The Fotteralls
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| Clayton Fotterall McMichael's Family Tree His maternal great grandfather was Stephen Egan Fotterall |
Stephen Egan Fotterall, the patriarch of the Fotterall family in America, was born in Dublin, Ireland on July 4, 1772, to James Fotterall and Mary Blakely. The surname (usually spelled Fottrell and very rare in Ireland) was held chiefly by propertied Catholics of medieval English descent in the province of Leinster. It is said that Stephen served in the English Army at Dublin at a very young age. Perhaps in an effort to escape the army, in 1788 at age 15 and against his family's wishes, he bound himself to a shipmaster (Captain Blair, commander of the ship Rising Sun owned by Gurney & Smith merchants in Philadelphia) for a five year term of indentured servitude (he was to act as clerk in the Gurney & Smith offices) in the United States. His immediate expectations of genteel, urban employment were bitterly disappointed.
When Fotterall arrived in Philadelphia, indentured servitude was in steep decline and Fotterall's services were sold to a master, Mr. Hubly (the Hubly clan was one of the most prominent in Lancaster borough) in rural Pennsylvania where laborers were relatively scarce. Fotterall was not happy about being "ill-used" by Captain Blair. In September of 1790 while on an errand collecting cash for Mr. Hubly, Fotterall absconds with $10.00. His intention was to try and return home to Ireland and he writes a letter to Mr. Hubly informing him of his plan. In the letter, he promises to pay him back the $10.00 and whatever money he owes for his remaining time.
Fotterall escaped to Baltimore, Maryland hoping to board a ship bound for Ireland, however there were none. He then traveled to Norfolk, Virginia but the ship he was to board had already sailed. He found a job in Norfolk as a clerk and stayed there for eight months, and in the interim paid back what he owed Mr. Hubley for the remainder of his servitude. Fotterall returned to Philadelphia to see Mr. Hubly, thinking the receipt he received from him was a sufficient discharge...this was not the case. Instead of releasing him from his indenture, Hubly had a constable throw him in jail as a runaway servant. While in jail, Fotterall petitions the Hibernian Society for help. With their help he is released from jail...
While most Irish servitude led to Irish-American poverty, Fotterall's subsequent career was considered meteoric. He was a very fortunate youth.
Around 1774/5 he married Catherine Myers Summers Coutance, a widow who perhaps was wealthy because in 1796 city directories listed him as a shopkeeper in partnership with several associates.
In March, 1798 he was elected Ensign of the Light Infantry Company, Third Philadelphia Regiment, and from 1801 through at least 1806 he was ranking officer of the Southwark Light Infantry, the militia unit of the city's premier if poor Irish suburb.
During the War of 1812, Fotterall held the colonelcy, in succession, of two regiments of Philadelphia troops, and from 1819-1821 he served on the executive committee of the Hibernian Society.
In later decades Fotterall was a shipping merchant on Vine Street, and when he died at his residence on September 26, 1839 at the age of 67, he left a remarkable estate of $38,840 to his wife, two sons, and grandchildren.
Thus, through political and trade connections, this once-exploited Irish indentured servant had managed to reproduce in Philadelphia the self-indulgent lifestyle of late 18th century Dublin's more prosperous merchant-gentlemen.
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| S.E. Fotterall's grave plot in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA |
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