Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer service. Field is also known for some of his philanthropic donations, providing funding for the

Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational ...

and donating land for the campus of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Early life

Marshall Field was born on a farm in

Conway, Massachusetts Conway is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,761 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Conway was first settled by English colonists ...

, Marden, Orison Swett
How Marshall Field Succeeded
''

Mises Institute Ludwig von Mises Institute for Austrian Economics, or Mises Institute, is a libertarian nonprofit think tank headquartered in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is named after the Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973). I ...

''. the son of John Field IV and Fidelia Nash. His family was descended from

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

who had come to America as early as 1629. At the age of 17, he moved to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

, where he first worked in a dry goods store alongside his brother Joseph Field. and (includes brief biography of Marshall Field). He left Massachusetts after five years of working in the dry goods store in search of new opportunities in the rapidly expanding West. In 1856, at age 22, he went to live with his brother in Chicago, Illinois, and obtained employment at leading dry goods merchant Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., which was to become Cooley, Farwell & Co. in 1857.

Career

Field quickly rose through the ranks of Cooley, Farwell & Co. In 1862, for financial reasons Cooley left the firm. That same year, Field purchased a partnership, and the firm reorganized as Farwell, Field & Co.

John V. Farwell John Villiers Farwell Sr. (July 29, 1825 – August 20, 1908) was an American merchant and philanthropist from New York City. Moving to Chicago, Illinois at a young age, he joined Wadsworth & Phelps, eventually rising to be senior partner at Joh ...

appreciated Field's keen business acumen; however, when it came to personality, the two were very different. Field's stuffy efficiency rode on Farwell's more relaxed and cheery demeanor. At a time when business collaboration entailed extensive personal interaction, this partnership would not last long. In January 1865, Field and a partner, Levi Leiter, accepted an offer to become senior partners at the dry goods establishment of Potter Palmer. The new firm became known as "Field, Palmer, Leiter & Co." In 1867, after Field and Leiter could afford to buy him out, Palmer withdrew from the firm, and it was renamed "Field, Leiter & Company." In 1867 Field, Leiter & Company reported revenues of $12 million.Schlup, Leonard and Ryan, James. ''Historical Dictionary of the Gilded Age''. (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2003), p. 160 Like many Chicago businessmen, Field's company was badly affected by the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

of 1871, but reopened relatively quickly. The company also survived the Panic of 1873 because of relatively low levels of debt. By 1881, Field had forced Leiter to sell his share of the business and changed the store's name to "Marshall Field and Company". Field took an early 19th-century consumer landscape that was centered around the principle of

caveat emptor ''Caveat emptor'' (; from ''caveat'', "may he/she beware", a subjunctive form of ''cavēre'', "to beware" + ''ēmptor'', "buyer") is Latin for "Let the buyer beware". It has become a proverb in English. Generally, ''caveat emptor'' is the contra ...

, or "let the buyer beware", and transformed it into a plush shopping experience fit for the Gilded Age. Unconditional refunds, consistent pricing and international imports are among the Field innovations that became standards in quality retailing. Field's employees were also instructed not to push products on uninterested customers, a common practice in stores of the period. The quotes "Give the lady what she wants" and " The customer is always right" are attributed to Field. Though most famous today for his retail business, during his lifetime his wholesale business made far more money. During the 1880s, Field's wholesale business generated five times more revenue than retail annually. The wholesale business even had its own landmark building, the

Marshall Field's Wholesale Store Marshall Field's Wholesale Store, Chicago, Illinois, sometimes referred to as the Marshall Field's Warehouse Store, was a landmark seven-story building designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. Intended for the wholesale business of Field's eponymous ...

, erected in 1887. Revenue from the Marshall Field's retail business did not surpass the company's wholesale business until after Field's death. Field was highly suspicious of

organized labor A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

throughout his career and prohibited unionization among his employees. During the time of the Haymarket Riot, the wives of the defendants initiated an appeal, to which all of the local businessmen agreed except for Field. Journalist and reformer Henry Demarest Lloyd led a national campaign to grant clemency. Even bankers like Lyman J. Gage favored clemency, believing that moderation would lead to improved relations between capital and labor. Potter Palmer and Charles L. Hutchinson were inclined to agree, but Marshall Field was not. A number of other men confided to Gage that they were not willing to publicly disagree with Field, the wealthiest and most powerful businessman in Chicago. Field would also oppose organized labor during the 1905 Chicago teamsters' strike.

Personal life

Field avoided political and social intrigue, instead focusing on his work and on supporting his family and his favorite philanthropies. Field was a very active member of the Commercial Club and the Jekyll Island Club, also known as the Millionaires Club, on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Field married twice. In 1863, he married Nannie Douglas Scott of Ironton, Ohio. They had two sons and a daughter, but one son, Louis, died in 1866 as an infant. The surviving children were Marshall Field Jr. and Ethel Field. Marshall Jr. (1868–1905) married Albertine Huck, and they were the parents of Henry Field,

Marshall Field III Marshall Field III (September 28, 1893 – November 8, 1956) was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, grandson of businessman Marshall Field, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune, ...

and Gwendolyn Mary Field, who married Sir Archibald Charles Edmonstone, 6th Baronet, grandparents of Archduchess Elyssa (Edmondstone),

Grand Duchess of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was founded in 1569. It succeeded the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy was initially ruled by the House of Medici, until their extinction in 1737. The grand duchy passed to the House of Lorraine, and then, to its c ...

. Ethel was married twice, first to Arthur Magie Tree, with whom she had one son, Ronald Tree; and then in 1901 to David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, with whom she had two sons, David Beatty, 2nd Earl Beatty and Peter Beatty. Nannie died in 1896. In 1904, Field married longtime friend Delia Spencer, the widow of Arthur John Caton. They had no children.

Death

Field died in New York City, New York, on January 16, 1906, at age 71 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

contracted after playing

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

on New Year's Day with his nephew, his secretary and

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

's eldest son Robert Todd Lincoln. Field was buried on January 19 in the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.

Legacy

After various bequests were made, Field's remaining estate was to be held in trust for 40 years for his two grandsons, with 60% going to

and 40% to Henry Field. In 1905, Field's fortune was valued at $125 million. Henry Field died in 1917, leaving the Field fortune in the hands of Marshall Field III. The

was named after him in 1894 after he gave it an endowment of one million dollars. Field was initially reluctant to do so, reportedly saying, "I don't know anything about a museum and I don't care to know anything about a museum. I'm not going to give you a million dollars." However he later relented after railroad supplies magnate

Edward E. Ayer Edward Everett Ayer (November 16, 1841 – May 3, 1927) was an American business magnate, best remembered for the endowments of his substantial collections of books and original manuscripts from Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American ...

, another early benefactor (and later first president) of the museum, convinced Field that his everlasting legacy would be achieved by financing the project. The year after his death the Field Museum received a further $8,000,000 in accordance with his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...

. The

was founded by both Field and New York's John D. Rockefeller, to rival nearby Evanston's

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

.Men of Affairs: a gallery of cartoon portraits
''Chicago Evening Post'', 1906; page 1. A bust of Marshall Field stands aside other early 20th century Chicago industrial magnates on the north riverbank on the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons fo ...

facing the

Merchandise Mart The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is loca ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * Koehn, Nancy F. ''Brand New : How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers' Trust from Wedgwood to Dell'' (2001) pp 91–136. * * * * * Wendt, Lloyd and Herman Kogan, (1952) ''Give the Lady What She Wants! The Story of Marshall Field & Company''. New York:

Rand McNally and Company Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping, software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation and education markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with a distribution c ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Field, Marshall 1834 births 1906 deaths American businesspeople in retailing Philanthropists from Illinois People from Conway, Massachusetts Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) Businesspeople from Chicago People associated with the Field Museum of Natural History Marshall Field's Marshall Field family Retail company founders 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople