Clayton Fotterall McMichael

Clayton Fotterall McMichael

CLAYTON FOTTERALL McMICHAEL was born in Philadelphia, PA on October 1, 1869 to Clayton McMichael and Anna E. Fotterall*. 

(*See  The Fotterall Family)

Clayton McMichael's ancestors came to America from Northern Ireland some time in the 18th century.  More about this illustrious family in another post.

Although dying at the age of just 37 (September 28, 1907) from appendix complications, Clayton made  his mark in the short time he lived. He was truly remarkable...like his father and grandfather. Here are just a few things about this man and his life...

CLAYTON McMICHAEL'S FAMILY TREE

 THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

McMICHAEL, '91 C., ASSISTANT TO THE PROVOST.

Mr. Clayton Fotterall McMichael, '91 C., has been appointed assistant to the Provost. The appointment was made at the solicitation of the Trustees who, on account of the great increase in the administrative work of the University, at a recent meeting requested the Provost to appoint an additional assistant.

Mr. Clayton Fotterall McMichael was born in Philadelphia on October 14, 1869, the son of Hon. Clayton McMichael and Mrs. Anna Fotterall McMichael, daughter of the late Stephen G. Fotterall. Mr. McMichael entered Pennsylvania as a partial student from Towne Scientific School in 1887, and left at the end of Junior year. During his undergraduate career he was especially active in promoting student organizations and publications. He was one of the founders and sometime editor-in-chief of the Red and Blue, the University literary monthly. Associated with a small group of College men he founded in 1889 the Mask and Wig Club, which has become so noted in the history of amateur theatricals. Mr. McMichael has been president of the club for many years, and it is largely through his able management and judgment that organization has maintained its prominent position. He contributed many of the University songs that have appeared since 1890, and he has written several of the annual Easter burlesques for the Mask and Wig Club. He is a member of the board of directors of the Athletic Association and secretary of that body. For many years Mr. McMichael has been active in the work of the Sunday-school of St. Stephen's Church, of Philadelphia.

Mr. McMichael's very wide but intimate acquaintance with University affairs, together with his ability and sound judgment, particularly fits him for the position of assistant to the Provost.

POETRY

Warning to Freshmen

                                 Clayton Fotterall McMichael

A little Fresh went out to swim,

And took a cake of soap with him,

And slimed each supple little limb.

And when he on the bank arrove,

One long, last downward look he gove,

And then into the water dove.

And trying to regain the top,

In vain, alas, he tried to flop--

He went so fast he could not stop!

His limbs were soaped from heel to hip--

He could not get a half-way grip--

For every time he tried he'd slip!

The water no resistance gave,

And so, beneath the murky wave,

He found a wet, untimely grave.

With thrilling, thundering, thomping thud

He struck the misty, moisty mud--

And turtles fatten on his blood.

We dedicate this little hymn

To all "Ye Freshie" of supple limb

Who soap themselves before they swim.

From The Club and Smoker

THE CREW SONG*

Clayton Fotterall McMichael, ‘91

I sing a song of rowing

On the waters deep and blue,—

A most exhilarating scene.

As through the waves we're going

With a brave and sturdy crew,

Our senses are both sharp and keen.

But the rowing that's most bracing,

All your weariness effacing,

Is when you're bravely racing

For the trophy that you dearly prize.

CHORUS

There are staunch men true

In the old Yale blue;

There are loyal men from Harvard and from Princeton, too.

But of all true men

Now within my ken,

There are none to me so dear as are the Sons of Penn.

* From "Old King Cole."

Pennsylvania’s Verse

THE MASK AND WIG

The first call for Mask and Wig members

Once upon a time, in 1888, a small group of Penn undergraduates, led by Clayton Fotterall McMichael, were interested in the stage and were feeling restless. Here were talented and ambitious young men of prominent Philadelphia families with no proper outlet for their artistic pursuits. Those interested in the Classics went to that department for productions of Euripides; Shakespeareans went to the English department. However, McMichael and his cohorts wanted something different: a troupe that would produce humorous theatrical pieces. What was a college man to do? Get up in frocks and spoof everyone and everything, naturally.

Because colleges at the time were open only to young gentlemen, any production was limited to an all–male cast. These organizations naturally saw burlesque, which was quite popular in that era, as the perfect genre. The overblown characterizations, loose plotting, musical interludes, and parody of high art made the style perfect for a group of young, well–educated, amateur men, especially since the drag tradition came “built–in.”

The first Mask and Wig production: "Lurline"

Founder McMichael combed the local bookstores for a story to produce and found it in Henry Byron’s The Nymphs of the Lurleyburg. With a little pirating and a bit of imagination, Lurline, the Club’s first production, hit the boards at the Chestnut Street Opera House on June 4, 1889, for one night only. The show was a spectacular success financially, socially, and historically. From that night onward, the Club, supported by a strong network of alumni now known as the Graduate Club, produced an annual show. The runs were extended and the Club established a fine tradition among Philadelphia’s theater–going society.

The full cast of "Lurline"

In 1894 the Club purchased a property at 310 South Quince Street to serve as a gathering place and rehearsal hall. Prominent Philadelphia architect Wilson Eyre was commissioned to convert the building, which had previously served as a church, a dissecting room, and a stable. He hired the young Maxfield Parrish, who would later become one of the greatest illustrators of the twentieth century, to decorate the interior. The Grille Room was decorated with caricatures of members; a tradition that continues today, with the second century of members’ caricatures continued upstairs at the entrance to the auditorium.

The Club prospered throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1908, the Club, awash in philanthropic good will, not to mention cash, donated funds to build a dormitory in the University Quadrangle, which still bears the name of Mask and Wig. The 1950s were a heady time for the Club. Appearing in the big Center City theaters and traveling across the country in its own Pennsylvania Railroad car, the Club survived through two world wars. Mask and Wig songs were the rage of the big band orchestras, radio shows, and solo acts of the day. The likes of Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Les Brown all covered Mask and Wig tunes.

1895 Mask and Wig production of "Kenilworth" authored by Clayton Fotterall McMichael

Portrait of Clayton Fotterall McMichael hanging in the Mask and Wig

But by the time the fifties rolled around and television became a staple of the American entertainment diet, the Club, as well as its more sophisticated cousins on Broadway, found leaner days and thinner audiences. The 1961 production, Wry on the Rocks, introduced a satirical revue format in a cabaret atmosphere. Seventeen years ago, with Myth America, Mask and Wig returned the student – written book musical to its stage, a practice which continues each year. One of the factors in the success of the shows has been their topicality – a treatment with both wit and music of subjects of the day with which students and alumni identify. Also important in the show’s success are the traditional high standards in the caliber of performers and excellence of the material performed.

The Club’s primary purpose has always been and continues to be, “Justice to the stage and credit to the University.” Today, Mask and Wig maintains its position as one of the premier extracurricular activities on the Penn campus. Its yearly alumni tour over spring break brings the show to alumni clubs across the nation. 

Mask and Wig History

THE NORTH AMERICAN

The oldest daily newspaper in America: 

The North American of Philadelphia 

Published at 701 Chestnut Street

By Clayton McMichael & Sons

The North American newspaper first existed as The Pennsylvania Packet and American Daily Advertiser, the first daily number of which was issued by John Dunlap, September 21^st, 1784.  Later David C. and Septimus Claypole succeeded Dunlap, and in 1795 the title was changed to Claypole’s American Daily Advertiser, which was sold in 1800 to Zachariah Poulson, Jr. In 1839 the paper was transferred to S. C. Brace and J. R. Newbold, who called their journal THE NORTH AMERICAN. They were succeeded by William Welsh, who in 1844 sold out to George R. Graham and Alexander Cummings. Cummings soon retired, and on January 1st, 1847, Morton McMichael became associated with Mr. Graham, and later purchased his interest. On July 1st, 1847, THE NORTH AMERICAN and THE UNITED STATES GAZETTE were consolidated, Mr. McMichael becoming sole proprietor in1854.

On April 17th, 1876, The United States Gazette was dropped from the title page and as THE NORTH AMERICAN this newspaper was published by Morton McMichael until his death in 1878; when it passed to the control of his sons, Walter and Clayton, who had been associated with their father in the work of the paper since 1860. On July 1^st 1890, Clayton McMichael purchased the interest of his brother and on January 1^st 1896, he admitted to partnership with him his two sons, Campbell Emory McMichael and Clayton Fotterall McMichael.

THE NORTH AMERICAN is a thoroughly and fearlessly American Family Newspaper, published daily except Sundays, and it goes into the homes of the people.  It can be purchased anywhere for one cent a copy.

Directory of the Principle office buildings in Philadelphia 1896

The North American's Connection to 

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer was founded as The Pennsylvania Inquirer by printer John R. Walker and John Norvell, former editor of Philadelphia's largest newspaper, the Aurora & Gazette. An editorial in the first issue of The Pennsylvania Inquirer promised that the paper would be devoted to the right of a minority to voice their opinion and "the maintenance of the rights and liberties of the people, equally against the abuses as the usurpation of power." They pledged support to then-President Andrew Jackson and "home industries, American manufactures, and internal improvements that so materially contribute to the agricultural, commercial and national prosperity." Founded on June 1, 1829, The Philadelphia Inquirer is the third oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. However, in 1962, an Inquirer-commissioned historian traced The Inquirer to John Dunlap's The Pennsylvania Packet, which was founded on October 28, 1771. In 1850 The Packet was merged with another newspaper The North American, which later merged with the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Finally, the Public Ledger merged with The Philadelphia Inquirer in the 1930s and between 1962 and 1975, a line on The Inquirer's front page claimed that the newspaper is the United States' oldest surviving daily newspaper.

The Philadelphia Inquirer - History

 FAMILY

Clayton was married to Elizabeth Butcher Glendinning* on April 18, 1894 at the St. James' Church in Philadelphia.  (*See The Glendinning Family)

Elizabeth Butcher Glendinning
with Clayton Fotterall McMichael

Clayton and Elizabeth had two children: Clayton Fotterall McMichael (born February 3, 1895) and Elisabeth McMichael (born October 6, 1897). They lived a privileged and exciting life in Philadelphia. They lived for a time at 123 S. 4th Street in Philadelphia...right in the heart of all the action, always making the "Who's Who in America" list. 

Sadly, after only 5 years of marriage, Elizabeth died on April 25, 1899 at the young age of 29, leaving Clayton to raise his very young children...Clayton was only 4 years old and Elisabeth was just 2 years old.  He never remarried and as mentioned, died just 8 years later leaving his children as orphans.  

Campbell Emory McMichael

Clayton's only brother, Campbell Emory McMichael was married and raising children of his own. He took in his nephew Clayton and niece Elisabeth and raised them as his own. "Emory" and his wife Ellen Nixon Harrison were wealthy Philadelphians themselves. Ellen herself came from an old Philadelphia family and when they married, the match was equally suitable to both "well-to-do" families. They provided the children with a manner of life that they had when their parents were alive and in spite of this tragic loss, both children were raised in a loving atmosphere. 

Knoll House was where the Emory McMichaels lived
and where Elisabeth and SBC had their wedding reception

More on the family of Emory McMichael and Ellen Nixon Harrison McMichael in another post. More on the families of Clayton Fotterall McMichael and Edith Shober his wife and Elisabeth McMichael and Stuart Benson Clark in another post.

The Blended and Extended McMichael Clan: Top Row: Emory McMichael, 1st from left; Ellen Nixon Harrison McMichael, 3rd from left; Edith Shober McMichael (wife of Clayton Fotterall McMichael); Elisabeth McMichael Clark; the rest are the McMichael and Clark children and various in-laws)