Our Museum: James Annal's Model Ship

During the period of COVID-19 in 2020 when all of the archives and museums around the world closed, many museums an individuals started posting on twitter with the hashtag #MyMuseum.

In particular, I was inspired by the tweets being posted by @farmersfriend who shared a photo and story of an item from his personal museum every day on twitter. He wrote, 

"As we grow older many of us create our own 
museum of things..."

I loved it! The idea of sharing photos from our personal museums inspired me to create this new genealogy series entitled  "Our Museum". 

This model ship is a treasure in #OurMuseum because it was made by the hands of our 2nd great-grandfather James Henry Allen Annal (1849-1930) who was a sailor and built model ships as a hobby.

My brother has been the caretaker of this most valuable family heirloom passed down to him through the generations.

Descendants of Daniel J. Coughlin: The Connecticut Coughlins

March 2018 marks a month of incredible breakthroughs in my genealogical research of my Coughlin ancestors from Poughkeepsie, New York and now the trail has led me to Connecticut in search of more Coughlin ancestors and their descendants.

My great grandfather (GG) William Henry Coughlin (1872-1952) was born in Poughkeepsie New York and emigrated to Canada in 1898 at 26 years of age. I knew so little about the Coughlin family he left behind and I was unsuccessful at any and all previous attempts to locate these ancestors in New York records.

My great grandfather William H. Coughlin's Border Crossing Card (1929)

The Coughlin family, Wallaceburg, Ontario around 1917

The Coughlin family, Windsor, Ontario 1949

My great grandfather William Henry Coughlin (1872-1952) was a glassblower in Wallaceburg, Ontario at the Sydenham Glass Works .

Source: University of Windsor; SWODA: Glass Works, Wallaceburg, Ont. (1907) (Public Domain)

William H. Coughlin's 

Poughkeepsie Kin

In March 2018, I located William's Coughlin family in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. and learned that many of them had lived their entire lives in Poughkeepsie in the same neighborhood near the Hudson River and that they were all baptized, married and buried at St. Peter's Roman Catholic church and cemetery.

Michael and Margaret (Duffy) Coughlin

(My 2nd great grandparents)

 

Michael and Margaret (Duffy) Coughlin were both born in Ireland in 1842 and emigrated to New York during the potato famine. They were married around 1865 and had three sons who survived to adulthood: John J., William H., and Daniel J..

Eldest Son: John J. Coughlin (1867-1932)

(My 2nd Great Uncle)

John J. Coughlin was the eldest son of Michael and Margaret Coughlin. Census records indicate that he was married twice. His first wife had died some time before 1920. 

John J. Coughlin (1867-1932)

In the 1920 Poughkeepsie census, John J. Coughlin is widowed and he is living with his brother Daniel's family and his widowed father Michael. 

John J. was employed as an Inspector at the Horse Shoe Works.

When John J. died on August 31, 1932, his obituary mentions his two step-daughters and his brothers Daniel J. and William H. Coughlin who is said to be in Montreal which was his original destination when he left for Canada. (See William H. Coughlin's Naturalization Papers where he stated that he: "went directly to Wallaceburg, Ontario, remained there for about one month, then went to Montreal stayed for nearly four months and had only periodic work, he then returned to New York, and stayed for one year and lived at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., he returned to Wallaceburg, Ontario where he remained for 15 years during the time he spent there he got married and bought a home..")

Source: Poughkeepsie Eagle News; 02 Sep, 1932

Middle Son: William Henry Coughlin (1872-1952) 

(My great grandfather)

I have written extensively about Michael and Margaret Coughlin's middle son who was my great grandfather William H. Coughlin. Visit the links at the bottom of this page for more details about his son and daughters and their lives in Ontario, Canada and Michigan, U.S.A..

My great grandfather William H. Coughlin

The Coughlin Family: Michigan and Ontario

In 1940, William H. Coughlin indicated that he was applying for naturalization under Section 8, "to renew old Nat. Papers so he may obtain a passport to visit relatives in the States." 

In 1952 when he died, William was the last living of his Poughkeepsie family (mother, father and brothers) and his obituary does not mention any nieces and nephews still living in the United States.

Source: The Windsor Daily Star: Jan 30, 1952

 Youngest Son: Daniel J. Coughlin 

(My 2nd Great Uncle)

Michael and Margaret Coughlin's youngest son Daniel J. lived his entire life in Poughkeepsie, New York. He married Lillian Griffin in 1898 and they had four children.

The family of Daniel J. and Lillian (Griffin) Coughlin

 Of the four children of Daniel J. and Lillian (Griffin) Coughlin, two sons died very young:

Headstones for William H. and John J. Coughlin at St Peter's Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

• (2.) William H. Coughlin (1900-1913) died at 13 years-of-age after falling into a hole behind St. Peter's school and drowning. (read the story here)
• (3.) John J. Coughlin (1904-1925) died at 21 years-of-age following a car accident
  (read the story here)

The two surviving children, Margaret and Daniel, married and moved away from Poughkeepsie, New York (and his wife moved with them as well) to Connecticut. Here is what I have found out about them so far.

The Connecticut Coughlins

Mother: Lillian (Griffin) Coughlin (1882-1965)

Daniel's wife Lillian moved to Coventry, Connecticut and died there at the age of 83 years in 1965.

St Bernard's Cemetery, Rockville, Connecticut

 Daughter: (1.) Margaret R. Coughlin (1899-1964)

(My 1st cousin twice removed)

Margaret was the eldest child and only girl born to Daniel J. and Lillian (Griffin) Coughlin in Poughkeepsie, New York. (Note: Margaret's obituary states that she was born in Hyde Park, NY)

Margaret married John Carmen Pucino who was born in Italy in 1895 and died suddenly at home in 1953. He was a veteran of WWI. He is buried at St Bernard's Cemetery Rockville, Connecticut

John Carmen and Margaret (Coughlin) Pucino had three children, two sons (John Joseph and Daniel A.) and one daughter (Evelyn). 

It was difficult to find Margaret (Coughlin) Pucino's death date because she remarried Francis J. Lavoie (1905-2003). (No obituary found; headstone located at St Bernard's )
 

Francis J. LaJoie 1905-2003; St. Bernard's Cemetery, Ct.

Below is Margaret (Coughlin) Pucino-LaJoie's 1964 obituary: Mrs. Francis J. LaJoie

 Margaret (Coughlin) Pucino-LaJoie's Children

(My Third Cousins)

(1.) John Joseph Pucino (1920-1983): John was born in Beacon, New York and married Helmi Aalto of West Waterford. They had three daughters. John died in 1983 and is buried at St Bernard's Cemetery, Rockville, Conneticut https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67754594/john-j-pucino

John's wife Helmi was born in Brooklyn, New York an was a member of the Finnish American Heritage Society and was retired from Pratt and Whitney Aircraft after many years of service. The obituary for Helmi R Pucino (Aalto) with photos can be found here: http://smallandpietrasfuneralhome.com/book-of-memories/1279932/Pucino-Helmi/obituary.php

(2.) Daniel Anthony Pucino (1923-1960): John was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and married Helen Popilchock (1924-2003) of Catiwassa, Pennsylvania and they had two children: Donna and Jean.

Daniel died at 36 years of age in 1960 in Berwick, Pennsylvania while demolishing a building. He was crushed between a crane and a trailer according to the coroner's report below.

 

Source: Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Pennsylvania, USA; Certificate Number Range: 013651-016350

Daniel was a veteran of WWII and is buried in Our Lady of Mercy cemetery, Pennsylvania.

Source: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Veterans Burial Cards, 1929-1990; Series Number: Series 1

(3.) Evelyn Pucino (1925-2016) Evelyn married James Shea. From Evelyn's 2016 obituary: "Evelyn was born in Poughkeepsie NY on March 20, 1925, the daughter of John C. Pucino and Margaret (Coughlin Pucino). She grew up in New Paltz NY and moved with her family to CT living most of her life in Coventry. Evelyn had a strong faith in God and was an active parishioner of St Mary Church in Coventry where, at every event, she could be found in the kitchen cooking and making fried dough. She lived her faith through service including as a Eucharistic Minister. She was proud of her Italian heritage. Long after she prepared the family recipe for meatballs for the last time, she continued to share the stories and music of her childhood. She will always be remembered by those whose lives she so lovingly touched."

Evelyn (Pucino) Shea (1925-2016) (My second cousin / once removed)

Son: (4.) Daniel Coughlin (1907-1979)

(My 1st cousin twice removed)

Daniel was the youngest child born in 1907 to Daniel J. and Lillian (Griffin) Coughlin in Poughkeepsie, New York.

On the 1930 Census, newlyweds Daniel and Ruth E. Curtis Gray are living with Daniel Coughlin Sr. in Poughkeepsie

Year: 1930; Census Place: Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, New York; Roll: 1420; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0048; FHL microfilm: 2341155

Daniel and Ruth had a son Daniel C. a graduate of Eastern Connecticut State College and teacher at Bolton Center School.

Daniel died in 1979 in Manchester, Connecticut at 72 years-of-age having worked for thirty years as a supervisor at the Salvation Army in Hartford, Connecticut. He is buried at St. Mary's cemetery with his wife Ruth who died in 1987.

Source: The Hartford Courant 11 Feb 1979 Page 28

Source: The Hartford Courant 25 Nov 1987 D8

The Michigan & Ontario Coughlins

• DUFFY-COUGHLIN: Poughkeepsie Brick Wall (Coughlin and Duffy)
• COUGHLIN: Glassblowers in the 1800s
• COUGHLIN: Wallaceburg Schools 
• COUGHLIN: Holy Name of Mary Society, Wallaceburg, Ontario; and Updated post 
• COUGHLIN: Rhea Coughlin & Parke Davis 
• COUGHLIN:  Coughlin Golden Anniversary 1949
• COUGHLIN: Trick or Treating
• COUGHLIN: The Photographic Camera and a Photograph Album
• COUGHLIN: Ice Boating in Windsor, Ontario
• COUGHLIN: The Naturalization Papers of William Henry Coughlin  
• MOYNAHAN - COUGHLIN: Favourite Photo: My Grandparent's 1929 Wedding
• DEMARSE - COUGHLIN: Sister Madeline Demarse (G.S.I.C) (1928-2010)
• SCHOFIELD-COUGHLIN: Arthur and Margaret Schofield 
• COUGHLIN: The Art of Colorizing Photos 
• COUGHLIN: The Coughlin's 1940s Sing-Along! Part 1 
• COUGHLIN-ANNAL: Coughlin Anniversary Folio Pak Snaps
• COUGHLIN: The Coughlin's 1940s Sing-Along! Part 2
• COUGHLIN: Gretta Marie (Coughlin) Langlois

52 Ancestors: Week 8: Heirloom

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks was created by Amy Johnson Crow and is a series of weekly blogging prompts to inspire genealogists and family historians to write about an ancestor and then share it online. The theme for Week 8 is "Heirloom".

Model ship built by James Henry Allan Annal (1849-1930)

The heirloom that I have chosen to write about is a model ship built by my 2nd great-grandfather  James Henry Allan Annal (1849-1930) who was a sailor all of his life and "as a boy was on a whaling expedition for three years in the Arctic."

James Henry Allan Annal 's obituary said that he "sailed every windjammer on the Great lakes a hardy and fearless sailor, and very expert in the construction of ship models."

My 2nd great-grandparents Mary (Hess) and James Henry Allan Annal celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1922

My great-great grandparents lived in Wallaceburg, Ontario near the St. Clair River:  

"During the heyday of water transportation along the St. Clair River, from 1840 to approximately 1931, thousands of schooners, ferries, steamers and flat-bottomed freighters known as scows congested the waterway, hauling goods and passengers up and down the strait, making the river one of the most important arteries in the Great Lakes." (Source: Wallaceburg Courier)

 My 2nd great-grandfather John Henry Allan Annal sailed until he was seventy-three years old!

James Henry Allan Annal had emigrated from his birthplace in the Orkney Islands in 1870 sailing to New York with his sister and the Sutherland family on the steam ship Columbia that left Glasgow, Scotland on November 5, 1870 and arrived in New York on November 5, 1870.

The details of this voyage can be read at http://moynahangenealogy.blogspot.ca/2018/02/william-sutherlands1870-passenger-list.html

This Currier and Ives print is available for sale at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/140283.html

Model Ship Building 

There is a very long tradition of sailors and merchant seaman crafting model ships to pass the time on long voyages. (See PBS Antique Road Show http://www.pbs.org/video/antiques-roadshow-appraisal-folk-art-model-ship-ca-1900/ )

The boat that my grandfather crafted had three masts and it is encased in glass and, based on the handy chart below, I believe it to be a schooner.

Screen capture from Ancestry magazine July/August 2005

We have heard many cousins speak of  model ships built by our great-great grandfather (and his son John Annal) that they remember seeing in their youth but this is the only one that I know of that is still in existence. This treasured family heirloom is in the care of my brother for safekeeping.

On This Day: April 2 - Nellie (Annal) Simpson Was Born

 Nellie (Annal) Simpson (1899-1962)
(my 1st cousin 2x removed) 
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

For 2017, I have decided to use  "On This Day" (or OTD for short) as a means to:

• honour the life events of my ancestors
• revisit my previous research on them, 
• check for any new information online (i.e. on ancestry and Family Search)
• update any of my previous blog posts if new information was found
• share these #OTD memes on social media like my Facebook page (to share with family) and on twitter (to share with other genealogists).

In some cases, I have created new blog posts (see Francis Clifford Tomlin's Headstone and Ann (Moynahan) Jobin). Such is the case for Nellie - I want to dedicate this blog post to her on her birthday.

Nellie (Annal) Simpson (1899-1962)

I had written a little bit about Nellie previously in my blog post 52 Ancestors No.31 Meeting Distant Cousins from the Annal-Hess Clan . In that blog post I described how two distant cousin genealogists, Vicky Hess and Kim Simpson, were the reason that my Annal-Hess clan research was so far advanced. They had done ALL the work! I am sincerely grateful to both of them.
 

Nellie Lillian Annal was the daughter of  James and Mary (Wright) Annal

I had written previously about Nellie's father James Annal (1873-1921) as well in my blog post 52 Ancestors #36: Fire Chief and Ice Dealer James Annal . I was surprised that James had died so young (47 years of age) being described as "hale and hearty" and a "powerful, vigorous man" and James had worked as an "Ice Man" and Firefighter. Sadly, he did not live long enough to see his three grandsons born (the children of Nellie and Graydon Simpson.).

Pictures of Nellie with her parents James and Maggie Annal 
Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

 Three Things To Know About Nellie

As a birthday tribute to the Nellie Lillian Annal who was born on this day, April 2 in the year 1899, here are three things you probably did NOT know about her.

Fact No. 1: Nellie had two sisters who died before their second birthday

How sad that Nellie grew up as an only child and how sad that her two sisters did not even live long enough to see their second birthdays. It must have been hard on Nellie's parents as well.

I love the poems that appear on Bessie and Rena's headstones and I am assuming that they were probably written by their mother (?). Both girls, Bessie and Rena, are buried at the Riverview Cemetery in Wallaceburg, Ontario.

I located a death certificate for Bessie and learned that she died from "gastro intestinal" according to the physician in attendance.

Nellie's sister Bessie Irene died at 1 year 6 months and 13 days old

Nellie's sister Rena May died at 8 months 11 days old.

Fact No. 2: Nellie had three sons

Nellie with her three sons
(left to right): Russell Lee, Graydon Douglas, and James Willard
(c. 1930s) Photo credit: Private collection of Graydon Douglas Simpson (son of Nellie Annal)

All three of Nellie's sons married and lived in Michigan and Nellie lived to see the arrival of six grandchildren.

Composite of wedding announcements for the three Simpson brothers (taken from the Detroit Free Press archives).

Fact No. 3: Nellie Lillian (Annal) Simpson was a quilter and "sewed for Britain".

I located a Detroit Free Press clipping dated March 9, 1941 (Page 43) that shows women "sewing for Britain" and one of them is Mrs. Graydon Simpson - Nellie!

Comfort Quilts

"Of all the services that women provided for wartime relief, perhaps the making of quilts represented the most intimate expression of comfort and care for those suffering the horrors of war. Women all over Canada gathered to sew quilts for bombed-out families in Britain......"(Source: http://halifaxwomenshistory.ca/canadian-comfort-quilts/)

I am so grateful to Kim Simpson for sending me photographs of a quilt made by Nellie from her private collection.

Nellie's Quilt
Photo credit: Private collection of Douglas and Kim Simpson

Nellie's Quilt (close up)
Photo credit: Private collection of Douglas and Kim Simpson

Nellie's Quilt (detail)
Photo credit: Private collection of Douglas and Kim Simpson

Nellie Lillian (Annal) Simpson Died in 1962

 

Death Notice: Detroit Free Press (6 Jun 1962): Simpson, Nellie l.

Nellie died in 1962 and is buried in Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens in Novi, Michigan alongside her husband Graydon who died sixteen years later (1978). There are no pictures available online of their headstone.

Death Notice: Detroit Free Press (18 Jan 1978): Simpson, Graydon

Links to War Time Sewing Clubs

•  The women's sewing circles that helped Britain win the war http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/651255/Women-sewing-circles-helped-Britain-win-WW2-war-UK
•  Knitting for Victory http://elinorflorence.com/blog/wartime-knitting

52 Ancestors No.44: Madeline (Coughlin) Demarse (1900-1929)

Mary Madeline (Coughlin) Demarse died eighty-six years ago on December 11, 1929.

She died just a couple of weeks after my grandparents were married (November 27, 1929). Madeline's daughter Eileen (the eldest) was the flower girl.

My grandparents wedding on November 27, 1929
with Madeline's daughter Eileen Denarse as flower girl (centre)

What had begun as an ear ache developed into cerebral spinal meningitis and Dr. McGavin of Hotel Dieu attended to Madeline from December 3 to December 10 when she succumbed to the illness on December 11, 1929.

Grandma Elizabeth (Annal) Coughlin cared for her and all four children while she was ill. My grand aunt Betty Harrison told my cousin Gail Kinsel that Grandma Coughlin "made sure that all of Madeline's children had a joyous Christmas and that all of the children got gifts from Santa."

What a difficult year it must have been for those children and her husband Joseph Demarse.

Mary Madeline (Coughlin) Demarse 

1900-1929

Mary Madeline (Coughlin) Demarse
1900-1929

1900

Mary Madeline Coughlin (my grand aunt) was the first born child of William and Elizabeth (Annal) Coughlin and she was born on the 4th of September 1900 in Wallaceburg, ON, Canada

1901-1911

In 1901, Madeline was living with her parents (William and Elizabeth) in the home of her grandparents, James Henry and Mary (Hess) Annal in Wallaceburg, Ontario.

Source:  Year: 1901; Census Place: Wallaceburg (Town/Ville), Bothwell, Ontario; Page: 13; Family No: 118

Madeline's father (glassblower William Henry Coughlin) had just emigrated to Canada from Poughkeepsie New York in 1899 and Madeline's parents were married (November 27, 1899). By the time the 1911 census was taken, the family was found in their own home and Madeline now had four sisters!

Source:  Year: 1911; Census Place: 47 - Wallaceburg, Kent East, Ontario; Page: 18; Family No: 196

1917

By 1917, the Coughlin family was complete with a baby boy and brother for the Coughlin sisters Lawrence William (1916-1992) shown below on his father's lap.

Madeline, the eldest daughter, is standing at the back
The other sisters in the picture in birth order are: Rhea (1902), Margaret (1904), Viola (1906), Gretta (1910) and Betty ("Bessie) (1913)

1920

On November 17, 1920, 20-year-old Madeline married the 24-year-old Joseph Demarse who was a machinist from Stoney Point, Ontario.

Madeline's occupation listed on her marriage certificate says she was working as a bookkeeper.

Wedding Day - November 17, 1920
The witnesses to their wedding were
William Demarse and Margarite Coughlin

Source: Archives of Ontario; Series: MS932; Reel: 528

1921-1927

From this union, four children were born:

• Eileen Margaret (Demarse) VanHuyse (1921-1990)
• Joseph Aurele Demarse (1923-1998)
• Madeline Demarse (1927-2010)
• Elizabeth ("Betty") (Demarse) Lauzon

When researching my family history, I am always sad to read the details of ancestors whose lives were cut much too short like Madeline's. 

And poor Joseph Demarse and these children to have lost their wife and mother so young was tragic enough but to lose her so suddenly and so close to Christmas, 

It is heartwarming to know that "Lizzie" (Annal) Coughlin and the extended Coughlin family made sure that the Demarse family had a joyous Christmas that all of the children got gifts from Santa.

Madeline is buried at Heavenly Rest cemetery in Windsor, Ontario

1929

The Border Cities Star.
December 12, 1929  (Page 7 of 42)

Source:  Archives of Ontario; Series: MS935; Reel: 370