James cash penney understood the importance of money at a mere age of 8 when he had to buy His own clothes because is family was poor, even though they owned a faRm. He learNed about business along his journey as a young adulT from the jobs he had. Eventually, he opened up his first store In wyoming. He then proceeded to open up a long chain of stores which is Still one of americas largest retail stores knows as J.C. Penney.
Fun Facts:
Penney liked being called "The Man with a Thousand Partners."
He lost $40 million in stock market crash Only half of his siblings grew to maturity |
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James Cash Penney was born on a farm near Hamilton, Missouri on September 16, 1875. His father, also named James Cash Penny, was a farmer as well as a baptist minister. James' mother, Mary Frances Paxton Penney, was raised in Kentucky. The Penney's weren't all that rich. In fact, you could say they were just poor. The family later moved into Hamilton to allow their children to go to school, although they could still work on the farm.
James' childhood was a very active one. His weekly activities included attending to school and working on the farm. Plus the added affect of his family being poor, mak- ing him have to buy his own clothes at only age eight. Before his age even hit double digits, James well knew the significance of money. Soon, his father guided him as he sold watermelon and pigs from the farm. This was only short-term, however.
After he graduated high school, he didn't have a lot of money. He worked at as a clerk at a local store for a while. A couple years after he started working there, his physician told him he should leave to Colorado in order to regain his health, because he lead a sedentary lifestyle. This move was the start of something great.
T.M. Callahan, owner of the Golden Rule store chain in Evanston Wyoming, sent James to work there for fifty dollars a month. Of course, James took the opportunity, seeing as his previous job only paid him half of that salary. On August 24, 1899, James married a woman named Berta A. Hess and had two children who were named James Cash Jr. and Roswell Kemper Cash.
Three years following their marriage, James went Kemmerer, Wyoming where he opened a store there as well. The store financed for $6,000, and James obtained $2,000 of it. James loved the feel of ownership and got the idea to create his own suc- cessful chain of companies. Penney opened more and more stores throughout the years, but he is about to experience something terrible. In 1910, James' wife died of pneumonia. James said his "world crashed" around him. He was obviously distressed. Nevertheless, James opened his first store in his home town in April 15, 1980.
James had a lot of other accolades besides owning a large store chain. His childhood life came back to him when he bought a farm in New York and raised Guernsey cattle. The herd was given to the University of Missouri in 1952. He also pur- chased his father's farm where he raised a pure breed Aberdeen Angus herd. He greatly improved the quality of beef in his area.
In 1919, James married Mary Hortense Kimball. She died shortly in 1923. Even with all the death, James manages to open his 500th store in Hamilton in 1924. Two years later he married a third time to Caroline B. Autenreith. Although this time, they lasted until death did them part when James Cash Penney died at the age of 95 on February 12, 1971. As for the store, it has been running for over a hundred years and it is still one of America's largest retail stores.
Works Cited
"J. C. Penney (1875 - 1971)." J. C. Penney. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015."
"James Cash Penney: From Clerk to Chain-store Tycoon." James Cash Penney: From Clerk to Chain-store Tycoon. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2015."