Husband John M. Stockdale 1 2
Born: 28 Aug 1824 - Morris Twp, Greene Co, PA 1 2
Christened:
Died: 17 Sep 1897 - Washington, Washington Co, PA 3
Buried:
Father: William Stockdale (1792-1863) 1 2
Mother: Hannah McQuaid (Abt 1797-1873) 1
Marriage: Apr 1857 2 4
Wife Pattie Clark 2
AKA: Martha Clark 4
Born: 22 Jun 1833 - Washington Co, PA 2
Christened:
Died: 28 May 1904 - Washington, Washington Co, PA 2
Buried:
Father: Abner Clark ( - ) 2 4
Mother: Patty Evans ( - ) 2
Children
1 F Elizabeth C. Stockdale 2 4
Born:
Christened:
Died: Aft 1910
Buried:
General Notes: Husband - John M. Stockdale
He was born and reared on the farm, was sent to an academy to prepare for college, and graduated from Washington College in 1849. He studied law with T. M. T. McKennan, and his son Judge William McKennan, of Washington, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to practice in 1852. In 1853 he became the owner and editor of the Waynesburg (Greene county) Messenger, the only Democratic newspaper in the county. In 1854 he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, to represent Greene county in the State Legislature, and was re-elected in 1855. In 1856 he went to the Northwest for recreation and health, but became connected with business matters in Fort Dodge, on the Des Moines river, Iowa, and remained there until 1865. In the meantime he was appointed (in 1857) Register of the Government Land Office in Fort Dodge, which he held until July, 1861. During his residence there he dealt very largely in real estate, having bought and sold more than two hundred thousand acres of land, as the records show; but the Civil war depressed or destroyed, for the time, nearly all land values in the Northwest, and made real estate a hazardous investment. In 1863 Mr. Stockdale, in his absence, was nominated for the State Senate from his district in Iowa, but declined to accept the nomination. In 1864 he was an elector on the McClelland ticket. In 1865 he removed to the city of Baltimore, where he engaged in the wholesale drug trade in the well-known house of Stockdale, Smith & Co., on the corner of Howard and German streets, and also in a Petroleum Oil Refinery near the shipping wharves, until the Standard Oil Co., by methods now well known, secured control of all pipe lines and means of transportation, including heavy special rebates that crushed all competitors. In 1881 Mr. Stockdale removed to Washington, Pennsylvania, and published the Review and Examiner until 1886 when he retired from journalistic work and entered a law office in Washington. In 1884 he received the nomination of the Democratic party for Congress in a District embracing Washington, Beaver and Lawrence counties. In 1883, when the project was untested by experience, he applied for and secured a State Charter, for the transportation and consumption of natural gas for "heat and light." The prosecution of the project by a company of enterprising citizens resulted in the development of natural gas and oil in the immediate vicinity. [BRWC, 393]
His mind was well stored with knowledge, he had read widely and had great ability as an extemporaneous speaker. He was honorable and hated injustice, he loved law and order and was an earnest champion of the people's rights. There were no neutral tints in his political colors he was ever an ardent Democrat, believing thoroughly in his party and its principles. He was a Christian and a member of the Presbyterian Church from early life. He enjoyed much success, he bore reverses with dignity and composure, and "was equal to either fortune." He retired from active life "as he felt the evening shadows coming on" and died at his home in Washington.