1787 James E Gowen of Philadelphia b. 1787 in Ireland

JAMES E. GOWEN EMIGRATED FROM COUNTY DONEGAL, IRELAND TO INITIATE A GIANT PHILADELPHIA FINANCIAL DYNASTY

James E. Gowen, an Irish emigrant, landed in Philadelphia at
the age OF 15 and by enterprise and dedication, became eminent-
ly successful. He guided his nine children into successful
businesses and successful marriages. Each generation in turn,
built on the financial foundation laid down by James E. Gowen,
and an empire was created.

His descendants became bankers, lawyers, railroad presidents,
coal mine owners, steel mill owners, manufacturers, financiers,
career diplomats, politicians and philanthropists. Their mar-
riages were to some of the most successful “main line” fami-
lies in the Philadelphia social register including Innis, du
Pont, Disston, Firestone, Drexel, Coleman, Goodyear, and others.

The Gowen family of Philadelphia, generally admired and en-
vied, became financially the most successful branch of the fam-
ily in America.

It all started in the poverty-stricken community of Newton
Stewart in County Donegal, the northernmost county of Northern
Ireland. James E. Gowen was born there March 17, 1787, accord-
Ing to “Descendants of Grandpa Gowen,” author unknown. He em-
igrated to the United States in 1802, and upon his arrival in
Philadelphia, secured a job working for “Mr. McKane, Importer
of Portuguese Fine Wines.” Later he became a partner with Mc-
Kane, and upon the death of his employer, took over the business.

In 1815, while serving as best man at the wedding of his friend,
Mr. I. Thorp to Catherine Miller, he met his bride-to-be. When
teased by the bridesmaids for being “an old bachelor,” he put
his hand on the arm of the youngest sister of the bride, Mary
Miller, and declared, “I’m waiting for this little girl.” Four-
teen years later, they were married.

She was descended from Sebastian Mueller [later Miller] who,
with his brother Baltus Mueller came from Germany with Francis
Daniel Pastorius in 1683. Pastorius, a German lawyer, became a
religious leader and brought a colony of Quakers and Mennonites
to Pennsylvania, settling northwest of Philadelphia. He laid
out his settlement and named it Germantown, Pennsylvania. It
continues today as a section of Philadelphia.

Pastorius delivered a protest against Negro slavery in America at
the Yearly Meeting of the Friends, the first protest of its kind
by a colonial religious leader. Two hundred years later, the ab-
olitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier made Pastorius’ address
the subject of his poem, “The Pennsylvania Pilgrim.” His preface
to the poem contained a translation of Pastorius’ Latin prologue
to the Germantown book of records.

It was at Germantown that the American colonists under George
Washington suffered one of their greatest defeats at the hands
of the British. On October 4, 1777 in the Revolutionary War
an abortive attack was launched by 11,000 American troops upon
9,000 British regulars under Gen. Sir William Howe who held the
town.

Not discouraged by his recent defeat in the Battle of Brandy-
wine Creek, Gen. Washington conceived of a daring and imagina-
tive plan to attack the city simultaneously from four different
directions. The surprise raid, executed at dawn on October 4,
1777, failed because it could not be coordinated and because of
a dense fog that shrouded the town. In the fog some of the Amer-
ican forces fired upon one of their own columns. Over 1,000
American casualties resulted, and Washington was forced to with-
draw toward Valley Forge, some 15 miles to the west.
in Washington

James E. Gowen was 42 when he was married in Germantown to “this
little girl,” Mary Miller, daughter of James Miller of Mt. Airy,
Pennsylvania. When whiskey became legalized in Philadelphia,
James E. Gowen declared that the business was no longer a proper
vocation for a gentleman and retired to farming at Mt. Airy, a
wealthy man. He became known as a foremost breeder of shorthorn
cattle.

John Gowen, “a brother to James Gowen,” was a candidate for Con-
gress in Pennsylvania about 1828. He died October 4, 1832, ac-
cording to the “National Genealogical Quarterly,” June 1964.
After his brother’s death, James E. Gowen became interested in
politics.

He became known for his Irish eloquence and was much sought after
for speaking engagements. His political rivals attributed his
popularity to the “blarney stone.” In an Irish anti-Jackson
meeting held in Philadelphia August 6, 1832, James E. Gowen and
“Mr. Haly” spoke on Irish eloquence.

James E. Gowen, “an Irish mechanic” whose politics irritated the
establishment, was nominated for Congress in 1834 in the First
Congressional District in Philadelphia, according to “Jacksonian
Heritage in Pennsylvania Politics” by Charles McColl Snyder.
James E. Gowen made a political speech in Philadelphia in 1837
which was printed and listed in the National Union Catalogue.
He was described as a “low Irish radical politician” in “Diary
of Sidney George Fisher, 1834-1871” edited by Nicholas B. Wain-
wright.

James E. Gowen “of Germantown. Pennsylvania” addressed the Lan-
caster County Agriculture Society at its annual meeting Janu-
ary 13, 1852, according to Library of Congress records [S523.
G72]. He delivered an address before the Mercer County Agricul-
ture Society at its annual meeting September 20, 1853. It was
printed in a 27-page booklet and is listed in the National Union
Catalogue.

James E. Gowen died in 1871 at the age of 84. Children born to
James E. Gowen and Mary Miller Gowen include:

Alfred Gowen born about 1831
James Emmet Gowen born in 1832
Ellen Gowen born in 1834
Franklin Benjamin Gowen born February 9, 1836
Mary Gowen born about 1837
Henry Gowen born about 1839
George Gowen born about 1842
Rebecca Gowen born about 1845
Emily Gowen born about 1850

Several individuals among his descendants, men and women, achie-
ved prominence:

James Emmet Gowen, son of James E. Gowen, became a prominent
railroad attorney. His brilliant defense of the Camden & Amboy
Railroad Company before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in
January 1864 was printed and deposited in the Library of Con-
gress.

James Emmet Gowen joined his brother, Franklin Benjamin Gowen
as counsel for the defense for another railroad in the U. S.
Circuit Court at Trenton, New Jersey in November 1883. Their
246-page presentation was also deposited in the Congressional
Library.

Francis Innes Gowen, son of James Emmet Gowen, following in
the footsteps of his father and uncle, began to represent the
expanding railroad industry as legal counsel. Following the
panic of 1893, the Choctaw Coal & Railroad Company was reor-
ganized by its Philadelphia owners as Choctaw, Oklahoma and
Gulf Railroad with Francis Innes Gowen as president.

Prior to that time Francis Innes Gowen was appointed, along
with James W. Throckmorton, a former governor of Texas, as
receivers to operate the defunct CC&RC.

During the period of intense coal mining activity in eastern Ok-
lahoma the town of Gowen, Oklahoma was established January 13,
1894 and named for Francis Innes Gowen.

He was also counsel for the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Philadel-
phia. He was general solicitor for the Philadelphia & Reading
until 1912. In that year he was named general counsel for the
railroad and continued in that capacity until 1921.

He was a director of the Girard Trust Company and Midland Val-
ley Railroad Company. He was manager of Philadelphia Saving
Fund Society.

Alfred C. Harrison, his grandson, was married about 1937 to
Pauline du Pont. Their daughter, Alison was married to Frank
H. Goodyear.

James Emmet Gowen, son of Francis Innes Gowen, was married to
Sally Drexel Henry June 25, 1925. From 1930 to 1933 he was
vice-president of Philadelphia Saving Fund in Philadelphia.
He served as president from 1933 to 1939.

He was named director of Western Saving Fund Society, Penn Mu-
tual Insurance Company, Insurance Company of North America, In-
demnity Insurors, North American Alliance Insurance Company,
Philadelphia Fire & Marine Company, United Fireman’s Insurance
Company, Muskegon, Kansas, Oklahoma & Gulf Railway, Muskogee
County Mutual Assurance Company, The Pennsylvania Company,
Donaldson Iron Company, Westmoreland, Inc, Drexel Institute
of Technology, Baltimore & Wilmington Railway Company and Manor
Real Estate & Trust Company. He was president of Girard Trust
Company from 1939 to 1949 and president of Girard Trust-Corn
Exchange Bank in 1949.

Mariana Winder Gowen, great-granddaughter of James E. Gowen,
was married to George Dawson Coleman, president of Ebensburg
Coal Company. When he died about 1959, the “Lebanon Daily News”
carried an article on his probate:

“The widow and two sons of G. D. Coleman, late of Lebanon
and Philadelphia, banker-industrialist, will share his two
million dollar estate, it was disclosed by his will which
was filed for probate at Media yesterday.

He was chairman of the board of Ebensburg Coal Company and
Coleman, Inc, both Philadelphia firms, and had been chairman
of the board of the First National Bank of Lebanon since 1942.
Mrs. Coleman and her brother, James E. Gowen are named execu-
tors and trustees. The late G. Dawson Coleman was a son of
B. Dawson Coleman, banker and coal mine operator, who left an
estate of $5,000,000.”

Martha Winder Gowen Coleman died February 28, 1975. Her obitu-
ary in the “Lebanon Daily News” read:

“Mrs. G. Dawson Coleman, the former Mariana Winder Gowen,
and Philadelphia area civic leader, died Friday after a
long illness. She was a member of the board of the Home
of the Merciful Savior for Crippled Children in Philadel-
phia for 51 years. She was a former chairman of the board
of managers of the Church Farm School in Paoli; a former
life trustee of the Foxcroft School, Middleburg, Virginia
and board member of the old Women’s Hospital in West Phil-
adelphia. She was also a former chairman of the Devon
County Fair; a former board member of the Harriton Asso-
ciation, an historical restoration group and a former
board member of the YWCA in Philadelphia.”

Bertram Dawson Coleman, Jr, son of Mariana Winder Gowen
Coleman, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as
commanding officer of a mine sweeper in the North Atlantic.
Later he was executive officer aboard the U.S.S. Fulham, a
destroyer in the South Pacific where he was awarded the
Bronze Star. He was married in 1949 to Patricia Disston.

He was president of Ebensburg Coal Company from 1950 to 1957.
From 1958 to 1965 he was a partner in Drexel & Company. In
1966, he became president of Drexel, Harriman, Ripley, Inc.
In 1971, he was chairman of Drexel, Firestone, Inc, retiring
in 1972. He was a director of Western Savings Bank of Phil-
adelphia, Griet Realty Trust, Rockower Bros, Inc. and Abitibi
Paper & Power Co, The Wyomissing Corp, Susan Thomas, Inc,
Greenfield Investment Realty Trust, the Philadelphia Museum
of Art, Home of the Merciful Savior and Agnes Irwin School.
He was a member of the Sons of the War of 1812.

Francis Innes Gowen Coleman, son of Mariana Winder Gowen Cole-
man, was a career diplomat with the U. S. State Department.
In 1976 he was vice-consul at Marseille, France.

Franklin Benjamin Gowen, son of James E. Gowen, in 1870 was
elected president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad,
for which he had been counsel since 1864. He was nominated
for the U.S. Senate January 14, 1875.

In December 1889 while in Washington, D. C. to appear before
the Interstate Commerce Commission in behalf of one of his
clients, he committed suicide in his room at a hotel, by
firing a bullet into his brain.

No satisfactory explanation could be found for his act, ac-
cording to Scribner’s “Dictionary of American Biography,”
Volume VII. “He was in good health, at the height of his
mental powers, well-to-do and enjoying the respect of his
contemporaries.”

His obituary appeared December 16, 1889 in the “Philadel-
phia Public Ledger,” the “Philadelphia North American,” and
the “Baltimore Sun.” In its edition of December 15, 1889 the
“New York Times” carried as its front page banner story an ac-
count of the suicide.

“Gowen, Ruler of the Reading–The Life of Franklin B. Gowen,
1836-1889” was published in 1947. Marvin W. Schegel was the
author of the 308-page book.

Morris Wickersham Gowen, grandson of James E. Gowen, in 1895
lived in Florence, Italy where he was posted in diplomatic
service.

Franklin Crosbie Gowen, son of Morris Wickersham Gowen, was
born there December 16, 1895. He became a foreign service of-
ficer with the U.S. State Department in 1925. He was appoin-
ted Vice Consul in Genoa, Italy in 1926. He was consul in
Rome from 1926 to 1930. He was consul in Naples in 1930 and
1931, and in Palermo in 1931. In 1932 he was transferred to
London where he remained for the next ten years.

He served as secretary of the London embassy from 1939 to
1941. He handled diplomatic relations with Poland, Norway,
Belgium, The Netherlands, and Yugoslavia, governments in ex-
ile in London during World War II.

In 1941 and 1942, he worked in European Affairs Section in
Washington. From 1942 to 1944, he was assistant to Myron C.
Taylor, personal representative of the president to Pope Pius,
a position he held for many years, according to “Who’s Who in
America.” He was a member of the Pennsylvania Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution.

From GRF Newsletter Apr 1991:

James E. Gowen Started Giant
Philadelphia Financial Dynasty

James E. Gowen, an Irish emigrant, landed in Philadelphia at
the age 15 and by enterprise and dedication, became eminently
successful. He guided his nine children into successful
businesses and successful marriages. Each generation in turn,
built on the financial foundation laid down by James E.
Gowen, and an empire was created.

His descendants became bankers, lawyers, railroad presidents,
coal mine owners, steel mill owners, manufacturers,
financiers, career diplomats, politicians and philanthropists.
Their marriages were to some of the most successful “main
line” families in the Philadelphia social register including
Innis, du Pont, Disston, Firestone, Drexel, Coleman,
Goodyear, and others.

The Gowen family of Philadelphia, generally admired and
envied, became financially the most successful branch of the
family in America.

He emigrated to the United States in 1802, and upon
his arrival in Philadelphia, secured a job working for “Mr.
McKane, Importer of Portuguese Fine Wines.” Later he
became a partner with McKane, and upon the death of his
employer, took over the business.

In 1815, while serving as best man at the wedding of his
friend, Mr. I. Thorp to Catherine Miller, he met his bride-tobe.
When teased by the bridesmaids for being “an old
bachelor,” he put his hand on the arm of the youngest sister of
the bride, Mary Miller, and declared, “I’m waiting for this little
girl.” Fourteen years later, they were married.

She was descended from Sebastian Mueller [later Miller] who,
with his brother Baltus Mueller came from Germany with
Francis Daniel Pastorius in 1683. Pastorius, a German lawyer,
became a religious leader and brought a colony of Quakers
and Mennonites to Pennsylvania, settling northwest of
Philadelphia. He laid out his settlement and named it
Germantown, Pennsylvania. It continues today as a section of
Philadelphia.

Pastorius delivered a protest against Negro slavery in America
at the Yearly Meeting of the Friends, the first protest of its
kind by a colonial religious leader. Two hundred years later,
the abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier made Pastorius’
address the subject of his poem, “The Pennsylvania
Pilgrim.” His preface to the poem contained a translation of
Pastorius’ Latin prologue to the Germantown book of records.

James E. Gowen was 42 when he was married in Germantown
to “this little girl,” Mary Miller, daughter of James Miller of
Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania. When whiskey became legalized in
Philadelphia, James E. Gowen declared that the business was
no longer a proper vocation for a gentleman and retired to
farming at Mt. Airy, a wealthy man. He became known as a
foremost breeder of shorthorn cattle.

John Gowen, “a brother to James Gowen,” was a candidate
for Congress in Pennsylvania about 1828. He died October 4,
1832, according to the “National Genealogical Quarterly,”
June 1964. After his brother’s death, James E. Gowen became
interested in politics.

He became known for his Irish eloquence and was much
sought after for speaking engagements. His political rivals
attributed his popularity to the “blarney stone.” In an Irish
anti-Jackson meeting held in Philadelphia August 6, 1832,
James E. Gowen and “Mr. Haly” spoke on Irish eloquence.

James E. Gowen, “an Irish mechanic” whose politics irritated
the establishment, was nominated for Congress in 1834 in the
First Congressional District in Philadelphia, according to
“Jacksonian Heritage in Pennsylvania Politics” by Charles
McColl Snyder. James E. Gowen made a political speech in
Philadelphia in 1837 which was printed and listed in the National
Union Catalogue. He was described as a “low Irish
radical politician” in “Diary of Sidney George Fisher, 1834-
1871” edited by Nicholas B. Wainwright.

James E. Gowen “of Germantown. Pennsylvania” addressed
the Lancaster County Agriculture Society at its annual
meeting January 13, 1852, according to Library of Congress
records [S523.G72]. He delivered an address before the
Mercer County Agriculture Society at its annual meeting
September 20, 1853. It was printed in a 27-page booklet and
is listed in the National Union Catalogue.

James E. Gowen died in 1871 at the age of 84. Children born
to James E. Gowen and Mary Miller Gowen include:

Several individuals among his descendants, men and women,
achieved prominence:

James Emmet Gowen, son of James E. Gowen, became a
prominent railroad attorney. His brilliant defense of the
Camden & Amboy Railroad Company before the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania in January 1864 was printed and
deposited in the Library of Congress.

James Emmet Gowen joined his brother, Franklin Benjamin
Gowen as counsel for the defense for another railroad in the
U. S. Circuit Court at Trenton, New Jersey in November 1883.
Their 246-page presentation was also deposited in the
Congressional Library.

Francis Innes Gowen, son of James Emmet Gowen, following
in the footsteps of his father and uncle, began to represent the
expanding railroad industry as legal counsel. Following the
panic of 1893, the Choctaw Coal & Railroad Company was reorganized
by its Philadelphia owners as Choctaw, Oklahoma
and Gulf Railroad with Francis Innes Gowen as president.

Prior to that time Francis Innes Gowen was appointed, along
with James W. Throckmorton, a former governor of Texas, as
receivers to operate the defunct CC&RC.

During the period of intense coal mining activity in eastern
Oklahoma the town of Gowen, Oklahoma was established
January 13, 1894 and named for Francis Innes Gowen.

He was also counsel for the Lehigh Valley Railroad at
Philadelphia. He was general solicitor for the Philadelphia &
Reading until 1912. In that year he was named general
counsel for the railroad and continued in that capacity until
1921.

He was a director of the Girard Trust Company and Midland
Valley Railroad Company. He was manager of Philadelphia
Saving Fund Society.

Alfred C. Harrison, his grandson, was married about 1937 to
Pauline du Pont. Their daughter, Alison was married to Frank
H. Goodyear.

James Emmet Gowen, son of Francis Innes Gowen, was
married to Sally Drexel Henry June 25, 1925. From 1930 to
1933 he was vice-president of Philadelphia Saving Fund in
Philadelphia. He served as president from 1933 to 1939.

He was named director of Western Saving Fund Society, Penn
Mutual Insurance Company, Insurance Company of North
America, Indemnity Insurors, North American Alliance Insurance
Company, Philadelphia Fire & Marine Company, United
Fireman’s Insurance Company, Muskegon, Kansas, Oklahoma
& Gulf Railway, Muskogee County Mutual Assurance
Company, The Pennsylvania Company, Donaldson Iron
Company, Westmoreland, Inc, Drexel Institute of Technology,
Baltimore & Wilmington Railway Company and Manor Real
Estate & Trust Company.

He was president of Girard Trust Company from 1939 to 1949
and president of Girard Trust-Corn Exchange Bank in 1949.

Mariana Winder Gowen, great-granddaughter of James E.
Gowen, was married to George Dawson Coleman, president of
Ebensburg Coal Company. When he died about 1959, the
“Lebanon Daily News” carried an article on his probate:

He was chairman of the board of Ebensburg Coal Company
and Coleman, Inc, both Philadelphia firms, and had been
chairman of the board of the First National Bank of Lebanon
since 1942. Mrs. Coleman and her brother, James E. Gowen
are named executors and trustees. The late G. Dawson
Coleman was a son of B. Dawson Coleman, banker and coal
mine operator, who left an estate of $5,000,000.”

Martha Winder Gowen Coleman died February 28, 1975. Her
obituary in the “Lebanon Daily News” read:

“Mrs. G. Dawson Coleman, the former Mariana
Winder Gowen, and Philadelphia area civic leader,
died Friday after a long illness. She was a member of
the board of the Home of the Merciful Savior for
Crippled Children in Philadelphia for 51 years. She
was a former chairman of the board of managers of the
Church Farm School in Paoli; a former life trustee of
the Foxcroft School, Middleburg, Virginia and board
member of the old Women’s Hospital in West
Philadelphia. She was also a former chairman of the
Devon County Fair; a former board member of the
Harriton Association, an historical restoration group
and a former board member of the YWCA in
Philadelphia.”

Bertram Dawson Coleman, Jr, son of Mariana Winder Gowen
Coleman, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as
commanding officer of a mine sweeper in the North Atlantic.

Later he was executive officer aboard the U.S.S. Fulham, a
destroyer in the South Pacific where he was awarded the
Bronze Star. He was married in 1949 to Patricia Disston.
He was president of Ebensburg Coal Company from 1950 to
1957. From 1958 to 1965 he was a partner in Drexel & Company.

In 1966, he became president of Drexel, Harriman,
Ripley, Inc. In 1971, he was chairman of Drexel, Firestone,
Inc, retiring in 1972. He was a director of Western Savings
Bank of Philadelphia, Griet Realty Trust, Rockower Bros, Inc.
and Abitibi Paper & Power Co, The Wyomissing Corp, Susan
Thomas, Inc, Greenfield Investment Realty Trust, the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Home of the Merciful Savior
and Agnes Irwin School. He was a member of the Sons of the
War of 1812.

Francis Innes Gowen Coleman, son of Mariana Winder
Gowen Coleman, was a career diplomat with the U. S. State
Department. In 1976 he was vice-consul at Marseille, France.
Franklin Benjamin Gowen, son of James E. Gowen, in 1870
was elected president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad,
for which he had been counsel since 1864. He was nominated
for U.S. Senate January 14, 1875.

In December 1889 while in Washington, D. C. to appear
before the Interstate Commerce Commission in behalf of one
of his clients, he committed suicide in his room at a hotel, by
firing a bullet into his brain.

No satisfactory explanation could be found for his act, according
to Scribner’s “Dictionary of American Biography,” Volume
VII. “He was in good health, at the height of his mental
powers, well-to-do and enjoying the respect of his contemporaries.”

His obituary appeared December 16, 1889 in the
“Philadelphia Public Ledger,” the “Philadelphia North
American,” and the “Baltimore Sun.” In its edition of
December 15, 1889 the “New York Times” carried as its
front page banner story an account of the suicide.

“Gowen, Ruler of the Reading–The Life of Franklin B.
Gowen, 1836-1889” was published in 1947. Marvin W.
Schegel was the author of the 308-page book.

Morris Wickersham Gowen, grandson of James E. Gowen, in
1895 lived in Florence, Italy where he was posted in
diplomatic service.

Franklin Crosbie Gowen, son of Morris Wickersham Gowen,
was born there December 16, 1895. He became a foreign
service officer with the U.S. State Department in 1925. He
was appointed Vice Consul in Genoa, Italy in 1926. He was
consul in Rome from 1926 to 1930. He was consul in Naples
in 1930 and 1931, and in Palermo in 1931. In 1932 he was
transferred to London where he remained for the next ten
years.

In 1941 and 1942, he worked in European Affairs Section in
Washington. From 1942 to 1944, he was assistant to Myron
C. Taylor, personal representative of the president to Pope
Pius, a position he held for many years, according to “Who’s
Who in America.” He was a member of the Pennsylvania
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.

From GRF Newsletter May 1991:

James E. Gowen Started Giant
Philadelphia Financial Dynasty
Continued from April Newsletter

James E. Gowen, an Irish emigrant, landed in Philadelphia at the age of
15 and by enterprise and dedication, became eminently successful. He
guided his nine children into successful businesses and successful
marriages. Each generation in turn, built on the financial foundation,
creating an empire.

His descandants became bankers, lawyers, railroad presidents, coal mine
owners, steel mill owners, manufacturers, financiers, career diplomats,
politicians and philantrropists. Thier marrieages were to some of the
most successful “main line” families in the Philadelphia social
register including Innis, du Pont, Disston, Firestone, Drexel, Coleman,
Goodyear and others. The Gowen family of Philadelphia generally
admired and envied, became financially the most successful branch of
the family in America.

Mariana Winder Gowen, great-granddaughter of James E. Gowen, was
married to George Dawson Coleman, president of Ebensburg Coal
Company. When he died about 1959, the “Lebanon Daily News” carried an
article on his probate:

“The widow and two sons of G. D. Coleman, late of Lebanon
and Philadelphia, banker-industrialist, will share his two million
dollar estate, it was disclosed by his will which was filed for
probate at Media yesterday.

He was chairman of the board of Ebensburg Coal Company and
Coleman, Inc, both Philadelphia firms, and had been chairman of the
board of the First National Bank of Lebanon since 1942. Mrs.
Coleman and her brother, James E. Gowen are named executors and
trustees. The late G. Dawson Coleman was a son of B. Dawson
Coleman, banker and coal mine operator, who left an estate of
$5,000,000.”

Martha Winder Gowen Coleman died February 28, 1975. Her obituary in
the “Lebanon Daily News” read:

“Mrs. G. Dawson Coleman, the former Mariana Winder Gowen, and Philadelphia
area civic leader, died Friday after a long illness. She
was a member of the board of the Home of the Merciful Savior for
Crippled Children in Philadelphia for 51 years. She was a former
chairman of the board of managers of the Church Farm School in
Paoli; a former life trustee of the Foxcroft School, Middleburg,
Virginia and board member of the old Women’s Hospital in West
Philadelphia. She was also a former chairman of the Devon County
Fair; a former board member of the Harriton Association, an
historicalrestoration group and a former board member of the YWCA in
Philadelphia.

Bertram Dawson Coleman, Jr, son of Mariana Winder Gowen Coleman,
served in the U.S. Navy. during World War II as commanding officer of
a mine sweeper in the North Atlantic. Later he was executive
officer aboard the U.S.S. Fulham, a destroyer in the South Pacific
where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He was married in 1949 to
Patricia Disston.

He was president of Ebensburg Coal Company from 1950 to 1957. From
1958 to 1965 he was a partner in Drexel & Company. In 1966, he became
president of Drexel, Harriman, Ripley, Inc. In 1971, he was chairman
of Drexel, Firestone, Inc, retiring in 1972. He was a director of
Western Savings Bank of Philadelphia, Griet Realty Trust, Rockower
Bros, Inc. and Abitibi Paper & Power Co, The Wyomissing Corp, Susan
Thomas, Inc, Greenfield Investment Realty Trust, the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, Home of the Merciful Savior and Agnes Irwin School. He
was a member of the Sons of the War of 1812.

Francis Innes Gowen Coleman, son of Mariana Winder Gowen Coleman, was
a career diplomat with the U. S. State Department. In 1976 he was
vice-consul at Marseille, France.

Franklin Benjamin Gowen, son of James E. Gowen, in 1870 was elected
president of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, for which he had
been counsel since 1864. He was nominated for U.S. Senate January 14,
1875.

In December 1889 while in Washington, D. C. to appear before the
Interstate Commerce Commission in behalf of one of his clients, he
committed suicide in his room at a hotel, by firing a bullet into his
brain.

No satisfactory explanation could be found for his act, according
to Scribner’s “Dictionary of American Biography,” Volume VII. “He was
in good health, at the height of his mental powers, well-to-do and
enjoying the respect of his contemporaries.”

His obituary appeared December 16, 1889 in the “Philadelphia
Public Ledger,” the “Philadelphia North American,” and the
“Baltimore Sun.” In its edition of December 15, 1889 the “New York
Times” carried as its front page banner story an account of the
suicide.

“Gowen, Ruler of the Reading–The Life of Franklin B. Gowen, 1836-1889”
was published in 1947. Marvin W. Schegel was the author of the 308-
page book.

Morris Wickersham Gowen, grandson of James E. Gowen, in 1895 lived
in Florence, Italy where he was posted in diplomatic service.

Franklin Crosbie Gowen, son of Morris Wickersham Gowen, was born in
there December 16, 1895. He became a foreign service officer with the
U.S. State Department in 1925. He was appointed Vice Consul in Genoa,
Italy in 1926. He was consul in Rome from 1926 to 1930. He was
consul in Naples in 1930 and 1931, and in Palermo in 1931. In 1932
he was transferred to London where he remained for the next ten years.

He served as secretary of the London embassy from 1939 to 1941. He
handled diplomatic relations with Poland, Norway, Belgium, The
Netherlands, and Yu-goslavia, governments in exile in London during
World War II.

In 1941 and 1942, he worked in European Affairs Section in
Washington. From 1942 to 1944, he was assistant to Myron C.
Taylor, personal representative of the president to Pope Pius, a
position he held for many years, according to “Who’s Who in America.”

He was a member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution.

From GRF Newsletter Jan 2002: