R. Pearlstine and Sons

R. Pearlstine and Sons was the successor to Mrs. R. Pearlstine’s, a clothing store opened in Branchville, South Carolina by Rebecca Tobish Pearlstine (1845-1917) to support her children following the death of her husband, Charles Louis Pearlstine (1836-1886). R. Pearlstine and Sons sold a variety of goods, including tools, coffins, hearses, clothing, and groceries. By the turn of the twentieth century, the company had opened stores in other rural South Carolina towns, including St. George and Ehrhardt. Rebecca Pearlstine’s son, Jacob T. Pearlstine (1867-1901) headed the company from the mid-1890s until he fell ill in 1899. From 1899 until the company’s cessation in 1902, Rebecca Pearlstine’s son, Aaron Shep Pearlstine (1869-1954), oversaw the firm’s activities. After 1903, Rebecca Pearlstine’s sons had gone into business for themselves causing the company’s name to revert to R. Pearlstine’s of Branchville.