Henry M. Parkhurst Explained

Henry M. Parkhurst
Birth Name:	Henry Martyn Parkhurst
Birth Date:	1 March 1825
Nationality:	American
Father:	John L. Parkhurst
Relatives:	Charles Henry Parkhurst (cousin)

Henry Martyn Parkhurst (March 1, 1825 - January 21, 1908) was an American stenographer who served as Chief Official Court Reporter for the US Senate, an astronomer with pioneering work in Photometry, and an author.^{[1] [2] [3]} Parkhurst was an advocate of "Dianism".^[3]

Early life

Henry M. Parkhurst was born on March 1, 1825, to Rev. John L. Parkhurst. His cousin was Rev. Dr. Charles Henry Parkhurst.^[4]

Stenographer

While typical stenographers record the words spoken, Parkhurst became a "phonographic recorder", writing not the words but rather the sounds which were spoken.^[5] Parkhurst devised a modification of Pittman's phonography which Parkhurst called "Stenophonography".^[1] An advocate for spelling reform, Parkhurst published The Plowshare for forty years, using a special alphabet "in which each character stood for a single sound and each sound was represented by a single character."^[1]

In 1847, he served as reporter for the Female Anti-Slavery Society of Salem.^{[6] [7]} From 1848 to 1854, Parkhurst was the Chief Official Court Reporter for the US Senate.^{[1] [8]}

Astronomy

At a young age, Parkhurst observed the Great Comet of 1843. In the 1870s, he published a journal article describing a new photometric mapping device that could record the location and magnitude of stars. In 1893, ten years of his observations were published in the Harvard Annals.^{[9] [10]} From 1883 to 1907, he conducted research into long period variable stars.^[11] Beginning in 1887, he conducted a survey of asteroids.^[11]

Paranormal investigator

In 1867, Parkhurst investigated purported-clairvoyant Mollie Fancher, and after which he wrote multiple statements attesting to her abilities. In 1878, Parkhurt publicly attested to Fancher's abilities in a letter to the editor of the New York Herald.^{[12] [13] [14]}

Dianism

In 1887, Henry M. Parkhurst anonymously published 'Diana', a pamphlet that taught the practice of Dianaism.^{[15] [16] [17]} The pamphlet was written in "reform spelling".^[18] Parkhurst named his practice after the goddess of chastity.^[17] Parkhurst drew inspiration from radical religious philosopher John Humphrey Noyes.^[17]

Parkhurt later took credit for the pamphlet, authoring "Why I Wrote 'Diana'".^[15]

Elmina Slenker was a "prominent promoter of the 'Diana method' of continence and distributor of thepamphlet Diana which explained to readers how to practice sexual expression withoutfears of conception".^[19] She was arrested under obscenity laws. Parkhurst briefly took the stand in her defense at her trial.^[15]

Influence

Sex reformer Ida Craddock advised study of "Alpha-ism" and Dianism ^{[20] [18]} "Diana", a pamphlet by "Prof. Parkhurst, the astronomer, and published by the Burnz Publishing Co., New York".^[18]

In 1908, Parkhust died. That year, an in-depth profile of Parkhurst was published in Popular Astronomy, penned by Yerkes Observatory astronomer John Adelbert Parkhurst (no relation).^[11]

Works

• Proceedings of the Anti-Sabbath Convention : held in the Melodeon, March 23d and 24th / (Boston : Published by order of the convention, 1848)^[21]
• The stenophonographer. Upon the basis of Pitman's phonography, with the circular vowel scale of July, 1851. (New York : H.M. Parkhurst, 1870)^[21]

Notes and References

1. 1908PA.....16..231P Page 231. adsabs.harvard.edu. 1908PA.....16..231P.
2. Web site: Parkhurst Henry Martyn 1825 1908 - AbeBooks. www.abebooks.com.
3. Book: Chappell, Vere. Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock. 1 December 2010. Weiser Books. 9781609252960. Google Books.
4. Web site: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle from Brooklyn, New York on January 22, 1908 · Page 3.
5. Book: Cima, Gay Gibson. Performing Anti-Slavery: Activist Women on Antebellum Stages. 24 April 2014. Cambridge University Press. 9781139917247. Google Books.
6. Book: Ernest, John. The Oxford Handbook of the African American Slave Narrative. 1 August 2017. Oxford University Press. 9780199731480. Google Books.
7. Book: William Lloyd Garrison, 1805-1879: The Story of His Life Told by His Children.... 149. Wendell Phillips. Garrison. Francis Jackson. Garrison. 1 August 1894. Houghton, Mifflin. Internet Archive.
8. Web site: The Phonographic Magazine. 1 August 1890. The Institute. Google Books.
9. Book: Advancing Variable Star Astronomy: The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Thomas R.. Williams. Michael. Saladyga. 26 May 2011. Cambridge University Press. 9781139496346. Google Books.
10. Web site: Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College. Harvard College. Observatory. 1 August 1893. Hetcalf and Company. Google Books.
11. Web site: Popular Astronomy. 1 August 2017. Goodsell Observatory of Carleton College. Google Books.
12. Web site: The Arena. 1 August 1895. Arena Publishing Company. Google Books.
13. Web site: Clairvoyance and Thought-transference. Lauron William De. Laurence. 1 August 2017. De Laurence. Google Books.
14. Book: Hammond, William Alexander. Fasting Girls: Their Physiology and Pathology. 1 August 1879. Library of Alexandria. 9781465549709. Google Books.
15. Book: Schmidt, Leigh Eric. Village Atheists: How America's Unbelievers Made Their Way in a Godly Nation. 26 September 2016. Princeton University Press. 9781400884346. Google Books.
16. Book: Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa. 1 August 2017. Vintage Books. 9780375724480. Google Books.
17. Book: Passet, Joanne Ellen. Sex Radicals and the Quest for Women's Equality. 1 August 2017. University of Illinois Press. 9780252028045. Google Books.
18. Book: Chappell, Vere. Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock. 1 December 2010. Weiser Books. 9781609252960. Google Books.
19. Web site: SEX RADICALS IN AMERICA'S HEARTLAND : REDEFINING GENDER AND SEXUALITY, 1880-1910. PDF. Mospace.umsystem.edu. 2017-08-20.
20. Craddock cites: "The Christian Life", a journal edited and published by Rev. J.D. Caldwell, Chicago
21. Web site: Parkhurst, Henry M. (Henry Martyn), 1825- - The Online Books Page. onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu.