John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton


John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton was a Scottish army officer, who belonged to a Kincardineshire family which had held lands at Middleton in Aberdeenshire since the 12th century.
John was born around 1608. He was the eldest son of Robert Middleton of Caldhame and his wife Catherine Strachan; the elder brother of Alexander Middleton and uncle of Alexander's first son George Middleton DD, both of whom served as Principal of King's College, Aberdeen; great uncle of George's son John Middleton ; and great-great uncle of Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham.

Military career

In early life Middleton served as a soldier in France; later he fought against Charles I both in England and in Scotland, being especially prominent at the Battle of Philiphaugh and in other operations against James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose.
Middleton held a high command in the Scottish army which marched to rescue the king in 1648, and he was taken prisoner after the Battle of Preston. He joined Charles II when that monarch reached Scotland in 1650, but he was soon at variance with the party which at that time was dominant in church and state and was only restored to favour after doing a public penance at Dundee. He was a captive for the second time after the Battle of Worcester, where he commanded the Royalist cavalry, but he escaped from the Tower of London to Paris.
In 1653, Middleton was chosen by Charles II to head the projected rising in Scotland. He reached Scotland in February 1654, but the insurrection was a complete failure. Its leader, who could not be held responsible for this result, remained in Scotland until 1655, when he rejoined Charles II, who created him Earl of Middleton in 1656 with the subsidiary title Lord Clermont and Fettercairn.

Political career

Following the Restoration Middleton returned to England with the King in 1660 and was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in Scotland and Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, which he opened in January 1661. He was an ardent advocate of the restoration of episcopacy, this being one of the issues which led to serious dissensions between the Earl of Lauderdale and himself, and in 1663 he was deprived of his offices. From 1663 to 1667 he was appointed Governor of Rochester Castle and Lieutenant-General of the Kent militia. In 1667 he was appointed governor of English Tangier on the coast of Morocco. While there, he fell down stairs after a bout of drinking and died of his injuries on 3 July 1674.

Family

John Middleton married, Grizel Durham, who died in September 1666. They had five children together:
Middleton's second wife was Lady Martha Carey, married 16 December 1667 at St. Andrew's, Holborn, daughter of Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth and his wife Martha Cranfield. They had two children: