Archives West Finding Aid

William Brigham Parkinson was born on April 4, 1852 in Bradford, England. Three years later his parents, John and Mary (Woffenden) Parkinson left England for the United States. Two years later, when William was only five-years-old, his mother died while giving birth to a child. Sometime thereafter, William's father remarried, and the family attempted to cross the plains. Sadly, in the process of traveling, William's father died near Malheur River, Oregon in 1862. At age ten, William was left in the care of a physically abusive stepmother, which caused him to run away from home. Shortly thereafter, he was adopted by John W. Chapman of Helena, Montana. It was while living with Chapman that William received a basic education. At the age of 16, William left Montana to work for the Union Pacific Railroad in Morgan, Utah. In 1873, at age 21, he married Elizabeth Bull of Morgan. Two years later he also married Clarissa Taggart of Salt Lake City. In 1877 he left the United States for England and served a three-year mission for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon returning in 1880, William studied medicine under Dr. F. S. Kohler, and later received his degree in medicine from Rush Medical College, Chicago. In 1885 William came to Cache Valley, and in 1892 he set up shop in Logan. He opened his own clinic/hospital and specialized in eye, ear, nose, and throat maladies. During this time, he married two more women, Edith Benson (1886) of Whitney, Idaho, and Margaret Sloan (1890), an English emigrant. Over the course of William's life, he and his wives had many children. William regularly traveled to Berlin and London for additional medical training. In 1896, William began teaching a class on the practice of medicine and was allowed to certify and endorse nurses, among them Ella C. H. Cardon. William later became a member of American Medical Association and the Utah State Medical Society. William practiced medicine in Logan until his death on November 9, 1920.

Sources for information on Dr. W. B. Parkinson;

The Herald Journal, Nov 10 & 15, 1920.

State of Utah, History of Utah Since Statehood, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago; Salt Lake City, 1920 (located at USU Special Collections, 979.2 W259 V. 4)

Ella Clarinda Hinckley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on September 17, 1867. Ella was the sixth of eleven children born of Arza Erastus Hinckley and Temperance Ricks. Ella then obtained her education at the Brigham Young Academy in Provo, and later at the Brigham Young College in Logan. Ella also volunteered her time by serving as an early temple worker in the Logan Temple. It was there that on June 24, 1886 in Logan, Utah and at the age of 19, that Ella married a 44-year-old businessman and politician named Thomas Bartholomew Cardon, and became his second wife. (Like Ella's father, Thomas also practiced polygamy, taking three wives over the course of his life.) On October 6, 1886, just over three months after their marriage, Thomas was arrested for unlawful cohabitation, yet he was never convicted of any crime. Together they had five children; Ella Vida (1890), Raymond (1892), Grace (1893), Cara (1896), and Thomasa (1898). Thomas and Ella were married for twelve years until February of 1898, Thomas died at the age of 56. Ella was 31 years old and pregnant with their last daughter Thomasa, at the time of his death.

At some point during this part of her life, Ella became a nurse and also served as subscription teacher in a school at Rexburg, Idaho. She obtained her nursing degree from Dr. William B. Parkinson's Hospital. On the inside cover of the lecture-notes book (book 3), she states that she took courses on medical instruction from a Dr. William B. Parkinson from 1896-1901. Her notes are very detailed and informative about treating wounds, illnesses, and delivering children. Ella also states that she "took Red Cross Nursing in the First World War. 1918. Service Star Officer." Some of the notes in her books give hints about her daily activities, but much remains unknown about her personal life.

Ella remained a widow until she married a widower and former sheriff named Daniel Lewis Hoopes in Logan, Utah on November 11, 1906. Daniel was 18 years older than Ella and had ten surviving children from his previous marriage. In 1907, at age 40 Ella gave birth to their first child, Warner. In 1910, they had their second and final child, naming her Florence. They were married for nineteen years until Daniel died at the age of 76 in April of 1925. Ella Clarinda Hinckley Cardon Hoopes lived to the age of 86 years old, until her death in Logan on May 30, 1954.

Sources for information on Ella C. Hinckley;

The Herald Journal, June 1, 1954.

Herbert Alexander Adamson was born on October 12, 1870 in Ottawa, Ontario to John and Mary (Derbeshire) Adamson. As a youth, Herbert was well educated and later received his medical degree in 1893. In 1893 he moved to Richmond, Utah, and became the town's second doctor. Shortly after moving to Utah, he was elected to be the president of the State Medical Association. On December 21, 1896, he married a local Richmond woman named Marlietta Lewis. Together they had two children, Herbert Jr. and Bonnie. Over the course of his time living in Richmond, Herbert grew quite fond of the town. He became actively involved in the town's political affairs, and worked to promote such things as Richmond's first town library. When World War I started, Herbert wanted to enlist but was turned down. In response, he freely treated the families of soldiers who were away during the war. He later became a contract doctor for Utah-Idaho Central Railroad employees in Richmond as well as the doctor for the employees of the Amalgamated Sugar Company in Lewiston, Utah. He lived and practiced medicine until his death in Richmond on November 17, 1932.

Sources for information on Dr. H. A. Adamson

Bair, Amos S., History of Richmond, Utah, Richmond Bicentennial Committee, 1976 (located at USU Special Collections and Archives, 979.27 B161).

The Deseret News, Nov 20, 1932.

The Salt Lake Tribune, Nov 18, 1932.

Currently, no information is available on Dr. John Murphy.