Russell G. Parmley Biography


	This biography appears on pages 1463-1464 in "History of South 
	Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904) and was scanned, 
	OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.


	RUSSELL G. PARMLEY, senior member of the well-known firm of R. G. 
Parmley & Brother, dealers in coal, coke, fire brick, clay, lime and 
cement, sewer pipe, pressed brick, etc., in the city of Sioux Falls, 
with headquarters at 201 Second avenue south, is one of the 
representative business men of the city, where he has maintained his 
home for a quarter of a century, his business career having closely 
followed the industrial development of the town, of which he may 
consistently be termed a pioneer, while he commands the confidence and 
regard which are the invariable concomitants of sterling integrity and 
straightforward business methods. 

	Mr. Parmley was born on a farm in Rock county, Wisconsin, on the 
13th of March, 1851, being a son of Ira and Aurora E. (Austin) Parmley, 
both of whom are now deceased, while of their seven children five are 
living. The subject was reared to the wholesome discipline of the farm 
and received his early educational training in the common schools of his 
native county, including a course in the high school in Janesville. He 
continued to be associated with the management of the-old homestead farm 
until he had attained the age of twenty-five years, when he established 
himself in the grain business in Footville, Wisconsin, where he 
continued operations until 1878, when he came to the territory of Dakota 
and located in what was then the village of Sioux Falls, where he 
engaged in the coal and wood business. His energy and good management 
made the venture a successful one from the time of its initiation, and 
three years later he admitted his brother Harry to partnership. Since 
that time the enterprise has been consecutively conducted under the firm 
name of R. G. Parmley & Brother, while its scope has been expanded 
materially and the business controlled has become a large and important 
one in the various lines of products handled, while special attention 
has been given to the building of cement walks, in which line they are 
numbered among the leading contractors in the city. Mr. Parmley was one 
of the organizers of the Union National Bank, of which he was vice-
president until the time of its closing business. He was elected 
president of the old Commercial Club, which accomplished excellent work 
in exploiting the attractions and resources of the city and state, and 
he is at the present time president of the Dakota Club, a strong and 
valued business and social organization. He is a staunch advocate of the 
principles and policies of the Republican party, and while not ambitious 
for public office his loyalty to his home city has been such that he has 
consented to serve as a member of the city council and also of the board 
of education. Fraternally he is identified with the Masonic order, in 
which he has attained the chivalric degrees, being affiliated with 
Cyrene Commandery, Knights Templar. 

	On the 25th of December, 1872, Mr. Parmley was united in marriage 
to Miss Fannie A Dann, of Center, Rock county, Wisconsin, and they have 
two sons, Arthur L. and Frank G.