The parents Zachariah Cokonougher (1853-1904) and John Elwood Cokonougher (1850 - 1906), as well as ancestors for most of the "Cokonougher" families in Ohio and Michigan, were Adtson Elsworth Cokonougher and Elizabeth (Shoemaker) Cokonougher.
Their marriage was recorded in Volume II of the Marriage Records of Adams County, Ohio. The record says that Addison Cohinour was married on February 3, 1848 by Rev. Shin to Elizabeth Shoemaker.
A news article in the 10 February 1848 Adams County, West Union, Ohio newspaper The Democrat reads and confirms the marriage record in it's list of recent marriages, as follows, "On the 3rd inst., by Rev. A.T. Shinn, Mr. Addison Cohinour to Miss Elizabeth Shoemaker, all of this county."
Was the spelling of the name as "Cohinour" the original spelling, or was it merely a mis-spelling? I have found so many different spellings and mis-spellings of the name, going all the way back to the 1500s, that it is impossible to say. Later census records confirm that this Addison Cohinour is the same person as Adtson Elsworth Cokonougher.
My grandfather, John Henry Cokonougher, told me that an old family legend claimed that the original two Cokonoughers to come to Ohio were cousins whose intentions to get married were forbidden by their families. The disappointed couple eloped and ran off from their home state into the state of Ohio, changed their name so that they wouldn't be found for a while, and got married. My grandfather could not confirm the accuracy of this legend since it was just a story that had been handed down to him.
I have heard this story from my dad as well. He also told me that there had been a family of seven brothers who came over from Norway I think on the ship Hale..I have seen a newspaper clipping and when they arrived at Ellis Island do to pronunciation those who were logging them in caused the name to be spelled seven different ways which would explain the many various spellings of our last name.
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