Born on January 19, 1788, in Hebron, District of Maine (then part of Massachusetts),[1] Parris graduated from Dartmouth College in 1806 and read law in 1809.

[1] Parris was elected as a Democratic-Republican from Massachusetts's 20th congressional district (representing the District of Maine) to the United States House of Representatives of the 14th and 15th United States Congresses and served from March 4, 1815, to February 3, 1818, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial position.

[1] Concurrently with his federal judicial service, he was a Judge of the Cumberland County Probate Court from 1820 to 1821.

[1] Parris was elected to the United States Senate from Maine and served from March 4, 1827, to August 26, 1828, when he resigned.

[4] In the fall of 1846, Parris served as one of the three commissioners negotiating a treaty at Washington, D.C., with the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) Indians.