M. Plottkin & Bro.

M. Plottkin & Bro. was co-founded by brothers Mike (c.1862-1887) and David Plottkin (1865-1950) around January 1886. The store was in operation just over a year when Mike was killed in the shop by a man named Jake Nimmons (d.1887). In his obituary, Mike was described as “an Israelite, about 25 years of age, and a native of Russia. He moved to Holly Hill [a station on the Eutawville Railroad] with his brother about thirteen months ago and established himself in business there.”¹

After Mike’s murder, a journalist allegedly spoke with Nimmons and reiterated that Nimmons “had no doubt that he killed Mr. Plottkin, but…failed to give the slightest motive for the crime, and said that he considered the devil was at the bottom of the whole business, that he never had the slightest trouble with Plottkin and that his only connection with him was the trading he did at the store.”² Nimmons was later hung for Mike’s murder, and David—who also spelt his last name “Platkin”—moved to Norfolk Virginia with his wife, Louisa Klauben Platkin (1865-1932), and their children. Louisa later opened L. Platkin in Branchville, South Carolina.

1 “Murder at Holly Hill,” Times and Democrat, March 2, 1887, 8.
2 “Looking Death in the Face,” Times and Democrat, December 7, 1887, 1.