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6th President of the Confederation Congress Richard Henry Lee Death

6th President of the Confederation Congress Richard Henry Lee

Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies’ independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed.
Born: January 20, 1732, Stratford Hall, Stratford, VA
Died: June 19, 1794, Chantilly
Profession: Law
Spouse: Anne Aylett (m. 1757–1768)
Children: Marybelle Lee, Sarah Caldwell Lee
Siblings: Francis Lightfoot Lee, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Arthur Lee,

Richard Henry Lee was born in Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia on January 20th, 1732 and died in Chantilly, Virginia on June 19th, 1794. He was the third son of a Thomas Lee, the “empire builder,” who as the 5th son of Richard Lee “the emigrant”, the largest Virginia landowner at the time of his death in 1640, received a modest inheritance. Thomas Lee, Richard Henry Lee’s father, nonetheless managed to acquire real estate holdings far beyond Lee “the emigrant” and at the time of his death in 1750 amassed some 30,000 acres in the Northern Neck of Virginia. The greater part of Thomas Lee’s massive estate, including the family homestead called Stratford, went to the eldest son, Philip Ludwell Lee. Only the first four of Thomas Lee’s six surviving sons, which included Richard Henry Lee, were left modest landed estates.

At an early age Richard Henry Lee was sent over to England for schooling at the academy of Wakefield in Yorkshire. The personal wealth and status of his family enabled Lee to choose any profession, including philanthropist. In 1752 he returned to Virginia and without any plans for a professional practice applied himself with great diligence to the study of law. Both English and Roman law occupied his attention; he was also an earnest student of history. As a young adult, Richard Henry Lee decided to rent out many of his inherited slaves as well as his inherited lands hoping to support his family on the proceeds while devoting his professional efforts to politics.

In 1757 he was appointed justice of the peace for Westmoreland County. In 1761 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, of which he remained a delegate until 1788. Extreme shyness prevented his taking any part in the debates for some time. His first speech was on a motion: “to lay so heavy a duty on the importation of slaves as effectually to put an end to that iniquitous and disgraceful traffic within the colony of Virginia.”

On this occasion his hatred of slavery overcame his timidity and he made a powerful speech containing the proofs of the principal arguments used in by the northern Abolitionists through the 1860’s. Lee had no profession beyond his public service. Like Samuel Adams, he was a professional politician. In times of need, especially when the real estate market declined after the French Indian War, he could see no other way to provide for his family except through seeking lucrative appointive governmental offices. In 1764, Lee even requested the post of Virginia Stamp Collector in a particularly embarrassing life episode. It was actually Lee’s repeated failure to win Crown appointments that reinforced his and Arthur Lee’s perception that the British regime only distributed offices to buy or reward sycophant colonialists. His perceptions quickly evolved into convictions that the colonial side of “virtue against the forces of corruption” was just cause early in the Anglo-American conflict.

He was an energetic opponent of the Stamp-Act, and in 1765 formed an association of citizens of Westmoreland County for the purpose of deterring all persons from undertaking to sell stamped paper. A Tory gentleman in the neighborhood accepted the office of Stamp-Collector and boasted that he would enforce the use of stamped paper upon the people in spite of all resistance. Mr. Lee, being then captain of a Volunteer Company of Light Horse, at once went with his men to this gentleman’s house and made him deliver up his commission as collector and all the stamped paper in his possession. He also insisted the former collector bind himself by oath never again to meddle with such matters. The Stamp-Collector Commission and the incriminating papers were then burned in a bonfire on the lawn. It was a ceremonial fire overseen by Richard Henry Lee, who desperately sought the office only two years earlier.

At the news of the Townshend Acts of 1767, Mr. Lee moved a petition to the king in the House of Burgesses, setting forth in pointed terms the grievances of the colonies. In July 1768, he wrote a letter to John Dickinson, suggesting that all the colonies should appoint select committees “for mutual information and correspondence between the lovers of liberty in every province.” The suggestion was in harmony with the views of the famous “circular letter” of the Massachusetts assembly, written by Samuel Adams and lately sent forth to all the colonies.

There has been some discussion as to whether Adams or Lee is to be credited with the first suggestion of those remarkable “committees of correspondence” which organized the American Revolution. The earliest suggestion of such a step, however, is to be found in a letter from the great Boston preacher, Jonathan Mayhew, to James Otis, in June, 1766. The letter mentioned above from Lee to Dickinson seems to have come next in point of date, and at the same time Christopher Gadsden appears to have received from Lee a letter of similar purport.

Mr. Lee may or may not nave heard of Mayhew’s suggestion. The idea was one that might naturally have occurred to several of these eminent men independently. The machinery of committees of correspondence was, however, first set in motion by Samuel Adams between the towns of Massachusetts in 1772. The project of inter-colonial committees was first put into practical shape by the Virginia house of burgesses in the spring of 1773, on motion of the youthful Dabney Cart, brother-in-law of Thomas Jefferson.

6th President of the Confederation Congress Richard Henry Lee Birthday

6th President of the Confederation Congress Richard Henry Lee

Richard Henry Lee was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies’ independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed.
Born: January 20, 1732, Stratford Hall, Stratford, VA
Died: June 19, 1794, Chantilly
Profession: Law
Spouse: Anne Aylett (m. 1757–1768)
Children: Marybelle Lee, Sarah Caldwell Lee
Siblings: Francis Lightfoot Lee, Thomas Ludwell Lee, Arthur Lee,

Richard Henry Lee was born in Stratford, Westmoreland County, Virginia on January 20th, 1732 and died in Chantilly, Virginia on June 19th, 1794. He was the third son of a Thomas Lee, the “empire builder,” who as the 5th son of Richard Lee “the emigrant”, the largest Virginia landowner at the time of his death in 1640, received a modest inheritance. Thomas Lee, Richard Henry Lee’s father, nonetheless managed to acquire real estate holdings far beyond Lee “the emigrant” and at the time of his death in 1750 amassed some 30,000 acres in the Northern Neck of Virginia. The greater part of Thomas Lee’s massive estate, including the family homestead called Stratford, went to the eldest son, Philip Ludwell Lee. Only the first four of Thomas Lee’s six surviving sons, which included Richard Henry Lee, were left modest landed estates.

At an early age Richard Henry Lee was sent over to England for schooling at the academy of Wakefield in Yorkshire. The personal wealth and status of his family enabled Lee to choose any profession, including philanthropist. In 1752 he returned to Virginia and without any plans for a professional practice applied himself with great diligence to the study of law. Both English and Roman law occupied his attention; he was also an earnest student of history. As a young adult, Richard Henry Lee decided to rent out many of his inherited slaves as well as his inherited lands hoping to support his family on the proceeds while devoting his professional efforts to politics.

In 1757 he was appointed justice of the peace for Westmoreland County. In 1761 he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, of which he remained a delegate until 1788. Extreme shyness prevented his taking any part in the debates for some time. His first speech was on a motion: “to lay so heavy a duty on the importation of slaves as effectually to put an end to that iniquitous and disgraceful traffic within the colony of Virginia.”

On this occasion his hatred of slavery overcame his timidity and he made a powerful speech containing the proofs of the principal arguments used in by the northern Abolitionists through the 1860’s. Lee had no profession beyond his public service. Like Samuel Adams, he was a professional politician. In times of need, especially when the real estate market declined after the French Indian War, he could see no other way to provide for his family except through seeking lucrative appointive governmental offices. In 1764, Lee even requested the post of Virginia Stamp Collector in a particularly embarrassing life episode. It was actually Lee’s repeated failure to win Crown appointments that reinforced his and Arthur Lee’s perception that the British regime only distributed offices to buy or reward sycophant colonialists. His perceptions quickly evolved into convictions that the colonial side of “virtue against the forces of corruption” was just cause early in the Anglo-American conflict.

He was an energetic opponent of the Stamp-Act, and in 1765 formed an association of citizens of Westmoreland County for the purpose of deterring all persons from undertaking to sell stamped paper. A Tory gentleman in the neighborhood accepted the office of Stamp-Collector and boasted that he would enforce the use of stamped paper upon the people in spite of all resistance. Mr. Lee, being then captain of a Volunteer Company of Light Horse, at once went with his men to this gentleman’s house and made him deliver up his commission as collector and all the stamped paper in his possession. He also insisted the former collector bind himself by oath never again to meddle with such matters. The Stamp-Collector Commission and the incriminating papers were then burned in a bonfire on the lawn. It was a ceremonial fire overseen by Richard Henry Lee, who desperately sought the office only two years earlier.

At the news of the Townshend Acts of 1767, Mr. Lee moved a petition to the king in the House of Burgesses, setting forth in pointed terms the grievances of the colonies. In July 1768, he wrote a letter to John Dickinson, suggesting that all the colonies should appoint select committees “for mutual information and correspondence between the lovers of liberty in every province.” The suggestion was in harmony with the views of the famous “circular letter” of the Massachusetts assembly, written by Samuel Adams and lately sent forth to all the colonies.

There has been some discussion as to whether Adams or Lee is to be credited with the first suggestion of those remarkable “committees of correspondence” which organized the American Revolution. The earliest suggestion of such a step, however, is to be found in a letter from the great Boston preacher, Jonathan Mayhew, to James Otis, in June, 1766. The letter mentioned above from Lee to Dickinson seems to have come next in point of date, and at the same time Christopher Gadsden appears to have received from Lee a letter of similar purport.

Mr. Lee may or may not nave heard of Mayhew’s suggestion. The idea was one that might naturally have occurred to several of these eminent men independently. The machinery of committees of correspondence was, however, first set in motion by Samuel Adams between the towns of Massachusetts in 1772. The project of inter-colonial committees was first put into practical shape by the Virginia house of burgesses in the spring of 1773, on motion of the youthful Dabney Cart, brother-in-law of Thomas Jefferson.

3rd President of the Continental Congress 2 Henry Laurens Death

Henry Laurens was an American merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress.
Born: March 6, 1724, Charleston, SC
Died: December 8, 1792, Charleston, SC
Cremation: Mepkin Abbey, SC
Children: John Laurens, Martha Laurens Ramsay, James Laurens, Henry Laurens, Jr., Mary Eleanor Laurens Pinckney
Grandchild: Frances Eleanor Laurens
Henry Laurens – “His story is at the core of colonial South Carolina and wrought with intrigue, a conflicting moral compass, family, loyalty, and a fierce passion for American Independence.”

Henry Laurens was born in Charles Town in 1724. He was the grandson of French Huguenot immigrants who were members of the Reformed Church that was established by John Calvin in 1550.3 They fled to England and then Ireland after the revocation of the Treaty of Nantes finally immigrating to New York City. In 1715 the Laurens family settled in Charles Town where they became very wealthy.
Henry, the first son in the family, was educated in Charles Town and worked in a local counting-house. He was sent to England by his father to learn a trade. He trained under a prominent British merchant. He returned to South Carolina in 1747. At this time, planters were able to ship their rice directly to ports south of Cape Finisterie in Spain. This made Charles Town the busiest port in America. In 1748 Henry opened an import export business in Charles Town, Austin and Laurens. They imported rum and British mercantile goods. He made contacts while in London that he entered the slave trade with, Grant, Oswald & Company (the company that controlled the slave outpost Bunce Castle located in Sierra Leone) . His company contracted to receive, catalog and market slaves by conducting public auctions in Charles Town. They handled the sale of over 8,000 Africans. The firm also traded in Carolina Gold rice, indigo and deerskins, tar, pitch, silver and gold. They also sent Colonial merchandise to England on returning ships. For this the company received 10% commission on slave cargoes. The expenses incurred while providing for the slaves between landing and the sale and accountability for debts were the responsibility of Austin and Laurens. They were expected to remit accounts after the sales were made regardless of when they were actually paid. They allowed planters up to six months to pay them. Laurens reported netting between 8% and 9% from his share of the sales of slave cargoes.

Henry was a slave merchant documented to have been involved in the sale of over 68 cargoes of slaves, but in correspondence with family and friends questioned the morality of slavery.

To his son John in 1776:
I told you in my last that I was going to Georgia. . . My negroes there, are all to a man, are strongly attached to me — so are all of mine in this country [South Carolina]; hitherto not one of them has attempted to desert; on the contrary, those who are more exposed hold themselves always ready to fly from the enemy in case of a sudden descent…You know, my dear son, I abhor slavery. I was born in a country where slavery had been established by British kings and parliaments, as well as by the laws of that country ages before my existence. I found the Christian religion and slavery growing under the same authority and cultivation. I nevertheless disliked it…I am not the man who enslaved them; they are indebted to English for that favour; nevertheless I am devising means for manumitting many of them, and for cutting off the entail of slavery. Great powers oppose me — the laws and customs of my country, my own and the avarice of my countrymen.

Despite this sentiment he never spoke publicly against slavery and continued in the business until 1770.

By 1750, Laurens had earned enough money to win the hand of Eleanor Ball. They were married on June 25, 1750. Eleanor had 12 children but only four survived past childhood. John Laurens was born October 28, 1754, Martha Laurens “Patsy” was born November 3, 1759, Henry Jr. “Harry” was born July 23, 1763 and Mary Eleanor “Polly”: was born April 26, 1770.

3rd President of the Continental Congress 2 Henry Laurens Birthday

Henry Laurens was an American merchant, slave trader, and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress.
Born: March 6, 1724, Charleston, SC
Died: December 8, 1792, Charleston, SC
Cremation: Mepkin Abbey, SC
Children: John Laurens, Martha Laurens Ramsay, James Laurens, Henry Laurens, Jr., Mary Eleanor Laurens Pinckney
Grandchild: Frances Eleanor Laurens
Henry Laurens – “His story is at the core of colonial South Carolina and wrought with intrigue, a conflicting moral compass, family, loyalty, and a fierce passion for American Independence.”

Henry Laurens was born in Charles Town in 1724. He was the grandson of French Huguenot immigrants who were members of the Reformed Church that was established by John Calvin in 1550.3 They fled to England and then Ireland after the revocation of the Treaty of Nantes finally immigrating to New York City. In 1715 the Laurens family settled in Charles Town where they became very wealthy.
Henry, the first son in the family, was educated in Charles Town and worked in a local counting-house. He was sent to England by his father to learn a trade. He trained under a prominent British merchant. He returned to South Carolina in 1747. At this time, planters were able to ship their rice directly to ports south of Cape Finisterie in Spain. This made Charles Town the busiest port in America. In 1748 Henry opened an import export business in Charles Town, Austin and Laurens. They imported rum and British mercantile goods. He made contacts while in London that he entered the slave trade with, Grant, Oswald & Company (the company that controlled the slave outpost Bunce Castle located in Sierra Leone) . His company contracted to receive, catalog and market slaves by conducting public auctions in Charles Town. They handled the sale of over 8,000 Africans. The firm also traded in Carolina Gold rice, indigo and deerskins, tar, pitch, silver and gold. They also sent Colonial merchandise to England on returning ships. For this the company received 10% commission on slave cargoes. The expenses incurred while providing for the slaves between landing and the sale and accountability for debts were the responsibility of Austin and Laurens. They were expected to remit accounts after the sales were made regardless of when they were actually paid. They allowed planters up to six months to pay them. Laurens reported netting between 8% and 9% from his share of the sales of slave cargoes.

Henry was a slave merchant documented to have been involved in the sale of over 68 cargoes of slaves, but in correspondence with family and friends questioned the morality of slavery.

To his son John in 1776:
I told you in my last that I was going to Georgia. . . My negroes there, are all to a man, are strongly attached to me — so are all of mine in this country [South Carolina]; hitherto not one of them has attempted to desert; on the contrary, those who are more exposed hold themselves always ready to fly from the enemy in case of a sudden descent…You know, my dear son, I abhor slavery. I was born in a country where slavery had been established by British kings and parliaments, as well as by the laws of that country ages before my existence. I found the Christian religion and slavery growing under the same authority and cultivation. I nevertheless disliked it…I am not the man who enslaved them; they are indebted to English for that favour; nevertheless I am devising means for manumitting many of them, and for cutting off the entail of slavery. Great powers oppose me — the laws and customs of my country, my own and the avarice of my countrymen.

Despite this sentiment he never spoke publicly against slavery and continued in the business until 1770.

By 1750, Laurens had earned enough money to win the hand of Eleanor Ball. They were married on June 25, 1750. Eleanor had 12 children but only four survived past childhood. John Laurens was born October 28, 1754, Martha Laurens “Patsy” was born November 3, 1759, Henry Jr. “Harry” was born July 23, 1763 and Mary Eleanor “Polly”: was born April 26, 1770.

2nd President of the Continental Congress 1 Henry Middleton Death

Henry Middleton

Henry Middleton was a planter and public official from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the Continental Congress and served as that body’s presiding officer for a few days in 1774. He left Congress before it declared independence.
Born: 1717, Charleston, SC
Died: June 13, 1784, Charleston, SC
Parents: Arthur Middleton
Previous offices: President of the Continental Congress (1774–1774)
Children: Arthur Middleton
Grandchildren: John Izard Middleton, Henry Middleton

Henry Middleton (1717 – June 13, 1784) was a planter and public official from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the Continental Congress and served as that body’s presiding officer for a few days in 1774. He left Congress before it declared independence. Back in South Carolina, he served as president of the provincial congress and senator in the newly created state government. After his capture by the British in 1780, he accepted defeat and returned to the status of a British subject until the end of the war.

Henry Middleton was born in 1717 on the family plantation, “The Oaks”, near Charleston, Province of South Carolina. He was the second son of Susan (née Amory) Middleton (1690-1722) and Arthur Middleton (1681–1737), a wealthy planter who had served as an acting governor of South Carolina. His grandfather, Edward Middleton, emigrated from England via Barbados.

Henry was educated in England before returning to South Carolina to inherit his father’s plantation. He became one of the largest landowners in the colony, owning 50,000 acres (200 km2) and about 800 slaves.

Middleton served in a variety of public offices in South Carolina. He was a justice of the peace and a member of the Commons House of Assembly, where he was elected speaker in 1747, 1754, and 1755.[2] He was a member of provincial council, but resigned in 1770 in opposition to British policy.

In 1774, at the outset of the American Revolution, Middleton was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He served as that body’s president during the last few days of the First Continental Congress, following the departure of Peyton Randolph. Middleton opposed declaring independence from Great Britain, and resigned from the Second Continental Congress in February 1776 when more radical delegates began pushing for independence. He was succeeded in Congress by his son, Arthur Middleton (1742–1787), who was more radical than his father and became a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

After Middleton’s return to South Carolina, he was elected president of the provincial congress and, beginning on November 16, 1775, served on the council of safety. In 1776, he and his son Arthur helped frame a temporary state constitution. In 1779, he became a state senator in the new government.

When Charleston was captured by the British in 1780, Middleton accepted defeat and status as a British subject. This reversal apparently did not damage his reputation in the long run, due to his previous support of the Revolution, and he did not suffer the fate of having his estates confiscated, as many Loyalists did after the war.

In 1741, Middleton was married to Mary Baker Williams (1721–1761), the daughter of John Williams, an early South Carolina planter who began building what is today known as Middleton Place around 1730. Together, Henry and Mary were the parents of five sons and seven daughters, only seven of whom survived to adulthood, including:[

Arthur Middleton (1742–1787), a signer of the Declaration of Independence who married Mary Izard (1747–1814).
Henrietta Middleton (1750–1792), who married Governor Edward Rutledge (1749–1800).
Thomas Middleton (1753–1797), who married Anne Manigault (1762–1811).
Hester Middleton (1754–1789), who married Charles Drayton (1743–1820)
Sarah Middleton (1756–1784), who was the first wife of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746–1825).
Mary Middleton (1757-1825), who married Peter Smith.
Susannah Middleton (1760–1834), who married Continental Congressman John Parker (1759–1832).
After Mary’s death in 1761, Middleton would go on to marry twice more. His second marriage was to Maria Henrietta Bull (1722–1772), daughter of William Bull Sr., the Lieutenant governor of South Carolina, in 1762. His second wife’s sister, Charlotta (née Bull) Drayton, was the mother of Continental Congressman William Henry Drayton, and her brother, William Bull II, served as Governor of South Carolina before leaving the colony in 1782 when British troops were evacuated at the end of the War.

After his second wife’s death in 1772, he married for the third time, although it was her fourth marriage, to Lady Mary McKenzie, the daughter of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, in 1776. Among Lady Mary’s brothers were John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod and George Mackenzie. Her father was a Scottish nobleman who followed Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite Pretender. The Earl of Cromartie was tried and sentenced to death, but he obtained a conditional pardon although his peerage was forfeited.

Middleton died on June 13, 1784 in Charleston. He was buried at Goosecreek Churchyard, St. James Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina.

His grandson, also named Henry (1770–1846), had a long career in politics. He was Governor of South Carolina (1810–1812), U.S. Representative (1815–1819), and the minister to Russia (1820–1830). Henry had fourteen children, including Williams Middleton and Edward Middleton.

2nd President of the Continental Congress 1 Henry Middleton Birthday

Henry Middleton

Henry Middleton was a planter and public official from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the Continental Congress and served as that body’s presiding officer for a few days in 1774. He left Congress before it declared independence.
Born: 1717, Charleston, SC
Died: June 13, 1784, Charleston, SC
Parents: Arthur Middleton
Previous offices: President of the Continental Congress (1774–1774)
Children: Arthur Middleton
Grandchildren: John Izard Middleton, Henry Middleton

Henry Middleton (1717 – June 13, 1784) was a planter and public official from South Carolina. A member of the colonial legislature, during the American Revolution he attended the Continental Congress and served as that body’s presiding officer for a few days in 1774. He left Congress before it declared independence. Back in South Carolina, he served as president of the provincial congress and senator in the newly created state government. After his capture by the British in 1780, he accepted defeat and returned to the status of a British subject until the end of the war.

Henry Middleton was born in 1717 on the family plantation, “The Oaks”, near Charleston, Province of South Carolina. He was the second son of Susan (née Amory) Middleton (1690-1722) and Arthur Middleton (1681–1737), a wealthy planter who had served as an acting governor of South Carolina. His grandfather, Edward Middleton, emigrated from England via Barbados.

Henry was educated in England before returning to South Carolina to inherit his father’s plantation. He became one of the largest landowners in the colony, owning 50,000 acres (200 km2) and about 800 slaves.

Middleton served in a variety of public offices in South Carolina. He was a justice of the peace and a member of the Commons House of Assembly, where he was elected speaker in 1747, 1754, and 1755.[2] He was a member of provincial council, but resigned in 1770 in opposition to British policy.

In 1774, at the outset of the American Revolution, Middleton was selected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He served as that body’s president during the last few days of the First Continental Congress, following the departure of Peyton Randolph. Middleton opposed declaring independence from Great Britain, and resigned from the Second Continental Congress in February 1776 when more radical delegates began pushing for independence. He was succeeded in Congress by his son, Arthur Middleton (1742–1787), who was more radical than his father and became a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

After Middleton’s return to South Carolina, he was elected president of the provincial congress and, beginning on November 16, 1775, served on the council of safety. In 1776, he and his son Arthur helped frame a temporary state constitution. In 1779, he became a state senator in the new government.

When Charleston was captured by the British in 1780, Middleton accepted defeat and status as a British subject. This reversal apparently did not damage his reputation in the long run, due to his previous support of the Revolution, and he did not suffer the fate of having his estates confiscated, as many Loyalists did after the war.

In 1741, Middleton was married to Mary Baker Williams (1721–1761), the daughter of John Williams, an early South Carolina planter who began building what is today known as Middleton Place around 1730. Together, Henry and Mary were the parents of five sons and seven daughters, only seven of whom survived to adulthood, including:[

Arthur Middleton (1742–1787), a signer of the Declaration of Independence who married Mary Izard (1747–1814).
Henrietta Middleton (1750–1792), who married Governor Edward Rutledge (1749–1800).
Thomas Middleton (1753–1797), who married Anne Manigault (1762–1811).
Hester Middleton (1754–1789), who married Charles Drayton (1743–1820)
Sarah Middleton (1756–1784), who was the first wife of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746–1825).
Mary Middleton (1757-1825), who married Peter Smith.
Susannah Middleton (1760–1834), who married Continental Congressman John Parker (1759–1832).
After Mary’s death in 1761, Middleton would go on to marry twice more. His second marriage was to Maria Henrietta Bull (1722–1772), daughter of William Bull Sr., the Lieutenant governor of South Carolina, in 1762. His second wife’s sister, Charlotta (née Bull) Drayton, was the mother of Continental Congressman William Henry Drayton, and her brother, William Bull II, served as Governor of South Carolina before leaving the colony in 1782 when British troops were evacuated at the end of the War.

After his second wife’s death in 1772, he married for the third time, although it was her fourth marriage, to Lady Mary McKenzie, the daughter of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, in 1776. Among Lady Mary’s brothers were John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod and George Mackenzie. Her father was a Scottish nobleman who followed Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite Pretender. The Earl of Cromartie was tried and sentenced to death, but he obtained a conditional pardon although his peerage was forfeited.

Middleton died on June 13, 1784 in Charleston. He was buried at Goosecreek Churchyard, St. James Parish, Berkeley County, South Carolina.

His grandson, also named Henry (1770–1846), had a long career in politics. He was Governor of South Carolina (1810–1812), U.S. Representative (1815–1819), and the minister to Russia (1820–1830). Henry had fourteen children, including Williams Middleton and Edward Middleton.

1st Intern Texas President Henry Smith Death

Henry Smith

Henry Smith was the first American-born Governor of the Mexican territory of Texas and briefly presided over the revolution there, serving during the Battle of the Alamo, Battle of Goliad, and Battle of San Jacinto.
Born: May 20, 1788, Garrard County, KY
Died: March 4, 1851, Los Angeles County, CA
Spouse: Sarah Gillett (m. 1839)
Parent(s): James and Magdalen (Woods) Smith

SMITH, HENRY (1788–1851). Henry Smith, known as the first American governor of Texas, tenth and last child of James and Magdalen (Woods) Smith, was born in Kentucky on May 20, 1788. He was married three times and was the father of nine children. The wives were sisters, Harriet, Elizabeth, and Sarah Gillett. Smith came to Texas in 1827 and settled in what is now Brazoria County. In addition to working his lands, he taught school for a while and later did some surveying. Almost from the day of his arrival in Texas he took an active part in public affairs. On occasion he moved beyond the sphere of politics, as in 1832 when he took part in the battle of Velasco and was severely wounded. There is evidence that at this early date he was thinking in terms of independence for Texas. In 1833 Smith was elected alcalde of the jurisdiction of Brazoria and a few months later was chosen a delegate to the Convention of 1833. In 1834 the governor of Coahuila and Texas appointed Smith political chief of the newly established department of the Brazos. His appointment to this position indicates that the Mexican officials considered him an outstanding citizen. As the country moved toward revolution, Smith became one of the leaders of the independence party. In the summer of 1835 he was chosen to serve on the Columbia committee of safety and correspondence and later in the same year was elected one of the delegates from his district to the Consultation. Smith urged an immediate declaration of independence and was keenly disappointed when that body decided instead to pledge its support to the Mexican federal Constitution of 1824. Smith had a part in preparing the organic law that served as the constitution of the provisional government.

In establishing the provisional government the Consultation made an attempt to satisfy all factions. A majority of the members of the General Council were in favor of the Declaration of November 7, 1835, and were known as members of the peace party. Smith, one of the leaders of the independence, or war, party, was named governor and has come to be known as the first American governor of Texas. Governor Smith did not believe in compromise and did not know the language of diplomacy. Within a short while the government was torn by strife; this condition was due, at least in part, to Smith’s assumption that Texas was already a free and independent state. There were numerous other points of disagreement, including some of a personal nature, and in January 1836 the gulf between the two branches of government became so wide that cooperation was no longer possible. Governor Smith attempted to dissolve the council, and the council retaliated by impeaching the governor. In their original form, the articles of impeachment charged the governor with violation of the organic law, with failure to support the Declaration of November 7, with “official perjury,” and with slandering and libeling members of the General Council. The Convention of 1836 had no time to devote to such petty squabbles, and the governor was never called upon to answer the charges made against him.

Smith was not a member of the Convention of 1836 and had no place in the ad interim government organized by that body. His political eclipse, however, was of short duration. His friends entered his name as a candidate for the presidency in the election of 1836 and, in spite of the fact that he asked that his name be withdrawn and announced his support of Gen. Sam Houston, he received some votes. He served as secretary of the treasury during the first Houston administration. He was, of course, unable either to balance the budget or to give value to the currency of the republic. His work, however, met with the approval of Houston and of Congress. In the late 1830s, with his partner James Power, Smith promoted development along the Texas Gulf Coast in the area of present Aransas County, where he had purchased land and built a home on Live Oak Peninsula. In 1840 Smith was elected to Congress and served one term in the House of Representatives. He was made chairman of the committee on finance and is credited with introducing several measures of importance. After serving this term in Congress, Smith retired to his home with no intention of leaving it again. He sought no other public office and lived in retirement until 1849, when he succumbed to gold fever and set out for California. He reached California but found no gold. He died in a mining camp in Los Angeles County on March 4, 1851.

1st Intern Texas President Henry Smith Birthday

Henry Smith

Henry Smith was the first American-born Governor of the Mexican territory of Texas and briefly presided over the revolution there, serving during the Battle of the Alamo, Battle of Goliad, and Battle of San Jacinto.
Born: May 20, 1788, Garrard County, KY
Died: March 4, 1851, Los Angeles County, CA
Spouse: Sarah Gillett (m. 1839)
Parent(s): James and Magdalen (Woods) Smith

SMITH, HENRY (1788–1851). Henry Smith, known as the first American governor of Texas, tenth and last child of James and Magdalen (Woods) Smith, was born in Kentucky on May 20, 1788. He was married three times and was the father of nine children. The wives were sisters, Harriet, Elizabeth, and Sarah Gillett. Smith came to Texas in 1827 and settled in what is now Brazoria County. In addition to working his lands, he taught school for a while and later did some surveying. Almost from the day of his arrival in Texas he took an active part in public affairs. On occasion he moved beyond the sphere of politics, as in 1832 when he took part in the battle of Velasco and was severely wounded. There is evidence that at this early date he was thinking in terms of independence for Texas. In 1833 Smith was elected alcalde of the jurisdiction of Brazoria and a few months later was chosen a delegate to the Convention of 1833. In 1834 the governor of Coahuila and Texas appointed Smith political chief of the newly established department of the Brazos. His appointment to this position indicates that the Mexican officials considered him an outstanding citizen. As the country moved toward revolution, Smith became one of the leaders of the independence party. In the summer of 1835 he was chosen to serve on the Columbia committee of safety and correspondence and later in the same year was elected one of the delegates from his district to the Consultation. Smith urged an immediate declaration of independence and was keenly disappointed when that body decided instead to pledge its support to the Mexican federal Constitution of 1824. Smith had a part in preparing the organic law that served as the constitution of the provisional government.

In establishing the provisional government the Consultation made an attempt to satisfy all factions. A majority of the members of the General Council were in favor of the Declaration of November 7, 1835, and were known as members of the peace party. Smith, one of the leaders of the independence, or war, party, was named governor and has come to be known as the first American governor of Texas. Governor Smith did not believe in compromise and did not know the language of diplomacy. Within a short while the government was torn by strife; this condition was due, at least in part, to Smith’s assumption that Texas was already a free and independent state. There were numerous other points of disagreement, including some of a personal nature, and in January 1836 the gulf between the two branches of government became so wide that cooperation was no longer possible. Governor Smith attempted to dissolve the council, and the council retaliated by impeaching the governor. In their original form, the articles of impeachment charged the governor with violation of the organic law, with failure to support the Declaration of November 7, with “official perjury,” and with slandering and libeling members of the General Council. The Convention of 1836 had no time to devote to such petty squabbles, and the governor was never called upon to answer the charges made against him.

Smith was not a member of the Convention of 1836 and had no place in the ad interim government organized by that body. His political eclipse, however, was of short duration. His friends entered his name as a candidate for the presidency in the election of 1836 and, in spite of the fact that he asked that his name be withdrawn and announced his support of Gen. Sam Houston, he received some votes. He served as secretary of the treasury during the first Houston administration. He was, of course, unable either to balance the budget or to give value to the currency of the republic. His work, however, met with the approval of Houston and of Congress. In the late 1830s, with his partner James Power, Smith promoted development along the Texas Gulf Coast in the area of present Aransas County, where he had purchased land and built a home on Live Oak Peninsula. In 1840 Smith was elected to Congress and served one term in the House of Representatives. He was made chairman of the committee on finance and is credited with introducing several measures of importance. After serving this term in Congress, Smith retired to his home with no intention of leaving it again. He sought no other public office and lived in retirement until 1849, when he succumbed to gold fever and set out for California. He reached California but found no gold. He died in a mining camp in Los Angeles County on March 4, 1851.

9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison Death

William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the United States (1841) and the first to die in office.

• William Henry Harrison was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States in 1841. He died of typhoid, pneumonia or paratyphoid fever 31 days into his term, becoming the first president to die in office.
• Born: February 9, 1773, Berkeley Plantation, VA
• Died: April 4, 1841, The White House, Washington, D.C.
• Presidential term: March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
• Vice president: John Tyler (1841)
• Children: John Scott Harrison, William Henry Harrison Jr, MORE
• Nicknames: General Mum, Van Ruin, Old Tippecanoe, Tippecanoe, Old Granny, The Cincinnatus of the West, Washington of the West
• First president elected as a Whig to the presidency.
• First president from Ohio.
• First president to have 10 or more biological children.
• First president to be born in the same county as his vice president.
• First president to not appoint anyone to the Supreme Court
• First president to not issue an executive order
• First president to give an inaugural address of more than 5,000 words.
• First president whose grandson (Benjamin Harrison) was also a president.
• First president to have his photograph taken while in office.
• First president to be over the age of 65 upon entering office.
• First president to die in office.
• First president to have been a brigadier general.
• First president to serve as ambassador to a South American country, having served as United States minister to Gran Colombia from 1828 to 1829.

9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison Birthday

William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the United States (1841) and the first to die in office.

• William Henry Harrison was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States in 1841. He died of typhoid, pneumonia or paratyphoid fever 31 days into his term, becoming the first president to die in office.
• Born: February 9, 1773, Berkeley Plantation, VA
• Died: April 4, 1841, The White House, Washington, D.C.
• Presidential term: March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
• Vice president: John Tyler (1841)
• Children: John Scott Harrison, William Henry Harrison Jr, MORE
• Nicknames: General Mum, Van Ruin, Old Tippecanoe, Tippecanoe, Old Granny, The Cincinnatus of the West, Washington of the West
• First president elected as a Whig to the presidency.
• First president from Ohio.
• First president to have 10 or more biological children.
• First president to be born in the same county as his vice president.
• First president to not appoint anyone to the Supreme Court
• First president to not issue an executive order
• First president to give an inaugural address of more than 5,000 words.
• First president whose grandson (Benjamin Harrison) was also a president.
• First president to have his photograph taken while in office.
• First president to be over the age of 65 upon entering office.
• First president to die in office.
• First president to have been a brigadier general.
• First president to serve as ambassador to a South American country, having served as United States minister to Gran Colombia from 1828 to 1829.