William Parrish

This article is about the Canadian politician. For the fictional character, see Meet Joe Black.

William Parrish
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
In office 1914–1920
Personal details
Born	William Linton Parrish (1860-08-06)August 6, 1860 Vroomanton, Canada West
Died	February 20, 1949(1949-02-20) (aged 88) Winnipeg, Manitoba
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Annie Ellen Card ​ ​ (m. 1885;died 1938)​
Occupation	Grain merchant, politician

William Linton Parrish (August 6, 1860 ^[1] – February 20, 1949 ^[2] ) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1920 as a member of the Liberal Party.

Biography

Parrish was born in Vroomanton, Canada West (now Ontario), the son of Samuel Parrish and Jane Cash, and was educated at Uxbridge. He began work in the grain trade with his father and then, in 1879, moved to Huntsville where he operated a grist and flour mill. In 1881, Parrish moved to Manitoba and operated as a grain dealer in Brandon and then, later, in Winnipeg. In 1885, he married Annie Ellen Card. He was a member of Brandon town council for two years. Parrish also served as president of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. ^[1] In 1909, he co-founded the Parrish & Heimbecker grain company. ^[3] He was also the director of Fidelity Trust Co., Equitable Trust Co., Capital Loan Co. and Inland Mortgage Co. Parrish was an honorary captain and paymaster with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles, ^[4] and was a Methodist in religion.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1914 provincial election, ^[2] defeating Conservative Harry W. Whitlaw by 910 votes in the constituency of Winnipeg South "B". The Conservatives won this election, and Parrish sat with his party in opposition.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1915, the Conservative administration of Rodmond Roblin was forced to resign from office amid a corruption scandal. A new election was called, which the Liberals won in a landslide. ^[5] Parrish was easily re-elected in his constituency, defeating Conservative Lendrum McMeans ^[2] by 3,332 votes. He served as a backbench supporter of Tobias Norris's administration for the next five years.

Winnipeg's electoral boundaries were dramatically changed before the 1920 provincial election. The city became a single ten-member constituency, with members elected by a single transferable ballot. Parrish finished 17th on the first count with 945 votes, and was eliminated on the 28th count.^{[ citation needed ]}

William Parrish died in Winnipeg on February 20, 1949. ^[6]

References

1. Bryce, George (1906). Manitoba, its resources and people. pp. 393–94. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
2. "MLA Biographies - Deceased". Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014.
3. "William Bruce Parrish, LL.D., May 30, 1996". University of Manitoba. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
4. "William Linton Parrish (1860-1949)". Memorable Manitobans. Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
5. "Legislature Scandal". TimeLinks. Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
6. "William Parrish Dies in Winnipeg". Calgary Herald . Winnipeg. CP. February 22, 1949. p. 18. Retrieved July 17, 2020– via Newspapers.com.