Stockton P. Donley

Before the war, Donley built his name as a trial lawyer. Born in Howard County, Missouri, in 1821, he studied at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and opened his Texas practice at Clarksville before moving to Rusk in 1847 as the partner of James M. Anderson. His arguments and skill at unraveling crimes were said to rival those of John Randolph and Patrick Henry. After his removal from the bench he practiced with Oran M. Roberts and later John L. Henry. He died at Kaufman in 1871 and was buried at Tyler.

What the plaque says

Stockton P. Donley County named for Texas Confederate Stockton P. Donley 1821 - 1871 Came to Texas from Kentucky 1846. Dist. Attorney 1853. Enlisted private 7th Tex. Infantry 1861, made Lieutenant. Captured with regiment after bitter fight at Seige Fort Donelson Tenn. 1862. Prisoner war 9 months Camp Douglas Ill. When exchanged health so broken assigned post duty. Elected to State Supreme Court 1866. Because of Confederate service was removed 1867 by U.S. military order. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Donley County Courthouse — steps away
  Bulger and Rapp's red brick and white stone courthouse of 1891, the oldest in use in the Panhandle, given back its third floor and towers in a 2003 restoration.
• Saints' Roost Museum — 0.8 mi
  Clarendon's county museum in the hospital Cornelia Adair built for JA cowboys in 1910, named for the nickname cowhands gave a Methodist town with no saloons.
• Charles and Mary Ann Goodnight Ranch State Historic Site — 18 mi
  The two-story house the Goodnights moved into on December 27, 1887, after leaving the JA, with a porch that looks over bison descended from the calves Mary Ann saved.
• Phillips 66 Station, McLean — 26 mi
  A 1929 cottage-style Phillips 66 station on First Street in McLean, the town I-40 went around last and whose Route 66 business district stayed much as it was.

More markers nearby

• First United Methodist Church of Clarendon — steps away
• The Clarendon News — steps away
• Funeral Business in Clarendon — 0.2 mi
• St. Stephen's Baptist Church — 0.4 mi