Charles Henry Parkhurst (April 17, 1842 – September 8, 1933) was an American clergyman and social reformer, born in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston ...

. Although scholarly and reserved, he preached two sermons in 1892 in which he attacked the political corruption of New York City government. Backed by the evidence he collected, his statements led to both the exposure of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

and to subsequent social and political reforms.

Early years

He was born on a farm on April 17, 1842 in

. Parkhurst did not attend a formal school until he was twelve. Despite this, he showed a strong interest in education and graduated from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1866. He became principal of the high school in Amherst in 1867. He married Ellen Bodman on November 23, 1870, she being one of his former students. Parkhurst studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Halle in 1869, and became a professor at the Williston Seminary in

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is in the Pioneer Valley, near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 census. History E ...

, in 1870–1871. After further studies in

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in 1872–1873, he was ordained as a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister. He was pastor of a congregational church at

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 United States census ...

, from 1874 until 1880, when he was called to the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, New York City, where he served from 1880 to 1918.

Later life

Interested in municipal affairs, Parkhurst was elected president of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Society for the Prevention of Crime in 1891, and he challenged the methods of the city police department. He inaugurated a campaign against the political and social corruption of Tammany Hall. The hall had begun innocuously as just a social club, but had drifted into politics and

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. It acquired a lock on elections in the city, and its bosses protected crime and vice in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and surrounding boroughs. Grand jury investigations were ineffective, despite the appeals of social reformers. Few in Parkhurst's congregation recognized that Tammany Hall, the police, and organized crime were interconnected. On February 14, 1892, he challenged Tammany Hall from the pulpit. Pointing to the hall's political influence and their connection with the police, he noted that men fed upon the city while pretending to protect it saying, When the municipal grand jury asked him for hard evidence, Parkhurst personally hired a private detective and, with his friend John Erving, went to the streets in disguise to collect proof of the corruption. From the pulpit on March 13, 1892, he preached a sermon backed with documentation and

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...

s. Parkhurst's campaign led to the appointment of the Lexow Committee to investigate conditions, and to the election of a reform mayor in 1894. Although Tammany Hall did publicly clean house, it remained influential on both the political front and in organized crime until the 1950s.

Women's suffrage

Parkhurst was opposed to women voting. He wrote:

"That quality of feminine blatancy which is being at present so extensively advertised here and in England, that disposition toward self-exploitation indulged in by short-haired women and encouraged by long-haired men, is of a sort to chill and then freeze over those masculine impulses that seek restful and satisfying companionship in a member of the opposite sex."

Family

His first wife, Ellen Bodman, died on May 28, 1921. He married Eleanor Marx on April 18, 1927, in

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Death

Parkhurst died on September 8, 1933, by

sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...

off the porch roof in his

Ventnor City, New Jersey Ventnor City is a city situated on the Jersey Shore on Absecon Island, within Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, on the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,210, a decrease of 1,440 ( ...

, home.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkhurst, Charles Henry Political history of New York City People from Framingham, Massachusetts Activists from Massachusetts 1842 births 1933 deaths 19th-century American clergy 20th-century American Presbyterian ministers American sermon writers American autobiographers Accidental deaths in New Jersey Sleepwalking Accidental deaths from falls People from Ventnor City, New Jersey American social reformers People from Lenox, Massachusetts Anti-crime activists American anti-corruption activists Writers from Massachusetts 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers Writers from Atlantic County, New Jersey