Scope and Content Note
The papers of the Titus Coan family span the period 1806-1923, with the bulk from 1832 to 1882. Consisting mainly of correspondence between members of the families of Titus Coan and his wife, Fidelia Church Coan, these letters document the Coans' lives in Hilo, Hawaii, from 1834 to 1882 and reflect the missionary spirit of that period. The collection organized in five series: Diaries and Journals , Family Correspondence , General Correspondence , Miscellany , and Printed Matter .
Titus Coan's journals tell of his travels to distant lands in missionary endeavors. In 1833-1834 he recorded a trip to Patagonia to explore the possibility of mission fields in that region. Much of this journal was published in his book Adventures in Patagonia. Journals of two trips to the Marquesas Islands made in 1860 and 1867 describe the land and its inhabitants as well as the progress of missions there, while other journals tell of his journey and early years of residence in Hawaii, where he served for over forty-five years. These experiences were further amplified in his autobiography, Life in Hawaii.
The Coans' correspondence is primarily with family members, including their daughter, Harriet Fidelia Coan, a teacher at Punahou, Hawaii, and their son, Samuel Latimer Coan, who was living in San Francisco in the late 1860s and the 1870s, and describes the day-to-day events of their lives. Other correspondence relating to missionary work is that with Fidelia Coan's sister, Maria Church Robinson, who served with her husband as missionary to Siam from 1834 to 1847, at the same time that the Coans were beginning their service in Hawaii.
The General Correspondence series also reflects the religious feeling and missionary endeavors of the period. The Coans corresponded with other missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands and with friends at home, many of whom were active in societies that supported such work. Correspondents include Sophie Madeleine Du Pont (wife of Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont), Chester Smith Lyman, Mary Oliphant, and Sara Oliphant.
An extensive collection of printed matter is preserved with the collection. Much of this constitutes, in effect, an article file for Titus Coan consisting of journals to which he contributed. He was particularly interested in volcanoes and wrote many observations on the eruptions of Kilauea, the volcano on the slope of Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii. These he contributed to the American Journal of Science and Arts. He also contributed extensively to missionary journals such as Missionary Heraldand The Friend.
Copies of Titus Coan's two books are included in the Miscellany series along with numerous clippings and articles about him, a copy of Titus Coan; a Memorial (Chicago, Revell [1884] 248 pp.) by his second wife, Lydia Bingham Coan, and some material written in Hawaiian.