Millicent (Hettie) MackenzieGeologist1876 to 1908
September 24, 2024
Samuel StutchburyGeologist1876 to 1908
November 14, 2024
Early Life
James was born to James St John Gage Parsons and Canadian Elizabeth McLearn in Bristol in 1876.
He was 1 of 7 children and the only living boy. He was educated at University College, Bristol, and then afterwards at University College, London. He was a Fellow of the Geological Society and held a Bachelor of Science degree.
In 1907 he married Margaret James in Switzerland on the 14th Jan. This sadly was only the year before his death in 1908.
They had no children.
with kind permission of family
Career
At one point James was Secretary of the Bristol Branch of the Theosophical Society.
Aged 27 he was appointed in 1903 as Assistant Director of the Mineralogical Survey. It was established by the Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Government and he investigated the mineral resources of the country alongside Ceylonese metaphysician, historian and philosopher A. K. Commaraswamy. Commaraswamy is credited with introducing ancient Indian art to the West. Together they collected/ discovered the mineral ‘Thorianite’. In January 1907 he married Margaret James who travelled with him to Ceylon.
In 1908 he was appointed Principle Mineral Surveyor and he authored several papers about his work and is known for discovering the mineral ‘Thorianite’. As well as his interest in geology, he was interested in Oriental philosophy and in Sinhalese folklore. He was reasonably proficient in Sinhalese and had studied Sanskrit.
Death
James lost his life in Ceylon on the 29th December 1908, upon leaving the house for a walk from which he did not return. The surrounding forests were searched but he was not found. On Easter Day (11th April 1909) his remains (complete, from his clothes to his gold spectacles) were found by a Tamil tracker. He had evidently lost his way and died of exhaustion.
He was buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). There is an in memorium on his family’s grave at Arnos Vale Cemetery.
