Thomas Parry (Boston MP)

Thomas Parry (23 February 1818 − 23 December 1879) was a British Liberal Party politician from Sleaford in Lincolnshire. He sat in the House of Commons for three short periods between 1865 and 1874.

Early life

Parry was born in 1818 (according to his tombstone, on 23 February),^[1] son of William Parry (1786-1876), of Lincoln, and his wife, Mary Stanley (1799-1868), daughter of Henry Stanley.^[2][3][4]

Business

He became an articled clerk to Charles Kirk the elder (1791-1847), architect, of Sleaford, responsible for many new buildings in the town in the 1830s and 1840s. The men became partners, their firm being called Kirk and Parry. In 1841, Parry married Kirk's daughter, Henrietta Kirk. After Kirk's death, his son, Charles replaced him as partner in the business.^[5][6]

Parry was also a proprietor of the colliery in Strafford, near Barnsley, Yorkshire.^[6]

Parliamentary career

He was elected at the 1865 general election as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Boston in Lincolnshire,^[7] but an election petition was lodged and the result was overturned on 21 March 1866 in favour of the other Liberal candidate Meaburn Staniland.^[8]

Staniland resigned from the Commons on 8 March 1867,^[9] and Parry was returned unopposed^[7] in his place at a by-election on 16 March.^[10] He did not stand at the 1868 general election,^[7] but was re-elected at the 1874 general election.^[11] That result was the subject of another election petition, which led to 353 of Parry's 1,347 votes being struck off, thereby making John Wingfield Malcolm the winner of the second seat. The bribery was so extensive that even more votes could have been struck off, but the process was stopped on 8 June 1874 when Malcolm had a nominal majority of two votes. A Royal Commission was established to enquire into the electoral process in the borough.^[7]

Death

Parry died at Mustapha Superieur in Algiers on 23 December 1879 aged 61 and his remains were interred at Quarrington.^[6][12]

References

Citations

1. Memorial inscription, Find a Grave. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
2. "Deaths of Note" Exeter and Plymouth Gazette 2 January 1880
3. "Parry, William" National Probate Calendar 1876. "The will of William Parry late of the Bail of Lincoln in the City of Lincoln Gentleman who died 26 September 1876 ... was proved at Lincoln by Thomas Parry of New Sleaford in the County of Lincoln Contractor for Public Works the Son the sole executor".
4. Memorial inscription at "Saint Boltoph Churchyard, Quarrington, Lincolnshire County, England" Interment.net. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
5. "Journal and Account Book of Charles Kirk, of Sleaford, builder and architect (ref. name MISC DON 1015)", Lincs to the Past (Lincolnshire Archives). Retrieved 14 December 2014.
6. "Interment of a noted South Yorkshire coal owner" Sheffield Independent 7 February 1880
7. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 56. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
8. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 4)
9. Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
10. The London Gazette: no. 23231. p. 1792. 19 March 1867. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
11. The London Gazette: no. 24063. p. 541. 6 February 1874. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
12. National Probate Calendar 1880 p. 127

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Thomas Parry