Life in Hawaii: An Autobiographic Sketch of Mission Life and Labors

By: Titus Coan

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Synopsis: Born in Connecticut and educated at East Guilford Academy, Coan went to western New York, where he was converted in a Charles G. Finney revival. After graduation from Auburn Theological Seminary and ordination in 1833, he explored the Argentine region of Patagonia on behalf of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). In 1834 he married Fidelia Church, sailed for Hawaii, and was stationed at Hilo. He made an extended evangelistic tour of the island in 1836, which produced dramatic results. In 1837 and 1838, thousands flocked to Hilo for days and nights of fervent preaching, prayer, and manifestations of the power of the Spirit. Prior to 1837, prospective church members were rigorously examined and less than 1,200 had been admitted. After that year admissions averaged nearly 2,000 annually. By 1853, in a native population of about 71,000, over 56,000 were Protestants. The ABCFM moved to declare Hawaii Christianized and terminate the mission. Coan advocated a mission by Hawaiians to the Marquesas Islands and made two voyages there as a delegate of the Hawaiian Missionary Society. In 1873 he married Lydia Bingham, daughter of Hiram and Sybil Bingham, his first wife having died in 1872. He wrote Adventures in Patagonia (1880) and Life in Hawaii (1882). He died in Hawaii.- David M. Stowe, “Coan, Titus,” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998), 139.