William W. Parkin

William Winthrop Parkin, though born in Alabama, was not only of old New York stock,—but of old New England stock as well, having a distinct strain of Puritan blood in his veins as his name would indicate; for his father—who was a physician here, well known in his time—was an immediate descendant of a Massachusetts family of much note. Mr. Parkin spent most of his business life in China, where he went in 1840, on attaining his majority, and where he later formed the house of Nye, Parkin & Co. He afterwards became a member of the noted firm of Olyphant & Co., with whom he remained until their affairs were wound up, when he retired. For the last fifteen years, since his residence in this city, he was a constant attendant at The Century, and here his unfailing courtesy and his rare stock of reminiscences of the life, the ways, and the inimitable talk of the Celestial Empire, made his presence one of the joyous features of club existence. Until near the time of his death, at the advanced age of eighty-two, his visits were regular, and his gentle humor as sparkling as ever. He was among the very last of an ancient and honorable type of merchants whose enterprise, integrity, and skill made the name of America respected in the farthest parts of the world.

Edward Cary
1903 Century Association Yearbook