Robert William Coleman (1823-1864)
Co-Owner of the Cornwall Iron Furnace, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania
He and his brother, William, were still boys when their father died in 1836. Their uncles, William and Edward (and several trusted managers), stepped in to keep the Cornwall Furnace running (showing a $20,000 profit in 1840 alone) and implemented several major operational improvements during the 1840s. In addition to the improvements to the Cornwall Furnace, Robert - a gifted iron master and shrewd businessman - oversaw the construction of a new hot blast furnace. In partnership with his cousin, George Dawson Coleman, a railroad was built between the ore mines and the Union Canal in north Lebanon, near the site of George Dawson's anthracite furnaces. After William and Robert (who was not married) died in 1861 and 1864 respectively, the new partners were: William and Robert's sisters, Margaret Freeman, Anne Alden, and Sarah Coleman, and William's two children, Robert H. Coleman and Anne (Coleman) Rogers. Managers such as Artemis Wilhelm became crucial to the success of the Cornwall Furnace and the other family-owned furnaces.
