George Huntington Hartford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George Huntington Hartford
Hartford in the mid-1870s
Born	(1833-09-05)September 5, 1833 Augusta, Maine, U.S.
Died	August 29, 1917(1917-08-29) (aged 83) Spring Lake, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting place	Rosedale Cemetery
Known for	The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
Spouse(s)	Marie Josephine Ludlum
Children	Maria Josephine Clews George Ludlum Hartford Edward V. Hartford John Augustine Hartford Marie Louise Hoffman
Parent(s)	J. Brackett Hartford Martha Soren

George Huntington Hartford (born September 5, 1833 – died August 29, 1917) was a very important leader of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P). He led the company from 1878 until 1917. During his time, A&P became the first chain of grocery stores. It grew into the biggest store chain in the United States.

Hartford started as a clerk at A&P in 1861. He quickly took on important roles. When the company's founder, George Gilman, retired in 1878, Hartford took over running A&P. After Gilman passed away in 1901, Hartford gained full control of the company.

George Hartford was born on a farm in Augusta, Maine. He began working in stores at age 18 in Boston. By 1861, he lived in Brooklyn, New York. There, he married Marie Josephine Ludlum. They had three sons and two daughters. Hartford was a private person. Still, he was elected mayor of Orange, New Jersey, in 1878. He served as mayor for 12 years. Around 1907 or 1908, Hartford stepped back from daily management. He handed the company over to two of his sons, George Ludlum Hartford and John Augustine Hartford. He continued to advise them. By 1915, A&P had become the largest retailer in the country.

Hartford died in 1917 at age 84. He was buried at Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey. His estate was worth a lot of money, about $125 million. People respected his private nature, so there were not many news stories about his death. In 1953, Joseph Kennedy honored Hartford. He had a large bronze statue of Hartford made. It was placed in the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame in Chicago. This honored Hartford as an important American merchant.

By 1930, A&P had about 16,000 stores. It was the first retailer to make over $1 billion in sales. In 1950, Time magazine featured Hartford's sons, George and John, on its cover. Time wrote that A&P stores were like a "melting pot" for communities. They were used by everyone. The magazine called A&P's large supermarkets "wonders of the age." It said "Going to the A & P" was almost an "American tribal rite."

Time also noted in 1950 that A&P sold about 10 cents of every dollar spent on food in the U.S. This was a huge amount, $2.9 billion yearly. It meant A&P sold more goods than almost any other company in the world, except General Motors. The New York Times wrote in 2011 that Hartford's sons were "among the 20th century's most accomplished and visionary businessmen." The Wall Street Journal added that the brothers, who had not finished high school, built the world's largest retail store for 40 years.

Early Life and Family

George Hartford's family came to New Hampshire in the late 1600s. His ancestor, Nicholas Hartford, moved from England. George's grandfather moved to Augusta, Maine, in 1796. He settled on a farm. There, his son, Joshua Brackett Hartford, married Martha Soren. They had two sons, George and his younger brother, John. Joshua and Martha ran a boarding house and a stable.

George Hartford did not have much formal schooling. At age 18, he sailed to Boston, Massachusetts. He worked there as a clerk in a dry goods store. Some stories say George Hartford and George Gilman started A&P in New York City in 1859. However, records show George and his brother John worked for Gilman's leather company in St. Louis in 1859.

By 1860, the Hartford brothers were back in Augusta, Maine. John was listed as a merchant and George as a box maker. Soon after, John moved to New York City. He joined George Gilman in the tea importing business. This business later became A&P. George Hartford joined Gilman as a clerk by 1861. He was later promoted to bookkeeper, then cashier in 1866.

In July 1861, George married Marie Josephine Ludlum. They had two children in Brooklyn: Maria Josephine Hartford and George Ludlum Hartford. After his promotion in 1866, Hartford moved his family to Orange, New Jersey. There, they had three more children: Edward Vassallo Hartford, John Augustine Hartford, and Marie Louise Hartford.

Leading A&P's Growth

George Gilman was very good at advertising. The A&P business quickly grew by offering low prices. Besides stores in New York, Gilman also built a national mail order business. During this time, Hartford's role grew. In 1871, he helped A&P expand to Chicago after the great fire. A&P's first store outside New York City opened just days after the disaster. By 1875, A&P had stores in 16 cities.

Three years later, Gilman retired. He left Hartford in charge of the company. By then, A&P had 70 fancy stores and a mail order business. Their total sales were $1 million a year. Around 1880, A&P started selling sugar in its stores. The company continued to grow quickly. By 1884, A&P had stores as far west as Kansas City and as far south as Atlanta. The company also used wagons to deliver goods to customers in rural areas.

Around this time, two of Mr. Hartford's sons, George L. Hartford and John A. Hartford, joined the company. It is said that George L. Hartford convinced his father to sell more products. The company began to sell A&P branded baking powder. Over the next ten years, they added other A&P branded products. These included condensed milk, spices, and butter. As it added more products, the tea company slowly became the first grocery chain. By the end of the 1800s, the company had sales of $5 million from 198 stores. It also had its mail order and wagon delivery services.

Hartford's Legacy

In 1901, George Gilman died without a will. This led to a legal fight among his many family members. Mr. Hartford stepped into the fight. He said that in 1878, Gilman had given him half of the company. This was an unwritten agreement. Evidence showed that Hartford had received half of A&P's profits since 1878. Also, all of the company's store leases were in his name.

Gilman's family realized that without Hartford, the company would quickly lose money. So, they agreed to a deal. The company was valued at $2.1 million. Under this agreement, Gilman's family received $1.25 million in special shares. Hartford received $700,000 in regular shares. This gave Hartford control of all the voting stock. Over the years, Hartford also bought back the special shares from Gilman's family.

After the legal battle, A&P was only the fifth largest chain in the country. The Hartfords worked hard to rebuild the company. The chain opened one new store every three weeks. They also expanded the wagon delivery routes to over 5,000.

In 1907 or 1908, George Hartford Sr. divided management duties among his sons. George Jr. handled money matters. John managed sales and operations. The two sons worked together to run the company for over 40 years. The younger Hartford worked hard to expand the company. By 1912, A&P had 400 stores.

Food prices were a big topic in the 1912 presidential election. Some store chains tried a new idea: low-cost, simple stores. After much discussion, George Hartford Sr. and his son George Jr. agreed to John's idea. They decided to try out a low-cost "economy store." This store cost only $3,000 to start, including its first products. It had only a manager and no fancy decorations or gifts. The company quickly expanded this idea. By 1915, the chain had 1,600 stores.

George Hartford Sr. died in 1917. He left his wealth to a trust for his five children. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey. His sons George and John managed the trust. They controlled the company's stock. Because of this, the company's leadership stayed the same until the brothers died in the 1950s. The Hartford family kept control of the company until 1979.

Bronze statues honoring Hartford and seven other merchants stand in downtown Chicago. They are between the Chicago River and the Merchandise Mart. In 1953, Joseph Kennedy, the father of President John F. Kennedy, ordered these statues to be made.

Business Innovations

George Hartford changed how people bought things. A&P lowered prices and made money through lots of advertising. The company was one of the first to use brand names. It started selling tea under the "Thea Nectar" label. This happened after A&P faced a lawsuit. The makers of Cream of Wheat were upset because A&P tried to sell their product too cheaply.

Gilman and Hartford bought damaged tea that cost less. They mixed it to create a black tea with a green tea taste. People thought it was a special tea. A&P could then sell Thea Nectar for less than other special teas. For customers who could not reach a store, the company offered "tea clubs." Groups of people could have tea shipped to them from A&P for a third of the price. These tea clubs were very popular. They received orders from Vermont to Wisconsin.

The company also gave gifts to its customers. These were called "premiums." Based on how much a customer bought, they received a gift from A&P. Later, these gifts were based on stamps. Customers collected stamps with each purchase. They could trade them in for things like pictures or glassware. In the 1870s, Hartford expanded the company. He opened stores outside of New York. During the next ten years, Hartford and his sons added more products. This created the first chain of grocery stores.

Even though A&P was large, it was run like a small family business. Promotions for employees happened only from within the company. Hartford also started a pension plan. This allowed employees to invest in company stock. They could keep this stock after they retired.

See also

• The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
• A&P Canada
• John A. Hartford Foundation