John Fletcher Darby

John Fletcher Darby
4th Mayor of St. Louis
In office
April 14, 1835 – October 31, 1837
Preceded byJohn W. Johnston
Succeeded byWilliam Carr Lane
In office
April 14, 1840 – April 13, 1841
Preceded byWilliam Carr Lane
Succeeded byJohn D. Daggett
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
Preceded byJames B. Bowlin
Succeeded byThomas Hart Benton
Member of the Missouri Senate
In office
1838
Personal details
Born(1803-12-10)December 10, 1803
Person County, North Carolina, US
DiedMay 11, 1882(1882-05-11) (aged 78)
Pendleton, Missouri, US
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery
PartyWhig

John Fletcher Darby (December 10, 1803 – May 11, 1882) was an American politician. A Whig, he was the Mayor of St. Louis and a member of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri.

Biography

Darby was born on December 10, 1803, in Person County, North Carolina,[1] the son of planter John Darby.[2] He was educated at local public schools, and in 1818, moved to Missouri with his parents, where he was a farmer, likely in Warren County.[3] He studied Latin from a young age. Both his parents died in early 1823.[4] In 1825, he moved to Frankfort, Kentucky to read law under John J. Crittenden,[5] being admitted to the bar, and in 1827, began practicing law in St. Louis.[1][6] He owned slaves.[7]

Darby was a Whig. In 1834, he was elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.[8] He served as Mayor of St. Louis from April 14, 1835, until his resignation on October 31, 1837; he served again, from April 14, 1840, to April 13, 1841. As mayor, he had the city's first two public parks established,[9] and pushed for railroads to be built through the city and deprivatized the waterworks.[8] In 1838 and 1839, he was a member of the Missouri Senate, representing the 19th district,[7] and during his tenure had the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway chartered.[2] He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1853, representing Missouri's 1st district.[1] While in Congress, he primarily worked with railroad legislation.[8]

After serving in Congress, Darby became a banker in St. Louis.[1] He was a founder of the St. Louis Law Library Association.[8] In 1836, he married Mary M. Wilkinson.[7] He died on May 11, 1882, aged 78, in Pendleton,[10] and was buried at Calvary Cemetery.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Darby, John Fletcher". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  2. 1 2 Edwards, Richard; Hopewell, Merna (1860). Edwards's Great West and Her Commercial Metropolis. Published at the office of "Edwards's monthly". pp. 94, 97.
  3. ↑ "Darby, John Fletcher | NCpedia". www.ncpedia.org. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  4. ↑ Livingston, John (1853). Portraits of Eminent Americans Now Living; with Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Their Lives and Actions. pp. 333–337.
  5. ↑ Reavis, L. U. (1875). Saint Louis: the Future Great City of the World. Gray, Baker & Company. p. 427.
  6. ↑ "John F. Darby (1803–1882) | Missouri Encyclopedia". missouriencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Political Graveyard: Politicians in Banking and Finance in Missouri". politicalgraveyard.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  8. 1 2 3 4 St. Louis Public Library (2001). "John Fletcher Darby". exhibits.slpl.org. Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  9. ↑ Stevens, Walter B. (1909). St. Louis, the fourth city, 1764-1909. New York Public Library. St. Louis : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. p. 132.
  10. ↑ "John F. Darby". Abend-Anzeiger. 12 May 1882. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
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