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)

Allied Families of the Clarks

The Westcott Family

How are the Clarks related to this family you ask? 

 Richard Westcott-----Joanna Adams/Paine

                            |             

          Daniel Westcott------Abigail Gaylord

                                    |

              Ebenezer Westcott------- Barbara (Barbary) Forster

                                             |

                        Ebenezer Westcott-----Phebe Sheppard

                                                     |

                                Sheppard Westcott-------Hannah Dare

                                                              |

                                              Henry Westcott-------Sarah Dyche

                                                                       |

                                                    John M. Westcott-----Caroline Mitchell

                                                                               |

                                                          Burton J. Westcott ------Orpha Merta Leffler   

                                                                                        |

                                                            Jeanne Elise Westcott ---- Richard Mast Rodgers

                                                                                              |

                                        Stuart Benson Clark, Jr.------- Patricia Rodgers

Richard Westcott (aka Westcot, Westcote, Westcoat, Wascotte, Wascoate, etc.) was a gentleman of Devonshire, England (he may have been from Truro, Cornwall) and descended from an ancient family that is said to be traced back to 1170. 

According to "The Visitation of Cornwell" in 1620, Richard and a number of others were "stricken from the list and declared ignobilis". This was in the reign of James I, when every non-conformist was declared ignoble.

Richard came to America with his two brothers, Stukeley and William before 1636. Originally landing in Salem, Massachussetts, Richard removed to Wethersfield, Connecticut. His first wife, Mary must have died before he left England or soon after coming to America because he married a woman named Joanna (surname either Adams or Paine) of Connecticut. Together they had 4 children.

Daniel Westcott, second son of Richard and Joanna, settled in Stamford, Connecticut, was selectman of that town for five years, and represented it in the General Court at Hartford in 1691 and 1692. He served in King Philip's war, and was voted town lands in 1676 for his military services. He married in 1674, Abigail Gaylord and together they had at least three children. In 1696 he sold his land in Stamford and soon after removed to that part of Salem county, West Jersey, later laid out as Cumberland county, purchasing land on the south side of the Cohansey river. Here he died about June 1, 1703.

Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania, Volumes I-III
Franklin Lawrence Sheppard and Howard Reynolds Sheppard

John McMahon Westcott 

(1834-1907) 

John McMahon Westcott

Manufacturer, Richmond, Ind., born near Liberty, Ind., in 1834, earned his first money by plowing corn for William L. John, at 25 cents per day. Educated at a country school and spending a part of each year in farm work, at the age of fifteen he secured a position with William F. Parshall at Lebanon, Ohio, as clerk in a dry goods store, at a salary of $60 for the first year. The pay grew better as he went on. 

In 1855, after six years' experience, he engaged in the dry goods business at Liberty, Ind., on his own account, but the panic of 1857 forced him to assign in 1858. In Piqua, Ohio, he then kept books for four years at $1 per day. In 1863, he settled permanently in Richmond, was employed in the grain business for four years, and in 1867 once more ventured to operate on his own account, this time in grain, and became successful. 

Jan. 1, 1873, he purchased a one-sixth interest in The Hoosier Drill Co., at Milton, Ind. From the time he took the financial management, the business grew rapidly. Gaining control in 1876 by buying for $80,750 the stock of Isaac Kinsey, president of the company, Mr. Westcott moved the works into Richmond in 1878, and has since enlarged them several times. The capital of the company is nominally $60,000, but the plant alone is probably worth $600,000. The implements made are grain drills, corn drills, broadcast sowing machines and hay rakes. B. J. Westcott, a son, is now secretary, and Omar Hollingsworth and James A. Carr, sons-in-law, are respectively treasurer and superintendent. 

Mr. Westcott now owns a fine farm of 4,000 acres in the Solomon Valley, Kansas, bought about 1884, and raises wheat, corn, oats and rye, horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. His success is largely due to a rule, adopted early in life, to save 10 cents from every dollar earned. In his works, no men are employed who use intoxicants, and there has never been a strike in the factory. 

Mr. Westcott has built a fine church in Richmond almost entirelyfrom his own funds, and every new enterprise for the welfare of the city is promoted by him. He is president of the Commercial club, which has built a fine hotel, covering one-fourth of a block.

America's Successful Men of Affairs: The United States at Large

Obituaries

JOHN WESTCOTT, BUSINESS MAN, DIES SUDDENLY

Apparently on Road to Recovery After Long Illness When Stricken

Immensely Wealthy; Left Fortune Estimated at $2,000,000 in Various Kinds of Property

Union County Native Education Limited but Commercial Life of Vast Achievement

Though apparently on the way toward recovery after a serious illness of eight weeks, John M. Westcott, a pioneer business man and capitalist of Richmond, died suddenly Saturday night. The end came about 9:30 o'clock, while Mr. Westcott was seated in a chair, where he had been conversing with members of the family.

Mr. Westcott had been a sufferer from Brights' disease, and an affection of the lungs. Life had been sustained during several weeks of his illness by means of artificially administered oxygen. Mr. Westcott was 73 years of age. A wife, three sons and four daughters survive. The funeral will take place Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock, from the house. Friends may call Monday evening from 7:30 to 9:30 o'clock. Burial will be private. Friends are requested to omit flowers.

John M. Westcott was born in Union county, near Liberty, in 1834. His parents were Henry and Sarah (Dyche) Westcott. Henry Westcott was of English descent and the mother of German extraction. John M. was one of four children, the other three being girls.

Mr. Westcott's early education was not extensive. He attended the public schools near the scene of his nativity. His youthful experiences were such as were common to the early settlers of the community. He did much toward the material improvement of the country.

Mr. Westcott's first business experience was as a dry goods clerk. Later he opened a grain and feed store and prospered. He came to Richmond in 1862 and continued in the feed and grain business until 1872, when he became a stockholder in the Hoosier Drill works, then located at Milton.He then devoted his entire attention to the construction of agricultural machinery and progressed to a point where he was justified in moving the institution to Richmond in 1878.

For a long time the Hoosier plant was the largest of its kind in America, and it was through it, principally, that Mr. Westcott acquired his stupendous wealth, which is estimated at close to $2,000,000. He retired from the manufacturing business about eight years ago.

The Hoosier Drill Company

Upon leaving the Hoosier, Mr. Westcott, in partnership with his son-in-law, Omar Hollingsworth, organized the Union Loan & Trust Company, with offices in the Westcott hotel.

The Westcott Hotel

Mr. Westcott was not identified in any way with the Hoosier after its amalgamation with the American Seeding Machine Company, the big trust, in which it is now one of the strongest factors, and which has extended the plant to a point where it will soon employ about 700 men, instead of 300 as heretofore.

In 1883, Mr. Westcott purchased forty feet of ground on the south side of Main street and personally supervised the erection of the Westcott block, for a long time the principal business block in the city. In 1892 the Commercial Club of Richmond projected the Westcott hotel, in which he acquired a controlling interest.This he held to the time of his death. 

In addition to his many valuable local holdings, Mr. Westcott owned valuable real estate in Dickinson County, Kansas. He had 5,000 acres devoted to a fine stock farm. Much of the land was under cultivation and yielded immense returns. Until a few years ago he operated a fine bred horse and Shetland pony farm, near Centerville.

In 1855 Mr. Westcott was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Mitchell, a native of Wayne County, Indiana. They were the parents of seven children; Lucilla B., wife of J. A. Carr; Alice C., wife of Omar Hollingsworth; Jennie M. Wilke, Charles G., Burton J., Harry M. and Maude Evelyn DeWeese.

In 1880 Mr. Westcott purchased an entire block bounded by Main, South A., Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets, which has been laid out with walks and drives, and immediately improved the property. The second year he erected a large brick residence and since then, four others residences have been added. Until recently these houses were occupied by members of the family.

Six years ago, Mr. Westcott was united in marriage to Mrs. Grace Carter, of Indianapolis.

Socially Mr. Westcott was connected with the White Water lodge of No. 41, I. O. O. F. of Richmond. Since 1849 he had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

(Copied from the Evening Item, Monday, August 26, 1907).

J. M. WESTCOTT FUNERAL
Services Held at Home and Burial Was Private in Earlham Cemetery

The funeral of John M. Westcott was held yesterday afternoon from the home and was largely attended. The Rev. R. J. Wade, of the First M. E. church, and the Rev. C. E. Bacon, of Indianapolis, formerly of this city, officiated.

A large delegation of employees of the Hoosier Drill were present to pay a final tribute to the memory of their previous employer. The floral contributions were many and beautiful.

Burial was in Earlham cemetery and was strictly private, only the immediate relatives being present. The pall-bearers were all connected with the Hoosier Drill and were as follows: Henry Thompson and S. E. Sherer, traveling salesmen, Frank Leibhardt, John Deitz, Henry Mason; John Glenn, W. E. Russell and Edward Morgan, all employees of the factory.

(Copied from the Evening Item, Wednesday, August 28, 1907).

Anecdotes

The Westcott House - Family

John Westcott was born on a farm in Union County, Indiana, in 1834. An industrious youth, by age fifteen he was helping an old man buy grain and take it to the docks in Cincinnati forty miles away. Ever the hard worker, he bought into the small Hoosier Drill Company, which he owned in only five years and moved to Richmond. His factory, constructed by a Mr. Balling, a stonemason recently immigrated from Bavaria, was a three-story building of brick and stone that occupied two city blocks. Westcott, who had seven children, and sons-in-law Omar Hollingsworth, James Carr, and Fred A. Wilke, and son Burton controlled the company that employed four hundred men. Its seeders were sold worldwide. The Hoosier Drill Company became the American Seeding Machine Company, which evolved into the International Harvester Company.

The Westcott Mausoleum

John Westcott also hired the stonemason to build a house in Centerville, Indiana, for another son Charles, who lived on a horse farm that sported its own track, and the senior Westcott's own home in an area of Richmond between Main and South A Streets, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets. The Westcotts lived at 1415 East Main Street. The house is now demolished. Other family members lived nearby on South Fourteenth and South Fifteenth Streets in the compound that came to be known as Westcott Place.

A prominent civic leader, as was his son Burton, John Westcott helped to organize the Union Loan and Trust Company and the Westcott Hotel in Richmond, which also boasted a Westcott Pharmacy. According to the (Richmond) Palladium-Item, John—wanting to celebrate the United States centennial—did so in unusual style by planting the cornfield adjacent to his house in trees that spelled out "Centennial, 1876."

John died in 1907 at the age of seventy-three, leaving an estate of approximately two million dollars. He is buried in the Westcott mausoleum in the Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, with his wife of fifty-two years, Caroline, sons Harry and Burton, and Burton's wife, Orpha.

Burton & Orpha Westcott

Burton J. Westcott

(1868-1926)

Burton John Westcott

Burton J. Westcott was a significant automobile manufacturer before the car industry "went Detroit." His wife, Orpha, must have been equally forward-thinking, for it probably was she who encouraged the break with tradition by commissioning avant-garde architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design their house in Springfield, Ohio. The biographies of the Westcotts convey an entrepreneurial spirit recently revived in the top-to-bottom restoration of their impressive home. The Westcott House is now open to the public as a house museum.

The Westcott House

Burton J. Westcott brought innovation to Springfield with the Westcott Motor Car Company in 1916. The company manufactured hand-assembled touring cars until it was sold to a syndicate in 1924. Few other automobiles rivaled the Westcott in durability and elegance.

Burton Westcott was one of Springfield's most prominent citizens. From 1916 to 1922 he served on the Springfield Town Council and in 1921 was elected its president, a position equivalent to mayor. He was also a director of the Lagonda National Bank and a member of the Springfield Country Club. A staunch Republican, he had admirers from both political parties—partly because he helped to curb corruption in the city's administrative affairs.

Born in Richmond, Indiana, Westcott was the son of John W. Westcott, founder and president of the Hoosier Drill Company, a noted manufacturer of farm implements and the Westcott Carriage Company. Burton took an interest in both businesses. Educated at DePauw and Swarthmore, he became treasurer of the Hoosier Drill Company, which in 1903 merged with several other firms to create the American Seeding Machine Company. Its executive offices were located in Springfield. Burton Westcott served as its treasurer for the next twenty-one years.

After the sudden death of Westcott's wife, his own health declined. He died at his Springfield home January 10, 1926.

Obituary

Born in Richmond, Indiana, Westcott was the son of John W. Westcott, founder and president of the Hoosier Drill Company, a noted manufacturer of farm implements and the Westcott Carriage Company. Burton took an interest inboth businesses. 

Educated at DePauw and Swarthmore, he became treasurer of the Hoosier Drill Company, which in 1903 merged with several other firms to create the American Seeding Machine Company. Its executive offices were located in Springfield. Burton Westcott served as its treasurer for thenext twenty-one years.

After the sudden death of Westcott's wife, his own health declined. He died at his Springfield home January 10, 1926.

Obituary

B.J. WESTCOTT DIES AFTER LONG ILLNESS
End Comes at Residence in East High Street
Former Manufacturer in Poor Health for About One Year
Ex-Mayor Came to City From Indiana
Service as Executive Brought Progressive Financial Policy

Burton John Westcott

Burton J. Westcott, 57, former manufacturer, ex-mayor and a member of the first city commission in Springfield, died at 1:40 pm Sunday at his home, 1340 E. High Street following an illness of several months. His condition became serious during the last few weeks, and his death was not unexpected. Mr. Westcott’s sister, Mrs. Alice Hollingsworth of Richmond, Ind., was at the bedside when death occurred. 

Mr. Westcott’s health failed nearly a year ago, his condition became serious several months ago, when he went to a sanitarium. Recently he returned to his home, where he remained under the care of physicians. He had been an important factor in the civic life of Springfield for the last quarter century, coming here from Richmond, Ind., where he was formerly a manufacturer. 

He came to Springfield in March, 1903, from Richmond, where his family had for years been in the manufacturing business, conducting the old Westcott Carriage Works, later The Westcott Motor Car Company., and being interested in the Hoosier Drill Co., manufacturers of farming implements. The Hoosier Drill Co. was absorbed by The American Seeding Machine Co. in Springfield in 1903, and Mr. Westcott moved to Springfield as one of the incorporators and treasurer of the corporation. He continued as treasurer of The American Seeding Machine Co., until July 1924, when he retired to concentrate his attention on the Westcott Motor Car Co. He later resigned as a director of The American Seeding Machine Co. He moved The Westcott Motor Car Co. from Richmond to Springfield in 1916, occupying the old P.P. Mast factory at Warder and Spring Streets. The Westcott Motor Car Co. was sold some time ago to a local syndicate. 

Mr. Westcott displayed a keen interest in civic affairs, and in 1914 was elected a member of the original city commission of Springfield, and was re-elected in 1918 for a second term, after which he retired to private life. He was elected mayor by his colleagues on the city commission in January, 1920, to succeed the late C.F. McGilvray, who resigned as mayor in November, 1919. 

Probably one of the things for which Mr. Westcott is best remembered was his inauguration of the policy of issuing short term bonds by the city, which was later taken up by the state and incorporated in the Griswold Act, making it mandatory that bonds not be issued for a term longer than the life of an improvement. Mr. Westcott made an exhaustive study of the city’s finances, and inaugurated the policy of issuing bonds for a period of not to exceed 10 years, to be paid off in equal installments each year. Prior to that time, the city had issued bonds for periods extending up to 50 and 60 years, in some cases paying more than the principal in interest. His foresight in inaugurating this policy is credited with enabling Springfield to escape in large measure the fate of many other Ohio cities a few years ago, which were unable to find money for necessary operating expenses when the legislature cut tax levies for operating expenses. 

He was also a director of the Lagonda National Bank, and for years served as a director of the Social Service Bureau. 

When he came to Springfield he built a home at 1340 E. High Street, where he lived until the time of his death. His wife, Orpha Leffler Westcott, whom he married in Richmond, died in 1923. He is survived by a son, John M. Westcott, and a daughter, Mrs. Richard M. Rodgers of Springfield. 

(Copied from the Springfield Daily News, Sunday, January 10, 1926)

Orpha M. Leffler Westcott
(1877-1923)

Orpha Merta Leffler Westcott

Orpha Westcott was one of Springfield's most prominent and unusually progressive women. She joined her husband in a host of community activities, and she took an active role in the affairs of the community that was her home for the rest of her life. 

She was a member of the Springfield Country Club andCovenant Presbyterian Church.She was said to be an independent and innovative woman, interested in the modern, the beautiful, and the unusual.

Orpha Westcott instigated the commission of the Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright, then little known but considered highly controversial, to design the family residence on East High Street. After the completion of this important structure, in 1911 she took the Westcotts' children to Europe, where she continued to pursue a variety of interests that reflected her creative and independent spirit.

Her son, John, attended the first Montessori School in Italy, receiving his instruction personally from Maria Montessori. A few years later, she helped him with the pursuit of another modern innovation: short-wave radio. Ironically and fortunately, the family was to return from Europe on the maiden voyage of the White Star liner Titanic, but when a member of its party fell ill, the family decided to return at a later date, by another boat.

Titanic Story

On April 12, 1923, following what should have been a routine sinus operation, Orpha Westcott died suddenly in Philadelphia. The tragedy stunned both her family and her friends. Funeral services were held for her in the living room of her beautiful home on East High Street. A few years later Mr. Westcott's services were held there also.

The Westcott House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Westcott House today

The Westcott Motor Company 

Ironically, the manufacturer's dislike of automobiles sent the internationally recognized Westcott car packing off to Springfield, Ohio, early in 1915. Production here began the following year and continued into spring 1925.

John Westcott, together with his sons Burton and Harry, originated the Westcott Carriage Company in Richmond, Indiana, in 1896. It was reorganized there as the Westcott Motor Car Company in 1909. Nonetheless, father John disliked motorcars because of their competition with carriages. So Burton, who had moved to Springfield in 1903 as treasurer of the American Seeding Machine Company, subsequently brought his father's car company to Springfield. Burton seems to have inherited his father's sense of hard work and fair play.

According to the February 21, 1915, Springfield Daily News column, "Automobile News," "The first of the much-talked-of 1915 Westcott cars arrived in Springfield Thursday, when C. S. Burke, local distributor, drove a four-cylinder, five-passenger touring car over from Richmond, Indiana. The new model is finished in Westcott green with divided front seats and one-man top. The company also offers maroon and natural wood finish wheels as an optional finish."

The C. S. Burke Motor Company, established in 1915 at 17 South Center Street, soon moved to more permanent headquarters at 134 Washington Place. Subsequent area distributors of the Westcott automobiles were J. L. Hess and A. L. Lewis in 1919 and W. L. Hinchman in 1923. Among the distinctive features of the early car were a newly designed cam shaft, an automatic spark advance, non-skid rear tires, a solid walnut instrument board, Westcott-designed disappearing auxiliary seats, a rear gas tank, and high-quality improved leather, reported the Springfield Daily News February 7, 1915. A four-cylinder touring car or roadster cost $1,185 and a six-cylinder $1,585.

When the Westcott automobile arrived in Springfield, it had already established its reputation for high quality and for fulfilling the promise of its slogan as "The Car with a Longer Life." The first model may have been a two-seater now in the Wayne County Historical Museum, Richmond. The earliest vehicles, described by the company as high-wheeled, buggy-type cars with 1-3/4-inch solid rubber carriage tires, could reach a top speed of approximately 35 miles per hour. These cars needed the ability to climb, for they were tested on Beller and Backmeyer hills between Richmond and Liberty, Indiana. The driver typically wore gauntlet gloves, goggles, and a linen duster. The first Westcott test in Springfield occurred in August 1916.

In bringing the company to Springfield, Burton wanted to follow in this tradition of excellence. His twin goals were to produce a car of high quality and to take good care of his employees. In fact, so many workers moved from Richmond to Springfield that the area on North Limestone Street where they lived became known as "Richmond Row."

The history of the car in both Richmond and Springfield is, of course, full of lore. For example, the story is told of three Westcotts entered in the Gluden Endurance Race in 1910. Clifford Bevington, a head test driver for the company, motoring from Cincinnati to Dallas, was in second place when he missed a bridge in Dallas and landed in the water.

The Westcott in the First Indy 500

Another tale features Harry Knight, twenty-two, of Indianapolis, who drove a Westcott in the first Indy 500 in 1911. He was in third place after 196 laps when the mechanic of the car in front of him was thrown from the car. Swerving to miss him, Knight landed against the repair pit. Three wheels of his car were broken, and both he and his mechanic were injured.

Harry Knight "The Hero of the Speedway"

A key figure in the most spectacular accident of the first Indianapolis 500, Harry Knight was also hailed as something of a hero.  After Joe Jaggersberger’s Case broke a steering knuckle his riding mechanic, Charles Anderson tumbled out onto the brick-paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway home stretch.  In front a stunned sold-out grandstand crowd, Knight violently swerved his Westcott #9 racer to avoid hitting the stricken Anderson.  He succeeded in that effort, but found himself spinning out of control into the Apperson of Herb Lytle in the pits.  This accident was blamed for much of the scoring errors that plagued the race as inexperienced judges and scorers allowed themselves to be distracted like the typical freeway rubbernecker at the scene of an accident.

A fleet of Westcott cars raced against nature when it took donated food and clothing to flood victims in the Dayton area at the time of the disastrous 1913 flood.

The Westcott car received kudos. A headline in the Springfield Daily News July 4, 1915, read "Westcott Car Wins Victory." The story goes on to report that "Chas. Balough, formerly chief engineer and factory manager of the Kelly Motor Truck Co., placed his stamp of approval upon the mechanical construction and body refinement of the Westcott motor car by the purchase of a four cylinder five passenger model from the C. S. Burke Motor Co., yesterday afternoon. This sale is especially gratifying to Mr. Burke, from the fact that Mr. Balough is classed by Motor World, as one of the four leading authorities of the country in motor construction. Mr. Balough will accompany Mr. Burke to the Westcott factory in Richmond, Ind., Tuesday and drive the new Westcott home."

Known for luxurious appointments, Westcotts were driven by dignitaries including an Ecuadorian minister. By 1920 dealers as far away as Cleveland, St. Louis, Dayton, Hartford, and California and Australia stocked Westcotts. One even appeared in Havana, Cuba. As the market for open cars faded, the Westcott Motor Car Company responded with a new model, The Closure, that featured sliding glass windows. It sold for $1,795 in 1923.

So entrepreneurial was the Westcott Company that as early as 1912 it cooperated with the Richmond Item in a contest to give away a touring car valued at $2,000. Winner was Miss Alice Vogelsang, who crashed into a tree the first time she drove the auto without an experienced chauffeur, breaking a wheel. By 1919 the company also advertised in national publications such as The Saturday Evening Post and Collier's and featured its own publication, The Hub Cap, in the 1920s. Company advertising went from emphasizing the Westcott's "longer life" to its ease and genuine comfort.

The future of the company seemed bright when it scheduled sixteen hundred cars to be built between July 1916 and July 1917 and another two thousand between July 1917 and January 1918. These figures showed significant increases over earlier schedules. Soon the Springfield factory at Spring and Warder Streets was improved, a new building for storage was constructed, and a separate firm was organized to provide service to the cars. Orders increased so that a newspaper column of January 30, 1921, reported that the Westcott Company could return to full production after a winter decline in business. Even as the Westcott Company was thriving, so was the auto industry itself. The Springfield Auto Trades Association sponsored popular annual shows at Memorial Hall with as many as thirty different makes displayed for six days.

Headlines in the local newspaper touted the success of the Westcott Company. The February 22, 1920, issue proclaimed, "Curtain Will Raise Tuesday On Big Affair: Memorial Hall To Be Resplendent—No Expense Spared in Decorations—Dealers To Exhibit 27 Makes of Cars While Accessory Men Will Have Numerous Booths." Another headline read, "1920 To Be Biggest Year In History Of Westcott Motors," while a third signaled, "This City Is Enthusiastic Motor Center: Automobile Ceases To Be Pleasure Car Only—Conveniences Provided In Machines By Manufacturers Make Long Trips Easier—Numerous Springfield Women Drive Own Cars" (Springfield Sunday News). A March 28 article the same year, headed "Westcott Plant Efficiency Increased By Daily Conferences of Departmental Heads," praised the management style that called for morning meetings to discuss matters such as schedules in an atmosphere that allows "open criticism without the men directly affected feeling personally offended." This system forecast today's "quality circles" or the modern trend to "total quality management."

However, the company's good fortune would not last. The last known advertising for new cars sold at the factory—those already completed as well as those in the process of being built—appeared April 5, 1925. A local newspaper article the same day reported that the Westcott Motor Car Company had been sold the previous afternoon to J. B. Cartmell, Arthur Hill, and George Cugley for $81,000. Burton Westcott, reputedly the first man in Ohio to take out a one million-dollar insurance policy, had borrowed against it—ultimately to little or no avail. He died a broken man in 1926.

The Westcott House - Motor Car Company

More on the Westcott Car

The Westcott was an automobile produced in Richmond, Indiana and Springfield, Ohio in the United States between 1909 and 1925. The car company was named for its founder, Burton J. Westcott.

1920 Wescott

The Westcott was advertised as "The Car with the Longer Life". The Westcott was powered by a Continental Engine, and rode at least two wheelbases, 125 in (3,175 mm) and 118 in (2,997 mm). In 1923, the company released a model named The Closure, which was a touring car with hard panels that could be removed from the sides of the car during the summer months. According to the company, the average lifespan of a Westcott car was 10 years, which was three and a half years higher than the national average.

Production stopped in 1925 due to the company being unable to pay debts of $825,000 owed to suppliers of parts used in the cars.

Burton Westcott is also known as a client of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed a Prairie School style house for the Westcott Family in Springfield, Ohio in 1904. Restoration of the Westcott House began in 2004.

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