Samuel C. Parks

Samuel C. Parks (March 25, 1820 – February 8, 1917) was an American lawyer and jurist who practiced law with Abraham Lincoln, and was later appointed to serve as a Justice of three different territorial supreme courts by three different presidents, serving on the predecessors to the Idaho Supreme Court (from 1862 to 1865), the New Mexico Supreme Court (from 1878 to 1882), and the Wyoming Supreme Court (from January 11, 1882 to April 14, 1886).

Justice Samuel C. Parks.

Early life, education,and career

Born in Middlebury, Vermont,[1][2] to a Professor B. Parks, of the Indiana University,[1] Parks himself graduated from Indiana University in 1838.[3]

Soon after his graduation, in 1840,[4] Parks moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he taught school for six years,[1][2] received an M.A. from Jacksonville College in 1844,[1] and read law.[1][2] He became junior member of Abraham Lincoln's law firm.[3] He was became one of Lincoln's closest friends, the pair often traveling the Illinois circuit together.[3][2]

Political activities

Parks became active in Illinois politics, serving as a school commissioner,[2] and as a member of the 1848 Illinois Constitutional Convention.[2][1] In 1855, he was elected to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives.[5][4] Parks attended both the 1856 and 1860 Republican National Conventions,[4] and was instrumental in having Lincoln nominated for the presidency,[3] primarily by canvassing his native state of Vermont.[4]

In 1863, President Lincoln appointed him as the first Associate Justice of the newly-established Territorial Idaho Supreme Court.[1][3][6] He resigned from the court in 1865,[6] following the death of one of his children in Illinois.[7] Parks was also a delegate to the 1870 Illinois Constitutional Convention.[4]

In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Parks as a justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, and he held that position until 1882, when at the request of Parks, President Chester A. Arthur transferred him to the Wyoming Supreme Court.[4][1] He served on the latter court until 1886, and afterwards served on the State Board of Pardons of Kansas and a court referee in Cleveland, Ohio.[2]

Death

He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. H. D. Lee, of Kansas City, Missouri.[3][2] At the time of his death, at age 97, he was Indiana University's oldest living alumnus.[3] By coincidence he was laid to rest on the anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.[3]

References

1. Theophilus Adam Wylie, Indiana University, its history from 1820, when founded, to 1890 (1890), p. 180.
2. Wyoming State Archives biography of Samuel C. Parks, available at 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001.
3. "Death of Samuel C. Parks, Indiana University Alumni Quarterly, Volume 4 (1917), p. 229-30.
4. Illinois Department of Public Health, "Parks, Samuel C.", The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln.
5. Illinois Legislative Roster--1818-2019
6. Cornelius James Brosnan, History of the State of Idaho (1917), p. 125.
7. Deborah K. Kristensen, The First 50 Men in Idaho Law, The Advocate (October 2010), p.54-55.

Political offices
Preceded by Newly established seat	Justice of the Territorial Idaho Supreme Court 1862–1865	Succeeded by Milton Kelly
Preceded by Samuel B. McLin	Justice of the Territorial New Mexico Supreme Court 1878–1882	Succeeded by Joseph Bell
Preceded by William Ware Peck	Justice of the Territorial Wyoming Supreme Court 1882–1886	Succeeded by Samuel T. Corn