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Fox Family and G. Fox & Co.

Summary Information

Repository
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford
Title
Fox Family and G. Fox & Co.
ID
Business.0012.002.008b
Date [inclusive]
1847-1960
Extent
10.0 Cubic feet
Language
English
Biographical/Historical
G. Fox & Co. Store Founded by Gerson Fox in 1847 as a "fancy goods" store, the department store chain eventually known as G. Fox & Co. became the largest family-owned department store in the country and the preeminent retail establishment in Hartford. According to some sources, Gerson and his brother Isaac opened a store in Hartford as early as 1840. Isaac left for New York a few years later. Gerson's son Moses joined the store in 1863 when he was 13. In 1880, the property on Main Street that would eventually house the main store was purchased, and a four-story building was erected there. This store burnt down in 1917, but after the fire, an eleven-story building was built on the site. The eleven-story store reflected the major changes in retail shopping that were occurring in America. Women of the early 20th century acquired new-found leisure time provided by labor-saving inventions. Unlike the old-fashioned store that one did not enter without a purpose, where merchandise was hidden in cupboards until the clerk brought it out, this new store offered many new services especially for these women who now shopped as much for entertainment as for the accomplishment of an errand. After the death of Moses in 1938, his daughter Beatrice Fox Auerbach, who had joined the store in 1927 at the death of her husband, took over its leadership. She expanded both the store and its offerings to the shopper. The hair salon became almost spa-like, women could dine in the roof garden, and various departments offered various types of education to help women understand their new appliances or design a tasteful interior. Mrs. Auerbach also set new standards for service to customers. Many local legends grew about instances where the company went far beyond the custom to supply distant shoppers with spools of thread or to replace the upholstery on five-year-old chairs. The working climate was also an improvement over that found in other stores. Although the pay was said to be low, job security was high and the store worked hard to make every employee feel special. In 1965, G. Fox & Co. was sold to the May Company. In 1992, the May Co., which also owned the much larger and regionally better known Filene's, retired the G. Fox name after 117 years of service and converted those stores to Filene's.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents note This collection contains photographs, artifacts, scrapbooks, and documents relating to the Fox Family, including Beatrice Auerbach, and the G. Fox & Co. store. A significant portion of the collection focuses on Lewis Fox, including charitable and civic activities.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information
Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford

333 Bloomfield Avenue
West Hartford, CT, 06117
860-727-6171
ekafer@jewishhartford.org

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Collection Inventory

Series I: Louis and Miriam Fox
Louis Fox/Financial Records/Business Ledger 1848-49 and Cash Journal 1857-66
Louis Fox/Financial Records/Home Journal 1861-66
Miriam Stern Fox/Birthday and Anniversary Datebook, 1903
Miriam Stern Fox/Obituaries and Condolences

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Series II: Scrapbooks
Oversized scrapbook, 1922-1937

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Series III: Fox Family Artifacts
Ceremonial hood and gown worn by Lewis Fox at reception of honorary doctoral degree
Large felt banner labeled "Princeton 1926"
Black and orange knit tie (probably Princeton related)
Four pennants labeled: Camp Greylock, Clio, Camp Wigwam, and Princeton
2 American flags
Felt armband with initials "NWS" (probably Noah Webster School)
Cap with initials "Asylum Hill Cadets"
Sewing kit of Miriam Stern Fox
Bible
Brass and enamel breast plate for Torah scroll
Brass plates from award plaques
Leather 3-ring binder
Hartford Public High School Yearbook, 1977
Music book of Miriam Stern Fox
G. Fox paper and plastic bags
Advertisements

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Series IV: Fox Family
Auerbach Family
Auerbach, Fannie Fox - Biographical
Auerbach, Fannie Fox - Obituaries
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox - Awards and Honors
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox - Biographical
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Charitable Activities - Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Civic Activities -- Service Bureau for Women's Organizations
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Correspondence
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Correspondence/Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society, 1930s
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Home -- 1040 Prospect Avenue, Hartford
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Miscellaneous
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Obituaries
Auerbach, Josephine and Joseph Siegel/wedding souvenir, 1913
Fox, Gerson -- Obituaries
Fox, Moses -- Correspondence
Fox, Moses -- Miscellaneous
Fox, Moses -- Travel
Fox, Theresa Stern - Birthday Party Guest Book, 1927
Fox, Theresa Stern - Civic Activities - Program from Conference on the Cause and Cure of War, 1925
Koopman Family/family tree prepared by Rena Koopman, 3/2007
Koopman Family – Miscellaneous
Koopman, Georgette/Sunday School notes from Beth Israel, 1927-1928
Schiro Family - Miscellaneous
Stern, Ferdinand – Obituaries
Surname Project

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Photo Series I: Fox Family Photographs
Auerbach family groups; Fannie Fox-Bass; Hattie Fox This box contains both original photos and many reproductions mounted on foam board.
Auerbach, Fannie Fox
Auerbach, George (husband of Beatrice)
Auerbach, George and H. Beatrice -- Family Wedding Photos, 1911
Auerbach, Georgette and Dorothy
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox -- Family Grouping (Susan Schiro Wedding, 1967)
Bass, Hattie Fox (daughter of Leopold Fox)
Four Generations: Fannie, Theresa, Beatrice & Georgette

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Photo Series II: Fox Family Photographs
Beatrice Fox Auerbach in youth
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox (in youth)
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox (in youth)

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Photo Series III: Fox Family Photographs
Beatrice Fox Auerbach as adult. Includes formal portraits, events related to her career, photo of her at her desk, photos with Eleanor Roosevelt.
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox (adult)
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox/wedding photo with George Auerbach
Auerbach, H. Beatrice Fox /four generation photo with Beatrice’s mother, grandmother, and daughter Georgette as a baby
Lewis Fox as a child
Lewis Fox as an adult
Lewis Fox/Groups/family
Lewis Fox/Group photos/Hartford Public High School in OVERSIZE box

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Photo Series IV: Fox Family Photographs
Fox, Gerson, Hannah, Isaac, Jacob, Miriam Stern, and Louis Unframed photos
Fox, Gerson and Hannah
Fox, Gerson and Hannah (Family Groupings)
Fox, Isaac (son of Gerson)
Fox, Jacob L.
Fox, Jacob L. and Lewis
Fox, Jacob L. and Miriam Stern
Fox, Jacob L. and Miriam - Home at 74 Oxford Street, Hartford
Fox, Leopold and Sadie (son of Gerson)
Fox, Lewis (Youth)
Fox, Lewis (Youth), circa 1915
Fox, Lewis (Youth)/as a child in sailor suit, OVERSIZE drawer
Fox, Lewis (Adult)
Fox, Lewis - Camp Greylock, 1917
Fox, Lewis - Camp Greylock, 1918
Fox, Lewis - Chapel and Chaplaincy at Hartford Hospital
Fox, Lewis - Friends from High School
Fox, Lewis - Home at 750 Prospect Avenue, Hartford
Fox, Miriam Stern, mother of Lewis Fox, miniature in case lined with blue velvet

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Photo Series V: Fox Family Photographs
Louis, Mary, Miriam, Moses
Fox, Louis and Mary (brother of Gerson, father of Jacob L.)
Fox, Miriam Stern
Fox, Moses (son of Gerson)
Fox, Moses - Family Groupings

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Photo Series VI: Fox Family Photographs
Sophie, Theresa, Anna, Julia, Morris, Sancha, Jacob Newman, Flora, Ferdinand, Fannie, Moses Stern
Fox, Sophie Korn and her mother (1st wife of Moses Fox)
Fox, Sophie (with H. Beatrice Fox) (Sophie was daughter of Sophie Korn Fox)
Fox, Theresa Stern (wife of Moses)
Fulling, Anna M.
Keysor or Keyser, Julia
Marks, Morris, Jr. (some with Lewis Fox)
Marks, Sancha Stern (sister of Miriam and Theresa, wife and mother of Morris Sr. and Jr.)
Miscellaneous
Newman, Jacob L. and Flora Stern
Stern, Ferdinand and Fannie
Stern, Moses (brother of Theresa and Miriam)

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Photo Series VII: Fox Family Photographs (oversized, unframed):
Fannie Fox, 1909
Unidentified women's group with H. Beatrice Fox
Auerbach, George and Beatrice Fox, wedding picture, filed with OVERSIZE people photos
Beacon Street School class photo, 1903, with H. Beatrice Fox
H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach with Eleanor Roosevelt and Lady Reading
Stern Family gathering for 50th Anniversary of Ferdinand and Fannie Stern, 1908
Emma Fox Plaut, Moses Fox, H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach, Georgette Auerbach
Benjamin-Deane School class photo, 1906, with H. Beatrice Fox
Carol Marks (Bobrow?), daughter of Morris Marks Sr. and Sancha Stern Marks - wedding photo, No date
Sancha Stern Marks with son Morris Jr.
Flora Stern Newman, no date (1920s)
Fox monument, Beth Israel Cemetery
Jacob L. Fox on board a ship to Panama, 1914
Hartford Businessmen's Association Annual Banquet, 1915, with Jacob L. Fox
Unidentified male
Unidentified male
Fannie Kurtz Stern, Theresa Stern Fox, H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach, Georgette Auerbach
Moses Fox, Grossman print, 1936
Gerson and Hannah Fox with their children Ike (Isaac), Emma, Leopold, Moses
Wedding photo: Theresa Stern Fox, 1911
Wedding photo: Moses Fox, 1911
Wedding photo: Moses, Theresa, Fannie, H. Beatrice Fox, and George Auerbach, 1911, 3 copies Georgette Auerbach with dog, 1920
H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach with daughters Georgette and Dorothy, 1928
H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach with daughters Georgette and Dorothy, 1924
H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach, no date (1930s)
H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach, 1942
H. Beatrice Fox Auerbach, 1924
Theresa Stern Fox in Spain, 1911
Theresa Stern Fox, 5 views, one with sister Sancha, 1899
Princeton Debating Team with Lewis Fox, no date 2 poses
Lewis Fox receiving honorary degree from Univ. of Hartford, 1967
Lewis Fox, 1938
Lewis Fox, no date (about 8-10 years of age)
Lewis Fox, no date (about 40-45 years of age) 2 copies
Lewis Fox and Jacob L. Fox, ca 1930-34 3 poses
Lewis Fox and Jacob L. Fox, 1911
Lewis Fox, age 29 2 copies
Lewis Fox, age 29 2 copies
Jacob L. Fox, Miriam Stern Fox, Lewis Fox

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Photo Series VIII: Fox Family Photographs Box 1a)
Lewis Fox, age 6 months
Lewis Fox in Hartford Public High School group photo
Lewis Fox, about age 3 or 4
Lewis Fox, ca 1915
Anna Fulling
Three boys, unidentified [an unframed duplicate photo identifies them as "Bennie, Herbert, and Oscar, nephews of Moe"]
Fannie and Ferdinand Stern
Aaron Stern
Hannah Stern
Noah Webster School Graduation class photograph, 1918, incl. Lewis Fox
Noah Webster School Graduation Certificate for Lewis Fox, 1918
Sketch of 750 Prospect Avenue, home of Lewis Fox
Set of photos of Lewis Fox at age 6 months with Morris Marks, Jr., and an unidentified child

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Photo Series IX: Fox Family Photographs (Box 2a)
Lewis Fox, about age 20, with Anna Fulling
Lewis Fox, about age 7 or 8
Lewis Fox as a young attorney in his office
Louis and Mary Fox
Lewis Fox, about age 7, with Morris Marks, Jr.
Lewis Fox, about age 18, with Jacob L. Fox and Morris Marks, Sr.
Miriam Stern Fox
Lewis Fox, about age 2 or 3
Lewis Fox and Jacob L. Fox, 1922
Lewis Fox, Jacob L. Fox, and Moses Fox, 1926
Hartford Public High School - Board of the Owlet newspaper, 1922, incl. Lewis Fox
Hartford Public High School - students, no date, incl. Lewis Fox
Hartford Public High School - students, no date, incl. Lewis Fox
Hartford Public High School - Board of the Chronicle magazine, no date, incl. Lewis Fox
Hartford Public High School - Debating Club, 1922, incl. Lewis Fox
Fannie Kurtz Stern, Theresa Stern Fox, Beatrice Fox Auerbach, and Georgette Auerbach
Hannah Fox, wife of Gerson Fox
Framed Photographs and Paintings formerly on Display in Reading Room of old office in JCC
Jacob L. Fox, Miriam Fox, and Lewis Fox
Four oil portraits of boys, perhaps from the Stern Family
Gerson Fox
Fannie Kurtz Stern
Theresa Stern Fox
H. Beatrice Fox as a girl
Fannie Fox as a young woman
Moses Fox
Ferdinand Stern
Stern or Fox Family

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Series I: G. Fox & Co. Store Collection
Advertising
Building Re-use, 1992 to Present
Closing, 1992
Correspondence/Miscellaneous
Correspondence/To Morris A. Fierberg, 1936-1963
Employee and Shopper Reminiscences
Employee Newsletter
Gift Certificate, 1980s
History/Carsky, Mary L. and Donnellan, John F. "G. Fox: Grand Emporium of the 20th Century"
History/"A Century in Connecticut" Advertising Series
History/Hendrickson, Robert "The Grand Emporiums"
History/Marks, Lita "A History of G. Fox and Company as an Urban Institution"
History/Miscellaneous
May Company Ownership, 1965-1992
Miscellaneous
Moses Fox Club
Research paper/Marks, Lita/A History of G. Fox and Company as an Urban Institution, 1982
G. Fox Memorabilia

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Series I: Lewis Fox Collection
A-Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships
Awards and Honors/Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce
Awards and Honors/Charter Oak Leadership Medal, 1963
Awards and Honors/Hartford Board of Education, - naming of Lewis Fox Middle School, 1971
Awards and Honors/Hartford Public High School - naming of Lewis Fox Memorial Library, 1977
Awards and Honors/Lewis Fox Memorial Lecture Series
Awards and Honors/Miscellaneous
Awards and Honors/University of Hartford Honorary Degree, 1967
Biographical
Charitable Activities/Anna M. Fulling Chaplaincy Endowment, 1956
Charitable Activities/Hartford Hospital Interfaith Chapel Donation, 1964
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Award given to Lewis Fox by Scholars
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Anniversaries
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Correspondence/Saltzman, Seymour
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Death of Lewis Fox and continuation of Foundation, 1976-1979
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/List of Scholars
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/News Clippings Regarding Awards and Scholars
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Reminiscences by Scholars
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Scholars' Activities/
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1963
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1964
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1965
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1966
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1967
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1968
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1969

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Series II: Lewis Fox Collection
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships – Civic Activities/Beth Israel
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1971
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1972
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1972
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1974
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Summary of Information, 1975
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Speeches and Lectures
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Trust Agreement and By-laws
Charitable Activities/Jacob L. Fox Scholarships/Trustees
Charitable Activities/Miriam Stern Fox Lecture at Beth Israel
Civic Activities/Beth Israel High School Class - Lesson Files 1966-68
Civic Activities/Beth Israel High School Class - Lesson Files 1968-70
Civic Activities/Beth Israel High School Class - Lesson Files 1970-72
Civic Activities/Beth Israel High School Class - Lesson Files 1972-74
Civic Activities/Beth Israel High School Class - Lesson Files, 1974-76

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Series III: Lewis Fox Collection
Civic Activities/Fellowship of Christian Athletes-Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education
Civic Activities/Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Civic Activities/Greater Hartford Interracial Scholarship Committee
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1937 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1941 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1945 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1949 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1955 Campaign

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Series IV: Lewis Fox Collection
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education-Z
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1961Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - 1961 Campaign (Folder)
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1965 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1969 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford Board of Education - Bound Volume - 1973 Campaign
Civic Activities/Hartford County YMCA
Civic Activities/Salvation Army of Greater Hartford Advisory Board
Correspondence
Educational Background
Friends and Associates
Home/750 Prospect Av., Hartford/Auction of Contents, 1977
Letters to Newspapers
Manuscripts
Miscellaneous
Obituaries and Condolences, I
Obituaries and Condolences, II
Passport
Personal items/baby book, 1904
Professional Activities
Publications/Annual Christmas and Hanukkah Message
Speaking Engagements

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Series V: Jacob Fox collection
Correspondence
Home/750 Prospect Av., Hartford/Construction and Furnishing (1905-1906)
Home/750 Prospect Av., Hartford/Construction Expense Ledger (1905-1906)
Home/750 Prospect Av., Hartford/Inventory of Silver, 1926
Marriage, 1902
Passport
Professional Activities
Telephone book, ca. 1908
Travel

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