“M” is for Middleton, Henry [1770-1846]. Legislator, governor, congressman, diplomat. In 1799, after studying in England, Middleton returned to South Carolina and took up the management of his family’s properties, including plantations on the Combahee River. In 1802 the Parishes of St. Philip’s and St. Michael’s elected him to the SC House of Representatives. By 1810 he had aligned himself with the Democratic-Republican Party and been elected to the SC Senate. Shortly thereafter he was elected governor. From 1815-1819 he represented Charleston District in the US House of Representatives where he supported federal funds for internal improvements, the tariff of 1816, and the Second Bank of the United State. In 1820, President Monroe appointed him Minister to Russia—a post he held for ten years. Returning home, Henry Middleton became a leader of the Unionists during South Carolina’s Nullification Crisis.
“M” is for Middleton, Henry [1770-1846]
