Marcus Parrott wrote from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, to his brother, Edwin Parrott. Marcus described the events of his ride home from a business meeting in Lawrence, where he encountered a funeral procession for his friend T. C. Shoemaker, who had been beaten to death for "abusing" Mayor William E. Murphy. Marcus equated this murder to the assault on William Phillips in May 1855, and anticipated that there would only be a "so-called" trial for the men responsible. He also told his brother to be prepared to come to Kansas Territory in April.