FIELD, Marshall, American merchant: b. Conway, Mass., 18 Aug. 1835; d. New York city, 16 Jan. 1906. He received a common school and academic education in the intervals of labor on his father's farm. At 17 he entered a dry goods store in Pittsfield, Mass., as clerk, soon mastered the details of the business, and in 1856 removed to Chicago, where he entered the employ of Cooley, Wadsworth & Co., a pioneer mercantile house. In 1860 he was ad mitted to a junior partnership in the firm, which then became Cooley, Farwell & Co., and later Farwell, Field & Co. On the dissolution of this partnership the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter was formed in 1865, and on the retire ment of Palmer, two years later, the firm name became Field, Leiter & Co. In 1881 the Leiter interest was purchased by Mr. Field and the business was afterward continued under the firm name of Marshall Field & Co. Prior to the Chicago Fire of 1871 the sales amounted to $12,000,000 annually, but have since steadily in creased to more than $60,000,000, the firm being now the largest dry goods house in the world.
The single large building, which it occupied before the fire, has been replaced by one much larger devoted to the retail trade, the wholesale business being carried on in an immense build ing covering an entire block. In addition to these two vast establishments the house has of fices in New York, England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. Avoiding ostentation Mr. Field was a liberal and discriminating giver. In addition to the Field Columbian Mu seum (q.v.) given by him to Chicago, he be stowed gifts upon the University of Chicago, and to his native town of Conway he gave and endowed a public library, at a cost of $200,000 in memory of his parents.