Source: History of Boone County, Indiana, by Hon. L.M. Crist, 1914.
JUDGE WILLETT H. PARR Standing out distinctly as one of the
central figures of the
judiciary of the section of Indiana of which this history treats
is the name of Judge Willett
H. Parr, of Lebanon. Prominent in legal circles and equally so
in public matters beyond
the confines of his own jurisdiction, with a reputationin one
of the most exacting of
professions that has won him a name for distinguished service
second to that of none of his
contemporaries, there is today no more prominent or honored man
in Boone county of
which he is a native and which he has always dignified with his
citizenship. Achieving
success in the courts at an age when most young men are just entering
upon the formative
period of their lives, wearing the judicial ermine with becoming
dignity and bringing to
every case submitted to him a clearness of perception and ready
power of analysis
characteristic of the learned jurist, his name and work for yeras
have been allied with the
legal institutions, public enterprises and political interests
of northern Indiana in such a way
as to earn him recognition as one of the leading citizens in a
community noted for the high
order of its talent. A high purpose and an unconquerable will,
vigorous mental powers and
devotion to duty are some of the means by which he has made himself
eminently useful,
and every ambitious youth who fights the battle of life with the
prospect of ultimate success
may peruse with profit the biography herewith presented. For the
judge has not only won
success in a chosen field of endeavor, but is popular, possessing
to a marked degree the
characteristics that win and retain warm friendships. By his kindness
and courtesy he has
won an abiding place in the esteem of his fellow citizens and
by his intelligence, energy and
enterprising spirit has made his influence felt among his acquaintances
and associates, and
as a result occupies no small place in the favor of the public.
Judge Parr was born December 24, 1878 on a farm in Center township,
Boone county,
four miles southwest of Lebanon. He is a son of Jesse A. and Anna
M. (Maggard) Parr,
both natives of Johnson county, Indiana, but they both came to
Boone county when young
and were married here. The father was a minister in the Christian
church, but in later years
he studied medicine and is now a practicing physician in Indianapolis.
His wife died when
the future Judge was only three months of age, in the spring of
1879, so the lad was reared
on the farm of his grandfather, by his grandfather and grandmother,
remaining there until
he was fifteen years old. His grandmother died when he was ten
years of age and his
grandfather when he was eighteen years of age. He then became
a member of the
household of his uncle, Asa A. Maggard, whom he assisted in the
general work on his farm
meantime attending the district schools. During this period he
worked on a sawmill one
summer, when he was fourteen years of age, walking two and one-half
miles in the
morning and back home in the evening. After graduating from the
country schools in 1895
he entered the summer term in the Lebanon Normal, and in the fall
of 1896, when
seventeen years old, he began teaching school, which vocation
he followed five years,
giving satisfaction to all concerned. In the summer of 1897 he
attended the State Normal
at Terre Haute and in the summer of 1898 studied at the Marion
Normal, thereby
completing his literary education as far as schools were concerned,
but ambitious and
industrious he remained a close student and became a highly educated
man. In the summer
of 1898 he became a law student in the office of A.J. Shelby of
Lebanon and, making
rapid progress, was admitted to the bar of Boone county in April,
1900, and was
subsequently admitted to practice in all the state courts and
the federal court. He opened
an office and began practicing in Lebanon, April 10, 1901, in
partnership with Alva D.
Swope, under the firm name of Swope & Parr, which continued
only a few months,
however, our subject then forming a partnership with E.O. Rogers,
now mayor of
Lebanon. This partnership continued from February 1, 1902 until
Mr. Parr was elected
Judge of the Circuit Court in November, 1908, for a term of six
years, which expired
November 10, 1914, when he was elected to succeed himself for
another term. As an
attorney he had been successful from the first and built up an
extensive and lucrative
practice, taking a position in the front ranks of the local attorneys.
He is a member of the
Indiana State Bar Association.
Politically, Judge Parr is an uncompromising Democrat and has
been active and influential
in local political affairs since attaining his majority. In 1902
he was a candidate for the
nomination of prosecuting attorney, and after making a splendid
race was defeated by but
two votes in the convention. In 1904 he was nominated by acclamation
for representative
to the legislature and while he led his ticket in Boone county,
was defeated. He has always
been active in party organization, and has been a frequent delegate
to district and state
conventions. He received the nomination for Circuit Judge in 1908
by acclamation and led
his ticket in the following election, his majority being three
hundred and sixty-five, and he
assumed the duties of office November 10, 1908. As judge, Mr.
Parr more than met the
expectations of his friends and the public, and has so discharged
his duties of office as to
receive the hearty approval and warm commendation of the bar,
without regard to party.
He brought to the bench a dignity becoming the high position,
and in the line of duty, is
industrious, careful and singularly painstaking, which, combined
with his sterling honesty
and fearlessness of purpose, makes him one of the most popular
and efficient men ever
called to preside over the courts of this circuit. It is but just
to say and greatly to his credit
that no political prejudice, bias or zeal, was ever allowed to
deflect his mind from its honest
convictions, and while discharging his official functions, personal
ties and friendships, as
well as his own interests and opinions were lost sight of in his
conscientious efforts to
render equal and enact justice to those whose affairs were adjudicated
in his court. His
opinions and decisions attest his eminent fitness for judicial
positions, being always lucid,
unstrained and vigorous, his statements full and comprehensive,
and his analysis and
interpretations of the law conspicuous and complete.
Fraternally, Judge Parr is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the
Encampment, in fact, embracing all branches of Odd Fellowship.
He and his family are
members of the Methodist church.
The domestic life of Judge Parr began July 16, 1899, when he
led to the hymeneal alter a
lady of culture and refinement, known in her maidenhood as Carrie
B. Billingsly, a
daughter of Robert D. and Mary J. (Brenninger) Billingsly, a prominent
Boone county
family, a complete sketch appearing elsewhere in this work. Mr.
Billingsly, who is still
living, having been one of our pioneers. His wife departed this
life in 1896. Mrs. Parr
grew to womanhood in Boone county and received a good education
in the local schools.
The union of the Judge and wife has been blessed by the birth
of three children, living, and
two died in infancy, Virlie O. and the other unnamed; the surviving
are, Willett H., Jr.,
born March 18, 1903; Anna Belle, born August 1, 1908; and Ana
A., born November 2,
1910.
The Judge is a man of high Christian character and he is active
in church and Sunday
school work, a member of the official board and a teacher of the
men's Bible class.
BILLINGSLY BRENNINGER MAGGARD PARR ROGERS SHELBY SWOPE
Submitted by Amy K. Davis
