ARIZONA – CHINESE MERCHANT STORE CHECK – BENSON
Check from Hi Wo, General Merchandise, 3 ½ x 8 ½ to Albert Steinfeld & Co. 1926. Small graphic of Cochise in upper left corner. The Hi Wo Company Grocery building still exists and is located at 398 East 4th Street in Benson's commercial core/strip area. Opened in 1896, during the railroad era, it is located on the site of the original Rogers Brothers General Merchandise Store and serves as an excellent example of a commercial building .Chinese immigrant Hi Wo purchased the building in 1896 and made it into the main mercantile for the Benson area. The mercantile became a life-source for Benson residents and for transients as Benson has been the gateway to Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas. Chinese/Hispanic marriages were common at the time, so acceptably, soon after Hi lost his first wife, Loreto, he married her Tucsonan sister, Emeteriaa Morena and raised four daughters: Isabel, Soledad, Victoria and Felicia; and one son, José. These children spoke no Chinese, celebrated none of their father's native festivals and took Spanish names. Their dominant language was Spanish and all were confirmed Catholics.Fine cond. (ck.501); $65.