The Happy Nine

On Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 James Polczynski gave a talk titled: “The Happy Nine.” This presentation explored the lives of Thomas Bird Coleman’s grand-children, the fourth generation descended from Robert Coleman, and their roles in the history of Cornwall during the last half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. This included the children of Anne and Bradford Alden (Sarah and Robert Percy), the children of Margaret and William Grisby Freeman (William, Edward, Anne, Margaret, and Isabel), and the children of Sue Ellen and William Coleman (Robert Habersham and Anne Caroline). It also explored how Cornwall Manor came to occupy the Coleman estate which was once part of the vast holdings of the Coleman families.
The speaker, James Polczynski has worked as a consulting Knowledge Engineer for various steel companies, including Bethlehem Steel, Lukens Steel, Dofasco Steel and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. He developed an interest in the iron and steel industry in Lebanon and Cornwall while renovating and restoring the Cornwall Company Store. He is the author of “Souls of Iron” which tells the remarkable story of the Coleman iron dynasty. Jim also is currently the president of the Friends of the Cornwall Iron Furnace.