Background

Richard was born on September 9, 1812 at Alexandria, (now Virginia), the son of Richard and Harriet (Perry) Stanton; Frederick P. Stanton was a younger brother.

Education

He received his elementary education at the academy in Alexandria conducted by Benjamin Hallowell.

Career

In early youth Stanton assisted his father in his occupation as a brick-mason, but devoted his spare time to reading law. In 1835 he moved to Kentucky, taking up his residence at Maysville the following year, and in 1839 was admitted to the bar. He was a ready writer and edited the Maysville Monitor until 1841, when he entered regularly upon the practice of law.

Appointed postmaster at Maysville in 1845, he held the position until 1849. In that year he was elected to Congress and was twice reelected. During his second term he was chairman of the committee on public grounds and buildings and was instrumental in advancing the construction and improvement of the Capitol.

In his last term, he was chairman of the committee on elections and of the select committee on the military supervision of civil works. It was upon his motion and insistence that the territory (now the state) of Washington received its name by congressional enactment in February 1853.

To the office of the tenth judicial district of Kentucky he was elected in 1858, and retained the post until 1862, when he resigned. In 1868 he was elected judge of the circuit court for the fourteenth judicial (Maysville) district, and served the full term of six years. Always an ardent Democrat, he was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention of 1844, by which James K. Polk was nominated for the presidency, and was also a delegate to the Baltimore Convention of 1852, which nominated Franklin Pierce.

On account of his anti-administration attitude and outspoken Southern sympathies, in October 1861 he was arrested and temporarily confined in Camp Chase, at Columbus, Ohio, but was soon transferred to Fort Lafayette, New York City, where he remained a prisoner for some time.

He was a member of the Union Convention which met in Philadelphia in 1866, and of the New York Convention of 1868, which nominated Horatio Seymour for president.

Of his earlier speeches, that delivered at Maysville on December 18, 1847, "In Defence of the Mexican War, " is, perhaps, the best example, and his speech in the House of Representatives, on June 14, 1854, "Against Military Superintendency of Civil Works, " is a good illustration, in style and substance, of his political sentiments.

He died in 1891.

Achievements

• Richard Henry Stanton was an influencial presidential elector from Kentucky and cast his vote for James Buchanan. In 1857 he was appointed commonwealth's attorney for what was then the tenth judicial district of Kentucky. His works as a law-writer comprise the following publications, which were extensively used: Code of Practice in Civil and Criminal Cases for the State of Kentucky (1859); The Revised Statutes of Kentucky (1860); The Revised Statutes of Kentucky (1867). Stanton, the county seat of Powell County (established in 1852) was named in his honor.

Works

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  • A practical manual for the use of executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, etc., in Kentucky: with the law in regard to wills, and the probate thereof, and forms for the use of these officers.

    ( The Making of the Modern Law: Legal Treatises, 1800-192...)

  • A practical treatise on the law relating to the powers and duties of justices of the peace, clerks of the circuit and county courts, sheriffs, ... of Kentucky: with all needful forms, etc.

    (The Making of the Modern Law: Legal Treatises, 1800-1926 ...)

  • Speech of Richard H. Stanton, Esq., in defence of the Mexican War: delivered at the war meeting, Maysville, Saturday, December 18, 1847.

    (Title: Speech of Richard H. Stanton, Esq., in defence of ...)

  • Toxicology of Halogenated Hydrocarbons: Health and Ecological Effects

Personality

He was methodical, painstaking, and laborious; solid, safe, and thorough, rather than original or brilliant.

Quotes from others about the person

• According to Collins, as a newspaper editor and contributor, Stanton was a writer "of marked versatility and vigor". During his congressional career he is said to have been "the ablest and most popular Democrat in the district".

Connections

In 1833 he was married, in Alexandria, to Asenath Throop, of Fairfax County, Virginia. She was a daughter of Rev. Phares and Elizabeth (Bonner) Throop. Nine children were born to them, of whom three sons and four daughters grew to maturity.

The eldest, Major Henry Thompson Stanton (June 30, 1834 - May 8, 1898), was a lawyer and journalist; he served as an officer in the Confederate army and achieved considerable reputation as a novelist and poet.

Father:

Richard Stanton

Mother:

Harriet (Perry) Stanton

Spouse:

Asenath Throop Stanton

Daughter :

Clarence L Stanton

Daughter :

Ella Stanton Pierce

Son :

Asenath Stanton Forman

Son:

Richard H. Stanton

Son:

Henry Thompson Stanton

associate:

Thornton F. Marshal

References

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005