James Cash Penney
7th born child out of 12 Had 3 wifes Born September 16th, 1875 Died February 12th, 1971 Intended to be a lawyer when he grew up until his fathers death Born in Hamilton Missouri Had 5 children Had three boys Had two girls Opened his 500th store in his hometown Moved to Denver, Colorado because of medical issues Opened his first store on April 14th, 1902 Even after his death there are many stores around to this day |
James Cash Penney was born September 16th, 1875 in Hamilton, Missouri, to his parents Mary Frances Penney, and James Cash Penney, Sr. He was the seventh of twelve children, only six of the children lived to adulthood and James was one of them.
Growing up Penney's dad was very strict. His father was a Baptist preacher and farmer. His father forced Penney to buy his own clothes after his late pre-teens. But his father had a untimely death ruining Penney's plans of going to college to become a lawyer. After his dad's death Penney was forced to take a job as a store clerk to help out his family. Penney's health problems caused him to move to Longmont, Colorado, in his early twenties.
Penney was married three times. His first wife was Berta Alva Hess and died of pneumonia, his second wife Mary Hortense Kimball dies in 1924 of a unspecified medical issue. Finally Penney found the love of his life, Caroline Marie Autenrieth, they were married until Penney's death on February 12, 1971. Penny and Bertha had two boys, Roswell Penney and James C. Penney III. Again with his second wife Mary they had another boy named, Kimball Penney. Finally with his last wife Caroline they had two daughters, Mary Frances Penney and Carol Penney.
Penney worked at a dry goods store and there he learned the business and eventually opened his own business in 1902. By the time Penney retired in 1917 he owned 175 stores. All of Penney's stores were able to remain open during the Great Depression because of all the prices were able to meet the buyers budget and they were able to remain open.
Before Penney was able to work at the dry goods store he had a job in Missouri where he was bullied. He was often made fun of and had his customers taken away from him. Penney began to feel ill and and had a chance of being diagnosed with tuberculosis. His doctor told him to move to a drier climate so in 1897 Penney moved too Denver, Colorado where he found a job at a dry goods store called Golden Rule. The owner Callahan loved Penney's great work ethic and honesty and sent Penney and Johnson to Evanston, Wyoming to work in another Golden Rule store in 1899 and in that same year he married his first wife Bertha Alva Hess. Callahan, Johnson, and Penney all joined a partnership to open a new Golden Rule store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Penney opened his first store on April 14, 1902. It was a one room wooden building and his family lived in the attic above the store. Within the same year Penney opened two more stores because of his quality products at good prices and great service for mining and farming families. Penney had a one-third ownership in three stores in Wyoming and by 1907 Callahan and Johnson sold their shares of the chain to Penney who wanted to start more Golden Rule stores in the West.
The number of workers Penney had increased each year. Penney called his employees "associates." These associates became manager partners in new stores and they shared the profits. One of their jobs was to find another hardworking and honest man and they had to train them to run a store on their own. Penney's goal was to have a chain of good men not stores. Penney had head quarters in Salt Lake City in 1909. Then in 1910 Penney's first wife died.
In 1912 there was thirty four J.C Penney stores around the world. In 1913 he renamed his stores to the J.C. Penney Company. In 1914 he moved his headquarters to New York to be closer to a major source of merchandise. The company flourished under the motto "Honor, confidence, service, and cooperation." People around the world would be happy that there was a J.C. Penney store coming to where they lived. Penney opened his first store in Moberly, Missouri on April 15, 1918. Then in 1919 Penney married his second wife Mary Hortense Kimball until she died in 1923. Then in 1924 Penney opened his 500th store in his hometown Hamilton, Missouri. In 1926 Penney married his third wife Caroline B. Autenrieth and they were married until Penney's death in 1971.
Bibliography
"James Cash Penney: From Clerk to Chain-store Tycoon." James Cash Penney: From Clerk to Chain-store Tycoon. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
"J. C. Penney (1875 - 1971)." J. C. Penney. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.