Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Coan, Ralph A. May 22, 1881 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com October 27, 2009, 12:09 am

Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Page 140
Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     An able and successful lawyer, recognized as one of the leading members 
of the Multnomah county bar, Ralph A. Coan commands a large and representative 
clientele and is held in the highest esteem by his fellowmen. Mr. Coan was 
born at Boulder, Colorado, on the 22d of May, 1881, a son of Alonzo and 
Marietta (Lancaster) Coan, who moved to Colorado about 1871, and there his 
father became a prominent mine operator and built the first cyanide plant in 
the world. Both parents are now deceased.

     Ralph A. Coan attended the public and high schools of his home city and 
then entered the University of Colorado, from which he was graduated with the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts. Having decided to devote his life to the legal 
profession, he attended the law school of Columbia University, New York city, 
from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1906. He 
practiced for a short time at Boulder and then went to Nevada. A few months 
later he located in Vancouver, Washington, where he practiced for one year, 
and in 1908 came to Portland, where he has remained to the present. For a time 
he was a member of the law firm of Evans & Coan, which was followed by 
Whitfield & Coan, and for a few years Mr. Coan practiced alone, but is now 
associated with Abe Eugene Rosenberg, under the firm name of Coan & Rosenberg, 
specializing in commercial law and bankruptcy, in which he is regarded as an 
authority. He has also served one term as United States referee in bankruptcy.

     In 1908 Mr. Coan was united in marriage to Miss Pansey Burton, of Nevada, 
Missouri, whose father, Charles G. Burton, was a congressman from Missouri and 
later collector of internal revenue at Kansas City. His death occurred in 
February, 1926. He was a veteran of the Civil war and was a past grand 
commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. and Mrs. Coan have 
two children, Burton L., now aged seventeen years, and Ralph Gorman, aged 
fourteen years. Mr. Coan is an earnest supporter of the republican party and 
keeps in close touch with the leading issues of the day, on which he holds 
well defined opinions. Mr. Coan is a member of Imperial Lodge, No. 159, A. F. 
& A. M., of which he is a past master; Portland Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M.; 
Multnomah Council, No. 11, R. & S. M.; Portland Commandery, No. 1, K. T.; 
Portland Consistory, A. A. S. R.; Al Kader Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; Portland 
Lodge, No. 142, B. P. O. E.; the Wana Lake Club, of which he is president, the 
Portland Golf Club and the Chamber of Commerce. He belongs to the Multnomah 
Bar Association, of which he was secretary for ten years and is a past vice 
president; the Oregon State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. 
He possesses a clear, logical and analytical mind, well grounded in the basic 
principles of jurisprudence and a constant student of his profession.

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