Coughlin, Nathaniel Scott

Nathaniel Scott Coughlin was born on 6 April 1885 in the RM of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Along with some of his siblings, his birth record gave his mother’s name as Mary Ann Doolan. John James Coughlin and Mary Ann Doolan had married on 24 October 1877 in Newcastle, New Brunswick. Other records, including Nathaniel’s later death record, gave his mother’s name as Annie May Nolan. Known Coughlin children were Isabelle Josephine, Kenneth Alexander, John James, Clara, Ethel Alexina, Gladys, Lyman Headly, William, and Horace. Sadly, William and Horace died in infancy. As evidenced by births, the family lived in Newcastle, RM of Portage la Prairie, Vancouver, the Broadview area of Saskatchewan, and by the time of the death of William in 1894 they were living in Rat Portage (later renamed Kenora) in northwestern Ontario. Sadly John James Sr died in 1897 and along with the infant sons are interred in the Lake of the Wood Cemetery in Kenora.

At the time of the 1901 census the family was living in Rat Portage, household members of mother Annie and John Jr, Clara, Nathaniel, Ethel, Gladys, and Lyman. Both John Jr and Nathaniel were working as railroad checkers at the time. Isabelle had married John Patrick Tuffy in 1895 in Rat Portage. In 1907, in Winnipeg, Nathaniel married Mary Delphi Cook. It appears that the marriage did not last as for the 1911 census Nathaniel was living in the unorganized area of Vermillion River in northwestern Ontario. Single, his occupation was given as river drive.

Nathaniel had been living in Broadview, Saskatchewan when he signed his attestation papers with the 52nd Battalion on 26 April 1915 in Port Arthur, Ontario. His occupation was given as trainman, marital status as single, and his mother Mrs C Ouellette of Armstrong, Ontario as next of kin. Nathaniel was discharged as a deserter on 25 August 1915 in Port Arthur.

For the 1921 census Nathaniel, a ranger, was living with his brother Lyman and family in Armstrong as was Charlie Ouellette. A 1935 Voters list had Nathaniel as a hotel manager in Armstrong.

Nathaniel died on 29 September 1946 at the home of his brother Lyman in Redditt, Ontario. Redditt is a small community in northwestern Ontario, about 27 kilometres north of Kenora. According to his obituary, after high school he worked as a call boy for the CPR in Kenora, then later as a brakeman, followed by a car inspector for the CNR. At the time of his death Nathaniel was managing the St George Hotel in Armstrong as well as the Barwick Hotel in Barwick, Rainy River District in northwestern Ontario. He was survived by his wife Alice in Toronto, sisters Gladys (George) Smith of Moose Jaw, Ethel (Thomas) McDuff of Dauphin, and Clara Ufland of Redditt, and brother Lyman of Redditt and a brother in Montreal. Nathaniel is interred in the Redditt Cemetery in Redditt.

By Judy Thorburn