Ele Stansbury (February 8, 1861 - August 23, 1929) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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and

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who served as the twenty-third

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is ...

from January 1, 1917, to January 1, 1921.

Biography

Early life and education

Stansbury was born in Saybrook,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

to John M. and Margaret Stansbury. The Stansburys were not a wealthy family, and after Margaret Stansbury's death, Ele (at age fifteen) had to get a job to support himself and pay his own way through school. After attending

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretar ...

in Saybrook, Stansbury moved with his family to Williamsport,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in 1883. Stansbury attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Williamsport.

Reading law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship u ...

under John G. Pearson, Stansbury was admitted to the bar in 1887. In 1890, Stansbury founded a law office with a young lawyer, Frank Hanly, who would later go on to become

Governor of Indiana The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the U.S. state of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state gover ...

from 1905 to 1907.

Political career

Starting in 1887, Stansbury, a Republican, served as deputy

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

and

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counties, first under prosecutor Will B. Reed and then under James Bingham (who would later serve as Indiana Attorney General). He later served two terms as prosecuting attorney himself, elected to the office first in 1892 and then re-elected in 1894, becoming the first lawyer from Warren County to fill the position in twenty-six years. He also served as Warren

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for ten years, in addition to being the city attorney of Williamsport. Stansbury served as an

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in the 1900 presidential election, representing Indiana's Tenth District and casting his vote for

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

. From 1903 to 1905, he was a member of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

, serving on the Committee on Fees and Salaries, the Ways and Means Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Employment Committee. He also was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the

Indiana School for the Deaf Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) is a fully accredited school for the deaf and hard of hearing, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. History Origins and founding (1843–1860) William Willard, a Deaf educator trained under L ...

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for eight years, appointed to the board in 1907 by his old law partner, Governor Hanly, and then reappointed by Governor

Thomas R. Marshall Thomas Riley Marshall (March 14, 1854 – June 1, 1925) was the 28th vice president of the United States from 1913 to 1921 under President Woodrow Wilson. A prominent lawyer in Indiana, he became an active and well known member of the Dem ...

. In 1914, Stansbury was the Republican candidate in the election for

, but he was defeated by

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Richard M. Milburn. In 1917, Stansbury ran for Attorney General again and won, defeating Democratic incumbent

Evan B. Stotsenburg Evan B. Stotsenburg (May 16, 1865 – August 1, 1937) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the twenty-second Indiana Attorney General from November 11, 1915, to January 1, 1917. He also served as President Pro Tempore of the India ...

(Milburn had died shortly after taking office). Stansbury served the bulk of his term in the administration of

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James P. Goodrich James Putnam Goodrich (February 18, 1864 – August 15, 1940) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 29th governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921. His term focused on reforming the operations of the s ...

, a fellow Republican. U. S. Lesh, a lawyer from

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, served as Assistant Attorney General under Stansbury. Willard Gemmill, a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from

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, served as Special Deputy Attorney General under Stansbury for two years, before resigning to return to his private practice (Gemmill would become a Justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana Statehouse. In Dec ...

). As Attorney General, Stansbury challenged the interpretation of a 1909 law that allowed public school officials to transfer students to

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and

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schools. Stansbury also challenged the abilities of country commissioners in Indiana to approve salary increases for school superintendents, declaring that the power to do so rested instead with town trustees. Stansbury defended the Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Indianapolis in the controversial case of ''Board of Election Commissioners v. Knight'', regarding a legal challenge by Indiana businessman William M. Knight to a partial

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

law passed by the General Assembly. Stansbury attempted to defend the partial suffrage law from Knight's challenge in the Marion County Superior Court, but after the case was appealed to the

, the law was declared unconstitutional, causing women in Indiana to lose the right to vote mere months after they had gained it. After the ruling, Stansbury urged the Woman's Franchise League of Indiana to campaign for an amendment to the

Constitution of Indiana The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is su ...

that granted women the right to vote. Stansbury left office after four years, succeeded as Attorney General by Assistant AG Lesh.

Personal life and death

Stansbury was a

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, an

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, a Knight of Pythias, and a member of the

Columbia Club The Columbia Club is a private club located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The club was founded in 1889 and the current structure was built in 1925 as the club's third home on the same site. Club history Th ...

. Stansbury married Ella Fisher, a teacher from Williamsport, in 1888. They had two children, a son (who practiced law with his father) and a daughter (who married Frank T. Stockton,

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of the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

). Stansbury died in 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stansbury, Ele 1861 births 1929 deaths People from McLean County, Illinois Indiana attorneys general Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives