Henry M. Parchen was born in Prussia on June 13, 1839, the youngest of four children of George and Mary Parchen. When Henry was nine, the family emigrated to the United States, first settling near Buffalo, New York. After attending business college in Buffalo, Henry moved first to Indiana in 1857 and then to Ohio in 1858. In 1862 he moved to Colorado, where he was a bookkeeper for a hotel in Denver, and then managed a hotel in Central City. Parchen traveled to Virginia City, Montana, in 1864. After working there briefly as a bookkeeper for Erfurt, Busch and Company, he opened a drug store in Helena with partners Dr. Wernigk and Louis Keysser. Parchen’s drug business gradually expanded, operating under the name Parchen and Painter, and then as H. M. Parchen and Company. He opened branch stores in several other towns. In 1893 the business was formally incorporated as the Parchen Drug Company.
In addition to his drug store business, Parchen invested widely in a variety of enterprises including the Helena Gas Company, the Electric Light and Street Railway Company, and numerous mines, smelters, ranches, and real estate. He also was connected with the Helena Cab Company, the Helena Motor Company, the Lakeview Land and Boating Company, and the Montana Phonograph Company, all of which are represented in this collection.
Henry M. Parchen was also active in politics. He served in the territorial legislature in 1881, and was elected three times as a Lewis and Clark County commissioner.
In 1872 he married Emma D’Acheul. The couple had four children: Adele, Henry G., Albert D. and Ruehling A. Henry G. was active in many of his father’s enterprises. Henry M. Parchen died October 6, 1925.
From the guide to the Henry M. Parchen records, 1906-1927, (Montana Historical Society Research Center)
