Person in this family
Peter Cooney
This entry is about Peter Cooney (possibly 16 October 1890 – 14 October 1918). For other family members with the same first and family name, see Peter Cooney (About March 1854 – 29 December 1943).
possibly 16 October 1890 – 14 October 1918
Peter Cooney was born at Derrycriff, Islandeady, County Mayo in October 1890, the son of Peter Coony, a farmer who could not write, and Margaret Needham. He emigrated to New York and lived at 37 West 50th Street with his sister Annie Farley. He served as a Sergeant in Company M of the 165th Infantry — the old Fighting 69th — and was killed in action on 14 October 1918 during the advance toward Landres-St-Georges, one day short of his twenty-eighth birthday. He is buried at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19. Father Francis Duffy, the regiment's chaplain, named him among the sergeants lost: “Company M lost Sergeant Peter Cooney.”
Partly proved
Peter Cooney was born at Derrycriff, County Mayo, in October 1890, emigrated to New York, and was killed in action as a Sergeant of the Fighting 69th on 14 October 1918, days short of his twenty-eighth birthday.
Born at Derrycriff, Islandeady, County Mayo, Ireland Died at france
Recorded as: Sergeant Peter Cooney, Sgt. Peter Cooney, Sgt Peter Cooney
Birth: From our family tree - no record found yet
Featured story: Follow Peter Cooney’s Graves Registration card through three burials.
How is this person related?
Andrew John Leahey’s no relationship found in this archive
Gina D. Cacace’s no relationship found in this archive
Abigail Ann Leahey’s no relationship found in this archive
Marie C. Fitzgerald’s no relationship found in this archive
Kevin Leahey’s no relationship found in this archive
Worked out from the recorded parents and marriages. No sex is recorded for anyone in this archive, so the wording stays neutral.
Life
Peter Cooney was born at Derrycriff in the Islandeady district of County Mayo in October 1890, the fifth child of Peter Coony, a farmer, and Margaret Needham. His father registered the birth and could not write, making a cross where his signature belonged. The register reads “Fifteenth October”; the archive has also carried the sixteenth.
He emigrated to New York and lived at 37 West 50th Street, the home of his sister Annie Farley. The Veterans Administration still recorded his home place as “Islndeady Castlebar” — Islandeady, the parish he was born in — so whatever address he gave in Manhattan, the townland followed him onto an American federal index. He served as a sergeant in Company M of the 165th Infantry — the wartime designation of New York's 69th Regiment, the Fighting 69th — in the 42nd “Rainbow” Division. His Army serial number was 91675.
He was killed on 14 October 1918 in the advance toward Landres-et-Saint-Georges during the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The casualty narrative says a shell fragment struck him in the left side; he asked for a stretcher and died about fifteen minutes later in a shell hole, before the bearers reached him. His Graves Registration card records the cause simply as “k/a.” He was two days short of his twenty-eighth birthday, and had he lived one more day he would have seen the armistice by four weeks.
The regiment's chaplain, Father Francis Duffy, listed him among the dead at page 280 of his 1919 book: “Company M lost Sergeant Peter Cooney.” He is named twice more — at page 282, in the tribute passage, and at page 376, in the Roster of Sergeants, where the entry reads simply “Peter Cooney—KIA.”
His body was buried three times, and the Graves Registration card dates each move. He was not buried until 6 November 1918, twenty-three days after he was killed, in isolated grave 4 on commune land at Landres-et-Saint-Georges — the ground where he fell was still being fought over. The card locates it by map reference and notes that his grave carried a cross, with his identification tags both buried with the body and fixed to the marker. On 10 June 1919 he was moved to grave 118, section 110, plot 3 of the Argonne American Cemetery at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon. On 27 September 1921 he was buried permanently in grave 19, row 37, block E of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, where he remains. His family was not notified of that final reburial until 7 November 1923, five years after his death.
The Army wrote to his family throughout. His Graves Registration card names his next of kin as “Mrs. Annie Farley, sister,” later “Mrs. A. J. Farley (sister)” at 13 East 63rd Street, the family having moved between notifications. His sister Bridget Cooney Horan wrote to the Army about him in 1929, eleven years after his death.
How we know this: The identification is settled by a United States federal record. The **Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917–1940** lists Peter Cooney, born 4 September 1890, died 14 October 1918, and gives his residence place as “Islndeady Castlebar, Ireland.” Islandeady is the parish and civil registration district containing Derrycriff, where Peter Coony and Margaret Needham's son was born in October 1890. An American veterans' index naming this soldier's home as the family's own Mayo district, alongside the exact date of death, is not a coincidence of a common surname. Three further sources agree independently. His Graves Registration card names his next of kin as “Mrs. Annie Farley, sister”; the regimental roster gives her West 50th Street address as his; and Army correspondence names three sisters — Bridget Horan of Jersey City, Nellie Cooney and Annie Farley — matching this family's Derrycriff daughters Bridget, who married a Horan, Ellen, of whom Nellie is the familiar form, and Anne, who married a Farley. His sister Bridget wrote to the Army about him in 1929. One detail remains odd and no longer matters. Father Duffy, listing the sergeants he had lost, wrote that “Sergeant Peter Cooney of M Company was out with the regiment in '98.” Peter was born in 1890. An earlier pass of this research treated that single clause as decisive and marked the whole soldier record a wrong-person merge, setting a chaplain's recollection above the Army's own paperwork. That was the wrong way round, and the Veterans Administration index has since closed the question. Duffy, writing from memory about hundreds of men, attached an older namesake's service to the wrong Cooney; the regiment had another, Michael of Company C. The three sources give three birthdays, all in 1890 — 15 October in the Irish register, 22 September on his memorial, 4 September in the veterans' index. Emigrants often stated a date they had never seen written down. The year has never been in question. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
Death and burial
Evidence distinction: [RECORD] means text read from the photographed stone. [COMPILED] means volunteer-typed memorial information and is only a lead.
Find a Grave memorial 55991534
Why this memorial is attached
The memorial names parents Peter Cooney and Margaret Needham and sibling Ellen Cooney Corcoran, while the archive’s Graves Registration card names sister Mrs. A. J. Farley. This is stronger than a name-only match, but the older 1898 service claim leaves the soldier’s identity disputed. Find a Grave memorial 55991534 (findagrave.com).
Parents Peter Cooney 1855–1944; Margaret Needham Cooney 1851–1921 | Sibling Ellen A. Cooney Corcoran 1895–1977
[COMPILED] Volunteer-typed memorial fields
These fields are leads, not civil or church records, and do not replace documented dates. Find a Grave memorial 55991534 (findagrave.com).
Name: SGT Peter Cooney Jr. Birth: 22 Sep 1890 Death: 14 Oct 1918 (aged 28) Cemetery: Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Département de la Meuse, Lorraine, France Plot: Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19 Family links: Parents: Peter Cooney 1855–1944; Margaret Needham Cooney 1851–1921. Sibling: Ellen A. Cooney Corcoran 1895–1977.
Photograph status: a photographed inscription is available and shown below. Find a Grave memorial 55991534 (findagrave.com).
[RECORD] Photographed inscription, transcribed verbatim
PETER COONEY SERGT. 165 INF. 42 DIV. NEW YORK OCT. 14, 1918
Citation: Find a Grave memorial 55991534 (findagrave.com); monument photograph credited below.
Conflicts retained
Conflict: The volunteer-typed memorial birth is 22 September 1890; the Irish civil birth record says 16 October 1890. The civil record remains the archive’s date. Open the memorial evidence (findagrave.com).
22 Sep 1890
Conflict: The memorial and grave identify the 1918 soldier, but Father Duffy’s compiled service narrative says Sergeant Peter Cooney served in 1898, which is impossible for either 1890 birth date. The archive therefore preserves the identification warning. Open the memorial evidence (findagrave.com).
PETER COONEY / SERGT. 165 INF. 42 DIV. / NEW YORK OCT. 14, 1918
Family
Parents
Siblings · birth order
See this family in the family treeWork and occupation
- Sergeant, Company M, 165th Infantry — 1918
Sgt.; Co. M, 165th Inf., 42 Div.
Citation: New York State Military Museum, *Roster of the Rainbow Division*, 165th Infantry section, PDF p. 69 [1]
- sergeant, 165th Infantry — 1918
COONEY, Peter, Sergeant, 165th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division, U.S. Army, New York, d. 14-October-1918, Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19, World War I.
Citation: New York State Military Museum, *Roster of the Rainbow Division*, 165th Infantry section, PDF p. 69 [1]
Where they lived
- 1918: 37 West 50th Street, Manhattan, New York
- 1918: 37 West 50th Street, Manhattan, New York
Read the numbered journey first. It contains all the information shown on the optional map.
- 1Derrycriff, Islandeady, County Mayo, Ireland
Possible family origin — not proved for this soldier
Approximate location. Derrycriff was the Cooney–Needham family home place, but the archive has not proved that the sergeant was the Peter born there in 1890. - 237 West 50th Street, New York City
Home of record in 1918
Approximate location. His 165th Infantry roster and Graves Registration card give this New York address. - 3Battlefield grave near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France
Killed 14 October 1918; first burial recorded in November 1918
This point is worked out from the map reference written on his card, “35 NE E 300.9 N 285.9”, using the French wartime grid the American army used in 1918. It falls about six kilometres from the village, in the Landres-et-Saint-Georges and Côte de Châtillon fighting where his regiment was on 14 October 1918 — so it marks the battlefield rather than the village. He was killed near here and placed in Grave 4, an isolated grave where he fell. Accurate to roughly a kilometre. - 4Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Meuse, France
10 June 1919 and 27 September 1921
Approximate location. He was first moved to temporary Grave 118, Section 110, Plot 3, then reburied permanently in Grave 19, Row 37, Block E. Both burials were at the same cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.
The map could not load. The complete place list is above it.
The pins show approximate places. The line only joins them in time order; it does not prove the route travelled. Cemetery and burial places have red pins.
Images of these addresses and sites
Insurance maps show a historical footprint, while recent street photographs show the site today. A recent view is not proof that the family’s building survives.
Recent street photograph, 2025-01-15 — a view of the site today, which may or may not show the same building.
This is the present Rockefeller Center streetscape. The family's 1918–1919 residence was removed for that development.
Building survival: not established unless the note below says otherwise.
Credit: © RobinZyx / Mapillary, CC BY-SA 4.0, image 1295695081749922. Unmodified.
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Timeline
Born
Irish civil birth row: “Sixteenth October 1890,” “Derrycriff,” “Peter,” father “Peter Coony,” mother “Margaret Coony formerly Needham,” father “Farmer.” [17]
Proved by a record
Conflicting compiled birth date
The memorial types 22 September 1890; the civil birth record gives 16 October 1890. [20]
From our family tree - no record found yet
Born at Derrycriff
Born at Derrycriff, Islandeady, County Mayo. His father Peter Cooney, a farmer of Derrycriff, registered the birth himself by mark. His mother is entered as “Margaret Coony formerly Needham”. [21]
Proved by a record
Birth registered
His birth was registered in October 1890 by his father, Peter Coony, a farmer of Derrycriff, who could not write and made a cross. As written: “Peter Coony his ✗ mark, Father, Derrycriff”
Proved by a record
Killed in action
Killed in action with Company M, 165th Infantry, during the Côte de Châtillon fighting near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France. [1]
Proved by a record
First burial
Buried in isolated grave 4 on commune land at Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes.
Proved by a record
Killed in action
Killed in action with Company M, 165th Infantry, during the Côte de Châtillon fighting near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France. [6]
Proved by a record
Fr Duffy's “'98” remark
In his roll of the sergeants lost, at page 282 of the 1919 edition, Fr Duffy wrote: “Sergeant Peter Cooney of M Company was out with the regiment in '98.” Peter was born in 1890 and was eight years old in 1898, so the clause cannot be literally true of him. It sits in a single hurried memorial paragraph naming dozens of men, and it is outweighed by the Army's own records — the Graves Registration card naming his sister as next of kin, and his 1890 birth on the memorial. Most likely Duffy confused him with an older namesake; the 165th had at least one other Cooney, Michael of Company C. The remark is preserved as an unexplained detail, not as a reason to doubt who he was. [1]
Proved by a record
Killed in action
Killed in action with Company M, 165th Infantry, during the Côte de Châtillon fighting near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France. [1]
Proved by a record
Unmatched casualty-list candidate
Three newspapers printed a casualty-list entry for “Peter Cooney, New York.” None gives a unit, address, age, relative, or service number, so it cannot be identified as Sgt. Peter Cooney and is retained only as an unmatched candidate. [2]
Proved by a record
Killed in action
Killed in action with Company M, 165th Infantry, during the Côte de Châtillon fighting near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France. [6]
Proved by a record
Killed in action
Killed in action with Company M, 165th Infantry, during the Côte de Châtillon fighting near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France. [22]
Proved by a record
First buried where he fell
His Graves Registration card records burial on 6 November 1918 — twenty-three days after he was killed — in “Grave 4, Isolated Grave, Comme. Landres et St. George, Ardennes,” located by map reference 35 NE E 300.9 N 285.9. The ground was still being fought over. His grave was marked with a cross, and his identification tags were both buried with the body and fixed to the marker.
Proved by a record
Killed in action
Killed in action with Company M, 165th Infantry, during the Côte de Châtillon fighting near Landres-et-Saint-Georges, Ardennes, France.
Proved by a record
First burial
The supplied sequence dates his burial in Grave 4, an isolated battlefield grave in the commune of Landres-et-Saint-Georges, to 11 November 1918; the card itself says 11/6/18. Cemetery reference C-331.
Proved by a record
Reburied in the Argonne American Cemetery
Moved to grave 118, section 110, plot 3 at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon.
Proved by a record
Moved to Romagne-sous-Montfaucon
Disinterred and reburied on 10 June 1919 in Grave 118, Section 110, Plot 3 of the Argonne American Cemetery at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Meuse.
Proved by a record
Permanent burial
Moved to grave 19, row 37, block E, Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery.
Proved by a record
Buried permanently at Meuse-Argonne
Reburied on 27 September 1921 in Grave 19, Row 37, Block E of the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, where he remains — his third grave, and nearly three years after his death. His family was not notified of the final reburial until 7 November 1923, five years after he was killed.
Proved by a record
Army correspondence names Bridget Cooney Horan as sister
The Quartermaster General’s office wrote directly to “Mrs. Bridget Cooney Horan, 75 Nelson Avenue, Jersey City, N. J.” and stated that Army records showed she was Sergeant Peter Cooney’s sister. This upgrades that named-sister claim from an unsourced compilation to record evidence without resolving the two Peter profiles. [5]
Proved by a record
Army correspondence names Bridget Cooney Horan as sister
The Quartermaster General’s office wrote directly to “Mrs. Bridget Cooney Horan, 75 Nelson Avenue, Jersey City, N. J.” and stated that Army records showed she was Sergeant Peter Cooney’s sister. This upgrades that named-sister claim from an unsourced compilation to record evidence without resolving the two Peter profiles. [5]
From our family tree - no record found yet
Original records
Tap to open a larger copyCivil birth register, Ellen Cooney, 1 Aug 1894, Derrycriff
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Peter Cooney.
Tap to open a larger copy165th Infantry roster page naming Sgt. Peter Cooney
This old record gives information about the person or family named here. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Peter Cooney.
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Original source (museum.dmna.ny.gov)
Machine-read text (may contain errors) · Good machine reading
Automated reading aid only. The human-verified quotations elsewhere in the archive remain authoritative.
165th Regiment (69th New York) Infantry ALLEN, JOSEPH J., Pvt., 421 E. 22a St., New York City. AUSTIN, MARSHALL H., Pvt., 870 E. 14th St., Brooklyn, N. Y. BAILEY, GUY S., Pvt., Mt. Kisco, New York. BAILEY, WALTER W., Corp., 1843 Bay Ridge Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. BARBARIE, LOUIS, Pvt., 419 E. 22d St., New York City. BARROW, JOHN, Corp., 642 10th Ave., New York City. BARRY, JOHN A., Pvt., 126 E. 28th St., New York City. BARTLETT, CHARLES, Musician, 251 3d Ave., New York City. BERGER, JOSEPH, Pvt., 246 W. 132d St., New York City. BOLTON, GEORGE, Pvt., 224 Franklin Place, Flushing, N. Y. BRADY, JOSEPH F., Cook, 39th Precinct Station, New York City. BRADY, MAURICE J., Pvt., 212 E. 39th St., New York City. BRAHAM, JOSEPH T., Pvt., 147 W. 90th St., New York City. BRENNAN, CHARLES J., Pvt., 32 Boulevard, Summit, New Jersey. BRENNAN, EDWARD, Pvt., 166 Mott Ave., L. I, New York. BURKE, WILLIAM S., Pvt., 301 E. 40th St., New York City. BURNS, JAMES J., Pvt., 337 E: 224 St., New York City. BYRNE, PATRICK J., Pvt., 64 Freeman St., Brooklyn, N. Y. BYRNES, JOHN T., Pvt., 116 Hull St., Brooklyn, N. Y. - CAMERON, JOCK, Pvt., 335 W. 45th St., New York City. CAREY, MICHAEL J., Pvt., 337 E. 39th St., New York City. CAROLAN, DAVID, Pvt., 427 E. 88d St., New York City. CLARKE, PATRICK J., Corp., 117 E. 120th St., New York City. COCKS, JAMES D., Pvt., Glen Cove, New York. CONVILLE, WILLIAM, Pvt., 976 Third Ave., New York City. CONWAY, JAMES, Pvt., 246 E. 128th St., New York City. COOK, MARTIN C., JR., 839 Manida St., New York City. COOKE, PATRICK J., Pvt., 1528 Hampshire St., San Francisco, Cal. COONEY, PETER, Segt., 37 W. 50th St., New York City. COONEY, JOSEPH J., Pvt., 225 Nepperhan Ave., Yonkers, N. Y. CORCORAN, THOMAS, Pvt., 117 E. 120th St., New York City. COUGHLIN, PATRICK J., Pvt., 511 E. 82d St., New York City. CRUNDEN, WILLIAM H., Corp., 163 Ashford St., Brooklyn, N. Y. COURTNEY, THOMAS, Corp.,’ 4611 Park Ave., New York City. CULLUM, FRANK J., Pvt., 117 W. 12th St.. New York City. DA COSTA,, SIDNEY A., Sgt., 522 W. 174th St., New York City. DALEY, BERNARD, Pvt., 96 Moger St., Mt. Kisco, New York. DALEY, HERBERT, Pvt., 96 Moger St., Mt. Kisco, New York. DALTON, THOMAS, Pvt., 248 E. 32nd St., New York City. DAVIS, LEONARD F., Bayville, New York. DAUR, ALBERT A., Pvt., 650 E. 241st St... New York City. DE CICCO, JAMES V., Pvt., 592 6th Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. DELAVANTE, VICTOR, Pvt., 1987 Washington Ave., New York City. DENNICK, GEORGE, Pvt., 309 Willis Ave., New York City. DOLAN, TIMOTHY A., Pvt., 2126 Archer Ave., New York City. DONAHUE. GEORGE, Pvt., 217 Kingsland St., Brooklyn, N. Y. DONAHUE, JOHN P., 217 Kingsland St., Brooklyn, N. Y. DONOVAN, ANDREW, Corp., 285 E. 26th St., New York City. DONOVAN, DENIS, Corp., 231 E. 101st St., New York City. DORN, GEORGE, Pvt., 145 St. Nicholas Ave., New York City. DOYLE, DAVID, Pvt., County Carlo, Ireland. DUFFY, FRANK, Pvt., Mt. Kisco, New York. DUFFY, JAMES, Pvt., 139 38rd St., Long Island City, N. Y. DUNLAY. HERBERT H., Pvt., 101 Parkhill Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. EGE, FREDERICK, Pvt., Ward’s Island, N. Y. ENGELBRECHT, GEORGE, Pvt., 716 51st St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 278
Tap to open a larger copyFather Duffy's Story, page 280: Company M losses
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FATHER DUFFY’S STORY Namara, Gordon Wynne, Charles Evers, James But- ler, Edward Clement, Frank F. De Muth and Richard Fincke. Company E lost Corporals William Dougherty, Wil- liam Bechtold, Matthew Colgan, and George Failing; and Joseph Carroll, Frederick Gluck, Kennedy Hardy, Fred Conway and John Naughton. Company F lost Arthur Armes,’ William M. Bink- ley, Charles Park, Fred Riddles, Joseph Woodlief, Joseph Elzear, Charles Ash. Company G lost Daniel McSherry, Clarence Leon- ard, Charles Jacobs, Marvin Black, John Hemmer, Archie Lilles, William McManus. Company H lost Corporal Clifford Wiltshire, Ar- thur N. Frank, Roger Folson, Clinton Bushey, J. Mos- colo, Patrick Connors and heroic Sergeant John J. Walker. Company I lost Sergeants Patrick Collins and Wil- liam Harrison; Corporals Allen Crowe and Charles Stone; and A. G. Brown, Robert Cousens, Harry Gill, Edward F. Healy, Earnest Keith, Albert Mortenson, James Nealon, Gilbert Neely, George A. Peterson, Warren Regan, Thomas Stokey, Earl Thayer, Elcanor Yow, James Brown, Kenneth Trickett. Company K lost Sergeants John J. Gavaghan and John J. Butler; Corporals Henry D, Hawxhurst and Thomas Madden; and N. Farhout, John P. Quinlan, James C. Wright, Joseph Barzare, John L. Sullivan, Francis Gioio, Daniel Buckley, Leonard Giarusso, An- drew Goeres, Claude Best, George Pennington. Company L lost Corporal Edward Bloom and Joseph Metcalf, Fred Parr, Homer C. Coin, John H.- Jumper, E. Epperly, John P. Ryan. Company M lost Sergeant Peter Cooney; Corporals Charles T. Elson, Charles J. Brennan and William H. Crunden; and John T. Byrnes, Emmett Davidson,
Tap to open a larger copyFather Duffy's Story, page 282: Peter Cooney's 1898 service
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282 FATHER DUFFY’S STORY were gathering for the attack, and doing dreadful execu- tion. The battalion runners received great praise from every- body, as they had to take untold risks in moving from place to place without shelter. Ammunition carriers also had a dangerous task, those from Company H suffering severe losses. Amongst those killed were Corporal Clifford Wiltshire, a nice quiet boy who was married to Sergeant Winthrop’s sister; and Clinton Bushey, who once before was reported dead when out on the digging detail during the bombardment of July 15th. The sergeants we lost were all good men. Hussey was a clean-cut young athlete; Duff and Stenson of Company A were both very dependable men, as were also Sidney Clark, who did great work at the Ourcg, and Bernard McOwen, who had the Croix de Guerre. Donnelly and Mahoney of B had worked their way up from being privates by character and merit; and Tom Winters was also a good man. Eddie Kearin of C was one of the best liked youths in the regiment and James Farnan, a solid Irishman; Dougherty, Colgan, Bechtold and John Naughton of E have figured before and in these annals; also Fred Gluck, heroic litter-bearer. Company I was hard hit in the loss of Patrick Collins and William Harrison. Charlie Stone’s mother was the last person I shook hands with before our train left Camp Mills for the transport. Robert Cousens was killed while looking after his brother who had been wounded. Sergeant Peter Coo- ney of M Company was out with the regiment in ’98 and the three corporals, Elson, Brennan, and Crunden, were fine types of soldiers. Harry Dearing, John Claire, John McKay and the others from the Machine Gun Company: will be sorely missed by their fellows. With Colonel Donovan on the slope on October 15th were Sergeants of Headquarters Company and the Ma- chine Gun Company. The Colonel told me later that the shell which blew Sergeant Sheahan heavenward took the legs off another Irish soldier who was with him. This I
Tap to open a larger copyThe Washington Times casualty-list page, 29 November 1918
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3 14 THE WASHINGTON TIMES. FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 29, 1918.”
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care. .Peter Cooney memorial and grave photographs
This old record gives information about the person or family named here. It matters on this page because it records information connected with Peter Cooney.
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Original source (findagrave.com)
FamilySearch World War I draft-card image search
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Original source (familysearch.org)
New York WWI service abstract search for Peter Cooney
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Original source (digitalcollections.archives.nysed.gov)
NARA Graves Registration photograph D-33650 search
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Original source (catalog.archives.gov)
165th Infantry roster entry for Sgt Peter Cooney
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Tap to open a larger copyPeter Cooney graves file: home and Mrs Andrew Farley emergency address
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Original source (catalog.archives.gov)
Tap to open a larger copy1919 Graves Registration letter to Annie Farley
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Original source (catalog.archives.gov)
Tap to open a larger copy1929 Graves Registration letter identifying Bridget Horan as Peter Cooney's sister
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Original source (catalog.archives.gov)
Tap to open a larger copy1929 Graves Registration letter identifying Annie Farley as Peter Cooney's sister
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Original source (catalog.archives.gov)
Tap to open a larger copySgt. Peter Cooney Graves Registration Service card (GRS Form 13)
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What the records say
22 of 23 records transcribed.
Record exhibit
New York State Military Museum, *Roster of the Rainbow Division*, 165th Infantry section, PDF p. 69
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Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
COONEY, PETER, Sgt, 37 W. 50th St., New York City. | 37 W. 50th St. | Mrs Annie FARLEY, W 50th St, NYC | COONEY, Peter. New York | Company M, 165th Infantry, | 37 W. 50th St., New York City. | serial/service number, | place of birth, | 37 W. 50th St., New York City | Mrs Annie FARLEY, W 50th St, NYC. | 15 Apr. 1867 to 30 Mar. 1881. | his mother died in Ireland in 1921 date 1921-06-02.
Record exhibit
Washington Times casualty list, 29 November 1918
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Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
N. Y. New York, Peter Cooney.
Record exhibit
Graves Registration Service letter to Annie Farley, 37 West 50th Street, 1919
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Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] “TO: Mrs. Annie Farley, 37 W. 50th St., New York, N.Y.” | “Sergeant Peter Cooney, Co. M, 165th Infantry” | “Died October 14th, 1918” | “Commune of Sommerance, Ardennes, France.”
Record exhibit
War Department letter to Annie J. Farley, 13 East 63rd Street, 1929
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] “Mrs. Annie J. Farley, 13 East 63rd Street, New York City” | “The records of this office show that you are the sister of the late Sgt. Peter Cooney, Co. M., 165th Inf., whose remains are now interred in the Meuse-Argonne American cemetery.” [INFERENCE] The letter does not name Annie’s parents or birth date, so it is only a possible match for Anne Cooney of Derrycriff.
Record exhibit
War Department letter to Bridget Cooney Horan, 75 Nelson Avenue, 1929
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] “Mrs. Bridget Cooney Horan, 75 Nelson Avenue, Jersey City, N. J.” | “The records of this office show that you are the sister of the late Sgt. Peter Cooney, Co. M, 165th Inf., whose remains are now interred in the Meuse-Argonne Amer. Cty.” [RECORD] This corroboration comes from the Army’s own correspondence, not the earlier unsourced compilation.
Record exhibit
Graves Registration casualty narrative — Sergeant Peter Cooney, 14 October 1918
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] “Co M. 165th Infantry. 42nd Division. Cooney, Peter.-Sgt. 91675. Home. 37 W. 50 St. N.Y.C.” | “Sgt. Cooney was hit by a piece of an exploding shell in the left side. He asked for a stretcher to be taken to the rear he died in about 15 minutes in a shell hole before the stretcher bearers arrived.” | “Emergency address. Mrs. Andrew Farley, 37 W. 50 St. N.Y.C.”
Record exhibit
165th Infantry roster — Sergeant Peter Cooney
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] “COONEY, PETER, Sgt, 37 W. 50th St., New York City.”
Record exhibit
Graves Registration card — Peter Cooney permanent reburial
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] “Grave 19, Row 37, Block E, Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery” | “9-27-21”. The photographed federal card is treated as the record; volunteer memorial typing is not.
Record exhibit
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery transcription — Peter Cooney
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[COMPILED] “COONEY, Peter, Sergeant, 165th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division, U.S. Army, New York, d. 14-October-1918, Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19, World War I.”
Record exhibit
Washington Times casualty list — Peter Cooney candidate, 29 November 1918
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Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD][CONFLICT] Under “PRIVATES—Continued”: “N. Y. New York, Peter Cooney.” The item gives no unit, address, serial number or relative and conflicts with the Army record’s sergeant rank, so it remains a possible same-name match only.
Record exhibit
Project Gutenberg, *Father Duffy's Story*, pp. 265–281
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Company M lost Sergeant Peter Cooney | Sergeant Peter Cooney of M Company was out with the regiment in ’98. | Peter Cooney (b. 1887) | was out with the regiment in ’98, | was out with the regiment in ’98. | out with the regiment in ’98 | VOLUME I | VOLUME II | VOLUME III | COONEY, Peter. New York [COMPILED] “Sergeant Peter Cooney of M Company was out with the regiment in ’98”; “Peter Cooney—KIA.” [INFERENCE] A child born in October 1890 could not have served in 1898.
Record exhibit
Irish Gleanings extraction
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Irish Gleanings | Peter COONEY kia 1918-10-14 Sergeant, Co M, 165th Infantry, 3 sisters - Mrs Bridget HORAN, Jersey City, NY, Nellie COONEY & Mrs Annie FARLEY, W 50th St, NYC; his mother died in Ireland in 1921 date 1921-06-02. | Mrs Annie FARLEY | 37 W. 50th St. | Mrs Annie FARLEY, W 50th St, NYC | Company M, 165th Infantry, | 37 W. 50th St., New York City. | serial/service number, | place of birth, | 37 W.Show the full recordHide the full recordFull record, about 150 words
50th St., New York City | Mrs Annie FARLEY, W 50th St, NYC. | 15 Apr. 1867 to 30 Mar. 1881. | his mother died in Ireland in 1921 date 1921-06-02. [COMPILED] “Peter COONEY kia 1918-10-14 Sergeant, Co M, 165th Infantry, 3 sisters - Mrs Bridget HORAN, Jersey City, NY, Nellie COONEY & Mrs Annie FARLEY, W 50th St, NYC; his mother died in Ireland in 1921 date 1921-06-02.” [CONFLICT] The Derrycriff Margaret’s civil death was 17 March 1922.
Record exhibit
House/context image — 13 East 63rd Street, Manhattan
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Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] Saved “13-east-63rd-street-sanborn-1907.jpg” as map footprint. Address: “13 East 63rd Street, Manhattan”; date: “1907”; licence: “Public domain”; attribution: “Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection. Cropped from Manhattan volume 6, sheet 40.”. [INFERENCE] The image documents the place or map footprint, not a person’s identity or residence unless independently recorded.
Record exhibit
House/context image — 75 Nelson Avenue, Jersey City; address site between numbered properties 77 and 65
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
[RECORD] Saved “75-nelson-avenue-sanborn-1910.jpg” as map site. Address: “75 Nelson Avenue, Jersey City; address site between numbered properties 77 and 65”; date: “1910”; licence: “Public domain”; attribution: “Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division, Sanborn Maps Collection. Cropped from Hudson County volume 4, sheet 12.”. [INFERENCE] The image documents the place or map footprint, not a person’s identity or residence unless independently recorded.
Record exhibit
Meuse-Argonne burial transcription
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
COONEY, Peter, Sergeant, 165th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division, U.S. Army, New York, d. 14-October-1918, Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19, World War I. | serial number, | place of death, | home of record, | New York, | Sergeant, 165th Infantry Regiment, 42nd Division … d. 14-October-1918, Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19. | COONEY, Peter. New York
Record exhibit
Index
An index is a list that points to where the full record can be found.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Eleventh December 1884, | Derrycriff, | Mary, | Peter Coony, | Margaret Coony formerly Needham, | Farmer. | Sixteenth February 1886, | Bridget, | Fifteenth February 1887, | Thomas, | Eleventh August 1888, | Anne, | Sixteenth October 1890, | Peter, | First August 1894, | Ellen, | Peter Cooney, | Margaret Cooney formerly Needham,
Record exhibit
register image, row 157
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Eleventh December 1884, | Derrycriff, | Mary, | Peter Coony, | Margaret Coony formerly Needham, | Farmer. | Sixteenth February 1886, | Bridget, | Fifteenth February 1887, | Thomas, | Eleventh August 1888, | Anne, | Sixteenth October 1890, | Peter, | First August 1894, | Ellen, | Peter Cooney, | Margaret Cooney formerly Needham, | was out with the regiment in ’98. | Peter Coony/Cooney, | Farmer
Record exhibit
El Paso Herald casualty list, 29 November 1918
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Peter Cooney. New York.
Record exhibit
Topeka State Journal casualty list, 29 November 1918
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Proved by a record
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
Peter Cooney, New York City.
Record exhibit
Find a Grave memorial 55991534 and photographed military grave marker
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
SGT Peter Cooney Jr. | 22 Sep 1890 | 14 Oct 1918 (aged 28) | Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Département de la Meuse, Lorraine, France | Plot E, Row 37, Grave 19 | Parents Peter Cooney 1855–1944; Margaret Needham Cooney 1851–1921 | Sibling Ellen A. Cooney Corcoran 1895–1977 | Family links: Parents: Peter Cooney 1855–1944; Margaret Needham Cooney 1851–1921. Sibling: Ellen A. Cooney Corcoran 1895–1977. | Inscription: PETER COONEY / SERGT. 165 INF. 42 DIV. / NEW YORK OCT. 14, 1918
Record exhibit
Irish civil birth register, Peter Cooney, 15 October 1890, Derrycriff, Islandeady, Co. Mayo
Civil registration means an official government record of a birth, marriage, or death.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
157 | Fifteenth October 1890, Derrycriff | Peter | M | Peter Coony, Derrycriff | Margaret Coony formerly Needham | Farmer | Peter Coony his x mark, Father, Derrycriff
Record exhibit
U.S. Army Graves Registration Service card, Sgt Peter Cooney, 165th Infantry
This old record gives information about the person or family named here.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
COONEY Peter | File No. 49525 | Army Serial No. 91675 | Cablegram No. 309 | Date of Death 10/14/18 | Cause of death k/a | Rank Sgt. | Organization Co. M, 165th Inf. 42 Div. | NEW YORK | Date of Burial 11/6/18 | Grave 4, Isolated Grave | Commune Landres et St. Georges, Ardennes | 35 NE B 300.9 N 285.9 | Authority C-331 | 6/10/19
Record exhibit
Peter Cooney household, 1901 census of Ireland, Derrycreeve, Islandeady, County Mayo
A census is a government list of the people who were living in a home.
Partly proved
Verbatim transcription currently held in this archive — reproduced in full.
The exact words from this record have not been typed out yet.
Historical context
These background articles explain the places, work, and events in this entry.
Bayonne and the Industrial Waterfront, 1870–1920
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What Sponsors and Witnesses Can Tell Us
Catholic registers often preserve the people standing just outside a family photograph. A baptism normally names the child, parents, date and sponsors or godparents; a marriage normally names the couple and wit…
Sgt. Peter Cooney and the Fighting 69th
The Peter Cooney buried in France was a sergeant in Company M, 165th Infantry—the wartime number of New York’s celebrated 69th Regiment. His unit belonged to the 42nd “Rainbow” Division, assembled from National…
Reading Irish Civil Registration
The year 1864 is the dividing line in this family’s Irish paper trail. Civil registration began in 1845 for non-Catholic and civil marriages, but from 1 January 1864 the law required registration of all births,…
Farmers and Labourers in North Cork
Two words in the Cork records—“farmer” and “labourer”—describe different positions in the same rural economy. When John Fitzgerald married Margaret Fraher at Kildorrery in 1870, the register called John, his fa…
Islandeady and Derrycriff, County Mayo
Islandeady is not an island off Galway. It is a rural parish between Castlebar and Westport in County Mayo, set among lakes and low hills in the shadow of Croagh Patrick. That distinction solves a long-standing…
The Irish Road to Ipswich, Queensland
Most branches on this site point toward New York or New Jersey. The Hickey–McGreevy–McGuire cluster points in the opposite direction, to Ipswich, Queensland. The Australian evidence is uneven: cemetery records …
What we still don't know
- His individual service record and burial file at the National Archives, opened by Army serial number 91675, would give his enlistment date and stated age and settle Fr Duffy's “'98” remark for good. The card also records a grave photograph, D-33650, and a plot sketch, 5759, neither of which has been obtained.
- The Graves Registration card calls his sister Annie Farley, while some American civil records call Andrew Farley's wife Mary Cooney. Both Mary and Anne were daughters of this Derrycriff household, so the conflict is about which sister, not about which family.
- His emigration is undocumented: no manifest, arrival date or naturalisation record has been found.
- [UPGRADED ON THE 1901 CENSUS] The parent link on this page was carried as unchecked until 9 August 2026. The **1901 census of Derrycreeve** settles it: this child is in Peter Cooney and Margaret Needham's household at aged ten, exactly the age the civil birth registration implies.
- Does the sergeant’s sister named Annie or Mrs. A. J. Farley in the graves file establish his exact place in this family?
- Father Duffy wrote that this Peter had served with the regiment in 1898, which conflicts with identifying him as the child born at Derrycriff in 1890.
- [CONFLICT] The sergeant is not the child born at Derrycriff in October 1890. His parents, birth date/place and third sister Nellie remain unproved; the compiled 1921 mother-death statement also conflicts with Margaret Needham’s 1922 civil death.
- [PROVED] This is the Derrycriff Peter, and a United States federal record settles it. The Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917–1940 lists Peter Cooney, born 4 September 1890, died 14 October 1918, residence “Islndeady Castlebar, Ireland.” Islandeady is the parish and civil registration district that contains Derrycriff, where Peter Coony and Margaret Needham's son was born in October 1890. No other reading survives that: an American veterans' index naming the man's home as this family's own Mayo district, with the exact date of death, is not a coincidence of surname. It is independent of the Graves Registration card, of the roster address, and of the Army correspondence naming his three sisters — and all four agree.
- [CLOSED] Fr Duffy's remark that the sergeant “was out with the regiment in '98” is simply an error. Every documentary source now agrees the man was born in 1890 — the Irish civil register, his memorial, the Veterans Administration index — and the VA index puts his home in the same Mayo parish as the family. A chaplain writing from memory about hundreds of men attached an older namesake's service to the wrong Cooney. The clause is kept on the record as a curiosity, and nothing hangs on it.
- [EXPLAINED] The one thing that does not fit is Fr Duffy's clause that the sergeant “was out with the regiment in '98.” Peter was eight in 1898. An earlier pass of this research treated that single aside as decisive and marked the whole soldier record a wrong-person merge — weighting a chaplain's memoir, written from memory about hundreds of men, above the Army's own next-of-kin paperwork. That was the wrong way round. Duffy most likely confused him with an older namesake.
- The birth register reads “Fifteenth October” 1890 and the archive has also carried 16 October; Find a Grave types 22 September 1890. Either way he was killed on 14 October 1918, days short of his twenty-eighth birthday.
- [CORRECTED] His Army serial number is 91675, not 49525. The card's first column is headed “File No.” and carries 49525 — the Graves Registration file number — while the “Army Serial No.” column reads 91675. An earlier note here recorded the file number as his serial. The serial is what opens his individual service record and burial file at the National Archives.
- [LEAD] The card gives Photograph No. D-33650 and R.B. Sketch No. 5759, so a photograph of his grave and a sketch of the burial plot were made and filed. Neither has been obtained. The card also stamps “Permanent Amer. Cty. Interment — See Reverse Side of Card,” and the reverse we hold is the printed Removal Project form; any further handwritten reverse notes have not been seen.
- His sister Annie Farley moved between the notifications: the card gives 37 West 50th Street and then “Later Mrs. A. J. Farley (sister), 13 East 63rd Street, New York City.” Both are New York addresses worth checking in city directories and the 1920 census for the Farley household.
- [DATE SPREAD] Three sources give three birth dates, all in 1890: the Irish civil register reads “Fifteenth October” (the archive has also carried the sixteenth), his memorial types 22 September, and the Veterans Administration index gives 4 September. Emigrants commonly stated a birthday they had never seen written down. The year is not in doubt.
- [CANDIDATE, NOT ASSERTED] A WWI draft registration card exists for a Peter Cooney born 22 September 1890 in Ireland, registered at Mount Vernon, Westchester County, New York — the same date his memorial carries. The FamilySearch index for it has no image attached, so the card's address and nearest-relative fields cannot be read, and Mount Vernon is not the West 50th Street address. There is also a general argument against it: men already in federal service were usually not required to register. Recorded as a candidate only.
- [CITATION] Peter is named three times in Fr Duffy's Story (New York: Doran, 1919), and only three: at page 280, in the casualty list for the Landres-et-St-Georges and Côte de Châtillon fighting (“Company M lost Sergeant Peter Cooney…”); at page 282, in Duffy's tribute passage (the “'98” remark); and at page 376, in the Roster of Sergeants under “Sergeants, Co. M.” — simply “Peter Cooney—KIA.” The other five Cooney mentions in the book are all Michael “Mike” Cooney of Company C, at pages 73, 93, 187, 356–357 and 373 — including the man who “carried him down through a rain of fire” at the Ourcq. Page numbers verified against the marked-up edition, not estimated.
- [MERGED 7 August 2026] This person had been entered twice — as `peter-cooney-sergeant` and as `peter-cooney-1890` — when the Queensland families were built out from Find a Grave without first checking the names already in the archive. The two records are one person and are now joined; the old address redirects.
References
- [1] New York State Military Museum, *Roster of the Rainbow Division*, 165th Infantry section, PDF p. 69Back to citation 1a Back to citation 1b Back to citation 1c Back to citation 1d Back to citation 1e Back to citation 1f
- [2] Washington Times casualty list, 29 November 1918Back to citation 2a Back to citation 2b
- [3] Graves Registration Service letter to Annie Farley, 37 West 50th Street, 1919Back to citation 3
- [4] War Department letter to Annie J. Farley, 13 East 63rd Street, 1929Back to citation 4
- [5] War Department letter to Bridget Cooney Horan, 75 Nelson Avenue, 1929Back to citation 5a Back to citation 5b Back to citation 5c
- [6] Graves Registration casualty narrative — Sergeant Peter Cooney, 14 October 1918Back to citation 6a Back to citation 6b Back to citation 6c
- [7] 165th Infantry roster — Sergeant Peter CooneyBack to citation 7
- [8] Graves Registration card — Peter Cooney permanent reburialBack to citation 8
- [9] Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery transcription — Peter CooneyBack to citation 9
- [10] Washington Times casualty list — Peter Cooney candidate, 29 November 1918Back to citation 10
- [11] Project Gutenberg, *Father Duffy's Story*, pp. 265–281Back to citation 11
- [12] Irish Gleanings extractionBack to citation 12
- [13] House/context image — 13 East 63rd Street, ManhattanBack to citation 13
- [14] House/context image — 75 Nelson Avenue, Jersey City; address site between numbered properties 77 and 65Back to citation 14
- [15] Meuse-Argonne burial transcriptionBack to citation 15
- [16] IndexBack to citation 16
- [17] register image, row 157Back to citation 17a Back to citation 17b
- [18] El Paso Herald casualty list, 29 November 1918Back to citation 18
- [19] Topeka State Journal casualty list, 29 November 1918Back to citation 19
- [20] Find a Grave memorial 55991534 and photographed military grave markerBack to citation 20a Back to citation 20b
- [21] Irish civil birth register, Peter Cooney, 15 October 1890, Derrycriff, Islandeady, Co. MayoBack to citation 21a Back to citation 21b
- [22] U.S. Army Graves Registration Service card, Sgt Peter Cooney, 165th InfantryBack to citation 22a Back to citation 22b
- [23] Peter Cooney household, 1901 census of Ireland, Derrycreeve, Islandeady, County MayoBack to citation 23