MS-280 Marguerite Parrish Papers

Introduction

The papers of Marguerite Parrish cover the years from about 1930 to 1980. They were donated to the Wright State University Special Collections and Archives in February and March of 1983 by her daughter Marguerite M. Parrish.

Marguerite Parrish was an active Democratic leader for over sixty years. She worked with the Democratic Party at the local, state, and national level. Through her work she gained many acquaintances with leading political figures such as Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Her papers include materials from her acquaintances with these individuals as well as many others. Her papers also include correspondence and information materials on the working of the Democratic party. Some of the most extensive information deals with her work in the Federated Democratic Women of Ohio organization for which she was President.

The collection fills eleven Hollinger boxes and fills approximately 2.5 linear feet of shelf space. There are no restrictions to the use of these materials. The Marguerite Parrish collection is broken into three series and 1 subseries as follows:

• Series I: Democratic Party Activities
  • Subseries I : Political Leaders
• Series II: Personal/Service Activities
• Series III: Ephemera

Biography

Marguerite H. Parrish (1985-1983) was an active Democratic leader for over sixty years. She began her career during the 1930's and lobbied for the "50-50 bill" which demanded equal rights for women. She worked with women's groups on the local level as well as on the state and national level. She held such positions as the President of the Women's Democratic Club of Montgomery County, the President of the Women's Democratic Council of Dayton and Montgomery County, and the President of the Federated Democratic Women of Ohio. While she was President of the Federated Democratic Women of Ohio the organization sponsored the first woman to run for a state office in Ohio, Gertrude Donahey.

Marguerite Parrish was very active with the main body of the Democratic Party where she held a State Central Committeewoman position for twelve years (1966-1978) representing the third Congressional District. Locally, she held positions which included a County central Committee post from about 1954-1972 and the 1974 Democratic Precinct Committeewoman for Kettering. Mrs. Parrish was also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention six times and attended several others. The first she attended was the National Convention of 1944 where she was the first Ohio delegate to vote for Harry Truman for Vice President.

Her years of service also earned her numerous awards including the 1970 Democratic Woman of the Year from the Federated Democratic Women of Ohio. Through the years she gained many acquaintances including such individuals as Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and their families.

In addition to her political career Marguerite Parrish was married, raised a daughter, and was active in many community and service projects. Marguerite was married to Rial T. Parrish, a local architect who designed such buildings as the Fairmont West High School and Kennedy Junior High School in Kettering. Rial Parrish preceded her in death in 1968. They had one child, a daughter, also named Marguerite M. Parrish.

Mrs. Parrish's social and community work included such campaigns as the Porchlight Parade for Polio for which she was the Commander General in 1952, Child Nutrition Association, American Cancer Society, Charter member of the Isabella Saint Anne Circle #396, and the 1971 White House Conference on Aging.

Scope and Content Note

The Marguerite Parrish Papers is divided into three series which are Democratic Party Activities, Personal/Service Activities, and Ephemera.

The first series, the Democratic Party Activities, is the majority of the materials within the collection. The items are arranged beginning with Marguerite Parrish's Personal campaign items. The rest of the collection is organized beginning from the local and moving to the national level. The items include such things as correspondence, minutes, photographs, pamphlets, programs, and newspaper clippings.

Series one also has a subseries entitled Political Leaders. This subseries is also arranged from local to national leaders. This is one of the most interesting parts of the collection dealing with many of her acquaintances such as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Harry S. Truman. The John F. Kennedy files in this subseries has many photographs of the President while visiting Dayton as well as some postcards and letters to Marguerite Parrish. Additionally, many items from the Inaugurations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson are also included in this subseries.

The second series entitled Personal/Service Activities includes both the few items pertaining to her family that were with the collection and her many service organizations which were also included. Her work included the Child Nutrient Association in the 1930's, the Porchlight Parade for Polio in the 1950's, and the 1971 White House Conference on Aging. These items vary considerably in time and content and include such things as books, correspondence, minutes, programs, awards, and newspaper clippings.

The final series is ephemera. This series contains mainly political campaign buttons but also has some American Cancer Society Buttons and state of Ohio patriotism buttons. The campaign buttons begin as early as FDR and run through President Carter. One very interesting piece of ephemera included in this series is an ink pen with President Johnson's signature on it with a note that it was used to sign several bills into Law.

The last box in the collection contains the oversized materials. These materials are noted in their appropriate sections and are also listed separately at the end to assist in locating them. The oversized materials contain items from all the series and subseries.

Series 1: Democratic Party Activities

Subseries 1: Political Leaders

Series 2: Personal/ Service Activities

Series 3: Ephemera