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Marked Store Receipt for A. J. Willis
Collection
The Arthur J. Willis Collection
Format
Original paper receipt
Date
1920-11-28
People
A. J. Willis; Arthur J. Willis; Arthur Willis
Michael Gladden Jr.; Michael Gladden
Location
Apopka, Florida, United States of America.
Historical Background
A marked store receipt for the account of Arthur J. Willis. purchased from M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries, Apopka's longest-running business, owned by Michael Gladden Jr.
On the receipt, it is indicated that Mr. Willis paid 50 cents to his tab's total of $21.40. After paying, Mr. Gladden indicated on November 28th, 1929, that his new total was $20.90.
Little is known about Arthur J. Willis. With what surviving records are present in the Michael Gladden Jr. Collection, it is known that Mr. Willis was born in Alabama in or around the year 1894. He may have attended Morehouse College alongside Michael Gladden Jr. in the early to mid 1920s, where they might have formally been introduced. Mr. Willis was fully literate and was part of the Apopka Negro Business League alongside Michael Gladden Jr. He and Mr. Gladden would often participate in debates to fundraise for Apopka's historic Black cemeteries. Mr. Willis worked as a tailor, clothes cleaner, and presser. At one point in his life. Mr. Willis was attacked by robbers and permanently blinded. The legendary Black community historian, Ms. Francina Boykin, even lived with Mr. Willis in her early childhood.
