History & local legend
Congress Hall at Sixth and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia has a ghost story about two sisters walking its grounds in old-fashioned dresses. Paranormal collectors identify the pair as Ann and Sarah Coleman, daughters of the Lancaster ironmaster Robert Coleman.
The sisters traveled to Philadelphia together in December 1819 after Ann ended her engagement to James Buchanan, the future president. They stayed with their married sister Margaret Hemphill. Ann died suddenly at Margaret’s home during the visit.
Sarah returned to Lancaster and later fell in love with a young minister she knew through Sunday school. Her father opposed the relationship and forbade her to invite him to the family home. The Congress Hall tradition reunites the sisters as walking companions.
Sources
- Long Island Paranormal Investigators, Congress Hall and the Coleman sisters
- Philip S. Klein, American Heritage, The Lost Love of a Bachelor President, Dec. 1955, Sarah and Ann travel together to Margaret Hemphill’s house
- Pennsylvania Heritage, A Dynasty Tumbles, engagement, dates and Sarah’s relationship
- National Park Service, Philadelphia’s Congress Hall
