Edward Stillings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Havre de Grace, Maryland
Leavenworth, Kansas
Edward Stillings | |
|---|---|
| Representative, Kansas Legislature | |
| Judge Pro Tem, Kansas District Court | |
| District Attorney, Leavenworth, Kansas | |
| Representative, Ohio Assembly | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 9, 1823 Havre de Grace, Maryland |
| Died | February 20, 1890 Leavenworth, Kansas |
| Political party | Whig, Republican |
| Spouse | Mary Smith |
| Children | Sen. Vinton Stillings |
Edward Stillings (July 9, 1823 – February 20, 1890) was an American lawyer, politician, judge, and businessman.
Marriage and family
Edward Stillings was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland in the early 19th century. He was the son of James Stillings and Mary Barnes, a descendant of Sir George Barne III.[1] His parents descended from English immigrants of the colonial era who participated in the American Revolution as intelligence operatives, among other activities.[2] His father James would serve in the War of 1812.[3]
His parents were planters and slaveholders. However, the institution of slavery never appealed to them, and they freed their slaves.[4] They moved west to Springfield, Ohio in 1828, before settling in Union County, Ohio in 1834, on 300 acres (1.2 km2) that his father had purchased. James would be a trustee of Allen Township in Union County in 1841 and 1847.[5]
Edward was raised in a Christian home and was well-educated as a young man, going on to graduate from Augusta College in Kentucky, studying the classics and mastering the Greek language.[6] Edward decided he wanted to pursue law as a profession, and would ride his horse to Massachusetts to enroll in the Law Department at Harvard University. After receiving his law degree, he returned to Ohio, clerking for Judge Cole in Marysville, Ohio before establishing his own practice after being admitted to the bar in Cincinnati in April 1846.[6][7]
Edward married Mary Smith on December 29, 1851[8] One of their sons, Vinton, was born in 1852.[9] Mary was the granddaughter of Lt. Col. Cyrus Smith, who served under General Hull during the War of 1812 and for whom Edward had known from Maryland. Vinton was educated at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire where he was class president in 1874. However, he was educated at the University of Heidelberg in Germany after lacking interest to attend Yale as Exeter had prepared him for. He eventually became a State Senator in Kansas in 1904 and served many terms.[10]
Edward's wife Mary died in July 1894, four years after Edward died in 1890.