Isaac And Sarah Woolf

King Street

A family of merchants

Isaac Woolf (1782–1870) ran a dry goods business here during the 1820s and 1830s. His wife, Sarah Woolf (1792–1869), a daughter of Rachel and Solomon Moses, had a business of her own, a King Street clothing store. As her mother had done, Sarah Woolf held the status of feme sole,A married woman who had the legal right to manage her own commercial affairs. Otherwise, women in this era were the virtual property of their husbands. or sole trader. Besides her shop, Mrs. Woolf also owned rental property, a two-story brick building further south on King Street, near Market Street. She bought that property in 1833 from Isaac Barrett for $2500, and made the final payment on the mortgage within a year.

Location of Isaac Woolf’s store

Location of Isaac Woolf’s store

Northeast corner of King and Boundary (later renamed Calhoun) streets, seen here in the upper left-hand side of the map, where the train tracks turn north on King. Bird's eye view of the city of Charleston, South Carolina 1872, Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.