Celebrity Genealogy      Research - My Family

Discovering My Connection to Retail Legend Frank Winfield Woolworth

During my ongoing journey into family ancestry, one of my earliest and most surprising discoveries was learning that I share a direct bloodline with legendary American retailer Frank Winfield Woolworth. Through my 10x great-grandparents, Henry Burt and Eulalie Marche, who were also Frank’s 6x great-grandparents, I found that Frank and I are distant cousins—connected through generations of shared history.

This marked the beginning of many fascinating connections to notable historical figures in my genealogical research.

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The Early Life of Frank Winfield Woolworth

Frank Winfield Woolworth was born on April 13, 1852, in Rodman, New York, a small town near Lake Ontario, north of Syracuse. This region, as it turns out, is also home to many of my American cousins.

Raised in modest circumstances alongside his younger brother Charles Sumner Woolworth, Frank showed an early interest in retail sales. He completed his formal education at age 16 and, despite facing numerous job rejections, persisted in his dream of entering the retail world.

With financial help from his mother Fanny, Frank attended business college in Watertown, New York, setting the foundation for what would become a retail empire.

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The Birth of the Five and Dime Store

In 1873, at age 21, Frank began working as a stock boy at Augsbury & Moore’s Dry Goods store in Watertown. Though he initially struggled as a salesman, he excelled at designing eye-catching window displays—a skill that would shape his retail philosophy.

Frank noticed that the lack of clearly marked prices created unnecessary friction between clerks and customers. He believed items should be self-selling, priced clearly, and accessible—an idea that would revolutionize the retail industry.

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Woolworth’s First Stores: From Failure to Fortune

Following his mother’s death in February 1878, Frank borrowed $300 from his employer and launched Woolworth’s Great Five Cent Store in Utica, New York. That store closed within months, but Frank refused to give up.

In 1879, he opened a second store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which proved successful. Encouraged by its performance, he invited Sumner to manage a second location in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. These stores offered both five-cent and later ten-cent items, a concept that quickly caught on with customers.

After a rent dispute in Harrisburg, the brothers relocated the store to Scranton, where it became the first to bear the official name:
"5¢ & 10¢ Woolworth Bro’s Store."

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The Woolworth Brothers: Building a Retail Empire

By 1881, Frank bought out Sumner’s share of the Scranton store with a vision of creating a network of stores owned and managed by friends and family. Over the next two decades, the concept flourished.

In 1905, Frank formally incorporated F.W. Woolworth & Co., using Sumner’s successful store model as the blueprint. Sumner handled the customer-facing side of the business and trained new store managers, shaping the in-store experience that would become synonymous with Woolworth’s.

By 1912, the Woolworth syndicate had grown to 596 stores across the United States. That year, the company consolidated under a single corporate entity, The F.W. Woolworth Company, raising $30 million in the process—equivalent to $732 million in 2017 dollars.

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International Expansion and Retail Innovation

Starting in 1890, the Woolworth brothers began sourcing products directly from European manufacturers—an uncommon practice at the time. This allowed them to negotiate better deals and offer products at unbeatable prices, often using low-cost items as loss leaders to draw customers in.

At its peak, the Woolworth retail empire expanded into Canada, Europe, and Cuba, with over 3,000 stores worldwide.

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Personal Wealth and the Woolworth Legacy

Frank’s success brought immense personal wealth. He built several opulent residences, including:

• A mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City

• Lavish homes for each of his three daughters

• Winfield Hall, a Gilded Age mansion on Long Island still standing today

In 1913, Frank completed construction of the Woolworth Building in NYC. At a cost of $13.5 million (paid in cash), it was the tallest building in the world at the time.

Frank died on April 8, 1919, just shy of his 67th birthday. His estate, worth $76.5 million (over $1 billion today), was left to his wife, Jennie Creighton of Canada. Unfortunately, due to legal and family complications—including Jennie’s declining mental health—the fortune dwindled significantly over time.

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The Next Generation and the Decline of the Woolworth Fortune

Frank’s daughters—Helena Maud, Jessie May, and Edna (my 8th cousins)—eventually inherited the Woolworth estate. However, the fortune was largely depleted by the time it reached his grandchildren.

I plan to share more about the lives of Frank’s daughters in a future post.

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Sumner Woolworth: The Steady Hand Behind the Scenes

Frank’s brother, Sumner, played a crucial role in the company’s long-term success. After Frank’s death, Sumner served as Chairman of the Board for 25 years, training managers and setting the tone for every Woolworth store.

Sumner passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 7, 1947, at the age of 90.

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The Woolworth Brand Today: A Legacy Remembered

Although Woolworth stores were once a staple in American, Canadian and British retail, they have all but disappeared. Today, what remains are:

• The iconic Woolworth Building in NYC

• Frank and Jennie’s Fifth Avenue mansion

• The grand Winfield Hall, which inspired Cove Point Manor in my novel

The story of Frank Winfield Woolworth is more than just a business success—it’s a testament to perseverance, innovation, and the lasting impact of one man’s retail vision.