PARRISH, Robert Leal

PARRISH, HARKNESS, HOFFMAN, HASKETT, YOUNG, HARVEY, TEDFORD, HAGER

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 4/20/2015 at 09:03:55

Obituary ~ Robert Leal Parrish
July 25, 1854 ~ November 25, 1929

The Annals of Iowa
Iowa State Historical Society
Volume 17, No. 5, 1930, Pages 394-95.

Notable Deaths.

Robert Leal Parrish was born in Cambridge, Washington County, New York, July 25, 1854, and died in Barranquilla, Columbia, South America, November 25, 1929. Burial was at Leon, Iowa. His parents were William W. and Martha Ann (Harkness) Parrish. The family removed to Decatur County Iowa, about 1872. Robert attended local schools, taught school at an early age, and was graduated in liberal arts from the State University of Towa in 1875. He read law in the offices of Leon lawyers and was admitted to the bar there in 1876. He had at different times as partners there C. W. Hoffman, E. W. Haskett, John L. Young, and John W. Harvey, being a partner of the latter for eleven years.

On the resignation of W. H. Tedford as judge of the Third Judicial District in August, 1901, a Republican district convention was called to nominate a candidate to be voted for at the fall election. Mr. Parrish was nominated and Governor Shaw at once appointed him to serve until some one was elected and qualified. Mr. Parrish was elected with almost no opposition and served until December, 1903, when he resigned and removed to Des Moines and entered practice with his brother, T. L. Parrish, and C. C. Dowell, as senior member of Parrish, Dowell & Parrish. Later he was for a time in partnership with A. L. Hager as Parrish & Hager, and still later, practiced alone. The last three or four years of his life were mostly spent in Barranquilla where he looked after legal matters for the El Prado Urbanization Company and for Parrish & Company, both organizations headed by his son, Karl C. Parrish. Judge Parrish had high standing as a lawyer and as a citizen.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2015