Letters to Elizabeth J. Coman, W.0047

Abstract: Letters to Elizabeth J. Coman of Athens, Alabama, from her husband and sisters between 1834 and 1843.Scope and Content Note: This collection consists of a series of letters to Elizabeth J. Coman of Athens, Alabama, from her husband and sisters and dated between 1834 and 1843. Letters from Coman's husband, James Coman, describe his trips to Florence and Bellefonte, Alabama, and Louisville, Kentucky. A letter from Coman's sister, S. A. Martin, describes college entrance examinations, while letters from Coman's sister Rebecca Mason describe daily life in Nashville, Tennessee.Biographical/Historical Note: James Matthew, son of Robert and Jane Wade Prout Coman, was born on 22 October 1808 in Wadesboro, North Carolina. Elizabeth Jordan Mason, daughter of William Mason, was born on 13 February 1815 in Greenville County, Virginia. The couple married on 27 March 1833 and lived in Limestone County, Alabama. Sometime in the late 1840s they moved to Tishomingo County, Mississippi. They had seven children: Mary Gilliam; Robert Mason; Sara Jane; Margaret Louise; James William; Rebecca; and John Joshua.James was a merchant, and the 1860 Federal Census listed his personal estate valued at $20,000. In 1870 they were living in Iuka, Mississippi, where James was a chancellor clerk; the 1870 Census shows his estate valued at $1,000. Elizabeth died on 29 December 1875; James died ten years later on 28 December 1885