Background
Parrish, William Earl was born on April 7, 1931 in Garden City, Kansas, United States. Son of Earl Milton and Anna Maye (Stoker) Parrish.
("Part sourthern, part northern, and wholly western, Misso...)
"Part sourthern, part northern, and wholly western, Missouri symbolized the border. From the inception of the compromise that bore its name until the Civil War, the state was a battle ground with the abolition or extension of slavery the issue, and its travial was, in microcosm, the agony of the Union. David Rice Atchison was the leader of the proslavery forces. Though he fell short of heroic stature in an age of giants, his influence was in many respects greater than that of contemporaries who played larger roles. He possessed all the qualities that usually insure political success, but as Mr. Parrish shows in this biography, the circumstances of time and place condemned him to second rank."--American Historical Review.
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Parrish, William Earl was born on April 7, 1931 in Garden City, Kansas, United States. Son of Earl Milton and Anna Maye (Stoker) Parrish.
Bachelor of Science with honors, Kansas State University, 1952. Master of Arts in History, University Missouri, 1953. Doctor of Philosophy in History, University Missouri, 1955.
Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Westminster College, 2001.
Assistant professor to Harry S. Truman professor in American history, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, 1955-1978; dean of college, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, 1973-1975; professor of history, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, 1978-1996; head department history, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, 1978-1985; professor emeritus, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, since 1996.
("Part sourthern, part northern, and wholly western, Misso...)
(Explores the role of Missouri in the Civil War.)
Member Missouri Advisory Council on History Preservation, 1967-1978. Chairman Missouri American Revolution Bicentennial Committee, 1974-1977. National advisory board Society of Civil War Historians, 1986-1997.
Member State History Records Advisory Board, 1980-1995. Member Organization American Historians, Southern History Association, National Trust History Preservation, Mississippi History Society (president 1995-1996), State History Society Missouri (life), Rotary, Phi Alpha Theta (international president 1985-1987), Phi Gamma Delta (historian since 1989, Distinguished Service award 1998).
Married Ellen Kaye Vickers, June 14, 1959 (divorced 1971). Married Helen Sue Lewis Stoppel, June 2, 1972. Children: Elizabeth Ann, William Lewis.