Mason Cook Darling (May 18, 1801March 12, 1866) was an American

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

, politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

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.

Background

Born in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

, Darling attended the public schools. He taught school in the State of New York. He then studied medicine, graduating from the

Berkshire Medical College Berkshire Medical College (originally the Berkshire Medical Institution, and sometimes referred to as Berkshire Medical College) was a medical school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is notable for establishing the first professorship in mental ...

in 1824. After this he practiced medicine for thirteen years. He moved to

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

in 1837 and was one of the original settlers at Fond du Lac in 1838.

Public office

Mason served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from the town of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

Hampshire County, Massachusetts Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst (due to seasonal student population; the largest y ...

in 1834 prior to moving to Wisconsin Territory. 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 Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

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 Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in 1849, and served as its First Master.Masonic Lodge 26-Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
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)

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

References

External links

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Mason Cook 1801 births 1866 deaths Politicians from Amherst, Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature Politicians from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Physicians from Wisconsin Physicians from Massachusetts American Freemasons Berkshire Medical College alumni Burials at Rienzi Cemetery (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century mayors of places in Wisconsin