Biography

05/17/1853 - 09/10/1934

Daniel Spindler Walton (R40) Fayette and Greene Counties 1895-1898 (R46) Greene and Washington Counties 1907-1910

Early Life: 

Daniel Spindler Walton, born May 17, 1853, Ryerson Station, Richhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania; son of Daniel McFarland Walton and Mary M. Drake Walton; Oskaloosa College, Iowa; returned Waynesburg, Pennsylvania; admitted, Greene County bar, 1874; attorney, law practice, Wyly, Buchanan and Walton; Waynesburg College, M.A. 1877; president, borough council, Waynesburg, 1884; member,  Waynesburg school board; president, Waynesburg Electric Light and Power Company; president, board of trustees, Waynesburg College; married, Mary Ann Buchanan Walton, 1873, children, James Buchanan Walton, Mary Boner Buchanan Walton Martin, Jack Buchanan Walton; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1895-1898, elected, president pro tempore, 1897-1898; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1906-1910; died, September 10, 1934 (aged 81), Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania; interment, Green Mount Cemetery Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania. 

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Charter member, organizer, Pennsylvania Bar Association. President, Waynesburg Electric Light and Power Company; president, board of trustees, Waynesburg College.

Pennsylvania Politics: Legacy:

President, borough council, Waynesburg, 1884. 

Member, Waynesburg school board. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 40th district, Fayette and Greene Counties,1895-1898; defeated, Pennsylvania House of Representative democrat, Mathias Brant; elected, president pro tempore, 1897-1898; committee assignments, Judiciary General (Chairman), Mines and Mining, New County and County Seats, Public Supply of Light, Heat and Water, Railroad and Street Passenger Railways; unsuccessful reelection, Albert D. Boyd. 

In 1895, supported Senators John C. Grady, George Handy Smith, and John P.S. Gobin’s push for the Superior Court system, Wrongful Injury Bill. Suggested caps for medical malpractice awards, 1897. Also, during that session promoted, state-labor arbitration bill, Brewers and Distillers Act, State Convention reform, Free Election Bill, Joint Appeals measure.

In 1897, selected and represented in the prosecution of Reverend Doctor Silas Comfort Swallow before the bar of the Senate for contumacy and compelled him to bring witness before the Senate investigating committee. Convicted of slander and fined $500 in 1897, the verdict was later reversed by the State Superior Court. $500 fine worth $17,979.42, as of May 2022. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 46th district, Greene and Washington Counties, 1907-1910; defeated, Benjamin N. Freeland; committee assignments Appropriations, Education, Forestry, Law and Order, Military Affairs and Public Health and Sanitation. 

Legislative accomplishments, passage, 1909 Public School Code, Legislative Reference Bureau measure; anti-fraud insurance legislation; advocated the death penalty for first degree murder. 

Legacy: 

First Republican elected, 40th district, known then as “Gibraltar of Democracy” Pennsylvania State Senate. 

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members W". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1898). Cochran, T.B., (Editor) Miller, H.P. (Assistant Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 1164, 1169-1171, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 1140.

The Pennsylvania Manual, (1910). Miller, H.P., (Compiler). Baker, W.H., (Assistant Compiler). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 994, 1000-1003, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 976.

Daniel Spindler Walton (1853-1934) - Find a Grave Memorial