Carthage, MO September 30th 18__

Bro. John,
Your welcome letter came duly to here and we were glad to hear from you. Myself & family are all quite well at this time.  We are having pleasant weather in this section and crops of all kinds are abundant. I rec'd a letter a few days ago from Sister Abigail. She has just returned from a visit to her grandchildren in Minnesota. She is making her home with her sister Julia in Plymouth, Ind. She complains that our people do not write to her.
I have recently received two letter from Son of Eli Parkhill who was a musician.  He went to live in Niagra Co., NY, went to Michigan in 1834.
(when a Boy I used to hear our folks speak of Eli as a music teacher). He had 3 brothers, their names were Benjamin, David & Truman. They used to live in Bennington, Rutland Co., Vermont. (It was Truman's family that George saw in Wisconsin.).  These sons of Eli who wrote to me, do not know who their grandfather was. They only know that he came from Ireland. He lived and died in Vermont. Can you tell me who their grandfather was. He must have been one of the Brothers who first came to America. There is a James S. Parkhill now living in Buffalo.  I talked with him when I was down there last summer of still another family.  He was born in Benson, Vermont in 1823.  He said his Great-Grandfather's name was Robert Parkhill.  He came from Ireland in the early part of the 17th century. Settled in Leicester, Mass where his son James (who was the grandfather of this one living in Buffalo) was born in 1747.  James, the son of Robert has
a large family.  Their names are as follows, viz:
James - born at Canton NY 1772
Eli - born at Williamstown, Mass 1777
Jesse - born at North Adams, Mass 1778
Sarah - born 1780
Rhoda - born 1782
Elisha - born at Benson, Vt 1785
Stephen - born 1787, died in Flint, Michigan, has a son living there.
The foregoing is an account of two different families of the Parkhills who settled in the New England states early in the 17th century.  I can't
reconsile the name of Robert with the names of those you gave me, as the first Parkhills who settled in America, unless they had middle names, do you know who these families are and who they sprang from. Do you know whether our Grandfather had a middle name. I do not like to trouble you but would like to know who these families are and of what Kin they are to our family.  Please let me here from you soon
and oblige.
Your Brother  A. B. Parkell

Samuel L. Parkhill
Dear Sir;
Your favor of Aug. 26, received and Contents noted.  In response to your request, I will endeavor to give you such items pertaining to the history of our ancestry, as I have been able to obtain, up to the present time, as they are quite incomplete.  I have not attempted to compose a history hoping in the future to aquire more accurated data, that would make the history more complete in detail.  I have, however, obtained sufficient evidence to satisfy me that all persons of our name, are of the same origin.
The name Parkhill, is composed of two words, viz, Park and Hill and is to have originated in the following manner.  In the early part of the seventeenth century, a French vessel was wrecked, in the British Channel near Torbay.  The only survivor of the ill-fated vessel was a boy who was washed ashore with a portion of the wreck.  He was known to be of French parentage.  Although unable to communicate his name or tell anything of his parents.  He was taken charge of by an English gentleman, who owned an estate or manor situated on the coast near the present city of Torquay, in Devon Co., England and known as the Parkhill Place.  (I have in my possession a photographic view of the city and bay of Torquay and Parkhill)  The lad was educated and given the name of Parkhill, from the manor where he was taken.  He grew to manhood, married and settled at Faversham, in Kent, England, where he reared a family consisting of several sons, and educated them for useful occupations in life.  It was from this family, from whom, I take it, sprang the present numerous posterity whose name we bear.
When King William III, Prince of Orange, espoused the Protestant cause and raised an army, in their defense against Catholic persecution, he landed his army, 15,000 strong at Torquay on the fifth of November, 1688, where he continued to increase his forces preparatory to marching into Scotland.
It was upon that occasion that two brother of the Parkhill family joined this army and became officers under King William.  They fought through the campaign and for their patriotic and heroic conduct were awarded large landed estates in the norht of Ireland, in counties Derry and Antrim.
At the close of the war, these brothers remained, for a period in Scotland, where they took themselves wives.
They subsequently settled upon their estates in Ireland, where they each reared families and it is from these brothers that all the Parkhills have their lineage.  One of these brothers reared a family of seven children, six sons and one daughter, the names of the sons were, Robert, Nathaniel, David, James, John, and Samuel.  John died in childhood.  The daughter and youngest son Samuel, remained with their parents.  The other four brothers, viz, Robert, Nathaniel, David, and James emigrated to America.  They landed at Plymouth Rock, sometime about 1740.  They remained for a time in Massachusetts.  Robert, the elder, was married prior to coming to America.  He subsequently settled in Vermont, where he remained until his death. His wife died in the year 1800 at the age of 90.  His posterity are numerous, and are settled at various parts of the United States.
Nathaniel (my grandfather) married and lived in Vermont, for a time, but subsequently settled in Otsego County, New York, where he died, leaving a family of twelve children, their names were, Robert, Nathaniel (my grandfather), ? John, David, Timothy, Reuben, Ezra, and Oliver.  The daughters were Abigail, Rebecca, Hannah, and Polly.  Their posterity are numerous and are settled in various parts of the country.
The other brothers, David and James who originally came to America, settled in Pennsylvania, David in Fayette Co., James in Franklin Co.  Their posterity are also found in several states.
I find Parkhills in nearly every state in the Union.  They occupy places in all departments of science and industry.
I am the youngest of a family of eleven children, my age is 71 years.  I had a brother living in Madison Co., New York who died about one year ago, at the age of 92 years.  I have one son, and six daughters living. My son - J. B. Parkhill is in the passenger department of the St. Louis and San Francisco, R. R. his office is room R. R. Bldg. St. Louis, Mo.
William Parkhill, grandson of David Parkhill, is cashier of the Second National Bank of Brownsville, Pa.  D. E. Parkhill, grandson of James Parkhill, is in the mercantile business at Mt. Carmel, Ill.  He has a son who is a professor in a college at Los Angeles, Cal. There is an S. J. Parkhill, printer 222 Franklin St., Boston, Mass.  John Parkhill, of Parkhill Mfg. Co., Fitchburg, Mass., David H. Parkhill, Gen. Agt. for Hucky Mfg. Co., Vine St., Philadelphia, Pa., Grow. B. Parkhill, Lawyer, Thorp, Clark Co., Wis., Clarence l. Parkhill, Hornellsville, New York, C. P. Parkhill, druggist, Owasso, Mich., Charles Parkhill, of Northern Central R. R. , Belinose, Md., Thomas Parkhill, wholesale dealer in coffee, Front St., New York City.
I have letters from John Parkhill, 40 Commercial St., Leigh, Scotland, Also from Alen Parkhill, of the Gorrnoch Sugar Refinery, Edinburgh, Scotland.  Also from Mrs. Young, who was a Parkhill of 21 Redcliff St., Belfast, Ireland.  I also have a letter from James Parkhill of Elton St., near Fulton Ave., Brooklyn, New York.  I think he is a cousin of yours, he says of his family, that there were four brothers who came to America about 1800. Their names were John, Samuel, William and Adam.  John and Samuel settled in Florida.  William settled in Mass. Adam at Steelville, Randolph Co., Illinois.  These are his cousins.  He also has two brothers, Adam and Samuel and two sisters, Nancy and Mary.  I think these sisters later married persons, are of you relations.  There has been a more recent arrival, from Ireland, of Parkhill, somewhere about 1840.  I have learned the names of several living in Illinois, and some remain in New York.
Please remember for me to Dr. Clayton Parkhill and oblige.
Yours very truly.
A. B. Parkhill
(the original translator guessed the above letter to be written by Alonzo Burrett Parkell - much of this above information is incorrect)

Included in this published booklet below was a record made of his children January 1st, 1900, a picture of himself, a picture of his home in Carthage, Mo., and a picture of Park-Hill, Torquay, Devonshire, England. (Biography and Genealogy of Alonzo Burrett Parkell)
"The name Parkhill originated in Devonshire, England in the early part of the seventeenth century; nativity of paternal ancestor, France; nativity of maternal ancestor, England.  Paternal great grandfather was a field officer under William III, Prince of Orange, in the "war of 1690, against Catholic Persecution" of Protestants in Ireland and Scotland, participated in the battle of the Boyne, July, 1690.  At the termination of the war he married a Scotch maiden and settled in Scotland, subsequently settled in County Derry, Ireland, upon lands awarded by the Crown for bravery in action during the campaign of 1690.
Paternal grandfather, Nathaniel Parkhill, and three brothers, viz.: Hugh, James, and David, emigrated to America about the year 1740, the first two settled in Vermont, the latter two settled in Pennsylvania; they were Covenanters.  My grandfather had a family consisting of twelve children, viz.: Robert Parkhill, born August, 1767; John, born April, 1769; Abigail, born April, 1771 (married a Tilton); Rebecca, born July, 1772 (married a Gosline); David, born May, 1774;  Hannah, born June, 1776 (married a Ferguson); Nathaniel, born September 13, 1778; Timothy, born December, 1780; Reuben, born January, 1783; Ezra, born February, 1785; Polly, born August, 1787 (married a Smyth); Oliver, born December, 1791; grandfather Nathaniel Parkhill is buried at Springfield, Otsego County, New York.
  Nathaniel Parkhill, my father, a native of Vermont, settled in Oneida County, New York, in the early part of the nineteenth century; he was a soldier in the U.S. volunteer service, "war of 1812".
 Mother's maiden name was Anna Thompson, a native of Middlebury, Vermont, born 1780; she was a sister of Colonel John Thompson of Vergennes, Vermont.
 The children of Nathaniel and Anna Parkhill were, viz.: Nathaniel Jefferson, born 1802; John Thompson, born April 1804; David Albert, born 1806; Delia Ann, born September 1808 (married Solander Pettit); Dianthat, born May, 1810 (married Chas. Gilmore); Betsey Maria, born 1813 (married Henry H. Cooper); Hiram Henry, born 1815; Susana, born 1817 (married James Avery); Mary, born 1819 (married Tobias Green); Caroline Melissa, born May, 1823 (married William W. Lapham); Alonzo Burrett, born September 1825.
  My father, deceased, September 3, 1828, was buried in the old cemetary at Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York.   Upon the death of my father his family were left in quite limited circumstances; the elder members of the family went out to seek employment; my mother, with the younger children, removed from Whitesboro to a little home in Verona, Oneida County, where my early childhood days were passed; how well do I remember the little red painted house; how vivid in my recollection are the scenes of my childhood; my earliest recollection is of the death of my father, then our removal and the incidents that followed: My sister, Carrie, constant companion of my youth, whose hand was ever held out to guide my early footsteps and shield me from harm; the old schoolhouse beside the brook, the mill yard where we used to sport, the hill where we used to coast in the winter, the Scanandoa Creek where we fished in summer, the butternut orchard and the beech tree grove where we chased the squirrel, the factory, the store and the old tavern, where the Indians used to assemble to play the fiddle and dance for firewater, all are indelibly stamped upon the tablets of my memory.
 In explanation of the change in manner of spelling the name Parkhill, I should say that after the decease of my father my elder brothers, for the sake of brevity, dropped the "h", spelling the name Parkill; later my brother Henry and myself dropped the "i" and inserted an "e", hence spelling the name Parkell.
 Major Alonzo Burrett  Parkell was born at Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York, on the 1st of September, 1825.  Father died when I was but three years old; I remained with my widowed mother until I arrived at the age of eight years; the financial circumstances of my mother, my fraility and inability to render her any assistance, caused me to become much depressed, and for some days I was in a quandary to solve the difficulty; then, in a single day, I seemed to emerge from youth to manhood; my resolution was taken, and at the age of eight years I went out into the world to seek a livelihood among strangers.  Thence I was variously employed until I became sixteen years old; during this period I drove horses on the tow path of the Erie Canal through the summer of 1834; having aquired sufficient money for the purchase of clothing for winter use, I returned to the home of my mother, where I remained through the winter attending school.  In the spring of 1835 I went to Saratoga County to work in a grist mill, and remained there for a period of two years; I then, after making a visit to my mother, went  to the home of my brother John, in Clockville, Madison Co., New York, where I attended school during the winter of 1836 and 1837.  The following summer I was employed in a tavern in that place.  I then went to reside with my brother Nathaniel in Brooklyn, Jackson Co., Michigan; there I remained about two years, employed in a hotel and attending school part of the time, after which I went to Dansville, Livingston County, New York, where I found employment in a grocery store until 1842.  My education being necessarily limited, having aquired only the primary branches, I though it advisable to gain a knowledge of mechanics; I, therefore, learned the occupation of tailoring April 18, 1848.  At the age of twenty-two I married Rebecca Maria Morrison, daughter of the Rev, George Morrison, of Dansville, New York, her age was twenty, having been born October 14, 1827.  Her mother's maiden name was Lucy Allen Hendee, a descendent of Col. Ethan Allen, of revolutionary fame.  I resided in Dansville for a period of fifteen years.  My mother died in 1849, was buried in Clayville, Oneida Co., New York.  During the gold excitement of 1850 I went to California, was in the mining district near Shasta City some three months, then returned to Sacramento where I had the cholera in 1851; after my recovery I went with my brother Henry to San Francisco and engaged in hotel business until 1852; I then returned to my home in New York.  In 1853 I removed to Iowa and engaged in mercantile business in Buchanan County until 1859; then went to Grinnell, Iowa, and engaged in merchant tailoring until 1861.  At this time, the slavery question having assumed such proportions that war became imminent, and when Fort Sumpter was fired upon by Insurgents my patriotism was so aroused that I resolved to enlist in the service of the United States.  Thereupon I commenced recruiting, and in  thirty days had a company, thereby fitting them for immediate service.  I  had my men appareled in uniform, then reported to the adjutant general of Iowa, received orders to proceed, with my company, to quarters at Camp Harlan, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where we arrived on the 24th of October, 1861.  I was commissioned captain, Company "E", Fourth Regiment Iowa Cavalry Volunteers, and mustered into the United States military service on the 23rd day of November, 1861; was promoted and commissioned to the rank of major, August 10th, 1862.  I was in the military service of the United States three years, participated in the Arkansas campaign during 1862, my regiment, the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, was attached to the Fifteenth Army Corps during 1863 and 1864; participated in action at Fourteen-Mile Creek, Miss., May 12th, 1863, also in the capture of Jackson, Miss., MAy 14th, 1863; was in command of Gen'l W. T. Sherman's advance guards at Champion Hills, Miss., May 16th, 1863; was in command of regiment in action at Mechanicsburg, Miss., May 24th and 29th, 1863; participated in Vicksburg campaign, May 16th to July 5th, 1863; was in command of cavalry forces in action at Black River, Miss., June 22d, 1863; was in command of regiment in Grenada, Miss., raid, August 10th to 25th, 1863; commanded regiment in action at Coldwater, Miss., August 21st, 1863; commanded regiment in Meridian campaign, February 3d to 14th, 1864; having been disabled from active field service, I tendered my resignation, and in October, 1864, returned to my home, in Iowa.  I removed from Grinnell in 1865; was a resident of Independence, Mo., from 1865 to 1867; engaged in business of merchant tailoring; while there I often saw members of Quantrell's Band of Desperadoes, they used to come into town fully armed, ride their horses into stores, take such goods as they wanted and ride away in defiance of authorities, terrifying people and sometimes shooting down citizens without the least provocation.
  I removed from Independence to Carthage, Jasper Co., Mo., in 1867, and engaged in the business of merchant tailoring and clothing for a period of fifteen years; retired from business in 1881 and made my second visit to the Pacific coast.  I have been in thirty of the States and six Territories; have been in Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, and Central America.
  I have been a Republican since the inception of the party; was a member of the Jasper County, Mo., Republican county committee two years; was collector, Marion Township, two years, 1873 and 1874; was a member of City Council, Carthage, Mo., two terms, 1873 and 1874, and 1882 and 1883; was a member of School Board, City of Carthage, two years; am a member of Carthage Lodge, No. 197, A.F. & A.M.; a member of Stanton Post, No. 1, G.A.R., Mo.; was a member of Council Administration G.A.R., State of Missouri, in 1892; attended National Encampment, Washington, D.C. in 1892."