The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-06-15
Frederick P. Stanton

On me nth Of june, in the retired little VILLAGE
q stanton, tnamed for the subject Of th;s ea,s,s
on Lake Weir, amid simple surroun.;,gs a,,l
the loving ministrations Of his ne,obhors y
whom MS character alone had endeared h;r,
There terminated a long life OF man MI, j.
iofmsr years had moved on the stage Of ,,a,;,,,a,
public affairs. This chapter Of his life thrs,,s
pred a. the TO rs, long past period of ante he,
'"n aays' whence 70 the present generation his
name may be comparatively unknown
me last sevenyears OF his life he spe,st O., Che
shores o. Lake Weir modest country gentle
man busted with his vegetables aud his no.,,t,,.
On sis one hand and with the large pabilc prob
lens and progressive thoughts Of the dav on the
other a veritable sage without the discaa.e,,t
and ambition usually associated with the rather
trite Application Of that cpithet n our nol;t;ca,
history a man more like the patriarchs Of an.
cient Republican Rome than the political Anneri-
can politician
IN the mellow maturity Of old age he will De
remembered BY the narrow circle Of his neigh
bors, but TO them the memory will be an iusrira-
ton Cheerful and hopeful in his poverty and
obscurity far from any trace Of individual repin
ing OF of philosophical pessimism, the fruit of
manhood seemed to grow swecter as il ncared
The plncling Ever ready with sympathy and
friendly counsel, with gratuitous legal advice
and with the higher precepts of wisdom and
morality, he approached the mosaic milestone OF
iour-seore years when death as painless as his
life was ioAy formed fitting close.
Governor stanton, as he was usually called.
was born December aand, 1874, in the quaint, his
torical city Of Alexandria, va, the city OF Gen.
erai Washington. almost under the shadow of
Mount Vernon.
Arrived at majority he went for a short time to
North Carolina to lpractice his profession. law.
but soon settled in the city Of Memphis, Tcnnes-
see He there acquired an extensive practice
aud at The age Of thirty, in Is4s, was elected to
Congress. and thereafter successfully returned
hye times. sixth nomination he declined, and
again resorted TO his professional labors in Mem
phis In 1850 he was appointed secretary OF state
Of the territory of Kansas under Gov Walker
When the latter left Kansas AR stanton became
acting governor.
The years acknowledgements the war were
exceedingly turbulent, especially in Kansas,
whefe both Of the parties, pro and anti-sIayery,
fought for the colonization and political occupa
ton OF the territory
We, at this stage. should be able to study those
times dispassionately, General Ewing has in the
May number Of the Cosmopolitan given an ac-
one Of the numerous fraudulent elections Cover
nor stanton, having assured himself that whole
sale fraud had been employed, announced that
he would withhold his signature from the certih-
Gates Of election. one evening at dusk mob
rode mp 10 and surrounded his house and called
him out. When he appeared at the door the
horsemeu,at the muzzle Of their guns and pistols
dcmandciit abe certificates. stanton said quietly !;
rGcntlemen. am unarmed. but You cannot have
the certificates. for the candidates were not elect
ed Then he stood there, waiting, as he AFTER
wards said 10 receive twenty bullets in his body
but the bullets were not fred. The riders, one by
one, skunk away President Buchanan had no
sentimental admiration for such herois;n, but
only anger against a man who deserted his par
ty's program, and shortly recalled him.
STATIONS fiiends rallied about him and sought
10 get him elected 70 the senate, for which he
always had had an ambition bnt sectional and
party resentment was too strong and Governor
stanton's political career was cut short probably
most fortunately for his own higher interests, be
cause he persisted in being an honest man and a
loyal patriot before mere politician.
In the war which soon followed, his sympathy
was with The government, aud the union. After
his Kansos experience he settled down in Wash
ington and entered into law partnership with
the Hon W. J. Walker, secretary Of The treasury
under Folk. Here he remained in the practice OF
has procession up 70 the year 1857. His practice
was before The court Of appeals and the supreme
court. lie obtained high rank as a lawyer
Chief Justice Chase mentioned him with two
other attorneys as the three profouadest lawyers
in the country.
In 1887 business brought him to ocala, where
NJ found the winter climate so agreeable that he
rfea4t.f1 et,ar1 ff, ,5tt,ft,er
On. Ills sister, Mrs 4 O. Perrin with her late
husband, had settled on the south side Of Lake
Weir, where he accordingly established his future
home.
Mr.. stanton had, at an carly age, married the
daughter Of a prominent Methodist minister IN
the course Of time his wife developed symptoms
OF mental alteration. which increased 10 such an
extent that confinement in an asylum became
necessary. There she remained until death re-
leased her. Only a few years ago. Thus he learned
to taste the bitter and tragic side Of human life
which, however, only served TO deepen and ripcn
his sympathy with his suffering feliow-men. of
the children born 10 him, one son and three
daughters survive him. all Of them scattered
throughout the country, and therefore absent
from his bed side and his funeral. In his last i'll
ness. beside the friendly Offices Of neighbors, he
had the presence of his sister. Mrs. Perrin, and
the Attendance Of faithful aged friend and
house-keeper, whose self-sacridcing, unlaiiiug
fidelity was equal 10 that Of a sister.
Singnlariy well preserved and vigorous in
mind and body, as he was, his last illness cete-
brai IN character, as IS oflen the case with such
constitutions. proved q saddcn and summary
breaking down. il lasted only a few days.
Governor stanton was for years firm belisvt r
IN spirituaism, but he can hardly be said TO have
made a cult or a religion OF il. He believed in
Cod snpTemely, and in the teachings OF Jesus
Christ In theology, as in politics, he was broad
aud independent. an unbiased seeker after truth,
thinker ana student, taking for his motto the
Apostolic Injunction TO prove ell things and
keep that which Is good" The temper Of his
mind was not that of the persistent agnostic.
While in his youth he very soon frustrated the CT
forts Of his father-in-iaw to make preacher Of
him, according to The prevailing pattern Of City
or sixty years ago. ne was then, and at the last,
AZ heart deeply religious Ia the best sense, that
Of applied Christianity, proving by his devotion
to ideals and by his pure and gentle Character,
his simple. humble heart that he had found the
kernel Of the matter During the last year OF
hts life he was regular attendant at the services
Of the weirsdale church. and evineed growing
friendship for the pastor His reading aud re-
searches FAR Transcribed the technical love OF mas
profession. He kept in touch with modern
thought in ail the principal departments Of
knowledge. but. better than this he kept IN
touch with the fate Of mankind and the struggle
Of the people. If he was a spiritualist he was
also spiritual. model southern gentleman OF the
old school. lover Of his kind, ripe scholar and
genuine servant Of his God.
Ills funeral was conducted al his late home al
stanton. according to his.ewu wish, IN the SNIP
ncst manner, and attended By a long procession
81 country vehicles Eiled with his neighbors his
body was borne 10 South Lake Weir cems1sfs
and lowered in The grave at sunset. Tuesday ths
sth Of juno.
ncticr than any epit@pth or memorial o. an
others composing. the following sentiments o.
his own. gathered from private papers, may