Titus Coan (February 1, 1801 – December 1, 1882) was an American minister from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

who spent most of his life as a Christian missionary to the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

Early life and family

Titus Coan was born on February 1, 1801 in Killingworth, Connecticut, the son of Gaylord Coan and Tamza Nettleton. In June 1831, he entered the

Auburn Theological Seminary Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, N ...

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, ...

, and was ordained in April 1833. In August of that year he sailed on a mission to

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

for the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

. In 1834 Coan returned to the United States, where he married Fidelia Church. In December 1834 they left on the merchant ship ''Hellespont'', part of the seventh company from the American Board to the

, then known as the "Sandwich Islands", arriving on June 6, 1835. Their son Titus Munson Coan, born in 1836, became a physician who served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and died in 1921. Daughter Harriet Fidelia was born in 1839 and died in 1906. Daughter Sarah Eliza was born in 1843 and died in 1916. Son Samuel Latimer Coan was born 1846 and died in 1887. The mother Fidelia died in September 1872. Coan married second to Lydia Bingham, the daughter of the Rev. Hiram Bingham I (an earlier missionary), on October 13, 1873. He completed his autobiography in 1881, the year before he died. His book was digitized in 1997 by his great-great grandson Edward J. Coan.

Work

The Coans arrived in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

in June 1835. They sailed to

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement ...

in July, where they stayed most of the rest of their lives. He learned the

Hawaiian Language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language ...

and helped educate the residents of the area and recruit them into Christianity. When the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

visited Hilo in 1840–1841, Coan met the geologist

James Dwight Dana James Dwight Dana FRS FRSE (February 12, 1813 – April 14, 1895) was an American geologist, mineralogist, volcanologist, and zoologist. He made pioneering studies of mountain-building, volcanic activity, and the origin and structure of continent ...

. Over the next four decades they corresponded, and Coan regularly sent Dana observations of eruptions of volcanoes on Hawaii. These contributed to Dana's development of the

Hawaii hotspot The Hawaii hotspot is a volcanic hotspot located near the namesake Hawaiian Islands, in the northern Pacific Ocean. One of the best known and intensively studied hotspots in the world, the Hawaii plume is responsible for the creation of the H ...

theory for the geologic evolution of the island chain. His book includes descriptions of the heavy tropical rains, eruptions of the

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. His ...

volcano, earthquakes, and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

s, such as the one caused by the

1868 Hawaii earthquake The 1868 Hawaii earthquake was the largest recorded in the history of Hawaii island, with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). The earthquake occurred at 4 p.m. local time on April 2, 1868 and caus ...

. Coan was known as "the bishop of Kilauea," and his observations were invaluable to subsequent scientists. Both Fidelia and his second wife Lydia wrote a piece about the volcano, as well as his sons, Titus M. and Samuel. Fidelia Coan was among the first American women to publish in a scientific journal: an 1852 article in the ''

American Journal of Science The ''American Journal of Science'' (''AJS'') is the United States of America's longest-running scientific journal, having been published continuously since its conception in 1818 by Professor Benjamin Silliman, who edited and financed it himsel ...

''. Titus Coan directed the construction of Haili Church from 1855 to 1859. He visited the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands (; french: Îles Marquises or ' or '; Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in ...

in 1860 and 1867. From 1870-1871, he and Fidelia returned to the United States, where they gave an extensive speaking tour.

References

*Corr, Donald Philip, "Titus Coan: 'Apostle to the Sandwich Islands'" in Putney, Clifford and Burlin Paul, ''The Role of the American Board in the World: Bicentennial Reflections on the Organization's Missionary Work, 1810–2010'' (Eugene, Or: Wipf and Stock, 2012) *Forbes, Cam, Woods. ''Partners in Change: A Biographical Encyclopedia of American Protestant Missionaries in Hawai`i and their Hawaiian and Tahitian Colleagues, 1820-1900 (Honolulu: Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, 2018). Titus Coan, Fidelia Coan and Lydia Coan on pages 184-90. *Corr, Phil, "Titus Coan: 'Apostle to the Sandwich Islands.'" Eugene, Or: Wipf and Stock, 2021

External links

Haili Congregational Church
official web site
Life In Hawaii
Link to Web version of Titus Coan's autobiography with many quotes and links on that site by him or about him.
Titus Coan - A Memorial
Link to Web version of a biography written by his 2nd wife Lydia Bingham Coan containing many of his personal letters. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coan, Titus 1801 births 1868 deaths Congregationalist missionaries in Hawaii American Protestant missionaries American evangelicals American Congregationalist missionaries Christian revivalists Translators of the Bible into Polynesian languages History of Hawaii (island) 19th-century translators Auburn Theological Seminary alumni American expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom People from Killingworth, Connecticut Missionary linguists