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Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814 – December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize the massive military resources of the North and guide the Union to victory. However, he was criticized by many Union generals, who perceived him as overcautious and micromanagerial. He also organized the manhunt for Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. After Lincoln's assassination, Stanton remained as the Secretary of War under the new US president, Andrew Johnson, during the first years of Reconstruction. He opposed the lenient policies of Johnson towards the former Confederate States. Johnson's attempt to dismiss Stanton ultimately led to Johnson being impeached by the Radical Republicans in the House of Representatives. Stanton returned to law after he retired as Secretary of War. In 1869, he was nominated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by Johnson's successor, Ulysses S. Grant, but Stanton died four days after his nomination was confirmed by the Senate. He remains the only confirmed nominee to accept but die before serving on the Court. Family and early life Ancestry Before the American Revolution, Stanton's paternal ancestors, the Stantons and the Macys, both of whom were Quakers, moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina. In 1774, Stanton's grandfather, Benjamin Stanton, married Abigail Macy. Benjamin died in 1800. That year, Abigail moved to the Northwest Territory, accompanied by much of her family. Soon, Ohio was admitted to the Union, and Macy proved to be one of the early developers of the new state. She bought a tract of land at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, from the government and settled there. One of her sons, David, became a physician in Steubenville, and married Lucy Norman, the daughter of a Virginia planter. Their marriage was met with the ire of Ohio's Quaker community, as Lucy was a Methodist, and not a Quaker. This forced David Stanton to abandon the Quaker sect. Early life and education Edwin McMasters was born to David and Lucy Stanton on December 19, 1814, in Steubenville, Ohio, the first of their four children. Edwin's early formal education consisted of a private school and a seminary behind the Stantons' residence, called "Old Academy". When he was ten, he was transferred to a school taught by a Presbyterian minister. It was also at ten that Edwin experienced his first asthma attack, a malady that would haunt him for life, sometimes to the point of convulsion. Because of his asthma he was unable to participate in highly physical activities, so he found interest in books and poetry. Edwin attended Methodist church services and Sunday school regularly. At the age of thirteen, Stanton became a full member of the Methodist church. David Stanton's medical practice afforded him and his family a decent living. When David Stanton suddenly died in December 1827 at his residence, Edwin and family were left destitute. Edwin's mother opened a store in the front room of their residence, selling the medical supplies her husband left her, along with books, stationery and groceries. The youthful Edwin was removed from school, and worked at the store of a local bookseller. Stanton began his college studies at the Episcopal Church-affiliated Kenyon College in 1831. At Kenyon, Stanton was involved in the college's Philomathesian Literary Society. Stanton sat on several of the society's committees and often partook in its exercises and debates. Stanton was forced to leave Kenyon just at the end of his third semester for lack of finances. At Kenyon, his support of President Andrew Jackson's actions during the 1832 Nullification Crisis, a hotly debated topic among the Philomathesians, led him into the Democratic Party. Further, Stanton's conversion to Episcopalianism and his revulsion of the practice of slavery were solidified there. After Kenyon, Stanton worked as a bookseller in Columbus. Stanton had hoped to obtain enough money to complete his final year at Kenyon. However, a small salary at the bookstore dashed the notion. He soon returned to Steubenville to pursue studies in law. Early career and first marriage Stanton studied law under the tutelage of Daniel Collier in preparation for the bar. He was admitted to practice in 1835, and began work at a prominent law firm in Cadiz, Ohio, under Chauncey Dewey, a well-known attorney. The firm's trial work often fell to him. At the age of 18, Stanton met Mary Ann Lamson at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, and they soon were engaged. After buying a home in Cadiz, Stanton went to Columbus where his betrothed was. Stanton and Lamson had wished to be married at Trinity Episcopal, but Stanton's illness rendered this idea moot. Instead, the ceremony was performed at the home of Trinity Episcopal's rector on December 31, 1836. Afterwards, Stanton went to Virginia where his mother and sisters were, and escorted the women back to Cadiz, where they would live with him and his wife. After his marriage, Stanton partnered with the lawyer and federal judge Benjamin Tappan. Stanton's sister also married Tappan's son. In Cadiz, Stanton was situated prominently in the local community. He worked with the town's anti-slavery society, and with a local newspaper, the Sentinel, writing and editing articles there. In 1837, Stanton was elected the prosecutor of Harrison County, on the Democratic ticket. Further, Stanton's increasing wealth allowed him to purchase a large tract of land in Washington County, and several tracts in Cadiz. Rising attorney (1839–1860) Return to Steubenville Stanton's relationship with Benjamin Tappan expanded when Tappan was elected the United States Senator from Ohio in 1838. Tappan asked Stanton to oversee his law operations, which were based in Steubenville. When his time as county prosecutor was finished, Stanton moved back to the town. Stanton's work in politics also expanded. He served as a delegate at the Democrats' 1840 national convention in Baltimore, and was featured prominently in Martin Van Buren's campaign in the 1840 presidential election, which Van Buren lost. He was a member of Steubenville Lodge No. 45 in Steubenville, Ohio, and when he moved to Pittsburgh became a member of Washington Lodge No. 253 on 25 March 1852 as a charter member. He resigned on 29 Nov. 1859. pp. 189-81.“ (Denslow, William R. 10,000 Famous Freemasons. Independence, Missouri: Missouri Lodge of Research, 1957. )[1] In Steubenville, the Stantons welcomed two children. Their daughter, Lucy Lamson, was born in March 1840. Within months of her birth, Lucy was stricken with an unknown illness. Stanton put aside his work to spend that summer at baby Lucy's bedside. She died in 1841, shortly after her second birthday. Their son, Edwin Lamson, was born in August 1842. The boy's birth refreshed the spirits in the Stanton household after baby Lucy's.... Discover the Mary Stanton popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Mary Stanton books.