Jesse Edgar Middleton (November 3, 1872 – May 27, 1960) was a Canadian journalist, historian and songwriter.

Biography

Middleton was born in Pilkington, Ontario, the son of Margaret Agar and Rev. Eli Middleton, a Methodist minister. He attended Dutton High School and Strathroy Collegiate. He then taught school for three years, and was a proofreader in Cleveland, Ohio for three years. In 1899 he married Bessie A. Jackson and together they raised one son. They moved to Toronto in the early 1900s. For most of his career, he worked as a journalist and as a special writer for Toronto newspapers. He became a music critic for the

Mail and Empire ''The Mail and Empire'' was formed from the 1895 merger of ''The Toronto Mail'' (owned by Charles Alfred Riordan and managed by Christopher W. Bunting) and ''Toronto Empire'' newspapers, both conservative newspapers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It ...

, and in 1904 joined The News, where he wrote a column, "On the Side." He led the choir at Centennial Methodist Church, and sang in Toronto's Mendelssohn Choir. In 1926 he composed the English lyrics to a traditional Canadian Christmas hymn, the

Huron Carol The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the ...

. Aside from one volume of poetry and two novels, his main writing contribution was a lengthy historical account of Toronto and its local environs, ''The Municipality of Toronto'' (3 volumes). He also wrote a history of the province, ''The Province of Ontario: a History'' (4 volumes). He died in Toronto in 1960 and was buried in Fort Macleod, Alberta.

Works

* ''Sea Dogs and Men at Arms: A Canadian Book of Songs'' (1918) * ''

: The First Canadian Christmas Carol'' (1927) * ''Province of Ontario: A History 1615 to 1927'' (1927) with

Fred Landon Fred Landon (November 5, 1880 – August 1, 1969) was a Canadian journalist, historian, librarian, teacher, administrator and specialist in Ontario history. Biography He was born in London, Ontario in 1880 and died there in 1969. He marri ...

* ''The Romance of Ontario'' (1931) * ''Green Plush'' (1932) * '' Toronto's 100 Years'' (1934) * ''National Encyclopedia of Canadian Biography'' (1935) o-edited* ''The Clever Ones'' (1936) * ''William Tyrell of Weston'' (1937) ith Edith Morrison* ''Canadian Landscape'' (1944) ith F. H. Brigden* ''Green Fields Afar'' (1947) ith Clara Middletonref name=authorandbook>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Jesse Edgar 1872 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian writers People from Wellington County, Ontario Journalists from Ontario Writers from Ontario