Daniel W. Courts

A native of Culpepper County, Virginia, Daniel Courts lived first in Rockingham County and then moved to Surry County, which he represented in the House of Commons from 1831 to 1833 and 1836. During his last term in the legislature, he was elected State Treasurer. He resigned as Treasurer in 1839, after serving only two years, to accept an appointment by President Martin Van Buren as the U.S. Consul at Matanza, Cuba. He stayed in Cuba briefly and returned to North Carolina, settling in Rockingham County which he represented in the House of Commons in 1846 and 1848 and in the Senate in 1850.

In 1851, he was again elected State Treasurer and this time he served ably until 1863. When North Carolina seceded from the Union, Courts was a member of the faction of the Democratic party which strongly supported secession. He was defeated for re-election in 1862 by Jonathan Worth.

In 1864, Courts was again elected to represent Rockingham County in the Senate. In his prime, Courts was a wealthy plantation owner, holding title to more than a thousand acres in Rockingham County and 40 slaves. During the chaos following the Civil War, Courts, like many of his peers, was forced to sell his property to pay his debts. He died in Raleigh in 1883 at the age of 83.

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