Descriptive Summary | |
Title: Edwin Parsons papers | |
Creator: Parsons, Edwin | |
Inclusive Dates: 1844-1877 | |
Language(s): English | |
Extent: 1 folder(s) | |
Collection Number: ms2676 | |
Repository: Hargrett Library |
In the middle 1840s Edwin Parsons and his younger brother George worked in the Savannah office of cotton merchants Carhart and Scott. Mr. Scott having relocated to Macon, Ga., the office was renamed Edwin Parsons and Co. in 1846. Edwin Parsons took charge of the Northern office while George Parsons took over the Savannah office and the name was changed again to George Parsons and Co. The Parsons brothers were also the principal owners of the Bank of Middle Georgia, which they saved from closure and default by sending its assets to banks in London and New York. Edward and George Parsons constricted their assets and moved their cotton to Liverpool for the duration of the Civil War. After 1865 they made their headquarters in New York City and focused their business on railroad and mining interests, as well as the steel industry in Michigan.
For more information see: Parsons family : descendants of Cornet Joseph Parsons, Springfield, 1636--Northampton, 1655, Volume 2, by Henry Parsons
The collection consists of receipts, bills, and correspondence; both incoming to Parsons and his brother George, as well as letter book copies of Edwin's outgoing correspondence. Letters pertain to Edwin's business interests in iron mining in Michigan, shipping, market prices, ship building, and cotton trade, as well as Parsons' involvement with the rebuilding of Atlanta, and funding from former Confederate General B. J. Hill.
Edwin Parsons papers, ms2676, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.