William E. Stanley

William Eugene Stanley (born December 28, 1844 in Knox County , Ohio , † October 13, 1910 in Wichita , Kansas ) was an American politician and from 1899 to 1903 the 15th governor of the state of Kansas.

Early years and political advancement

William Stanley attended the local schools in his home country and then Wesleyan University , which he left without a degree. After later law school and his 1868 admission to the bar, he settled in Jefferson County , Kansas as a lawyer. In 1871 Stanley became a Jefferson County attorney. He held this office until 1872, when he served in Sedgwick County from 1874 to 1880 in the same capacity. Between 1881 and 1883 Stanley was a member of the Republican Party in the Kansas House of Representatives . After that he practiced as a lawyer again. In 1898 he was nominated by his party as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

Kansas Governor

After a successful election, Stanley could begin his four-year term (including a re-election in 1900) on January 9, 1899. Notable events in his time were the restoration of the old railway committee, which had been reorganized under its predecessor and renamed the "Court of Visitation" and the crackdown on prisoner revolts in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth . 27 convicts had fled there, 18 of whom were either shot or recaptured over the next few weeks. Riots also broke out in the state-owned prison, which the government put down.

In 1899 Stanley got into a dispute with the governor of the neighboring state of Missouri, Lon Vest Stephens . Stephens had given Stanley assurances that Frank Embree , a black man who had been accused of a violent crime, would be brought to trial in Missouri unscathed because such accused were threatened with the death of whites brought up by lynching on the way . Embree was lynched, whereupon Stanley stopped working with Stephens, who did not even apologize for the incident.

After his second term ended in January 1903, Stanley returned to practice as a lawyer in Wichita. He died there in 1910. He was married to Emma Lenora Hills with whom he had four children.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Stanley, William E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Stanley, William Eugene (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	December 28, 1844
PLACE OF BIRTH	Knox County , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH	October 13, 1910
Place of death	Wichita , Kansas