from History of Oregon, Volume 3, by Charles Henry Carey
Richard Temple Dabney was born September 11, 1855, in Vermilion county, Illinois, a son of Henry and Maria (Stanfield) Dabney. . .
His father, Henry Dabney, was born December 31, 1795, in King William county, Virginia. At the age of sixteen he served in the War of 1812. He and some thirty students of the academy he was attending volunteered in a body and selecting their teacher as captain had quite a skirmish with the British on the Rappahannock in King and Queen oounty, Virginia. There he was made sergeant. After the war he returned to the old home near Richmond. Virginia, and resided there until 1828. This plantation was well equipped with fine horses and carriages and slaves. Being convinced that slavery was wrong he set his slaves free and sold the plantation, giving to each slave a portion of the proceeds. Later on he removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he organized the First Methodist Sunday school.
While in Terre Haute he met Miss Maria Stanfield, a charming young lady of Nashville, Tennessee, whom he afterward married in Vermilion county, Illinois, October 21. 1830. In later years he purchased a small tract of prairie land in Madison county, Iowa, and moved his large family, consisting of his wife, nine sons and three daughters, to that farm, there to make a home.
Mrs. Henry Dabney, who in her maidenhood was Maria Stanfield, was born October 11, 1813, in Greene county, Tennessee. It was said of her that she was a true Christian, a devoted wife and mother, always doing deeds of kindness and lending a helping hand to those in need. She passed away April 10, 1889. Her parents John Stanfield and Sarah Dillon were married October 20, 1790, in Greene county, Tennessee. .
