Naming The Henry M. Stanley Suite
Stanley, as in “Stanley and Livingstone”. Stanley, as in “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
There IS a Pocahontas connection! Read on, and click the image at the bottom of this post to see the floor plan of the new Stanley Suite at The Lesmeister.
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841 – 1904) was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of central Africa and his search for missionary and explorer David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley famously asked, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Stanley is also known for his search for the source of the Nile, his work in and development of the Congo Basin region in association with King Leopold II of Belgium and for commanding the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. He was knighted in 1899.
In 1859, at age 18, Stanley emigrated to the United States, disembarking in New Orleans in search of a new life. He joined in the American Civil War, enlisting July 26, 1861, in Pocahontas, in the Confederate Army’s 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment.
The federal highway into Arkansas, called “The Military Road” entered Arkansas at Pitman’s Ferry in northeast Randolph County. Pocahontas, the county seat, contained the northernmost river port in Arkansas, creating a gateway to the rest of Arkansas. As a result, thousands of Confederates, including Stanley, arrived in Pocahontas at the beginning of the war, to block the Yankees’ entry into the state.
Links below connect to a couple of publications related to Henry’s time in Pocahontas.
http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/arcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=24239
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Stanley was ‘shamed’ into joining the army by female acquaintances who sent him a box with ladies’ bloomers in it.
There’s a movie of his life starring Spencer Tracy.