Although there are records of earlier Parmelees in Europe who probably are ancestors of John Parmelee, researchers have not yet connected them to the John of Lewes, the patriarch of the Parmelee descendants in Connecticut and beyond. John ( - 1583) is the last of the Parmelee's to remain in England and is the father of John Sr. in America. The Parmelee name is found in heavy concentration in two areas during the time period before 1600: south of London in Lewes and near the border with Scotland, in Middleton-in-Teesdale. It is the Parmelee's of Lewes who colonized Connecticut. Records of these Parmelee's date back to 1572 at All Saints. Later records are found at St. Michael. Shortly before John Parmelee Sr. left for Connecticut, records of Parmelee's in Lewes dry up. The Parmelee's of Middleton-in-Teesdale headed to Pennsylvania first and then off to the Midwest.