Dr. John Parmenter, for almost a quarter of a century engaged in the active practice of the medical profession, is a man of noble impulses, sound judgment, keen perceptions and remarkable force and determination of character. Honorable in every relation of life, he commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, whether professionally or in private life. It is unnecessary to say that as a physician he commanded the esteem of his fellow citizens; the record of his daily life is ample testimony to this fact. As he devoted the best years of his life to a noble profession, so is he now (1910) crowned with its choicest rewards. In all professions, but more especially in the medical, there are exalted heights to which genius itself dares scarcely soar, and which can be gained only after long years of patient, arduous and unremitting toil and inflexible and unfaltering courage. To this proud eminence we may safely say Dr. Parmenter has risen, and in this statement we feel confident we shall be sustained by the universal opinion of his professional brethren, the best standard of judgment in such cases.
William L., son of James Frederick Parmenter, a native of Vermont, was born in 1836, and was a prominent physician of Buffalo, New York, where he, spending the active years of his life, engaged in the practice of the medical profession. He married Clara Adelaide Smith, who was born in Dunnville, Ontario, Canada, in 1841. His love for and pride in his profession he transmitted to his son.
Dr. John, son of William L. and Clara Adelaide (Smith) Parmenter, was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, January 25, 1862. Shortly afterward his parents made their home in Buffalo, New York, and he received his elementary education in the public schools and Central High School of that city, being graduated from the latter institution in 1879. He then matriculated at the University of Buffalo, from the medical department of which he was graduated with honor in 1883, and the degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred upon him. He immediately established himself in the practice of medicine and surgery in Buffalo. New York, where it was but a short time before his value as a physician and surgeon became a well established fact, and his services were called into requisition not alone by private patients but by his colleagues, in consultation. This was especially true of surgical cases, in which he was soon recognized as an authority, being for many years a professor of anatomy and surgery. His patients regarded him as a friend as well as a healer, and his sympathetic heart and manner tended greatly to lessen the sufferings of those whom he was called upon to attend. Having practiced constantly until 1905, he felt that he owed it to himself to retire to a less exhausting mode of life. Accordingly in that year he purchased the old Snell farm in Geneva, Ontario county, New York, changing the name to that of “High Acres.” This tract consists of one hundred and sixty-six acres of land, situated on a very high knoll overlooking the town of Geneva, about three and a half miles distant, and also affording a beautiful view for many miles over the surrounding country in all directions. The house is a large and commodious one, fitted up with all modern improvements which tend to make life charming. Here Dr. Parmenter spends his leisure hours engaged in reading and study, for although he has retired from active practice he retains all his old interest in matters concerning progress in scientific circles, and occasionally writes papers of undoubted scientific value. He is a Fellow of the American Surgical Society, whose membership is composed of one hundred and twenty-five of the most eminent surgeons in the United States, and is a member of the University Club and various medical societies of Geneva and elsewhere, and now (1911) is president of the Geneva Public Health Association. His religious affiliations are with the Episcopal church.
Dr. Parmenter married, September 22, 1892, Frances Perry, born in Auburn, New York, March 16, 1867, a daughter of George and Ellen (Marvin) Gorham, the former a prominent lawyer of Buffalo, New York, the latter a native of Auburn, New York. Dr. and Mrs. Parmenter have an only child, Richard, born November 16, 1894.