PITTS THEOLOGY LIBRARY
ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS DEPT.

COONS, ALFRED H., 1840-1925.
Papers, 1876-1920.

MANUSCRIPT NUMBER 279

EXTENT:  1 cubic ft. (2 legal size archive boxes)

ACCESS: Unrestricted

REPRODUCTION: All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

COPYRIGHT: Information on copyright (literary rights) available from repository.

CITATION:  Alfred H. Coons Papers, MSS 279, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.

Biographical Note
The Reverend Alfred H. Coons was born on March 3, 1840 in Elizaville, New York. He began his college courses at Troy University until it closed during the Civil War, so Coons relocated to continue his studies at Union College in Schenectady. He attended seminary in Ashland, New York, and when the school was burned down he resumed his course work at Claverick College.

Coons joined the New York Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1869 and continued to serve churches throughout New York until his retirement in 1912. In 1892 Coons was elected by the New York Conference as a delegate to General Conference, and in 1893 he was a member of the Advisory Council of the World Parliament of Religions which met in Chicago.

Coons married Hannah J. Buckley in 1860 and together they had seven children. After Hannah’s death in 1892, he married Julia Wakeman and they had one child together. Alfred H. Coons died in Kingston, New York on November 25, 1925.
Scope and Content Note

This collection consists primarily of sermons preached by Alfred H. Coons. The sermons are predominately based on scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments. There are also sermons on specific topics such as the Civil War, Ignatius Loyola and Jesuitism, religious instruction in public schools, the death of Abraham Lincoln, Decoration Day, Temperance Reform, Martin Luther, and self improvement. Also included in the collection are Coons’s personal diary from 1883, the New York Conference Book of Minutes from 1889, and a biography of Coons written by his son Paul W. Coons. 

CONTAINER LISTING
Box/Folder      Description                                  		Dates
1/1		Biography written by Paul W. Coons (son)		n.d.
1/2		New York Conference minutes				1889
1/3		Personal Diary						1883

		Sermons 
		Scriptural:
1/4		   Acts							1894-1917
1/5		   Chronicles						1882-1914
1/6		   Corinthians						1894-1916
1/7		   Daniel						1881-1916
1/8		   Ecclesiastes, Ezekial, and Exodus			1887-1913
1/9		   Habakkuk						n.d.
1/10		   Isaiah						n.d.
1/11		   James, Joel, Joshua, Jude, and Judges		1896-1915
1/12		   John							1882-1916
1/13		   I John						1878-1913
1/14		   Luke							1886-1914
1/15		   Mark							1886-1903
2/1		   Matthew						1886-1920
2/2		   Micah						1914-1916
2/3		   Proverbs						1887-1913
2/4		   Psalms						1884-1915
2/5		   Revelation						1885-1915
2/6		   Romans						1880-1897
2/7		   Samuel						1898-1915
2/8		   Thessalonians					1887-1894
		Special Occasions:
2/9		   Address on Washington				1901
2/10		   Children’s Day					1894
2/11		   Cornerstone laying at Phoenicia			1883
2/12		   Decoration Day					1876-1916
2/13		   Dedication of new pipe organ				1915
2/14		   Missionary address					n.d.
2/15		   Preached before Ward Post [Civil War troops]		1906
2/16		   Ulster Co. Bible Society				1883
		Topical:
2/17		   Abraham Lincoln, Centenary.				1909-1914
2/18		   Church records					1893
2/19		   Hopeful views of Temperance Reform			n.d.
2/20		   How to make the most of one’s self			1886-1909
2/21		   Loyola and Jesuitism					n.d.
2/22		   Luther and Loyola					n.d.
2/23		   Notes						1907
2/24		   Religious instruction in public schools		n.d.
2/25		   The preacher in his study				n.d.


Last Modified: 04/01/2005