De Leon & Levy

In 1839, Charleston native Mordecai Marks Levy (1808-1850) and Dr. Abraham De Leon (1790-1847) founded the pharmacy De Leon & Levy in Camden, SC. In addition to his work with De Leon, Levy served as a state legislator and sheriff of Kershaw District. He was also the editor of the newspaper Camden Commercial Courier, which was published from 1837 to 1838. The son of Jacob De Leon (1764-1828) and Hannah Hendricks De Leon (1767-1839)–leaders of Columbia’s early Jewish community–Dr. Abraham De Leon worked as a physician in Charleston and Camden. In addition to medicine, De Leon and Levy also sold surgical instruments, paints, oils, varnishes, paint brushes, dye stuffs, and window glass from their pharmacy, which they described as a “drug and colour business.”¹

¹ De Leon & Levy advertisement. The Camden Journal, February 1, 1840.