William Eugene Stanley

Born in Danville, Ohio, Stanley was the son of a physician, reared on a farm, and educated in the common schools of Hardin County, Ohio. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University, but left before he graduated.{{cite web|title=William E. Stanley|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_stanley_william.html|publisher=National Governors Association|access-date=29 September 2012}} He studied in Kenton and Dayton, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in Kenton, Ohio in 1868. He married Emma Lenora Hills and they had four children.

Arriving in Jefferson County, Kansas, in 1870, Stanley opened his practice and taught school in Perry. He served as county attorney from 1871 to 1872. He resigned that position and moved to Wichita, Kansas. He began practicing law and continued to do so except when in office. He served as Sedgwick County Attorney from 1874 to 1880. Elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, he served from 1881 to 1883.{{cite web|title=William E. Stanley|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/stanley.html|publisher=The Political Graveyard|access-date=29 September 2012}}

In 1898, Stanley won the Republican gubernatorial nomination and upon winning the election, he was sworn in on January 9, 1899. Reelected to a second term, he left office on January 12, 1903. During his tenure, a US prison revolt at Fort Leavenworth and a 1901 convict strike were dealt with, a traveling library commission was authorized, and the state supreme court was increased to seven judges.{{cite web|title=William E. Stanley|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_stanley_william.html|publisher=National Governors Association|access-date=29 September 2012}}

After leaving office, he returned to Wichita and his law practice. From 1903 to 1904, he served on the Dawes Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes.

Stanley died on October 13, 1910, in Wichita, Kansas, and is interred at Highland Cemetery in Wichita.

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|William Eugene Stanley, Sr.}}

• {{Find a Grave|6635504}}
• [http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_kansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_stanley_william.html National Governors Association]
• [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/stanley.html The Political Graveyard]
• [http://ksgenweb.com/archives/1912/s3/stanley_william_eugene.html KSGenWeb]
• [https://cdm16884.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/search/searchterm/G1-Stanley-Collection Publications concerning Kansas Governor Stanley's administration available via the KGI Online Library]

{{s-start}}

{{s-ppo}}

{{s-bef|before=Edmund Needham Morrill}}

{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Governor of Kansas|years=1898, 1900}}

{{s-aft|after=Willis J. Bailey}}

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=John W. Leedy}}

{{s-ttl|title=Governor of Kansas|years=1899–1903}}

{{s-aft|after=Willis J. Bailey}}

{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Kansas}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, William E.}}

Category:Republican Party governors of Kansas

Category:1844 births

Category:1910 deaths

Category:People from Danville, Ohio

Category:Methodists from Kansas

Category:Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives

Category:19th-century members of the Kansas Legislature