Parry Family

Original Parry House

The Parry family came to Ohio in early 1833. They came from Pennsylvania on what must have been an impulse. Gibbons and Deborah did not come alone. The whole family came. James, the father, 56; Gibbon, 29; Deborah, his wife; Jane, 26; John, 24; and Ellen, 22. They first settled at Flushing in Belmont County where they lived for seven years. It was there that two children were born and died. In 1836, Ellen married J. Hamilton.

When government land was opened for sale in the Maumee Valley about 1840, Dr. Parry decided to come to the valley. First there was a preliminary visit by Gibbons and his brother, John, to look the ground over. They had one horse between them which they would use alternately. First one would ride the horse awhile then tied him to a tree and walk one. The one who had been walking would come along, take the horse, and repeat this operation. An important consideration, no doubt, was that this was "new country," and that a canal was just being built across northwestern Ohio along the Maumee River. They first moved to Independence in a single wagon bringing all their worldly goods with them. Dr. Gibbons doctored here for a while but Florida seemed to be a better location so they moved there.

In 1840, northwestern Ohio was covered with dense woods. Work on the canal was underway. A dam across the river and a set of locks were being constructed. There was a lot of enthusiasm about the coming of the canal because the canal joined local countrysides with world markets. The price of wheat went up from .25c per bushel to $1.00 and chickens from 5cr each to 25c. In 1846 the Miami-Erie Canal was built and ran from Defiance to Cincinnati. The two canals joined at Junction and went on to Lake Erie.

Among the friends of the Parrys were the John Lewis family. Their ties were very close as they also came from Pennsylvania. Miss Maggie Lewis is still living in Arizona with a niece and is 99 years old.

The first house built in Florida was a log cabin built in 1833. There were two stores which catered to the active canal boat trade. Several saloons, a blacksmith, a wagon maker, a shoemaker, a saw mill, and a grist mill of which Dr. Parry was a part owner, took care of the settlers needs.

Wagon House

1846 was the first year in which public lands could be purchased by the people in forty acre tracts. In 1847 Parry bought forty acres "on the bluff" one mile east of Florida. In 1848 he bought 120 acres which is part of the home farm up river about a mile west of Florida. Part of this land he bought from the State, some from the estate of Richard Grimes.

In 1851, when Gibbons and Deborah Parry were both in middle life, a son, the 16th child, was born to them. One at last survived. They named him George William Parry. He was born in Florida where the Parrys were keeping a tavern. In the year, 1853, the Miller children, Edward, 4, and Caroline, 8, lost both their parents and were taken to raise by the Parrys. It was this same year that Gibbon's father died.

Gibbons then moved to the home farm. The buildings of the farmstead were a log house, a log barn, pig pen, and a frame structure always called the wagon house. Their water came from a spring.

In 1860, Gibbons Parry built the new frame house on the farm. It was known as the largest and finest anywhere in the neighborhood. This was about the time the Confederacy threatened to fire on Ft. Sumter. If an attempt was made to bring in provisions, arrangements had been made at Florida that a flag would be run up. In order to watch for this flag, Gibbons kept looking out of a small trap door in the roof of the house. Of course obtaining lumber was no problem. The house was constructed with what is known as a plank house. This means that from the stone foundation to the eaves, three stories up, the walls are built solidly of boards lying flat one on top of the other. There are no hollow walls. In the attic are two large rooms where various young folks slept. There is a unique feature in the attic. A closet built under the slanting roof was used as a smoke house and subsequently has been used as a dark room to develop pictures. Another strange thing about the house is that it has a parlor on the second floor identical to the one on the first floor. The woodwork and decorated ceiling where chandeliers hung are the same. The room is still kept by the family.

The house is secluded by a growth of natural timber and a winding private drive leads along a spring fed ravine. At the turn of the lane stands a small white cottage where Edna Parry, the granddaughter of the first Dr. Gibbons Parry, spends her summer months. She calls the cottage "The Journey's End."

Parry Home 1975

Some may remember calling at the doctor's office. When the weather was too bad for either doctor to make a call with a team of mules and spring wagon, he rode horseback. This method of travel was resorted to by his son George. Due to calling on patients by horseback, the doctors had special saddlebags for medical supplies. Miss Edna Parry has her father's bags, still filled with bottles of medicine. Two other bags are stored in the attic. One of these she has donated to the Defiance County Historical Society. Dr. Parry received 504 for a house call and $6.00 to deliver a baby.

In 1860, Gibbons Parry operated a station of the "Underground Railroad" at the home farm.

Around 1865, George completed all the schooling he could get at Florida, so he was sent to Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

In 1871, Deborah Parry, wife of Gibbons Parry, died at the age of 65. The funeral was held at the old home and she was the first to be buried in the family cemetery which is located 500 feet south of the house along the ravine. It is overshadowed by large oak trees. The following people are buried there: Elizabeth Reynolds, 1871, sister of Deborah; Deborah Parry, 1871, wife of Gibbons; Dr. Gibbons Parry, 1890, husband of Deborah; Dr. George Parry, 1907, son of Deborah and Gibbons; Flora Parry, 1938, wife of George; William Parry, son of J. W. Parry, 1943; James Parry, 1949, son of George Parry; Blanch Parry, 1950, wife of J. W. Parry; Carl Parry, 1958, son of George Parry; Helen (Parry) Hyatt, 1967, daughter of George Parry.

The fields beside the cabin once held an Indian camp ground. Many arrowheads and hatchets were found there. Deer are seen bounding over the fields.

Early in 1871, along the western edge of the home farm and beside the road always called the "County Line Road," Gibbons Parry planted a long row of little evergreen trees which were destined to become something of a landmark. He bought the trees from a nursery at Stryker, Ohio.

The Parrys entertained a lot. People would arrive in spring wagons pulled by two mules. They would put the mules in the barn and after dinnerthey would sit and talk. About this time, Gibbons and his son, George, made a trip by horseback to Chester County to visit relatives. From there they went on to Philadelphia to the Centennial which was commonly known as the first World Fair in 1876.

In 1880, George Parry met Flora Halter of Napoleon while she was visiting friends in Florida. He soon began calling on her. Flora lived with her mother. Her father had died in 1864. Flora's grandparents came from France in 1825. Their passage across the ocean was made in a sailing vessel and took 7 weeks. They landed in Philadelphia and came to Henry County. In 1860 Mr. Halter had a saw mill. They bought a house at the corner of Scott and Washington Streets in Napoleon. When Flora's father died in 1864, he was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery and a reference to his war service record is carved on his gravestone. Mrs. Halter was left with three children, Joe, Frank, and Flora. She went into the business of dressmaking to support them and Flora managed to graduate from Napoleon High School in 1876 and became a school teacher.

George Parry was now practicing medicine and would come in a buggy to call on Flora on Sunday afternoon hitching his horse to a stake in front of her home. They were married in 1880.

George and Flora Parry set up housekeeping in a small house in Florida where he continued to practice medicine. His average earning was $600.00 per year. Dr. Gibbons Parry died in 1890 at the age of 86. The funeral was held at the farm home in the large room and under the evergreen tree. A few remarks were made by a family friend. The Parrys were not a religious family but lived a very clean life. After they moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, they joined the Unitarian Church.

About six months after Gibbons died, George Parry and his family moved to the home farm. They were blessed with four children: Carl; William; and twin girls, Helen and Edna. They did their trading in Florida and occasionally would go to Napoleon where they would have dinner at a restaurant. A meal then cost 254. Their neighbors were Bessie and Alta King and the Dick Helmke family. There were many apple trees on the farm and these were sold for $1.00 per bushel.

In 1889, Dr. George Parry and hisfamily moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to educate his children. All of the children and grandchildren have been graduates of the University of Michigan. At the time Edna Parry attended, the tuition was just $30.00 a semester.

When Dr. Parry left the farm, it was rented to Jacob Overly who was succeeded as tenant by his daughter, Juanita and her husband, Leroy Myers who remained on the Parry farm until Mr. Myers health forced his retirement and they moved to Florida. The farm is now tenanted by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Farison.

Carl Parry never married. He was the Chief of the Department of Security in Washington, D.C.

Will Parry taught school and was City Manager of Birmingham, Michigan. At the time of his death, he was Personnel Manager for General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. He married Blance Amerland in 1886 and they had three children: Donald; William; and Deborah.

Helen Parry was a teacher. She married Lloyd Hyatt and had two children - Edna Gene and Phillip. They live in Canton, Ohio.

Edna Parry was a school teacher. She did a lot of traveling. Her hobby was birds. She is still living in Ann Arbor and when her health permits, she spends the summer months at her cottage on the farm which she considers a haven and retreat that is most refreshing in this busy rushing world.

Submitted by Mrs. Leroy Myers