Robert Donaldson Jr.

Robert Donaldson Jr. (June 15, 1800 – June 18, 1872) was an American banker and patron of the arts. Early life Robert Donaldson was born on June 15, 1800, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the eldest of six children of Sarah (née Henderson) Donaldson and Robert Donaldson Sr., a Scottish born merchant who had consolidated his business at the trading center on Cape Fear River. Donaldson was orphaned at the age of eight and was sent, along with his younger siblings, to live with family members living nearby. His brother James Donaldson married Alethea Lenox, a daughter of Robert Lenox, and his sister Joanna Donaldson married Dr. Oliver Bronson, "heir to a wealthy Connecticut financier, banker, and real estate speculator." All of his sisters attended Mordecai Female Academy in Fayetteville.