Nathaniel Parsons House (1719)
About 1730 (now believed to be c.1719) Nathaniel Parsons built a single-chimney house on the homelot originally laid out by his grandfather, Joseph Parsons, in 1654. At one time the house was thought to have been built by Joseph Parsons, known as Cornet Joseph, one of the founders of Springfield and Northampton, whose wife, Mary Bliss Parsons, was famously found not guilty of witchcraft by a jury in 1675. The Parsons House was gradually remodeled and expanded over time by later owners. In 1941, the Parsons House was donated to Historic Northampton and became part of the organization’s collection of historic buildings. It has recently undergone restoration.
For more information on Joseph Parsons, check out Cornet Joseph Parsons one of the founders of Springfield and Northampton, Massachusetts: Springfield, 1636; Northampton, 1655. An Historical Sketch from Original Sources, viz., Town, County, Court, and Private Records (1898), by Henry M. Burt and Parsons family: Descendants of Cornet Joseph Parsons, Springfield, 1636–Northampton, 1655, Volume 1 (1912), by Henry Parsons.
There’s also this video from Historic Northampton:
I’ve visited the house. Once I was working for a moving company moving stuff for the Springfield court system and moved a document on a frame that was Joseph Parsons deed/land grant for the properties he held in the area.
I am the Granddaughter of Jessie Louise Parsons, born November 12,1860, in Big Rock, Iowa to Frances Janes and Louise Parsons. I have large portraits of Frances and Louise Parsons that I would like to donate to the Historical Society if they want them. I am planning a visit to the Parson’s House, which I have never seen, probably in October of this year. I now live in Mt. Joy, PA. I will try to contact the Historical Society sometime next week to see if they would be interested in having those portraits. I will bring them with me in October if they want them.