Arthur Middleton (June 26, 1742 – January 1, 1787) was a Founding Father of the United States as a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

, representing South Carolina in the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

Life

Middleton was born in Charleston, Province of South Carolina, in 1742. His parents were

Henry Middleton Henry Middleton (1717 – June 13, 1784) was a planter, public official from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the First Continental Congress and served as that body's president for ...

and Mary Baker Williams, both of English descent. He was educated in Britain at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. He studied law at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

and traveled extensively in Europe where his taste in literature, music, and art was developed and refined. In 1764, Arthur and his bride Mary Izard settled at

Middleton Place Middleton Place is a plantation in Dorchester County, along the banks of the Ashley River west of the Ashley and about northwest of downtown Charleston, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th cent ...

. Keenly interested in Carolina, Middleton was a more radical thinker than his father. He was a leader of the American Party in Carolina and one of the boldest members of the Council of Safety and its Secret Committee. In 1776, Middleton was elected to succeed his father in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

and subsequently was a signer of the

. Also in 1776, he and William Henry Drayton designed the Great Seal of South Carolina. His attitude toward Loyalists was said to be ruthless, this stood in contrast to other South Carolina patriots such as

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Amer ...

who led the effort to reconcile with the loyalists after the war ended. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Middleton served in the defense of Charleston. After the city's fall to the British in 1780, he was sent as a prisoner of war to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabi ...

(along with

Edward Rutledge Edward Rutledge (November 23, 1749 – January 23, 1800) was an American Founding Father and politician who signed the Continental Association and was the youngest signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He later served as the 39th gov ...

and Thomas Heyward Jr.), until exchanged in July the following year.

Death, family and legacy

Middleton died on January 1, 1787, at age 44 and was buried in the family tomb in the Gardens at Middleton Place.''Congressional Record''
/ref> The death notice from the ''State Gazette of South-Carolina'' describes him as a "tender husband and parent, humane master, steady unshaken patriot, the gentleman, and the scholar." The plantation passed to Henry, his eldest son, later governor of South Carolina, U.S. Representative and minister to Russia. Middleton was an ancestor of actor

Charles B. Middleton Charles Brown Middleton (October 3, 1874 – April 22, 1949) was an American stage and film actor. During a film career that began at age 46 and lasted almost 30 years, he appeared in nearly 200 films as well as numerous plays. Sometimes credi ...

, who played Ming the Merciless in the

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

movies of the 1930s. Middleton's son-in-law was Congressman Daniel Elliott Huger who was the grandfather-in-law of Confederate General

Arthur Middleton Manigault Arthur Middleton Manigault (October 26, 1824 – August 17, 1886) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Early life and career Manigault was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1824. His parents we ...

. Middleton's sister, Susannah Middleton, was the great-great-grandmother of

Baldur von Schirach Baldur Benedikt von Schirach (9 May 1907 – 8 August 1974) was a German politician who is best known for his role as the Nazi Party national youth leader and head of the Hitler Youth from 1931 to 1940. He later served as ''Gauleiter'' and ''Re ...

, onetime leader of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

and later governor ("Gauleiter" or "Reichsstatthalter") of the Reichsgau Vienna, who was convicted of

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

at the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ship USS ''Arthur Middleton'' (AP-55/APA-25) was named for him.

References

External links

*
Middleton Place

Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Arthur 1742 births 1787 deaths Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina colonial people Middleton family American people of Barbadian descent American people of English descent Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence Continental Congressmen from South Carolina 18th-century American politicians People of South Carolina in the American Revolution American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain People educated at Harrow School People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple Burials in South Carolina

Life

Death, family and legacy

See also

References

External links