Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm74076760
Collection material in English, with Hawaiian
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The family papers of Titus Coan, Presbyterian minister and missionary, were given to the Library of Congress by the Sarah Coan Acheson in 1969.
The collection was processed in 1975. The finding aid was revised in 2009.
The New-York Historical Society, New York, N.Y., has a collection of Titus Coan papers and also of his son, Titus Munson Coan (1836-1921). Duplicate and extraneous printed matter deemed inappropriate for retention in the Library's Titus Coan Papers was transferred to the Lyman Museum, Hilo, Hawaii.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Titus Coan Family papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The Coan Family Papers are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Titus Coan Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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
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
Copies of Titus Coan's two books are included in the Miscellany series along with numerous clippings and articles about him, a copy of
The collection is arranged in five series:
Diaries and journals of Titus Coan and his wife, Fidelia Church Coan.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and sent between family members. Arranged alphabetically by writer of letter.
Typed copies of correspondence between Titus and his wife, Fidelia Church Coan, 1832-1872, are arranged chronologically at the end of the series.
Correspondence with persons other than family members.
Arranged chronologically.
Clippings about Titus Coan, wills, drafts of writings by members of the Coan family, and pamphlets and copies of books by Titus Coan.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Journals, magazines, and serials publications containing writings of Titus Coan or references to him.
Arranged by title and therein chronologically.
Books relating to missionary work Hawaii and Polynesia, and containing references to Titus Coan and his work in Hawaii.
Unarranged.