478 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (SPRAGUE STANTON.) 



came to the United States when five years old, 

 and settled in Marietta, Ohio. While still a 

 young girl she showed such a marked talent for 

 art that Nicholas Longworth, of Cincinnati, of- 

 fered to send her abroad to study, but her parents 



refused the propo- 

 sition because Mr. 

 Longworth insist- 

 ed that she should 

 study from the old 

 masters and ab- 

 stain from all 

 original work for 

 a period of years. 

 On her marriage 

 to the late Benja- 

 min Spencer she 

 removed to New 

 York city, where, 

 under the patron- 

 age of Mr. Long- 

 worth, she opened 

 her first studio. 

 For many years 

 she had a studio 

 in Newark, N. J., 



and after the Centennial Exposition she removed 

 to a beautiful spot overlooking the Hudson, with 

 the foothills of the Catskill mountains in the dis- 

 tance. Her early painting included the Height of 

 Fashion and The Height of Might, both of which 

 were engraved by Schaus and had a large cir- 

 culation. Other works were Old-Time Music and 

 The Greek Slave. Her most ambitious completed 

 painting was an allegory entitled Truth Unveil- 

 ing Falsehood, which won a gold medal at the 

 Centennial Exposition in 1876. She painted por- 

 traits of Martin Van Buren, Stephen A. Douglas, 

 and Gens. Grant, McClellan, and Sherman, and a 

 few minutes before her death she was putting the 

 finishing touches on a portrait of the late Robert 

 G. Ingersoll. Notwithstanding her advanced age, 

 Mrs. Spencer had sketched out a work designed 

 to be the largest and most striking of all her 

 artistic efforts. It was to symbolize the Nine- 

 teenth Century, and was planned to show about 

 200 life-size portraits of the most distinguished 

 persons of that period. She spent the greater 

 part of her later years in her beautiful home on 

 the Hudson. The accompanying portrait is from 

 a photograph of a clay bust made by her 

 daughter, the only likeness of the venerable 

 painter in existence. 



Sprague, Amasa, manufacturer, born in 

 Cranston, R. I., about 1828; died in Coneset 

 Heights, R. I., Aug. 4, 1902. He was employed 

 in his father's calico-print factory till 1845, when, 

 with his brother William, he assumed the man- 

 agement of the business, and in a short time 

 the brothers had three plants in Rhode Island, one 

 in Baltic, Conn., and another in Kennebunk, 

 Me. The elder Sprague was the first to manu- 

 facture calico prints in the United States. The 

 Sprague brothers also organized the Rhode Island 

 Frear Stone Company for the manufacture of 

 artificial sandstone. In 1873 business reverses 

 occurred, and the great calico plants passed into 

 other hands. 



Stanley, David Sloane, soldier, born in Cedar 

 Valley, Wayne County, Ohio, June 1, 1828; died 

 in Washington, D. C., March 13, 1902. He was 

 descended on his father's side from Nathaniel 

 Stanley, who served as a private in the Lexington 

 Alarm, and on his mother's side from Conrad 

 Peterson, who was a private in the Virginia Con- 

 tinental line. In 1848 he was appointed from 

 Ohio to the United States Military Academy, 



where he was graduated in 1852, entering the 

 army as 2d lieutenant in the 2d Dragoons and 

 serving in the cavalry on the Western fron- 

 tier until 1861, when he was made captain. Ow- 

 ing to his Virginia ancestry, he was offered a 

 high commission in the Confederate army, but 

 this he promptly declined. His first service waa 

 in Missouri, where he gained the appointment of 

 brigadier-general of volunteers on Sept. 28, 1861. 

 Gen. Stanley took part in the successful opera- 

 tions against Island Xo. 10 and New Madrid, 

 was in the siege of Corinth, the battle of Farming- 

 ton, and the battle of luka, and became chief of 

 cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland in 

 November, 1862. He participated in the battle 

 of Stone River, receiving the brevet of lieutenant- 

 colqnel, U. S. A., for his services on that occasion, 

 and was promoted to major-general of volunteers. 

 He also participated in the Middle Tennessee 

 campaign, and was active throughout the Atlanta 

 campaign, being in all the principal battles of 

 that movement, including Kenesaw Mountain, 

 the siege of Atlanta, and the attack on Jones- 

 boro, where he commanded the 4th Army 

 Corps. On Oct. 6, 1864, during the absence of 

 Gen. Thomas, he was assigned to the command 

 of the Army of the Cumberland, and by his 

 energy and skill did much for the successful 

 defense of Nashville, also participating in the 

 engagement at Spring Hill, where he repelled three 

 desperate assaults of the Confederate cavalry and 

 infantry, and in the battle of Franklin, where, 

 after the Union line had been broken and defeat 

 was threatened, he led a charge that resulted in 

 the recovery of the ground that had been lost. 

 Although severely wounded, he refused to leave 

 the field until the battle was won, and for his 

 services on that occasion he received the medal 

 of honor and the brevet of major-general in the 

 regular army. During the remainder of the civil 

 war he was incapacitated for further services by 

 his injuries, and on Feb. 1, 1866, was mustered 

 out of the volun- 

 teer service, and ' 

 made, on July 28, jj 

 colonel of the 22d I 

 Infantry. His 

 subsequent service 

 was in the West, 

 where he partici- 

 pated in cam- 

 paigns against 

 the Indians. On 

 March 24, 1884, 

 he was promoted 

 brigadier - general, 

 and soon after- 

 ward was made 

 commander of the 

 Department of 

 Texas, where he 

 remained until 

 June 1, 1892, when 



he was retired. Subsequently, from 1893 to 1898, 

 he was governor of the Soldiers' Home in Wash- 

 ington. Gen. Stanley was president of the Soc-icty 

 of the Army of the Cumberland, and of the Army 

 and Navy Club of Washington, and a member of 

 the Society of the Sons of the American Revo- 

 lution. 



Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, reformer, born in 

 Johnstown, N. Y., Nov. 12, 1815; died in Now 

 York city, Oct. 26, 1902. She was the daughter 

 of Daniel Cady and widow of Henry B. Stanton. 

 (For a sketch of Mr. Stanton's life, see Annual 

 Cyclopaedia for 1887, page 613.) She was gradu- 

 ated at Johnstown Academy and at Emma Wil- 



