Virgil Delphini PARRIS, Congress, ME (1807-1874)

PARRIS, Virgil Delphini, (cousin of Albion Keith Parris), a Representative from Maine; born in Buckfield, Maine, February 18, 1807; attended the common schools, Hebron Academy, Hebron, Maine, and Colby College, Waterville, Maine; was graduated from Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., in 1827; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1830 and commenced practice in Buckfield, Maine; assistant secretary of the Maine senate in 1831; member of the State house of representatives 1832-1837; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Timothy J. Carter; reelected to the Twenty-sixth Congress and served from May 29, 1838, to March 3, 1841; unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1840; member of the State senate in 1842 and 1843, part of the time serving as president pro tempore and as Acting Governor of the State; United States marshal for the district of Maine 1844-1848; special mail agent for New England in 1853; appointed naval storekeeper at Kittery Navy Yard in 1856; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1852 and 1872; died in Paris, Oxford County, Maine, June 13, 1874; interment in the Rawson family knoll in the Old Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present