Los Angeles herald., 1892-01-07
JAMES PARTON.

charmed the most orthodox, and while
his views on such exciting subjects as
slavery, war and the tariff were ex-
treme even to the verge Of fanaticism, he
wrote biographies of Aaron Burr, Horace
Greeley and Andrew jackson that charm
ed men of all parties, destroyed half the
old federalist prejudice against Thomas
jefferson, and almost interested south
erners in Ben Butler as gentleman and
philanthropist. What is equally remark
able, he violated some Of the strongest
social rules without losing caste, and
wrote eulogistic life of Voltaire with
out exciting the wrath of religious edi-
tors. The charm of his style and the evil
dent sincerity in his expression account
for it.
He was born in Canterbury, England,
Feb. 8, 1922, and at the age of five was
taken by his widowed mother to New
York, got his education there and at
White Plains, and then passed year in
the Old World, expending in the tour a
small legacy he had received in England.
He taught school awhile in Philadelphia
and New York, and while in the latter
city wrote an analysis Of the famous
"Jane Eyre" demonstrating that it was
the work of woman. This essay he sent
to The Home Journal, with many mis-
givings. To his supreme delight, as he
tells us, it appeared in the next number
of that paper, with editorial approval by
N. p. Willis; he sought the latter's ac-
quaintance and resolved to devote his life
to literature.
His salary on The Home Journal was
ten dollars per week for long time, nor
did he make any great success till he
issued the ''Life Of Horace Greeley" in
1856. Thirty-fve thousand copies were
sold in the first "boom," and the work is
still in some demand. In 1857 he issued
the ''Life and Times of Aaron Burr" in
1860 the "Life Of Andrew Jackson "Ben
Butler in New Orleans" in 1868, and the
"Life of Benjamin Franklin" Many
minor works followed, and in 1878 his
"Life of Thomas Jefferson" produced
quite sensation.
In 1881 he published his favorite, the
book to which he had devoted all his
leisure hours since boyhood, "The Life
of Voltaire" This work was his labor
of love- Voltaire was his hero. He had
studied that authors works as no other
American ever did. Critics esteem it his
best work, but the general public has
not yet taken hold of it as of his biogra-
phies of eminent Americans.
In 1856 Mr.. Parton married the lady
whose pen name was Fanny Fern
Sara Payson Willis, sister of N P. Willis
and widow of Charles s. Eldridge, of
Boston. In 1879 she died, and a year or
two later he married her daughter and
his own stepdaughter, Miss Ellen w.
Eldridge. OF course there was 'sdis-
cussion." Discovering that the marriage
in Massachusetts was illegal they re-
moved to New xork and had the cere-
mony performed again. On their return
| to Massachusetts there was a scomplica-
tion." The legislature passed law
legalizing the marriage, but Governor
Rice vetoed it. The New York marriage,
however, was valid in both states. His
second union was much happier than his
| first, and his children by that union are
a boy and girl, of fourteen and twelve
years, respectively. He lived in New
buryport, Mass, after 1879 and was an
active and valued citizen. a