Parry, William bio

History of Fulton County, Illinois; together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens. Chas. C. Chapman & Co., Peoria, Illinois, 1879, page 456, Astoria Township
William Parry, farmer. For 60 years the tide of emigration has flowed from the East and South to the West, and among those who have found homes in this county and succeeded well in life is our subject. He was born in Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, June 16, 1822. His father, Caleb Parry was a native of Virginia, and removed in an early day to Harrison Co., O., where he was married to Miss Rebecca Engle, who bore him 12 children, 8 of whom still live and reside in different parts of Illinois. At the age of 16 William came with his parents to Fulton Co. Aug. 10, 1842, he was married to Miss Miranda Walker. They have 6 children. Some 36 years ago Wm. Parry began farming for himself, and how he has succeeded is well known. He is now the possessor of 656 acres of land and ranks among the leading agriculturists of the county.
submitted by Carla Finley

Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County, Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States, and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890; page 465-466; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
William Parry, the son of an early pioneer family of this county, is a prosperous member of its farming community, owning and managing a good-sized farm in Astoria Township. He was born twelve miles east of New Philadelphia, Ohio, June 16, 1822. He is a son of Caleb and Rebecca (Engle) Parry. His father settled in the wilderness of Ohio in a very early day, and cleared and improved a farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land. He was a keen calculator, possessing an arithmetical turn of mind, and was successful financially. In the fall of 1834 he came to Menard County, Ill., with a team, being thirty-one days on the road. In the spring of 1835, he came to Fulton County, and located on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, which he had entered during the winter. He sold that shortly after and bought another farm on which he lived until his demise. Before his death he gave each of his ten children eighty acres of land. When he came to this State his property was comprised in $500 of money and four horses. He lacked eighty days of being eighty-three years old when he died, and his wife was within eighteen days of being ninety-three years old at the time of her death. She always enjoyed good health and was an active worker almost to the last. For further parental history, see sketch of subject's brother Enoch, which appears on another page in this volume.
William Parry grew to man's estate on the farm. He is self-educated and all the time that he spent in school was before he was thirteen years of age. He chose the calling to which he had been bred and since 1864 has lived on his present farm. He has here three hundred and eighteen acres of well cultivated land, upon which he has placed many valuable improvements. He sold one hundred and eighty acres of land to his son Stephen. When our subject began his life as a farmer on his own account he had eighty acres of woodland which cost $100. He cleared it and improved it into a substantial farm, and from time to time added more land by further purchase. The first three years he lived in a hewed log house, and all his household goods had been taken to it on a one-horse sled. He has accumulated the rest of his property by his own efforts. He has assisted his children to the amount of $1,000 each. In his early days Mr. Parry was a Whig. He was a liberal supporter of the Union during the war and joined the Republican party after its formation. He cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay, and has never missed being present at an election since that time.
The pleasant wedded life of our subject and his wife began August 10, 1842. Nine children have been born to them, three of whom, Isaac, Caleb and Rheuam died young. Those living are, Catherine, wife of William DuPuy; Jesse, John, William, Stephen and Flora B., wife of George Sheuman. They all received excellent educations in the public schools. Mrs. Parry's maiden name was Miranda Walker. She was born in Ohio and is a daughter of Jesse and Catherine (Barnhart) Walker, who were early settlers of Fulton County, coming to this State from Knox County, Ohio in 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Parry have long been faithful and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which he identified himself thirty years ago, and she united herself with the church before marriage.