David Coughlin Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 626-627

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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DAVID COUGHLIN, prominent among the early settlers of Barrett township, 
Beadle county, as well as ranking high with the prosperous and 
thoroughgoing agriculturists of later years, is the subject of this 
personal narrative. There have been some very energetic and active men 
of large capacity and enterprise who came to this locality in an early 
day and made this the most prominent field of their life work. Scarcely 
any of them, however, rank higher than does Mr. Coughlin. 

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, November 30, 1842, and is the sixth 
child of Bryan and Mary (Hartigan) Coughlin, who removed to Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, during his infancy. The father was a blacksmith by trade and 
at one time was a partner of Mr. Schutler, the noted wagon maker. When 
our subject was in his thirteenth year the family removed to Sun 
Prairie, Dane county, Wisconsin, where the father purchased a farm and 
also opened a shop. Our subject, dividing his time between the farm and 
the shop, was brought up to both vocations. He remained with his father 
until July, 1864, when he found employment as a government blacksmith 
in General Thomas' division, but during the month of September enlisted 
in Company F, First Tennessee Infantry, which did garrison duty in 
Nashville, and participated in the battle of that place. On receiving 
an honorable discharge in February, 1865, he returned home and worked 
in the shop and on the farm until 1869. 

It was during that year that Mr. Coughlin led to the marriage altar 
Miss Mary J. Murtaugh, who was born in Cottage Grove, Dane county. 
Wisconsin, October 21, 1848, and is a daughter of Michael and Eleanor 
Murtaugh. Thirteen children have been born of this union, namely: 
Francis E., William B., James W., Mary J., George W. (deceased), 
Georgiana, Florence S., Lillian, Laura, Charlotte A., John L., 
Geneveive and Olive J. 

In buying a farm after his marriage, Mr. Coughlin incurred an 
indebtedness, which struggle as he might he did not succeed in reducing 
until he sold out in 1883. On the 5th of May,of that year, he came to 
Beadle county, South Dakota, and located on the northeast quarter of 
section 30, Barrett township, on the banks of Shue creek. Since then 
five more quarter-sections have been acquired, but in the names of 
different members of the family, all of whom still remain under the 
parental roof. Several of the children are now successfully engaged in 
teaching school, while others are devoting their time and energies to 
farming and stock raising. James and William, two of the sons, as 
sportsmen in coursing, afford amusement for the whole country side with 
their greyhounds. In the winter of 1898-99 they added ten wolves' 
scalps to their trophies of the chase. 

Politically, Mr. Coughlin is a Populist, and he has creditably filled 
most of the township and school offices. In religious faith he is a 
Catholic, and in the community where he resides he is widely and 
favorably known and has a host of friends.