Jennie Benedict opened her first store in partnership with Salome Kerr and Charles Scribner. Ms. Kerr had kept the books for Benedict for several years; Mr. Scribner was included because at the time the pair thought it best to have a male partner “for business reasons.” Benedict later changed her mind about needing a male associate:
“I was familiar with what was later incorporated in the Nineteenth Amendment, but was not actuated by any of the sentiments that agitated the minds of the women of those days…But Miss Kerr and I changed our minds about the necessity of having a man as a business partner, so we negotiated for the purchase of Mr. Scribner’s interest, and on acquiring this, we felt that we had everything our own way.”
