Edward A. Parsons
Edward A. Parsons, Kent, Secretary and Treasurer Railway Speed Recorder Company, was born in Northampton, Mass., January 25, 1829, son of Edward and Clementine (Janes) Parsons, who settled in Brimfield Township, this county, in 1831, where they lived until 1868, when they removed to Kent, and here the father died, April 4, 1874, aged seventy-seven years. The mother, now eighty-two years old, resides with her son-in-law, C. H. Barber. (Her father's name was Peleg C. Janes). Their children were six in number: Edward A., Timothy G., Harriet J. (deceased), Martha K. (Mrs. George W. Crouse, in Akron), William C, in Akron, and Clementine (Mrs. C. H. Barber). Edward Parsons (the father) was a native of Northampton, Mass., son of Moses Parsons, and Clementine, his wife, was a native of Brimfield, Mass. Our subject was reared on his father's farm in Brimfield Township, this county, and educated in the common schools. He farmed up to 1863, when he removed to Kent and embarked in the lumber business. In 1871 he sold his business to his brother and engaged in the produce and shipping interest. In 1876 the Railway Speed Recorder Company was formed, of which he has since been Secretary and Treasurer. He was married September 25, 1853, to Mary J., daughter of Freeman and Mercy A. (Lincoln) Underwood, formerly of Massachusetts, who settled in Brimfield Township in 1818. They have no children, but an adopted daughter—Effie S. P. (Mrs. J. B. Miller.) Mr. Parsons has held several offices in Franklin Township, this county. He served as County Commissioner from 1874 to 1878, and was the main projector in building the fine arch stone bridge over the Cuyahoga River at Kent. In politics Mr. Parsons is a Republican. He is a representative business man and worthy citizen.
From History of Portage County, Ohio, Warner, Beers & Co., Chicago, 1885