Pierre Lorillard Ronalds (1826-1905)
of "Castle Ronald" Newtown, Connecticut; "Father of American Coaching"
He was named for his maternal grandfather the tobacco millionaire Pierre Lorillard II. He was a Member of the New York Chamber of Commerce and made a fortune as the owner of a plumbing supplies business in New York City. From 1859 to the mid-1880s, he spent most of his time in Europe and was described as a, "world traveler, sportsman, bon vivant, gambler and friend of royalty". He was passionate about horses and particularly driving (and collecting) coaches so that he became known as the "father of American coaching". He was internationally recognized for his ability to handle fast teams of horses under the most testing conditions. He owned a small carriage that had belonged to the Duke of Wellington which he is reputed to have driven from the Mediterranean all the way up through Europe to his ancestral home in Scotland. In 1888, when he was described as, "an extremely wealthy and somewhat eccentric New York gentleman," to his own design, he built "Castle Ronald" in Newtown, Connecticut, where he lived until his death. However, his wife remained in London as the mistress of the famous composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. They were the parents of three children although their eldest son liked to boast that he was the natural son of Napoleon III.
