Whitton was born August 4, 1836, in Dundee, Scotland,[3] and emigrated to the United States in 1842 with his father (a stonecutter and mason), mother and brother Charles.
In 1856 they moved to Waupun, where David apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner, but found the trade did not suit him, and in 1860 became a produce dealer.
In April 1877 he was admitted to the bar, and took up practice in Fond du Lac and neighboring counties, while continuing in the produce trade (he owned a grain warehouse in Brandon).
In September 1877, he was one of the nine signatories to a petition for the incorporation of Brandon as a village; all the documentation was "left at the office of David Whitton within said territory, where the same may be examined".
He played a leadership role on a state and national level in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was a Royal Arch Mason.