James Cash Penney and J. C Penney

James Cash Penney was one of twelve children. He was born on September 16, 1875, on a farm in Caldwell County near Hamilton, Missouri.

By the time James was eight, he was milking cows twice a day and helping his father plow, plant and harvest crops on the farm.

After his father died, James became a clerk at the J.M Hale and Brother store in Hamilton in 1895 in order to contribute more directly to the family’s income.

His health began to fail and he moved to Colorado where he believed the fresh air would help his condition. James went to work for Thomas Callahan and Guy Johnson in 1898, who owned dry goods stores called Golden Rule stores in Colorado and Wyoming.

By 1902 James had so impressed his employer that he sent him to open a store at another mining center Kemmerer, Wyoming. The employer also offered him the opportunity to join them as a partner.

In 1903 James, Callahan and another investor established a second store. Profits from their joint ventures allowed Penney to open his first wholly owned store in 1904.

In time, James bought into two other Golden Rule stores. After a few years, he bought out his two partners and became the owner of a small chain of three stores.

From this beginning, the small chain of stores grew into the world’s largest dry goods store chain. In 1912 the Golden Rule Stores became the J. C Penney Stores and the next year the business became a full corporation, J.C Penny Company.

He died February 12, 1971, at the age of ninety-five. At the time of his death, the department store chain he founded had 50,000 employees working throughout its 1660 stores.
James Cash Penney and J. C Penney