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Below is a family biography included in the Woodruff County portion of Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Hon. T. E. Stanley, attorney at law, Augusta, Ark. Every life has a history of its own, and, although in appearance it may seem to possess little to distinguish it from others, yet the political career and experience of Mr. Stanley, as well as his popularity in his profession, have contributed to give him a wide and popular acquaintance with nearly every individual of Woodruff County and throughout the State, if not personally, then by name. Mr. Stanley was born in Lawrence County, Ala., on October 15, 1844, and is a son of Joseph H. and Maria L. (Hill) Stanley, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Virginia, and both of Scotch origin. The father was a planter and immigrated from North Carolina to Alabama in about 1823. He died in Courtland, that State, in 1852, and his wife died in 1871. The paternal grandfather, Jonathan Stanley, was killed near Corinth, Miss., by a robber. Hon. T. E. Stanley is the only one living of three children born to his parents. He was reared and educated in his native State, and there, remained until the breaking out of the war when, in June, 1861, he enlisted in the Sixteenth Alabama Infantry, and served until May, 1865. Previous to the war he attended school at La Grange Military Academy, and was but sixteen years of age when he enlisted. Although he entered the army as a private he left the ranks as a lieutenant. On the retreat from Corinth in May, 1862, he was wounded by a gunshot through the left hand, was wounded the second time at Murfreesboro in the hip, and received a third wound at Chickamauga, where his right foot was almost crushed to pieces. He was a boy of great nerve and will-power, hardly knew what it was to fear, and his career as a soldier is one of honor and renown. He was in all the principal engagements of the Western army, and at the close of the war he returned home, where he followed agricultural pursuits until 1869. In 1870 he entered Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Tenn., and after passing a strict examination, graduated from the Law Department in 1872. The same year he came to Augusta, opened an office, and in 1876 was elected to the legislature, serving three consecutive terms. He was also a delegate to the Cincinnati convention which nominated Hancock and English, and was brought into the race before the Democratic convention for Governor in 1882. He is a prominent man and a bright ornament to the legal profession. He is the owner of about 1,400 acres of land in Woodruff County, with about 900 acres under cultivation; also owning some real estate in Alabama. Mr. Stanley was married in May, 1873, to Miss Laura McCurdy, a native of Augusta, Ark., and the fruits of this union have been three living children: Louise, Thomas E., Jr., and Joseph H.

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This family biography is one of 69 biographies included in the Woodruff County portion of Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Woodruff County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Woodruff County, Arkansas family biographies here: Woodruff County, Arkansas

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