Horace Field Parshall
Dr. Horace Field Parshall | |
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Born | |
Died | 12 December 1932 | (aged 67)
Occupation | Electrical Engineer |
Horace Field Parshall (9 September 1865–12 December 1932) was an electrical engineer specialising in rotating electrical machines, railway traction, and electrical distribution. Born in America, he worked for
In Britain, he was financially successful and used his wealth to construct a mansion, Penbury Grove, near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. After the death of his first wife, he became involved in a bigamy case due to an attempt by a married couple to obtain his wealth through a fraudulent marriage.
He authored a number of works on electrical engineering, and a book on the genealogy of his branch of the Parshall family including a short autobiography.
Biography
Horace Field Parshall was born on 9 September 1865,
In 1893, he married Annie Matilda (Blanch) Rogers.[4][note 1]
Lectures given at Massachusetts Institute of Technology formed the basis of the books Armature windings of electric machines, and Electric generators (later expanded as Electric machine design) published between 1895 and 1906.[7]
He was involved in installing electrical equipment on the
In 1912, he became involved in a widely publicised bigamy case - having been tricked into marrying a Mrs. Deborah Jeffreys in 1911, who had been forced under threat of death by her husband to pose as a widow and seduce and marry the widowed Parshall in an attempt to gain access to his wealth. His marriage to Mrs. Jeffreys was annulled, and after a trial Mrs. Jeffreys was given a nominal single day in prison due to having been led into the situation by her estranged husband, and having confessed her situation to Mr. Parshall.[6][10][11][note 2]
In 1902, he constructed a mansion, Penbury Grove, near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire; a replica of Pennsbury Manor, the residence of William Penn of Pennsylvania.[12][note 3]
In 1915, he published a genealogy of his branch of the Parshall family,[14] having earlier sponsored the production of a broader genealogical history by J.C. Parshall.[15]
He died on 12 December 1932. He had two children: Horace Field (1903-1986) and Kathleen; both born in England.[1][5][16]
Works
Books
- Parshall, H.F.; Hobart, H.M. (1895), Armature windings of electric machines
- Parshall, H.F.; Hobart, H.M. (1900), Electric generators
- Parshall, H.F.; Hobart, H.M. (1906), Electric machine design
- Parshall, H.F.; Hobart, H.M. (1907), "Electric railway engineering", Nature, 75 (1953): 531, S2CID 10629498
- Parshall, H.F. (1915), The Parshall family, A.D. 870-1913 : a collection of historical records and notes to accompany the Parshall pedigree
Journals
- Parshall, H. F. (1890). "Magnetic Data of the Sprague Street Car Motor". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 7 (1): 218–225. S2CID 51647295.
- Parshall, H. F. (1892). "Methods of Electrically Controlling Street Car Motors". Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 9 (1): 135–166. S2CID 51675724.
- Parshall, H. F. (1896). "Magnetic Data of Iron and Steel". Minutes of the Proceedings. 126. Institution of Civil Engineers: 220. .
- Parshall, H. F. (1897). "Alternating-Current Dynamo Tests. (Including Appendix and Plate at Back of Volume)". Minutes of the Proceedings. 130 (1897). Institution of Civil Engineers: 247–262. .
- Parshall, H.F. (June 1898), "Earth returns for electric tramways", Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 27 (135): 440–456,
- Parshall, M. F. (1898). "Dublin Electric Tramway. (Including Plate at Back of Volume)". Minutes of the Proceedings. 133 (1898). Institution of Civil Engineers: 174–192. .
- Parshall, H. F. (1899). "Economical Transmission and Distribution of Electricity from a Distance. (Abstract). Second Metropolitan Engineering Conference, 8 June 1899. Notes Introducing Subjects for Discussion. Section Vii - Applications of Electricity". Minutes of the Proceedings. 138 (1899). Institution of Civil Engineers: 486–487. .
- Parshall, H. F. (1915). "Economics of Electric Railway Distribution (Including Appendixes and Plates at Back of Volume)". Minutes of the Proceedings. 199 (1915). Institution of Civil Engineers: 47–97. .
- Parshall, H. F. (1922). "Hydro-Electric Installations of the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company". Minutes of the Proceedings. 213 (1922). Institution of Civil Engineers: 295–318. .
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ Referred to as Annie Matilda Rogers in the 'Who's Who' biography of Horace Field (jnr. 1903-86);[5] in the Otsego Farmer notice of 1893 his wife is referred to as Blanche Rogers.[4] In the newspaper articles "Sounds More Like Fiction, This Real Life Story" his wife is referred to have been a 'Miss Rutty'.[6] In the 'Who's Who' biography of Horace Field (snr. 1865-1919) he is noted as marrying Mary Blackwell of New York in 1919, the earlier marriage is not noted.[1][clarification needed]
- ^ The story "Sounds More Like Fiction, This Real Life Story" was widely syndicated, appearing in the 'Fort Covington Sun', 'Port Ville Review', Turtle Mountain Star and other US newspapers.
- ^ The house included a fine rock garden,[12] and was one of the first in the area to have electricity. It was acquired by the Inner London Education Authority and used as a school (c.1960) until 1986.[13]
References
- ^ a b c d e f PARSHALL, Horace Field 'Who Was Who'
- ^ The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913 pp.162-163
- ^ The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913 pp.163-5
- ^ a b "Milford" (PDF), The Otsego Farmer, col.5, 8 December 1893
- ^ a b "PARSHALL, Horace Field", Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, retrieved 17 December 2013
- ^ a b "Sounds More Like Fiction, This Real Life Story - Plot Marred by Cupid" (PDF), Batavia Times
- ^ The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913 pp.166
- ^ The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913 p.167
- ^ a b The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913 p.169
- ^ "Wife forced into bigamy - American Engineer's Marriage to London "Widow" has Court Sequel" (PDF), The New York Times, 17 February 1912
- ^ "Mrs. Jeffreys Jailed a Day" (PDF), The New York Times, 28 February 1912
- ^ a b Churchill, Penny (15 November 2012), "Restore to Glory", Country Life
- ^ "Penn mansion sold after 15 years standing empty", www.pennandtylersgreen.co.uk, 16 December 2010
- ^ The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913
- ^ Parshall, James Clark (1903), The history of the Parshall family, Preface
- ^ The Parshall Family, A.D. 870-1913 pp.169-170
Sources
- "Parshall, Horace Field", Who Was Who (online edition), A & C Black/Oxford University Press, retrieved 16 December 2013 (subscription required)
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "Electric traction engineers", steamindex.com, Parshall, Horace Field