Nicholas Henry Darnell
Full Name: Nicholas Henry DarnellDate of birth: April 20, 1807
Date of death: July 10, 1885
Terms of Service top
| Chamber | District | Dates of Service | Legislatures | Party | City/County | Note | Counties in District |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | 53 | Apr 19, 1876 - Jan 14, 1879 | 15th (1) (2) | Democrat | Fort Worth / Tarrant | Tarrant | |
| H | 44 | Nov 4, 1861 - Jan 14, 1862 | 9th (3) (4) | Dallas / Dallas | Speaker 12/7/1861 - 1/14/1862. | Dallas | |
| H | 8 | Nov 7, 1859 - Nov 4, 1861 | 8th | Unknown / Dallas | Dallas |
(1) Mentioned in "The news from Austin . . . Resignations of Representative Barziza and four others accepted after critical debate . . . Hunter restored to his seat . . . Other resignations not improbable," Thursday, 8/3/1876, p. 1. Galveston Daily News.
(2) Sworn 4/19/1876, p. 8. "Pending the drawing of seats, N.H. Darnell, of Tarrant county, presented his credentials, and was sworn in." House Journal.
(3) Darnell succeeded Constantine W. Buckley as speaker on 12/7/1861; Darnell left for the war end of Regular Session; Buckley was again speaker in 1st Called Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) McCoy, sworn 2/3/1863, succeeded Nicholas H. Darnell. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
Terms of Service top
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House District 53
Apr 19, 1876 - Jan 14, 1879 Legislatures: 15th (1) (2) Party: Democrat Home City/County: Fort Worth / Tarrant Counties in district: Tarrant |
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House District 44
Nov 4, 1861 - Jan 14, 1862 Legislatures: 9th (3) (4) Speaker 12/7/1861 - 1/14/1862. Home City/County: Dallas / Dallas Counties in district: Dallas |
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House District 8
Nov 7, 1859 - Nov 4, 1861 Legislatures: 8th Home City/County: Unknown / Dallas Counties in district: Dallas |
(1) Mentioned in "The news from Austin . . . Resignations of Representative Barziza and four others accepted after critical debate . . . Hunter restored to his seat . . . Other resignations not improbable," Thursday, 8/3/1876, p. 1. Galveston Daily News.
(2) Sworn 4/19/1876, p. 8. "Pending the drawing of seats, N.H. Darnell, of Tarrant county, presented his credentials, and was sworn in." House Journal.
(3) Darnell succeeded Constantine W. Buckley as speaker on 12/7/1861; Darnell left for the war end of Regular Session; Buckley was again speaker in 1st Called Session. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(4) McCoy, sworn 2/3/1863, succeeded Nicholas H. Darnell. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
Biographical Information top
Resolutions and Journal entries
- 1st Legislature - Counting of late Fannin County returns results in Darnell's defeat in race for Lieutenant Governor. Darnell declines to take office, February 23, 1847, p.29, 244-246. House Journal.
- 1st Legislature - Darnell declared duly and constitutionally elected Lieutenant Governor, February 17, 1846, pp. 9-10. House Journal.
- Portrait, 9th Legislature, Regular Session. House Journal.
Biographical Sketches
- Biographical sketch. American Legislative Leaders, 1850-1910, 1989.
- Biographical sketch, pp. 74-75. Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses, 1832-1845, 1942.
- DARNELL, NICHOLAS HENRY (1807-1885). Handbook of Texas Online.
- 16th Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nicholas Henry Darnell. Portrait and biographical sketch. Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2016, 2016.
- Biographical sketch, pp. 122-123. Sketches of Legislators and State Officers, Fifteenth Legislature, 1876-1878, 1876.
- Biographical sketch and portrait. Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature, 1860.
Military Service Notes
- Confederate States Army, Colonel, 18th Texas Cavalry. "He was speaker of the House in the Ninth Legislature but resigned in 1862 to enter the Confederate Army as colonel of the Eighteenth Texas Cavalry. The flag of the regiment, made at his home, was placed in the Capitol at Austin." Handbook of Texas Online.
- Nicholas Henry Darnell, birth date 4/20/1807, death date 7/10/1885. Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide, 2002.
- Biographical sketch and portrait, pp. 26, 117-118, Plate No. 47. Texas in the War, 1861-1865, 1965.
Other Resources
- Obituary and account of funeral ceremony, "The Funeral Obsequies of General Darnell," The Dallas Daily Herald, 7/12/1885. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
- Obituary, "A Pioneer Dead," Fort Worth Daily Gazette, 7/11/1885, p. 5. Darnell died 7/10/1885. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
- Obituary, "Death of General Darnell," The Dallas Daily Herald, 7/11/1885. Darnell "died yesterday at his home in Tarrant County, will be interred here today by the Masonic fraternity." Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
- Nicholas Henry Darnell, birth date 4/20/1807, death date 7/16/1885, burial in Pioneer Cemetery, Dallas, Dallas County. Includes photos, historical marker photo. Find a Grave.
- Delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1845. Journals of the Convention, assembled at the city of Austin on the Fourth of July, 1845, for the purpose of framing a constitution for the State of Texas, pp. 377-378. Austin: Miner & Cruger, printers to the Convention, 1845. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
- Delegate to Constitutional Convention, 1875. Included in Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Texas: Begun and Held at the City of Austin Texas. Constitutional Convention (1875). Galveston : Printed for the Convention at the "News" Office, 1875, pp. 3-4. Texas Constitutions Digitization Project (Tarlton Law Library, The University of Texas at Austin), 2009.
- Historical marker, Nicholas Henry Darnell, Pioneer Cemetery, Dallas, Dallas County. Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission).
Photographs
- Photograph. N.H. Darnell, 15th Legislature, State Preservation Board
- Photograph. Gen. N.H. Darnell, 8th Legislature, Texas Album of the Eighth Legislature
- Photograph. Nicholas Henry Darnell, Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2006
- Photograph. N.H. Darnell, Constitutional Convention of 1875 Composite Photo. From the collection of the Texas State Library and Archives Commisison.
Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol
- 15th session composite photo of House members (Ground floor elevator vestibule, east wall. GW.V3). State Preservation Board.
Committee Information top
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15th R.S. - 1876
Corporations Federal Relations Internal Improvements Private Land Claims Public Health, Vital Statistics, and History of Texas Public Lands and Land Office State Asylums | ||
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9th R.S. - 1861
Internal Improvement | ||
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8th R.S. - 1859
Federal Relations (Chair) Indian Difficulties on Frontier Military Affairs State Affairs |
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