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Rowland Hussey Macy, Sr. (August 30 1822 – March 29 1877) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 businessman who founded the department store chain R.H. Macy and Company
Macy's

Macy's is a chain of mid to high range United States department stores. Its flagship store in Herald Square, New York City has been billed as the "world's largest store" since 1924, although today it ties with London's Harrods in vastness of selling space....
.

was born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
 to a Quaker family. At the age of fifteen, he worked on the whaling ship, the Emily Morgan, and had a red star tattooed on his hand that became part of the store's logo.

He married Louisa Houghton (1820–1888) in 1844, and had two children: Rowland Hussey Macy, Jr.






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Rowland Hussey Macy, Sr. (August 30 1822 – March 29 1877) was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 businessman who founded the department store chain R.H. Macy and Company
Macy's

Macy's is a chain of mid to high range United States department stores. Its flagship store in Herald Square, New York City has been billed as the "world's largest store" since 1924, although today it ties with London's Harrods in vastness of selling space....
.

Biography

Macy was born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
 to a Quaker family. At the age of fifteen, he worked on the whaling ship, the Emily Morgan, and had a red star tattooed on his hand that became part of the store's logo.

He married Louisa Houghton (1820–1888) in 1844, and had two children: Rowland Hussey Macy, Jr. (1847–?); and Florence Macy (1853–?), who married James F. Sutton.

Between 1843 and 1855, Macy opened four retail dry goods
Dry goods

Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or even a century earlier....
 stores, including the original Macy's store in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts

Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 58,969 at the 2000 census. Haverhill is home to Northern Essex Community College....
. They all failed but he learned from his mistakes. In 1858, he opened a new Macy's store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. This was the official start for his store chain.

In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine (?–1879); and Abiel T. La Forge (1842–1878) of Wisconsin
Wisconsin

Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....
. Macy died on March 29 1877 in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
 of Bright's disease
Bright's disease

Bright's disease is a historical classification of Nephrology that would be described in modern medicine as Acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood etiology....
. He was interred in the Woodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx

Located in The Bronx, Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemetery in New York City. It opened as a rural cemetery in 1863, out in "the country," in what was then southern Westchester County, New York, which was annexed to New York City in 1874....
 in The Bronx, New York. His will was probated on May 1, 1877, and he left his wife, Louisa H. "absolutely, all the paraphernalia, wearing apparel, watches, rings, trinkets, jewels, and personal ornaments reputed to belong to her, and during her life, the use of all the household furniture, books, clocks, bronzes, and works of art". At her death this was to pass to his daughter Florence. He left only a small annuity for his son. The following year, his partner, La Forge would die, and Valentine died the following year in 1879.

Legacy

His character is portrayed in the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street
Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street is a 1947 film written by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton, and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne , Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn....
 by character actor Harry Antrim.