The Cock-Lane Ghost was a hoax conducted by William Parsons, his wife, daughter and a female ventriloquist during 1760 and 1761 at number 33 Cock- lane, London. In the house, unaccountable noises were heard and a number of persons declared to have seen a ghost. To spite a previous lodger, Kemt, the owner of the house claimed the ghost was a lady poisoned by Kemt. The truth was discovered and the parents were condemned to the pillory and two years imprisonment in 1762. Research Cock-Lane Ghost
The Haymarket Massacre was an Anarchist riot in Chicago, USA. The troubles originated in labour troubles which culminated in an open-air meeting in Haymarket Square, Chicago on May the 4th, 1886. Violent speeches were made by the Anarchists Spies, Parsons and Fielden. A bomb was thrown among the police, causing great loss of life. Spies, Parsons, Fischer, Engel, Schwab, Lingg and Neebe were arrested and tried. The first four were hanged on November 11, 1887. Fielden and Schwab were imprisoned for life. Lingg committed suicide. Governor Altgeld, of Illinois, pardoned Fielden and Schwab in 1893. Research Haymarket Massacre
The Parsons' Case was a celebrated American legal case won by Patrick Henry in the November session of the Court of Hanover County, Virginia, in 1763. This case involved the constitutionality of the 'option law' or 'two penny act', passed by the Virginia Legislature in 1758. The operation of this act affected each parish minister, compelling him to receive the value of the 16,000 pounds of tobacco, due for his year's services, in paper money of the colony, amounting to 133 pounds instead of 400 pounds sterling, the selling value of the tobacco. The clergy appealed to the crown. The crown disallowed (vetoed) the law. Under this disallowance the Reverend James Maury having sued for damages, the court squarely adjudged the act to be no law, and decided for the plaintiff. A new trial was allowed on a demurrer, and Patrick Henry was retained a counsel for the defendant. His eloquence induced the jury, a picked jury, to return one penny damages for the plaintiff. Patrick Henry's success in the case made him an instant celebrity in America. Research Parsons' Case
A Parsons table is a square or rectangular table with straight, square legs of the same width as the top is thick, the legs extending from the corners of the top flush with the edges so as to appear jointless. Research Parsons Table
Essex Junto was the name applied first by John Hancock in 1781 to a group of leaders of Essex County, Massachusetts, and their adherents. They were upholders of the commercial interests of the country, and desired a stronger Federal Government. Upon the development of the Federal party they at once fell in line and were extreme members of that party. President Adams accused them of trying to force a war with France in 1798-99, and thus they acquired a national reputation. During the embargo period the name became a synonym for New England Federalism. Among its number were Fisher Ames, Cabot, the Lowells, Pickering, Theophilus Parsons, Higginson and Benjamin Goodhue. Research Essex Junto
Samuel H Parsons was an American politician. He was born in 1737 and died in 1789. He was a member of the Connecticut Assembly from 1762 to 1780. He planned the capture of Ticonderoga in 1775. He fought at Long Island in 1776, and commanded a brigade at White Plains and the troops at New YorkHighlands from 1778 until 1779. He succeeded General Israel Putnam in command of the Connecticut line in 1780. He had an important part in the forming of the Ohio Company, the securing of the Ordinance for the Government of the Northwest Territory and the early settlement of Ohio. Research Samuel Parsons
Theophilus Parsons was an American jurist. He was born in 1750 and died in 1813. He was educated at Harvard, and rose to the leading position among the lawyers of Massachusetts. He was a member of the famous Essex Junto. He was foremost among the Federalists. in the Ratifying Convention of 1788. Aside from service in the State Legislature he held no further political office. He was Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court from 1806 until his death. Research Theophilus Parsons
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Cock-Lane Ghost
