Henry Stanbery
| Henry Stanbery | |
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| In office July 23, 1866 – July 16, 1868 |
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| Preceded by | James Speed |
| Succeeded by | William M. Evarts |
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| Born | February 20, 1803 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 1881 (aged 78) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Whig, Republican |
| Alma mater | Washington College |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Henry Stanbery (February 20, 1803 – June 26, 1881) was an American lawyer and Presidential Cabinet member.
Born in New York, he was the son of Jonas Stanbery, a physician. The family moved to Zanesville, Ohio in 1814. Henry Stanbery graduated from Washington College in Washington, Pennsylvania (now Washington and Jefferson College near Pittsburgh) and studied law. He was a member of the Union Literary Society at Washington College.[1] He was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1824 and to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1832. In 1824, at the invitation of Thomas Ewing, he began practice in Fairfield County, Ohio, and rode the circuit with him. He remained for many years at Lancaster.
In 1846 he was elected the first attorney general of Ohio by the Ohio General Assembly. He accordingly moved to Columbus, where he resided for about five years. In 1850 he was elected a delegate to the convention that framed the state constitution. In 1853 he moved to Cincinnati, and in 1857 he moved across the river to Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
President Andrew Johnson appointed Stanberry Attorney General of the United States in 1866. He resigned on March 12, 1868, to defend Johnson during his impeachment trial. His health at the time was so delicate that most of his arguments were submitted in writing. At the conclusion of the trial, Johnson renominated him as Attorney General and also to the Supreme Court, but the Senate would not confirm him.
He returned to the Cincinnati area, where he was president of the law association of that city, but held no other public office. He wrote occasionally on political questions, and sometimes made public addresses. As a lawyer, although he was learned in technicalities and skilled in applying the nice rules of evidence and practice, he especially delighted in the discussion of general principles. As a practitioner he was quick to perceive the slightest weakness in his opponent's case. He never attempted to browbeat or mislead a witness, but knew how to secure full and true answers even from those who had come upon the stand with hostile intentions.
He was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Newport. He lost his sight in 1880 and died in New York City in 1881 waiting to undergo an operation to restore it. He is buried in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Spring Grove Cemetery.
[edit] References
- ^ McClelland, W.C. (1903). "A History of Literary Societies at Washington & Jefferson College". The Centennial Celebration of the Chartering of Jefferson College in 1802. Philadelphia: George H. Buchanan and Company. pp. 111–132. http://books.google.com/books?id=t1QyAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA111.
"Stanbery, Henry". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900.- Henry Stanbery at Find A Grave
- Campbell County, Kentucky, historic marker on Henry Stanbery
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| Preceded by (none) |
Attorney General of Ohio 1846 – 1851 |
Succeeded by Joseph McCormick |
| Preceded by James Speed |
United States Attorney General Served under: Andrew Johnson July 23, 1866 – July 16, 1868 |
Succeeded by William M. Evarts |
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