Bio: Parkhill, Oaklley Legare (1890 - 1973)

Contact: helen@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

 

Surnames: Parkhill, Sallisbury, Olson, Pagel, Pistrowski, Westerman, Loth, Smerling, Henrikson, Johnson, Habane, Conner

 

----Sources: Family, Census, Military and State Records

 

Oakley Legare Parkhill
 
Born on July 22, 1890 in Thorp, Wisconsin to George Bristol Parkhill and his wife, Isabelle M. Sallisbury Parkhill.  Grandson of Eli T. Parkhill and his wife, Susan Ann Niles Parkhill of Colby, WI.
 
Was playing high school baseball in Thorp in 1907, and serving as a mail carrier in Thorp in 1910 (according to the Thorp Courier).
 
Married November 4, 1916 in Centuria, Wisconsin to Clara Olson (daughter of Peter M. Olson and his first wife, Stella).  Immediately after their marriage the young couple moved to Butternut Street, Abbotsford, WI.
 
Oakley was 26 years old on April 27, 1917, when he enlisted in the U. S. Army at Marshfield, Wisconsin.
 
On Feb 5, 1918 Sergeant 1st Class (107th Hq) Oakley Parkhill was aboard the Anchor Line steamship Tuscania, along with over 2000 other troops heading to Europe.  The Tuscania was traveling as a part of a British convoy, when it was torpedoed by the German submarine U77 and sunk off the coast of Ireland.  (The Sheboygan Press, on Feb. 6, 1936, at the time of the Tuscania Survivors Association Annual Reunion, carried an article headed “Captain Oakley Parkhill’s Diary”.)
 
September 1918 received commission as lieutenant of Co. E, 61st Infantry.

1.     Awarded for actions during the World War I

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Oakley L. Parkhill, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Division, A.E.F., in the Bois-du-Fays, France, October 13 to 11 November 1918. On 13 October Lieutenant Parkhill, in company with another lieutenant, was wounded by the explosion of a shell. Regardless of his own wound, Lieutenant Parkhill administered first aid to his companion, and carried him to a first-aid station. After he was evacuated to the field hospital, Lieutenant Parkhill refused to be evacuated to the S. O. S. Hospital, and on October IS returned to duty with his company. During the period, October 25 to 11 November while in command of Company E, 61st Infantry, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire while reconnoitering and leading his company.

General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 37 (1919)
Action Date: October 13 - November 11, 1918
Service: Army
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Regiment: 61st Infantry Regiment
Division: 5th Division, American Expeditionary
 
 
George B. Parkhill wrote on Feb 25, 1919   “My son, Lieut. Oakley L., who is now working in the Postal Express Service at Bourges, France, has sent me a list of all the boys bearing our family name who are doing "overseas" duty in this war, taking same from the "Locator Cards" in the office where he works as follows:-
 

Parkhill, Oakley L. 2nd Lieut. Co. E 61st U.S. Infantry.”
 
Oakley Parkhill was active in an organization of Tuscania Survivors, and traveled giving talks on his war experiences.  (In an article about the Tuscania Survivors Association, The February 5th, 1936 Sheboygan Press says Parkhill “arrived in Sheboygan Tuesday morning from Fargo, N.D., and he is now stationed at Fort Lincoln at Bismark, N. D.”  I gather that Oakley Parkhill blew his own horn quite enthusiastically, and I don’t believe he was in the service as he hinted in that interview.)  
 
The 1930 US Census has Oakley and Clara Parkhill living in Ham Lake Township, Anoka Co., MN.  Oakley at that time was a truck driver and Clara a cook on a dairy farm.
 
By 1940 Oakley and Clara Parkhill must have been divorced.  Census records show him as a hired man at Route 1, Webster, WI (Lincoln Township, Burnett, Co.)  Clara Parkhill is a dishwasher at Shriners Hospital in Minneapolis.
 
In April 1949 Oakley Parkhill was working for the Dairy Herd Improvement Association at Galesville, WI.
 
1955-1959 Oakley Parkhill served as Justice of the Peace/ Police judge in Galesville, WI. In January 1959 he announced that he would not run for office again, because of ill health.
 
The November 2, 1966 issue of the Winona Daily Press, mentions Oakley Parkhill as a former Commander of the Trempealeau, WI VFW.

 

Family Notes

 

----Sources: Thorp Courier Good Old Days, November 14, 1991

 

75 Years Ago (1916)

 

Oakley L. Parkhill and Miss Clara Olson were married at the bride’s home at Centura, Wis. on Saturday, November 4th (1916).  They will reside at Abbotsford.

 

Wisconsin Birth Records

 

Oakley Legare Parkhill
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 22 Jul 1890
Father's Name: George B. Parkhill
Mother's Name: Belle M. Salisbury

 

Wisconsin Death Records

 

Oakley L Parkhill
Death Date: 31 Jan 1973
Place: Farm, , Wisconsin
Residence: Wisconsin
Gender: Male
Age: 82
Certificate Number: 003482

 

Social Security Record

 

Oakley Parkhill
Birth Date: 22 July 1890
Social Security Number: 504-10-1843
State: South Dakota
Last Place of Residence: King, Waupaca, Wisconsin
Previous Residence Postal Code: 54946
Event Date: January 1973
Age: 83

 

World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, Clark County, Wisconsin, United States, 5 Jun

 

Oakley Legare Parkhill, partner in a collecting agency - Geo. Parkhill & Son, Abbotsford, Wis.

Address: Abbotsford, Wis.
Event Type: Draft Registration
Event Date: 1917-1918
Gender: Male

Medium height, stout build, brown hair, brown eyes with no balding
Birth Date: 22 Jul 1890
Birthplace: Thorp, Wisconsin, United States
Nationality: United States (natural born)

Married

Race: Scotch American

Wife is partly dependent

Former Military Service: Attended ROTC at Ft. Sheridan, Ill., 3 months in Wis.

Claimed exemption: A member of Co. A.W. N Co. 2nd

Signed by Sidney Meyer, Deputy

 

1900 Federal Census, ED 30 Thorp town Thorp village, Clark, Wisconsin, United States, pg. 2, family 31

Name: Oakley S Parkhill, white single, male

Household Members
Head Geo B Parkhill M 39 New York
Wife Isabel M Parkhill F 34 Wisconsin
Son Oakley L. Parkhill M 10 (Jul 1890) Wisconsin
Daughter Hazel S Parkhill F 9 Wisconsin
Daughter Selah I Parkhill F 2 Wisconsin

 

1905 Wisconsin State Census, Thorp village, Clark, Wisconsin, pg. 468, Family 32, Line 54

 

Oakley Parkhill, white single, male
Parent 1 Birthplace: New York
Parent 2 Birthplace: Wisconsin

Household Members
Head George B Parkhill M 44y New York
Wife Belle M Parkhill F 39y Wisconsin
Son Oakley Parkhill M 14y Wisconsin
Daughter Hazel Parkhill F 13y Wisconsin
Daughter Helene Parkhill F 6y Wisconsin
Clerk Martha Michalski F 29y Wisconsin

 

1910 Federal Census, Thorp, Clark, Wisconsin, United States, District: 39, Family 100

 

Oakley Parkhill, white, single, male
Father's Birthplace: New York
Mother's Birthplace: Wisconsin

Household Members
Head George Parkhill M 49 New York
Wife Belle Parkhill F 44 Wisconsin
Son Oakley Parkhill M 19 Wisconsin
Daughter Hazel Parkhill F 18 Wisconsin
Daughter Irene Parkhill F 11 Wisconsin
Servant Mary Pagel F 26 Wisconsin
Boarder Joseph Pistrowski M 23 Russia

 

1910 Federal Census, Centuria, Polk, Wisconsin, United States, District: 171, Family 53

Name: Clara Olson, single white female
Father's Birthplace: Norway
Mother's Birthplace: Sweden

Household Members
Head Peter Olson M 73 (1837) Norway
Wife Stella Olson F 42 (1868) Sweden
Son Hartwick J Olson M 17 Wisconsin
Son Leanord Olson M 16 Wisconsin
Daughter Clara Olson F 20 (1890) Wisconsin
Daughter Louise Olson F 18 Wisconsin
Daughter Nora Olson F 12 Wisconsin

 

1920 Federal Census, Mayville, Clark, Wisconsin, United States, District: 10, Family 40, Line 9

Name: Oakley Parkhill, white married male
Can Read and Write
Father's Birthplace: New York
Mother's Birthplace: Wisconsin

Household Members
Head Oakley Parkhill M 29 Wisconsin
Wife Clara Parkhill F 29 Wisconsin

 

1920 Federal Census, Abbotsford, Marathon, Wisconsin, United States, District: 1, Family 35, Line 32

 

Stella Olson, white widowed female
Can Read and Write
Father's Birthplace: Sweden
Mother's Birthplace: Sweden

Household Members
Head Fredericka Hintz F 74 Germany
Head Stella Olson F 52 Sweden
Daughter Louise Olson F 28 Wisconsin
Daughter Norah Olson F 22 Wisconsin

 

1930 Federal Census, Ham Lake, Anoka, Minnesota, United States, District: 0018, Family 26, Line 11

Name: Clara Parkhill, white married female
Father's Birthplace: Norway
Mother's Birthplace: Sweden

Household Members
Head Ewald Westerman M 36 Minnesota
Wife Mabel H Westerman F 28 Minnesota
Son Gordon K Westerman M 5 Minnesota
Daughter Lucile T Westerman F 4 Minnesota
Roomer Fred Loth M 27 Minnesota
Lodger Gust Smerling M 42 Wisconsin
Lodger Clarence Henrikson M 36 South Dakota
Lodger Abel J Johnson M 23 Minnesota
Lodger John Habane M 30 Austria
Lodger Fred Conner M 49 Minnesota
Lodger Oaklie L Parkhill M 39 Wisconsin
Cook Clara Parkhill F 40 Wisconsin

 

1940 Federal Census, Ward 2, Minneapolis, Minneapolis City, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States

 

Clara Parkhill
Gender: Female
Age: 50
Marital Status: Divorced
Race (Original): White
Race: White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original):
Relationship to Head of Household:
Birthplace: Wisconsin
Birth Year (Estimated): 1890
Last Place of Residence: Rural, Beltrami, Minnesota