The Coogan Name in 19th Century NY News and Politics

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Roach, and John Scallon.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 115 WIDTH="107"><div> JULY 23</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1863</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> The<I> Berkshire Eagle</I> reported that a committee of citizens planned a reception for the 49th Regiment to welcome local soldiers home from the war. <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Owen Coogan</FONT> was among the two dozen members of the committee. The reception would include bell ringing, music, speeches, street decorations and fireworks. On the same day, President Lincoln proclaimed a national Day of Thanksgiving.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 494 WIDTH="107"><div> SUNDAY JULY 26</div> <div> (The day of the death of Catherine Coogan at age 29, sister of Patrick, Mary, Bridget, James, Mathew (with whom she arrived aboard the <I>Webster</I> on July 17, 1863), et al.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1863</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> It will be seen that from Monday afternoon to Thursday evening the [draft] riot existed.  During this period much private property was destroyed, and some public property, it is understood, was destroyed in Jamaica, also some public arms in one or two shops of individuals.  The amount of private property destroyed is estimated at not less than $400,000.</div> <bR> <div> I here take the occasion to express my thanks to the officers and privates of the volunteers . . . marines and sailors . . . opfficers of the navy . . . to the police and its officers, and to many private citizens, for their aid on this occasion.  -- from a letter from John E. Wool, Major General, to the<I> NY Herald.</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>The Draft in Illinois</I></div> <div> <I>How to Resist the Draft</I></div> <div> <I>[From the Chicago Times, July 23.1</I></div> <div> The plan adopted by the Democratic Club of the Third Ward to ensure against the draft will, we promise, be genewrally adopted in the city.  It may be adopted by any number of persons, organized for that purpose. Thus, in manufacturing or other establishments, where fifty or sixty or a hundren men are employed, the men may organize, and by a sufficient contribution from each, insure all against the draft [the Union Army required $300 for each exemption]. The contribution would be comparatively small--say $25 from each--and the unfortunates would have relief without hardship to any.--<I>NY Herald</I>.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 114 WIDTH="107"><div> THURSDAY</div> <div> MARCH 9</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1865</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> From the <I>New York Herald</I>, obituaries:  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >COOGAN</FONT>--At Harlem, on Tuesday, March 7, <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >MARGARETTA</FONT>, the beloved daughter of Patrick and Frances Coogan, aged 6 years, 3 months, and 7 days.</div> <div> The funeral will take place from the residence of her parents, 109th Street, between Second and Thnird avenues, Harlem, this (Thursday) afternoon, at one o'clock.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 191 WIDTH="107"><div> THURSDAY</div> <div> APRIL 27</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1865</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> Bleak news of the assassination of President Lincoln and Secretary Seward filled the pages of the <I>NY Times.</I> In the City of Charleston, South Carolina, Governor Aiken appointed a committee to draft a statement condemning the murders. The committee included<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" > P. J. Coogan</FONT> and 52 others. Another article in the <I>Times</I> notes feelingly that a New Yorker, Lieut. Johnston L. de Peyster, raised the first "real" American flag--that of the 12th Maine Volunteers--over the city of Richmond, "the central point of slavery." Those who helped raise the flag "should be remembered in the annals of this war emphatically for freedom." </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 172 ><NOBR><div> JANUARY 28 </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1868</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> Died.</div> <div> COOGAN.–At Harlem, on Monday, January 27, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Frances, the beloved wife of Patrick Coogan</FONT>, aged 42 years.  His friends and those of his brothers, Matthew, Dennis, and Hugh, are respectfully invited to attend the funeral, from his residence, 109<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#663300" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> street, between Second and Third Avenues, on Wednesday afternoon, at one o'clock. (Obituary notice in the <I>New York Herald)  Frances'</I> death record, # 1911, yields little information except that she died of Hepatitis and had lived in Harlem for 21 years (immigrated c. <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#663300" FACE="Arial" >1847</FONT>).</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 132 WIDTH="107"><div> --The New York CENSUS INDEX, NYC</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1870</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> Listed as residing in 12th Ward, 6-E District, were the following persons:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f00033cc00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Catharine Coogan<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#663300" FACE="Arial" >, age 70, born in Ireland</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f00033cc00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Mary Coogan<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#663300" FACE="Arial" >, age 36, born in Ireland</FONT></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f00033cc00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Patrick Coogan<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#663300" FACE="Arial" >, age 42, born in Ireland</FONT></div> <div>         —These are on Roll 989, pages 166-167 of the archives.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1139 WIDTH="107"><div> JANUARY 22</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1880</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> From the<I> New York Times:</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>COOGAN IN SEARCH OF A FATHER</B></div> <div> The Strange Tale of a Man from Great Bend.</div> <bR> <div>      For several months past a man giving his name as <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Francis Coogan</FONT> has been haunting the office of Superintendent Walling and the Bureau of Vital Statistics, making inquiries and searching the records in an endeavor to establish his identity and discover his parentage. Coogan is a laborer, and his home is at Great Bend, Jefferson County. He says he was brought up in the family of one James Cleary, a prosperous farmer, of Kirkwood, Broome County, and for a great many years believed himself to be a son of Cleary, being always treated as such by the other members of the family. In 1861, when but 16 ½ years of age, he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth Regiment, New-York State Volunteers, in which he served 18 months. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he re-enlisted, and, he says, sent his pay and bounty to Cleary. He participated in the battles of Camden Mills, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. He was wounded in the head at Fredericksburg, and became deaf in consequence. He returned to what he supposed was his parents’ home at Kirkwood, and in the Summer of 1864 he went to Tennessee, and remained there until August, 1865. During this period, he says, he sent all his savings to Cleary, amounting to over $1,000. On returning to Kirkwood he worked on Cleary’s farm. In 1868 he got married, and removed to Great Bend, N.Y.  Previous to this, however, in 1863, Michael Cleary, a son of John, whom he had always regarded as his brother, quarreled with his father, and was turned out of the house. He then told Coogan that he [Coogan] was not in any way related to the Cleary family, but was a child of a neighbor, who had been kidnapped from New-York by the elder Cleary for some sinister purpose. Coogan repeated this story to the elder Cleary, and asked what truth there was in it.  Cleary said that there was no truth in his son’s story, and Coogan believed him.</div> <bR> <div>      Cleary had promised that when Coogan got married he would give him $1,000 and furniture to furnish a home for himself. This promise he is said to have failed to keep, and this led to ill-feeling between them. Finally, Coogan says, Cleary gave him about $50 worth of furniture and two lots of little value, but the estrangement continued. Soon after his marriage Coogan and Cleary had a bitter quarrel, and Cleary is said to have then admitted that Coogan was not his child, but had been placed in his charge soon after his birth by his father. Since that time Coogan has been unremitting in his endeavors to find his parents. He has discovered that his father was Peter Coogan, who kept a cigar store in this city about the year 1845. His mother died on the 18<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#663300" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> of June, 1845, when he was but one week old. She was 34 years of age, and her death occurred at No. 80 Warren-street, in this city. She was buried by Undertaker Hart, in the cemetery attached to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Michael Cleary, who was a friend and customer of his father, lost a child by death on June 13, 1845. Peter Coogan placed his infant child in the charge of Cleary, to be cared for until a Mrs. Walsh, an aunt of the infant, could take charge of him. Coogan has ascertained that his father went to the Mexican War, and as he has not been heard of since that time he is supposed to have been killed in Mexico.  Coogan believes that some property was left him by his mother, and charges that Cleary was induced by some interested person to take him away from this City so that they might obtain the property.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="107"><div> MONDAY</div> <div> JANUARY 9</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1882</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> The <I>NY Times</I> reported the killing of <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Delia Coogan</FONT> Tibbetts, 21 years of age and married to an employee of Centro Market who "has a fair reputation." Delia's mother and sister accused her husband of beating his wife to death.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 894 ><NOBR><div> WEDNESDAY</div> <div> OCTOBER 4</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1882</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> A coroner's inquest was held to investigate the death of a passenger on one of the privately-owned railroad lines serving New York City.</div> <bR> <div> A New Haven train was struck by a Harlem Railroad train. The New Haven train was stopped for about four minutes in the Hudson River Tunnel when the collision occurred, but the engineer of the Harlem train received no notification of the stalled New Haven. No warning lights were displayed on the rear car of the stalled train, and the 98th Street operator did not detain the Harlem train. The coroner called several witnesses, both passengers and employees, including superintendents of the railroad companies that operated the trains.</div> <bR> <div> After hearing lengthy testimony, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Juror J. J. Coogan</FONT> arose and addressed the coroner; he said that the jury had heard "sufficient testimony" to assign responsibility for the fatal accident. Intending to continue interrogations despite the objection, Coroner Hermann stated that any juror who wished to leave would be excused. When Coogan arose to leave, however, the coroner said, "You take your seat.  The other jurors have business as well as yourself. You were sworn to listen to the evidence in this case.  I propose to conduct this inquest without fear or favor."</div> <div>   </div> <div> Coogan protested that much of the testimony by passengers was "irrelevant." The coroner warned him against further argument, and he resumed his seat "with undisguised disgust, and while some of the other jurors shook their heads, the examination proceeded."</div> <div>  </div> <div> Juror Coogan then had an interchange with one of the witnesses, who testified that it would not have been safe for a brakeman from the New Haven to warn the oncoming train. "Of course not," Coogan replied, "because there was no brakeman there."  The witness commented that Coogan spoke "like a paid attorney," and Coogan replied, "Perhaps you are a bribed witness."</div> <bR> <div> When the coroner proposed to take the jury to the scene of the accident, Coogan questioned the need for the visit since "A majority of the jurors have formed their conclusions on this case. What is the use of taking up so much time?" The article concludes with a comment that the jurors would inspect the tunnel after their luncheon.  --summarized from the <I>New York Times</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>The outspoken juror may have been James Jay Coogan, later President of the Borough of Manhattan and twice a candidate for Mayor of New York. He was the developer of Coogan Brothers Furniture, a Bowery business, as well as of the sports fields known later as "Coogan's Bluff," and he held a law degree from NYU.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 222 ><NOBR><div> DECEMBER 14</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1882</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Teresa Coogan</FONT> purchased and, on the same day, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Matthew Coogan and wife </FONT>leased property at 119th Street and 1st Avenue to Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank.</div> <bR> <div> The market in metals reacted vigorously to news that an inexpensive process for producing aluminum had been invented in England.</div> <bR> <div> Patrick Higgins, convicted in the Lough Mask murder with two other Fenians, was sentenced in Dublin to hanging, and the executioner of the three arrives under guard of “nine detectives.”</div> <div> –news and notices in the <I>NY Times</I>.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 57 WIDTH="107"><div> TUESDAY</div> <div> JANUARY 9</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1883</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Teresa Coogan and husband</FONT> recorded two mortgages to Steers on 1st Avenue property near 119th St.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 130 WIDTH="107"><div> SUNDAY</div> <div> JANUARY 21</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1883</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> In a display ad in the <I>NY Times</I>, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Coogan Brothers' Furniture </FONT>announced a 10-day sale, at whatever prices the furniture would bring, of a consignment received from NY Enameled Furniture Co., assigned by its creditors to James J. Coogan.</div> <bR> <div> Republicans in Washington resisted the passage of a general tariff bill.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 129 ><NOBR><div> MONDAY</div> <div> FEBRUARY 26</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1883</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> Teresa Coogan and husband recorded a five-year mortgage for property at <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >115th St. east of 1st Avenue.</FONT></div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> <bR> <div> Sarah Brush and others leased <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >125 Bowery</FONT> property to J. J. Coogan for five years.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="107"><div> MAY 14</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1883</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> Mary Anderson leased 123 Bowery to <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT> for 5 1/2 years.--<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 321 ><NOBR><div> DECEMBER  26</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1883</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> On Christmas night 1883,  fires at furniture stores in the Hoyle Building at 10th Street and Franklin Avenue in St. Louis took the lives of fire fighters Michael Kehoe and John Conway, whose brother Patrick Conway had just died of injuries received in the Occidental Hotel fire of a week earlier. The<I> NY Times</I> reports that firemen <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >John Coogan</FONT> and William Warren jumped from a second-story window to escape suffocation by the fire. Apparently, Coogan did not go home after that work but returned to the station. Later, his unit was called back to the area as the furniture warehouse was engulfed in flames:</div> <bR> <div> Johnny Coogan tried to gain an entrance to the building but was overcome by the smoke and fell in the doorway. The fire was so hot that Coogan’s comrades could not rescue him at once, and when his body was taken out it was terribly burned and life seemed nearly extinct.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I>.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 172 WIDTH="107"><div> WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1884</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Thomas Coogan of Jersey City</FONT>, having negotiated with Patrick Nugent for the sale of liquor and cigars, transported a load of liquor from property which Nugent rented on the west side of NYC. As he was carting away a second load, however, NYC police arrested Coogan on information given by Nugent's employer, who had provided Nugent with $1,600 worth of liquor supplies and a saloon as reward for loyal service to the employer's firm. Coogan spent the night in jail at the 15th Precinct.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 362 WIDTH="107"><div> SUNDAY</div> <div> MARCH 23</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1884</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> “For Sale. 4-story brownstone house 30th St. between Park and Lexington, 20 x 60 x 100. $30,000 or will exchange and pay difference in cash for house between Madison and 5th ave. or 5th and 6th ave.  For permit apply to owner, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT> 125 Bowery.”--Classified advertisement from the<I> New York Times</I>.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Note: In the 1890 <I>NYC Directories</I>,  Coogan Brothers’ Furniture was located at 121 Bowery & 378 Third Ave. Property at 233 Bowery was in the 17th Ward, 1st district. Coogan Bros. Furniture partners included the following: James J. Coogan ( 41 West 52nd);  Edward V. Coogan, Patrick P. Coogan, and Thomas A. Coogan  (79 West 54th).  See note on <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="#coogan_brothers__store_at_grand_street" TITLE="The Coogan Name in 19th Century NY News ">meeting at Coogan Brothers' Furniture store</A>,</FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="march_23"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT> below. </div> <bR> <div> In the 1900/1901 edition of the <I>New York Business Directory</I>, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT>’s residence is listed as 599 5th Avenue; his occupation is “Pres" (President of the Borough of Manhattan); his work address is “13 City Hall.”--<I>NYC Business Directory</I> information from the <A HREF="http://www.goneonwalkabout.com/crg/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.goneonwalkabout.com/crg/index">Coogan Research Group</A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 317 WIDTH="107"><div> AUGUST 10</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1884</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> On the same day that Mary Stilwell, wife of Thomas A. Edison of Menlo Park, NJ, died suddenly at age 29, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Coogan Brothers Furniture</FONT> Company contributed goods for a fair sponsored by German veterans groups that fund NYC charities.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times.</I></div> <bR> <div> The World Exposition was under construction in New Orleans, with a thousand mechanics at work and contracts awarded for the making of ice and cooling of drinking water for the visitors.</div> <bR> <div> In New Jersey, the City of Elizabeth planned to enforce the "Sabbath Laws" prohibiting the sale of alcohol in stores and saloons on Sundays. A <I>NY Times</I> staff writer worried that the Elizabeth saloon owners, who have vowed to help enforce the law, were planning to protest the sale of cigars and newspapers, and to attempt to secure the arrest of barbers and horse-drawn cab drivers in the city.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 95 ><NOBR><div> SATURDAY</div> <div> SEPTEMBER 13</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1884</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >A Coogan athlete</FONT>, playing for the Newark Domestic baseball club, helped his team lead 3-0 at the end of the 7th inning, but his errors helped to give the victory to the New York team by the end of the game.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 ><NOBR><div> WEDNESDAY</div> <div> DECEMBER 31</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1884</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Teresa Coogan</FONT> purchased, for a nominal sum, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >property near 117th St.</FONT>--<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 394 WIDTH="107"><div> MARCH 31</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1885</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> On March 31, 1885, there was a fire at Bleeker Street, NYC, which caused $40,000 worth of damage to merchants of the area and brought the elevated rail cars to a halt. In the building where the fire began lived a family of  French immigrants. An eight-year-old daughter was upset because, in the rush to escape the flames, she left her “chére poupée” behind. The <I>New York Times</I> reports,</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Officer Coogan</FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT>[no first name given], of the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="15th_32_precinct"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT>15th Precinct, who had been on the force only a few weeks, thought the girl was crying because a younger sister had been left behind, and dashing into the building he searched every room, until he saw what he supposed was a child lying on a bed.  He did not discover that it was a doll until he was half way down stairs, and his first impulse was to throw it away, but he accepted the situation and gave Émilie her treasure.  She amply rewarded him by her exclamations of delight and her smiles for his trouble and the jibes he will have to put up with from his comrades.</div> <bR> <div> James K. Pell of the family that gave its name to the Pelham area of the Bronx died at the age of 83.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 378 WIDTH="107"><div> FRIDAY</div> <div> MAY 3</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1885</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> In the Ludlow Jail were two persons, “the decrepit clairvoyant” Alice Frankle and her husband, “Billy.”  The were being held on bail of $1,000 each because they had lost a lawsuit to plaintiff <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Mary Coogan</FONT>, who won a judgment of $20,000 against them. The couple had accused her falsely of theft and had her arrested. The New York Supreme Court upheld the arrest of the couple, Judge Andrews presiding in Chambers</div> <div> --<I>NY Times.</I></div> <bR> <div> During the summer of 1885, the 69th Regiment Band performed at Battery Park, several theaters hosted Shakespearean performances, and the Veterans of the War of 1812 met to prepare for July 4th celebrations at Military Hall on the Bowery. Also, The <I>NY Times</I> reported that the trustees of New York City museums decided to extend hours at the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art until 7:00 P.M. in July and August since workers who have a half-holiday on Saturdays during summer months would have time to visit the museums (a 5 1/2-day work week).</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="107"><div> JUNE 15</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1885</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> An early-morning fire at the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Coogan Brothers Furniture store at 378 Third Avenue</FONT> resulted in a loss of $20,000-25,000 in bedding materials stored in the basement.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 210 WIDTH="107"><div> TUESDAY FEBRUARY 23</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> On the same day that New York City concluded plans to build the New York Public Library at 42nd St. and 5th Avenue, the Washington Heights Century Club held its meeting in downtown, rather than in "the wilds of the annexed district," its usual meeting place since its founding. At the meeting, held by tradition on Washington's birthday, the members of the Club, including <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT>, heard reverent and irreverent speeches about Washington, as well as about New York, the Congress, and "Old Ireland and Young America." At the Brunswick Hotel, James P. Farrell presided over a meeting of the Irish Home Rule Club</div> <div> --<I>NY Times.</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 433 WIDTH="107"><div> APRIL 6</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> The<I> NY Times </I>reported that at the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="coogan_brothers__store_at_grand_street"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT>Coogan Brothers’ store at Grand Street and the Bowery, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT> presided at a meeting of merchants to discuss the possibility of closing retail stores at 6:00 and after half-days on Saturdays. In attendance were dealers from Lord & Taylor's, as well as Ridley, Nicoll, J. H. Johnson, and others from east-side stores.  “Definite action” was planned for another meeting, on April 18, at the Bowery's Military Hall. <A HREF="#march_23" TITLE="The Coogan Name in 19th Century NY News ">Return to March 23, 1884.</A></div> <bR> <div> .In Austin, Chicago, and Boston, the Knights of Labor were signing up working people, including ex-slaves in southern states, to the alarm of northeastern entrepreneurs. In New York City, the Journeyman Barbers' Protective Union met to explore ways to shorten working hours for barbers. New York City police arrested Patrick Gorman, a hotel bartender, in a police sweep of city saloons that were in violation of the excise laws prohibiting sale of alcohol on Sundays. –<I>NY Times</I></div> <bR> <div> The <I>NY Times</I> reported that Gladstone's Home Rule bill was in the London news. The <I>Times</I> writer notes that according to one London source, “It would be impossible . . . ever to revert to the old system of Irish government. Even if Mr. Gladstone's measure be rejected, some solution must be found of the Irish question.”  </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 375 WIDTH="107"><div> APRIL 14</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <I>NY Times</I> sports page lists a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Coogan athlete</FONT> of the Newark Club playing in a game at the Polo Grounds (Coogan’s Bluff).</div> <bR> <div> It was not unusual for eight or ten steamships to arrive from Europe each day at New York City docks, and for as many to leave, most bound for Europe or South America. Special subsidies for the fares of trained workers and young people (low rates which may have induced many immigrants to understate their ages on ships’ manifests) were not often to be found as late as 1886, but in the <I>NY Times</I> the White Star Line advertised “steerage from or to the old country, $20.”  Other trans-Atlantic ship lines had similar rates for travel to and from Cobh (near Cork, or Queenstown) or Liverpool, England.  </div> <bR> <div> Cabin accommodation ranged from $50 for a mail steamer to $175 for Express. For steerage accommodation, a traveler paid no more than $35 and as little as $20. For a closer-to-home vacation, $1.50 would pay for travel by steamboat to the Catskill Mountain area, with railroad connections to various resort towns. Day trips up the Hudson River were common. Steamboat fare to Boston was $3.00. </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="107"><div> SUNDAY</div> <div> AUGUST 8</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <A NAME="early_closing_movement_of_their_own"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></FONT>From the <I>NY Times</I>:  "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Coogan Brothers,</FONT> of Grand Street and the Bowery, began an early closing movement of their own yesterday by giving their employees a half holiday, beginning at 1 o'clock in the afternoon."</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 379 WIDTH="107"><div> AUGUST 28</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> In 1886, <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT> wrote his letter of acceptance of the nomination for Mayor of New York City by the Convention of Workingmen. He addressed the letter to Lewis P. Delan, Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. The letter epitomizes Coogan’s working-class politics. He vows to enforce labor-protective laws if elected, and he promises to “contribute” sufficiently to the campaign “to insure” election--a shocking promise to read in print at that time. Coogan opposes child labor and promises to enforce existing laws that limit the working hours of adults. He seems particularly concerned with construction workers on public-works projects losing “life and limb” through the illegal refusal by municipal officials to provide appropriate safety equipment for them.  He advocates protective tariffs and government regulation of large railroad and communications corporations.  And he advocates a progressive income tax that would limit personal wealth to $500,000. <A HREF="acceptance_speech_1886.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letter of Acceptance, 1886">Read the entire 1886 letter.</A> </div> <bR> <div> This 1886 Letter is in the NY Public Library, 5th Avenue and 42nd St. Also in NY Public Library is his Letter of Acceptance for the 1888 nomination to the same group. <A HREF="letter_of_acceptance_1888.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letter of Acceptance, 1888">Read the 1888 letter.</A> <A NAME="1886___88_letters"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 152 ><NOBR><div> SEPTEMBER 3</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <B>Mr. J. J. Coogan and the Workingmen.</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Mr. James J. Coogan</FONT> is willing to be Mayor of New York. He advised the Central Labor Union Convention of that fact last night.  He asserts that with the support of the workingmen he can easily be  elected, and he has prepared a platform upon which he thinks he could ride triumphantly to the City Hall. It includes, beside a number of stock planks, a high protective tariff. . . . --The <I>Brooklyn Eagle</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 321 ><NOBR><div> SEPTEMBER 24</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> Congressional nominations were made yesterday as follows: Connecticut, First District, John R. Buck, Rep.; New Jersey, First District, George Hires, Rep.; Virginia, Eighth District, General W. H. F. Lee, Dem.; Nebraska, Second District, James Laird, Rep.; Second District, William M. Marine, and Fifth District, W. C. Tuck, all Republicans.</div> <bR> <div>      There were 409 delegates at the Workingmen’s Labor Convention, which met last night in Clarendon Hall, New York.  John McMackin presided.  After the adoption of a platform nominations for Mayor were declared to be in order.  The first ballot showed 360 for Henry George, 31 [81?] for <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >James J. Coogan</FONT>, and 18 for W. S. Thorn.  The nomination of Mr. George was received with cheers.  An executive committee was appointed to take charge of Mr. George’s canvass and it was decided to hold a ratification meeting at Cooper Union on October 5.</div> <div> --The <I>Brooklyn Eagle</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 57 ><NOBR><div> NOVEMBER 6</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1886</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" >Matthew Coogan and wife</FONT> record a mortgage to Webber for property near the corner of Brook Avenue and 164th St.</div> <div> --<I>NY Times</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 413 WIDTH="107"><div> FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4-SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1887</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> In NYC, charges of bribery to control the election and news of police called in to help serve warrants for the Elections Commission competed for space with reports of the visit of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt on his campaign through New York City. Roosevelt criticized Tammany Hall bosses and found wildly cheering crowds at all stops.</div> <bR> <div> At Yorkville police station,<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" > Mr. Coogan</FONT> protested about his furniture having been taken away.  Judge Murray found no fault in the auctioneer, who acted under judgment of foreclosure. Mr. Coogan’s “testimony, under cross-examination, showed him to be either a very careless or a very forgetful man,” according to a <I>Times</I><B> </B>reporter.</div> <bR> <div> In Pittsburgh, Andrew Carnegie hosted the visiting “English Peace Commission,” outspoken advocates of home rule for Ireland. One member of the Commission, a Glasgow Member of Parliament, commented that home rule means neither separation of Ireland from Great Britain nor separate governments, but only local decision making for the Irish as a step toward “national reform.” The members of the Commission expected no uprisings or use of arms, but “merely <B>. . .</B> the peaceful triumph of democracy.”</div> <div> –<I>NY Times</I>.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1034 ><NOBR><div> NOVEMBER 24</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="41177d10.jpg" border=0 width="119" height="209" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="35"><div> 1887</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="466"><div> The <I>New York Times</I> printed an article entitled “Marred by Discord”:   “Marred by Discord” serves to remind us how strong and long-lived had been the desire for Irish independence and for unity under one native-Irish government.</div> <bR> <div> By some accounts, in 1861 there were at least 50,000 Fenians in New York, and many more who sympathized with them and sent money to support the cause. James J. Coogan was most likely among these financial supporters. In 1887, many Fenian (Irish Republican Brotherhood) supporters gathered at Cooper Union in New York City, where Abraham Lincoln had given an anti-slavery address in 1860. Their purpose was to commemorate Allen, Larkin, and Ó Brien, Irish Fenians whom the English hanged in 1867--even though none of the three had fired the fatal shot--for the death of an English police officer who thwarted a Fenian attempt in Manchester, England to rescue their captured comrades. Today, a large, beautifully detailed Celtic cross (photo left) stands in Section 16 of Calvary Cemetery. Marking the 40th anniversary of the Manchester Martyrs, an inscription on the cross reads "Erected to the Memory of the Men of 1865