Grand department store interior with marble columns, perfume counter, chandeliers, and warm retail atmosphere.

Rowland Hussey Macy Biography: From Setbacks to a New York Store

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A Quick Look at the Life of Rowland Hussey Macy

Biography Summary

Rowland Hussey Macy was an American merchant and the founder of R. H. Macy & Co., the New York retail business that became Macy’s.

Born on Nantucket island, in 1822, he spent several years at sea as a teenager before moving through a series of business efforts that included dry-goods stores, a California venture, stockbroking, and real-estate brokerage.

His most important turning point came on October 28, 1858, when he opened a store near Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in New York.

Over the next two decades, the business expanded its merchandise, properties, sourcing methods, advertising, and management structure until it had become a full-scale multi-department store.

Macy’s significance in retail history does not depend on claiming that he invented the department store or every practice he used. It rests on the way the business combined and expanded methods that helped shape the development of American department-store retailing.

Profile

Full Name: Rowland Hussey Macy

Common Name: R. H. Macy

Born: August 30, 1822

Died: March 29, 1877

Birthplace: Nantucket, Massachusetts

Nationality: American

Best Known For: Founding R. H. Macy & Co. in New York

Company: R. H. Macy & Co.

Major Role: Merchant and founder

Nantucket Origins and Years at Sea

Macy was born on Nantucket island, into a Quaker family and was the fourth of six children. His father operated a bookshop, and Macy’s formal education was limited.

At 15, he left Nantucket on a Pacific-bound whaling voyage. He spent about four years in seafaring before returning to Massachusetts in 1841.

Later accounts identify the ship as the Emily Morgan.

Those years at sea later became connected with stories about the red star associated with Macy’s. The voyage itself is much clearer historically than the later tattoo legend.

Early Stores, California, and Haverhill

Macy married Louisa Houghton in 1844. Before his California venture, he had already opened and closed at least two dry-goods businesses in Boston.

During the California Gold Rush era, Macy and his brother Charles operated a small dry-goods business in Marysville, California. High freight costs were a problem, and the brothers sold the business the following summer.

By 1851, Macy was back in the East and operating a dry-goods store in Haverhill, Massachusetts, under his brother Robert’s name. Several practices later associated with the New York business were already in use there: newspaper advertising, a one-price system, cash sales, low prices, and rapid stock turnover.

The Haverhill business initially did well enough to move into larger quarters, but competition from larger stores in Boston and nearby communities hurt the operation. Macy sold it in 1855.

He then spent a short period working as a stockbroker in Boston and tried real-estate brokerage in Superior City, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin effort did not succeed during the economic downturn.

1858: The New York Breakthrough

On October 28, 1858, at age 36, Macy opened his New York store near Sixth Avenue and 14th Street. First-day receipts were $11.06.

The store did not open as the broad department store that later generations would recognize. Its initial assortment focused on fancy goods such as ribbons, lace, embroidery, artificial flowers, feathers, handkerchiefs, hosiery, and gloves.

Two operating choices were already clear: prices were fixed, and sales were cash only.

Macy also advertised heavily for the period. These practices were part of the store’s operation from the beginning.

The first full year produced roughly $90,000 in sales, marking a sharp change from the small opening-day total.

From Fancy Goods to a Department Store

The business broadened steadily. By 1869, Macy had added departments for toys, silver, and house furnishings. Books, stationery, and a soda fountain followed in 1870, groceries in 1873, china in the mid-1870s, and women’s and children’s shoes in 1875.

Expansion was not limited to merchandise. The company reduced its dependence on middlemen by importing directly from Europe, buying from factories, and carrying on some manufacturing.

The physical store also grew into adjoining properties. From 1863 through 1877, the operation expanded across existing and newly built structures until it controlled the entire 207-foot Sixth Avenue blockfront and used 11 buildings.

By the end of Macy’s life, the business had become a full-fledged multi-department store.

Macy did not invent all of the methods associated with his success.

His historical importance lies in applying and combining practices such as fixed prices, cash sales, low pricing, advertising, departmental organization, direct sourcing, broad merchandise, and customer services at increasing scale.

Margaret Getchell and a Broader Management System

The growth of R. H. Macy & Co. was not a one-person effort. Macy began delegating managerial responsibility along merchandise lines by the early 1860s, and by 1869 the business was using a departmental structure in which superintendents handled sales and purchasing while floorwalkers supervised clerks.

Margaret Getchell became an important senior manager in that structure. Hired in the early 1860s, she rose to general superintendent, introduced merchandise lines, and influenced store policy.

Her position also made her one of the earliest women to hold an executive-level role in retail. Describing her as one of the earliest is more accurate than claiming a definitive national first.

Getchell’s role matters because it shows that the store’s development depended on organization and delegation as much as on the founder’s decisions.

Advertising, Promotion, and the Red Star

Macy spent heavily on advertising and used attention-getting typographic devices at a time when established competitors were spending less proportionally on promotion.

Holiday retailing also became part of the store’s development. On Christmas Eve in 1867, the store remained open until midnight.

The red star became associated with Macy’s brand during the founder’s era. Later stories connected the symbol to a red-star tattoo and to Macy’s sailing years.

The detailed tattoo origin story, however, has not been confirmed.

The connection between the star and the founder’s maritime past can be described as a longstanding tradition, but a specific episode explaining when or where Macy received the tattoo should not be treated as established history.

Partners, Final Years, and Death

As the business matured, Macy brought trusted associates and relatives into the partnership.

Abiel T. LaForge became a partner in 1872, and Macy’s nephew Robert Macy Valentine joined the partnership structure in the mid-1870s. The firm was incorporated as R. H. Macy & Co.

A historical study prepared for the Aspen Historical Society reports that Macy suffered from Bright’s disease and traveled to Europe for treatment in 1877.

He died in Paris on March 29, 1877. LaForge and Valentine then took control of the business, which continued through later ownership changes.

Legacy

Macy did not live to see the later Herald Square era. The business moved from the 14th Street and Sixth Avenue area to Herald Square in 1902, decades after his death.

His place in retail history is clearer in the business system that developed during his lifetime than in claims that he invented the department store.

R. H. Macy & Co. combined fixed pricing, cash sales, advertising, direct sourcing, merchandise diversification, departmental management, and physical expansion into a growing New York retail operation.

That combination helped establish the foundation of a business that continued under his name long after 1877.

Timeline

This timeline highlights important milestones in Rowland Hussey Macy’s life and the development of R. H. Macy & Co.

Timeline.

August 30, 1822

Born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

Circa 1837

At age 15, left on a Pacific-bound whaling voyage.

1841

Returned to Massachusetts after several years at sea.

1844

Married Louisa Houghton.

Before 1849

At least two Boston dry-goods ventures had closed.

Circa 1849–1850

Operated a small dry-goods business with his brother Charles in Marysville, California.

1851

Opened a dry-goods store in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

1855

Sold the Haverhill business.

October 28, 1858

Opened the New York store near Sixth Avenue and 14th Street. First-day receipts were $11.06.

1859

The first full year produced roughly $90,000 in sales.

1860s

The company expanded managerial delegation, and Margaret Getchell rose into senior management.

1863–1877

The store expanded through adjoining properties along the Sixth Avenue blockfront.

1869

The business was operating with a departmental management structure and adding major merchandise categories.

1872–Mid-1870s

Abiel T. LaForge and Robert Macy Valentine entered the partnership structure.

March 29, 1877

Macy died in Paris.

1902

After Macy’s death, the business moved to Herald Square.

FAQs

Question: Did Rowland Macy really fail seven times before succeeding?

Answer: Macy had multiple failed or disappointing ventures before the 1858 New York breakthrough, but the popular count of seven is not established.

Question: Did Rowland Macy get his red-star tattoo during a whaling voyage?

Answer: The red-star tattoo and Macy’s sailing years have long been linked in later accounts, but the detailed story of when and how he received the tattoo has not been confirmed. A specific tattooing episode should be treated as legend rather than established fact.

Further Reading

Sources