Many members of my family accomplished numerous things throughout their life. In some cases, they simply kept their families fed and alive which often was no small feat. For others it was business success. However, one man in particular comes to mind when I think of “achievement.” And, as I researched him, I found that he achieved in even more ways that I previously knew.
The Early Years
Stanton Judkins Peelle was born on a farm in Indiana and rose to be a member of the Washington D. C. elite. He was born February 11, 1843 to John Cox Peelle and Ruth Smith. He was a brother to Christopher Columbus and James Thompson Peelle, the newspapermen that were the subject of my previous blog.
Stanton attended the local schools in Randolph and Wayne Counties in Indiana. He followed that by attending the seminary in Winchester in 1860.
Union Soldier
In 1861, while teaching north of Farmland in Randolph County, Indiana, he heard the calling to join the war effort supporting the Union. On August 5, 1861, he joined Company G of the 8th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry and was made a corporal upon entry to the Army. His service with this unit included fighting at the Battle of Pea Ridge (in Arkansas just south of the Missouri border) March 6, 1862 through March 8, 1862. The Union soldiers were outnumbered. However, supply issues limited the Confederates ability to fight and the Union won control of the Missouri-Arkansas border in the biggest battle of the Civil War to be fought west of the Mississippi River.
Later that year, he was released from that unit to join Company K of the 57th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry. He joined the organization as a 2nd Lt. During the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863, the Union soldiers outnumbered the Confederate soldiers. Although the Union won the battle, it came at a cost of more casualties with 12, 906 casualties including KIA, wounded, MIA, and captured. Stanton was lucky as he received only a slight wound.
His Career
His CareerBecoming a Lawyer
After the war, Stanton returned to Indiana and began studying law in Centerville with his uncle Judge William A. Peelle, who had been the Secretary of State for Indiana. He also studied with Thomas M. Browne. In 1866, Stanton was admitted to the Indiana Bar. At some point, he received his law degree from Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute, which later was renamed Valparaiso University.
He practiced in Winchester, Indiana from 1866 until 1869 when he moved his practice to Indianapolis. During 1872 and 1873, he was the assistant district attorney for Marion County, Indiana. He kept and office in Indianapolis until 1892.
In Politics
Stanton ran for the Indiana House of Representatives, campaigning in every little town. He won, but only served one term from 1877 until 1879.
Then, in 1880, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Indiana’s 7th congressional district. He won and as soon as he was sworn into the 47th United States Congress on March 4 1881, he went to work. One month he proposed at least 4 pieces of legislation. In 1882, he got a bill passed for a colleague from Indiana. The Speaker of the House remarked that “his success was due to his uniform courtesy coupled with the confidence of members that he would not favor any improper legislation.”
Stanton’s term ended on March 3, 1883. He was re-elected and continued to serve. However, his second term was cut short, ending on May 22, 1884. What occurred is a story in itself, but the bottom line is that his opponent had contested the election. Mr. English claimed the Republicans intimidated voters, that they had fraudulently voted paupers and prisoners, and that the Republicans had printed fraudulent ballots.
Meanwhile, Stanton and his cohorts accused Mr. English’s father, who had been the Democrat VP nominee in 1880, of lobbying on the floor of the house. After so much work and trying to manage who was in attendance so that it would pass, Mr. English was finally seated despite Stanton’s right to the seat having previously upheld. Still, Mr. English served less than a year. He retired at the end of the term.
Stanton did not run in 1888. Instead, he returned to his law practice, partnering with William L. Taylor, who later became the Indiana Attorney General. However, he did not leave politics or turn his back on his political ties. During this interval, the Governor of Indiana named him to the board of control for the Indiana Reform School for Boys
Being a politician, Stanton was an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention. In 1892, he was selected as a delegate to the same convention. However, he did not attend as he had moved onto to his role as a justice in Washington D.C.
Court of Claims
On March 24, 1892, President Benjamin Harrison nominated Stanton to be a judge on the Court of Claims in Washington, D.C. He was confirmed by the Senate only four days later. He served in this capacity for fourteen years when President Theodore Roosevelt nominated him to take the position of chief justice of the same court. This appointment was confirmed in a single day in December 1905. Stanton served as chief justice until he retired February 11, 1913, his 70th birthday.
The last opinion that he wrote was in a case of a Baltimore contractor who wanted additional pay for extra work on the Army War College, but had not been able to collect the money the contractor felt was due their company. The opinion was read just prior to his retirement. During his time on the bench, the Honorable Stanton J. Peelle wrote 300 opinions. Thirty-five of them were appealed. When he retired, six of the appeals were still pending. Of the remaining opinions, only 4 had been reversed.
Community Involvement
Education
Stanton was attracted to educational pursuits for himself and others. His first venture into teaching did not last long due to the war. However, he would make greater contributions to education in his later years through teaching, supporting schools, and supporting activities of the schools.
During his tenure on the Court of Claims, Stanton was a professor of law at Columbian/George Washington University. He served in this capacity from 1901 until 1911. Additionally, he was involved with debates and Moot Court.
After he retired from the court, Stanton was the President of the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education and school commissioner for the county. One of his roles was to preside over graduation exercises, handing out diplomas, give graduation speeches, and address students on various topics. He also performed many of these duties at other schools (e.g. Garfield Nurses School).
In other duties, he was the President of West Nottingham Academy in Cecil County, Maryland. And, he was one of the inaugural directors of the Yorktown Memorial Institute, which taught facts of American history with a special emphasis on the Battle of Yorktown in 1922.
Committed to African American Success
Stanton’s involvement with Howard University, an African American college, began before he became chief justice of the Court of Claims. He became a trustee of the university, serving in that capacity from at least 1906 until 1925. For a number of years, he was the president of the board of trustees. After he retired from the court, he also lectured at Howard.
In 1917, he gave an address at Howard University’s 50th year celebration. In that presentation, he spoke about the significance of the university and what it meant to African Americans. He spoke again about the significance of the university to the African American community in 1919 at the Interior Department’s exposition stating, “we are not only imparting knowledge, but turning out good citizens.” The president of the university added that the students at Howard want to find the best that is in them – just like students at any other university.
In 1924, the university gave him an engraved gold-inlaid solid ebony cane for being a member and chairman/president of the board of trustees.
Promotion of Women
Stanton championed the rights of women throughout his career. He served on the board of trustees of Washington College of Law. The college was created primarily for women, but was co-ed. At the time women could be members of the bar in some places, but not nearly everywhere and many colleges didn’t allow women to study law even if they allowed them in other areas of study.
Stanton was the second president of the board, serving from 1910 to 1925. He also lectured at the college.
Throughout the years, he spoke at many events for women, including to the Women’s Suffrage League In 1917, the Women’s Republican Club, and the Federation of Women’s Club. Based on Stanton’s claims, his first presentation supporting women’s suffrage occurred during the years he was in the Indiana State Legislature or the U.S. House of Representatives. He stated that women’s suffrage was necessary in order to meet “the spirit of the constitution.” According to the May 29 1913 issue of the Washington, “He declared that the Federal Constitution should be amended with a view to conferring upon them this privilege, and added that ‘every right and privilege belonging to men in the home, in society and the State and nation should apply equally to women.”
Religion
Stanton was very active in the Presbyterian Church and other religious activities. He taught a bible class at Church of the Covenant and was an elder in the church for over 30 years. Stanton served as moderator of the Presbyterian Central Assembly and was a member of the Presbyterian Alliance, serving as an officer.
Stanton was on the World Bible Conference Executive Committee (chair of the general committee) and was a member of the board of managers for the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Washington D.C. He was also on the boards or otherwise involved in multiple missions.
Stanton spoke on religion numerous times. At the Washington District Epworth League, his speech was titled “The Lack of Trust in God.” In a very different vein, on the 400th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, he spoke about “Calvin and Civilization.”
Patriot
Stanton belonged to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of District Columbia and served for a time as its commander. He was very concerned with maintaining military readiness.
When the world war (WWI) began in Europe, Stanton was 100% behind the United States’ efforts. Although he was 74, he said that he would volunteer to do whatever he could if war was declared. He tried to instill the same level of patriotism in students. He succeeded in getting the Washington Law College to pledge their full support as a body to the President and to Congress.
Keeping with his word, in 1917, Stanton joined the Presbyterian Committee on Food Conservation in support of the war effort.
High Society
Somehow Stanton and his wives (he had 3 with two dying during his lifetime) managed to have time and money to be members of high society in Washington D.C. Or, perhaps, because they were members of high society, he was able to get involved in so many different areas.
In any case, Stanton was very well known and very well connected, being personal friends to President Benjamin Harrison and President Taft. He was a member of the Cosmos Club, a prestigious club providing social and intellectual opportunities for distinguished people in certain career pursuits. He also appeared to be a member of the Chevy Chase Club, which is a social club patronized by many of the Washington D.C. elite. Additionally, he was involved, including holding multiple leadership positions, with the Indiana Society, which is a “non-partisan social and philanthropic group.”
And, More . . .
Stanton spoke at many different engagements and was called upon in many different capacities during his time in Washington, D. C. He did a little of everything from being a member of the committee for the creation of the Lincoln Memorial to being called upon to settle a dispute between tradesmen plumbers and Master Plumbers to being appointed a special advisor to the Secretary of War in the settlement of claims at the close of WWI.
He dealt with property, spoke about his concerns with required vaccinations, raised the issue of narcotics usage, and was asked to represent a man killed in an explosion. It seemed if anyone needed an orator, a leader, a fundraiser, a lawyer, or simply a passionate man, Stanton was called upon to fulfill the task. He was even asked to be on President Wilson’s Inaugural Reception Committee despite being of different political affiliation than Wilson.
Stanton J. Peelle died on September 4, 1928, in Washington, D.C. at 85 years of age. He had been failing more in recent days, but had attended church only a couple of days earlier. A man ahead of his time, he had accomplished so much in so many different areas. This article just scratches the surface of his accomplishments and his life in general.