David Newland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Newland
8th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory
In office December 7, 1840 – December 5, 1842
Preceded by	Nelson Dewey
Succeeded by	Albert Gallatin Ellis
Member of the Council of the Wisconsin Territory from Milwaukee and Washington counties
In office December 5, 1842 – January 6, 1845 Serving with Hans Crocker, Lemuel White
Preceded by	Don A. J. Upham and John H. Tweedy
Succeeded by	Adam E. Ray, James Kneeland, and Jacob H. Kimball
Representative to the Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory from Iowa County
In office December 7, 1840 – December 5, 1842 Serving with Francis J. Dunn (1840-1841), Ephraim F. Ogden (1840-1842), Daniel M. Parkison (1840-1842), Thomas Jenkins (1841-1842)
Member of the North Carolina Senate from the Burke County district
In office November 15, 1830 – November 21, 1831
Preceded by	Merritt Burgin
Succeeded by	Mark Brittain
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the Burke County district
In office December 25, 1826 – November 15, 1830 Serving with Edwin Poor (1826), David Neill (1827), Mark Brittain (1828), Joseph Neill (1829)
Preceded by	Peter Balle and Edwin Poor
Succeeded by	Alney Burgin and Elias A. Hooper
Personal details
Born	David Newland c. 1799 (1799) Burke County, North Carolina, US
Died	December 19, 1857(1857-12-19) (aged 57–58) Washington, D.C., US
Cause of death	Drowning
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Cynthia Ann McDonald (m. 1833; died 1896)
Children	David Benson Newland (b. 1849; died 1849) Kate (Sproat) (Dawer)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	North Carolina Militia
Rank	Brigadier General

David Newland (born around 1799, died 1857) was an American politician. He worked in both North Carolina and Wisconsin. He became the Speaker of the main law-making group in the Wisconsin Territory. Before that, he was a state senator and representative in North Carolina. He was also involved in a very close election for Congress in 1835.

Early Life and Politics

David Newland was born in Burke County, North Carolina. He and his brothers ran a business that delivered mail using horse-drawn wagons. They had contracts with the state government.

Newland got involved in politics in North Carolina. In 1826, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons, which is like a state House of Representatives. He was re-elected for three more years. In 1830, he became a state senator, representing Burke County in the North Carolina Senate. The next year, he joined the North Carolina Council of State.

He also served in the military. He was a Colonel in the North Carolina Militia before 1830. Later, in 1832, he was promoted to Brigadier General. Newland was a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party.

In 1833, Newland tried to get elected to the U.S. Congress. He ran as a Democrat who was against "nullification." Nullification was a belief that states could ignore federal laws they didn't like. He came in third place in that election.

A Close Election Fight

Newland tried again to be elected to Congress in 1835. This election was very close and caused a big argument. The first results showed his opponent, James Graham, winning by only seven votes.

However, Newland found that some ballots were not counted because they were put in the wrong box. He asked the United States House of Representatives to look into it. A committee in the House decided that Newland should get those missing votes. This would have made him the winner by 12 votes.

But the issue dragged on for months with many debates. In the end, the House voted that Graham was not properly elected. However, they also failed to vote Newland into the seat. So, the seat was left empty in March 1836.

Because of this, a special election was held in August 1836. This time, Newland lost by a much larger number of votes.

Moving to Wisconsin

In 1837, David Newland moved to the Wisconsin Territory. The President at the time, Martin Van Buren, appointed him to survey public lands there. Newland settled near Blue River, in what was then Iowa County. Back then, Iowa County was a very large area in Wisconsin.

Newland quickly became involved in politics again. In 1840, he was elected to the Third Legislative Assembly of the Wisconsin Territory. This was the main law-making body for the territory. He was chosen as the Speaker of the House of Representatives during his first session. He served as Speaker for both sessions of that Assembly.

After his time as Speaker, Newland moved to Milwaukee. He was then elected to the Fourth Assembly as a member of the Territorial Council, which was like the upper house of the legislature. He also tried to be a delegate for Wisconsin's first meeting to write its state constitution in 1846, but he was not elected.

After Wisconsin became a state, Newland worked in Sheboygan County. He lived in Greenbush. He was on the board of a company that built a special type of road called a "plank road." In 1853, he was put in charge of the harbor in Sheboygan.

Later Life and Death

In 1857, David Newland was having money problems. He traveled to Washington, D.C., hoping to get a job from the new President, James Buchanan. After a few months without success, his body was found in a canal in Washington, D.C., on December 20, 1857. A jury decided that his death was an accidental drowning.

Family Life

David Newland married Cynthia Ann McDonald. They had at least two children. Their son, David, sadly died when he was a baby. Their daughter, Kate, married Jacob Sproat. After Jacob died, Kate married John Dawer.

Cynthia Newland was the aunt of a famous sculptor named Vinnie Ream. After David Newland passed away, Cynthia married Joseph L. Speer.

Electoral History

U.S. House of Representatives (1833)

U.S. House of Representatives (1835)

U.S. House of Representatives (1836)