The son of Judge James M. Coffinberry, Henry was born in Maumee, Ohio, and came to Cleveland with his family in 1855. He attended West High and served in the Navy during the American Civil War. His service in the Navy provided him with valuable experience concerning the construction and operation of ships, which he later used to his advantage in building Great Lakes ships, first as president of Globe Ship Building Company (1876-1886) and then as president of Cleveland Ship Building Company (1886-1894). Coffinberry played a major role in growing the Cleveland shipbuilding industry which, during his active years in that industry, became the largest in the United States. Under his leadership, Globe Ship Building built the first large iron and steel commercial ships on the Great Lakes. After retiring from the shipbuilding industry in 1894, Coffinberry devoted himself to other capitalist endeavors. He moved from his house on Franklin Avenue in 1891, and thereafter lived in several different places before moving into one of the first built houses in Lakewood's Clifton Park. He later bought and moved into a mansion on Euclid Avenue. He died at the Euclid Avenue mansion in 1912. This photo of Coffinberry was taken by George Edmondson in 1909. | Source: Cleveland Public Library, Digital Photograph CollectionDownload Original File
Source
Cleveland Public Library, Digital Photograph Collection
