**See also my February 4th blog entry on the name "Coughlin"**
You might have thought that I had outdone myself and said all that could possibly be said about the name "Coughlin" in one of last week's blog entries. Wrong-o!
What I neglected to mention were the many different ways our name "Coughlin" has been recorded in official documents. The very first mention that I know of can be found in United States naturalization documents, long ago sent to me by my cousin Jack Pendergast. In these documents Daniel and Mary, my great great grandparents, born in County Cork, Ireland, are recorded with the last name spelled "Coghlin." They make an x-mark, and their son (Jeremiah, I believe) writes out their names. This same spelling is seen on Mary's tombstone in the old St. Bernard's Cemetery in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York (we assume Daniel is also buried there, but I couldn't find his name on that stone).
I have found census records that record the spellings "Coglin" and even, astonishingly, "Couthlin" for our family members. I can see how this could happen. If these Irish immigrants pronounced their name in the traditional manner you wouldn't know how to spell it! I have even seen the name spelled "Conkling"! Knowing how Munster Gaelic is spoken, this confusion does not surprise me. It's possible we could have ended up using any of the various spellings. But fairly early on, we start to see the spelling "Coughlin," which is what we use today.
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