By Stephanie Forshee
When Rowland H . Macy opened a dry goods store in New York City on October 28 , 1858 , first day sales totaled $ 11.06 . One decade later , annual sales for the West 14th Street store 1 were in the millions of dollars . So what was his secret weapon ? Some could argue it was his aggressive advertising . Some might say it was his introduction of fixed pricing . Others know he owed a lot of his success to a woman named Margaret Getchell .
At age 19 , Getchell arrived at R . H . Macy ’ s in September 1860 asking for a job . Though she and Macy had never been introduced prior to this meeting , they were distant cousins and both were raised on the island of Nantucket .
Courtesy of Randolph Jones
Margaret Swain Getchell LaForge
America ’ s First Female Retail Executive
A Nantucket Force
Margaret Swain Getchell was born in Fairhaven , Massachusetts , on July 16 , 1841 to Phebe Ann Pinkham and Barzillai Getchell . Her father , originally from Maine , was never a major part of her life , as he abandoned the family when Margaret was only a toddler . Her mother was a native of Nantucket and among the strong women who ruled the island while many of the men were out to sea on whaling voyages . Phebe was a divorcee long before it was commonplace , and she raised her girls Rebecca , Susan and Margaret with the help of her mother and brother on Nantucket . She also had a son , George , who only lived to be a few months old .
“ It is no surprise that she grew up on Nantucket during the mid-1800s , where there were many strong , educated and independent women who succeeded in a man ’ s world ,” wrote Barbara Ann White , a Nantucket schoolteacher and author of several books focused on Nantucket , in a blurb for the children ’ s biography Hidden Gems : Margaret Getchell LaForge .
Getchell ’ s childhood wasn ’ t always pleasant , and yet she thrived . She was involved in a childhood accident at 12 years old that left her partially blind in one eye . Even so , her schoolwork never suffered and she led a mostly normal life despite the traumas she endured . At 16
Photograph of a portrait of Margaret Getchell LaForge belonging to her great great grandson .
34 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Summer 2023 | www . MoAF . org