[1][2][3] Midgett grew up on Cape Hatteras, on the outer banks of the North Carolina coast, and like his father and other family members, he enlisted in the United States Life-Saving Service in 1898.

Midgett was injured in an automobile accident in late 1937 and died on February 9, 1938.

[2] According to the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography Midgett was friends with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his funeral was attended by a number of congressmen.

Later, in 2018, the Coast Guard renamed her to the USCGC John Midgett, freeing the vessel name for a new Legend-class cutter.

That next year, the USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757) was commissioned into service, carrying the name for another generation.