R. Pearlstine and Sons

Merchant
1895-1903


St. George, SC

FAMILIES: Pearlstine

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.

Main Image: R. Pearlstine and Sons advertisement. Reprinted from The Bamberg Herald, January 17, 1901.

The Jewish Merchant Project is supported by the generosity of the Henry & Sylvia Yaschik Foundation and the Stanley B. Farbstein Endowment at the Coastal Community Foundation.

JHSSC Office
Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center
96 Wentworth Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Phone: 843 953 3918