THE NAME AND FAMILY OF PARR,
compiled by
THE MEDIA RESEARCH BUREAU, Washington, D.C.
The name of PARR is derived from the residence of its first bearers at a place so called, the township of Parr, in the parish of Prescot, County Lancaster, England. Some historians have suggested that it was originally a corruption of the baptismal name of Pierre, the French form of Peter, but the first theory is borne out by family records and tradition. In ancient records the name appears in the various forms of Par and Parre, as well as in the now generally used spelling of Parr.
     Early seated in the English Counties of Lancaster, Chester, Leicester, Northampton, Westmoreland, Devon, Salop, and Survey, as well as in the city and vicinity of London, the family belonged, in large part, to the landed gentry and nobility of Great Britain.
     The earliest definite records of the name in England include those of Henry de Par, who was living at Parr, in the County of Lancaster, as early as 1216; those of another Henry de Par, of the same place, in 1318; those of Richard de Par of Lancashire in 1338; those of Alan de Par of Lancashire during the reign of Edward III (circa 1327-1377); and those of Sir John de Parre who was living at Parr, County Lancaster about 1350.
     The last mentioned Sir John married Matilda, daughter of Sir Richard de Leyborne and was the father by her of a son, Sir William de Parre who resided at Kendal, County Westmoreland and died 1405. By his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John de Ros or Ross, Sir William was the father of John Parre of Kendal who was twenty-two years of age in that year. This John married Agnes, daughter of Sir Thomas Crophull and widow of Sir Walter Devereux, and had issue by her of a son, Sir Thomas, who married Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Tunstall of Lancaster and was the father by her of Sir William, Sir John, Thomas, Margaret, Anne, Elizabeth, Agnes, Maud, and Eleanor Parre or Parr.
     Sir William, eldest of the last mentioned brothers was Sheriff of Cumberland in 1473 and Member of Parliament for Westmoreland County at slightly later dates. His first wife, Joan Trusbet, died without issue; but by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Henry, Lord Fitzhugh, Sir William was the father of Sir Thomas, Sir William, John and Anne Parr. Of these, Sir Thomas held the offices of Master of the Wards and Comptroller to Henry VIII and was Sheriff of Northampton in 1509 and of Lincoln in 1510. By his wife Maud, daughter of Sir Thomas Greene of Northamptonshire, he was the father of William, Anne and Katherine, of whom the daughter Anne married William Herbert, Earl Pemborke. And Katherine was married four times, her first husband being Edward Borough; the second John Neville, Lord Latimer, the third, King Henry VIII of England; and fourth Thomas, Lord Seymour. William, the only son of Sir Thomas and Maud, was Esquire of the Body of Henry VIII and was created Baron Parr of Kendal, Earl of Essex and Marquess of Northampton.
     Sir William Parr, second son of Sir William and Elizabeth (nee Fitzhugh), was created Baron Parr of Horton, County Northampton in 1543. He married Mary, daughter of Sir William Salisbury, but left only female issue, his daughters being Maud, Anne, Elizabeth, and Mary.
     Another branch of the family in Lancashire was represented about 1420 by Richard Parre or Parr, of Kemporoughe who married Helene, daughter and heir of Richard Worceley of the same place. Their son, Olyver or Oliver, married Emme, daughter of Henry Tuthill and had issue by her of Richard who left issue by his wife Emme, daughter of Roger Hulton of another Richard who married Elizabeth, daughter of John Travers and had issue by her of two sons, Hugh and Oliver. Of these, Hugh left issue by his wife Constance, daughter of Thomas Tyldesley of Thurston and Oliver Parr, of whom the first was the father by his wife Margaret Radcliffe of at least one son named John.
     One John Parre or Parr of Cheshire was married about the middle of the fifteenth century to Ellen, daughter of Richard de Radcliffe. Their children were John, Thomas, Richard and six daughters. Of the sons, John died without issue while Thomas was the father by his wife Margery of a son named William, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Barrow. This William was the father of Robert, who first married Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Rogers of Chester and later married Eleanor, daughter of Robert Langton of Lancaster. Richard, the other son of John and Ellen (nee Radcliffe) had a son named Randolph who was the father of Thomas, the father of John and Thomas Parre or Parr of Cheshire.
     Another early line of the family in England was that of the Reverend Robert Parr of Pembroke College, Oxford, who was Rector of Kirkby Malory in 1660. By his wife Mary, he was the father of Samuel, Robert and John of whom the first two both followed the ministry. The first, the Reverend Samuel Parr, was Vicar of Hinckley in Leicestershire, in 1701 and left issue there by his wife, Dorothy Brokesby of Robert, Francis, Samuel and Dorothy.
     The first of the name in America was Robert Parr, who was living in 1623 in Charles River County, VA. Nothing, however, is definitely known of his immediate family or descendants.
     Other early records of the family in Virginia include those of Margery Parr, who was living in Charles City County in 1636; those of Margaret Parr, of Charles City County in 1637; those of Edward Parr of York County in 1649; those of Thomas Parr of York County in 1651; those of Mary Parr of Lancaster County in 1653; and possibly Anthony "Parrs" of Gloucester County in 1653. Any or all these may have been related to the before-mentioned immigrant Robert but the exact relationship is not in evidence.
     In early New England, records are found the names of Abel Parr who was living in Boston, Mass. before 1641 and became a "freeman" in that year; Samuel Parr who was living at Salem, Mass. in 1665; and James Parr who was a member of the Massachusetts militia at a slightly later date. The records of these families are, however, only fragmentary.
     About 1750 one William Parr, a tailor from London to America and settled at Williamsburg, VA. Possibly it was this William Parr who is listed among the Essex County, Virginia Presbyterians in 1758, but his family records were not in evidence.
     Among the numerous descendants of the early Virginia families who served in the Revolutionary War was James Parr who died in 1821 leaving issue of Bolling, Mary, Williamson, Elizabeth and James of Greensville County.
     Another who served with the Virginia Revolutionary forces was Jonathan Parr whose son, Moses Parr, made his home in Richmond, Virginia and later moved to Tennessee. Moses married Mary Terrell by whom he was the father of Thomas Jefferson and Elizabeth Parr. From this line were descended the Tennessee and Texas families of the name.
     Many of the Parrs have come to America in comparatively recent years. These include Joseph Parr who was one of the survivors of the Battle of Waterloo, having served under Napoleon Bonaparte. He immigrated in 1820 to Kentucky and settled in Kenton County. By his wife Mary, he was the father of Captain Daniel G. Parr of Louisville, Kentucky.
     Of high intellect and often of a scholarly turn of mine, the Parrs in America have been particularly outstanding as scientists, authors, and educators and a natural shrewdness, coupled with considerable executive ability have made some members of the family successful in the fields of business enterprise.
     Besides the Parrs already mentioned, the Virginia Revolutionary forces included George, John, Thomas and William Parr. And among the others of the name who served the Colonies in their fight for freedom were Jacob, Joseph, Philip or Phillip Jacob, William, Zephaniah, and Major James Parr of Pennsylvania; Benjamin, Jesse, John, Mathias and Thomas Parr of New Jersey; and Henry Parr of Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Henry, John, Thomas, William, Richard, Samuel, Robert, Joseph and Jacob are some of the Christian names most often used by the family for its male progeny.

     Of the members of the family who have been prominent in America in comparatively recent years, the following are considered representative:

  • George Parr (19th century) of New York, chemist and author.
  • Henry A. Parr (latter 19th and early 20th centuries) of Maryland; merchant, banker and business president.
  • Louisa Taylor Parr (d. 1903) of New York, novelist.
  • Samuel Wilson Parr (1857-1931) of Illinois; chemist, author and educator
  • Margaret Sands Parr (b. 1858) of Mass.; author and compiler.
  • Walter Rovinson Parr (b. 1871) of Mass.; writer.
  • Henry Lakin Parr (1872-1931) of South Carolina; business man.
     An ancient coat of arms of the English family of Parr is described in heraldic terms as follows (Burke, Encyclopaedia of Heraldry. 1944):
     ARMS. -- "Argent, two bars azure, a bordure engrailed sable."
     CREST. -- "A female's head couped below the shoulders, habited azure, on her head a wreath of roses (alternately argent and gules)."

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bardsley. English and Welsh Surnames. 1901
Nichols. Topographer and Genealogist. Vol 3 1858
Banks. Dormant and extinct Baronage of England. 1807, 1809
Baker. History of Northampton. Vol 2 1836-1841
The Chetham Society. Visitation of Lancaster. 1870
Ormerod. History of the County and City of Chester. Vol 2 1882
Harleian Society. Cheshire Visitation. 1882
Burke. Encyclopaedia of Heraldry. 1844
Burke. Landed Gentry. 1875
Burke. Patrician. Vol 3 1847
Nichols. History of Leicester. Vol 4 1811
Greer. Early Virginia Immigrants. 1912
Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Vol 5 1897-1898
Savage. Genealogical Dictionary of New England 1861
William and Mary Quarterly. 1903-1904
Burgess. Virginia Soldiers of 1776. Vol 3. 1929
Central and Western Texas. Vol 2. 1911
Johnston. History of Louisville. Vol 1 1896
Gwathmey. Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution. 1838
Pennsylvania Muster Rolls. 1907
Heitman. Officers of the Continental Army. 1914
New Jersey in the Revolution. 1872
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. 1903
Herringshaw. American Biography. Vol 4. 1914


 
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