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Ellen May Stanley

Kansas Historical Foundation
Elected to board: 1982
Elected to executive committee: 1987
President: 1989-1990

Ellen May Stanley was born in Lane County pm February 3, 1921, the daughter of Delmar and Lena (Bobb) Durr. She great up on the family farm near Alamota and graduated from Lane County High School.

She married Max N. Stanley in Dighton on November 4, 1939. They operated a family farm in Dighton and had six children.

After raising her six children Stanley earned an associate of arts degrees from Garden City Community College and a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in history from Fort Hays State University. She authored books about Lane County history, including Early Lane County Development, 12,000 B.C. – A.D. 1994, which received the American Association for State and Local History’s Certificate of Commendation in 1994. She also wrote Golden Age, Great Depression, and Dust Bowl, and Cowboy Josh: Adventures of a Real Cowboy. She wrote an ongoing column marking events from 100 years in the past for Dighton Herald. She compiled historical and genealogical information for individuals and organizations.

Stanley served as president of the Kansas Historical Society from 1990 to 1991. She served on the Nominating, Membership, Development, and Edgar Langsdorf Award for Excellence in Writing committees. Her presidential address, delivered at the 115th annual meeting in October 1990 focused on William Eugene Stanley, the two-term 15th governor of Kansas, and a capitalist, from Wichita. Stanley served on the Kansas Historical Society’s Historic Sites Board of Review. She was an active member of the Lane County Historical Society, Kansas Anthropological Association, Kansas Museums Association, Kansas Corral of the Westerners, Mountain Plains Museums Association, and was also involved with her church and political organizations.

Ellen May Stanley died in Dighton on August 28, 2022.

Entry: Ellen May Stanley

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: August 2024

Date Modified: August 2024

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.