rite." Time also wrote in 1950, "Of every dollar the U.S. spends on food, about 10¢ is passed over A & P counters—a massive yearly total of $2.9 billion. Next to General Motors, the A&P sells more goods than any other company in the world." The New York Times, in an editorial on September 7, 2011, wrote that Hartford's sons George and John "were among the 20th century's most accomplished and visionary businessmen". The Wall Street Journal, in an editorial on August 29, 2011, wrote, "Together the brothers, neither of whom had finished high school, built what would be, for 40 years, the largest retail outlet in the world." Biography George Hartford's family came to New Hampshire in the late 1600s when Nicholas Hartford immigrated from Hertfordshire, England. George's grandfather moved to Augusta, Maine in 1796 and settled on a farm where their son, Joshua Brackett Hartford married Martha Soren and had two sons, George and his younger brother, John. Joshua and Martha operated a boarding house and livery stable that is now the site of a firehouse in Augusta. George received minimal formal education and at age 18 sailed to Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked as a dry goods store clerk. The company founding myth is that George Hartford and George Gilman started A&P in New York City in 1859. However, the 1859 St. Louis, Missouri directory lists George and his brother John Hartford as employees of Gilman's leather tanning firm which was based in New York but had an office in St. Louis. By 1860, the Hartford brothers returned to Augusta, Maine where John was listed in the census as a merchant and George as a box maker. Shortly after the census, John moved to New York City, where he is listed in the city directory with George Gilman in the tea importing business that ultimately became A&P. There is no known record of George Hartford in New York prior to 1861. While John Hartford quickly left the firm, George joined Gilman as a clerk by 1861; he later was promoted to bookkeeper, then cashier in 1866. Gilman was a master at promotion and the business quickly expanded by advertising low prices. In addition to the stores in New York, Gilman also built a nationwide mail order business. During this period, Hartford's role continued to grow and in 1871 he was responsible for expanding A&P to Chicago after