years old , she graduated high school on Nantucket and went on to teach mathematics on her native island and later in New Jersey and New York .
Getchell ’ s childhood eye injury led to a career pivot that transformed her life and the course of business history . After working as a schoolteacher at three schools in as many years , the pain in her right eye became insufferable . At the recommendation of her doctor , she opted for surgery to have her eye removed and replaced with a prosthetic one .
Grading her students ’ work by candlelight was taxing on her vision . The surgeon ’ s recommendation ? A career change . He told her that she needn ’ t put so much strain on her functioning eye .
During her recovery over the summer of 1860 , she thought about what might be next for her . She ultimately decided to try her hand at retail . Her distant cousin , Macy , had opened a dry goods store in New York a couple of years earlier , and it was doing pretty well , compared to his earlier ventures in California and Massachusetts .
Getchell paid her cousin a visit to inquire about a job and emphasized her proficiency with numbers , which is what landed her a position as a cash clerk .
In Store for a Change
“ Macy ’ s storied history of strong female leadership dates back to 1860 ,” said Macy ’ s CEO Jeff Gennette , in a 2019 press release about the store ’ s female C-suite leaders of today , noting that year is when Getchell came on board to the store and was “ working directly with R . H . Macy .”
Paula Price , who served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer at Macy ’ s Inc . from 2018 to 2020 , described Getchell as “ a woman who overcame adversity and found her towering strength in merchandising .” Towering strength indeed .
Macy was immediately impressed by Getchell ’ s knack for numbers . In the early 1860s , well before the cash register was patented in 1879 , she and her colleagues relied on manual accounting throughout the entire store . Getchell had a cash drawer that was always in meticulous order . Before long , she was training cash girls , as they were called , to handle cash in the same fashion .
Getchell was described by others as cordial and charming , but she took her work seriously . After three years as a cash clerk
Portrait of Rowland H . Macy .
making about $ 2.50 per week , she was promoted to head bookkeeper .
“ Don ’ t ever cross out a figure or change it , no matter what seems to be the logical reason in your own mind ,” Getchell would tell her trainees . “ The very act implies dishonesty .”
This gave her a reputation as “ a tireless worker with an eagle eye for the faults and mistakes of the employees ,” according to an account from her colleague , Cora
Cover of the 1890 R . H . Macy catalog .
The original home of R . H . Macy on 14th Street in New York City , 1880 .
Crossman , who led the mail order department . Still , Crossman and others respected Getchell , who she described as “ rather severe , I should say , but gracious , too , and very clever . A wonderful woman !”
Beyond Numbers
Being such a standout employee and the cousin of Macy , Getchell naturally grew closer to him and his wife , Louisa . For a
Archive Photos / Stringer The New York Historical Society www . MoAF . org | Summer 2023 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 35