J. David & Co.

Jacob David (1854-1914) established himself as a junk dealer at J. David & Co. in 1899. Jacob was born in Poland in 1854 and immigrated to the United States with his parents as an infant. He ultimately grew up in Charleston and briefly worked as a clerk in Camden before moving to Columbia. There, Jacob operated a saloon and pool room until a state dispensary law forced him to close in 1893. He then managed a grocery store for several years before retiring from the mercantile industry in 1899. Later that year, he established his junk business in the Southern Railway yard near Gervais Street and formally received a license to sell his salvaged goods the following January. He operated J. David & Co. until shortly before his death in June 1914.