Representative Edwin Obed Stanard

Edwin Obed Stanard (January 5, 1832 – March 11, 1914) was a 19th-century American politician, businessman, and teacher from Missouri who served as lieutenant governor of Missouri and as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He participated in the legislative process during one term in Congress, representing Missouri during a significant period in American history and taking part in the democratic process on behalf of his constituents.

Stanard was born on January 5, 1832, in Newport, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. In 1836 he moved with his parents to the Iowa Territory, where he was raised and completed his preparatory studies. Seeking broader opportunities in the growing Mississippi Valley, he relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1853, a city that would remain the center of his professional and political life.

In the mid-1850s Stanard combined education and business training as he began his career. He taught school in Illinois in 1854 and 1855, gaining early experience as a teacher. In 1855 he graduated from the St. Louis Commercial College, an education that prepared him for a career in commerce and industry. The following year, in 1856, he engaged in the commission business in St. Louis, entering the commercial sector of a rapidly expanding regional economy. He later moved into the milling business in St. Louis, establishing himself as a businessman in the grain and flour trade, a key industry in the city’s development.

Stanard’s prominence in business and public life led to his election as a Republican to statewide office. In 1868 he was elected the 14th lieutenant governor of Missouri, serving from 1869 to 1871. His tenure as lieutenant governor came during the Reconstruction era, when Missouri, like many states, was addressing the political, economic, and social consequences of the Civil War. As lieutenant governor, he presided over the state senate and played a role in shaping state policy during this transitional period.

Building on his statewide service, Stanard was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1872. He represented Missouri in the Forty-third Congress, serving from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875. During this one term in office, he contributed to the legislative process at the national level, participating in debates and votes as the country continued to navigate Reconstruction, economic development, and westward expansion. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1874, which ended his congressional service after a single term.

After leaving Congress, Stanard returned to private life and resumed his business activities in St. Louis. He engaged in the manufacturing of flour, continuing and expanding his earlier involvement in the milling industry. His work in flour manufacturing sustained his prominence in the commercial life of St. Louis well into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Edwin Obed Stanard died in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 11, 1914. He was interred in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. His life spanned from the era of westward territorial expansion through the Civil War and Reconstruction into the modern industrial age, and he left a record of service as a teacher, businessman, lieutenant governor of Missouri, and member of the United States House of Representatives.