NATHAN PARKINS

NATHAN PARKINS, one of the leading members of the Lauderdale bar, was born of Quaker ancestry, in Augusta county, Va., June 20, 1865. He is the son of John H. and Ella (Moorman) Parkins. John H. Parkins is a native of Virginia, born January 15, 1830, in Winchester, Frederick county. He is the son of Nathan Parkins, who was also a Virginian. The wife of John H. Parkins was born in Lynchburg, Va., April 29, 1843, and is the daughter of Thomas Terrell Moorman, a native of Lynchburg, Va. John H. Parkins was born and reared at the home of his father, "The Old Stone Mill," near Winchester, a locality well known to the soldiers of the late war. He received a common school education. He served in the war at first with Gen. Garnett's brigade, and later with Gen. Early. Since the war he has followed farming, manufacturing and contracting. He has served his state in various offices of trust and honor, among which offices were those of member of the board of directors of the State Insane asylum at Staunton, and State Director of the Winchester and Staunton turnpike. He is now residing on his farm at Fort defiance, Augusta county, VA., where he is highly honored and esteemed as a citizen. Nathan Parkins is the eldest of eight children. He was reared on his father's farm at Fort Defiance, Va., and was given a liberal education. When eleven years of age he entered the Augusta Classical and military academy, and graduated from that institution when in his eighteenth year. He then entered the university of Virginia, attending during the sessions of 1883 and 1884, graduating in Latin, French, and German. After leaving the university he taught school at Williamsville, Va., one year, and then spent two years on the farm. Returning to the university of Virginia, during the sessions of 1887 and 1888, he took the course in law, and was admitted to the bar in Staunton, Va., June 25, 1888. After a brief practice in Staunton he removed to Florence, Ala., in October of the same year. He was admitted to the bar October 30, 1888, and at once began the practice of his profession at Florence. Since that time he has been admitted to practice in the state, supreme, and federal courts. Though Mr. Parkins' residence in Florence has been comparatively brief, he has taken rank as one of the most prominent members of the bar of northern Alabama. Politically, Mr. Parkins is a republican. He is of whig ancestry, his father and grandfather having been members of that grand old party while it existed. He is liberal in his views and not by any means a partisan in the strict and narrow sense of that term, and has both weight and influence in the councils of his party. He has thoroughly identified himself with the industrial development of his town, and is a member of the boards of directors of several development companies. He is attorney for Bradstreet's commercial agency at Florence, and is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias. [Memorial Record of Alabama. Vol. II. Brant & Fuller. Madison, Wis., 1893. pp. 364-365]