James Cash Penney - wikipedia James Cash Penney This article is about James Cash Penney, an American businessman. For the department store he founded, see J.C. Penney. James Cash Penney Penney circa 1902 James Cash Penney Jr. ( 1875 - 09 - 16 ) September 16, 1875 Hamilton, Missouri, U.S. February 12, 1971 ( 1971 - 02 - 12 ) ( aged 95 ) New York, New York, U.S. Occupation Businessman Entrepreneur Years active 1898 -- 1971 Known for Establishing J.C. Penney department stores in 1902 Spouse ( s ) Bertha Alva Hess ( m. 1899 ; her death 1910 ) Mary Hortense Kimball ( m. 1919 ; her death 1923 ) Caroline Marie Autenrieth ( m. 1926 ; his death 1971 ) Children Roswell Penney James Cash Penney III Kimball Penney Mary Frances Penney Carol Penney Parent ( s ) James Cash Penney Sr. Mary Frances Paxton James Cash `` J.C. '' Penney Jr. ( September 16, 1875 -- February 12, 1971 ) was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the J.C. Penney stores in 1902. Contents 1 Early life 2 J.C. Penney stores 3 Personal life 4 Affiliations 5 Commemoration 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Early life J.C. Penney was born on September 16, 1875, on a farm outside of Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri. He was the seventh of twelve children, only six of whom lived to adulthood, born to James Cash Penney, Sr. and Mary Frances ( née Paxton ) Penney. Penney 's father was a Baptist preacher and farmer whose strict discipline included making his son pay for his own clothing once he reached his late pre-teens. After graduation from Hamilton High School, Penney intended to attend college with the hopes of becoming a lawyer. However, his father 's untimely death forced a change in plans, and Penney was forced to take a job as a store clerk to help support the family. Penney 's health problems caused him to venture west to Longmont, Colorado. J.C. Penney stores Further information : J.C. Penney J. C. Penney mother store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. In 1898, James Cash Penney began working for a small chain of stores in the western United States called the Golden Rule stores. In 1902, owners Guy Johnson and Thomas Callahan, impressed by his work ethic and salesmanship, offered him one - third partnership in a new store he would open. Penney invested $2,000 and moved to Kemmerer, Wyoming, to open a store there. He participated in opening two more stores, and when Callahan and Johnson dissolved their partnership in 1907 he purchased full interest in all three stores. By 1912, there were 34 stores in the Rocky Mountain States. In 1913, he moved the company to the Kearns Building in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. The company was incorporated under the new name, J.C. Penney Company. In 1916, he began to expand the chain east of the Mississippi and during the 1920s, the Penney stores expanded nationwide, with 120 stores in 1920 ( mostly still in the west ) By 1924, Penneys ' reported income of more than $1 million annually. The number of stores reached 1,400 by 1929. The large income allowed Penney to be heavily involved in many philanthropic causes during the 1920s. By 1921 Penney had a home ( Belle Isle ) on Biscayne Bay in Miami. Penney and partner Ralph W. Gwinn had invested heavily in Florida real estate including 120,000 acres ( 490 km ) in Clay County. Some of this land became Penney Farms. This was also the start of Foremost Dairy Products Inc. Penney later recruited Paul E. Reinhold to run the dairy. Most of this work was halted when the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression left Penney in financial ruin. After the 1929 stock crash, Penney lost virtually all his personal wealth, and borrowed against his life insurance policies to help the company meet its payroll. The financial setbacks took a toll on his health. Penney checked himself into the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where he was treated. After hearing the hymn `` God Will Take Care of You '' ( written by Civilla Durfee Martin ) being sung at a service in the hospital 's chapel, Penney became a born - again Christian. Even after relinquishing daily operating management of the company, Penney continued his active involvement in managing the company and its stores. In 1940, during a visit to a store in Des Moines, Iowa, he trained a young Sam Walton on how to wrap packages with a minimal amount of paper and ribbon. He remained as chairman of the board until 1946, and after that as honorary chairman until his death in 1971. Until the end of his life he continued to go to his offices. He also subscribed to what was called `` Blue Laws ''. His stores were closed on Sunday so employees could attend church. Personal life Boyhood home in Hamilton ( that was moved from a farm to town for display ) Penney was married three times. His first marriage, to Bertha Alva Hess ( 1869 -- 1910 ) in 1899, produced two sons before her death from pneumonia : Roswell Kemper Penney ( 1901 -- 1971 ), who married Willa Graff. James Cash Penney III ( 1903 -- 1938 ), who married Louise Ducoudray in 1927. After Bertha 's death in 1910, he remarried to Mary Hortense Kimball ( d. 1923 ) in July 1919. Mary gave birth to their son before her death of unspecified medical issues : Kimball Penney ( 1920 -- 1979 ) In 1926, Penney married Caroline Marie Autenrieth ( 1895 -- 1992 ). She was badly hurt in 1928 when she fell from a horse at their estate in White Plains. They had two daughters : Mary Frances Penney ( b. 1927 ), a professor of chemistry who obtained a PhD from Oxford University and a Bachelor 's degree from MIT, was married Dr. Philip Franklin Wagley, son of Everitt F. Wagley, in 1953. Carol Marie Penney ( 1929 -- 2002 ), who earned a degree in international relations from Stanford University, and was married David Guyer, attaché of the United Nations Technical Mission at Delhi. Penney lived in New York City at 888 Park Avenue, though he spent the winters in Palm Springs, California. On December 26, 1970, Penney fell and fractured his hip. Just a few weeks later, he suffered a heart attack and never fully recovered. He died February 12, 1971. The Reverend Dr. Norman Vincent Peale delivered the eulogy at Penney 's funeral. Penney was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City, not far from that of fellow retail entrepreneur, F.W. Woolworth. His estate was valued at approximately $35 million. Affiliations Penney was a Freemason most of his adult life, being initiated into Wasatch Lodge No. 1 Free and Accepted Masons of Utah, on April 18, 1911. A member of both the Scottish and York Rites, Penney was coroneted a 33rd Degree on October 16, 1945, and received the Gold Distinguished Service Award by the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, in Kansas City, Missouri in 1958. He typically wore a large ring showing his Masonic degree. Penney was a member of two professional collegiate fraternities : Alpha Gamma Rho for agriculture and Alpha Kappa Psi for business. Penney was involved with the founding of the University of Miami and served on its Board of Trustees from 1926 to 1930. At the end of the Great Depression, Penney teamed with Thomas J. Watson, President and Founder of IBM, Arthur Godfrey, the radio and TV personality ; and Norman Vincent Peale, a minister, inspirational speaker, and author of The Power of Positive Thinking, to help Henry Simler, an executive with the Remington Rand company. form the first board of 40Plus, an organization that helps unemployed managers and executives. Penney founded the James C. Penney Foundation in 1954. The foundation was restructured in 1999 as the Penney Family Fund, and is no longer affiliated with J.C. Penney Co., Inc., or its corporate giving program. Today, the fund is part of the Common Counsel Foundation, an Oakland, California, consortium of family philanthropic foundations and individual donors. The Penney Family Fund endows organizations in Oregon, California, and Washington State that work to advance human rights, community social, political, economic empowerment, government accountability, and environmental sustainability. Commemoration The J.C. Penney Conference Center at the University of Missouri - St. Louis was dedicated in his honor on January 23, 1972. The building was made possible through financial donations by Mr. Penney and his company. Mr. Penney was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1976. The J.C. Penney Historic District in Kemmerer, Wyoming, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978. In 1994, Penney was inducted into the Hall of Famous Missourians, and a bronze bust depicting him is on permanent display in the rotunda of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Missouri was renamed Penney High School. References Jump up ^ Barmash, Isadore ( 13 February 1971 ). `` J.C. Penney of Store Chain Dies ; Built Business on ' Golden Rule ' ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 4 December 2017. ^ Jump up to : Brown, John W. Missouri Legends : Famous People From The Show - Me State. Reedy Press : St. Louis, 2008. ISBN 9781933370286 ^ Jump up to : `` J.C. Penney Papers A Guide to the Collection ''. legacy.lib.utexas.edu. University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` J.C. Penney - Family and Philanthropies ''. Archived from the original on 2000 - 05 - 17. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 13. Jump up ^ `` The Hymn That Saved J.C. Penney ''. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 13. Jump up ^ `` An American original, Sam Walton embodies the entrepreneurial spirit and epitomizes the American Dream ''. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 15. ^ Jump up to : `` Mrs. J.C. Penney Badly Hurt as Horse Trips ; Thrown While Riding on Westchester Estate ''. The New York Times. 2 October 1928. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ Kruger, David Delbert ( 2017 ). J.C. Penney : The Man, the Store, and American Agriculture. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 304. ISBN 9780806158419. Retrieved 5 December 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` DIED. PENNEY -- Roswell K ''. The New York Times. 16 September 1971. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` J.C. PENNEY JR. ; Son of Merchant Had Introduced Gliding in This Country ''. The New York Times. 8 June 1938. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Penney -- Ducoudray ''. The New York Times. 16 March 1927. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Caroline A. Penney, A Philanthropist, 96 ''. The New York Times. 19 March 1992. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` MISS MARY PENNEY WED TO PHYSICIAN ; Daughter of Stores ' Founder Bride of Philip F. Wagley in Christ Episcopal, Rye ''. The New York Times. 21 June 1953. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` Carol Penney Guyer, 72 ; Philanthropist, Daughter of Retailer ''. Los Angeles Times. July 20, 2002. Jump up ^ `` 500 HONOR PENNEY ON 80TH BIRTHDAY ; Attend Lawn Party at Home of Merchant -- Hoover and Baruch Send Messages ''. The New York Times. 18 September 1955. Retrieved 5 December 2017. Jump up ^ `` J.C. Penney 's Estate Is Estimated at $35 ‐ Million ''. The New York Times. 2 March 1971. Retrieved 4 December 2017. Jump up ^ Wasatch Lodge No. 1 F&AM of Utah Jump up ^ Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon Jump up ^ Tebeau, Charlton W. The University of Miami. Coral Gables : University of Miami Press, 1976. p. 393. Jump up ^ New York Times obituary of Henry Simler, June 27, 1954. `` Henry Simler, 78, Is Dead on Coast '' Jump up ^ Penney Family Fund profile at Common Counsel Foundation website Jump up ^ `` Penney High School ''. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2011. Further reading Kruger, David Delbert ( 2008 ). `` J.C. Penney : Missouri Man, Wyoming Institution ''. Annals of Wyoming : the Wyoming History Journal. 80 ( 2 ). Wyoming State Historical Society. pp. 20 -- 36. Kruger, David D., `` James Cash Penney : The Impact of a Main Street Merchant on Oklahoma, '' Chronicles of Oklahoma, 89 ( Fall 2011 ), 260 -- 87. + J.C. Penney : the man with a thousand partners : an auto - biography of J.C. Penney as told to Robert W. Bruere ( 1931 ) External links `` Two American Entrepreneurs : Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney '', a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places ( TwHP ) lesson plan James Cash Penney at Find a Grave J.C. Penney Divisions The Treasury ( 1962 -- 1981 ) Thrift Drug ( 1968 -- 1997 ) Eckerd ( 1997 -- 2004 ) People Ron Johnson James Cash Penney Mike Ullman Buildings J.C. Penney Building ( Anchorage, Alaska ) J.C. Penney Building ( Newberg, Oregon ) J.C. Penney Building ( St. Louis, Missouri ) J.C. Penney Building ( Shoshone, Idaho ) J.C. Penney Building ( Tucson, Arizona ) J.C. Penney Historic District J.C. Penney House GND : 119171651 ISNI : 0000 0001 0947 4366 LCCN : n82052377 NARA : 10570341 NDL : 00621276 SNAC : w62f95f7 VIAF : 815962 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Cash_Penney&oldid=839008317 '' Categories : 1875 births 1971 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American company founders American philanthropists Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery ( Bronx ) J.C. Penney J.C. Penney people People from Hamilton, Missouri People from Lincoln County, Wyoming Retail company founders Retailers Retailing Hidden categories : Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2015 Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch فارسی मराठी Edit links This page was last edited on 30 April 2018, at 17 : 40. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what does jc stand for in jc pennys
Answer: James Cash