From the 3rd floor
of the Webb City Public Library
Webb City Area Genealogical Society
The photo we’ve selected to share this week was contributed by Dan Crutcher. It’s of the James E. Aul Grocery store, located at 110 W. Main (Broadway) Street.
Notice the Golden Gate Flour banner advertising locally made flour at the Boyd & Gunning Mill. The cans on the back wall were placed to form the letters AUL. The men behind the counter are William H. and Oscar C. Aul, brothers of James Aul.
The photo prompted us to do some research.
James Edmiston Aul was born in Kansas on July 28, 1874. He was the son of John and Nancy (McHenry) Aul. James married Mary Hannah Richards in Webb City on May 29, 1898. In 1900, James and Mary were living in Oronogo, where they were the owners of their own grocery stand, located at Third and Central streets.
The James E. Aul Grocery was very successful, and in December 1901 the store was moved to the Elliott Block, occupying rooms owned by Judge Elliott of Oronogo. The business was advertised as one of the best arranged retail grocery stores in the Southwest.They offered hay, grain, vegetables and heavy goods for purchase. Aul was able to add a freight elevator to the building in 1902, and in that year he became an agent for M. Born & Co., offering finely tailored suits, pants and overcoats.
In February 1903, James moved his store and his family to Webb City but still offered grocery delivery to Oronogo on Wednesdays, rain or shine.
The new location was at 2 S. Allen (Main) St., in the Murray Building. In 1905 the Aul family’s residence was at 313 S. Allen Street.
The business was very prosperous, in 1906 it was moved 1/2 block to the west into a 3-story brick building that had recently been constructed by T. C. Coyne.
The address was 110 W. Main (Broadway) Street and at this time the grocery employed 14 people.
James and Mary were the parents of four children, Pierce, Mildred and Mary, and a son who died in infancy. The grocery store continued to operate into the 1910s, with James running the store and Mary teaching school.
In 1913, James was listed as a salesman for Joplin Wholesale Grocery. The Aul family moved to Joplin in 1917, with James going into real estate and Mary continuing to teach school. Mary died on Sept. 7, 1945, at the age of 71.
James was remarried in 1950 to Katherine Shelley. He died on April 27, 1961, at the age of 86. They are both buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.
