Morton McMichael

Morton McMichael (October 2, 1807 – January 6, 1879) was a newspaper publisher, civic leader and politician from Philadelphia. As the publisher of The North American, he was active in public affairs and chaired the Executive Consolidation Committee, which developed the Act of Consolidation of 1854 and expanded the borders of the city of Philadelphia to encompass all of Philadelphia County.

Morton McMichael
Mayor of Philadelphia
In office January 1, 1866 – January 1, 1869
Preceded by	Alexander Henry
Succeeded by	Daniel M. Fox
Personal details
Born	October 2, 1807 Bordentown, New Jersey, US
Died	January 6, 1879 (aged 71) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Resting place	Laurel Hill Cemetery
Political party	Whig / Native American / Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Estell
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Profession	Newspaper publisher

He served as Mayor of Philadelphia from 1866 to 1869.

Early life

McMichael was born in Bordentown, New Jersey to John and Hannah McMichael. His father was employed at the estate of Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and former King of Spain.[1]

His family moved to Philadelphia while still young. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, and then read law and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1827.[1]

Newspaper career

Morton McMichael became an editor of The Saturday Evening Post in 1826. From 1831 to 1836 he was editor-in-chief of the Saturday Courier. In 1836 he founded the Saturday News, and published the Saturday Gazette with Joseph C. Neal from 1844 to 1847. At the outset of 1847, he became a publisher of The North American, which could claim as a successor to the Pennsylvania Packet to be the oldest daily newspaper in the United States. The paper grew to prominence under McMichael, who became sole publisher in 1854 (when co-owner Robert Montgomery Bird died). He remained publisher until his own death in 1879, though his sons took over active operations in his final years.[2][3][4][5]

Public life

McMichael served in a number of political positions throughout his life. He began his service as a police magistrate and then an Alderman in Philadelphia. As an alderman, he also served as Justice of the Peace for the County of Philadelphia. In 1843 he was elected Sheriff of Philadelphia County, serving until 1846. McMichael served as Sheriff during the Philadelphia Bible Riots of 1844.

After serving his three-year term as sheriff, McMichael was ineligible to serve again for the next four years.[6]

In 1854, McMichael chaired the Executive Consolidation Committee, which merged the city of Philadelphia with many of the surrounding districts into a single political entity.[7] His newspaper also argued for a new street numbering system to replace the city’s confusing address system, which often numbered houses in the order they were built rather than by location and resulted in fractional house numbers along streets.[8]

In 1865, McMichael defeated Democrat Daniel M. Fox by 5,000 votes and was elected as the Mayor of Philadelphia.[9] While he was mayor, the Fairmount Park Commission was established. McMichael served on the board and, once his term ended in 1869, was appointed as president of the commission, serving until his death.[10]

In 1873 he was appointed a delegate at large to the fourth Constitutional convention of Pennsylvania. This resulted in the establishment of the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1874.

McMichael died on January 6, 1879 as a result of inflammatory rheumatism.[11]

Morton McMichael tombstone in Laurel Hill Cemetery

He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Family

Morton married Mary Estell (1822-1877) and had four children:

Morton McMichael Jr. served as Lt. Colonel under General John Reynolds. He served as a senior staff member in the Army of The Potomac under Reynolds at the Battle of Gettysburg, where Gen. Reynolds was killed in action during siege. McMichael Jr. became a prominent banker after the war, serving as President of the First National Bank, and helped organize The Penn Club in 1875.

William McMichael served in a variety of positions during the war. He was captured at the Battle of Shiloh and endured four months as a prisoner of war before being exchanged. He rose to the rank of Brevet Colonel and serves as adjutant-general under Gen. Henry Halleck. After the war, he embarked on a legal career. He served as Minister to Santo Domingo, Asst. Attorney General, US Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and as a member of the Board of Indian Commissioners. He was also President of the Law Academy of Philadelphia.[12]

Clayton McMichael also served in the Union Army, fought at Gettysburg, and rose to the rank of brevet Major and serving as aide-de-camp to Gen. David Birney and Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock. He later replaced his father as Editor of The North American. He also served as a US Marshall for the District of Columbia and as Philadelphia City Treasurer.[12]

Charles McMichael, too young to serve in the War, entered a career in law and served as a Judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.[13]

Legacy

Morton McMichael statue in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia

A statue of McMichael, unveiled in 1882, sits in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park at Sedgely Drive and Lemon Hill Drive.[14]

The East Falls district of Philadelphia named McMichael Park after Morton McMichael.

Morton McMichael Elementary School is also named in honor of him. It is a part of the Philadelphia public school system.

McMichael was a founding member and fourth President of the Union League. The McMichael Room in the Union League building is named in his honor.

References

1. E. Digby Baltzell (December 31, 2011). Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781412830751.
2. (7 January 1879). Death of Morton McMichael, The New York Times
3. Bloom, Robert L. Morton McMichael's North American, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (Vol. 77, No. 2, April 1953)
4. History of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and of the Hibernian Society, p. 487 (1892)
5. The National cyclopaedia of American biography, Vol 2, pp. 211-12 (1891)
6. John Hill Martin, Martin’s Bench and Bar of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: Rees Welsh, 1883), 99.
7. http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/consolidation-act-of-1854/
8. Andrew Heath. "Street Numbering". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
9. "Mayors of Philadelphia". City of Philadelphia. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
10. Potter's American Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine of History. 12–13. John E. Potter. 1879. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
11. "Death Of Morton M'michael.; End Of A Long Period Of Severe Suffering Sketch Of An Active Public Life". New York Times. January 7, 1879.
12. Rossiter Johnson; John Howard Brown (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans ... Biographical Society. pp. 1849–.
13. Charles Barnsley McMichael; Albert Mordell (1922). Reminiscences and Essays. Priv. print.
14. MORTON MCMICHAEL (1882) by John H. Mahoney, phila.gov, Retrieved May 8, 2012