Coit, Henry Augustus

(Jan. 20, 1830-Feb. 5, 1895). First rector of St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire. He was born in Wilmington, Delaware. At the age of fifteen he entered St. Paul's College, College Point, Flushing, New York, where he studied under William Augustus Muhlenberg. In 1847 he entered the University of Pennsylvania but had to withdraw because of poor health. Coit then served as tutor to the family of Bishop Stephen Elliott of Georgia. After this, he taught at St. James College, Hagerstown, Maryland, and then at a parish school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Coit was ordained deacon on Jan. 22, 1854, and priest on Dec. 3, 1854. He was the rector of St. Paul's School from 1856 until his death. He instituted many of Muhlenberg's educational ideas at St. Paul's. Coit died in Concord.