Marshall Field: Founder of Marshall Field and Company
Business Owner · Retail & E-commerce
Marshall Field rose from dry goods clerk in Pittsfield to Chicago partner in 1862 and founded the department store that carried his name, later funding the Field Museum.
About Marshall Field: Founder of Marshall Field and Company
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834 to January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. He is also known for philanthropic donations, providing funding for the Field Museum of Natural History and donating land for the campus of the University of Chicago. Field was born on a farm in Conway, Massachusetts, the son of John Field IV and Fidelia Nash, from a family descended from Puritans who came to America as early as 1629. At 17 he moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and worked in a dry goods store alongside his brother Joseph, and after five years left in search of opportunities in the rapidly expanding West. In 1856, at 22, he went to live with his brother in Chicago and found employment at the leading dry goods merchant Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., which became Cooley, Farwell & Co. in 1857. Field quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1862, when Cooley left the firm, he purchased a partnership and the firm reorganized as Farwell, Field & Co. John V. Farwell appreciated Field's keen business acumen, though the two men's personalities were very different: Field was efficient and stuffy, Farwell more relaxed and cheery. Sources: English Wikipedia (Marshall Field, accessed September 2026).
Basic Information
Founder, Marshall Field and Company (1834-1906)
Company Details
Marshall Field and Company
Department Stores, Retail
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