Theophilus Parsons (1750–1813)
Theophilus Parsons was born on 24 February 1750 in Byfield, Massachusetts. A Harvard graduate and lawyer, he was prominent in opposition to the proposed Massachusetts constitution of 1778. Parsons's pamphlet The Essex Result outlined what eventually became the state constitution of 1780 (which in turn served as a model at the federal Constitutional Convention). That same year he married Elizabeth Greenleaf (1758–1829), with whom he would have twelve children.
"Theophilus Parsons." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2310006075/UHIC?u=viva_uva&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=fd48f3ab. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.
"Parsons, Theophilus." West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edited by Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman, 2nd ed., vol. 7, Gale, 2005, pp. 372-373. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3437703259/UHIC?u=viva_uva&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=b7f338b8. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.
Theophilus Parsons, Result of the Convention of Delegates Holden at Ipswich in the County of Essex, Who Were Deputed to Take into Consideration the Constitution and Form of Government, Proposed by the Convention of the State of Massachusetts-Bay (Newburyport, MA: John Mycall, 1778).
Judge Theophilus Parsons at Find a Grave.