Randall Parrish

George Randall Parrish (June 10, 1858 – August 9, 1923) was an American lawyer, journalist, and writer - in particular, author of dime novels, including Wolves of the Sea (Being a Tale of the Colonies from the Manuscript of One Geoffry Carlyle, Seaman, Narrating Certain Strange Adventures Which Befell Him Aboard the Pirate Craft "Namur").

Early life

Parrish was born on June 10, 1858, in the city of Kewanee, Illinois, as the only son of Rufus Parker and Frances Adeline (Hollis) Parrish. He was born in "Rose Cottage", at what was later the site of the city's Methodist Episcopal church. The old family home was at Gilmanton, New Hampshire, but Parrish' parents removed to Kewanee from Boston, where Rufus Parker Parrish had been engaged in business and was prominently associated with William Lloyd Garrison and others in the anti-slavery cause. Both parents had a wide acquaintance with multiple well-known citizens of Boston of that era, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., John Greenleaf Whittier, Wendell Phillips, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The Parrish came to Kewanee in April 1855; the husband forming connections with the pioneer store of Morse & Willard, then situated at the corner of Main and Fourth streets. A little later the firm became Parrish & Faulkner, the business finally being sold to Elias Lyman, being thus the nucleus for the department store of Lyman-Lay Company. From the time of arrival until his death in 1903, Rufus Parrish was ranked among the most prominent citizens of the community in which he conducted a bookstore and held many offices of trust. St John's Episcopal church was established and maintained largely through his efforts, and for twenty-five years, he was president of the public library board.