Cowper and Telfairs (Savannah, Ga.)

Cowper and Telfairs was a mercantile partnership owned by Basil Cowper and brothers Edward and William Telfair. The Telfairs, of Scottish heritage, imported East Indian and European goods from London during the 1770s. Edward, a member of the Sons of Liberty, was elected to the Provincial Congress in 1774. He was a signed of the Articles of Confederation and a three-term governor of Georgia. Edward's family had a residence near Augusta called "The Grove." His children went on to become prominent citizens in Savannah. A Bill of Attainder passed in Augusta on May 4, 1781, calling for the banishment and confiscation of the property of Loyalist supports included the names of Basil Cowper and William Telfair. Following the American Revolution, both men left the United States.