PARR FAMILY STUDY

INDEX:


lu: F193.

ORIGINS:



The name of PARR is derived from the residence of the owners of the township of Parr, in the parish of Prescot, County Lancaster, England. {S19}.

Some historians have suggested that it was originally a corruption of the baptismal name of Pierre, the French form of Peter {S19}, but there seems to be no basis for this theory.

In ancient records the name appears in the various forms of PAR, PARE, (PARYE-S12)and PARRE, as well as in the now generally used spelling of Parr. {S19}. Other spellings of PAIR, PARE, PEAR, PARRISH, or even PARRY have been suggested, but so far do not seem to be related.

Early seated in the English Counties of Lancaster, Chester, Leicester, Northampton, Westmoreland, Devon, Salop, and Survey, as well as in the city and vicinity of London, the family belonged, in large part, to the landed gentry and nobility of Great Britain.{S19}.

The earliest definite records of the name in England include those of Henry de Par, who was living at Parr, in the County of Lancaster, as early as 1216; those of another Henry de Par, of the same place, in 1318; those of Richard de Par of Lancashire in 1338; those of Alan de Par of Lancashire during the reign of Edward III (circa 1327-1377); and those of Sir John de Parre who was living at Parr, County Lancaster about 1350. {S19}.

COAT OF ARMS:



  • PARR COAT OF ARMS

    Parr. Marquis of Northampton. Argent, two bars azure within a bordure engrailed sable.

    An ancient coat of arms of the English family of Parr is described in heraldic terms as follows (Burke, Encyclopaedia of Heraldry. 1944):
    ARMS. -- Argent, two bars azure, a bordure engrailed sable.
    CREST. -- A female's head couped below the shoulders, habited azure, on her head a wreath of roses (alternately argent and gules).

    PLACES:



    Kempnall Hall (Kemporoughe, Kempnough) is in the township of WORSLEY, in the parish of Eccles, hundred of Salford, S. division of Lancashire, 7 miles (W. by N.) from Manchester, on the road to Leigh and Wigan.

    Kendal Castle was in existence by 1184 when it passed by Marriage to Gilbert Fitz Reinfred, and it was he who constructed it in stone. After that the castle had several owners: 1215 taken by the Crown; given back to William de Lancaster, son of Gilbert; 1246, Peter de Brus; 1272, the Ros family; 1383, the Parr family; 1553 the Crown again, then back to the Parrs in 1559; 1571 back to the Crown. By this time it was falling down. Not until 1813 was any work carried out to prevent further collapse.

    Cleworth Hall is near Manchester.
    Cleworth Hall Colliery. (closed in 1961) in Tyldesley.

    The Parish of Tyldesley in the County of Lancashire

    A parochial district in the hundred of WEST DERBY, county palatine of LANCASTER, 2-1/2 miles (E.N.E.) from Leigh, containing 4,325 inhabitants. In 1827, the township of Tyldesley was erected into a district parish, as regards ecclesiastical affairs.

    The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chester, endowed with £600 private benefaction, and £1600 royal bounty, and in the patronage of Lord Lilford.

    The church, dedicated to St. George, was erected by the commissioners for promoting the building of additional churches, at an expense of more than £12,000, and will accommodate two thousand persons: it is a chaste and handsome structure, designed by Smirke, in the later style of English architecture, with a spire rising to the height of one hundred and fifty feet, and was consecrated in September 1825.

    The site was presented by the late Thomas Johnson, Esq.; and the munificence of George Ormerod, Esq. has supplied the enclosure of the cemetery, a peal of six fine-toned bells, three beautiful painted windows, an organ, an elegant communion cloth, &c.; the communion plate was the gift of Mrs. Ormerod.

    There are places of worship for those in the connexion of the late Countess of Huntingdon, and Wesleyan Methodists.

    The freehold of the village belonged originally to the family of Tildesley; the present proprietor is George Ormerod, Esq.: about half a century ago, its population consisted of only three families; it is now estimated at about three thousand individuals, and is still increasing.

    The Leeds and Liverpool canal, which extends also Manchester, passes within two miles of the place.

    Cotton-spinning is extensively carried on, and affords employment to about one thousand persons; the remainder of the labouring classes are employed in weaving, in agriculture, and in the neighbouring collieries, which are very considerable: there are several cotton-mills, and one for the making of machinery.

    A National school, erected in 1827, at an expense of £650, on a site given by George Ormerod, Esq., adjacent to the church, is a neat and substantial stone building of two stories, calculated to contain two hundred and fifty boys and as many girls: it is supported by subscription, and by small weekly payments from the scholars.

    A subscription library was established in 1828.

    Of the several antique mansions in the neighbourhood, there are considerable remains of Dam House, a very old brick building, with bay windows and gables; and, near it, the ruins of another, still more ancient: the site of Shackerley Hall is surrounded by a moat.

    From: A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, Vol. IV, London, 1831, p.344. Entered here 3 September 2004 by Lynn Ransom Burton.


    Parr is a township "unpleasing to the eye, where the natural amenities have been replaced by everything unlovely that man could devise. Scarcely a green tree is to be seen, whilst collieries, chemical and iron works, huge banks and heaps of refuse, take the place of woods and fields and green meadows. Clouds of smoke and the fumes of chemical works hang continually over the district. On the south-east some waste mossland still remains, but altogether bereft of the vegetation which so often lends beauty to these undisturbed tracts".

    The township has an area of 1,633 acres and is divided by the Sankey Brook into two nearly equal portions. It is bounded on the east by the Black Brook, while the moss on the south originally formed a physical division for Sutton, Parr, and Burtonwood. The ground rises gradually north and south of the bisecting brook, attaining nearly one hundred and fifty feet at the northern boundary. With the exception of a small area of lower mottled sandstone of the bunter series (new red sandstone) at Parr Moss, the coal measures are in evidence throughout the township.

    The principal road is that from St. Helens north-eastwardly through Blackbrook to Ashton in Makerfield, the hamlet of Pocket Nook being situated next to St. Helens. From this point another road takes a winding course to Earlestown in the east; passing Parr Stocks, Broad Oak, and Havannah. To the south is Ashton's Green.

    A branch of the London and North Western Company's system, from St. Helens to Wigan, has a station on the northern boundary, Carr Mill; and the Great Central's St. Helens and South Lancashire line passes east and west through the township. There are also a number of railways for the service of the collieries, as Parr is a colliery district, the whole township being undermined. The St. Helens Canal crosses, alongside the Sankey Brook.

    A local board was formed in 1865, but dissolved in 1869 on the absorption of the township into St. Helens.

    The manor formed part of the Master Forester's fee, being held with Whiston by the Gernets, and then by the Dacres, of whom it was held by Travers of Whiston. (fn. 3) Under the latter an inferior or mesne manor was formed, held by the Lathoms (fn. 4) and Stanleys in succession. {S15}.

    The Established Church has two places of worship in Parr; St. Peter's, built in 1844, and Holy Trinity, Parr Mount, in 1863. The vicar of St. Helens presents to them. There is a Free Gospel chapel at Blackbrook. 68 Liverpool Cath. Ann. 1901, where the succession of the priests is given. Also Gillow, op. cit.

    The Roman Catholic church of Blessed Mary Immaculate, Blackbrook, was consecrated in 1845. The mission is supposed to have been founded at the end of the seventeenth century, when Bryan Orrell, alias John Martin, an alumnus of Douay, 1686, came to serve at Blackbrook House, where, as stated above, his elder brother had settled. In 1754 a room to serve as a chapel was built, James Orrell, the owner, granting a 500 years' lease at a rent of 1s. (fn. 68) St. Vincent's, Derbyshire Hill, was opened in 1905.

    NAME INDEX:


    Please note that since at certain times, like names were spelled in various manner, in this index like names are placed together, and not strictly alphabetical; such as Brian and Bryan, or Alan and Allen.



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    [S19].

    Other early records of the family in Virginia include those of Margery Parr, who was living in Charles City County in 1636; those of Margaret Parr, of Charles City County in 1637; those of Edward Parr of York County in 1649; those of Thomas Parr of York County in 1651; those of Mary Parr of Lancaster County in 1653; and possibly Anthony "Parrs" of Gloucester County in 1653. Any or all these may have been related to the before-mentioned immigrant Robert [F202] but the exact relationship is not in evidence. In early New England, records are found the names of Abel Parr who was living in Boston, Mass. before 1641 and became a "freeman" in that year; Samuel Parr who was living at Salem, Mass. in 1665; and James Parr who was a member of the Massachusetts militia at a slightly later date. The records of these families are, however, only fragmentary. About 1750 one William Parr, a tailor from London to America and settled at Williamsburg, VA. Possibly it was this William Parr who is listed among the Essex County, Virginia Presbyterians in 1758, but his family records were not in evidence. Among the numerous descendants of the early Virginia families who served in the Revolutionary War was James Parr who died in 1821 leaving issue of Bolling, Mary, Williamson, Elizabeth and James of Greensville County. Another who served with the Virginia Revolutionary forces was Jonathan Parr whose son, Moses Parr, made his home in Richmond, Virginia and later moved to Tennessee. Moses married Mary Terrell by whom he was the father of Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Parr. From this line were descended the Tennessee and Texas families of the name. Many of the Parrs have come to America in comparatively recent years. These include Joseph Parr who was one of the survivors of the Battle of Waterloo, having served under Napoleon Bonaparte. He immigrated in 1820 to Kentucky and settled in Kenton County. By his wife Mary, he was the father of Captain Daniel G. Parr of Louisville, Kentucky. Of high intellect and often of a scholarly turn of mine, the Parrs in America have been particularly outstanding as scientists, authors, and educators and a natural shrewdness, coupled with considerable executive ability have made some members of the family successful in the fields of business enterprise. Besides the Parrs already mentioned, the Virginia Revolutionary forces included George, John, Thomas and William Parr. And among the others of the name who served the Colonies in their fight for freedom were Jacob, Joseph, Philip or Phillip Jacob, William, Zephaniah, and Major James Parr of Pennsylvania; Benjamin, Jesse, John, Mathias and Thomas Parr of New Jersey; and Henry Parr of Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Henry, John, Thomas, William, Richard, Samuel, Robert, Joseph and Jacob are some of the Christian names most often used by the family for its male progeny. Of the members of the family who have been prominent in America in comparatively recent years, the following are considered representative: * George Parr (19th century) of New York, chemist and author. * Henry A. Parr (latter 19th and early 20th centuries) of Maryland; merchant, banker and business president. * Louisa Taylor Parr (d. 1903) of New York, novelist. * Samuel Wilson Parr (1857-1931) of Illinois; chemist, author and educator * Margaret Sands Parr (b. 1858) of Mass.; author and compiler. * Walter Rovinson Parr (b. 1871) of Mass.; writer. * Henry Lakin Parr (1872-1931) of South Carolina; business man.