Christopher F. Parkhurst

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Christopher F. Parkhurst in 1904

Christopher Francis Parkhurst (sometimes referred to as C. Frank Parkhurst; September 17, 1854 – July 1, 1925)[1][2] was an associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from 1905 to 1917 and chief justice from 1917 to 1920.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Parkhurst was a maternal descendant of Roger Williams.[1] He graduated from Brown University in 1876.

From 1892 to 1895 he was a member of the Providence Common Council, and from 1900 to 1902 he served in the Rhode Island Senate.[1] In April 1902, Parkhurst was appointed by the New York Supreme Court to act as ancillary receiver in bankruptcy for the Oriental Print Works Company,[3] and in 1904, Parkhurst was designated by the Rhode Island Supreme Court to serve as master of chancery for considering claims by creditors against the American Tubing and Webbing Company.[4]

On February 23, 1905, Parkhurst was elected by unanimous vote of the Rhode Island General Assembly to a seat on the Rhode Island Supreme Court,[5] which had been vacated by the elevation of Justice William W. Douglas to the position of Chief Justice following the death of Pardon E. Tillinghast.[6]

On March 9, 1917, the General Assembly elected Parkhurst Chief Justice, following the retirement of Chief Justice Clarke H. Johnson.[7] Parkhurst resigned in 1920 due to poor health.[1][8]

Parkhurst married Estelle Louise Eliot, with whom he had a son and a daughter.[2] He died of bronchial pneumonia at his home in Providence at the age of 71.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Judge C. F. Parkhurst of Rhode Island Dies", Hartford Courant (July 2, 1925), p. 5.
  2. ^ a b E.C. Bowler, An Album of the Attorneys of Rhode Island (1904), p. 166.
  3. ^ "Receiver for Oriental Print Works", The Boston Globe (April 2, 1901), p. 7.
  4. ^ "To Arrange Claims of Creditors", The Boston Globe (January 16, 1904), p. 9.
  5. ^ "Providence", Fall River Daily Evening News (February 23, 1905), p. 5.
  6. ^ "Judge Parkhurst Takes His Seat", The Boston Globe (February 27, 1905), p. 9.
  7. ^ "Chief Justice of Rhode Island", Hartford Courant (March 9, 1917), p. 18.
  8. ^ Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Assembly, Rhode Island (1920), p. 500.