 . 1901 . 2023-03-01 . Google Books.
  2. News: Judge Frank N. Parsons . . Franklin, New Hampshire . 17 . 1934-08-10 . 2023-03-01 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Book: One Thousand New Hampshire Notables . Henry Harrison . Metcalf . Frances M. . Abbott . The Rumford Printing Company . 329 . 1919 . 2023-03-01 . Internet Archive.
  4. Web site: Past NHBA Presidents. New Hampshire Bar Association. October 5, 2021.
  5. Dartmouth Men in the State Government . The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine . XVII . 4 . 323 . February 1925 . 2023-03-01.
  6. Book: Manual of the Constitutional convention of 1918 . . 199 . 1918 . 2023-03-01 . Google Books.
  7. New Hampshire Constitution Convention of 1930 . . XXIV . 4 . 1022 . November 1930 . 2023-03-01 . Internet Archive.