Louis Loyns

By 1870, German immigrant Louis Loyns (1848-1909) was living in Darlington County, South Carolina with his uncle, Adolph W. Loyns (1822-1897). Louis worked as a clerk in his uncle’s dry goods store. By 1880, Louis had moved to Manning, South Carolina, where he opened a general merchandise store. Selling everything from groceries, to crockery, to machine oil, to clothing, the store, known simply as Louis Loyns, remained in operation until it failed in 1899. At that point, Louis, his wife, Rose Levi (1853-1915), and their five children moved to Timmonsville, South Carolina, where Louis would open another general merchandise store. Unfortunately, Louis’s new store was engulfed in flames during a fire that swept through the Timmonsville business district in 1901. As his losses were estimated at $2,000 and he lacked insurance, the fire truly devastated him. The Loyns family remained in Timmonsville until around 1906. They then moved to Sumter, South Carolina, where Louis would live out the rest of his life.