William Henry Stanton (congressman)

William Henry Stanton

Obituary, Scranton Truth, March 28, 1900.

William Henry Stanton (July 28, 1843 – March 28, 1900) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and a state court judge.

Early life

William H. Stanton was born in New York City on July 28, 1843. He was raised in Carbondale and Archbald, Pennsylvania.^[1]

Start of career

Stanton attended school in Archbald and Saint John's College, near Montrose, Pennsylvania.^[2] He taught school^[3] while studying law, was admitted to the bar in 1868, and commenced practice in Scranton.^[4] He was Editor of the Scranton Daily Times (now the Times-Tribune),^[5] and he served as Prosecuting Attorney of the Scranton Mayor’s Court from 1872 to 1874.^[6] He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1875 and 1876.^[7]

Later career

Stanton was elected as a Democrat to the 44th United States Congress, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Winthrop W. Ketcham.^[8] He served from December 4, 1876 to March 3, 1877, and was not a candidate in 1876 for election to a full two-year term in the 45th Congress.^[9]

He was elected Judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in 1877, serving until moving to the court of the newly created Lackawanna County in October, 1878.^[10]

Stanton resigned his judgeship in 1879, after fellow Democrats began impeachment proceedings in retaliation for an unfavorable ruling.^[11][12]

Later life

After leaving the bench, Stanton became a leader of the reform Greenback and Labor movements.^[13][14] He left Scranton in 1883, living first in Arkansas, and later in Kansas City, Missouri.^[15] He later returned to Scranton, where he practiced law until his death.^[16]

Death and burial

Stanton died in Scranton on March 28, 1900.^[17] He was buried in Scranton's West Side Catholic Cemetery.

References

1. Somerset Publishers, Pennsylvania Biographical Dictionary, Volume 1 (A-K), 1999, page 523
2. James Albert Clark, The Wyoming Valley, 1875, page 212
3. Citizen Press, Old Time Archbald, 1915, page 16
4. David Craft, History of Scranton, Penn., 1891, page 561
5. Frederick Lyman Hitchcock, History of Scranton and Its People, Volume 1, 1914, page 529
6. George Hallenbrooke Morgan, The Legislative Sketch Book, 1876, page 145
7. H.C. Cooper, Jr., Bro. & Co., Publishers, The Twentieth Century Bench and Bar of Pennsylvania, 1903, page 193
8. State of Pennsylvania, Papers of the Governors: 1871-1883, 1902, pages 514-515
9. United States Congress, A Biographical Congressional Directory, 1913, page 278
10. Henry C. Bradsby, History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Volume 1, 1893, Pages 232-233
11. Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1919, page 174
12. George D. Wolf, William Warren Scranton: Pennsylvania Statesman, 1981, page 11
13. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Almanac, 1901, page 616
14. New York Times, Pennsylvania Democrats: Disssensions in Their Ranks, September 6, 1880
15. New York Times, A Terrible Bereavement, July 2, 1884
16. Scranton Truth, Death of Ex-Judge Stanton, March 28, 1900
17. New York Times, Death List of a Day: W.H. Stanton, March 29, 1900

Sources

• William Henry Stanton at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard