Clarence Otis Bigelow
{{short description|American pharmacist (1851–1937)}}{{Infobox person
| name = Clarence Otis Bigelow
| image = Clarence Otis Bigelow.png
| alt =
| caption = Bigelow pictured around 1920
| other_names =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = November 29, 1851
| birth_place = Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1937|3|28|1851|11|29}}
| death_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| resting_place = Rosedale Cemetery, Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
| nationality = American
| occupation = Pharmacist
| known_for = Founding C.O. Bigelow
| spouse =
}}
Clarence Otis Bigelow (November 29, 1851 – March 28, 1937) was an American pharmacist and banker. He founded C. O. Bigelow Apothecaries on Sixth Avenue in New York City. Today, it is the oldest apothecary–pharmacy in the United States.{{Cite web |title=C.O. Bigelow Chemists |url=https://nymag.com/listings/beauty/co_bigelow_chemists01/ |access-date=2016-07-31 |website=NYMag.com}}
Early life
Bigelow was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, to William Marlin Bigelow and Margaret Catherine Dye. His father died aged 41, before Clarence was born.{{Cite book |last=White |first=Almira Larkin |title=Genealogy of the Ancestors and Descendants of John White, Volume 1 |year=1900 |pages=528}}
Career
Bigelow began his pharmaceutical career with Messrs. Frost and Dickinson in Springfield, Massachusetts,{{Cite book |last=Wimmer |first=Curt Paul |title=The College of Pharmacy of the city of New York, included in Columbia University in 1904 |publisher=College of Pharmacy of the City of New York |year=1929 |pages=251}} but left in 1867, "while still a mere boy", for New York City.{{Cite book |title=The Pharmaceutical Era, Volume 23 |publisher=D. O. Haynes & Company |year=1900}} He began working for George L. Hooper at his Village Apothecary Shop pharmacy, founded in 1838 by Dr. Galen Hunter, at 104 Sixth Avenue (today, number 414).
In 1880, Bigelow purchased the business from Hooper and renamed it C. O. Bigelow Apothecaries. In 1904, he moved the business to 106–108 Sixth Avenue,{{Cite news |last=Vora |first=Shivani |date=2016-07-08 |title=Bustling Village Apothecary, Unchained by Time |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/nyregion/co-bigelow-pharmacy-greenwich-village.html |access-date=2022-11-03 |issn=0362-4331}} two doors to the north of its original location,{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://bigelowrx.com/history |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=C.O. Bigelow Pharmacy |language=en-US}} and expanded it twice over the next forty years. By 1900, he had a staff of fifteen, including seven registered pharmacists. His chief clerk remained with the business from its founding until at least the turn of the century, a period of twenty years. In 1900, he put his success down to two factors: keeping his capital invested in his company, and employing the best people as clerks and assistants.
In 1924, Bigelow unveiled inside the store's main entrance a large bronze tablet commemorating the 85th anniversary of the incorporation of the business.{{Cite book |title=Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews, Volume 42 |publisher=Lillard & Company |year=1924 |pages=23}}
Personal life
Bigelow married New Jersey native Grace Frances Bird, daughter of Thomas H. Bird, one of the founders of the New York Stock Exchange. She died on October 18, 1916, of heart disease. She was 62. The couple had one child, a daughter, who married Walter B. Simpson.{{Cite book |title=Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews, Volume 34 |publisher=R. Pierson |year=1916 |pages=53}}
He became the president of the New York State Board of Pharmacy and treasurer of Columbia University's Department of Pharmacy from 1882,{{Cite book |last=Wimmer |first=Curt Paul |title=The College of Pharmacy of the city of New York, included in Columbia University in 1904 |publisher=College of Pharmacy of the City of New York |year=1929 |pages=251}} and was also president of the West Side Savings Bank. He belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution.{{Cite news |date=March 29, 1937 |title=Clarence Bigelow, Long A Pharmacist |work=The New York Times}}
In 1911, twenty-one years after moving to New York's Upper West Side, he became a founding member of Ye Olde Settler's Association of Ye West Side. He was living at 133 West 78th Street,{{Cite book |title=Ye Olde Settler's Association of Ye West Side:History, By-laws, List of Members and Historical Papers |publisher=Ye Olde Settler's Association |year=1921}} but also owned a summer home in Allenhurst, New Jersey.
Death
Bigelow died at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan on March 28, 1937, aged 85. His funeral was held on March 30, 1937, at the Rutgers Presbyterian Church, of which he was the president of the board of trustees. He was interred in Rosedale Cemetery in Orange, New Jersey, beside his wife.
References
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(today's 414 Sixth Avenue)
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