Henry Stanbery

Henry Stanbery (February 20, 1803 – June 26, 1881) was an American lawyer from Ohio. He was Ohio's first attorney general from 1846 to 1851 and the United States Attorney General from 1866 to 1868.

A native of New York City who was raised in Zanesville, Ohio, Stanbery graduated from Washington College in 1819 at age 16, studied law with two Zanesville attorneys, and attained admission to the bar as soon as he reached the minimum required age of 21.

Stanbery resided for many years in Lancaster, where he practiced law in partnership with Thomas Ewing. Stanbery was selected by the state legislature to serve as Ohio's first state attorney general, a post he held from 1846 to 1851. After leaving office he relocated to the Cincinnati area, where he continued to practice law.

In 1866, Stanbery was appointed U.S. Attorney General. He served until 1868 and worked to sustain President Andrew Johnson's view that the president should control post-Civil War Reconstruction, and that the former Confederate states should be readmitted to the Union even if they took no steps to guarantee rights to former slaves. In 1868, Stanbery resigned so he could join Johnson's defense team during his impeachment trial. Johnson was acquitted, and Johnson attempted to reappoint him as attorney general, but the U.S. Senate would not confirm him.

After Johnson left office, Stanbery returned to the Cincinnati area, where he continued to practice law until failing eyesight curbed his activities in 1880. He traveled to New York City for surgery to remove cataracts, which did not improve his vision, and he was blind for the last six months of his life. He was residing temporarily in New York City while continuing to seek treatment when he died on June 26, 1881. Stanbery was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Early life Henry Stanbery was born in New York City on February 20, 1803, a son of Jonas Stanbery, a physician and land speculator, and his second wife Ann Lucy (McCready) Seaman Stanbery. The family moved to Zanesville, Ohio, in 1814, and Stanbery revealed himself to be a precocious student while attending a special private school.

Legal career Start After his 1819 college graduation, Stanbery studied law in Zanesville first with attorney Ebenezer Granger, and after Granger's death with Charles B. Goddard. He was admitted to the bar in 1824, and began to practice with Thomas Ewing in Fairfield County, Ohio. The Republicans who controlled Congress were at odds with Johnson over post-Civil War Reconstruction. Therefore, rather than consider the Stanbery nomination, Congress instead passed the Judicial Circuits Act in July 1866 reducing the size of the Supreme Court.

U.S. Attorney General Johnson then nominated Stanbery for Attorney General, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He assisted in drafting Johnson's veto of the first Reconstruction Act. He wrote occasional articles on political and legal questions, and also delivered lectures and speeches.

Retirement and death In his later years, Stanbery's eyesight worsened as the result of cataracts, and his wife and he moved to New York City to seek treatment. He underwent surgery to remove the cataracts, but his eyesight continued to fail until he was blind for the last six months of his life. He continued to reside in New York City while seeking treatment, but died there on June 26, 1881, after bronchitis left him unable to breathe while on a carriage ride in Central Park. He was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Family Stanbery was married in 1829 to Frances E. Beecher of Lancaster, a daughter of Philemon Beecher. They had five children - Frances E., Henry, Philemon B., Louisa, and George - the last three of whom survived him. Frances Beecher Stanbery died in 1840, and in 1841 Stanbery married Cecilia Key Bond, a daughter of William Key Bond.

Henry Stanbery's half-brother William Stanbery was also an attorney, and served in the United States House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833.