Mason C. Darling

{{short description|19th century merican politician, Wisconsin pioneer, 1st Mayor of Fond du Lac}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Mason Cook Darling

|image = Mason C. Darling, painted by Samuel M. Brookes and Thomas H. Stevenson, 1856.jpg

|alt = Mason C. Darling, painted by Samuel M. Brookes and Thomas H. Stevenson, 1856

|state = Wisconsin

|district = {{ushr|Wisconsin|2|2nd}}

| 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 {{nowrap|Wisconsin Territory}}

| term_start2 = January 5, 1846

| term_end2 = January 4, 1847

| predecessor2 = George H. Walker

| successor2 = William Shew

|office3 = Member of the Council of the {{nowrap|Wisconsin Territory}} 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 = {{nowrap|Albert Gallatin Ellis (1840-1845)}}, {{nowrap|David Giddings (1840-1842)}}, {{nowrap|David Agry (1842-1845)}}, {{nowrap|Abraham Brawley (1845-1847)}}, {{nowrap|William Fowler (1845-1846)}}, {{nowrap|Elisha Morrow (1846-1847)}}

| predecessor4 = {{nowrap|Ebenezer Childs}}, {{nowrap|Barlow Shackleford}}, {{nowrap|Charles C. Sholes}}, and {{nowrap|Jacob W. Conroe}} {{nowrap|(Brown County district)}}

| successor4 = {{nowrap|Hugh McFarlane}} and {{nowrap|Elisha Morrow}}

|state5 = Massachusetts

|state_house5 = Massachusetts

|district5 = Greenwich

| term_start5 = 1834

| term_end5 = 1835

| predecessor5 =

| successor5 =

|birth_date = {{birth date|1801|5|18}}

|birth_place = Amherst, Massachusetts

|death_date = {{death date and age|1866|3|12|1801|5|18}}

|death_place = Chicago, Illinois

|restingplace = Rienzi Cemetery
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

|party = Democrat

}}

Mason Cook Darling (May 18, 1801{{spaced ndash}}March 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.[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2214&keyword=darling Wisconsin Historical Society-Mason C. Darling]

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{{cite news|title=Death of Dr. M. C. Darling|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6241494/mason_c_darling_18011866/|newspaper=Green Bay Weekly Gazette|date=March 24, 1866|page=2|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 15, 2016 }} {{Open access}} and was one of the original settlers at Fond du Lac in 1838.{{cite news|title=Died (Mason C. Darling)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6241491/mason_c_darling_18011866/|newspaper=The Daily Milwaukee News|date=March 15, 1866|page=2|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = August 15, 2016 }} {{Open access}}

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.'Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,' Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1834, pg. 557 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.[http://www.lodge26.com/search/label/-%20History Masonic Lodge 26-Fond du Lac, Wisconsin] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120903214427/http://www.lodge26.com/search/label/-%20History |date=2012-09-03 }} 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, and was interred in Rienzi Cemetery, Fond du Lac.

A street in Fond du Lac is named Darling Pl. after him.

Electoral history

=United States House of Representatives (1848)=

{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District Special Election, 1848{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51945626/wisconsin-1848-special-election/ |title= Wisconsin Official Canvass |newspaper= The Weekly Wisconsin |location=Milwaukee |date= June 21, 1848 |page=2 |accessdate= May 23, 2020 |via= Newspapers.com }}}}

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

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Mason C. Darling

|votes = 9,683

|percentage = 58.62%

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Whig Party (United States)

|candidate = Alexander L. Collins

|votes = 6,836