Henry Solomons

In 1893, Sumter, South Carolina newspaper The Watchman and Southron reprinted a notice from Kingstree, South Carolina newspaper The Kingstree Record that “Mr. Henry Solomons (1823-1915), who had been a citizen of this town for thirty-one years, removed with his family to Sumter last Monday to live.” Sentimentally, the author of the notice proffered a final farewell to that town’s beloved citizen, “’Uncle Henry’ as he was familiarly called here, will no longer be seen on our streets entertaining his friends with his rare wit and good humor. He expressed to us before leaving a great appreciation of the citizens of this town and county, and of their uniform kindness to him, and requested us to extend to them for him an affectionate good-bye.”¹ Born in England, Solomons arrived in the United States by 1862, settling in Kingstree. According to the 1870 and 1880 Federal Censuses, Solomons made a living as a grocer and merchant, respectively. After he moved with his family to Sumter in 1893, Solomons appears to have given up his mercantile pursuits in favor of farming.

¹ “Personal.” The Watchman and Southron, November 8, 1893.