Robert Habersham Coleman (1856-1930)

Robert H. Coleman, of Cornwall Hall, Lebanon Co., Pennsylvania

He was just nine years old when he and his sister, Anne, inherited a controlling interest in one of the richest iron-producing businesses in America, established in 1798 by their great-grandfather (Robert Coleman) at Cornwall, Pennsylvania. In 1889, Robert and his sister were worth $30 million and said to have made $1,000 a day purely on interest. He famously built Cornwall Hall (pictured) from 1872, but after his first wife's premature death in 1880 he ordered all work on it to stop and razed it. Robert dedicated the rest of his life to philanthropy. He married again and had at least 3-children.
Contributed by Mark Meredith on 17/12/2019 and last updated on 30/05/2021.