Edwin M. Stanton Quick Facts
Name Meaning
Edwin is of Old English origin
and means “wealthy guard”
Vital Stats
Birthday: December 19, 1814
Birth Name: Edwin McMasters Stanton
Birthplace: Steubenville, Ohio
Date of Death: December 24th, 1869
Cause: Respiratory failure. Stanton
suffered from asthma most of his life
Place of Death: Washington, DC
Nationality: American
Ancestry: English
Occupation before Civil War:
Attorney. U.S. Attorney General in
James Buchanan Administration 1860-61
Occupation during Civil War:
Secretary of War from January 1862
through the end of the war.
Occupation after Civil War:
Continued as Secretary of War in
Andrew Johnson Administration until
May 1868, when he resigned and
returned to private law practice.
Appointed to U.S. Supreme Court by
President U.S. Grant but died before
he was sworn in.
Relatives
Father: David Stanton (1778-1827)
Mother: Lucy Norman Stanton (1793-1873)
Brother: Erasmus D. Stanton (d. 1846)
Sister: Lucretia (Nov. 1818-Aug. 1820)
Sister: Lucy (b. April 1820)
Sister: Oella
Brother: Theophilus (b. 1824)
Sister: Pamphila
Romance
Married: Mary Lamson May 31, 1836
(1813-1844)
Married: Ellen Hutchison June 1856
(Sept. 24, 1830-Nov. 17, 1873)
Children
Daughter: Lucy (1837-1841)
Son: Edwin L. (1842-1877)
Daughter: Elenor (b. May 1857)
Son: Lewis (Jan. 12, 1860-April 24, 1938)
Son: James (Oct. 17, 1861-July 10, 1862)
Daughter: Bessie (b. 1863)
Resources
Stanton: The Life and Times of Lincoln’s Secretary of War by
Benjamin P. Thomas and Harold M. Hyman
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
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First ever, “not guilty by means of temporary insanity” ruling.
Edwin Stanton was also was the attorney who got Daniel Sickles acquitted for temporary insanity for killing his wife’s lover, Philip Barton Key II.
True. Check out this post on that very subject.
I think Stanton had a motive to kill Lincoln but I can’t find his will. According to Lafayette Baker he was corrupt, Baker later was poisoned . According to the 1977 FBI report in response to Jack Anderson column there were 4 interested parties in the death of Lincoln. They included investment houses and banks in New York and Boston. Why? Cotton futures and depending on which side of the trade Stanton was on he could have lost big with Lincoln’s LET THEM UP EASY policy. But I need more information. One final item by 1860 the south exported 5 million bails of cotton per year each bail was 500 lbs. The price of cotton during the war oscillated from 10c to $1.89 per pound the amount of money that could be made is amazing and a pretty good motive to kill. Any input?
I have heard some of the theories that have been proposed over the years that Stanton had some involvement in a conspiracy, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.
Any information on his will or who handled the estate and his wealth at the time of his death? According to the 1977 FBI report and the Jack Anderson Column the 18 pages found in this attic were from Booth’s diary. I think he knew Booth used him to make money in the black market but I can’t prove I need help.
Thanks
Lafayette Baker, head of the Secret Service, was Stanton’s subordinate. Baker insisted that he gave to Stanton the full diary of John Wilkes Booth, upon the latter’s capture. Eighteen pages were subsequently removed, never found. Baker said they contained incriminating entries about Yankee politicians who wanted to prolong the war for personal enrichment, wanted Booth to kidnap Lincoln for that purpose. Booth’s interest in kidnapping Lincoln was only to obtain the forcible release of Confederate prisoners of war. Those missing pages of Booth’s diary have never been revealed.