Alvah Curtis Roebuck (January 9, 1864 – June 18, 1948) was the co-founder of

Sears, Roebuck and Company Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

with his partner

Richard Warren Sears Richard Warren Sears (December 7, 1863 – September 28, 1914) was an American manager, businessman and the founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Alvah Curtis Roebuck. Early life Sears was born in Stewartville, Minnesota. Hi ...

Early life

Alvah Curtis Roebuck was born on January 9, 1864, in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

. He began work as a watchmaker in a

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

, jewelry store at age 12.

Career

Roebuck co-founded Sears, Roebuck and Company with

in 1891. In 1895, Roebuck asked Sears to buy him out for about $20,000. At Richard Sears' request, Roebuck took charge of a division that handled

watches A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

, optical goods, and, later,

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...

s and motion picture machines. His business interests did not end with Sears. He later organized and financed two companies: a manufacturer and a distributor of motion picture machines and accessories. Roebuck also served as president (1909–1924) of Emerson Typewriter Company, where he invented the improved typewriter, called the "Woodstock." After several years in semi-retirement in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, the financial losses he suffered in the stock market crash of 1929 forced Roebuck to return to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. By 1933, Roebuck had rejoined Sears, Roebuck and Co., where he largely devoted his time to compiling a history of the company he helped found. In September 1934, a Sears store manager asked Roebuck to make a public appearance at his store. After an enthusiastic public turnout, Roebuck went on tour, appearing at retail stores across the country for the next several years.

Personal life and death

Roebuck married his first wife Kittie Rice on September 2, 1890, in York, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and had a son Theodore Roebuck, born 2 July 1891. Roebuck later married Sarah Blanche Lett. They lived in Tujunga,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. They had a son, Alvah Curtis Roebuck, Jr., born 27 April 1914, who also lived in Tujunga, and a daughter, Lucile May Roebuck, born 16 April 1902, who lived in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, with her husband Raymond Hiram Keeler. Roebuck died on June 18, 1948, while visiting his daughter in Evanston, Illinois. He was 84 years old. He was buried at Acacia Park Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.

References

External links

Roebuck's grave in Acacia Mausoleum, Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roebuck, Alvah C. 1864 births 1948 deaths People from Hammond, Indiana People from Lafayette, Indiana Businesspeople from Los Angeles American businesspeople in retailing American company founders Sears Holdings people Burials at Acacia Park Cemetery, Norwood Park Township