John Coughlin, 39, was a naturalized American citizen traveling aboard Lusitania with his wife, Katherine (36), daughter Margaret (2 1/2), sons John, Jr. (3) and Jeremiah Bernard (11 months). The senior Coughlin and his daughter, Margaret, were lost.
John J. Coughlin was a native of Goleen, County Cork, Ireland. On 28 July 1900, he became a naturalized United States citizen. He married Katie (Katherine) O’Neil, also a native of Ireland, at Butte, Montana, 20 July 1905. Their three children were born at Butte, where they continued to reside until the entire family left for Ireland on the Lusitania to return to their family farm and ancestral home.
Coughlin worked as a miner; his wages were from $23.50 to $28.00 per week.
Katherine and their sons survived the Lusitania sinking. John and their daughter Margaret were lost. Margaret’s body was recovered and identified. John’s was not.
At the time of the torpedoing, John and the boys had been on deck and Katherine was below decks with Margaret to was some things for the children. They were separated during the sinking. John had left John, Jr. on deck while the father presumably went to find lifejackets. The boys somehow got into a lifeboat, as the boys were saved but the father was not.
Related pages
The Coughlin Family at the Mixed Claims Commission
Links of interest
Lest We Forget: The Coughlin Family
Contributors
Mr. and Mrs. John Sullivan (relatives of the Coughlins)
Shelley Dziedzic, USA
Jim Kalafus, USA
Michael Poirier, USA
Jean Richards Timmermeister, USA
References
Mixed Claims Commission. Docket 2489, pg. 513.
Poirier, Michael and Jim Kalafus ( 2010 ) Lest We Forget : The Coughlin Family Titanic Research (ref: #11647, accessed 26th October 2011 07:02:45 AM)
<http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lest-we-forget-the-coughlin-family.html>
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