Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], William Parsons Will and Related Material, A&M 4295, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

William Parsons was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and served in the Hampshire County militia as a private. He served in the west, on the Ohio River, in companies commanded by Capt. Robert Cunningham and Capt. Adam Fisher. Some sources claim that he served in the Continental Army, in the Third Regiment of Light Dragoons, in which he was a Captain, but that was a different William Parsons, from Norfolk, VA.

The will contains provisions intended to free Parsons' slaves, although not right away. The will was written in 1828 and he died in 1829. His widow Catharine Parsons did not die until May 2, 1854.

William Parsons was the grandfather of Ward Parsons, the man who led the mob that moved the courthouse records from St. George to Parsons in August 1893.

(This information was provided by the donor.)

Scope and Contents

Includes a photocopy of the will of William Parsons (1828); an accurate typescript of the will, prepared by donor; a less accurate transcript of the will, from a family history book; a transcript of an 1850s financial document from the Randolph County Courthouse about Buck, one of the slaves mentioned in Parsons' will who was apparently suing for freedom; and background information about William Parsons and his wife, Catherine/Catharine, as well as the names of Buck's children.

See A&M 370 for additional typescript copies and one manuscript copy of Mr. Parsons' will.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Parsons family
• Parsons, William.