Dr. Adonijah Washington (A. W.) Parrish (1851-1928) purchased the Capt. Thomas Harris property in 1895. He had been practicing medicine in Queen City, Missouri, but now moved his family to Kirksville. This included his wife, Emma (Bartlett), and two sons, Victor and Bert.
As we learned in our previous episode, when the Harris mansion was only four years old, it was sold on May 6, 1879, by Thomas and Hester Harris to their daughter and son-in-law, Dr. John and Fannie Burton, who lived there until 1895.
It is believed that the two-story Italianate mansion at 101 E. Burton Street in Kirksville was completed in 1875. And, it is assumed that the Harris family moved into this home sometime in 1875, so let us look at who they were at that time. Captain Thomas Clark Harris was age 51 and ran what have been described as the Kirksville Woolen Mills, a flouring mill, and a store north of town.
The city of Kirksville s Historic Preservation Commission will hold a meeting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 201 S. Franklin Street.
During the Battle of Kirksville on August 6, 1862, the Union Army captured several Confederate prisoners. These were interrogated by Union Colonel John McNeil or some of his men who learned that 17 of the 47 captives had been paroled. This meant they had previously served in the Confederate Army and had been taken prisoner a first time by Union forces. They were paroled if they would swear an oath not to take up arms against the United States again. Since they had violated this oath by again serving as a Confederate soldier, they could be executed by firing squad.