Ben Hilb
Merchant
c.1895-c.1923
Pearl Street
Darlington, SC
FAMILIES: Hilb
Ben Hilb (1875-1944) was born in Tennessee and raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He opened a dry goods store in his name on Pearl Street in Darlington around the turn of the century and married South Carolina native Irene Witcover (1883-1956) around 1906. At his store, he stocked clothing, shoes, furniture, home fixtures, and other dry goods until voluntarily declaring bankruptcy in 1923. Ben proceeded to work for a re-employment agency and a local department store in Darlington before moving north and opening a grocery store in New Jersey around 1940.
Main Image: Newspaper article referencing Ben Hilb’s store on Pearl Street. Reprinted from The Item, December 27, 1922.
Above Image: Obituary notice for Ben Hilb. Reprinted from The State, September 27, 1944.