| Solomon Cohen | |
| Birth Date: | October 13, 1757 |
| Birth Place: | Charleston, Province of South Carolina |
| Death Place: | Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Spouse: | Bella Moses (–1835; his death) |
| Children: | Solomon Cohen Jr. |
Solomon Cohen Sr. (October 13, 1757 – May 23, 1835) 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.
Cohen was born in Charleston, Province of South Carolina, on October 13, 1757, to Moses Cohen and Dinah Congue. His father, born in England in 1709,[1] was a founder and the first Rabbi of Temple Beth Elohim in Georgetown, South Carolina.[2] His is the oldest tombstone in Charleston's Coming Street Cemetery.
He married Bella Moses, daughter of Myer Moses and Rachel Andrews,[3] in 1796.[1] 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."[4] In a letter to his sister-in-law Emma Mordecai (sister of Mordecai Myers I, who married Cohen's sister, Esther), he wrote:
Cohen died on May 23, 1835, aged 77. He is interred in Savannah's Laurel Grove Cemetery, alongside his wife, who survived him by 27 years.