The 1902 Holyoke City Directory listed 2 umbrella repairers. In 1903, the Business Directory changed its title to Umbrella Manufacturers and Repairers. This is the story of Benjamin Silverman, an umbrella manufacturer and repairer whose work may have prompted the directory title change.
Benjamin Silverman was born in Kadan, Poland, in 1871. In late 1889, he emigrated from his homeland and settled in Lewiston, Maine. In 1886, he was married to Fannie (Hyman) Silverman. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in January 1900 while residing in Maine. He was shown as an umbrella on the 1900 Federal Census.
Around 1902, the Silvermans, who had 2 children, relocated to Holyoke. That year, he opened the South Holyoke Umbrella Manufacturing Co. at 389 Main Street, near the corner of Hamilton Street. He sold over 50 varieties of umbrellas and parasols. The shop also repaired and recovered umbrellas.
The company's ads focused on low prices because it manufactured and sold umbrellas directly to customers, without the wholesalers many of its competitors used.
In early 1906, the family opened a second store at 418 High Street. The shops were now located in Holyoke's two prominent retail districts. In April 1906, the company became exclusive selling agents for a New York distributor of suitcases, trunks, bags, and an assortment of leather goods.
In mid-1906, an ad asked the public to watch for a door-to-door salesman who falsely claimed to work for the South Holyoke Umbrella Manufacturing Co. Apparently, his repair work was low quality and damaged the business's reputation.
Children received a free parasol with a customer purchase of 50¢ or more at either store.
In 1908, the company expanded its High Street location by building back to the alley to gain more floor space. Around this time, the company was renamed Holyoke Umbrella Company.
In 1910, the company purchased the inventory of the late U. E. Rivest's trunk shop and moved some new trunk-manufacturing equipment to its expanded High Street location. The repair department and new manufacturing orders were processed at 389 Main Street.
On May 4, 1911, the company officially opened at its new location, 435 High Street, adjacent to the Empire Theatre. The store had twice the floor space as its previous location and could better display its umbrella and trunk inventory in separate spaces.
In 1913, the company had a large outdoor electrical sign installed with the rebranded name, B. Silverman & Company.
The story continues in the final chapter with another name change as another Silverman family member became prominent in the business.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript -Telegram; publication dates and pages shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Genealogy Records and Price & Lee, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
1911 Richards Atlas of Holyoke, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, Boston, Massachusetts
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