Alfred Augustus Coupland was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1871. A man of varied talents and pursuits, he tried his hand at mining, fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, and worked in sales and finances in Chicago. In addition, he was an accomplished writer and draftsman, and, for a hobby, engraved diplomas and business shingles.
Around 1893, Coupland led a group of men on a surveying expedition in Cataract Canyon, a tributary to the Grand Canyon, for the Arizona Consolidated Gold and Copper Mines Company. It appears that the surveyors did not locate what they sought, as the company never laid claim in Cataract Canyon.
Coupland died in San Antonio, Texas in 1951.
From the guide to the A. A. Coupland Collection, 1893-1899, (Cline Library. Special Collections and Archives Department)
