The Traveling Coffin of Charles Coughlan
by Charles Coughlan consulted a fortune teller to gauge his success as an actor. He was told that he would die at the height of his fame in a southern city, and that he would have no rest until he returned to the place of his birth. Here is one of my favorite “synchronicity” stories: the events are not causally related, and yet they are occurring together in a meaningful manner.
Charles Coughlan was born in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, but as a member of a traveling actors’ groupe, in 1899 he was to be found in the southern city of Galveston. Had he forgotten what the fortune teller had warned him for?
Image via Wikipedia
Here, at the Texas Gulf Coast, Charles Coughlan suddenly collapsed and died from a tropical fever. Some said the popular actor was estranged from his wife, but had a lover back home. He couldn’t bear it to be away from her for a long time, they said, and his wife knew it. So, at her command, Charles Coughlan was laid to rest perpetually in a lead-lined coffin, and buried in the cemetery of what was then one of the most prosperous cities of Texas. It was her little revenge.
But Galveston was built on a big sandbar, and vulnerable to hurricanes and high seas. On September 8, 1900, a hundred-mile-an-hour wind pushed a twenty-foot wall of water into the town, submerging everything except the highest buildings and drowning six to eight thousand citizens in their shoes.
The cemeteries were churned open and the coffins left their graves and floated away with the tide. The tempest also took the casket of Charles Coughlan away. His lead-encased corpse washed out to the open seas and was taken by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream on an eight-year journey. The coffin of Charles Coughlan made his way around the Florida Keys and into the Atlantic, and the currents carried him even further to the north, along the Carolina’s and the New England coast.
In October 1908, a small fishing boat spotted a battered box, covered with moss and barnacles, floating in the shallows of Fortune Bay. They hauled it aboard. A copper nameplate said the casket contained the body of Charles Coughlan.
Image by kitonlove via Flickr
This happened on the coast of Prince Edward Island, less than a mile from the church were Charles Coughlan was christened. Being so far away from his sweetheart must have caused his spirit great turmoil, but now he had come home, at last, to his true love in the north…
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Post CommentTeves
On November 3, 2009 at 4:48 am
Well done. Nice photo provided.
MMV Abad
On November 3, 2009 at 8:49 am
Such a tragic incident that the casket of Charles Coughan. Good post, sir.
raptor22
On November 3, 2009 at 9:14 am
Very interesting story.
RS Wing
On November 3, 2009 at 11:21 am
That’s wild Patrick. Such a long journey by sea……he made it!
Cool and intriguing article. Synchronicity for sure.
C Jordan
On November 3, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Great story Patrick.
Diverseblogger
On November 3, 2009 at 4:42 pm
very interesting article! thank you for sharing
Tanya Wallace
On November 3, 2009 at 7:50 pm
This was absolutely fantastic! If it was just a coincidence it sure was one hell of a coincidence being one mile away from his original church which is virtually impossible! Wonderful write and a very enjoyable piece of history!!
Mr Ghaz
On November 4, 2009 at 1:55 am
Excellent!..very interesting and well-researched story..I loved this article..really enjoyed it..Well done my friend..cheers
Ruby Hawk
On November 4, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Loved it, that was a good one on the mean old wife.