Sarah Hand Coleman (1802-1825)
Died in Philadelphia, unmarried
She was in love with the Rev. William August Muhlenberg, Rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Lancaster. However, he and her father became involved in a bitter dispute over evening worship services, putting an end to any chance Sarah had of marrying him while her father was alive. Robert Coleman died in 1825, but to Sarah's horror, in his will he had granted his sons Edward and James the right of approval over any man Sarah might wish to marry, and sure enough, Edward shared his father's contempt for Muhlenburg. Sarah fled to Philadelphia where she took her own life that same year, just six years after her heartbroken sister, Ann, had done the same.
