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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More mysteries in 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.


University of North Carolina Donors

William Douglas [Lyman Malcom, Lyman Malcom, Francis "Frank" A., Ashley, Asaph, Jeremiah, Lemuel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] and Luann Parmelee had different majors at the University of North Carolina, but they had one thing in common: excellent instructors. The Parmelees have created two funds for faculty excellence at UNC, via bequests in their wills.

The Family Silver

Among the family items that have recently surfaced are the baptism bowl of Deacon Nathaniel (1771/72 - 1717/18) and son Ezra's (1714-1800) children, and a pair of candlesticks Ezra gave to daughter Jemima when she married Josiah Griswold in 1774.

What's New at the Old Inn

The Guest House Retreat & Conference Center purchased the property once known as The Inn at Chester, which included the 1775 house of John Parmelee. The center hopes to use the old dwelling as a small private retreat within the larger conference facility, and make it as historically sensitive as possible, according to spokesman Jorge Arango. While the center is undergoing renovation, Gill has asked if it would be of interest to any of the Parmelee family members still in the area. "If, for example, we host an event to inaugurate the revamped home, do you think any family members might want to attend or speak briefly about the Parmelees and their influence in the area?" he asked. "We are also looking for donations of period-accurate furniture and accessories--and we don't expect anyone to surrender their family heirlooms. We're a 501(3)c organization, so donations are tax deductible." So I promised I'd put out the word. You can visit the center here. 

Straight From the 'Heart'

Animator Theodore "Ted" Parmelee [Cullen Warner, Lauren Sylvester, Dan Steele, Daniel Everett, Asaph, Jonathan, Joshua, John, John], noted for his work on "Rocky & Bullwinkle" and other cartoons, was nominated for an Academy Award for directing the 1953 surrealistic short "The Tell-Tale Heart," narrated by James Mason. Ted's views on the decline of animation have resurfaced in a forum for those involved in the industry today.

Student Pilot

James Madison University student Dan Parmelee is on his way to earning a commercial pilot's license. He's also part of the school's foundling flying aviation club. Flying's in the family genes: His mother and uncle both flew for American Airlines.

Church Anniversaries

New York City's Park Avenue Christian Church celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2010. In 1837, Dr. Eleazer Parmley [1797-1874; Eleazer, Jehiel, Stephen, Stephen, John, John] built the Primitive Christian Church of Disciples building. That congregation continues to meet today on the property he owned on Greene Street in Manhattan. For details, contact the church at 1010 Park Ave., New York, NY 10028 (at 85th Street, two blocks east of Grand Central Park).

Also celebrating its centennial in 2010 was the Bethel Baptist Church near Parmleysville, Ky. Among the first nine members were John Parmley [1762-1848; Giles, Hiel, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, John, John] and his wife, Rebecca (Cross). For more information, contact the church at 3734 Bethel Ridge Road, Pine Knot, KY 42635.


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? Do you know who are in a batch of photos found in a home in Waterbury, Conn.?

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."
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?

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:

  • 1798: A letter written by Ens. Samuel Parmele [1757-1828; Oliver, Jonathan, Joshua, Joshua, John, John] to William Simmond, an accountant in the War Department in Philadelphia, the nation's capital at the time.
  • 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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