John Sephus Mack

Who was John Sephus Mack?

John Sephus Mack, was president of the G. C. Murphy Company, a prominent variety-store chain during the early 20th century.

Mack was the son of a farmer and educated in the public schools of Indiana County, Pennsylvania and at a business college in Johnstown. "Seph" Mack began his career as a stock room clerk at McCrory Stores in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which was owned by his cousin, J. G. McCory. By 1908, Mack had become general manager.

In 1911, he and another employee, Walter C. Shaw, resigned from McCrory and purchased G.C. Murphy Co., McKeesport, Pennsylvania, which owned about a dozen “five and dime” stores near Pittsburgh but which had begun to fail after the premature death of its founder in 1909. Mack became president and chairman of the board in 1912, and after some years of struggle turned the failing company around. The Murphy Company improved its position during the Great Depression, and from 1929 to 1934, sales increased from $15.7 million to $28 million. By 1934, there were 181 Murphy Co. stores in eleven states and Washington, D.C. At one point, Murphy Company was the third-largest variety-store chain in the country.