Hon. Parley Finch is a son of James and Lucia (Johnson) Finch.  He was born September 24, 1844, at Windham, Bradford County, Pennsylvania.  He received his education in the common schools of his county and at the early age of eighteen commenced teaching.  He taught nine terms in the state of Pennsylvania and New York, during which time he read law three months in the office of Orin Miller at Bradford, Pennsylvania.  He later studied with his brother Ira Finch, and was admitted to the bar in September 1871, this practically providing for himself his own education.

He came to Humboldt County, Iowa in the fall of 1871 and there again in the spring of 1872 and commenced the practice of law.  His constant attention to business and his continuous efforts to work for the interests of the clients caused him to build up a large and lucrative practice.

He married Mary D. (Wait) Finch April 14, 1869.  As a result of this marriage two children were born: -- William J.; Mina H, now living at Nicholls, Tioga County, New York.  Mrs. Finch died June 12, 1882.

Senator Finch begun his public career by serving as mayor of the town of Humboldt three terms.  He also held other minor offices, such as trustee one term and councilman one term.  In 1893 he was elected representative and was re-elected to the same office in 1895, serving in the Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth General Assemblies.

During the session of the Twenty0-Sixth General Assembly he was selected chairman of the third division of the Code Committee.  Owing to the illness of Representative Cornwall, Senator Finch acted as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.  At the extra session of the legislature, called for the purpose of adopting the Code in 1897, he took a very active part.  Near the close of the session, he was selected by the house as a member of the Code Supervising Committee, of which he later became secretary.  This committee had charge of the publication and annotation of the Code, and it was in this work that he spent most of the summer of 1897.  During the session he was one of the most active members of the legislature, taking part in all of the committee work and personally winning several important points which came before the legislature.   In 1897 he was elected state senator, which office he still holds.

In religion he is a Protestant, and in politics a Republican.  He is a member of  the Masonic Order of Humboldt, Iowa.

During his career, by his own efforts, he has acquired an unusually large competency, owning about 1800 acres of land and a number of most prominent business buildings in the town of Humboldt; having in addition to property already named, a number of invested interests, being a stock-holder in the People's Bank at Humboldt, Iowa, and for a number of years a director and stock-holder in the Humboldt State Bank.

While he was a member of the Iowa legislature, the records of the house journal show that he was on more important committees, offered more resolutions, and carried more motions than any other member of that General Assembly.  By close attention he learned the section number of almost every important provision in the Code, and seldom failed to remember just what the statute provided in a given case.  Thus Senator Finch has, by his own efforts, won eminence among the prominent men connected with the history of Humboldt County.

He had a son, William, who died while a young man, and one daughter, Mina Harriet.  Mrs. Finch died when Mina was 8 years old, and thereafter the daughter lived with her aunt, Almyro Russell, in Nichols, New York.  She attended Elmira College, in New York, until her marriage to Lorenzo W. Housel.  In 1902 Mr. Finch's son-in-law, Lorenzo, joined him in the practice of law, and they continued together in the same office on the second floor of the Finch building at 613 Sumner Ave. until Mr. Finch's death in 1927 (age 82), although the latter was inactive in the profession in later years.  He was a large stockholder of the Humboldt County Bank (later named Humboldt State Bank) and President until selling his interest about 1916.  He was a member of the Humboldt Masonic lodge.  His daughter, Mrs. Mina Housel, continues her residence in Humboldt, reaching the age of 88 on August 20, 1962.  She is a member of the Congregational Church and served a term on the board of directors of the Humboldt independent school district.