James Butler (grocer)

James Butler
Born 1855
County Kilkenny, Ireland
Died February 20, 1934[1]
New York, United States
Resting place Butler Memorial Chapel, Marymount Convent, Tarrytown, New York[1]
Residence Eastview Farm, Tarrytown, New York[1]
Occupation Businessman:
Grocery store founder
Race horse and race track owner
Spouse(s) Mary Ann Rourke Butler
(m. 1883)[1]
Children Beatrice Katherine,[2] James Jr., Genevieve, Pierce, William[3]
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great[1]

James Butler (1855–1934)[4] was an American businessman from New York and prominent owner of racehorses and racetracks.[5]

As a hotel steward in the early 1880s, Butler invested his $2,000 life savings with Patrick J. O'Connor (the son of his landlady) to open a grocery store on Second Avenue in New York. The business grew to a chain of stores so successful that Butler quit the hotel business and bought out O'Connor. Butler had a reputed net worth of $30 million by 1929.

By 1890, Butler had bought his first horses, and eventually acquired the EastView Stock Farm near Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant, New York. In the early 1900s, he established the Empire City Race Track.

At the time of his death, his grocery store chain was the sixth largest in the U.S. by total sales, and his more than 1,100 stores were second only to A & P in the New York area.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, Richard (June 25, 2010). "The Egg and Butter Man of Eastview". riverjournalonline.com. Tarrytown, New York: River Journal. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  2. ↑ "Miss Butler, Bride in the Cathedral" (PDF). nytimes.com. The New York Times. April 23, 1914. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "Genevieve Butler Weds in Cathedral" (PDF). nytimes.com. The New York Times. May 2, 1917. Retrieved 28 July 2009.
  4. ↑ Bayor, Ronald H.; Timothy J. Meagher (1997). The New York Irish. JHU Press. p. 403. ISBN 0-8018-5764-3. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  5. 1 2 "Death of Butler". time.com. Time Inc. 1934-03-05. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
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