Seneca County NyArchives Biographies.....Parshall, Lyman Bradley June 28, 1845 - 
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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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