Roy Earl Parrish (November 24, 1888 – July 22, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the West Virginia Senate from 1915 until his death in 1918.

While in the legislature, Parrish took many progressive positions, and introduced bills establishing worker's compensation and campaign finance reform.

[14] Parrish, who campaigned alongside congressional candidate Howard Sutherland, ran on a platform of being "independent of all factionalism"; the Clarksburg Daily Telegram considered him "a loyal Republican and a firm believer in the party's principles".

Additionally, he backed legislation that established a public services commission, granted women's suffrage, and improved West Virginia's road network.

[5][7] During the same session, Parrish nominated Judge Nathan Goff Jr. for the United States Senate and was one of his primary supporters in the legislature.

[19][20] In 1914, Parrish announced his candidacy for the West Virginia Senate, running in the 12th senatorial district, which consisted of Harrison, Lewis, and Doddridge counties.

Charles E. Baird introduced a parallel resolution in the House of Delegates saying Charleston had a poor climate and was riddled with smallpox.

[37][38] Senator Wells Goodykoontz, a former-Democrat-turned-Republican and the administration's spokesman, introduced a bill to institute a production tax on natural gas.

As a compromise, Parrish introduced an amendment to the bill that would also levy production taxes on coal and oil but Goodykoontz rejected this.

Goodykoontz gave an impassioned speech in which he accused the anti-administration faction of being "driven by the lash of corporate wealth in order to protect those who object to paying their equitable share of taxes".

[39] During the May session, all anti-administration senators were purposefully excluded from the special committee that was tasked with reviewing all introduced legislation, allowing Governor Hatfield to force through his preferred revenue package, an omnibus bill that was derisively referred to as a "jitney bus" and contained tax increases across the board.

[53] In Harrison County, Parrish organized several speeches from national Republican politicians, including former U.S. attorney general George W. Wickersham,[54] U.S. senator Albert B. Cummins,[55][note 2] and U.S. representatives Henry Wilson Temple and Nicholas Longworth.

[51] He was also endorsed by the Clarksburg Daily Telegram,[51] the Tyler County News,[65] and Republican National Committeeman Virgil L.

[66] Concerns about his age were raised, however: opponents claimed Parrish was "too young ... to occupy the place of succession to the governorship".

While at Camp Sheridan, Parrish worked as a judge advocate until December 15, when he was given orders to report to New York City for deployment to Europe.

Parrish was well-regarded in the position; a superior wrote: "his reports have been clear, intelligent, and full of valuable information.

[3][6] Four days later,[73] near the town of Noyant-et-Aconin,[74] Parrish was killed when a German high explosive shell directly struck him, blowing him "to pieces".

[3][6] Major John C. Bond, the adjutant general of West Virginia, praised Parrish's military service and described him as a "second [Theodore] Roosevelt" and "one of the most fearless men I have ever known".

[72] Henry Pinckney McCain, the adjutant general of the U.S. Army, also commended Parrish's "heroic sacrifice and patriotism".