R. Pearlstine and Sons Company

R. Pearlstine and Sons Company was the successor to Mrs. R. Pearlstine’s, a clothing store opened by Rebecca Tobish Pearlstine (1845-1917) to support her children following the death of her husband, Charles Louis Pearlstine (1836-1886). The company sold a variety of goods including tools, coffins, hearses, clothing, and groceries. By the turn of the 20th century, the Pearlstines had stores in other rural South Carolina towns, including St. George and Ehrhardt. From the mid-1890s until he became ill in 1899, Jacob T. Pearlstine (1867-1901) headed the company. From 1899 until the company’s cessation in 1902, Aaron Shep Pearlstine (1869-1954) oversaw the firm’s activities. After 1903, Rebecca Pearlstine’s sons had gone into business for themselves causing the company’s name to revert to R. Pearlstine’s of Branchville.