JOHN MIDDLETON (1841-1913) and MARY JARDINE (1837-1927)
Middleton Line
Middleton St. George, Staindrop, Gateshead, County Durham
Painting by John Middleton, 1890
Thomas Middleton (my Great great grandfather) was born 9 April 1803 and baptised at Trimdon 27 April 1803 . Thomas was the sixth son of William Middleton, labourer and native of Middleton St. George, County Durham and Elizabeth Gibson, native of Stillington. William and Elizabeth were married in Long Newton Parish church 9 July 1787 .
William Middleton (b. 1751) married Jane Hedley at Middleton St. George November 6 1780. William and Jane had three children: · Elizabeth ch. 5 August 1781 at Middleton St. George, · George ch.. 15 June 1783, Long Newton and Jane, ch.. 26 October 1785, Long Newton
It appears that Jane Hedley died shortly after her daughter Jane was born and William then married Elizabeth Gibson who is probably the daughter (ch.. 13 May 1760 at Redmarshall, Co. Durham) of George Gibson and Mary Atkinson who were married at Redmarshall 21 June 1759 . The village of Stillington is in that Parish.
William and Elizabeth had eight children.
William died at Trimdon 23 June 1831 aged 81 years and Elizabeth died 8 August 1834 aged 74 years.
THOMAS MIDDLETON (1803-1853) (Great great grandfather)
Thomas Middleton, the sixth son of William Middleton and Elizabeth Gibson, was born 9 April 1803 and baptised at Trimdon 27 April 1803. I have not yet identified all the children of the marriage, but four of their children are buried at Trimdon:
Mary, ch. 27 Dec 1787, Long NewtonThomas MIDDLETON married Elizabeth ALLEN at St. John's Church, Newcastle-on- Tyne, on 19 May 1828. Elizabeth was the daughter of Alexander and Dorothy Allen and was born in Newcastle in about 1799 . Thomas was a cordwainer (a bootmaker) and appears to have lived in the village of Staindrop in Co. Durham after his marriage. Thomas and Elizabeth had 6 children that I have been able to identify:
Ann ch. 2 June 1789, Trimdon
George, ch. 4 April 1791, bur 4 April 1791, Trimdon
George, ch. 5 August 1792, Trimdon
(Possibly) William 26 Dec1794 Bishop Middleham,
Thomas, ch. 26 March 1797, buried 19 April 1797, Trimdon
Jane, ch. 10 April 1798, died 31 Dec 1800 aged 2 ¾ (of Trimdon)
Michael, ch. 6 January 1801,Trimdon, died 17 March 1806 aged 8 years
Thomas, ch. 27 April 1803,TrimdonWilliam MIDDLETON ch.. 25 Dec. 1830 at StaindropThe family is recorded at Southside, Staindrop in the 1841 census. When the census was taken in 1851, the family was living in Ellison Square, Gateshead. John was attending Staindrop School in 1853-4.
Thomas MIDDLETON ch.. 21 July 1833 at Barnard Castle (Wesleyan) ,
George MIDDLETON ch.. 1 Nov. 1835 at Barnard Castle (Wesleyan)
Dorothy MIDDLETON, ch.. 27 July 1837, Staindrop (Parish church), buried 1 August 1837
Elizabeth, born ca. 1839, Staindrop
John MIDDLETON, (my great grandfather on two sides), ch.. Barnard Castle (Wesleyan) April 6th 1841 aged 70 days.Thomas died of cholera at Gateshead on 15 Sept. 1853. This time corresponds with an epidemic of cholera in the Newcastle area. Elizabeth died Jan 23 1868.
George Middleton, brother of Thomas.
George Middleton appears to have been living in Gateshead in the 1851 census (Prospect Terrace) with his wife Dorothy (age 53, born ?? Lowham), daughter Ellenor, 19, milliner, born Gainford, and granddaughter, Margaret Middleton, 3, born at Hartepool.
DESCENDANTS of THOMAS MIDDLETON
William Middleton (1830-188?)
In the 1871 census, William is recorded as a shoemaker aged 40 living alone at 62 Coborg Street, Gateshead. It seems that William subsequently married Nancy, born in Tylesesby, Lancashire: the 1881 census shows William Middleton of the correct age living with Nancy at 62 Coborg Street, Gateshead. In the 1891 census Nancy Middleton, 52, widow is living with 2 boarders at the same address, so it appears that William had died during the 1880’s.
George Middleton (1835- )
The 1881 census also records George Middleton, aged 45 born in Staindrop, Co. Durham and his family at 5 Osborne Place, Gateshead. The family is recorded as: Susannah Middleton 37, b. Swalwell, Co. Durham; Robert W Middleton, 16; George H Middleton, 15; Elizabeth A Middleton, 12; Susannah Middleton 10; Thomas J Middleton, 8; William Archer Middleton, 6; Lillian Middleton, 3 and Charles Middleton, 18m. The family had grown further by the 1891 census (at the same address) with 5 more children recorded: Alfred Middleton, 9; Dinsdale T Y Middleton, 7, (son); Ann Middleton, 5; Ethel Middleton, 4; and John Hawks, 2. All children were recorded as born in Gateshead.
George’s wife Susannah, is probably Susannah Walton, 5th daughter of Robert (a forge carpenter) and Jane Walton of Swalwell, baptised 2 Feb. 1845 at St. Mary’s Whickham.
John MIDDLETON (my great grandfather on two sides) was baptised at the Staindrop Wesleyan Church on 26 Jan 1841. All that I have established of John's childhood is that John was attending Staindrop School in 1854. John's schoolbook includes some wonderful copperplate, together with some good pen and pencil drawings, some copied from books, and other drawings of buildings in the area, including Mortham Tower, a large home near Gretna Bridge, which is just outside Staindrop, and the old Hartepool lighthouse. The drawings reproduced below may be from the area around Staindrop.John married Mary JARDINE of Annan, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, at St. John's Church, Newcastle-on-Tyne on 1 August 1864. At that time John was a cabinetmaker.
John and Mary progressively moved west over ensuing years, as one can trace from the birth places of their seven children:
Sarah born 20 April 1865 at Gateshead-on-TyneThe family was living at Frederick Street, Gateshead when John Jardine MIDDLETON was baptised.
Harry born 8 Jan 1867 at Gateshead-on-Tyne
John Jardine born 19 Sept. 1867 at Gateshead-on-Tyne, baptised 26 Nov. 1868 at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Gateshead.
Thomas born 28 Sept. 1870 at Leeds
Edith Born 16 Feb. 1875 at Moldgreen, Huddersfield
Charles Louis born 2 Sept. 1875 at Bradford
Elizabeth born 23 Dec. 1877 at BradfordJohn was a Wesleyan Preacher in the North in the early 1880's, and was listed as secretary of the Otford Road Wesleyan Chapel in Bradford in April 1882.
John Middleton & Mary Jardine-1890's
John & Mary emigrated from Plymouth with their 7 children in March 1884 They were listed as assisted immigrants in the manifest of the SS Belgravia, the ship that brought them to Australia, their new home. The Belgravia arrived in Sydney 5 May 1884.
John & Mary emigrated from Plymouth with their 7 children in March 1884. They are listed as assisted immigrants in the manifest of SS Belgravia, the ship that brought them to their new home. The Belgravia arrived in Sydney 5 May 1884.
By Sept. 1886 the family was in Armidale, NSW. “JOHN MIDDLETON, Furniture Warehouse and Fine Art Repository-Cabinet Maker & Upholsterer- also Picture Frame Maker” was in Beardy Street (the main street), Armidale, NSW in 1887-1888. The business was a mixed stationer, art supplies, cabinet hardware and furniture shop- a very mixed business. A number of pieces of furniture were sold to the clergy in the district (of all the religious denominations). The book also records sales of “pictures” so it is possible that John was painting at that time. One of John’s pieces of furniture from this time, a Davenport desk was exhibited at the 1888 Centennial exhibition in Melbourne, where he was awarded a “Fourth Order of Merit”.
In 1891, John purchased the business of the L.C. Jeans, a furniture maker and upholsterer of Peel Street, Tamworth. (see drawing at top of page, possibly the work of John). The history of this business has been traced through advertisements in “The Tamworth News” of the period. After taking over the business John held a “great furniture clearance” of Jeans’ stock. (May 1891). In June , he advertises “Art Furniture, manufactured by John Middleton, and shown at the late Melbourne Exhibition” Added to his repertoire are “FUNERALS ( State and Reform).” In Feb. 1892, he advertises “The Premier Undertaking and Funeral Furnishing Establishment” with TWO HEARSES and with a complete undertaking plant, having imported a new hearse. During this time the business appears to have become more and more reliant on minor purchases, furniture repairs and funerals. Sales of furniture became sparse during the time in Tamworth. John was painting during this time, and four of his paintings are still in the family.
However, by Sept. 1892 a ”GREAT CLEARING-OUT SALE” in the assigned estate of J. Middleton is advertised by Nathan Cohen & Co. John continued as an undertaker for some time, but after mid 1993 advertisements ceased. The Day Book indicates that John remained in Tamworth until late in 1994. During these later years John received the occasional commission, but most of his income appears to have come from repairs and maintenance. After that time, the movements of the family are unclear. The failure of the business can probably be at least partly attributed to the Great Drought of the early 1890’s and the Depression of that period.
John died in Sydney on 25 July 1915 and is buried in Waverley General Cemetery. There is no headstone. Mary died in 1926 and is buried beside John in Waverley Cemetery.
JOHN JARDINE MIDDLETON (1868-1960) and SARAH ANN DEWHURST (1875-1937)
My maternal grandparents, JOHN JARDINE MIDDLETON (1868-1960) & SARAH ANN DEWHURST (1875-1937) married on New Years Day 1900 at St. Mary Magdalene Church, St. Mary's NSW.
Sarah Ann Dewhurst was born 21 August, 1875 in Muswellbrook, NSW, the 10th of 11 children of John Dewhust (b. 30 April 1835 at Lytham, Lancashire) and Elizabeth Standering (b. 28 June 1839, Rochdale, Lancashire). John and Elizabeth married 23 August 1857 at Ashton-under-Lyne, England and arrived in Sydney 3 September, 1864 on the WANATA with three children. They lived in Tamworth until 1873.
After his marriage John worked as a carpenter and joiner on the University extensions to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. A reference from the Clerk of Works written at the completion of the extensions in March 1902 notes that John was “one of the best of the carpenters employed on some first class work. He is a good tradesman, very steady and industrious, with a good address and of more than ordinary intelligence.” He was then employed by the railways and the Department of Public Instruction as a carpenter until 1904. During this time their first two children John Leslie and Raymond Valentine (born 14 Feb. 1903) were born.
Soon after, the family moved to Port Kembla, where Sarah owned the Newsagent and General Store in Wentworth Street. This was probably the first store in Port Kembla. Sarah kept this shop for many years, and John supplemented the income with carpentry, both locally and in Sydney. John’s sister Sarah, and her husband Harry Bennett were also living in Port Kembla at this time.
It seems probable that Sarah (Middleton) later opened a new store in Wentworth Street, when Port Kembla was somewhat more developed. A second photograph shows a store with ”S Middleton” on the awning opposite the picture theatre and the hotel.
Three more children were born during their time in Port Kembla. Arthur Leonard (Len) , Phyllis Ruby (b. 27 Sept. 1910 at Port Kembla), and Lloyd John. Len was accidentally shot on 19 April 1917. The family moved back to Sydney in about 1920. Sarah died in 1937 at age 61.
Phyllis married her cousin, Charles Arthur Middleton 14 February 1944, while Charles was on home leave from New Guinea. After Phyllis married John Jardine Middleton spent part of the year with her in Tamworth, and the remainder with her brother, Ray in Sydney. John died on 22 May 1960.
My paternal grandparents CHARLES LOUIS MIDDLETON (1875-1948) (who established a tailor shop in Queen Victoria Building , Sydney, in 1902) & CONSTANCE DAVY COLLIVER (1880-1950) married on 28 October 1903 at the Methodist Church, Paddington NSW.
Immediately after their marriage they lived with Constance’s mother (her husband had died in 1897) at Paddington NSW. They purchased 103 Cook Road, Centennial Park in 1909 and named the house “Rosemount”. This remained in the family for the next sixty years.
Charles and Constance had 7 daughters (2 now deceased) and 2 sons (both deceased). Their eldest son, Charles Arthur MIDDLETON, (born 3 January 1907) was my father.
Charles died on 5 May 1948, and his memorial is in Garden F1, Eastern Suburbs Crematorium, Botany. Constance died 20 May 1950, and her memorial is beside Charles’.
Charles Louis Middleton