Honorable Isaac Parsons | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the Hampshire County district | |
| In office 1854–1857 Serving with Jesse Lupton Asa Hiett | |
| Preceded by | James Allen Thomas B. White |
| Succeeded by | Robert Massey Powell Hugh Parrill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 7, 1814 Hampshire County, West Virginia (now West Virginia) |
| Died | April 24, 1862 (aged 48) Grassy Lick Run, Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia) |
| Resting place | Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, West Virginia, United States |
| Spouse | Susan Blue Parsons |
| Relations | James Gregg Parsons (father) Mary Catherine Casey (mother) Isaac Parsons (grandfather) William Foreman (great-grandfather) Edna Brady Cornwell (granddaughter) |
| Children | Catherine E. Parsons Isaac Parsons, Jr. Sarah Louise Parsons Brady James Donaldson Parsons Mary Susan Parsons Pancake Virginia B. Parsons Arnold Garrett Williams Parsons Burr A. Parsons Edith Parsons Waddle |
| Residence(s) | Wappocomo, Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia), United States |
| Profession | Planter, politician, and military officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Branch/service |  Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1862 (CSA) |
| Rank | &sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Confederate_States_of_America_Colonel.png){kind=small} Colonel |
| Unit | Huckleberry Rangers Company K 13th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Isaac Parsons (January 7, 1814 – April 24, 1862) was an American planter, politician, and military officer in the U.S. state of Virginia (now West Virginia). Parsons served as a Justice of the Peace of Hampshire County's District 3 from 1852 to 1853. He later served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1854 until 1857. Parsons was the grandson of Virginia House Delegate Isaac Parsons (1752–1796), the great-grandson of Colonial Virginia military officer William Foreman (died 1777), and the grandfather of First Lady of West Virginia, Edna Brady Cornwell (1868–1958).
Parsons inherited his family's Wappocomo plantation north of Romney. In 1855, fugitive slave Jacob Green escaped from Parsons' Wappocomo plantation to Pennsylvania along with several other slaves. Parsons and his nephews went north to pursue the escapees, resulting in the arrest of his nephew, James "Zip" Parsons III (1831–1893). The arrest and trial of Parsons' nephew caused a dispute between the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania over the latter's refusal to execute the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Following the trial, a dispute ensued between Parsons and Charles James Faulkner over legal fees in 1857. At the time of the dispute, Faulkner was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia's 8th congressional district. Parsons declared that Faulkner had originally offered his legal services at no cost during his nephew's trial.
Following the onset of the American Civil War, Parsons served on Hampshire County's "committee for safety". Parsons received permission to raise an independent company of mounted infantry to provide defense along the border. He served as a military officer in the Huckleberry Rangers and Company K of the 13th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Confederate States Army. Parsons died of natural causes following a skirmish with Union Army cavalry at Grassy Lick Run in 1862.