He was raised a Quaker and on August 26, 1829 he married Martha Thompson and together they had six children, Rachel, Anna, Esther, William, Mary, and Elma.

For a while, they lived in Salem, Ohio manufacturing Woolen goods but after a loss by fire in 1842 they moved to Muscatine, Iowa.

[4] Originally the Agency site was on Pond Creek but it was not a good location due to close proximity to the Osage and Kaws so the decision was made to move it to just outside of Fort Reno, which the tribes rejected.

In 1870 the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington told Darlington to set up the agency at the intersection of Chisholm Trail and the North Canadian River.

[7] John DeBras Miles, agent of the Kickapoo Indians in Kansas was appointed as Darlington's replacement taking his position on June 1, 1872.