physician, land speculator, politician, Congressman, b. Amherst, Mass. He graduated from the Berkshire Medical College at Pitts-field, Mass. (1824) and practiced for a number of years in the East. He also served in the Massachusetts legislature. In 1837 he moved to Wisconsin, settling in Sheboygan Falls, and the following year moved to Fond du Lac. There Darling became prominent as a land speculator, becoming the rival of James D. Doty (q.v.) and the Fond du Lac Co. A Democrat, Darling was a member of the territorial lower house (1840-1846) and the upper house (1847-1848). When Wisconsin became a state, he was elected to Congress, serving from June, 1848, to Mar., 1849. After leaving Congress, he returned to Fond du Lac where he was active in local politics, serving as mayor (1852, 1855). He was a founder of Lawrence College, and was active in numerous business and promotional enterprises in the Fond du Lac area, including the Fox- Wisconsin Improvement Co. (organized in 1852). He lived in Fond du Lac until 1864 when he moved to Chicago. Biog. Dir. Amer. Cong. (1928); Fond du Lac Reporter, Apr. 27, 1912; Wis. Mag. Hist., 1, 6; WPA MS.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Mason C. Darling Correspondence for details.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]