Lost on the steamship Commonwealth. William Frater Coglin (Census records spell the surname Coughlan), was born in Hartlepool in 1861.
His father, Daniel, was born in Ireland in 1833 and is listed as a Coast Guard. His mother, Margaret Ann, was born at Bamburgh, Northumberland, in 1837.
The 1901 Census shows William, his wife, Catherine M. (born at Southsea, Hampshire, in 1866), and their three children, Charles H. (aged 10), James W. (aged 7), and Norah P. (aged 1), living at No.20, Mariners Cottages, South Shields.
On February 21st, 1908, William gained his Ship Master's Certificate of Competency (a Master's "ticket").
