Nicholas Henry Darnell, 15th Legislature

Nicholas Henry Darnell (April 20, 1807 – July 16, 1885) was an American politician in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and Texas. He was the only person to serve as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

House of Representatives and the State of Texas House of Representatives. He was a member of the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

prior to his move to Texas, and during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

raised and led the 18th Texas Cavalry Regiment, which was also known by the name of "Darnell's Regiment."

Biography

Darnell was born on April 20, 1807 to Nannie Flewellen and Nicholas Darnell in

Williamson County, Tennessee Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 247,726. The county seat is Franklin, and the county is located in Middle Tennessee. The county is named after Hugh Williamson, ...

, where he was raised by his grandfather, William Flewellen. Darnell married Isabelle Cozart and the two would have seven children. At 28, he ran for the Tennessee General Assembly, but lost by 8 votes. Two years later, he won election unopposed, but resigned in 1838 to move to

San Augustine, Texas San Augustine is the county seat city of San Augustine County, Texas, in East Texas, United States. The population was at the 2020 census. History The first European settlement in the area began in 1717 with the establishment of Mission Nuestra ...

. In San Augustine, Darnell was sent to the Sixth and

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season epi ...

Congresses of the Republic of Texas. In the Seventh Congress, Darnell was elected Speaker of the House on November 24, 1842. After

Annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

, Darnell narrowly lost the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

's race to

Albert Clinton Horton Albert Clinton Horton (September 4, 1798 – September 1, 1865) was a Texan politician, and the first Lieutenant Governor of Texas serving under Governor James P. Henderson. Early life Horton was born on September 4, 1798, in Hancock County, ...

. While in San Augustine, Darnell helped to organize the Masonic Lodge there and held all offices of the Grand Lodge of Texas. Darnell appears to have served in the House of Representatives of the

First Texas Legislature The First Texas Legislature convened from February 16 to May 13, 1846 in regular session. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate were elected in December 1845, after an election on October 13, 1845 that ratified the proposed state const ...

, as he is listed as receiving one vote for Speaker in the election held to replace William Crump. He moved to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

in 1858, and was elected to the House for the Eighth (1859), and

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

(1861) Texas Legislatures. Darnell was nominated for Speaker of the House in the Eighth Legislature on the second ballot, but was defeated by M. D. K. Taylor, 45 votes to 33. In the Ninth Legislature, Constantine W. Buckley was elected Speaker and served until he apparently resigned on December 7, 1861, at which time Darnell was elected Speaker. After traveling to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, Darnell returned with orders to raise a cavalry regiment. He resigned as Speaker (as well as from the House) to raise the 18th Texas Cavalry. After serving as Assistant Doorkeeper for the House of Representatives of the 14th Legislature (1874), Darnell was elected from Tarrant County to be a member of the House for the 15th Legislature (1876). Darnell represented Tarrant,

Ellis Ellis is a surname of Welsh and English origin. Retrieved 21 January 2014 An independent French origin of the surname is said to derive from the phrase fleur-de-lis. Surname A * Abe Ellis (Stargate), a fictional character in the TV series ' ...

, and

counties in the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1876. He served as Doorkeeper and Assistant Doorkeeper for the

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

(1879) and

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

(1881) Legislatures. Darnell died July 16, 1885 in Fort Worth and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Dallas, and later re-interred in the Pioneer Cemetery.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, Nicholas Henry 1807 births 1885 deaths Speakers of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives Members of the Texas House of Representatives Members of the Tennessee General Assembly Confederate States Army officers 19th-century American politicians People from Williamson County, Tennessee People from San Augustine, Texas People of Texas in the American Civil War Military personnel from Texas