History of the Cobb County Stanleys

It is unknown what relationship, if any, the Cobb County Stanleys may have to these titled nobles of England. The only presently known reference that indicates this branch of the Stanley Family might be descended from the Earls of Derby appears to be a statement by Rilla Stanley of Smyrna, Georgia that, "When I was 14 years old during the Reconstruction period after the War, a letter came to my Grandfather, Ezekiel Stanley, from the old Earl in England asking that he come to England to help settle the estates. He wanted my Father [Benjamin Monroe Stanley] to go but he could not.... I know someone that knew the place in England. She said, 'Three brothers came to America and one stayed in England.'" Stanley and Kindred Families, F. Guttery, 1964, p. 77. (Most of the information on this site was taken from Stanley and Kindred Families and Our Kin, W. Manning, Walton Printing Co., 1958 as well as the research of James M. Stanley in preparation for the first reunion of the descendents of Ezekiel II and Peggy Stanley on July 3, 1960.) Rilla was born in 1876, so it would have been around 1890 when Ezekiel is reported by Rilla to have received the letter from the Earl.

The three brothers referred to above by Rilla Stanley were George, John and Joshua Stanley, who were hatmakers from England. They came to America prior to the American Revolution and settled near Richmond, Virginia. One of the brothers is reported to have moved "up east," while George, who is our ancestor, and the other brother remained in the South.

 

 

 

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