Born at West Union Church near
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, Stockdale graduated from Jefferson College (now
Washington & Jefferson College) in 1856 and received a
master's degree in 1859. He taught school in
Pike County, Mississippi, received his
law degree from the
University of Mississippi in 1859 and practiced in
Woodville, Mississippi. During the
Civil War, he served in the
Confederate States Army. Enlisting as a
private in the
16th Mississippi Infantry in 1861, After the war Stockdale resumed the practice of law in
Summit, Mississippi. He served as a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention in 1868. He was also a Democratic presidential elector in
1872 and
1884. Stockdale was elected to the
United States House of Representatives as a
Democrat in 1886 and served four terms, March 4, 1887 to March 3, 1895. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1894. In 1896 Stockdale was appointed by Governor
Anselm J. McLaurin to fill a vacancy as a justice of the
Mississippi Supreme Court and he served until 1897. He died in
Summit, Mississippi on January 8, 1899, and was interred in Summit's Woodlawn Cemetery. Stockdale's home has been preserved by the Summit Historical Society, and the grounds of his home also contain a memorial to Stockdale. ==References==