Henry Middleton (abt. 1717 - 1784)

Born about 1717 in Charles Town, Carolina

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Baker (Williams) Middleton — married Jan 1741 (to 1761) in Charleston, South Carolina

Husband of Mary (Mackenzie) Middleton — married 1776 (to 1784) in South Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 13 Jun 1784 at about age 67 in Charleston, South Carolina, United States

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Biography

Henry Middleton was a Founding Father in the American Revolution.

Henry Middleton was born in 1717 near Charles Town, South Carolina, to Arthur Middleton and Susan Amory Middleton. Arthur Middleton, was a member of the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.^[1] Henry was raised in an area currently know as Goose Creek, Berkley, South Carolina. He was the brother of William Middleton, Hester Middleton, and Thomas Middleton. Henry's grandfather, also named Henry Middleton, emigrated from England to Barbados and from there to South Carolina in 1678. Henry Middleton was the second president of the Continental Congress from October 22, 1774 through October 26, 1774. ^[2]

Henry was born on the Middleton family plantation called The Oaks. The Oaks was a rice plantation.^[3] Henry's father, Arthur Middleton, was a wealthy planter who had served as an acting governor of Carolina.

Henry was primarily tutored at home. He was educated in England for a time, but returned following his father's death to inherit the family plantation. He became one of the largest landowners in the colony, owning 50,000 acres (200 km2) and about 800 slaves. ^[4][5]

Henry also owned land that had come from his wife, Mary Baker Williams's dowry, that they named Middleton Place. The family lived at Middleton Place until Mary's death in 1761. After his wife died, Henry moved back to The Oaks.^[6]

Marriages

Henry Middleton married Mary B. Williams January 1741 in Charleston, South Carolina. They had five sons and seven daughters including:

1. Arthur M. Middleton
2. John Middleton
3. Henrietta (Middleton) Rutledge
4. Thomas Middleton
5. Hester (Middleton) Drayton
6. Sarah (Middleton) Pinckney
7. Susannah Middleton.

Mary died in 1761.

Middleton then married:

• Maria Henrietta Bull in 1762
• Lady Mary McKenzie in 1776.^[7][8]

Public Life

Henry was primarily a planter, owning one of the earliest rice plantations in the low country of South Carolina. He also held several government positions. Middleton started his career by becoming a Justice of Peace, and soon after, a member of the King's Council in America. He became a member of the South Carolina House of Commons where he was elected speaker a total of 3 times. He became Commissioner of Native American Affairs in 1755, and was elected to the South Carolina Colonial Council. Middleton fought in the Anglo-Cherokee War between 1760 and 1761, becoming known for his bravery and calm in battle. He resigned from public offices in 1770, to focus on his plantation business.

Middleton was the second President of the Continental Congress from October 22, 1774, until Peyton Randolph was able to resume his duties briefly beginning on May 10, 1775.^[7]

Plantations

• The Oaks at Goose Creek
• Middleton Place on the west side of the Ashley River

Death

Henry died where he was born, on June 13, 1784. He wrote his will 16 Apr 1784, a codicil written May 1784, and it was proven 25 Jun 1784.^[9]

Family named in his will:

• Lady Mary Middleton, wife
• Thomas Middleton, son
• Arthur Middleton, son

the daughters of his deceased brother Thomas

• Elizabeth Middleton, niece
• Ann Middleton, niece
• Henrietta, daughter
• Hester, daughter
• Sarah Middleton Pickney, daughter (she died between 16 May and 12 Apr 1784 according to his will)
• Mary, daughter
• Susannah

Henry Middleton is buried at Saint James Goose Creek Cemetery, Goose Creek, Berkeley County, South Carolina.^[10]

Slaves

Henry Middleton's estate names 205 enslaved persons in his probate inventory of 1785.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ https://schistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Middleton-Family-Papers-1168.00.pdf
2. ↑ Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention.
3. ↑ History of Middleton Place.
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Middleton
5. ↑ John G. Van Deusen, "Middleton, Henry", Dictionary of American Biography (revised edition, New York: Scribner's, 1961), 6:600.
6. ↑ Graves of Our Founders Volume 1, Their Lives, Contributions, and Burial Sites, By Lawrence Knorr, Joe Farrell, 2018 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Graves_of_Our_Founders/HZ6KDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1
   • p.154
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} South Carolina: Henry. Middleton, Timeline.
8. ↑ "The Bull Family of South Carolina" (which appeared in volume 1 (January 1900) of The South Carolina Genealogical and Historical Magazine pages 76 to 90.
9. ↑ Wills and miscellaneous probate records, 1671-1868: "South Carolina Probate Re... Bound Volumes, 1671-1977"
   Catalog: Wills and miscellaneous probate records, 1671-1868 Wills v. 19 1780-1783 Wills v. 20 1783-1786
   Image path: South Carolina Probate Records, Bound Volumes, 1671-1977 > Charleston > Wills, 1783-1786, Vol. 020 > image 864 of 869; Citing Department of Archives and History, Columbia.
   FamilySearch Image: 939L-JXST-7T (accessed 26 May 2022)
   • 1784 Charleston Co, SC, will Bk 20 p.416
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12678863/henry-middleton : accessed 26 May 2022), memorial page for Henry Middleton (1717–13 Jun 1784), Find a Grave Memorial ID 12678863, citing Saint James Goose Creek Cemetery, Goose Creek, Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Find a Grave .
11. ↑ Thomas Middleton Plantation Book, 1734-1813 https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/00506/#folder_1#1
    • p.266, 268, 270, image scans 18-20, in the Thomas Middleton Plantation Book #506-z, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• MIDDLETON PLACE Four Generations of Middletons
• Continental Congress Presidents - 1744-1789
• Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention
• "The Thomas Pinckney Family of South Carolina" in volume 39 of The South Carolina Genealogical and Historical Magazine in January 1938 at pages 15 to 35.