the firm operated 70 lavishly-equipped stores and a mail order business with combined annual sales of $1 million ($ today). Gilman lived at his mansion in Bridgeport, Connecticut where he entertained extensively. At one point, he owned 39 horses and 35 carriages. When his house burned in 1894, he replaced it with a larger 20 room mansion that included numerous bathrooms. After his wife died the next year, Gilman became even more eccentric by removing all clocks and mirrors so he would not be reminded that he was becoming older. He "adopted" at least two younger women to keep him company. Gilman never had children and died from nephritis in March 1901 without a will, starting a legal battle among his numerous heirs. Hartford asserted that in 1878, Gilman give him half of the company in an unwritten partnership agreement. Evidence provided to the court established that Hartford received half of A&P's profits since 1878 and that all of the company's leases were in his name. The heirs realized that without Hartford, the firm would quickly become unprofitable. Therefore, they agreed to a settlement where the company was incorporated at $2.1 million. Under this agreement, the Gilman heirs received $1.25 million in preferred shares paying 6% per year while Hartford received $700,000 in common stock and the remainder of the preferred shares. This gave Hartford control of all of the voting stock. Over the years, Hartford was also able to repurchase the preferred shares from the Gilman heirs. References American businesspeople in retailing American retail chief executives The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company 1826 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople