James Taylor Middleton was an Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 businessman and political figure. He represented Hamilton East

Hamilton East (provincial electoral district)

Hamilton East is a former provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1894 to 2007, when it was redistributed between the new ridings of Hamilton Centre and Hamilton East—Stoney Creek...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1894 to 1898 as a Liberal member.

He was born in Alloa

Alloa

Alloa is a town and former burgh in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on on the north bank of the Firth of Forth close to the foot of the Ochil Hills, east of Stirling and north of Falkirk....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, the son of Arthur Middleton, and educated in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

. Middleton came with his family to Canada West in 1851 and studied in St. Catharines

St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...

 and Stamford. His uncle G.W. Taylor was mayor of Clifton (later Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...

) and also served as warden for Welland County

Welland County, Ontario

Welland County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.The county was formed in 1851 from Lincoln County. The county was named from the Welland River. The river got its name from John Grave Simcoe who named it after a stream in Lincolnshire, England...

. He worked on his uncle's farm, before being employed as a clerk in several stores and then becoming partner in a store in Smithville

Smithville, Ontario

Smithville is a community in the township of West Lincoln. It is located on Regional Road 20 between Hamilton and Niagara Falls in the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada.-Annual events:...

 with one of his former employers. He later became partner and then sole owner of a wholesale business involved in the sale of marble and granite for construction. Middleton served on the council for Grimsby Township

Grimsby, Ontario

Grimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Grimsby is a part of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. The majority of residents reside in the area bounded by Lake Ontario and the Niagara escarpment...

 and was also active in temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

organizations. In 1865, he married Catherine Olivia Eastman. Middleton was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the House of Commons in 1891.