Alfred Edwin Stacey (January 20, 1846 – March 10, 1940) was an American chair manufacturer, politician, and Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Life

Stacey was born on January 20, 1846, in

Elbridge, New York Elbridge is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town was approximately 5,922. The town is named after Elbridge Gerry, the fifth Vice President of the United States, and one of th ...

, the son of Richard Stacey and Agnes Pierce. His parents were English immigrants from

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

shire. Stacey attended the Munro Collegiate Institute until his father's death in 1863. He then briefly worked as a clerk for the merchant firm A. Wood & Sons. He resigned from the firm to enlist in the

9th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment The 9th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment, U.S. Volunteers was a regiment in the American Civil War. It was one of the nine Heavy Artillery regiments to suffer over 200 killed. It is also mentioned as one of Fox's 300 Fighting Regiments. History ...

, Battery L, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Three of his brothers also enlisted during the war, two of them in the same Battery as him. The brothers were with Sheridan in Cedar Creek, where he received two gunshot wounds, and then with

General Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General of the United States ...

in Petersburg and Appomatox. He served until the end of the war. After being discharged, Stacey again went to Munro Collegiate Institute, and then worked as a clerk. In 1869, he formed a copartnership with B. A. Wood, and the two purchased stock and interest from A. Wood & Sons. They worked together under the firm name A. E. Stacey & Co. until 1872, at which point Stacey worked on his own until 1884. In 1881, he bought the Rowe chair factory and continued manufacturing chairs. In 1884, he also bought the Sweet chair factory and consolidated the two. In 1888, he built a large factory for his business. In 1886, he bought a large flouring mill as well. Stacey held several local offices, including village president. He served as postmaster of Elbridge from 1877 to 1885. In 1885, he was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, representing the

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County is the core of the Syracuse, NY MSA. History The name ''Onondaga'' derives from ...

2nd District. He served in the Assembly in 1886 and

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

. Stacey eventually became president of the Elbridge Chair Company. On his 94th birthday, he gave the site of his old factory to serve as the village park. He also worked as a farmer. From 1902 to 1905, he was the County Treasurer. Stacey was a charter member of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

post in Elbridge, and was its last member. He was department commander of New York in 1920, and served as assistant adjutant general of New York in 1926 and from 1929 to 1935. In 1934, he was elected the Commander-in-Chief. Stacey was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. He served as Past Noble Grand of the Odd Fellows. In 1871, he married Ellen Gorham. In 1883, he was married to his second wife, Jessie Rowe. His children were Mabel Cornelia, Maud Ellen, and Alfred E., Jr. Stacey died at home of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on March 10, 1940. He was one of the last four Civil War veterans in Onondaga County. He was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Elbridge.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stacey, Alfred E. 1846 births 1940 deaths People from Elbridge, New York People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers American manufacturing businesspeople Businesspeople from New York (state) American chief executives of manufacturing companies New York (state) postmasters 19th-century American legislators Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Grand Army of the Republic Commanders-in-Chief Methodists from New York (state) Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) Burials in New York (state)