[Scmusenet] Press Release

[Pat Kennedy]

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact:	Pat Kennedy
		V.P. Marketing
		(843)556-6020
		pkennedy at middletonplace.org


Middleton Place Acquires Two Important Family Documents

July 20, 2006 - Charleston, SC - Two important Middleton family documents
have finally come home. Middleton Place Foundation was recently successful
in obtaining two documents significant to the history of Middleton Place and
its family. In March, Middleton Place acquired an Arthur Middleton letter,
and in May, the Foundation was successful in obtaining at auction another
Arthur Middleton document, a South Carolina Provincial Congress military
commission.

One of the most intriguing of the Arthur Middleton papers to be recovered is
a letter he wrote to William Henry Drayton on August 12, 1775. This letter
was meant to update his friend and fellow patriot about relevant information
received from Congress in Philadelphia, and on recent happenings in
Charleston.  The letter is significant because, although undeniably in
Middleton's handwriting, it is signed "Andrew Marvell," the name of the 17th
century poet and political activist. Historians once believed Arthur
Middleton wrote political pamphlets under the pseudonym of Andrew Marvell,
however later scholars were discrediting this claim. To date, diligent
search has failed to uncover any pamphlets, articles or essays in
Middleton's handwriting and with the name Andrew Marvell. The Foundation's
recently acquired letter is the only known document in existence.

The second document, acquired at auction in May, is a South Carolina
Provincial Congress military commission in the Second Regiment of Riflemen.
This document, dated March 1, 1776, links an exceptional constellation of
South Carolina Revolutionary War patriots including two signers of the
Declaration of Independence, a signer of the United States Constitution and
a President of the Continental Congress. In addition to Arthur Middleton,
signers include: John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, Thomas Heyward, Jr.,
Rawlins Lowndes, Henry Laurens and Thomas Ferguson. The document with its
rare Arthur Middleton signature was loaned by the Forbes Magazine Collection
to Middleton Place for a temporary exhibit in July, 2000.

"It is exciting to have these documents returned to the Low Country where
they should properly reside," said Tracey Todd, V.P. Museums. He added, "We
continue to search for Middleton family pieces to add to the museum's
collection. Both the Andrew Marvell letter and the military commission are
important not only because of the information they contain, but also because
they are tangible links to the beginnings of our Nation."

Middleton Place National Historic Landmark is open to the public 9:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. daily. 
For additional information, call (843)556-6020 or visit the website at
www.middletonplace.org.

(Digital photographs available upon request) 

Pat Kennedy
V.P. Marketing
Middleton Place
4300 Ashley River Road
Charleston, South Carolina 29414
843/556-6020
Fax 843/766-4460