Alexander Telfair (1738-1786) was a Scottish merchant who established a successful business in Halifax. A loyalist, when the state of North Carolina required all citizens to take an oath of allegiance to the new state in 1777, Telfair refused and was given 60 days to leave the state. As he and other loyalist families made preparations to leave North Carolina, Telfair purchased and fitted out a ship he called The Brothers, which would take Telfair and his companions to New York City and later to England. Given the ship's passenger list, many pro-independence individuals referred to it as "the Tory Brig," and when William Brimage, a prominent co-conspiracist in the Gourd Patch Affair went on the run, many assumed that he would try to board the Telfair's ship and make his escape. Brimage did not make his escape however, and Telfair along with his family and several other loyalists eventually left the state in August 1777. He later served as a reference for other North Carolina loyalists seeking compensation from the American Loyalist Claims Commission, including Francis Johnston.