Soon after his graduation, in 1840,[5] Parks moved to Springfield, Illinois, where he taught school for six years,[2][3] received an M.A. from Jacksonville College in 1844,[2] and read law.[2][3] He became junior member of Abraham Lincoln's law firm.[4] He became one of Lincoln's closest friends, the pair often traveling the Illinois circuit together.[4][3] In 1853, he married Elizabeth A. Hurley in Logan County, Illinois, and they would have four children.[6]
Political and judicial activities
Parks became active in Illinois politics, serving as a school commissioner,[3] and as a member of the 1848 Illinois Constitutional Convention.[3][2] In 1855, he was elected to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives.[7][5] Parks attended both the 1856 and 1860 Republican National Conventions,[5] and was instrumental in having Lincoln nominated for the presidency,[4] primarily by canvassing his native state of Vermont.[5]
On March 6, 1863, President Lincoln nominated him as one of the first associate justices of the newly-established Idaho Territorial Supreme Court, and he was confirmed by the senate four days later.[8] He resigned from the court in 1865, leaving office in May 1865,[6] following the death of one of his children in Illinois.[9] Parks was also a delegate to the 1870 Illinois Constitutional Convention.[5]
On December 15, 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes nominated Parks as Associate Justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court, and he was confirmed by the senate on January 22, 1882.[10] At Parks's request, President Chester A. Arthur nominated him as Associate Justice of the Wyoming Territorial Supreme Court on January 6, 1882, and he was confirmed by the senate five days later.[11][5][2] He served on the latter court until 1886, and afterwards served on the State Board of Pardons of Kansas and a court referee in Cleveland, Ohio.[3]
Death
He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. H. D. Lee, of Kansas City, Missouri.[4][3] At the time of his death, at age 97, he was Indiana University's oldest living alumnus.[4] By coincidence he was laid to rest on the anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln.[4]
