Camden People - George A. Munger

George A. Munger was born May 24, 1849. By 1887 he was already well established in the lumber business. With his brother Chauncey, he conducted the George A. Munger & Brother lumber yard at 111 North Delaware Avenue in Camden. He was the living at 225 North 3rd Street. In 1888 he moved to another home at 521 Linden Street.

In 1890 George A. Munger entered into a business arrangement with J.B. Van Sciver. The Van Sciver business became a huge success, with the large turreted factory and store dominating Camden's waterfront skyline for decades to come.

George A. Munger also was involved, along with William L. Hurley, Killam E. Bennett, and Volney G. Bennett, in the incorporation of the Central Trust Company. This bank built a large building at 401 Federal Street, which is still standing. The bank advertised as "the most acceptable small bank known", catering to "women's accounts", and kept Saturday evening hours for workers unable to bank during the week.

In July of 1902 George A. Munger began the demolition of the old Carman Mansion at Broadway and Federal Street. George Munger then erected a new four-story department store building, which was used by Munger and Elmer Ellsworth Long. Munger & Long opened their big department store on April 12, 1904. The building was acquired by Stecker & Company in 1926, and by the J.C. Penney Company in 1932. It stood at Broadway and Federal Street until the 1960s.

George A. Munger passed away on March 24, 1909. He was buried at Harleigh cemetery in Camden NJ. The Munger family carried on the retail business until 1926, when the Stecker Company purchased the department store. It would in turn become a branch of the J.C. Penney department store chain in 1932, and remain a Camden landmark for many years.

A descendant of George A. Munger, also named George A. Munger, was named the football coach of the University of Pennsylvania in January of 1938. He would coach at Penn for 16 years, and compiled a 52-7-4 Ivy League record during this period.

South Jersey: A History
1864-1924
Alfred M. Heston, Editor-in-Chief

GEORGE ALMOND MUNGER,

George Almond Munger the founder of the Camden department store, Munger and Long, was a man well known and honored throughout South Jersey, and although it is over fifteen years since his death, in 1909, his memory is still cherished by a wide circle of friends and associates, and the high standards that he set arc maintained in the business enterprise that bears his name. Mr. Munger was the descendant of an early settler who came over from England about the middle of the seventeenth century, and his family traditions, together with his wit, tastes and inclinations, made him an ardent student of American history and genealogy. He accumulated gradually a collection of relics in this field that at the time of his death was considered extremely valuable. He was a genuine home lover, devoted to the fine and simple tradition, that make American life most worthwhile; and his influence in the community was, and still remains, immeasurable.

(1) Nicholas Munger, the progenitor of the Munger family in America, probably came from England with the Whitfield colony as an apprentice to William Chittenden, one of that company; or, according to other authorities, he may have come to this country with Henry Goldam and his family of the New Haven Colony, Goldam being his stepfather, At any rate the records clearly state that he was born in County Surrey, England, in 1630 or 1631, was about sixteen years of age at the time of the settlement of the Whitfield Colony, and completed his apprenticeship and became a "freeman" when he was about twenty-one. He married, at Guilford. Connecticut, June 2. 1659. Sarah Hall, daughter of William and Esther Hall, and died in the East Parish of Guilford, October 16, 1668, leaving two children of whom John was the eldest.

(II) John Munger was born in the East Parish of Guilford, April 26, 1660, died at the same place, November 3, 1732. He was a weaver by trade and spent his entire life in Guilford. He married, June 8, 1684, the daughter of James and Lydia Evarts, born May 26, 1664, died June, 1734; and they had nine children.

(III) Josiah Munger, son of John Munger, was born in the East Parish, Guilford, July 20, 1704, died February 21, 1780. He married, at Haddon, Connecticut, July 24, 1727, his wife having been born in 1707, died March 16, 177M. Josiah Munger was a prosperous farmer, and in 1725 moved to Spring Hill, a little south of where Chauncy Munger afterwards lived.

(IV) Timothy Munger, son of Josiah Munger, was born in the East Parish of Guilford, September 5, 1735. He married, October 20, 1757, Mabel Stevens, born October 8, 1739, died at Claremont, New Hampshire, June 14, 1815, at the age of seventy-five. Timothy Munger had six children. During the span of his lifetime exciting events of far-reaching import were taking place in the Colonies, and in these he played a worthy part, serving in both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars. He enlisted for service in the former as a member of the 1st Regiment, 5th Company, under Captain Andrew Ward of Guilford, serving for about seven months, from May 30 to December 13, 1758. In the Revolutionary War he served for a longer period and with higher rank, being made lieutenant of the 14th Company or drum band of the Seventh Regiment of Connecticut Colony by the Connecticut Assembly in June, 1776, and reenlisting in 1779 as captain of the same company. After the Revolution was over, Timothy Munger moved front the old home in Guilford to Claremont, Connecticut, with all of his family with the exception of Josiah, who remained in Guilford.

(V) Josiah Munger, son of Timothy and Mabel (Stevens) Munger, was horn in the East Parish of Guilford. October 2, 1760, died December 27, 1822. He married. at North Bristol, December 9. 1785, Hannah Munger, born December 26, 1757, died December 13, 1844, daughter of Caleb and Sarah Munger. and her husband's second cousin. They had eight children, of whom Russell was the third.

(VI) Russell Munger was born at North Bristol, Connecticut, March 9, 1790. These were the days when pioneers were opening up land to the west of the old colonial settlements, and Russell Munger made his way through the wilderness of New York State to Monroe County, where he cleared a space of land he bought from his brother Gaylord, built a log cabon, and at the approach of winter returned to civilization, following the blazed train through the forest. On Christmas Day 1812 he married and that spring took his bride and a small household outfit in an ox cart to the log cabin which he had built in the wilderness. He cleared more land and began to farm in a small way, planting corn and potatoes among the stumps of the trees. It was an arduous life, especially when, eight years later, his wife died, leaving him alone with five small children. He married again, and found in his wife a splendid helpmate; and here he lived for the rest of his days, taking part in the life of the community, being especially active in the organization of the Stone Church Presbyterian Society. Russell Munger married (first), on December 25, 1812, as noted, Lucy Thomas, born November 19, 1788, died at Riga, Monroe County, following childbirth in 1821. daughter of Morgan Thomas; and (second), January 17, 1822, Betsy Tuttle, born October 29, 1792, died September 24, 1875. He had, by his first marriage, five children, of whom Parliamer W. was the first, and six children by his second marriage. He died at Byron, New York, April 15, 1870.

(VII) Parliamer Wilson Munger was born at Riga, Monroe County, New York, November 25, 1814. He was a prosperous farmer and lived in Orleans and Genesee counties, New York, and finally at North Bergen, New York. In I874 poor health caused him to move to North Carolina, where he remained until 1882, when he returned to New York State. He was a staunch Presbyterian and a man of influence in his community. He married, at Bergen, New York January 25, 1844. Harriet Hudson, born Barre, New York, died at North Bergen, November 17, 1885, daughter of Joshua S. and Sarah (Dudley) Hudson: and they had ten children of which George A. was the third. Parliamer Munger died at North Bergen, aged seventy-seven years.

(VIII) George Almond Munger, son of Parliamer W. and Harriet (Hudson) Munger, the founder of the firm, Munger and Long, of Camden, was born at Clarendon, New York, May 24, 1849. For a number of years of his early business career he engaged in the sawmill and lumber business in Yeatesville, North Carolina, in association with his brother. Later he moved to Camden, and in 1890 opened a lumber yard there and also founded a planing mill. His efforts were attended with success, and he began to branch out into other fields of business enterprise; thus he purchased a half interest in the J.B. Van Sciver Company, of Camden and was one of the founders of the C. Howard Hunt Pen Company, in which firm he was an executive for a number of years, The first step toward the founding of the department store of Munger and Long was taken on July 2, 1902, when he bought the Carman homestead at Broadway and Federal Street. His son, Herbert Nathaniel Munger. was a third partner in the enterprise. Excavations began on August 20: and when quicksand and water were reached at a depth of nine feet, pile driving for foundations was resorted to. On May 15, 1903, the actual erection of the building was begun, and less than a year later. April 12, 1904 the store, then by far the largest, most modern and complete department store in Camden, was opened to the public. Plans for the the new store were purposely on a large scale, 50 that the business would have room to expand; and the faith of the founders has he en justified by the steady development of the concern. Mr. Munger was for years a director of the Central Trust Company, in addition to his more immediate business interests. His business reputation was of the highest order and he held a unique place in the esteem of his fellow citizens. As indicated above, his was a mind that loved to enrich his leisure hours with a broad range of interests, and his genuine feeling for objects of historic concern not only was a source of great enjoyment to him and his friends but made it possible for him to leave a collection of relics of very real interest and value, the result of long study and thought that ran through a period of many years. Mr. Munger was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Camden, remaining loyal to the denomination of his forbears, to which they and he were greatly attached.
He married, at Caledonia. New York, June 19, 1878, Mary E. Mosier, born March 11, 1848, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Green) Mosier; and they had two sons: Herbert Nathaniel and Clarence Almond, both at present partners in Munger and L ong. He died of apoplexy at Camden, March 30, 1909.

(IX) Herbert Nathaniel Munger, son of George Almond and Mary E. (Mosier) Munger, was born at New Mills, Camden County, North Carolina, April 28, 1879 and was educated in the Camden public schools and Lawrenceville Preparatory School. He married and settled in Merion, Pennsylvania. Herbert Nathaniel Munger was one of the founders and original three partners of Munger and Long at the time that the store was built in 1902-04, and is still a partner in the concern.

(IX) Clarence Almond Munger, second son of George Almond and Mary E. (Mosier) Munger was born at Yeatesville, North Carolina, October 29, 1882. He received his education in the Camden public schools, graduated from Lawrenceville Preparatory School and Pierce Business College. The latter he attended with the specific purpose of obtaining business training that would be of value to him in his business career with Munger and Long, and he entered the store very shortly after its founding and is at present one of the partners of the concern. He is married, and living at Merchantville. Under the management of the: two brother, the Munger traditions and standard of service have able representation in the firm of Munger and Long, and the store, which has become a local institution, continues to hold its unique place in the business life of the city.

Postcards where Munger & Long Store is Depicted

Munger & Long Department Store Broadway & Federal Street As seen from the Catholic Lyceum	Munger & Long Department Store Broadway & Federal Street Postcard dates from about 1915

"Federal Street, West From Broadway"	"Federal and Arch Streets, from Broadway & Federal Street, Camden NJ"

"Federal Street, Looking East From Court House"	Broadway, Looking South, after 1926

*Camden Courier-Post June 15, 1932**

...continued...

George A. Munger - Elmer Ellsworth Long - Stecker & Sons - J.C. Penney Company Lit Company - North 6th Street - F.W. Woolworth Company John O. Wilson - Furman A. DeMaris - Herbert N. Munger - Clarence A. Munger