Stainback was the son of George W. and Lucretia T. (née Eppes) Stainback who had married in 1818 and moved to Limestone County, Alabama, and then, in 1835, to Memphis, Tennessee. Stainback attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford, earning his A.B. (1854) and A.M (1856), D.D. (1855) degrees. In 1855-6 he was assistant professor of Latin and Greek.[4][5]
He maintained his ministry in Columbus, Mississippi, for 13 years before moving to Huntsville, Alabama, in 1872. From 1874-1878 he was First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Memphis, but then returned to Columbus, Mississippi, in 1879. He was noted for having a profound impact on former Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest shortly after the latter's conversion in 1875;[6] Stainback later visited Forrest as he lay dying,[7] and presided over Forrest's funeral services in 1877.[8][9][10][11] During the general's eulogy, Stainback declared: "Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest, though dead, yet speaketh. His acts have photographed themselves upon the hearts of thousands, and will speak there forever."[11]
Masonry
Stainback also served as a Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Mississippi, and Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge in Tennessee.[12][13]: 282
Personal life
Stainback married Clara B. Grady on October 19, 1854. Following Grady's death on December 5, 1864, he wedded Mary Gibson of Columbus, Mississippi, on January 4, 1871. He had seven children.[citation needed]