Samuel L. Parrish

The reminiscent picture which frequenters of the Club-house are likely to draw of Samuel Longstreth Parrish is of the spare figure, keen eyes and flowing white moustache of the fellow-member who invariably passed down beside the Century lunch or dinner table, with a goodnatured and usually inquiring word to every one. As a companion in the Club-house groups he was most likable; his part in the talk was amusing, less perhaps because of anything strikingly original in what he said than because of his persistent drawing-out of other men’s conversation. Those of us who had enjoyed the hospitality of Parrish at his Southampton house learned how an evening’s sociable exchange of views could be stimulated by his eager inquiries. In his Long Island home, Parrish was uncontestedly First Citizen. Moving with equally close affiliation among the plain Southampton natives and the summer colony, he was at all times the unofficial head of each community. It was his pleasure to promote, by personal effort and by private munificence, the institutions of the town. He founded and for the most part personally equipped Southampton’s Art Museum, was the prime mover in establishing its memorial hall in memory of the war, and had a leading part in initiating and perfecting the Shinnecock Hills golf links. Perhaps a still more interesting instance of his unflagging devotion to the possibilities of his home town was his plan for autumn public addresses at Southampton on problems of the day. To Parrish, it was a moment of pure delight when the Southampton speeches caught the attention of a greater audience and the city newspapers sent down special reporters to describe the occasion.

Alexander Dana Noyes
1933 Century Association Yearbook