Henry F. Stanley
Henry Stanley (1805) was the son of John Bacon
Stanley (a
merchant trader and the Marshal of Dublin).
This Henry Stanley was the father of three sons by Anna Warner,
Henry
Frederick, Francis Edward and Frederick William.
(As an interesting note on name
relationships, John Bacon Stanley's second wife, Barbara Lynch's father
was
Henry Francis Blosse Lynch.)
It is uncertain as to Henry's profession. He
may have been an attorney at law, an
architect or a merchant. Research
has
revealed that he may have been a merchant trader, following his
father's
trade. The marriage documents of his son
Henry Frederick Stanley and his wife Isabella Haines, indicate that he
was an
"architect." However, we have
been unable to confirm Henry senior's "real" profession.
Since Henry Sr died when Henry Frederick was
young, the junior Henry may have confused the trade of his father with
that of
his grandfather,
Peter Warner <> who was an architect-builder and who was
instrumental in the design and building of St. Mary's Catherdal in Natchez, Mississippi.
During our investigation on Henry Stanley,
Sr., special
interest was given to a Dr. Murdock who was the associate to Edward
Bacon
Stanley (son of Sir Edward Stanley and the nephew of John Bacon
Stanley) at the
Meath Hospital.
This Dr. Murdock was instrumental in
recommending
Henry Frederick Stanley (son of Henry F. Stanley Sr) to the Dublin police
force. This Dr. Murdock was also a
resident in the
same neighborhood as the senior Henry Stanley.
Research is continuing relating to the family of Henry
Stanley. Our study indicates him
being
descended from Edward Stanley of Athlone who is a descendant from the
"first" Stanley, Adam de Stanleigh of the year 1125.
The Stanley presence in Ireland
may
extend back to the 14th century and earlier.
Sir John de Stanleigh, who served Henry IV in Irish battles, had
been
appointed Lieutenant of Ireland in 1413 and may have been among one of
the
first Stanleys
to settle there.
Another noted service was by Robert Stanley, a
great-great-grandson of Sir John de Stanleigh, who served as Captain in
King
William's Army. Robert fought in the
Battle of the Boyne on July 1, 1690, and
at Athlone
Castle in
1691.
Stanleys have been
predominant in the military and legal professions in Ireland
and were in service to the
English Crown.
Since it has been most difficult to locate any records on
the marriage of Henry Stanley, Sr. and Anna Delilah Warner (1834) and
the
births of their three sons, one speculation has developed.
Namely, Henry may have never married Anna
Warner. Henry was considerably older
than Anna. It is said, as a young
girl,
Henry Sr had visited her father at their home.
On leaving, he patted Anna on the head.
She told herself “one day I will marry that man.” In the
absence of any official record of marriage, the union between Anna and
Henry may
have been one of convenience. Henry
and
his first wife Elizabeth Vincent had two children, a daughter Lydia
and a son
George. For whatever reason, Anna
may
have become a mistress to Henry. This
may explain the lack of any official records on their marriage or
births of
their three sons.
(As a further note on family name relationships,
it is also
interesting to note that Henry’s daughter, Lydia
had sons named: “Frederick,” “Henry,” and
“Frederick William.”)
In seeking the answers to the life of Henry
Stanley, we have
had to face the fact that numerous records in Ireland have been destroyed
for the
period that spans much of the life of Henry...from 1830s to1860s.
A few years after the death of Henry Stanley, it is said
that Anna Delilah sought assistance from other Stanley
family members in Dublin. They would not support her family but
agreed
to take in Henry Frederick Stanley, the eldest son and help him finish
his
education. Thereupon, Anna came to America
to be
with her father,
Peter Warner. It seems
whatever means that Henry F. Stanley had left Anna, had run out and she
had
very little choice. She did not come
to
the US
until after the Civil War. That was
almost nine years after the death of Henry F. Stanley.
She did not remarry until she came to the US.
Henry Stanley died in 1856 at his address on Grand Canal Street
in Dublin. Henry is buried in Mt.
Jerome Cemetery
in Dublin.
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