John Stanly (April 9, 1774 – August 2, 1834) was a Federalist U.S. Congressman from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

between 1801 and 1803 and again between 1809 and 1811. He was the father of Edward Stanly and rear admiral Fabius Stanly, and the father-in-law of General

Walker Keith Armistead Walker Keith Armistead (March 25, 1783 – October 13, 1845) was a military officer who served as Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Armistead was born in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, and served as an o ...

Early life

Stanly, the son of John Wright Stanly, was born in New Bern, North Carolina, and educated by private tutors before attending

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1799.

Career

After practicing law and serving as a clerk and master in equity, Stanly was elected to the

North Carolina House of Commons The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

in 1798 and 1799. In 1800, Stanly was elected as a Federalist to the

7th United States Congress The 7th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1801, ...

(March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1803); he served again in the 11th Congress (March 4, 1809 – March 3, 1811) before returning to the practice of law. Stanly returned to the state house for several more terms, in 1812–1815, 1818–1819, and 1823–1825. He died in New Bern in 1834 and is buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery. He is also known for killing

Richard Dobbs Spaight Richard Dobbs Spaight (March 25, 1758September 6, 1802) was an American Founding Father, politician, planter, and signer of the United States Constitution, who served as a Democratic-Republican U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 10th c ...

, a signer of the Constitution, in a famous duel in 1802. Although prosecuted for the death as a murder, he was pardoned by Gov. Benjamin Williams. As a result of the duel, North Carolina passed a strict anti-duelling law prohibiting duelists from holding public office, and listing the duel as a specific crime, as opposed to a common law offense.

Personal life

Stanly had at least three sons, Edward,

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the '' Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the coun ...

and Marcus Cicero. His daughter married General

Legacy

Stanly County, North Carolina Stanly County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,504. Its county seat is Albemarle. Stanly County comprises the Albemarle, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included i ...

was formed in 1841, and named in his honor. Research by Chris Bramlett indicates that John Stanly had no connection with the area named for him, but that the name was chosen to please state legislators. Bramlett also believed that Stanly's father John Wright Stanly was named Stanley and changed the spelling. One theory offered by Bramlett is that the elder Stanly, while on a trip to India during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, met a British soldier named Stanley. Since he did not like the idea of being related to a British soldier, Stanly said his name was spelled without an E.

References

External links

Our Campaigns Biography

A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1824
For Votes cast in Federal, State and Local elections in the Early Republic. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanly, John 1774 births 1834 deaths American duellists Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina Princeton University alumni Stanly County, North Carolina