Alvah Curtis Roebuck
{{Short description|American businessman, co-founder of Sears (1864–1948)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alvah Curtis Roebuck
| image = AlvahRoebuck.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1864|1|9|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1948|6|18|1864|1|9|mf=y}}
| death_place = Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
| resting place = Acacia Park Cemetery, Chicago, U.S.
| resting_place_coordinates =
| known_for = Co-founder Sears, Roebuck & Co.
| education =
| employer =
| years_active = 1891–1948
| occupation = Businessman
| title =
| boards =
| spouse = Sarah Blanche Lett
| children = 3 (2 sons, 1 daughter)
| parents =
| relations =
}}
Alvah Curtis Roebuck (January 9, 1864 – June 18, 1948) was an American retail businessman, who was one of the co-founders of department store Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Richard Warren Sears.
Early life
Alvah Curtis Roebuck was born on January 9, 1864, in Lafayette, Indiana. He began work as a watchmaker in a Hammond, Indiana, jewelry store at age 12.{{cn|date=December 2021}}
Career
Roebuck co-founded Sears, Roebuck and Company with Richard Warren Sears in 1891.{{cite news|title=Sears, Roebuck Founder Dies|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121859893/|accessdate=July 30, 2016|work=The Terre Haute Tribune|date=June 19, 1948|page=9|via=Newspapers.com|quote=It was from his partnership with Richard W. Sears in 1891 that the huge mail order business grew.}}{{cite news|title=Sears Co-Founder Dies In Evanston|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121859921/|accessdate=July 30, 2016|work=The Anniston Star|date=June 20, 1948|page=9|via=Newspapers.com|quote=It was from his partnership with Richard W. Sears in 1891 that the huge mail order business grew.}}
In 1895, Roebuck asked Sears to buy him out for about $20,000. At Richard Sears's request, Roebuck 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 the 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.
In September 1934, a Sears store manager asked Roebuck to make a public appearance at his store. After an enthusiastic public turnout, Roebuck went on tour, appearing at retail stores across the country for the next several years.
Personal life and death
Roebuck married his first wife Kittie Rice on September 2, 1890, in York, Ontario, Canada, and had a son Theodore Roebuck, born 2 July 1891. Roebuck later married Sarah Blanche Lett.{{cite news|title=A.C. Roebuck Dies At Age 84. One of the Founders of Store Firm|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26657681/|accessdate=July 30, 2016|work=Alton Evening Telegraph|location=Alton, Illinois|date=June 19, 1948|page=2|via=Newspapers.com}} They lived in Tujunga, Los Angeles, California. They had a son, Alvah Curtis Roebuck, Jr., born 27 April 1914, who also lived in Tujunga, and a daughter, Lucile May Roebuck, born 16 April 1902, who lived in Evanston, Illinois, with her husband Raymond Hiram Keeler.
Roebuck died on June 18, 1948, while visiting his daughter in Evanston, Illinois. He was 84 years old.{{cite news|title=A. C. Roebuck Dies. Store Cofounder. Partner of Sears in Starting Business in 1891. Sold His Share Early in Century. | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/06/20/archives/a-c-roebuck-dies-store-cofoulqder-i-ipartner-of-sears-in-starting.html | work=The New York Times | date=June 20, 1948 | accessdate=2008-06-14}} He was buried at Acacia Park Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.
References
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External links
- [http://www.graveyards.com/IL/Cook/acacia/roebuck.html Roebuck's grave in Acacia Mausoleum, Chicago]
- [http://www.searsarchives.com/people/questions/searsandroebuck.htm Who were Sears and Roebuck]
{{Sears Holdings}}
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Category:People from Hammond, Indiana
Category:People from Lafayette, Indiana
Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Category:American businesspeople in retailing
Category:American retail company founders
Category:Sears Holdings people
Category:Burials at Acacia Park Cemetery, Norwood Park Township