Parson James

James in 2018, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Ashton L. Parson

Place of Birth: Cheraw, South Carolina, U.S.

Date of Birth: June 7, 1991

Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – English, German, Scottish, Irish, Northern Irish/Scots-Irish

Parson James is an American singer and songwriter. He is also known as Parson James.

He has described himself as biracial. His father is African-American and his mother is white. He was raised by his mother. He moved to New York City at seventeen.

Parson’s maternal grandfather was George Leland Stroud (the son of Thomas Simpson Stroud and Elma Chisholm). George was born in South Carolina. Thomas was born in South Carolina, the son of David Calvin Stroud and Mary Cornelia Huggins. Elma was born in South Carolina, the daughter of Gilbert Grafton Chisholm and Bonnie Vermelle Tolson.

Parson’s maternal grandmother is Machaelle Smith (the daughter of William Charles Smith and Joyce Marie Ewers). William was born in Wisconsin, the son of Herbert A. Smith and Emma Helena Matilda Fritz, whose parents were German. Joyce was born in Iowa, the daughter of William McKinley Ewers and Ethel Mabel Osborne.

Sources: Obituary of Parson’s maternal grandfather, George Leland Stroud – http://genealogybuff.com

Obituary of Parson’s maternal great-grandmother, Joyce Marie (Ewers) Smith – http://www.familysearch.org