American politician
Willoughby Newton (December 2, 1802 – May 23, 1874) was a nineteenth-century congressman and lawyer from Virginia.
Biography.
Born at "Lee Hall" near Hague, Virginia, he was the son of Willoughby Newton and Sarah "Sally" Bland Poythress (1768 – 24 May 1828), the widow of Richard "Squire" Lee and daughter of Peter Poythress (1715–1785) of "Branchester", and Elizabeth Bland (1733–1792).
He married Elizabeth Armistead about 1825. She died after only a year. He next married Mary Stevenson Brockenbrough (15 September 1810 – 9 January 1888), daughter of Judge William Brockenbrough, on 12 May 1830. The couple had eight children;
He died at his family's estate, "Linden" in Westmoreland County, Virginia on May 23, 1874, and was interred there in a private cemetery.
Career.
Newton received a liberal education from private teachers as a child and went on to attend the College of William and Mary. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1826 to 1832 and was later elected a Whig to the United States House of Representatives in 1842, serving from 1843 to 1845. After failing to be reelected, Newton resumed practicing law and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was president of the Virginia Agricultural Society in 1852. He delivered an important and strongly pro-slavery and pro-secession speech before the literary societies of the Virginia Military Institute in 1858. Newton returned to the House of Delegates in 1861, serving until 1863.