Dade County History Book

DAVID SPENCER MIDDLETON

 

D.S. Middleton, Rising Fawn, Georgia, physician and surgeon; born January 2, 1871, in ;

Webster County, Mississippi. Graduated Belle – Fontaine, Mississippi, High school, 1889; U.S. Grant University Medical Department, 1894, Missionary Baptist; Democrat; Mason, Senator 44^th. District 1925-26 Ex.-26 2 d. Ex.; House of Representatives Dade County 1913-14, 1937.

 

Dr. Middleton has been the county physician for over 44 years, and maintains an office in Trenton and at his home in Rising Fawn, Georgia.

 

The death of Dr. D.S. Middleton was more than just symbolic of the passing of a loved and respected individual; to more than just a few a visit to his home in recent months and after his death was to view a bit of fading Americana.

 

The lump one felt in his throat was for the man, yes; but also for the knowledge that here, represented by time – worn flesh and the memory of countless small services rendered during times of need as well as the memory of other deeds – civic in nature but always with the individual in mind – is a visible symbol of a way of life that is vanishing and rapidly being forgotten.

 

Part of that colorful panorama of the past belongs to the country doctor who, like all other things synonymous with modernism, is now known by new name …that of general practitioner. Dr. Middleton was that, and many more things … he signified greatness in its place, and smallness, too. He was known for his work in the Legislature of the state, his perfection of a new splint, his endorsement of progress for the ‘State of Dade,’ and something else, too.

Kindness.

Humility.

Because when one is present, the other is also. His love of nature and poetry was unssurpassed only by his love of humanity, and it has been said he had an over-abundance of all those characteristics. When he was out of the office, he almost always had a pocketful of birdseed or crumbs for the little winged creatures that came to his flower-filled garden in flocks. At times of repose, he could be found with any of Edgar Allan Poe’s works and loved to quote from that and other classics.

 

Future histories will not overlook one of the county’s pioneers in greatness.(Used by permission, HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY, GEORGIA, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, 1981)