Mason C. Darling Explained

Mason Cook Darling
State:Wisconsin
Term Start:June 9, 1848
Term End:March 3, 1849
Predecessor:Position Established
Successor:Orsamus Cole
Order1:1st
Title1:Mayor of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Term Start1:April 6, 1852
Term End1:April 1853
Predecessor1:Position Established
Successor1:George McWilliams
Order2:11th
Title2:Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the
Term Start2:January 5, 1846
Term End2:January 4, 1847
Predecessor2:George H. Walker
Successor2:William Shew
Office3:Member of the Council of the from Brown, Manitowoc, Calumet, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Columbia, and Portage counties
Term Start3:January 4, 1847
Term End3:June 5, 1848
Predecessor3:George H. Walker
Successor3:William Shew
Office4:Representative to the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory from Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Brown, Fond du Lac, Marquette, Portage, Calumet, and Winnebago counties
Term Start4:December 7, 1840
Term End4:January 4, 1847
Alongside4:,,,,,
Predecessor4:,,, and
Successor4: and
State5:Massachusetts
State House5:Massachusetts
District5:Greenwich
Term Start5:1834
Term End5:1835
Birth Date:18 May 1801
Birth Place:Amherst, Massachusetts
Death Place:Chicago, Illinois
Restingplace:Rienzi Cemetery
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Party:Democrat

Mason Cook Darling (May 18, 1801March 12, 1866) was an American medical doctor, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of Wisconsin's first delegation to the United States House of Representatives after statehood (1848-1849), and was the first Mayor of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.[1]

Background

Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Darling attended the public schools. He taught school in the State of New York. He then studied medicine, graduating from the Berkshire Medical College in 1824. After this he practiced medicine for thirteen years. He moved to Wisconsin Territory in 1837[2] and was one of the original settlers at Fond du Lac in 1838.[3]

Public office

Mason served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the town of Greenwich in Hampshire County, Massachusetts in 1834 prior to moving to Wisconsin Territory.[4] He served as member of the Territorial legislative assembly 1840–1846, and as member of the Territorial Council in 1847 and 1848. Upon the admission of Wisconsin as a State into the Union, Darling was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress. He represented Wisconsin's newly created 2nd congressional district and served from June 9, 1848, to March 3, 1849. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1848 to the Thirty-first Congress, and was succeeded by Orasmus Cole, a Whig. He was elected the first mayor of Fond du Lac in 1852.

Private life

In 1848, his daughter Helen married John A. Eastman. Darling founded Fond du Lac Lodge 26 Freemasons in 1849, and served as its First Master.[5] He resumed the practice of medicine and was a dealer in real estate at Fond du Lac until 1864, when he moved to Chicago, at the same time as the Eastmans.

He died in Chicago on March 12, 1866,[2] [3] and was interred in Rienzi Cemetery, Fond du Lac.

Electoral history

United States House of Representatives (1848)

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Special Election, May 8, 1848

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2214&keyword=darling Wisconsin Historical Society-Mason C. Darling
  2. News: Death of Dr. M. C. Darling. Green Bay Weekly Gazette. March 24, 1866. 2. Newspapers.com. August 15, 2016 .
  3. News: Died (Mason C. Darling). The Daily Milwaukee News. March 15, 1866. 2. Newspapers.com. August 15, 2016 .
  4. 'Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,' Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1834, pg. 557
  5. http://www.lodge26.com/search/label/-%20History Masonic Lodge 26-Fond du Lac, Wisconsin