Jackson County IA Archives Biographies.....Parshall, Hon. Lyman Bradley June 28, 1845 - 
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Ken Wright wright@prestontel.com August 19, 2010, 11:11 pm

Source: History of Jackson County, Iowa, 1910
Author: J. W. Ellis

History of Jackson County, Iowa, 1910, J. W. Ellis 

HON. LYMAN BRADLEY PARSHALL. 

The safety of the republic depends not so much upon methods and measures as 
upon that manhood from whose deep sources all that is of permanent value in 
life must at last proceed, and in Hon. Lyman Bradley Parshall, agriculturist, 
educator and statesman, Jackson county has a citizen whose efforts have been of 
great worth in promoting its interests along material, intellectual and 
political lines. In every relation of life he has held himself above reproach 
and while he has won conspicuous success in the management of his private 
interests, no unworthy or unquestionable means have been employed in the 
attainment of this end, for on the contrary his course is one which at all 
times will bear close investigation and scrutiny. 
Mr. Parshall was born in Interlaken, Seneca county, New York, June 28, 1845, 
and is a son of Caleb Halsey and Elizabeth Barlow (Bradley) Parshall. The 
Parshall family has been identified with American interests from early colonial 
days, for it is recorded that one of the name was the first white child born on 
Long Island. Caleb H. Parshall was a native of Suffolk county, New York, 
situated upon the eastern end of Long Island. During the years of his active 
life he followed farming and enjoyed the reputation of being the most 
enterprising, progressive and successful agriculturist of his locality, owning 
and cultivating one hundred acres of land, his labors in connection therewith 
netting him about four thousand dollars annually. His religious allegiance was 
given to the Dutch Reformed church, while in politics he was a democrat, save 
during the period of the Rebellion, when, in harmony with the effort to uphold 
the Union, he voted for the candidates and measures of the republican party. He 
spent his entire life in New York, as did his wife, who was also a native of 
the Empire state. 
Lyman Bradley Parshall obtained his literary education at Northville, Long 
Island, and in 1865 matriculated in the Sheffield Scientific School, a 
department of Yale University, from which he received the Ph. D. degree in 
1868. A short time thereafter he went to Chicago, where he engaged in 
mercantile pursuits for two years, at the end of which period he went to 
McPherson county, Kansas, where he engaged in driving cattle from Texas into 
that state. He was thus engaged until 1884, when he came to Iowa and purchased 
a tract of land on the border of Jones and Jackson counties. He has since made 
this section of the state his home and is one of the largest landowners and 
most prominent agriculturists. In addition to the work of tilling the soil, 
which is carried on under his direct supervision, he also gives his attention 
to the raising and shipping of cattle. In business affairs his judgment is 
sound, his discernment keen and his enterprise unflagging. 
Mr. Parshall has not confined his attention alone to agricultural interests, 
however, but has found time and opportunity to respond to the call of his 
fellow townsmen who have sought his service in public office. In 1892 he was 
elected to the superintendency of the Jackson county schools, in which capacity 
he served for two terms, during which time he inaugurated improvements, the 
practical value of which has been demonstrated in the excellent work now being 
done by the schools throughout the county. In 1908 still higher political 
honors were conferred upon him in his election to the state senate. He has long 
been a close student of the questions of vital interest in state and national 
politics and his foresight into existing conditions and his understanding of 
public needs have enabled him to speak with authority upon many matters that 
engross general attention. In a canvass of the state in 1896, for state 
superintendent, the subject of his addresses was one which largely appealed to 
public thought, viz: "The Cause of the Rise of American Wages." It was his 
thesis that machinery was accountable for this rise and he gave proof that 
every advance in wages was due to a corresponding advance or improvement in 
labor saving devices, citing among 
other facts that with the aid of modern machinery a man could now cultivate 
forty-five acres of corn while in 1855 in the same length of time he could 
cultivate only eight acres. While still a resident of New York he has been a 
candidate for the state legislature, but was defeated by a small majority, 
owing to the fact that he was making the race on a democratic ticket in a 
republican county. Mr. Parshall at all times keeps abreast with the best 
thinking men of the age in his study of sociological, economic and political 
problems and his opinions on such subjects are of value, for he has been a keen 
observer and is a close reasoner. 
In 1884 Mr. Parshall was united in marriage to Miss Ella Rebecca Smith. who was 
born in Linn county, Iowa, and they have two children: Genevieve, formerly a 
student in the Iowa State University and now at home; and Wilhelmina, a high 
school pupil in Maquoketa. Mr. Parshall is identified with the Knights of 
Pythias lodge at Maquoketa and with his family attends the Congregational 
church, contributing to its support. Throughout Jackson county and this part of 
the state he is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect. His life has been 
so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purposes, so far reaching and 
beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of 
the county, where he has lived from pioneer times and so directed his efforts 
that his labors have been of notable value to the community, while at the same 
time in business circles he has given substantial proof of his keen discernment 
and capable management in the attainment of gratifying success. 


  

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