Newton died in September 1853 and was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock. It was a hollow victory because only one month was left in Yell's term. Representative Archibald Yell resigned for service in the Mexican War (where he was killed). He resigned that seat in 1847 when he was elected in a multi-candidate campaign to fill the vacancy created when U.S. He was elected as a Whig to the state Senate in 1844. The duel was stopped after one shot was fired with no one injured.Īs was so common at that time, Newton's political career did not suffer from the duel. Newton challenged Ambrose Sevier, speaker of the Territorial House of Representatives and a leading member of the Democratic 'family,' whom he accused of disparaging Crittenden unfairly. It was Newton's defense of Crittenden which resulted in a duel in 1827. Like many Little Rock residents, Newton was a Whig and a close associate of the state's leading Whig, Robert Crittenden. He was involved in setting up government, serving as secretary of the Territorial Council during most of the 1820s, and serving as an early Little Rock postmaster and clerk of the Pulaski County courts. He relocated to the new Arkansas Territory in 1820, eventually settling in Little Rock where he practiced law. His early years are not documented very well. Thomas Willoughby Newton was born in Alexandria, Va., in 1804. Elected as a Whig in 1847, Newton was the only non-Democrat to represent Arkansas in Congress prior to Reconstruction. Thomas Newton is a great symbol of the lopsided political composition of antebellum Arkansas.

Much history of both Arkansas and the nation are represented by these men and their families.

Many of the most interesting politicians in early Arkansas are not well known today.

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