Darius H. Starbuck was a North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 lawyer and political figure who served as United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 for the entire state, and then for the Western District of North Carolina

United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

The United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina is a Federal district court which covers the western third of North Carolina....

 after the state was divided into two districts. Starbuck was a graduate of Guilford College

Guilford College

Guilford College, founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends , is an independent college whose stated mission is to: provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, guided by Quaker...

.

Starbuck served as a delegate from Forsyth County

Forsyth County, North Carolina

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 306,067 people, 123,851 households, and 81,741 families residing in the county. The population density was 747 people per square mile . There were 133,093 housing units at an average density of 325 per square mile...

 to the state constitutional conventions

North Carolina Constitution

The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law...

 of 1861 and 1865.
He was first appointed to the U.S. Attorney's post in December 1865 by President Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

. In 1868, he was elected a state superior court judge, but declined the office in hopes of continuing as U.S. Attorney under the new administration of Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

. Grant eventually did reappoint Starbuck in 1870. In 1872, when the state was divided into eastern and western districts, Starbuck was made the first U.S. attorney for the western district, while his old post in Raleigh, now the eastern district, went to Richard C. Badger. In 1880, Starbuck was a delegate to the Republican National Convention

Republican National Convention

The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...

, at first publicly supporting John Sherman

John Sherman (politician)

John Sherman, nicknamed "The Ohio Icicle" , was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Ohio during the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. He served as both Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State and was the principal author of the Sherman Antitrust Act...

before switching his allegiance to Grant.