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• History of the Bench and Bar of California, edited by Joseph Clement Bates
• A Twist of Lemon, by Rosalie Schwartz
• My Parker Family and Those Allied To It tree on Ancestry

Updates & Corrections:

24 May 2014: File established

1. William Joseph Parrot Sr. was born in Paris, France.

William married Jane Anderson. Jane was born in New Jersey.

The child from this marriage was:

+ 2 M    i. William Joseph Parrot Jr. was born on 20 Oct 1839 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania and died on 13 Jul 1912 in Boxford, Essex Co., Massachusetts at age 72.

2. William Joseph Parrot Jr. (William Joseph Sr.¹) was born on 20 Oct 1839 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania and died on 13 Jul 1912 in Boxford, Essex Co., Massachusetts at age 72.

General Notes: 1880 census- William J Parrott, Arlington, Middlesex Co., MA.

Birth place taken from his death certificate (which lists his birth day as 8 Oct 1836).

Kent Kane Parrott gives his father's birth place as France in the 1910 census and as New Jersey in the 1920 and 1930 ones.

William J listed his birthplace as PA in his Mason card; as New Orleans and then as Philadelphia while a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. The 1880 census has him as being b in Pennsylvania.

William married Georgette Gray Grubb on 22 Oct 1905. Georgette was born in 1847 in Pennsylvania.

Children from this marriage were:

   3 F    i. Josephine D. Parrot was born in 1863 in New Jersey and died on 3 Oct 1921 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire at age 58.

Josephine married Alex Churchward.

   4 F    ii. Katie M. Parrot was born in 1865 in New Jersey.

   5 F    iii. Virginia Parrot was born in 1867 in Pennsylvania.

+ 6 M    iv. William J. Parrot III was born in 1871 in Michigan and died in 1952 in Brockton, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts at age 81.

   7 M    v. Charles Francis Parrot was born in 1873 in Michigan and died on 6 Sep 1942 in Portarlington, Victoria, Australia at age 69.

Charles married Lydia Louisa Wheadon. Lydia was born on 20 Jul 1880 in Bellarine East, Victoria, Australia and died on 11 Dec 1918 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia at age 38.

Charles next married Fanny Matilda Wheadon. Fanny was born in 1876 in Bellarine East, Victoria, Australia and died in 1945 in Portarlington, Victoria, Australia at age 69.

   8 M    vi. Louis H. Parrot was born in 1876 in Pontiac, Oakland Co., Michigan and died on 10 Mar 1961 in Great Pond, Hancock Co., Maine at age 85.

Louis married Eva C. Wilder on 21 Jan 1899 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. Eva was born in 1878 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts.

Louis next married Harriett W. Wilson in Apr 1906 in Portland, Cumberland Co., Maine. Harriett was born in 1873.

Louis next married Frances W. Rabbe on 30 Sep 1928 in Maine. Another name for Frances was Frances W. Roddy.

+ 9 M    vii. Edward Gray Parrot was born in 1879 in Arlington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.

+ 10 M    viii. Kent Kane Parrot Sr. was born on 22 May 1881 in Kennebunkport, York Co., Maine and died on 11 Mar 1956 in Monticeto, Santa Barbara Co., California at age 74.

6. William J. Parrot III (William Joseph Jr.², William Joseph Sr.¹) was born in 1871 in Michigan and died in 1952 in Brockton, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts at age 81.

William married Ruth Lawrence. Ruth was born on 8 Jun 1892 in Massachusetts and died in Nov 1969 in Massachusetts at age 77.

Children from this marriage were:

   11 F    i. Kathleen Parrot was born on 16 Jan 1916 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., Pennsylvania.

Kathleen married Stephen Mark Rogers on 27 Apr 1938 in Seabrook, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire. Stephen was born in 1913.

+ 12 M    ii. Scott Parrot was born on 21 Aug 1922 in Montclair, Essex Co., New Jersey and died on 4 Jan 2013 in Vero Beach, Indian River Co., Florida at age 90.

9. Edward Gray Parrot (William Joseph Jr.², William Joseph Sr.¹) was born in 1879 in Arlington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.

Edward married Mary C. Mary was born in 1890 in New Mexico.

Edward next married Agatha M. Pickhardt on 22 Jun 1910 in Westwood, Norfolk Co., Massachisetts. Agatha was born in 1883 in Riversville, Fairfield Co., Connecticut.

10. Kent Kane Parrot Sr. (William Joseph Jr.², William Joseph Sr.¹) was born on 22 May 1881 in Kennebunkport, York Co., Maine and died on 11 Mar 1956 in Monticeto, Santa Barbara Co., California at age 74.

General Notes: From: History of the Bench and Bar of California, edited by Joseph Clement Bates.

"Residence, 2302 Juliet Street; office, 502 Exchange Building, Los Angeles. Born at Kennebunkport, Maine, May 22, 1880. Son of William Joseph and Georgette Gray (Grubb) Parrot. Married October 22, 1905, to Mary Alsop. Received early education in common schools of Boston, later entering Phillip's Exeter Academy, at Exeter, New Hampshire. Attended Bridgton Academy, Bridgton, Maine. In 1907 he moved to California, and entered the University of Southern California, College of Law, receiving degree of L.L.B. Admitted to the bar of California in 1909, engaging in the practice of his profession in partnership with F.C. Fairbanks, under the firm name of Fairbanks & Parrot, until 1910, when partnership was formed and continues to date under the firm name of Porter, Morgan & Parrot. Member of Los Angeles Bar Association. Republican."


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Article culled by Pat Parker from Metropolitan News Company; PERSPECTIVES (Column) "District Attorney's Criminal Action Against Supervisors Fizzles" By ROGER M. GRAC, and posted on Ancestry.

An editorial in the Dec. 9, 1926 issue of The Los Angeles Times links the prosecution of the supervisors ( Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors) to efforts by a political power broker at the city level, Kent Kane Parrot, and others, to extend their influence to the county level, with a further ambition to control state politics. The editorial says that it was "a matter for regret and astonishment that the District Attorney's office should have lent itself to this conspiracy to the extent of sponsoring against the county's highest officials felony charges so flimsy and unsupported that they were summarily thrown out of court before they had advanced beyond the stage of a preliminary hearing."

Retired Los Angeles Police Department investigator Steve Hodel, in his 2003 book, "Black Dahlia Avenger," refers to Parrot as "early L.A.'s least familiar but most powerful syndicate boss." He recites:

" Kane Kent Parrot arrived in Los Angeles to attend law school at the University of Southern California in 1907....He was a big man, six foot two, and possessed a magnetic personality. He obtained his law degree and was admitted to the state bar."
Hodel goes on to say:

" By 1924, Kent Parrot had become the power behind the throne in Los Angeles municipal politics. In the 1921 race for mayor, he successfully selected and got elected George Cryer, who became known as 'Parrot's Puppet,' at which point Parrot quickly aligned himself with Los Angeles's vice lords, including the young bootlegging czar Tony Cornero. Parrot, while publicly discreet in his dealings with the underworld, would entertain its members and broker relationships among them at his private apartment at the city's newest and finest downtown hotel, the Biltmore...."

Whether some of Parrot's underworld connections had ties to Keyes is unknown, but it is known that Parrot supported Keyes, and there was suspected bribe-taking on Keyes' part aside from the particular instance that eventually resulted in his conviction.
A May 1, 1927, reflection in the Times on the 1924 contest for the district attorney's post says that a challenge to Keyes by a Police Court judge was rendered "almost hopeless as Keyes had formed an alliance with the Parrot city machine."

In "Metropolis in the Making: Los Angeles in the 1920s" (2001), Tom Sitton and William Francis Deverell remark: "In late 1926, Parrot tried to branch out into county and state politics. He had little success at the county level, as he could count on the support of only one of the five supervisors and the district attorney."

Parrot lost the latter contact when Keyes left office in 1928. In January, 1929, Parrot had a parting of ways with Cryer after the mayor elevated the status of his secretary, H.H. Kinney. He soon after broke with the governor, C.C. Young, and was out of politics.
A March 24, 1956 obituary in the Times begins:
" A former Los Angeles political figure, Atty. Kent Parrot, once described as 'the man who brought machine politics to Los Angeles," died March 11 at the age of 73 in his Monetecito home, it was learned here yesterday."

The article alluded to a woman who divorced Parrot in 1929 as his "first wife." Actually, his first wife was a third cousin of his whom he married in 1905. She was Mary O'Hara, author of "My Friend Flicka."

============
The City Hall Gang

http://www.geocities.ws/jiggy2000_us/1syndicate.html

"A native of Kennebunkport, Maine. Kent Kane Parrot arrived in Los Angeles in 1907 and enrolled in the University of Southern California. A star on the U.S.C. fottball team, Kent was also one of Judge Gavin Craig's most promising law students. Parrot completed his education earning a law degree as a member of the graduating class of 1909. Parrot joined the social reform minded progressive political organization headed by E.T. Earl. Earl's boys as they came to be known included Vincent Morgan, Parrot's law partner and Earl's hand-picked candidate for county district attorney in 1914. George E. Cryer who ran unsuccessfully for city attorney in 1914 later to be elected mayor (1921) thanks in large parat to Kent's efforts. Following the death of E.T. Earl (1918) Kent aligned himself with Judge Gavin W. Craig's political apparatus. While running errands for his mentor, tutor and friend, Kent began laying the ground work for the organization which would lead the Los Angeles Times to label him the puppet master long before Artie Samish earned the same moniker."

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From A Twist of Lemon, by Rosalie Schwartz

P 238: "Kent Parrot (silent t as in the original French, he insisted)…

P 239: "His most famous forebear had bequeathed him his name, Kent Kane. The Kane family, his mother's, was old Philadelphia and boasted a Pennsylvania attorney general and a federal judge.
"Georgette Kane and William Parrot, his mother and father, simply may have run out of imagination by the time their tenth child came along, but his lofty given name, Elisha Kent Kane Parrot, carried a significant promise. Great uncle Elisha, physician and outdoorsman, had

P 240: "sailed with the Navy, joined Arctic expeditions, and published popular accounts of his polar adventures.

"Kent Parrot had dropped his uncle's first name but cherished Elisha's love of the outdoors. They never had the chance to explore the woods together. Elisha had died in Havana, Cuba, decades before young Kent paddled his first canoe through New England's streams, thriving on fresh-killed fish and game.

"Parrot had pursued a passion for motor cars as well as canoes. In 1904, the attractive young man with the athletic physique, intense blue eyes and dark hair, had earned his living buying and selling used cars in New York City. Survival skills honed in the forest served his needs in the city as well.

"Like an arrow aimed and unswerving, he had wooed and won the hand of his third cousin, Mary O'Hara, despite the misgivings of her cautious Episcopalian minister father. The couple had lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while he studied law and used his car-salesman personality to cultivate people in the legal field.

"By Christmas, 1908, the Kent Parrots, now a family of three, had settled in Los Angeles. Mary set up house in a family hotel located along the tram line to the University of Southern California. Parrot completed his law studies and passed the California bar. He bartered his first legal commission for a red roadster appropriate to his newly adopted country club lifestyle: tennis, golf, and Saturday night dinner-dances with Mary.

P 241: "Time passed. Intense ambition increasingly kept him away from home, even while Mary nurtured their second child. The couple grew apart and then divorced."

====================

Kent married Mary O'Hara Alsop on 22 Oct 1905. The marriage ended in divorce in 1915. Mary was born on 10 Jul 1885 in Cape May Point, Cape May Co., New Jersey and died on 14 Oct 1980 in Chevy Chase, Montgomery Co., Maryland at age 95.

Children from this marriage were:

   13 F    i. Mary O'Hara Parrot was born on 12 Oct 1908 in New York and died on 22 Jul 1945 in Ventura, Ventura Co., California at age 36.

   14 M    ii. Kent Kane Parrot Jr. was born on 4 Jun 1911 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., California and died on 28 Apr 1995 in Chevy Chase, Montgomery Co., Maryland at age 83.

General Notes: From the Westpoint 1935 Howitzer Yearbook, p 183

Kent Parrot, always serence and unruffled, has steered his course through the tempest of the last four years with the same likeable composure. Endowed with a Barrymore profile reinforced with an aristocratic bearing that actually seems genuine, he as striven with a considerable degree of success to capitalize upon these assets; yet neither the admiration of his classmates nor the adulation of his feminine admirers has given rise to the conceit that might logically develop under such circumstances. That a debating society has been added to the list of cadet activities is traceable directly to his efforts. Kent has thus left a constructive and useful contribution to succeeding classes.

Football (4-3-2); Swimming (4); Boxing (2-1); Track (3-2-1); Hundredth Night Show (2); Debating Club (2-1); Chairman (1); Glee Club (2-1); Ring Committee (2-1); Rifle Expert; Pistol Expert.

Kent next married Virginia B. Pierce. The marriage ended in divorce on 19 Feb 1929.

12. Scott Parrot (William J. III³, William Joseph Jr.², William Joseph Sr.¹) was born on 21 Aug 1922 in Montclair, Essex Co., New Jersey and died on 4 Jan 2013 in Vero Beach, Indian River Co., Florida at age 90.

Scott married Nora Teresa "Nonie" O'Hara on 1 Sep 1945 in Brighton, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts. Nora was born on 13 May 1925 in Brighton, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts and died on 23 Jan 1990 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts at age 64.

The child from this marriage was:

   15 F    i. Heidi Ruth Parrot was born on 24 Jun 1949 in Massachusetts and died on 24 Oct 1987 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts at age 38.

Scott next married Eleanor Polk Stover. Eleanor was born on 21 Mar 1927 in Easton, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania and died on 27 Jan 2004 in Vero Beach, Indian River Co., Florida at age 76.