The Colemans, O'Malias, & the New England Tradition
The O'Malias
The Nameless Irish Lass
Most of this story is hearsay and cannot be verified, or at least hasn't yet. According to family lore, there was a young woman whose family name was probably O'Malia or O'Mallia (modern variations of the name include Maley and O'Malley). She lived near the village of Castlebar in County Mayo, Ireland. She had three sons; the youngest (or possibly all three) was the illegitimate child of a wealthy lawyer. The lawyer was very distinguished in Mayo, holding the title of Queen's Counsel for the region. Unfortunately for Miss O'Malia he was also married.
Perhaps the lawyer felt great affection for the young lass, for he sent her off to America to begin a new life with her children and her brother. Things didn't go too well for her, though. After settling in Whitehall, Washington County, New York Miss O'Malia died, leaving her 3 sons in the care of her brother.
Many years later, after the death of her youngest son Henry, estate lawyers representing the O'Malia family in Ireland visited his wife Emeline. Apparently the lawyer had died leaving land to his illegitimate children in America. Mrs. Coleman, uncertain whether the estate lawyers' offering was bona fide, rejected them.
The Colemans
The Henry Colemans
Miss O'Malia's two eldest sons remain shrouded in mystery. Nothing is known of their lives after their mother's death. But we do know much about Henry, her youngest son. Henry was born in 1838 in Castlebar, Mayo, Ireland. He came to America at the age of four. After his mother's death his uncle apprenticed him to a farmer outside of Whitehall, New York. He stayed there until he was 16 years old. Over the next few years he ran away a few times, worked for other farmers in the Washington County area, and tried his hand at many different trades. It was with one of these farmers he worked for that he adopted the last name of "Coleman." His one true passion was learning, and at many of these places of employment he tried to go to school as much as he could.
Soon Henry was working for factories doing jobs such as marble cutting and blind manufacturing. He even worked for a grocer in Whitehall. All of this was a prelude to the Civil War. Henry enlisted in the 96th Regiment of New York Volunteers and served under General McClellan in the Peninsular Campaign until its retreat to Harrison's Landing, Virginia where he was honorably discharged.
After the war, Henry went back to Whitehall and worked for Spooner's Door Factory. Then in 1865, on the day General Lee surrendered the Confederate Army, Henry made the most important decision of his life. He enrolled in Eastman's Business College as a pupil with the understanding that he would remain there as an instructor upon his graduation.
Henry was also an accomplished musician. He was a drum major when he served in the war, and after entering college he toured with Eastman's band through the west to help dedicate their Chicago campus. The group disbanded after Henry's graduation.
After a few years of teaching, Henry was made the principal. During this time he made many changes to the curriculum of the school, revised textbooks and inaugurated many improvements. The board of directors was so impressed with his achievements that they made him General Manager when Mr. Eastman died in 1878.
While employed at Eastman's, Henry married Emma Lucelia Jillson (daughter of Royal Blake Jillson and Sarah Havens) of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York on September 11, 1873. They had four children together: Royal Henry born in 1874, Frederick Harvey born in 1876, Elizabeth Underhill (or "Lizzie" as she was always called) born in 1877, and Minnie May born in 1880. All children were baptized together on March 24, 1881 at Christ Church (Episcopal) in Poughkeepsie.
In the spring of 1881 Henry decided to move on to bigger and better things, so he resigned from his position at Eastman's and moved the entire Coleman tribe (along with his father-in-law Royal) to Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. There he founded the Coleman Business School. The school became very popular and soon pupils from all over the country and even some foreign countries were enrolling. Henry had to move locations to accommodate the large student body. He finally found the perfect location at Academy and Halsey Streets. In 1888 the school was incorporated as the Coleman National Business College.
Sadly, shortly after arriving in Newark, tragedy befell on the Colemans. Henry and Emma's first son, Royal Henry, died in 1884 at the age of 10. Five years later in 1889 Emma herself died. I have found no further mention of Minnie May after her baptism, so I'm led to believe she may have died a child as well.
Henry remarried on February 19, 1892 to Emeline B Holman (daughter of Edward Holman and Margaret Mittlemuss, both formerly of Scotland). Together they had three daughters: Margaret Hammond born in 1896, Henrietta Perkins born in 1898, and Evelyn Disbrow born in 1901. The middle names of these three girls and that of Lizzie from his first marriage seem to be family surnames. Perhaps these names (Hammond, Perkins, Disbrow and Underhill) will eventually help in the genealogical research.
Henry became a prominent man in Newark. He was a member of many lodges and clubs and he was also an active member of the Board of Trade in Newark. When his health began to fade and he could no longer work, he still made special trips to his school to give advice and encouragement to students. After all, there was no better an example of the American Dream than he himself. Here was a man who came from humble beginnings, an Irish immigrant and an illegitimate child of a married man and a farm girl, and made himself into one of the wealthiest and most respected men in New Jersey. A contemporary publication entitled the "History of New Jersey" said it best:
"Henry Coleman was pre-eminently a self-made man, and one who by his many high qualities of head and heart had obtained the respect and esteem, not only of his fellow business men, but of every one with whom he was brought in contact. His energy, perseverance and indomitable strength of character, together with an unusual amount of prudent foresight and good common sense, achieved for him a lasting reputation among his fellow citizens of Essex County."
My great great grandfather, Henry Coleman died on December 6, 1903. His college went on for several years afterward, operated by Lizzie Coleman and her stepmother Emeline Coleman. Upon her marriage to Christian Metternich, Lizzie left her position as bookkeeper to become a wife and a mother to my grandfather and his sister. The Wilson family later took over for Mrs. Coleman who died in 1935. Oddly enough, Henry Coleman's granddaughter Emma Metternich's husband Fred Lidle was a graduate of the school. The Coleman National Business College is no longer in operation today.
A few photographs and documents:
Henry Coleman
CNBC paper money
CNBC scholarship for Walter Agans
Henry's denial for musician bounty
CNBC newspaper advertisement
The Frederick Colemans
Henry Coleman's only living son was Frederick Harvey Coleman. Frederick married Lizzie Donnelly on February 23, 1894. Lizzie was the daughter of Marshall Donnelly and Mary MacNamara of Harrison, Bergen, New Jersey. I have yet to find any more mention of this family in census reports or other vital statistics. According to the "History of New Jersey" publication which was printed after Henry Coleman's death in 1903, Henry had two surviving children from his first marriage. I know that one was Elizabeth Underhill "Lizzie" Coleman (my great grandmother), so the other must have been Frederick. That means he must have been alive after 1903. I will update this line as soon as I receive new information.
The Elizabeth Underhill "Lizzie" Colemans
Most of Lizzie's life can be read in the Metternich section. She went on to marry Christian Metternich and mothered two children: Emma Evelyn Metternich born in 1908 and Henry Coleman Metternich born in 1910. Notice she named her children Henry and Emma after her parents. My aunts Emmie and Jeanie have a vague memory of her, so I have listed her death as after 1933 in the database.
A few photographs:
Lizzie Coleman Metternich, circa 1930
Lizzie & Christian Metternich, circa 1912
The Margaret Hammond Colemans
Margaret was the first daughter of Henry Coleman's second marriage to Emeline Holman. Margaret married Stuart S Helthall on May 22, 1922. Together they had one child: Stuart Robert "Bob" Helthall born in 1923. Bob currently lives in Florida and has been very helpful with all of this family research.
The Henrietta Perkins Colemans
Henrietta was the second daughter of Henry and Emeline's marriage. She married Jack D Helthall, brother of Stuart S Helthall (two brothers married two sisters) in September of 1922. Together they adopted two children: Janet Coleman Helthall born in 1929 and Coleman Donald Helthall born in 1936. Coleman Donald died in a car accident in 1966.
The Evelyn Disbrow Colemans
Evelyn was the youngest child of Henry and Emeline's marriage. She married Alexander Gilland Lewi on April 7, 1926. Together they had three children: Nancy Coleman Lewi born in 1928 (notice how strong the name associates are in the two Coleman branches: Nancy Coleman Lewi and Henry Coleman Metternich are first cousins because their mothers, Evelyn Disbrow Coleman and Elizabeth Underhill "Lizzie" Coleman were half-sisters. Both cousins have the same middle name and from eyewitness accounts looked very much alike even though they were 18 years apart), Peter Lewi born in 1935, and Melinda Evelyn Lewi born in 1937.
Evelyn Disbrow Coleman Lewi died in 1965. Her daughter Nancy is still living and it is through her that the two branches were able to reconnect last spring. Nancy married Theodore L Webster in 1950 and they had two children: Melinda Susan born in 1951 and Theodore Jr born in 1954. Theodore Jr married Donna Laird in 1978. Donna found a message I posted regarding Henry Coleman and the Coleman National Business College in March of 2001. She and I began corresponding and soon discovered that her husband descended from Henry's second marriage to Emeline Holman and I descended from his first to Emma Jillson.
The New England Tradition
The James Gilsons
As I have said before, Henry Coleman was a 19th century Irish immigrant. So where does the New England Tradition come from? Emma Lucelia Jillson, my great great grandmother, was Henry's first wife. The Jillson name, or sometimes spelled Gilson, extends through early colonial history and marries into some of the most famous names of the time.
It all begins with James Gilson, my ninth great grandfather, who was born in 1641 in Feering, Kent County, England. He married a woman named Mary. They had several children, one of which was Nathaniel Gilson born in 1674 in Rehobeth, Bristol County, Massachusetts just 54 years after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock and just 18 years before the famous Salem Witch Trials.
Nathaniel married a woman named Elizabeth around 1700. They had several children, among them was my seventh great grandfather, Uriah Jillson, born in 1713 in Attleboro, Bristol, Massachusetts.
Uriah married Sara Ballou (see her family history below) in 1733. They had several children, one being Stephen Jillson born in 1740 in Cumberland, Providence County, Rhode Island.
Stephen married Hannah Peck, also of Cumberland, in 1761. They had nine children, the eldest son being George Jillson born in Cumberland in 1765.
George married Hannah Taylor in 1785 and together they had seven children. One, Samuel T Jillson, was my fourth great grandfather. He was born in Hartford, Washington County, New York in 1792.
Samuel married Jane Taylor of Rowe, Franklin County, Massachusetts in 1814. They had five children, and their first born son was Royal Blake Jillson born in 1817.
Royal married Sarah Havens of Essex County, New York in 1848, and together they had one child they called Emma Lucelia Jillson born in 1850. And once Emma married Henry Coleman in 1873, the rest you already know!
The Maturin Ballous
Maturin Ballou was born in 1615 in Devonshire, England, just four years after the first edition of the King James Bible was published. It was commonly believed that Maturin, or more likely his father, was a French Huguenot in exile. Recent information, however, suggests the Ballou family may have been in England since the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. After coming to the New World, he and Roger Williams became co-proprietors of Providence. Roger Williams had founded the colony of Rhode Island in 1636. By 1645 Maturin had become a plantation farmer in Providence, and in 1652 he and his wife Hannah Pike gave birth to their second son, James Ballou.
James married Susanna Whitman (daughter of Valentine and Mary Whitman) in 1683. They had a son named James Arnold Ballou born in 1684. James Arnold Ballou was my 8th great grandfather.
James Arnold Ballou married Catherine Arnold (see her family history below). They had a daughter in 1713 named Sarah Ballou. Sarah was my 7th great grandmother who married Uriah Jillson in 1733.
James Arnold Ballou also had a son named James Ballou born in 1723. James Ballou married Tamasin Cook of Wrentham, Massachusetts in 1744. Together they had a son also named James Ballou who was born in 1761.
This James Ballou married Mehitable Ingalls in 1786. They had a daughter named Eliza Ballou born in Richmond, Cheshire County, New Hampshire in 1801.
Eliza married Abram Garfield of Worcester, New York, in 1820. They had a son named James Abram Garfield born in Orange, Ohio in 1831. James Garfield later became the 20th President of the United States of America. He served less than one year, having been assassinated on September 19, 1881 in New Jersey. President James Garfield is my 3rd cousin 6 times removed.
The Roger Arnolds
The Arnold family goes back so far that I haven't even dated the generations. Assuming that each generation is an average of 25 years, the oldest ancestor I can find for this family line is Roger Arnold born around 1437. Roger is my 17th great grandfather. He had a son named Thomas Arnold.
Thomas had a son named Richard Arnold.
Richard had a son he called Richard also.
This Richard had a son named Thomas Arnold.
Thomas Arnold married an Alice Gulley and had a son named William Walter Stephen Arnold. William was born in Leamington, England in 1587, one year before Queen Elizabeth I's defeat of the Spanish Armada.
William married Christian Peak of Somersetshire, England and had several children. One of his daughters was Elizabeth Peak Arnold born in Somersetshire, England in 1611.
Elizabeth Peak Arnold had a twin brother named Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold's great grandson was Major General Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), famed Revolutionary War traitor. Major General Arnold is my 3rd cousin 9 times removed.
Anyway, Elizabeth Peak Arnold married William Vincent Carpenter (see his family history below) in 1635. William was born in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England in 1605. They had a son together named Ephraim Carpenter born in 1639 in Pawtucket, Providence County, Rhode Island.
Ephraim married Susannah Harris in 1658 and they had a daughter named Susannah Carpenter born in 1670 in Providence, Rhode Island.
Susannah married her first cousin once removed, Elisha Arnold (son of Stephen & Sarah Arnold, grandson of William Walter Stephen and Christian Peak Arnold). Elisha was born in 1662 in Providence. Together they had a daughter named Catherine Arnold (my 8th great grandmother) who married James Arnold Ballou.
Footnote: You may have to read this several times sort the relations out. Genealogy can be quite confusing (especially when cousins marry cousins). Whenever you're in doubt just go to the individual genealogy records to figure out who is who.
The John Carpenters
Last but not least we dissect the Carpenters. The furthest back I can go is John Carpenter, my 21st great grandfather, who was born around 1355. Think about that date. 1355 was before the Renaissance Era. 1355 was smack dab in the middle of the Middle Ages.
John had a son named Richard Carpenter born around 1380.
Richard married a woman named Christian and had a son named John Carpenter born around 1405.
John married a woman named Catherine and had a son named John as well who was born around 1430.
We don't know whom John married but he had a son named William around 1455. William Carpenter was my 17th great grandfather.
William had a son named James Carpenter in 1480.
James had a son named John Carpenter in 1505.
John married a woman named Elizabeth and they had a son named William Carpenter in 1530.
William married a woman named Abigail and they had a son named Robert Carpenter around 1555.
Robert married a woman named Eleanore (her surname may have been Carpenter as well) and they had a son named Richard. Richard Carpenter was born in 1580 in Nettlecombe, Somersetshire, England.
Richard married Susannah Trivilian and they had a son named William Vincent Carpenter. William was the Carpenter who came to America in 1635 and married Elizabeth Peak Arnold along the way (literally, while at sea the ceremony was performed). And the rest is history!
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