Lewis Eliot Stanton (July 19, 1833 – August 28, 1916) was an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut under two presidents.

Early life

Stanton was born in

Clinton, Connecticut Clinton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population of the town was 13,185 at the 2020 census. The town center along the shore line was liste ...

, on July 19, 1833. His father's side was descended from Thomas Stanton, one of the founders of

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, and his mother traced her ancestry to the Rev. John Eliot, a missionary who worked among the

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. He prepared for college at

Bacon Academy Bacon Academy is a public high school in Colchester, Connecticut, in the United States. In 1800 a prominent Colchester farmer, Pierpont Bacon, died and left an endowment of thirty-five thousand dollars (with buying power equivalent to that of abo ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1855. While descended from an old

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

family, his parents were poor, so he had to make his own way through law school. So after graduation he spent a short time working as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, until he made enough money to pay his way through

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

. He completed his studies in the office of John S. Beach, Esq., of

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

. Stanton was admitted to the

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in New Haven in April 1859.

Legal career

After his admission he located in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

and practiced law there from 1859 to 1865. In Norwich he held the office of Assistant Clerk of the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

for a time, and was also recorder of the City Court. In 1865 he moved to

where he lived for the rest of his life and formed a partnership with John C. Day, under the name of Day & Stanton; this partnership continued until 1871. After that Stanton opened a solo practice. He was Assistant United States District Attorney from 1870 to 1884, and

United States District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 United States federal judicial district, U.S. federal judici ...

from 1884 to 1888. In 1888 he was a member of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

from Hartford and was chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Stanton never wanted to handle a large number of legal matters at any one time, and it was averse to his nature to be hurried while in the practice of law. Rather, he preferred, to have only a few important cases at a time, with plenty of time to thoroughly study and understand them. He gave considerable attention to Federal matters, and it was his privilege to argue several cases in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. He never married and his whole life was lived in a legal atmosphere. For years he attended the annual meeting of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

and he knew many of the distinguished lawyers of his time. He was president for some time of the Hartford Bar Association, and he bequeathed his law library to them.

Death

He was one of the oldest members of the Hartford County bar when he died at his home in Clinton on August 28, 1916.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Lewis E. 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Connecticut state senators People from Clinton, Connecticut Lawyers from Hartford, Connecticut People from Norwich, Connecticut United States attorneys for the District of Connecticut Yale Law School alumni Yale University alumni Bacon Academy alumni 1833 births 1916 deaths 19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly