Solomon Cohen Sr.

Solomon Cohen Sr. was a distinguished merchant and prominent citizen of both Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, in the 18th and 19th centuries. He was also a slave owner.

Life and career

Cohen was born in Charleston, Province of South Carolina, in 1757, to Moses Cohen and Dinah Congue. His father, born in England in 1709, was a founder and the first Rabbi of Temple Beth Elohim in Georgetown, South Carolina. His is the oldest tombstone in Charleston's Coming Street Cemetery.
He married Bella Moses, daughter of Myer Moses and Rachel Andrews, in 1796. Their son, Solomon Cohen Jr., became a noted lawyer in Savannah. Their daughter, Sarah Henrietta, married Savannah's Mordecai Myers II.
Cohen became a merchant and civic leader in Georgetown. He was also a slave owner, at one point "holding nine African citizens against their will." In a letter to his sister-in-law Emma Mordecai, he wrote:

Death

Cohen died in 1835, aged 77. He is interred in Savannah's Laurel Grove Cemetery, alongside his wife, who survived him by 27 years.