FEATURES

NOTE: Our older features have been moved to the Archives.

Genealogy

Early families in Europe, the first generations in Connecticut in the 1630s and Pennsylvania in the 1840s. Census records. Browse queries. Find your twig.

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Olde England

Visits the ancestral family homes in Lewes south of London and in Middelton-in-Teesdale in County Durham.

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New England

Guilford, Conn., is the Long Island Sound town that the Parmelees helped settle in 1639.

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Author! Author!

Browse The Family Bookstore. At least a score of relatives have penned books.

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Home, Sweet Home

A collection of family homes from throughout the United States.

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Coats of Arms

So far we've uncovered
six different ones!

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Honor Roll

From the 17th-century Colonial wars through today's War in Afghanistan, members of the family have served in the armed forces.

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Mysteries

This fetching old portrait was sent to me in the hope of finding out who this actress is.


Can you help identify some of the people in these photos found tucked inside a family Bible?

More mysteries on our Archives.

 

FAQs

Get answers to most-often asked questions about the clan.

Your Twig?

Find out where you fit in the greater family tree.

What's Cookin'?

Pat Parmele, wife of Joe [Rufus "Earl" Earl, Edgar Charles, George Spenser, Lucius Seth, Seth, Giles, Jeremiah, Lemuel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] and a former caterer and food service director, cooks Monday dinner for son Gerik's family in Columbia, Mo. Gerik is photo editor at the Columbia Daily Tribune. She's taken to blogging many of her recipes at Dancing in the Kitchen, recently sharing such favorites as sweet-and-sour meatball skewers. Don't forget to save room for kaffeeoberstorte. Mmmmm!

'Awkward Bitch'

Donna Karan manager Marlo Donato Parmelee is glamorous, smart ... and suffering from multiple sclerosis. As the company's U.K. support manager, it's Marlo's job to ensure that no imperfection mars the brand's sumptuousness. "I tell everyone I have MS, but I also tell them that if I can wear heels, then anyone can." At 37, Marlo of London has the incurable neurological disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause numbness, double-vision, muscle spasms, loss of balance and acute bouts of pain. When she failed to find a narrative that conveyed what she was going through, she decided to write it herself. The result is "Awkward Bitch: My Life With MS" (AuthorHouse), a no-holds-barred memoir that reveals her bleakest moments.

Noteworthy Art

Commercial artist Raymond "Ray" C. Parmelee's [1882- ? ; Lewis Hall, Charles Prentice, Theodore Hudson, Theodore, Abraham, Abraham, Isaac, John, John] work graced the covers of dozens pieces of sheet music. Over the years, many copies have been sold on the web, traded by collectors and framed as art in home-decorating schemes. Take a look at some of the Ohio native's works -- and listen to "Polly," probably his most frequently sold cover on the Web. UPDATED: May 1, 2009


Broadway and Hollywood

 After his string of Broadway successes, Hollywood came calling for Clifton Parmelee Webb (1890-1966) when a villain was needed for "Laura." The Indiana native made more than 25 films and was nominated for three Academy Awards. And behind it all was the prodding of one woman, mother Mabel "Mabelle" A. (Parmelee) Webb (1869-1960), who kept a scrapbook.Among the tasks of cousin and prop manager Owen E. Parmele [Eugene Forbes, Owen Settles, Francis "Frank" Owen, Luman E., Lucius Seth, Seth, Giles, Jeremiah, Lemuel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] are preparing the food and making the wine that go on stage each night at "The Norman Conquests."

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Lauren Bacall? Joan Bennett? Humphrey Bogart? Vivien Leigh? Laurence Olivier? They're all in a photo taken at a Hollywood party with Clifton and Mabelle -- but which one was their distant Parmelee cousin?


Politics: Mr. Congressman

Over the years, I've been asked how Ashbel Parmelee Fitch (1848-1904) fits into the family. Well, the New York City lawyer who was four times elected to the House of Representatives was the son of Edward Fitch and his wife, Fanny Parmelee (Ashbel, Simeon, Hezekiah, Joel, John, John). Ashbel was named for his grandfather, a minister who spent much of his life in Malone, N.Y. Young Ashbel was born in Moores, N.Y., and studied at the Universities of Jena and Berlin, Germany, and the Columbia College Law School in New York City. After joining the bar in 1869, he set up practice in New York City. He was elected to Congress as a Republican when he was seated in 1887, but he ran as a Democrat in his next three elections. He served as chairman on the House Committee on Private Land Claims (52nd Congress) and on the Committee on Election of President, Vice President, and Representatives (53rd Congress). He resigned in 1893 to accept Tammany hall's nomination for New York City comptroller. He was elected and served until 1897, when the Democratic political machine refused to renominate him; Ashbel's name was placed in nomination at the Republican convention and he was defeated. He became the founding president of the Trust Company of America in 1899. Ashbel died in New York City in 1904 and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Virginia: House of Delgates

John Oscian [John Oscian, John Oscian, James McGinty, Joseph, --?--] Parmelee, has lost his second iindependent bid to become a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. In the 82nd District election on Nov. 3, incumbent Republican Harry "Bob" Purkey prevailed with 60.4% of the vote. Democrat Peter Schmidt, polled 35.1%, while John tallied 4.4%. Purkey has held the seat since 1986. Both candidates took a shot at him in 2005: Schmidt, a Republican at the time, lost in the primary; John fell in the general election with 29% of the vote. Purkey amassed $101,000 for this campaign, Schmidt, 60, owner of a construction materials company, had $52,000, and John reported $900. John, 66, a retired Navy chief petty officer from Virginia Beach, campaigned for a 3- to 5-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase. "A lot of people say boo to this, but if you're going to use the roads, pay for it," he said. John also said he'd push to make it illegal for motorists to use cell phones, ban Sunday liquor sales, and legislate against baggy pants. "Black guys started it and the white guys emulate it," John said. "Exposing their underwear, they think it's fashionable--but it isn't cool."

Cousins in the White House

Two men to occupy the White House are descendants of the Guilford Parmelees! Rutherford B. Hayes, left, and George W. Bush were declared victors after close votes and disputed ballots in Florida. Both were Republican governors who lost the popular vote but won in the Electoral College by slim margins.


Mail Call

Tucked away in attics, books and libraries, they've come to light -- letters written from and to our ancestors from more than a century ago. These are our earliest discoveries:

  • 1812: A letter written by Keziah (Hudson) Parmelee, wife of Theodore [Abraham, Abraham, Isaac, John, John], in Goshen, Conn., to her brother in Hudson, Ohio.
  • 1814: Letters written to Ethalinda (Parmele) Kaysor [1786- ? ; Asa, Silas, Abraham, Isaac, John, John] of Philadelphia, from her father Asa and sister Lucy.
  • 1820s: A very young Francis Burdette Parmele writes his mother, Lydia (Bosworth) Parmele, wife of Henry [Joel, Nehemiah, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John], back home in Albany, N.Y.
  • 1823: Lydia (Bosworth) Parmele of Albany, N.Y., receives sad news from friend Tary Clark of Philadelphia.
  • 1825: Eliza Ann (Pleasants) Parmly of Painesville, Ohio, informs a friend in New York City of the death of her father-in-law, Eleazer [Jehiel, Stephen, Stephen, John, John].
  • 1829: A 14-year-old Francis Burdette Parmele of Albany, N.Y., writes to George B. Smith of Schenectady, N.Y., looking for work.
  • 1831: A three-page letter to 16-year-old Francis Burdette Parmele of Albany, N.Y., from William Brown.
  • 1831: Two letters written to Lucius Parmelee [William, Dan, Lemuel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] of Waterbury, Vt., from his mother, father and siblings in Twinsburg, Ohio.
  • 1833: Letter from Francis Burdette Parmele of Albany to George Smythe of Schenectady, N.Y.
  • 1833: The first of two letters from starving artist P. Ostrander of New York to Francis Burdette Parmele of Albany.
  • 1833: A second letter from P. Ostrander to Francis Burdette Parmele.
  • 1835: Letter from Caroline (Parmele) Cole in Albany, N.Y., to her brother, Francis Burdette Parmele, who was attending school in Utica, Ohio.
  • 1836: Letter from Philo Cole to his brother-in-law Francis Burdette Parmele.
  • 1836: Second letter from Philo Cole to his brother-in-law Francis Burdette Parmele.
  • 1837: Letter from Frederick Cole in Albany, N.Y., to Francis Burdette Parmele in Utica, Ohio, discussing politics -- the Loco-Focos! -- and religion.
  • 1839: Letter from John Patterson in Albany, N.Y., to Francis Burdette Parmele in Utica, Ohio, and then forwarded to him in Newark, Ohio, concerning some medical books.
  • 1839: Letter from Fred W. Cole in Albany, N.Y., to Francis Burdette Parmele in Utica, Ohio, about some vague business deal.
  • Late 1830s: Caroline (Parmele) Cole of Albany, N.Y., writes brother Francis Burdette Parmele who is attending medical school in Utica, Ohio.
  • 1840: Letter from Francis Burdette Parmele in Albany, N.Y., to brother-in-law George Bosworth Smythe in Newark, Ohio, concerning money matters.
  • 1856: Letter written to Stewart Dean Palmerlee [Bryan, John, Bryan, Jonathan, Joshua, John, John] of East Hampton, Conn., informing him of the death of his brother William.
  • 1862: While held in Ohio, Confederate POW William Jordan Parmelee [Joseph, Joseph?, Joseph, Joseph, Isaac, John, John] wrote a letter to his wife Lydia [Mc Ginty] that was found in a mail bag long after the war had ended.
  • 1862-65: Civil War letters written by Marcus S. Parmele [Alexander H., Smith, Oliver, Ezra, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] to his family in Rockford, Ill., and penned for Gen. William Rosecrans while serving as a member of his staff.
  • 1863: Civil War letter written by Col. Theodore Weld Parmele [Truman, Thomas Truman, Thomas, Thomas, Job, John, John] to George H. Kimball in New Orleans.


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