The MIDDLETONS !

Clarence & Josie Middleton with Porter grandchildren
Clarence Middleton with three grandchildren;
Ruth Porter, Paul David Porter & Paul McLeod

Clarence Dalby Middleton married Josie Anna Gray Brister at the Methodist church in Madison Wisconsin March 24, 1898. Both were born in Canton, Illinois and were distantly related. They raised their family of six children at 1831 Green Street in Rockford, Illinois.

The Middletons were people of hard working stock that opened and built this country. Their ancestors included Quakers and other early settlers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. (We have original letters written in the late 1700's if you are interested!) Clarence was a factory man, a millright furniture maker with a fantastic garden. In later years he came to Minneapolis and cut down a huge tree by himself. With hand tools the he re-sharpened himself, he cut into pieces a tree that two men could not get their arms around. Clarence's wife Joanna was a wonderful mother and cook. Eight years after Josie Anna died in 1948, Clarence re-married at age 81 and finally became ill with pneumonia while tending to his second wife, going to his final rest at age 93 February 5, 1968.

His three sons were active in the machine tool business in Rockford and Detroit Michigan. All six children married and raised successful families. In turn these children and their families have made bountiful contributions in a wide range of fields including medicine, computers and research.


40th wedding anniversary April 26, 1936 Sun Prairie Wisconsin
Back row: Frank Johnson, Ralph Middleton, Arthur Manning McLeod, Clarence Dalby Middleton, William Henry Middleton, Paul Wood Porter, John Wesley Middleton
Middle Row: Bertha Gillis, Dorothy Bolen, Gladys Martha Middleton, Josie Anna Brister, Esther Jane Middleton, Elizabeth, Oral Leota Middleton Front row: Ruth Oral Porter

1. Clarence Dalby MIDDLETON ----------------------------------------
Birth Date: Jan 25, 1875 Birth Place: Canton, Illinois Fulton County Died: Feb 5, 1968 Death Place: Rockford, Illinois Burial Place: Wildwood Memorial Park, family plot, Rockford, IL. Occupation: A Millwright with Ingersoll Milling, he retired in 1945. An excellent gardener, small in stature, a tough hard working man who loved to tease and smile.

Spouse: Josie Anna "Joanna" Gray BRISTER
Birth Date: Apr 21, 1869 born Canton Illinois, Fulton County Died: Jan 26, 1948 in Rockford, Illinois
Burial Place: Wildwood Memorial Park Family Plot, Rockford, Illinois.
As a young girl she was sent to Arkansas as a servant girl. She found herself beaten almost everyday. After the couple died she moved back to the north. Joanna was a fantastic homemaker plus a member of Salvation Army. She was called "Josie" by her close friends.
Her Father was: William H. BRISTER (1819-1892)
Her Mother Anna GRAY (1827-1875)

Joanna Brister Middleton's favorite poem given to all six Grandchildren in 1944:

THIS OLD CLAY HOUSE
When I'm thru with this old clay house of mine,
When no more guide lights thru the window shine,
Just box it up and lay it away
With the other clay houses of yesterday,
And bury the wrong since first I began
To live in this house, bury deep and forget,
I want to be square and out of your debt,
When I meet the Grand Architect Supreme
Fact to face, I want to be clean;
Of course, I know it's too late to mend
A bad builded house when we come to the end,
But to you who are building, just look over mine
And make sure your alterations while there is time;
Just study this house -- no tears should be shed,
It's like any clay house when the tenant has fled.
I have lived in this house many days all alone,
Just waiting, and oh, how I longed to go home!
Don't misunderstand me -- this old world divine,
With love, birds and flowers, and glorious sunshine,
Is a wonderful place, and a wonderful plan,
And a wonderful, wonderful gift to man.
Yet, show how we feel when this cycle's complete,
There are dear ones across we are anxious to meet,
So we open the books and check up the past,
And no more forced balances, this is the last,
Each item is checked, each page must be clean,
It's the passport we carry our Builder Supreme.
So when I am thru with this old house of clay,
Just box it up tight and lay it away,
For the Builder has promised when this house is spent,
To have one all finished, with timber I sent
While I lived here in this one. Of course it will be
Exactly as I here have builded, you see
It's the kind of material we each send across,
And if we build poorly, of course 'tis our loss.
You ask what material is best to select?
'Twas told you long since, by the Great Architect,
"A new commandment I give unto you,
So the finest material to send up above
Is clear, straight-grained timber of Brotherly Love.
-- L. J. Monck

Clarence & Josie Anna's children:

1.1 Oral Leota "Oral" MIDDLETON ----------------------------------------
Birth Date: Jan 29, 1899 Birth Place: Rockford, Illinois Died: Jun 5, 1969 in Madison, Wisconsin Oral worked at Forest Products Labs the lumber industry's research organization. Oral and Frank lived at 524 Highland Avenue on a farm built in 1840. That farm originally belonged to a founding Madison family, the wealthy Tenny family. The farm home was turned into a small attractive home by Johnson's for twenty years.
Spouse: Frank JOHNSON Birth Date: 1893
Frank was an Antique Dealer & Hobby Farmer who died in Madison, Wisconsin.
Frank & Oral were married January 24, 1927

1.2 Gladys Martha MIDDLETON ----------------------------------------
Birth Date: Dec 22, 1900 Birth Place: Rockford Illinois Died: Nov 1, 1990 Minneapolis, "Bloomington" Minnesota Burial Place: Ft. Snelling National Cemetery - Minneapolis, Minnesota
An energetic idea promoter, she saw herself as an optimist, a Republican champion for women's rights. Gladys searched for a church home and continued to be personally religious throughout her life. Gladys was the first baby born to Clarence and Josie at 1831 Green Street in Rockford Illinois. Her Mother was famous for her bread and pies. Josie was often busy sewing all children's clothing. Gladys too was an expert seamstress.
Spouse: Paul Wood PORTER Birth Date: Nov 7, 1893 in Madison, Wisconsin

1.3 William "Bill" Henry MIDDLETON ----------------------------------------
Born June 19, 1903 in Rockford, Illinois, Bill died: Mar 12, 1989 in Rockford, Illinois
Bill was a Tool & Die Equipment Specialist who married twice. Bill's first wife was Bertha GILLIS. When she passed away she had contributed a wonderful daughter. His second wife Bessie lived near Detroit Michigan. Regretfully they had no more issue.

1.4 Ralph Burton MIDDLETON ---------------------------------------- Born September 24, 1905, lived in Rockford, Illinois. Ralph passed away July 27, 1998 at age 92. Scheduled to check in at the Mayo clinic in Rochester Minnesota where he had been going for over 70 years. He totaled his car, then fell in the shower and finally passed away in his sleep at Methodist hospital with cancer. Ralph worked for Ingersol where he was a Tool & Die repair trouble shooter for over 62 yrs. His wife Dorothy Ellen BOLEN was born in 1910. Dorothy was educated at Rockford College 1928-1933 She had three children and created wonderful watercolors. One of her boys, Richard, became a world famous microbiologist. Dorothy died in tragedy and illness in 1957 with the loss of two of her three children.

1.5 Esther Jane MIDDLETON ----------------------------------------
Born: Dec 14, 1908 Occupation: Stenographer Her spouse: Arthur Manning "Brick" McLEOD was born May 3, 1908 in Mobile, Alabama. He grew up as a youth in Tomah, WI and died April 29, 1993 in Madison, Wisconsin after a fall on the ice. Educated at the University Of Wisconsin, this tall Scotsman was a distinguished Architectural Engineer with his firm of Kaeser & Mcleod. He built his own home at 80 White Oak Lane in Madison, Wisconsin on top of glacier drumlin hill in the woods. The hill is reputed to be Madison's highest point. Their family of four children included two boys: Paul & John and two girls: Mary Jane & Margaret. One of the boys Paul went on to become a medical physician (GYN).

1.6 John Wesley MIDDLETON ----------------------------------------
Birth Date: Jan 4, 1911 Birth Place: Rockford, Illinois Living in Southfield Michigan in 1998. An expert Tool & Die maker in Detroit for over 50 years. His spouse: Elizabeth Louise BRINK Birth Date: Jul 27, 1913 was a childhood (3rd grade) sweetheart, the prettiest girl n the class. Her Father: Axel T. BRINK (1890-) Her Mother: Bessie Ann WALLER (1892-) They were married Nov 24, 1932, raised three lovely daughters. John passed away September 14, 2003 after celbrating 70 plus years of marriage.


Special Thanks: A special note of thanks goes to George Hart for the wealth of information he has laboriously documented and his wife Marlaina. Additional information comes from original old letters in our possession. The letters were written by Quakers during the late 1700's revealing a great deal about life and others. If you have interest, please contact us.

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