Jesse Edgar Middleton
Jesse Edgar Middleton (November 3, 1872 – May 27, 1960) was a Canadian journalist, historian and songwriter.
Jesse Edgar Middleton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 3, 1872 Wellington County, Ontario |
| Died | May 27, 1960 (aged 87) Toronto, Ontario |
| Resting place | Fort Macleod, Alberta |
| Occupation | Historian, journalist |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | Dutton High School Strathroy Collegiate |
| Period | 20th century |
| Genre | History |
| Spouse |
Bessie A. Jackson (m. 1899) |
Biography
Middleton was born in Pilkington, Ontario, the son of Margaret Agar and Rev. Eli Middleton, a Methodist minister. He attended Dutton High School and Strathroy Collegiate. He then taught school for three years, and was a proofreader in Cleveland, Ohio for three years. In 1899 he married Bessie A. Jackson and together they raised one son. They moved to Toronto in the early 1900s.[1]
For most of his career, he worked as a journalist and as a special writer for Toronto newspapers. He became a music critic for the Mail and Empire, and in 1904 joined The News, where he wrote a column, "On the Side."[2] He led the choir at Centennial Methodist Church, and sang in Toronto's Mendelssohn Choir. In 1926 he composed the English lyrics to a traditional Canadian Christmas hymn, the Huron Carol.[3]
Aside from one volume of poetry and two novels, his main writing contribution was a lengthy historical account of Toronto and its local environs, The Municipality of Toronto (3 volumes). He also wrote a history of the province, The Province of Ontario: a History (4 volumes).[4]
He died in Toronto in 1960 and was buried in Fort Macleod, Alberta.[4]
Works
- Sea Dogs and Men at Arms: A Canadian Book of Songs (1918)
- Huron Carol: The First Canadian Christmas Carol (1927)
- Province of Ontario: A History 1615 to 1927 (1927) with Fred Landon
- The Romance of Ontario (1931)
- Green Plush (1932)
- Toronto's 100 Years (1934)
- National Encyclopedia of Canadian Biography (1935) [co-edited]
- The Clever Ones (1936)
- William Tyrell of Weston (1937) [with Edith Morrison]
- Canadian Landscape (1944) [with F. H. Brigden]
- Green Fields Afar (1947) [with Clara Middleton][5]
References
- Stulken, Marilyn Kay (1981). Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. p. 175.
- Garvin, John. "J. Edgar Middleton". A Celebration of Women Writers.
- "Jesse Edgar Middleton". Hymnary.org.
- McKay, William Angus, ed. (1978). Macmillan Dictionary of Canadian Biography (4 ed.). London, England: Macmillan Publishers. p. 576.