Samuel Loef (1883-1971) immigrated from Germany to New York about 1890, where he lived with his parents, Hannah Lieberman (1858-1924) and Jospeh Jacob Loef (1857-1931), a coal dealer. He married Esther Diftler (1884-1968), a fellow German immigrant, and they had one son, Harry Loef (1905-1982). The family settled in Columbia by 1907, where Samuel worked he worked in a glass factory and later as a clothing merchant. In 1913, they moved to Spartanburg in 1913 where he opened the New Credit Store, a credit-based clothing business. The store closed by 1916, after Samuel opened a junk yard at 140-147 S. Liberty Street with partner Philip Weintraub (1880-1972).