James Coffin papers

Collection

Identifier: Coll 941

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the papers of James Coffin, who was a clerk for the firm Allen and Lewis in Portland, Oregon, in the 1880s. Correspondence in the collection consists of a letter from Coffin to someone named "Harry" about business propositions, written on stationery from the Portland Mechanics' Fair Association; two letters to Coffin from his brother, Edmund Coffin, Jr., containing advice about family; a note from Kate M. McLane congratulating Coffin on his marriage to Sarah Lucia Allen; and a brief letter and a note from Louis McLane. Other documents in the collection are: a resolution adopted by the Portland Board of Trade regarding the death of Lucius H. Allen; an ink tracing of a hydrographic chart of the Columbia River's mouth; and an elevation plan for an unidentified building (possibly for Edmund Coffin, Jr.'s law office) designed by New York architect J. Coleman Hart. The collection also includes two photographs that had previously been in a scrapbook or album: one showing three adults on a beach; and the other showing Benjamin Dibblee, captain of the Harvard University football team in 1898.

Dates

1877-circa 1900

Creator

Coffin, James, 1847-1906 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical note

James Coffin was born in 1847 in New York. In the early 1880s, he worked as a clerk in Portland, Oregon, for the firm Allen and Lewis, which was co-founded by his father-in-law Lucius H. Allen (1817-1887). Coffin later lived in San Francisco, California. His wife was Sarah Lucia Allen (1851-1939); the couple had three daughters. Coffin died in 1906 in Marin County, California.

Sources: Vital records and family trees on Ancestry.com; Portland city directories, 1880-1885.

Extent

0.15 Cubic Feet (1 folder in shared box; 1 oversize folder (16x20) in shared flat box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of James Coffin (1847-1906), including correspondence, a resolution regarding the death of Lucius H. Allen, a tracing of a chart of the Columbia River's mouth, an architectural elevation, and photographs. Coffin worked as a clerk for the firm Allen and Lewis in Portland, Oregon, in the early 1880s.