the great fire. A&P's first store outside New York City was opened within days after the disaster. By 1875, A&P had stores in 16 cities. Three years later, Gilman retired and left the active management of the firm to Hartford. By then, the firm operated 70 lavishly-equipped stores and a mail order business with combined annual sales of $1 million. In July 1861, George married Marie Josephine Ludlum of Goshen, New York. They had two children: Maria Josephine Hartford (1862 - 1941) and George Ludlum Hartford (1864 - 1957) while in Brooklyn. After his promotion to cashier in 1866, Hartford moved his family to Orange, New Jersey where they had three additional children; Edward Vassallo Hartford (1870 - 1922), John Augustine Hartford (1872 - 1951) and Marie Louise Hartford (1875 - 1927). When the incumbent Mayor decided not to seek reelection in 1878, the local Democratic organization experienced difficulties finding a candidate and ultimately asked George Hartford. As a Catholic, Hartford was acceptable to the large Irish and German immigrant communities, and as a businessman, he appealed to many Republicans. Mayor Hartford was a progressive, building schools, installing electric lighting and starting a municipal water system. The burning issue during the period was temperance and in 1888, the Mayor shut down saloons operating illegally on Sunday. That action generated substantial opposition within the Democratic Party and in 1890 Hartford was defeated. About 1880, A&P started selling sugar in its stores and continued aggressive growth. By 1884, the firm operated stores as far west as Kansas City and south as Atlanta. The company also operated wagon routes to serve rural customers. About this time, two of Mr. Hartford's sons, George L. Hartford and John A. Hartford joined the firm. Company lore is that George convinced his father to expand the product line to include A&P branded baking powder. Over the next decade, the company added other A&P branded products such as condensed milk, spices, and butter. As it expanded its offerings, the tea company was gradually creating the first grocery chain. By the end of the century, the firm had sales of $5 million from 198 stores as well as its mail order and wagon route operations. However, other new grocery chains were expanding more rapidly and blanketing their respective territories while the tea company's stores were spread over a much larger area. The firm quickly found itself at a disadvantage.