Create Your First Project
Start adding your projects to your portfolio. Click on "Manage Projects" to get started
Two Marked Store Receipts for A. J. Willis
Collection
The Arthur J. Willis Collection
Format
Original store receipts
Date
1929-09
People
A. J. Willis; Arthur J. Willis; Arthur Willis
Michael Gladden Jr.; Michael Gladden
Location
Apopka, Florida, United States of America.
Historical Background
Two marked store receipts 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 right receipt, it states that Mr. Willis purchased a tire tube. Mr. Willis' $1.50 total brought his tab to $11.57 on September 13th, 1929.
On the right receipt, it states that Mr. Willis purchased magnesium and cheese. It is noted on this receipt that the "bad tire tube" was returned and 1.75 was taken off of his total of $11.97. Mr. Willis' final total was $10.49 on September 19th, 1929.
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.
