Stanley Woodward Davenport

Who was Stanley Woodward Davenport?

Stanley Woodward Davenport was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 12th District in Pennsylvania.

Stanley W. Davenport was born in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. He was the third born of seven children to Thomas Davenport and Mary Elizabeth Reynolds Bronson. He was educated in the public schools of Plymouth and attended Wyoming Seminary, and graduated from the Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1884 earning a Bachelor of Arts.

After completing college, he was associated in business for two years with his brother, Andrew L. Davenport, who owned a book store on Main Street in Plymouth, PA. While working in the book store, he decided to study law and later entered the office of the Honorable George W. Shonk, a relative. He studied law and was admitted to the Luzerne County Bar in 1890 and commenced practice in Plymouth in 1891.

He was elected the Register of Wills in 1884, being the only Democrat on the ticket who was not defeated, and later, he was appointed a director of the poor for the central district of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in 1893. He later served 28 years as secretary and treasurer of the Central Poor Board. He was the register of wills of Luzerne County from 1894 to 1897. He married Mary Weir on June 13, 1889, and had two daughters: Marian Livingston Davenport, born May 1, 1890; and Mary IsabelDavenport, born September 5, 1918.