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Overview
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| Record Creator: | Parsons, Charles Wesley |
| Title: | Charles Wesley Parsons Papers |
| Date Span: | 1892-2003 |
| Abstract: | Charles Wesley Parsons (1851-1907), American Minister, was born in Decatur, New York, on January 7, 1851 to Reverend George and Mrs. Parsons. He served in a number of Methodist Episcopal churches from 1874 to 1907. Health problems plagued his ministry by 1888. Parsons died on December 22, 1907. The bulk of the Charles Wesley Parsons papers contains letters from Parsons to his wife’s cousin, industrialist Henry Marcus Quackenbush of air rifle and spring loaded nutcracker fame. |
| Extent: | 0.18 cubic feet |
| Resource ID: | drew.ms.5317 |
Charles Wesley Parsons (1851-1907), American Minister, was born in Decatur, New York, on January 7, 1851 to Reverend George and Mrs. Parsons. Parsons’ formal education included stops at Springfield Academy, Cazanovia Seminary, Wyoming (PA) Conference Seminary and Drew Theological School. After leaving Drew in 1874, Parsons was appointed to Fairfield, New York, Methodist Episcopal Church where he met his wife, Emma R. Ford. They were married on August 1, 1876 and their union produced four children.
After serving in Fairfield, he ministered in succession Gouverneur, Watertown, and Rome churches, all in New York State. From Rome, Parsons headed to Kansas City to be the pastor of Grand Avenue. The church produced two other church plants under his direction, Independence Avenue and Howard Memorial. Parsons oversaw their explosive growth as well as his own church. The stress of the work broke his health. Trigeminal Neuralgia would plague him for the rest of his life despite filling some of the largest pulpits in the denomination.
Parsons’ next appointment was Saint Paul’s in Newark, New Jersey. After that he was sent to Hanson Place Church, Brooklyn, New York. In 1894, the illness required him to take a year-long medical absence.
Chestnut Street Church in Portland, Maine, the largest Methodist Episcopal Church in New England at that time, gladly received his appointment after his medical leave. While there, he had two surgeries on his neck and brain in order to relieve his constant pain. Unfortunately, the operations failed and Parsons took another medical leave in 1898 instead of traveling to Portland, Oregon, for his next charge.
By 1903, he was back in the proverbial circuit rider saddle and took over the First Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pulpit for two years. His medical condition considerably worsened so he turned down serving larger churches and settled in at the Grace Church, Plainfield, New Jersey. In the fall of 1907, weak and incapacitated, Parsons left Grace Church and died two months later on December 22.
The bulk of the Charles Wesley Parsons papers contains letters from Parsons to his wife’s cousin, industrialist Henry Marcus Quackenbush of fire arms, kitchen gadgets and spring loaded nutcracker fame. Parsons wrote the letters while living in Fairfield and Watertown during his recuperation period between pastoral appointments. There are references to family life, good and bad, small writing assignments as well as church appointments turned down due to poor health. This, then, leads to the main content of the letters that document Parsons struggles with the Trigeminal Neuralgia. For those interested in Methodist studies, Parsons strong feelings about the short duration of the local church appointment system and the effects on individual health can have great primary research value. There are two letters written by Emma Parsons to Henry Quackenbush and his second wife, Flora, discussing visits and family life. The rest of the documents give a truncated Parsons family genealogy along with Charles’ obituary and church service record. There are a few items on Henry Quackenbush as well.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Material is arranged by record type or subject.
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Charles Wesley Parsons Papers, Methodist Collection - Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the items call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection. Copyright still owned by Drew. Permissions to publish must be directed to Drew.
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| - 2133-5-8: 1 | Charles Parsons Correspondence | 1900-1901 |
| - 2133-5-8: 2 | Emma Ford Parsons Correspondence | 1900 |
| - 2133-5-8: 3 | Parsons Service Record, Obituary and Truncated Family History | 1892-1908 |
| - 2133-5-8: 4 | Henry Marcus Quackenbush Biographical File | 1925-2003 |
