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Edward Stanly

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Edward Stanly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843
Preceded byEbenezer Pettigrew
Succeeded byDavid S. Reid
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 8th district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853
Preceded byRichard S. Donnell
Succeeded byThomas L. Clingman
Personal details
Born(1810-01-10)January 10, 1810
DiedJuly 12, 1872(1872-07-12) (aged 62)
Spouse
Cornelia Baldwin
​
(m. 1859)​
Parent
RelativesFabius Stanly (brother)
Lewis Armistead (nephew)

Edward W. Stanly (January 10, 1810 – July 12, 1872) was an American lawyer and politician.[1] He was a North Carolina politician and orator who represented the southeastern portion of the state in the United States House of Representatives for five terms. In 1857, Stanly ran for Governor of California, but lost to John B. Weller. Politicians of the mid-nineteenth century remarked that Stanly bore a strong physical resemblance to William H. Seward, though this resemblance lessened over time.

Biography

Stanly was born in New Bern, North Carolina, on January 10, 1810.[1] He was a son of U.S. Representative John Stanly of New Bern and a cousin of U.S. Senator George Edmund Badger. Stanly attended New Bern Academy and graduated from the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy, Norwich University in 1829. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1832. He settled in Beaufort County and began to practice law.

Four years later, he successfully ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives on the Whig ticket. He served in the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh congresses from March 4, 1837 to March 3, 1843. Stanly earned his reputation as North Carolina's greatest orator of his generation during his first term in Congress. Throughout his service in Congress, Stanly was a leader of the Southerners who emphasized the Union over states' rights. He won the nickname the 'Conqueror' during his re-election campaign of 1839.

After an unsuccessful bid for re-election in 1843 due to unfavorable redistricting, Stanly returned to North Carolina, where he served as a member of the House of Commons from 1844 to 1846 and again in 1848. He was speaker of the State House from 1844 to 1846, and his impartial presiding was hailed by Commoners of both parties as returning dignity to the chamber in the place of the former political rancor. Stanly served briefly as attorney general of North Carolina in 1847-1848.

In 1849, Stanly was again elected to the U.S. House, serving two terms from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1853. He declined to run for a sixth term in the elections of 1853 and instead moved to California and practiced law in San Francisco. He was the Republican Party’s unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1857.

He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and he was also a slaveowner.[1] Abraham Lincoln appointed Stanly military governor of eastern North Carolina with the rank of brigadier general on May 26, 1862. Stanly resigned this office less than a year later on March 2, 1863, in a dispute with President Lincoln over the Emancipation Proclamation.

He returned to California and resumed his law practice. He died in San Francisco on July 12, 1872. He is buried in the Stanly family plot at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

Personal life

On May 11, 1859, in San Francisco, Stanly married Cornelia Baldwin, the sister of Joseph G. Baldwin, a Virginia-born attorney who served on the California Supreme Court.[2] She died April 13, 1903, in San Francisco.[3]

Stanly's sister married General Walker Keith Armistead. His brother, Fabius Stanly, was a Unionist and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.[4] Stanly's nephew Brigadier General Lewis Armistead, fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Armistead led the Confederate Army at Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. Stanly and Armistead were born in the same house in New Bern, North Carolina. The home stands today.

Sources consulted

  • United States Congress. "Edward Stanly (id: S000799)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • NCpedia

Further reading

  • Norman D. Brown, "Edward Stanly: First Republican Candidate for Governor of California," California Historical Society Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 3 (Sept. 1968), pp. 251–272. In JSTOR
  • Norman D. Brown, Edward Stanly: Whiggery's Tarheel 'Conqueror.' Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1974.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Index to Politicians: Stanly to Stant". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  2. ^ "City Intelligence". Sacramento Daily Union. Vol. 17, no. 2534. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 11 May 1859. p. 3. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Died, Stanly". San Francisco Call. California Digital Newspaper Collection. 14 April 1903. p. 15. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "Marcus Cicero Stanly". Fayetteville Weekly Observer. 1885-07-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
Party political offices
First Republican nominee for Governor of California
1857 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 3rd congressional district
1837–1843 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 8th congressional district
1849–1853 		Succeeded by
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of North Carolina
1848–1851 		Succeeded by
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