Saturday, November 27, 2021

John Coughlin's Will & Probate Record

 


After giving myself a month of Ancestry to examine some of the documentation there for ancestors on Donald's Barry lines, I followed a hint to the Surrogate's Court record of the John Coughlin of the Coughlin headstone series.

You may remember that verifying the information for John lead me to Irish Catholic parish records and the discovery of two potential siblings who appear to have stayed in Ireland.

John's first bequest gives some additional documentation of one of those siblings. When I was searching the parish records for the Coughlin family, there was a baptismal entry for a Patrick with same name parents as John and Ann. John has given us further evidence of this relationship.

"First, after my lawful debts are paid, I give and bequeath unto my brother Patrick Coughlin residing at County Galway, Ireland the sum of Five hundred Dollars."

Next, John gives us something new to search for, if this type of record from the Emigrant Savings Bank survives.

"Second - I give and bequeath to my nephew-John Barry my Gold Watch, but I direct the same by [sic] placed by my Executor hereinafter named in the Emigrant Savings Bank for safe keeping until he arrives at the age of 21 years, when the same shall be delivered to him"

John's third bequest gives us more information about the Coughlin headstone. The headstone says that it was erected by John's sisters Ann Tucker and Winifred Barry, so I had pictured a scenario where the sisters had pooled their money to erect the stone after John's death, but his will tells us what actually happened. 

"Third. - I direct that the sum of one thousand dollars be applied by my Executrices towards my funeral expenses & this item is also to cover the expense of a tombstone, Requiem Mass, and other Masses to be said for the repose of my soul after my death & I most earnestly request that my Executrices will obey my wishes in that respect"

One thousand dollars then would be worth about $28,000 today.

When I was researching John for the headstone series, I noted that I wasn't finding anything documenting a wife or children. From the lack of mention of any children in the will, I strongly suspect that he didn't have any, and now we have this new wrinkle.

"Fourth.-My wife Ann Coughlin having deserted me for the last six years without any cause on my part I ignore her in this my Will & leave her nothing, & it is my wish that  receive no part of my Estate"

Mysterious and sad. When my research focus returns to John, I will have to see what, if anything, I can discover about Ann and their marriage. I will also be following up on the mention of a Mary Coughlin as next of kin in the Surrogate's court portion of this record. It is possible that Mary is another sibling who joined John, Winifred and Ann and some of their nieces and nephews here in the states but that remains to be seen.

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