Middleton, Arthur

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Middleton, Arthur

MIDDLETON, ARTHUR. (1743–1787). Signer. South Carolina. Born on the South Carolina estate of his wealthy father, Henry Middleton, in 1743, Arthur Middleton, like so many of his class in the South, was educated in England. After two years of travel in Europe he returned to South Carolina in 1763 and married the daughter of Walter Izard. In 1765 he was elected to the state House of Representatives, where he sat for many years. He was elected to the South Carolina Provincial Congress of 1775, and served on the Committee of Safety. He took his father's seat in the Continental Congress in 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence, and was a delegate again in 1777. In 1778 he declined the governorship. After taking an active part in the defense of Charleston, he became a prisoner on 12 May 1780 and was sent to St. Augustine. Exchanged in July 1781, he returned to Congress for two more years. With the war's end he refused another term in Congress. He returned to "Middleton Place," his estate on the Ashley River, near Charleston, inherited from his mother in 1771 and partially destroyed by the British in 1780. He died there 1 January 1787.

SEE ALSO Middleton, Henry.

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