Leander Stillwell (1843 - 1934)

Born 16 Sep 1843 in Greene County, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Anna L (Stauber) Stillwell — married 9 May 1872 in Erie, Kansas

Died 10 Sep 1934 at age 90 in Neosha, Kansas, United States

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Biography

Leander Stillwell served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: Jan 6, 1862
Mustered out: Sep 8, 1865
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 61st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Leander was born in 1843. Leander Stillwell ... He passed away in 1934.

He was the author of The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War 1861-1865 which was published in 1920 by Franklin Hudson Publishing. This book has been digitized and is available from several internet sites including at http://www.archive.org/details/storycommonsoldier00stilrich

JUDGE LEANDER STILLWELL, now retired from the active duties of his profession, living at Erie, was one of the two pioneer attorneys who composed the first bar of Erie, and located there in 1868, nearly half a century ago. Aside from the amount of work he has performed as a lawyer and citizen, the chief distinction of his life rests upon his record of service, continued through nearly twenty-four years, as a judge of the district court.

He is of English and Scotch ancestry.

Judge Leander Stillwell was not yet eighteen years of age when the Civil war broke out. His life up to that time had been spent on his father's farm and his educational advantages away from home had been confined to the common schools. From January 6, 1862^[1], the date of his enlistment, until September 8, 1865, when his regiment was mustered out, he was with the Union army in the field, and participated in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, and several minor engagements. A brief statement of his "military and medical record" has been furnished by the adjutant general's office of the war department under a recent date. That record is as follows:

"Leander Stillwell was enrolled January 7, 1862, at Carrollton, Illinois, and was mustered into service February 5, 1862, at Carrollton, Illinois, as a private of Company D, Sixty-first Regiment, Illinois Infantry Volunteers, to serve three years. He was appointed Corporal about February, 1862; Sergeant, August 20, 1862, and First Sergeant, September or October, 1863, and was mustered out as such at Little Rock, Arkansas, to date January 31, 1864, by reason of his re-enlistment as a veteran volunteer. He re-enlisted February 1, 1864, at Little Rock, Arkansas, to serve an additional term of three years, and was mustered into service to date February 1, 1864. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant, same company and regiment, and was mustered in as such July 18, 1865, and was mustered out of service of the company as Second Lieutenant September 8, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee.

"Under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 3, 1884, this officer has been recognized by the war department as First Lieutenant, Company D, Sixty-first Illinois Volunteers from August 21, 1865. During the entire period of his service this officer was accounted for on the bi-monthly muster rolls of his company as present for duty except that on October 31, 1863, it was stated that he was absent on furlough from October 16, 1863. The medical records show that he was treated from August 11, 1863, to a date not stated, for intermittent fever, and from September 2, 1863, to a date not stated, for remittent fever." He had not been out of the army long before he made up his mind definitely as to his future vocation. In the fall of 1866, he entered the Albany Law School at Albany, New York, and in December, 1867, was graduated and awarded the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the New York bar December 5th of that year, but soon returned to Illinois and began practice in Jersey County. A few months later, in May, 1868, he arrived at Erie, Neosho County, where, as already stated, he was one of the first two attorneys comprising the local bar. His home was at Erie until March, 1871, when he removed to Osage Mission, now Saint Paul, Kansas, and lived there until July, 1885, when he returned to Erie. For fifteen years Judge Stillwell handled a growing practice in both the civil and criminal branches of the law. In 1876 he was elected a member of the lower house of the Kansas Legislature, and served one term, having been chosen on the republican ticket.

In November, 1883, Judge Stillwell was elected judge of the Seventh Judicial District, which then consisted of the counties of Allen, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson. From that time forward for nearly twenty-four years he was continuously on the bench. He was re-elected judge of the same district in 1887, 1891, 1895 and ~899. In 1901 the Legislature passed a law requiring district judges to be elected in the even numbered years, and as Judge Stillwell's term would expire the second Monday in January, 1904, and the next regular election would not be held until the fall of that year, the Governor of Kansas, Willis J. Bailey, appointed Judge Stillwell as judge for this interval. His appointment was made October 27, 1903. In the general election of 1904 Judge Stillwell was again a candidate for the full term of four years, and his election made the sixth successive time he was chosen by the people for the office. While he had opponents in the elections of 1883, 1891 and 1899, he was practically the unanimous choice of all parties in the elections of 1887, 1895, and 1904, and there was no opposition when Governor Bailey appointed him for the interregnum of one year.

On September 1, 1907, more than a year before the expiration of his last term, Judge Stillwell resigned on account of the protracted and dangerous illness of his wife. He felt that his duty was to his invalid wife, and accordingly sent his resignation to Governor Hoch on August 10, 1907, to take effect September 1, 1907.

As bearing on his judicial career, it is deemed permissible to state the following circumstance: A short time before his resignation a case was tried before him and was taken by the defeated party on petition in error to the Supreme Court. That court, some months after Judge Stillwell's resignation had gone into effect, affirmed the judgment, and at the close of the opinion the court, speaking by Mr. Justice Graves, said: "For more than twenty years this court has been reviewing the decisions of the eminent judge before whom this case was tried, and it has noted with satisfaction the vigilant care and patient industry given by him to the official discharge of his duties. His thorough knowledge of legal principles and clear perception of natural justice made him peculiarly fitted for judicial service, and contributed in a large measure to the success which gave him prominence as a jurist, and caused him to be recognized as an able and impartial judge. In view of his recent voluntary retirement from the bench by resignation, thereby severing his long continued relations with this court, we deem it proper to make this reference thereto." (Fairbanks, Morse & Co. v. Walker, 76 Kans., on p. 909.)

On leaving the bench Judge Stillwell resumed the practice of law, but since the summer of 1913 has virtually retired, though he maintains his office and his library and occasionally furnishes counsel.

Burial

East Hill Cemetery, Erie, Neosho Co, Kansas ^[2]

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Sources

1. ↑ The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War 1861-1865
2. ↑ Leander Stillwell Find A Grave: Memorial #40752567

• Extensive biography from - http://www.skyways.org/genweb/archives/1918ks/bios/stillwl.html

• Jim Vondrak
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