Frank findings: Frank Parsons and the Parson family.

Although much has been written about the professional contributions of Frank Parsons to vocational counseling as well as counseling in general, his biography has remained fairly unexamined for decades. Perhaps it is time to reexamine what is known about the life of one of the most significant figures of our profession.

A number of scholars have written about Parsons. One of the most detailed and notable accounts of the current generation can be found in Davis's (1969) Frank Parsons: Prophet, Innovator, Counselor. The Davis biography has informed a significant number of writings regarding Parsons over the years and, thus, has contributed considerably to Parsons's legacy. Davis, like any good scholar, relied heavily on accounts of Parsons's life conveyed by colleagues and scholars of Parsons such as Benjamin Orange Flower (1901), John Brewer (1942), and Arthur Mann (1950), among others, as well as archival data, in penning the single-known biographical text of the founder of vocational guidance. Although Davis's work has advanced the factual account of Parsons, it has also informed myth, which can be expected on the coattail of legacy with any historic figure. It might benefit the profession, approaching a most historic anniversary, to reconsider some of what has so long been taken for granted.

Lost Boy: The Abandoned Only Child?

Davis (1969), in his definitive biography of Parsons, provided two pieces of information on the opening page of the first chapter that, when further explored, would unravel two popular, long-held myths about Parsons. First, Davis referred to Parsons as an only child, citing a newspaper article from the New Jersey Mirror in 1893 ("Frank Parsons," 1893). On closer inspection of this profile from the New Jersey Mirror, one finds no mention of Parsons being an only child but rather an overview of his life, including his birth in Mount Holly, New Jersey, in 1854. At first glance, Parsons's birth in 1854 seemed of little significance. However, that same profile in the New Jersey Mirror raises an equally interesting question about the marriage of his parents. According to the profile, Parsons was born 2 years after his parents were married in 1852. This conflicts with the announcement of the wedding of his parents in the New Jersey Mirror on March 16, 1854 ("Married," 1854). Parsons's parents, listed as Edward Parson (with no "s" on the end of his name) and Alice B. Rhees (referred to as the daughter of J. Loxley Rhees), were married in Mount Holly, New Jersey. If the date of Parsons's birth listed by Davis as November 14, 1854, is indeed correct, he would have been born within 9 months of his parents' wedding. Years later, Parsons may have felt a need to avoid public scrutiny in his home town about how quickly he arrived after the marriage of his parents. Also, perhaps Parsons was misinformed by his own parents. This perplexing bit of family history only adds to the mystery of Parsons's family life.

A second bit of information merits further inspection. Davis (1969) cited Parsons's home as Trenton, New Jersey, between the years of 1870 and 1872, based on information from Cornell University. Although Trenton, New Jersey, is not far from Mount Holly, New Jersey, it certainly does not fit with the long-held belief that Parsons was essentially raised by his maternal aunts in Mount Holly, New Jersey, whether left with them while the family moved west or after being sent to live with them upon his mother's death. Davis cited Brewer (1942) with regard to the death of Parsons's mother and the role of his aunts in his upbringing. Thus, the myth of the founder of vocational guidance as an abandoned, only child was born.

Not the Only but the Oldest

In the search for where he lived in Trenton, New Jersey, a whole new side of Parsons was discovered. The interpretation of various biographical sketches such as the one found in the New Jersey Mirror ("Frank Parsons," 1893), and in the absence of any conflicting information available from the archives at Yale, for decades has provided an inaccurate portrait of the family background of Parsons. Furthering the mystery has been the misinterpretation of Parsons's life based on assumptions and limited information. Brewer (1942) reported on how Parsons was likely cared for and educated, to some extent, by his maternal aunts before attending a private academy and also noted the significant role the aunts played in his upbringing. It is easy to understand why Davis (1969) would tie the death of Parsons's mother to being sent away to be raised by his aunts. Recently, scholars Pope and Sveinsdottir (2005) cited this familiar fact deeming it a tragic event. Such a life dilemma leads to speculation as to how the loss of his mother during his childhood might have affected Parsons then and later in life. The early death of Parsons's mother can be refuted, but the time he spent with his aunts may, in part, be true.

Parsons was not an only child but rather the oldest of three children. According to census records, Edward and Alice Parson had two other children, a younger daughter named Hetty, born in 1858, and a younger son named Loxley, born in 1860 (U.S. Census, 1870). In 1870, the family was living in Trenton, New Jersey. This would have been shortly before Parsons left New Jersey for the Ivy League. Frank Loxley Griffin (n.d.), son of Hetty and thus nephew of Frank, noted that Hetty (or Daisy as she was known) married James Griffin, a man 25 years her senior (U.S. Census, 1900b). It appears that Hetty and her brother Frank shared a similar physical stature. Griffin described his mother as being rather thin and petite (Griffin, n.d.). Griffin also clarified the mystery of the missing "s" in the family name noting that, in fact, Edward Parson, Frank's father, had been the individual who dropped the "s" from the family name. Hetty's marriage was highlighted in the New Jersey Mirror on December 1, 1880, noting that the couple was married in Topeka, Kansas, at the Parson's home on October 12, 1880. The newspaper referred to her as "Hettie Parson" ("Married," 1880). By 1900, Hetty had a family of her own with three children, Frank, John, and James (U.S. Census, 1900b).

Griffin, Hetty's son, carried the first names of his maternal uncles. However, in his autobiographical writings, Griffin did not attribute his first name to his uncle but rather a shortened version of Franklin, his father's middle name (Griffin, n.d.). Griffin would go on to graduate with a doctorate of philosophy degree from the University of Chicago with a specialty in statistics and, around 1910, would join the faculty at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Griffin eventually ended up at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where he became a distinguished faculty member and eventually served as the interim president for Reed College from 1954 to 1956. Griffin's two brothers John and James, both of whom had difficulty staying motivated for formal education, eventually graduated from the eighth grade. Parsons would have likely had great sympathy and much to say to this pair of nephews who struggled in their search for a career and eventually ended up in work related to engineering (Griffin, n.d.). Griffin was the family member who started researching his family tree in 1911 upon receiving a letter from his great aunt Catherine Loxley Rhees, Parsons's beloved Aunt Kate (Griffin Jr., 1975). Ironically, Griffin is listed as a source of information on as well as a nephew of Parsons in History of Vocational Guidance: Origins and Early Development by Brewer (1942), thus revealing that a significant part of Parsons's personal life had been hiding in plain sight for decades. The question remains how had scholars missed this rather significant fact about Parsons over the years and how had the "only child" myth continued to be perpetuated?

Once the family moved from New Jersey to Kansas, Parsons's brother Loxley (in his 20s) worked as a printer while still living with his mother, father, and older sister. Edward is recorded as being a baggage master for the railroad. Alice is listed as keeping house, and Hetty is shown as still living at home (U.S. Census, 1880). By 1880, it appears that the Parson family had added an "s" to their name and had thus become the Parsons family of Topeka, Kansas (U.S. Census, 1880). Whether this was an error on the part of the census taker or an act by the family is unclear. By 1900, Edward, who was still living in Topeka, Kansas, was remarried to a woman named Caroline who was 10 years younger than 70-year-old Edward (U.S. Census, 1900a). The question remains as to whether Parsons was able to visit his father and stepmother while he lived in Manhattan, Kansas, during his time at Kansas State Agricultural College in the late 1890s. According to Frank Loxley Griffin Jr. (1975), Edward died in 1921, 13 years after his son. Griffin Jr. included in his family history a lyric composed by Edward, whom he described as "the Cornish giant"; the lyric was titled Jesus, The Children's Friend and was written some time around 1894, reflecting Edward's deeply religious nature as well as the special place he held in his heart for children.

Hetty and James eventually left Topeka, Kansas, moving closer in proximity to their children who had moved to the West Coast. Loxley also eventually left Topeka, Kansas, moving to California some time around 1893 (Griffin Jr., 1975). He settled in South Pasadena, California, where he worked as a piano tuner. Loxley and his wife Saddie had two daughters Catherine and Alice (U.S. Census, 1920). Frank Loxely Griffin Jr. (Griffin Jr., 1975) referred to Parsons in the Griffin family history as "a distinguished economist, teacher, and author" (p. 68).

A Family Moves West: But When and How Many Times?

Whether Parsons was abandoned, as has been implied, can be refuted and confounded by two pieces of information. First, Hetty's birthplace is listed as Illinois according to the 1870 U.S. Census, which meant that Parsons's mother would have had to have been in Illinois at the time she gave birth (U.S. Census, 1870). Frank Loxley Griffin Jr. (1975), in his history of the Griffin family and related families, noted that his grandmother was born on March 21, 1858, just north of the city of Kankakee in Kankakee County, Illinois. This means that the family had relocated from New Jersey at that time.

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