A Coogan Family of County Monaghan

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Last Update:
31 DEC 2007		 ?
?


 Bridget
McConville
c.1798-c.1848		 Patrick
"Patriarch"
c.1798-c.1856
Terrence
Francis
1824-1893
"Farmer"
 Hugh
J.
1829-1903
"Explorer"		 Hugh

1819-1889
"Elder"		 Owen
[Charles]
1820-1885
"Trader"		 Patrick
Joseph
1828-1872
"Innkeeper"
 James
J.
1833-1891?
"Bartender"		 Michael
Patrick
1835-1885
"Stonecutter"
1114 Individuals 368 Individuals


Here is how the names above were connected in this tree:

1. Using FamilyTreeDNA.com, we have determined that there is a 99% probability that Owen "Trader" and Terrence "Farmer" are related. We performed the Y-DNA-37 test (36 out of 37 alleles matched) and connected Jim Coogan and John Michael Coogan (Pat Connor Coogan's husband) in 2006.

2. The parents of Owen were found in a record of his marriage in Montreal. The family name may have been Cooghan at the time of his arrival to Canada. Owen's 1843 marriage record, the tombstone of his sister-in-law, Catherine O'Hare Kelly, and his 1885 obituary all recorded that he was a native of County Monaghan, Ireland.

3. Owen and Patrick Joseph were known to be brothers. Owen's son, James, kept constant contact with the children of Patrick Joseph, who James said were his 'first cousins.'

NOTE: The event which best proves the family connections was the ordination of William J. McClimont (the grandson of Patrick Joseph) as a Vincenzian Priest in the mid-1920s. His mother (Mary Coogan McClimont) was so proud that she took William on a trip to visit the Coogan relatives in Boston and Montreal. Following a 12 year missionary journey to China, William again visited these Coogan relatives.

4. Patrick Joseph, Michael Patrick, and James J. were found to be brothers as follows:

         a. Michael Patrick's death certificate listed his father as Patrick.
         b. James was a resident of Patrick Joseph's hotel from 1858-1860.
         c. James was a resident in Michael Patrick's home from 1883-1890 (Michael Patrick died 1885).
         d. Felix Devlin (see below) was a co-resident with Patrick Joseph's children in Brooklyn [95 DeBevois].
         e. Felix Devlin was a witness to the will of Michael Patrick.

5. Hugh "Elder" was a close relative who also had dealings with Felix Devlin (Felix was sponsor to John, Hugh's son, at his baptism). His age determined his placement on this chart. His death certificate reported that his father's name was Patrick.

6. Terrence Francis could be a brother or cousin of Michael Patrick because Michael Patrick was a witness at his naturalization. He appears to be the person to whom the children of Patrick Joseph were referring when they spoke of the brother(s) "who went west."

7. Hugh J. "Explorer" is known to be Terrence Francis' brother because of census records from Iowa. He also appears in the 1855 Kingston census as a resident of Patrick Joseph's hotel.

Felix Devlin is a person of great interest in the development of this family tree. He appears as a sponsor at a baptism of Hugh "Elder"'s child and as a witness to Michael "Stonecutter"'s will.

We believe that Felix was born c.1825 in County Tyrone. He married Ann Hughes. In the 1880 Census, he is listed in Brooklyn, NY, with his children - Bridget (born 1854), Peter (born 1859) and Annie (born 1862).

The relationship between Felix Devlin and the Coogan family may have begun before the immigration to the United States, but the first proof we have of a connection comes from 1863, when he was a baptismal witness for John Coogan, son of Hugh "Elder".

By 1869, he begins to appear in the Brooklyn City Directories as a barkeeper in the vicinity of DeBevoise and Morrell Streets. In 1880, the children of Patrick "Innkeeper" moved to live in the same building with him - 95 DeBevoise.

The last reference to Felix was at the time of his death. The Kingston "Argus" reported a story of him on the day after Michael "Stonecutter" died (1885) - since Felix ALSO died that same day, just after witnessing Michael's will!

NOTE: There is a possibility of another date of death for Felix, but we are investigating it.

In a history of Brooklyn, NY, Felix's bar is listed as the home of the "Felix Devlin Light Guard."

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