Solomon Cohen Jr. (August 15, 1802 – August 14, 1875) was a lawyer, prominent in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, where he was also postmaster, the state's first Jewish senator, a district attorney, a real-estate developer and banker. He established the first Jewish Sunday School in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He is mentioned in the memoirs of

General William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognition for his comm ...

as being a "rich lawyer".

Life and career

Cohen was born in 1802 in

Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...

, to Solomon Cohen Sr. and Bella Moses. One of his siblings, brother Octavus, was a cotton merchant. His brother-in-law was Isaac Minis, husband of his sister Dinah. In 1836,First American Jewish Families
- The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives he married Miriam Gratz Moses, niece of

Rebecca Gratz Rebecca Gratz (March 4, 1781 – August 27, 1869) was a Jewish American educator and philanthropist in 19th-century America. She was a member of the Gratz family, who settled in the United States before the Revolutionary War. Early life Rebecca ...

, a philanthropist from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. They had three known children, two of whom died relatively young (including Gratz, who was killed in the

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War, Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last ...

, aged 20). Daughter Miriam Gratz lived until the age of 80. She was married to James Troup Dent Sr., a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

veteran. Cohen was the ''de facto'' publisher and distributor of the works of

Grace Aguilar Grace Aguilar (2 June 1816 – 16 September 1847) was an English novelist, poet and writer on Jewish history and religion. Although she had been writing since childhood, much of her work was published posthumously. Among those are her best know ...

, the English novelist who was of interest to his wife and her aunt. In 1839, Cohen and his brother-in-law

Mordecai Myers Mordecai Myers (November 9, 1794 – February 21, 1865) was a 19th-century American politician and landowner in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Life and career Named for his paternal grandfather, Myers was born in 1794 in South Carolina to p ...

(husband of his sister Sarah Henrietta) helped established the

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...

. Cohen was its treasurer between 1841 and 1844, and its vice-president between 1864 and 1868. He served as the president of the

Congregation Mickve Israel Congregation Mickve Israel (transliterated from Hebrew language, Hebrew as "Congregation for the Hope of Israel") is a Reform Judaism, Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 20 East Gordon Street, Monterey Square (Savannah, Georgia) ...

for several years. Shortly before his death, Cohen had built the home at today's 116–120 West Liberty Street, an addition to the 1851-built number 124. Cohen was a slave-owner. At one point, he owned eight slaves and hired out an additional fifteen.

Properties

In addition to his home at 116–120 West Liberty Street, Cohen also built properties at 124 West Liberty Street (1851) and 17 West Bay Street (1869).

Death

Cohen died in 1875, aged 72. He is interred in Savannah's

Laurel Grove Cemetery Laurel Grove Cemetery is a cemetery located in midtown Savannah, Georgia. It includes the original cemetery for white people (now known as Laurel Grove North) and a companion burial ground (called Laurel Grove South) that was reserved for slaves ...

, alongside his wife, who survived him by sixteen years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen Jr., Solomon 1802 births 1875 deaths People from Georgetown, South Carolina Lawyers from Savannah, Georgia American slave owners Confederate Jews 19th-century American Jews Jewish American people in Georgia (U.S. state) politics Jews from South Carolina Burials at Laurel Grove Cemetery Georgia (U.S. state) postmasters 19th-century American lawyers