Second child and first son born to John Alfred Parish and Mary Magnolia Manning, Luther Ottis Parrish was raised in the Red Bluff section of Marlboro County and lived there nearly all his entire life, as many of his ancestors did before him. He came from a long line of farmers, people who loved the land and made their living off it, and that inherit familial trait was passed on to him as well. He worked his father's land for many years before striking out on his own. By the time he reached his mid 20s, he had lost both parents within a four-year span, plus had married in-between and fathered several children. That period in his life must have been quite a challenging one to shoulder, and one which made him mature even quicker in order to face the full responsibilities of manhood and stand on his own. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, custom among country families dictated that the eldest son often was charged with becoming the patriarch of the family after a father's death, no matter his age. So as the eldest son, no doubt Ottis, too, would have been expected to see to the welfare of his young brothers and sisters before his own.
In 1916, shortly after his mother's death, he married Miss Sarah Ellen Spears--"Sallie" as she was often called--from the well-known Spears farming family. Their lands adjoined with Parrish property at the time in the Clio section. Together they had eight accounted for children: Lawrence, Gladys, John, Sarah, Charlie, Carl, Ruth and Francis. Some are buried alongside Ottis and Sallie in the Spears Cemetery in Marlboro County, along with their descendants and other close kin.
June 5th of 1917 found Ottis along other men of across the US, reporting and filling out draft cards for WWI registration duty. On his card, which he filled out in Antioch, Hoke County, NC, he wrote down that he lived at RFD #1, Shannon NC, was married with a child, and worked for his father. As all men had to do on their draft cards, he described his appearance: medium in height, slender, with sandy hair and blue eyes.
By 1920, as recorded on the census that year, Ottis and Sallie had set up home in Clio, Marlboro County, and had the first three of their childen. At that time they were renting a large home with another family, the Modlins, while becoming established. By the time of the 1940 census, Ottis and Sallie had worked hard and successfully at farming, and had acquired a home and farm of their own. The remaining children still living with them pitched in and helped run it.
In 1964, Sallie passed away. Ottis lived on until 1977 and died in Fayetteville NC, at age 82, and was brought home for burial in Spears Cemetery. He rests alongside Sallie.
One interesting note about Ottis: he must not have cared much for his given Christian name of Luther. Even though he was listed as Luther on early census records when he was a child, in later life his chose to list himself simply as Ottis, rather than Luther. There is no hint nor record of his first name after age 15 until 1917. At that time he was called upon to fill out his WWI draft registration card, but once again he left off the name of Luther and simply signed Ottis Parish instead. At some point, Ottis had a street named for him in the Hebron section of Marlboro by either a city or county government official. It is located just down the road from the burial grounds of his parents in Stanton Cemetery. Perhaps he was well-known and popular in the community, or had performed some notable or remarkable act that warranted such recognition. But for the moment only speculation exists as to why he was honored in such a way. Regardless, whomever it was that initiated the sign saw to it that the sign was dubbed 'Ottis Parrish' rather than 'Luther Ottis Parrish' and must have surely known him and his dislike for his full name. The only place one gets a written hint of Ottis' first name is his headstone; however, even that carries only the initial L and not the full name. Once again, one can only speculate as to why family omitted spelling out his full name on his final resting place, but the only conclusion to be drawn--amusingly--is that not only did Ottis dislike his first name, using it would also have incurred his wrath--which must have been considerable and quite fearful in life--even in death.
Ottis also carried though the tradition of what so many of his kin did who carried the surname Parish--they either added or deleted an R to the name as it suited them throughout their lives. That quirky characteristic carries forth to this day with those who bear the name. It is said by some in the family who steadfastly and consistently spell their last names with one R that only the 'bad' Parish folks in the family, the 'black sheep,' spell their names in the double R version. Whether or not that is true will only be ascertained by history--as well as police records--in due time.