Mary Izard was born July 31, 1747, the daughter of Col. Walter and Elizabeth Gibbes Izard. Both of her parents died by the time she was twelve years old and she was raised by family members. On August 19, 1764, Mary married Arthur Middleton, who had returned to Charleston from Cambridge University and become the master of Middleton Place.
The couple’s travel adventures began on May 24, 1768, when they embarked on an extended trip to Europe. During the journey the couple’s first child, Henry, was born in London. The young family sat for the monumental painting by Benjamin West before returning to Charleston in September 1771. When Arthur was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776, Mary and their three children accompanied him to Philadelphia.
Mary was left with tremendous responsibilities during the Revolutionary War, as Arthur remained busy and was away from the family for extended periods of time. In early 1779 she was forced to flee Middleton Place with the children when British marauders spread a path of destruction across the Low Country and the family was living in their Charleston house when the British laid siege to the city the following year.
The year 1780 was an emotionally trying year for Mary. Arthur refused to sign the loyalty oath to the king when Charleston surrendered to the British in May; on October 1, her brother John died at Cedar Grove; and finally, on November 15, General Cornwallis issued a proclamation confiscating Arthur’s estates, with the exception of property in Charleston, and took him into custody. Ten days later he joined the exiled patriots held in St. Augustine, Florida. That same day Mary gave birth to child number six. She also faced the challenge of having herself exempted from banishment to Philadelphia as the wife of a rebel and to have Middleton Place released from confiscation. Succeeding in this, she moved the children back to the Ashley River. There Mary remained, the mistress of Middleton Place and guardian of her children.
The stress of her responsibilities paid a toll on Mary’s health. In June 1782, the doctor reported to General Nathaniel Greene, whose American troops would soon occupy neighboring plantations, that Mrs. Middleton was “very seriously ill” and he couldn’t “rightly understand her complaint.” Hugh Rutledge (Edward’s brother) said that it was “an inflammation of the brain” and that “she has been subject to it.”
Mary seems to have recovered by mid-July, but again faced tragedy in September when her neighbor, friend, and sister-in-law Isabella died. While the loss was difficult for Mary, it had a profound effect on her future. Upon Isabella’s death, all of the Izard property passed to Mary. Although, as a married woman, the land legally belonged to her husband, they were now the owners of Cedar Grove on the Ashley River, plantations on the Combahee River, and other properties.
Life at Middleton Place reached a degree of normalcy following Arthur’s return in November 1782, but everything changed dramatically on January 1, 1787, when Arthur died suddenly. Thirty-nine-year-old Mary was left with eight children, ages sixteen months to sixteen years, and pregnant with her ninth. This unnamed son was born on June 12, 1787 and died ten days later. Because Arthur died intestate, South Carolina inheritance laws allowed Mary one-third of her husband’s estate by dowry rights. She selected Cedar Grove, Hobonny, and Old Combahee plantations as her inheritance.
Mary elected not to remarry, but instead remained single and managed her plantations. Her primary role, however, was matriarch and fierce protector of her family. In June 1814 Mary Izard Middleton suffered a stroke from which she never recovered, dying on July 12. She was survived by five of her children and thirty-nine grandchildren.