The Polier Family

The first Aiken Jewish Merchants

Harris (HL) Polier (1848-1921) is the first known Jewish merchant in Aiken and his arrival was the catalyst for the arrival of other Jewish Merchants here. HL came to America from Russia in 1878, living first in Cleveland and then Augusta before coming to Aiken in the late 1880s. It’s believed he decided to stay in Aiken due to its’ growing reputation as a Winter destination for Northerners.

HL opened for business in Aiken as early as 1888 and his HL Polier’s store operated for around 50 years. The store was initially located on Main St (Laurens) at the corner of Curve (Hayne, The Alley) and is believed to have subsequently moved a few doors down to the current location of Cindi’s Sweet Shop. After HL passed away in 1921, management transferred first to his second wife Fannie Cohen Polier (1865-1943) and then to his daughter-in-law Ruth Slater Polier.

Morris (MS) Polier (1860-1935) quickly joined his brother HL in Aiken and opened a Polier’s Barber Shop by 1891 as well as a dry goods store. MS left Aiken for Atlanta in 1907, selling the dry good store to Jacob Wolf & the barber shop to a Mr. Jeffcoat. MS bought back control of the barber shop when he returned to Aiken in 1909 and operated this business until 1933. The business was notable for employing African American barbers.

MS’s wife Augusta Harris Polier (1862-1929) opened a successful women’s clothing store around 1915. This store was in the Croft building on Laurens St next to her husband’s barber shop. It was initially called Mrs. Polier’s Millinery but the name was changed to The Fashion Store around 1920. The store was run by Augusta Polier’s daughter Rebecca Polier Goodman after she passed away in 1929 and continued to operate until around 1933.

The Poliers were instrumental in bringing other Jewish families to Aiken -- in particular the Suraskys. BM Surasky married HL’s sister Sarah Anne Polier and he followed HL to Aiken to work in his dry goods store learning English before going out on his own. BM was subsequently joined by his extended family (including four brothers & a sister) and together they opened two stores on Laurens Street by 1904.

The Poliers were actively involved in the Aiken Jewish community and in the formation of the Synagogue. MS Polier was the first President of the Synagogue and spoke at the dedication.

The Poliers did well in Aiken and this success meant the next generation of Poliers often pursued careers outside the family business — although family members continued to support these businesses when needed:

HL’s son Isadore (Shad) Polier (1906-1976) went from the University of South Carolina (where he won medals for his creative writing) to Harvard Law School and married Justine Wise Tulin, (a Yale lawyer) who was the daughter of Stephen Wise, Rabbi of The Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (a leading Reform Jewish Synagogue in New York City). Shad was a prominent civil rights lawyer who served on the Executive Committee of the NAACP Legal defense Fund for thirty years. His legal work supported ground breaking Supreme Court cases such as the Scottsboro Boys & Brown v Board of Education.
HL’s son David Polier (1895-1964) also became a lawyer practicing in New York; he later returned to Aiken where he practiced law while his wife (Ruth Slater Polier) helped run his father’s dry good store
MS’ daughter Rebecca Polier (1896-1974) married Samuel Goodman (a salesman); they returned to Aiken for a period so she could help run her mother’s clothing store but subsequently moved to Raleigh North Carolina

There are no Poliers remaining in Aiken (except in the Bethany Cemetery) but their descendants remain connected to this history. Nelson Danish (great grandson of HL Polier) lives in North Augusta and remains active in the Jewish community in the CSRA –including by helping create a digital catalogue of all the tombstones in the Sons of Israel section of the Bethany cemetery.