This book is the result of my inquiry into how this family and the places they lived influenced each other over 400 years in seven countries on four continents. I have been collecting bits and pieces about the family history for as long as I can remember. There is a family story-true according to my Aunt Lucille who was there-that Big Daddy (my grandfather) received a letter stating that he could, by moving to Ireland, assume the inheritance of a castle. He decided not to, stating that his family was American, and the subject was closed. Nobody now has any idea where the castle was or any of the real circumstances. There is also a story, probably apocryphal, that Andrew and his brother had taken an adventurous trip across the United States (when they couldn’t steal horses, they walked), went back to Ireland, and then emigrated. This is my attempt to record what I have found out and what I remember about the Coughran family history.