Origins of Sears and Roebuck
broye
This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
and Roebucks. His version of how Sears started is one I have been
hearing for about twenty years. And when I asked my dad as well as
the other people who told me this version for some documentation.
everyone falls short. In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
Sears only.
Can anyone provide me with a source for this version. I have never
been able to verify it. I there some text that has a primary source
(e.g. paper of incorporation, etc that validate this I would be
grateful. But it seems to me the cheated black man of Sears and
Roebuck is an Urban legend. Thanks.
Steve Hutton
broye (BR...@IX.NETCOM.COM) wrote:
: This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
Go to www.sears.com
At the bottom of the page, it says (c) 1997 Sears, Roebuck and Co.
When I went to university, one of the guys in my residence had the
last name Roebuck. He claimed to be one of *the* Roebucks. He
appeared to be well off and white. On the other hand, he may have
been a Black Panther operating deep undercover.
--
Steve Hutton [speaking only for himself]
Mark Czerniec
Steve Hutton wrote:
>
> broye (BR...@IX.NETCOM.COM) wrote:
> : This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
> : and Roebucks. His version of how Sears started is one I have been
> : hearing for about twenty years. And when I asked my dad as well as
> : the other people who told me this version for some documentation.
> : everyone falls short. In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
> : were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
> : cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
> : Sears only.
>
> : Can anyone provide me with a source for this version. I have never
> : been able to verify it. I there some text that has a primary source
> : (e.g. paper of incorporation, etc that validate this I would be
> : grateful. But it seems to me the cheated black man of Sears and
> : Roebuck is an Urban legend. Thanks.
>
> Go to www.sears.com
>
> At the bottom of the page, it says (c) 1997 Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Heck, while you're there, why not check out the company's history, at
<http://www.sears.com/company/pubaff/1887.htm>? It includes a photo of
watchmaker Alvah C. Roebuck and the explanation that some time between
1895 and 1901, "Suffering from ill health, Roebuck resigned, although
the company still retained his name."
--
Mark Czerniec <czer...@execpc.com>
http://members.aol.com/markenosha/
Diane Kelly & Jim Cambias
In article <33dd5231...@NNTP.IX.NETCOM.COM>, BR...@IX.NETCOM.COM
(broye) wrote:
> In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
> were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
> cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
> Sears only.
According to our copy of the reprinted 1897 Sears and Roebuck catalog
(1968 Chelsea House Publishers, New York), the company was started by
Richard Sears, a former railroad station agent and watch salesman, and
Alvah Roebuck, a watch repairer. Sears was the real merchandiser of the
pair, who expanded beyond watches into selling damn near everything, and
took advantage of the development of railroads and rural mail delivery to
start marketing nationwide.
Roebuck was bought out by Sears fairly early on in the company's history,
and lived in modest circumstances the rest of his life. But the firm only
really became the corporate titan of retail after Julius Rosenwald joined
the firm in 1893. Rosenwald wound up as the major stockholder, and was an
important contributor to the University of Chicago.
Diane Kelly & Jim Cambias
Andrew Reid
broye wrote:
>
> This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
> and Roebucks. His version of how Sears started is one I have been
> hearing for about twenty years. And when I asked my dad as well as
> the other people who told me this version for some documentation.
> were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
> cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
> Sears only.
There is a web-accessible picture of Alvah C. Roebuck at
<http://www.sears.com/company/pubaff/1887.htm>. This is, of course,
a page from Sears' own site, which later goes on to say that in
1895, Julius Rosenwald bought the company and reorganized it, with
Sears being president and Rosenwald being vice-president.
The official line appears to be that Roebuck resigned about then,
suffering from ill health, but the company kept using his name.
He doesn't look black in the picture, and the page doesn't
defend itself against any allegation of cheating. Which
isn't exactly evidence one way or the other, but suggests the
legend is sufficiently rare that Sears doesn't feel any need
to address it.
Andrew "Now, M. DuSable, on the other hand..." Reid
F. S. Gillispie
On Mon, 28 Jul 1997 14:14:53 -0400, cam...@heliograph.takethisout.com
(Diane Kelly & Jim Cambias) wrote:
>In article <33dd5231...@NNTP.IX.NETCOM.COM>, BR...@IX.NETCOM.COM
>(broye) wrote:
>
>> In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
>> were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
>> cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
>> Sears only.
>
>According to our copy of the reprinted 1897 Sears and Roebuck catalog
>(1968 Chelsea House Publishers, New York), the company was started by
>Richard Sears, a former railroad station agent and watch salesman, and
>Alvah Roebuck, a watch repairer. Sears was the real merchandiser of the
>pair, who expanded beyond watches into selling damn near everything, and
>took advantage of the development of railroads and rural mail delivery to
>start marketing nationwide.
>
>Roebuck was bought out by Sears fairly early on in the company's history,
>and lived in modest circumstances the rest of his life. But the firm only
>really became the corporate titan of retail after Julius Rosenwald joined
>the firm in 1893. Rosenwald wound up as the major stockholder, and was an
>important contributor to the University of Chicago.
>
>Diane Kelly & Jim Cambias
Additional info:
(from 'The First Hundred Years are the Toughest', 1988, Cecil Hoge)
Until 1893, the company was known as the A. C. Roebuck Co., (because
Richard Sears had signed a non-compete contract after selling his
previous company) then became Sears Roebuck.
Roebuck sold his third of the company in 1895 for $25,000 - Sears
Roebuck was nearly broke at the time and being clobbered by Montgomery
Ward.
FSG
Ferretwoman
On Sun, 27 Jul 1997 13:51:04 GMT, BR...@IX.NETCOM.COM (broye) wrote:
>This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
>and Roebucks. His version of how Sears started is one I have been
>hearing for about twenty years. And when I asked my dad as well as
>the other people who told me this version for some documentation.
>everyone falls short. In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
>were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
>cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
>Sears only.
Unfortunately, I work for said company (please do not flame me for
this! <G>) and in my training years ago I had to watch 8 hours of
Sears history. Anyway, to make a long story short, yes Roebuck sold
out his share of the company, than years later, when he needed a job,
he came back as a stock person. We really only go by the name of
Sears now because we sold off all the companies that made up "Sears
Roebuck and Company".
This reminds me of a Ziggy cartoon I cut out of the newspaper. The
cartoon showed a picture of Ziggy standing at a Sears Information
Booth and the caption said "What ever happened to Roebuck?"
Duane Hanson
In article <33ebc991...@news.pipeline.com>, Ferre...@pipeline.com
(Ferretwoman) wrote:
Sears and Roebuck started when a railroad depot employee in North Redwood,
Minnesota
started selling watches and other "unclaimed freight" by mail. Merchandise
expanded, he
took on a partner, and the Sears and Roebuck catalog was born. North
Redwood is a tiny
cluster of buildings in the Minnesota River valley, near Redwood Falls,
Minnesota. The only
sign of the mighty Sears empire is a plain metal sign on the edge of town
that reads
"Birthplace of Sears".
mitcho
In article <33ebc991...@news.pipeline.com>,
Ferre...@pipeline.com
(Ferretwoman) wrote:
> Unfortunately, I work for said company (please do not flame me for
> this! <G>) and in my training years ago I had to watch 8 hours of
> Sears history. Anyway, to make a long story short, yes Roebuck sold
> out his share of the company, than years later, when he needed a job,
> he came back as a stock person. We really only go by the name of
> Sears now because we sold off all the companies that made up "Sears
> Roebuck and Company".
Appropos of nothing, it might be interesting to learn that Chevrolet was
started by a finacier called Durant as a bid to regain influence in the
General Motors Corporation which he founded and out of which he was
later chucked. Uniquely for the time, he decided to take on Henry Ford
(Ford had almost no competitors at the time (about 1912), as all other
car makers were focusing on the higher end of the market). Durant
enlisted the assistance of a Swiss/Frenchman (I have read it both ways)
called Louis Chevrolet. Within a year, Chevrolet and Durant had fallen
out (Chevrolet wanted his named attached to much more luxurious models
than Durant had envisioned), and Chevrolet left the company and got more
involved in auto racing.
Years later (during the Depression), Louis Chevrolet was compelled to
rejoin the company he helped found - on the assembly line!
Mitcho
grfir...@gmail.com
On Sunday, July 27, 1997 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, broye wrote:
> This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
> and Roebucks. His version of how Sears started is one I have been
> hearing for about twenty years. And when I asked my dad as well as
> the other people who told me this version for some documentation.
> everyone falls short. In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
> were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
> cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
> Sears only.
>
Don Freeman
"In 1889 Sears sold his business but a few years later founded, with
Roebuck, another mail-order operation, which in 1893 came to be known as
Sears, Roebuck and Company. In 1895 Julius Rosenwald, a wealthy clothing
manufacturer, bought out Roebuck’s interest, and he reorganized the
mail-order business. "
------------------
From the Family History Channel website
<http://fhcmag.blogspot.com/2013/03/alvah-c-roebuck-black-english-parents.html>
"In 1895, Roebuck asked Sears to buy him out. However, at Richard Sears'
request, he took charge of a division that handled watches, jewelry,
optical goods, and, later, phonographs, magic lanterns and motion
picture machines. His business interests did not end with Sears. He
later organized and financed two companies: a manufacturer and a
distributor of motion picture machines and accessories. Roebuck also
served as president (1909-1924) of Emerson Typewriter Company, where he
invented an improved typewriter, called the "Woodstock."
After several years in semi-retirement in Florida, the financial losses
he suffered in the stock market crash of 1929 forced Roebuck to return
to Chicago. By 1933, Roebuck had rejoined Sears, Roebuck and Co., where
he largely devoted his time to compiling a history of the company he
helped found.
Then, in September of 1934, a Sears store manager asked Mr. Roebuck to
make a public appearance at his store. After an enthusiastic public
turnout, Mr. Roebuck went on tour, appearing at retail stores across the
country for the next several years.
Alvah Roebuck returned to his desk at company headquarters in Chicago,
where he enthusiastically assumed the task of compiling a corporate
history until his death on June 18, 1948."
**
It doesn't sound like he was cheated out of anything and maintained a
good relationship with the company until his death.
---------------------------------
"Was Roebuck was black?
At one of my classes a few weeks ago, while discussing the black
experience in America, the instructor mentioned that "Roebuck (of sears
Roebuck) was black." One student in the class said "That's right;" most
of the responses ranged from thoughtful "Huh!" expressions to disbelief
that they had never known this.
Curious to learn more about this supposedly forgotten historical figure,
I Googled around a bit - none of the online biographies or Sears Co.
histories mention Alvah Roebuck's ethnicity, nor does his picture look
particularly African-American (not that one can always tell):"
<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wxmp_eYp188/UVRwxF4Z2aI/AAAAAAAAEH0/AdRLg7ilwE4/s1600/AlvahRoebuck.jpg>
-------------------
The Sear Archives <http://www.searsarchives.com/people/alvahroebuck.htm>
makes the statement: "Alvah Curtis Roebuck, co-founder of Sears, Roebuck
and Co., was born on January 9, 1864, in Lafayette, Ind., of English
parentage."
It is certainly plausible that one of his English parents was black
(England not having quite the negative outlook on miscegenation as
America at that time), but wouldn't it be mentioned somewhere?
Since there is no mention of his ethnicity in the bios, one would
surmise that he is not black, as that would be a rather significant
factoid, especially from the early 1920's.
--
__
(oO) www.cosmoslair.com
/||\ Cthulhu Saves!!! (In case he needs a midnight snack)
ehoc...@noone.com
> On Sunday, July 27, 1997 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, broye wrote:
>> This weekend my father started to lecture me on the origins of Sears
>> and Roebucks. His version of how Sears started is one I have been
>> hearing for about twenty years. And when I asked my dad as well as
>> the other people who told me this version for some documentation.
>> everyone falls short. In short I have heard that Sears and Roebuck
>> were partners and that Roebuck was a black man who some how got
>> cheated out his partnership and hie name was dropped hence the name
>> Sears only.
>>
>> Can anyone provide me with a source for this version. I have never
>> been able to verify it. I there some text that has a primary source
>> (e.g. paper of incorporation, etc that validate this I would be
>> grateful. But it seems to me the cheated black man of Sears and
>> Roebuck is an Urban legend. Thanks.
>
> I have heard that Roebuck was a black man for over 50 years. I am not at all surprised that this part of his history has been deleted out.
>
--
Eric "Searing wit" Hocking
"A closed mouth gathers no feet"