DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about William Lockhart and Susan Clayton — and friend, this is one of those stories that starts small and ends up shaping the world. William Lockhart Clayton was born in Mississippi in 1880, and he left school early. Not because he lacked ambition — oh, no.
He became a court reporter, and he was good enough at it that an executive of the American Cotton Company took notice. That one set of sharp eyes changed everything. Will moved to St.
Louis, then to the New York office the following year, and by 1904 he was Assistant General Manager. Not bad for a young man who'd stepped away from the schoolhouse. But Will Clayton wasn't the type to stop moving.
He organized a partnership with his sister's husband, Frank E. Anderson, and Frank's brother Monroe D. Anderson, and together they formed Anderson, Clayton and Company, out of Oklahoma City.
Then in 1905 Will's brother Benjamin came on board. The firm was growing roots and growing fast. By 1916 — two years after the Houston ship channel had opened, and right in the thick of World War I — Anderson, Clayton and Company moved its headquarters to Houston.
During that war, Clayton served on the Committee on Cotton Distribution of the War Industries Board, then came back to the firm, which pushed hard into international markets and kept on expanding. Now, if that were the whole story, it'd already be worth telling around a fire. But Will Clayton wasn't finished with history yet.
Before World War II he returned to government service, and when the smoke cleared after that second great war, he was named Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, serving from 1945 to 1947 under George C. Marshall. He is widely recognized — widely — as a principal architect of the Post-World War II Marshall Plan.
The plan that helped put a broken world back together. That Mississippi boy who left school early. Now, standing right alongside him — always — was Susan Vaughan Clayton.
Born in Kentucky in 1881, Sue wed Will in 1902. She worked with noted architect Birdsall P. Briscoe on their home at this very site, and she didn't stop there.
She went on to advise Briscoe on other family homes in the River Oaks subdivision. Her architectural taste was something people remarked upon. But so was her heart.
Sue raised funds for the Fine Arts Museum, supported women's suffrage, and helped build low-income housing. Her philanthropic reach was wide and it was real. And together, at the end of it all, the Claytons bequeathed their nearby home to Houston's public library.
That home is now the site of one of the country's foremost centers for genealogical research. Somebody's family history is being discovered there right now, because of what Will and Sue left behind. Their descendants still support the programs and institutions the couple began.
The Claytons' legacy, the marker says, continues to enhance Houston culture and resources. A court reporter from Mississippi and a woman from Kentucky — and between them, they helped rebuild the world and then quietly handed Houston a gift it's still opening.
What the marker says
Mississippi native William Lockhart Clayton (1880-1966) left school early to become a court reporter. His skill attracted an executive of the American Cotton Company and he moved first to St. Louis then to the New York office the following year. He soon became Assistant General Manager in 1904. He organized a partnership with his sister's husband Frank E. Anderson and the latter's brother Monroe D. Anderson in forming Anderson, Clayton & Company in Oklahoma City. They were joined in 1905 by Will's brother Benjamin. By 1916, two years after the Houston ship channel opened, and in the midst of World War I, the firm moved its headquarters to Houston. During the war, Clayton served on the Committee on Cotton Distribution of the War Industries Board, then returned to the firm, which greatly expanded into international markets. Before World War II, he returned to government service, later becoming Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (1945-47) under George C. Marshall. He is widely recognized as a principal architect of the Post-World War II Marshall Plan. Susan Vaughan (1881-1960), born in Kentucky, wed Will Clayton in 1902. She worked with noted architect Birdsall P. Briscoe on their home at this site, later advising him on other family homes in the River Oaks subdivision. Noted for her architectural taste, Sue was also known for philanthropic work, raising funds for the Fine Arts Museum, supporting women's suffrage and helping build low-income housing. The Claytons bequeathed their nearby home to Houston's public library. It is now the site of one of the country's foremost centers for genealogical research. The Claytons' legacy continues to enhance Houston culture and resources and their descendants still support programs and institutions the couple began. (2004)