Albert Richard Parsons (1848 - 1887)

Born 20 Jun 1848 in Montgomery, Alabama

Husband of Lucia Eldine (Gonzalez) Parsons — married 28 Sep 1872 in Cherokee, Texas, United States

Died 11 Nov 1887 at age 39 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Pamela Lloyd [send private message]

Biography

Albert Parsons is Notable.

Albert Parsons was born June 20, 1848, in Montgomery, Alabama.^[1] He was a son of Samuel Parsons and Elizabeth Thompkins.^[2] Both parents died before he was five, and Albert was sent to Tyler, Texas, to live with his brother William Henry Parsons."^[2]

He "was a pioneer American socialist and later anarchist newspaper editor, orator, and labor activist. As a teenager, he served in the military force of the Confederate States of America in Texas, during the American Civil War. After the war, he settled in Texas, and became an activist for the rights of former slaves, and later a Republican official during reconstruction. With his wife Lucy Parsons, he then moved to Chicago in 1873 and worked in newspapers. There he became interested in the rights of workers. Parsons is best remembered as one of four Chicago radical leaders convicted of conspiracy and hanged following a bomb attack on police remembered as the Haymarket affair."^[3]

There are a number of sites providing biographical information about Parsons. Of particular interest may be a transcript of his autobiography, from an educational site on The Haymarket Riot Trial, published in the faculty pages of the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law website.

Note

Ashbaugh, who has written a biography of Lucy Parsons (see her profile), states in her sketch of Albert Parsons that his mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Tompkins. Parsons himself, in his autobiography, states that his father "married into the Tompkins-Broadwell family." However, records on Find A Grave link Albert Parsons^[4] first to Samuel Parsons^[5] (which is consistent with the biographies) and, through Samuel, to Hannah W. Broadwell^[6]. Whether one or more of these secondary sources is wrong, or whether Elizabeth Tompkins and Hannah Broadwell are the same person, is pure speculation at this point, because I have not yet been able to unravel this conundrum, although the names Tompkins and Broadwell are both mentioned by Parsons. Lloyd-391 03:24, 3 November 2014 (EST)

Research Notes

On FindaGrave: "Also there is some discrepancy regarding his birth date. He could not have been born in 1848 as his mother, Hannah Broadwell Parsons died in 1847. Albert Parsons was more likely born June 20, 1846 which would coincide with his "not yet two years old at her death". In Goddess of Anarchy, by Jacqueline Jones she states his birth year as 1845 and his mother as Hannah.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Montgomery Ward 3, Montgomery, Alabama; Roll: M432_12; Page: 141B; Image: 148; Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Sources

1. ↑ Parsons, Albert.Parsons' memoirs Image of his birthdate written in his own hand.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Asbaugh, Carolyn. Parsons, Albert Richard (1848–1887). Texas State Historical Association. [on-line]
3. ↑ Wikipedia
4. ↑ Profile for Albert Richard Parsons on Find A Grave.
5. ↑ Profile for Samuel Parsons, Sr on Find A Grave.
6. ↑ Profile for Hannah W Broadwell Parsons on Find A Grave.

• Wikipedia contributors, "Albert Parsons," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_Parsons&oldid=631787975 (accessed November 2, 2014).

See Also

• Simkin, John. "Albert Parsons," Famous Crimes, Spartacus Educational (http://spartacus-educational.com/USAparsonsA.htm).
• Reichert, William O. "Albert R. Parsons and the 'Chicago Anarchists,'" Partisans of Freedom: A Study in American Anarchism, 1976 (http://www.ditext.com/reichert/partisans/32.html).
• Goddess of Anarchy, by Jacqueline Jones (free online book): https://www.google.com/books/edition/Goddess_of_Anarchy/Jl_FDgAAQBAJ?kptab=editions&gbpv=0

has Albert's birth date: 20 Jun 1845 and mother's first name, Hannah.

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/94WN-5R5
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10393226/albert-richard-parsons