N the 28th day of February, 1895, at his home on
East Market Street, after a brief illness, occurred

the death of one of Iowa City's most esteemed citizens, a man who for twenty-six years had been associated with the business and moral interests of the community. Lyman Parsons, the subject of this sketch, was born in Albany County, New York, November 12th, 1829, at a town about twenty miles north of Albany. His father, Alpheus Parsons, was a son of Adieu Parsons, a native of Massachusetts, and of English descent.

Lyman Parsons spent his boyhood days in Massachusetts, where he received a common school education. At the age

of sixteen he was apprenticed to the trade of stone cutter. In 1851 he went south, where for a time he was engaged in railroading. Then turning his attention to contracting on the Tennessee & Georgia Railroad, and later on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, helping to build the bridge at Kilbourn City, Wisconsin. In 1866 Mr. Parsons was married to Miss Elsie F. Leonard, a native of Massachusetts and a resident of Wisconsin at the time of her marriage, her father,

Luther Leonard, having removed to that State in 1860. To Mr. and Mrs. Parsons were born nine children, all of whom are living.

For ten years he was in the employ of the Rock Island Railroad Company, after which time he followed contracting for about fifteen years on the same road, doing the stone work from Chicago to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1882 he severed his connection with the Rock Island Railroad, and became the following year President of the First National Bank of Iowa City, which position he held at his death.

He served the Historical Society as its Treasurer for nearly ten years; and was one of the Trustees of Close Hall, both of which offices were made vacant by his death.

Mr. Parsons' business qualities are best described by one who knew him as a business man. Below we give an extract from a paper read by the Honorable Peter A. Dey at the Parsons memorial service held in the Christian Church in

Iowa City, March 10th, 1895. Mr. Dey was associated with Mr. Parsons in a business way for several years, and thus speaks of the man whom he had learned to love:

"For more than twenty years some of us have been associated with Mr. Parsons, have noted the principles, and springs of action, that governed him and formed, as we believe, a correct estimate of his character. Physically he was a strong, rugged man. His mental and moral qualities were like his physical; there was no disguise, no concealment; he met every question that arose squarely and honestly, with an unflinching courage and a will to triumph over difficulties. He did not allow himself to be discouraged by reverses, and had full faith that his enterprise, carried through faithfully and honestly, would eventually succeed. He never abandoned what he had undertaken, even under discouragements that disheartened others.

“As a banker he was always ready to extend a helping hand to the poor man who, by economy and industry, was endeavoring to meet his obligations; but, on the other hand,

he had an innate abhorrence of all trickery and dishonesty, and no patience with, or respect for, those people who sought to gratify their tastes, wants, and habits at the expense of others. While he believed every man was entitled to the full enjoyment of what he had earned or acquired, the men who lived beyond their means and attempted to prey upon the frugal and industrious were entitled to no sympathy from him, and he never failed to express his views in language that was unmistakable.

"His fortune was accumulated by a strict adherence to the methods that governed his conduct in all things. Like all self-made men, he was self-reliant, but while adhering tenaciously to his own convictions, he was tolerant of and respected the views of others. Greater early advantages of education might have been of service to him, but they would hardly have changed the man; he was as God made him, honest, just, unwavering in his friendships, and a pattern worthy of imitation. His clear head and wise counsel will long be missed by the directors, officers, and employés of the bank of which he was so many years the head."

In politics Mr. Parsons was a staunch Republican, and always used his influence to further the interests of his party, though he never sought political preferment.

Although eminently successful as a business man, prosperity did not cause him to forget his obligations to his family, to society, and to his Creator. He was a member of the Christian Church, and was very pronounced in his religious convictions. He had no sympathy with loud professions, not backed by honest, upright living. Religion apart from the every day and everywhere events of life was to him only a shadow. "By their fruits ye shall know them" was his criterion. He had faith in humanity. His own pure, honest life led him to regard every man honest until he had been proven otherwise. As a member of the Official Board of the Church, he was always a wise counsellor. In matters of discipline he preferred to err on the side of leniency rather than severity.