One of Americaâs leading financiers in the 1800s was Charlemagne Tower, Senior. His family roots began in England, then arrived in the first Puritan colonies in America, and eventually moved to New York State. His wife, Amelia Bartle Tower, was born in Ohio but traveled with her parents to California, where she met Charlemagne during a trip he made there. After their marriage they settled in Pennsylvania. He began to invest in the development of coal mines and the railroads that went with them. One of his railroads was the famous Reading Railroad. During the American Civil War, Charlemagne gathered a group of men from Pennsylvania to form a Union troop. He paid for much of the menâs equipment and provisions. They fought well in several battles and he retired from the army as a captain.