Elliott Coues, son of Samuel Elliott and Charlotte Haven (Ladd) Coues, was born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, September 9, 1842, and died on December 25, 1899. In 1853, when Coues was eleven years of age, his family moved to Washington, D.C., where his father had secured a position with the Patent Office. Coues attended Gonzaga Seminary and Columbian College, where he received the A.B. degree in 1861 and an M.D. in 1863. He enlisted in the Civil War in 1862, and from 1864 to 1881 served as assistant surgeon in the United States Army.
Elliott Coues is primarily remembered for his activities as an ornithologist, author, and founder of the American branch of the Theosophical Society. As an ornithologist, Coues made a significant contribution to the technical literature in the field.
In the 1880s, Coues became very interested in psychical research. In 1884, on a visit to Europe, he met Henry Steel Olcott and Madame Helena Patrovna Blavatsky and became an ardent theosophist. In 1885, he founded the Gnostic Theosophical Society in Washington, D.C. Coues had hopes of being elected head of the entire theosophical movement in the United States, but when this ambition was not realized, he denounced the Society and Madame Blavatsky in the New York Sun of July 20, 1890. This denunciation led to a libel suit and the New York Sun was forced to print an apology.
For the last few years of his life, Coues turned his attention to editing fifteen works concerning travel in the West including History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark, 1893; Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, 1895; and Diary of Francisco Garces, 1900.
Coues was married twice: on May 3, 1867, to Jane A. McKenney; and on October 25, 1887, to Mrs. Mary E. Bates, who survived him. He had four children.
For additional information regarding Elliott Coues see the Dictionary of American Biography.
