Stockton P. Donley

Stockton P. Donley, for whom the county was named, was a Texas Confederate born in 1821 who died in 1871. He came to Texas from Kentucky in 1846, became district attorney in 1853, and enlisted as a private in the 7th Texas Infantry in 1861, later becoming a lieutenant. He was captured with his regiment after a bitter fight at the siege of Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in 1862 and spent nine months as a prisoner of war at Camp Douglas, Illinois. When exchanged, his health was so broken that he was assigned to post duty. He was elected to the State Supreme Court in 1866, but because of his Confederate service he was removed in 1867 by U.S. military order. The account also stands as a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy.

Clarendon, Texas · United States