Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-25
NEW YORK.

Romantic Story-A Young Mans
Search for His Father-AIleged Alb
duction of the SON in Infancy.
New YORK. Dec 24.-The second act of a
drama in which young Pennsylvania farm
er is the principal figure was revealed to-day
at police headquarters. On the 9Th of last
| September a tall countryman, some thirty
years old, applied to Superintendent Wal
| ling for help in conducting search for his
father, from whom, he had reason to believe,
he had been stolen in infancy. He said that
his name was Frank Coogan, and that he was
farmer at Great Bend, Pennsylvania. He
had been brought up on the farm of Michael
Cleary, in the neighboring village of Kirk
| wood, and as lad had always been made to
| believe that he was the latter's son. In
| quarrel last summer Cleary disclosed the
| fact that the young man when child had
| been placed in his care bya neighbor in this
city He said that Coogan's mother had died
and the father gone away, and that he
| (Cleary) had then moved out into Pennsylva-
MIA, keeping his own counsel and giving his
| own name to the boy. The young farmer
Immediately came to this city in search of his
father, and Superintendent Walling re-
| ferred him to the authorities in the Bureau
of Vital Statistics, beside giving him the as
sistance of the police department. In due
time confirmation was obtained of a part
of the story told by Cleary, but strong
suspicion was aroused that instead of hav-
ing been legitimately sadopted the child
had been abducted as the result of a
conspiracy to rob him of property left
him by his mother. The record of Mrs. Coo
gan's death in June, 1916, was found. At
| that time her husband kept liquor store at
| No. 80 Murray street. but on the outbreak of
l the Mexican war he Joined the Army of Vol
unteers, leaving the child in the care of his
| friend, Michael Cleary, then living in Twen-
| ty-second street. He did not return till
years after, and then the Clearys had disap-
peared with the child He searched for them
I in vain, and then in turn became lost to his
| friends.
For two months young Coogan patiently
| followed these clews, aided by the police, in
| ago his efforts were crowned with success.
He found his father prosperous tea mer-
| chant in Philadelphia and convinced him of
his identity. Their mutual joy was great,
and it was almost with tears that the young
man related his good fortune to-day to the
friends he had found at police headquarters
| and Bureau of Vital Statistics A
new search was instituted to-day at the
Bureau of Vital Statistics to disprove this
uncle's conviction. Another uncle, Edward
Gallagher, upon whose help Coogan depend
ed to trace and recover his inheritance from
his mother, has gone West and now lives in
Aurora, Cal. He has been communicated
with. Directed by his father, he has found an
uncle, his mothers brother, in this city. The
latter's name is Charles Gallagher, and he
keeps an oyster saloon in Greenwich street.
He refused to be convinced that Frank Coo
gan is his nephew, whom he believes to be
dead
Charles Gallagher says that even if Coogan
is proved to be his nephew the latter will be
disappointed in his expectations of inheri-
lance Mrs. Coogan died poor, and her
mother, the claimants reputed grandmother,
left no property as he supposes. His notions
of abduction for the sake of robbery are, Mr..
Gallagher says, unfounded.