Jeremiah Bernard Coughlin (1914 – 1977), 11 months old, was an American citizen and son of John and Katherine Coughlin, and brother of Margaret and John Coughlin, Jr.. The senior Coughlin and his daughter, Margaret, were lost. Katherine and the sons survived.
Jeremiah Bernard Coughlin, known as Bernard or “Bernie” was born in Butte, Montana, United States, where his parent were married and siblings were born. The family continued to live in Butte until they left for Ireland on the Lusitania to return to their family farm and ancestral home.
John Coughlin, Sr. and Margaret were lost in the disaster. Katherine, John Jr., and Jeremiah Bernard were saved.
The elder Coughlin and his sons had been on deck when the torpedo struck. At the time, Katherine had been below decks washing things for the children. The father had left John, Jr. on deck so that Katherine could find him. The father had probably gone to find lifejackets and had been unable to get back. It is not known how Bernie survived, but it is presumed that his father escorted him to a boat and stepped back into the crowd.
Following the Lusitania sinking, Katherine and her two sons lived temporarily with one of her brothers in County Cork, Ireland. Afterwards, and they continued to live in Ireland. They were not living with her relatives, but Katherine’s brother contributed to their support.
In January 1925, the Mixed Claims Commission awarded John Coughlin, Jr. $2,500.00 and Jeremiah Bernard Coughlin $2,500.00 for the loss of their father.
Bernie moved to England where he worked as a carpenter. He married Biddy Stratton. He died in Hillingdon on 26 September 1977 at age 63.
Related pages
The Coughlin Family at the Mixed Claims Commission
Links of interest
Lest We Forget: The Coughlin Family
Contributors
Shelley Dziedzic, USA
Jim Kalafus, USA
Senan Molony, Ireland
Michael Poirier, USA
Jean Richards Timmermeister, USA
References
Mixed Claims Commission. Docket 2489, pg. 513.
Molony, Senan. Lusitania: An Irish Tragedy, pg. 26 – 27. Mercier Press, 2004.
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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