Gochnauer (sic Cokonougher) Arrives in America 1732

            "Gochnauer" was an early spelling of the name "Cokonougher".  The earliest Gochnauers (sic Cokonougher) that have been traced so far to have come to Ameica were Jacob and Christian Gochenauer in 1732.  The Gochnauer peoples were Swiss-German Mennonites who had been driven out of their native country and who had lived in Holland before immigrating to America.

            In the early 1700s, according to Robert Evans, "the large number of German-Swiss persons emigrating to Pennsylvania aroused fears in the Governor and Council of that state that these persons would make Pennsylvania a German state.  Consequently laws were passed requiring that the captain of each ship make a list of aliens (persons other than Englishmen) that he was bringing to America, that each person sign an oath acknowledging themselves to be subjects of the King of England, and that the King was rightfully head of the English. These lists are of interest to us because they show that two Jacob Gochenours arrived in Philadelphia in different years, 1732 and 1736.  Jacob Gochnauer, Christian Gochnauer and Kathrina Gochnourin (the "in" on the end of a German name denotes a feminine person) appear as passengers on the ship "Samuels", Hugh Percy, Commander, which landed at Philadelphia on August 11, 1732.  Their ages are given as 20, 17, and 18 respectively and the ship sailed from Rotterdam, Holland. Another Jacob Kochenauer (obviously a variant of Gochenour) arrived in Philadelphia on the ship "Harle",  Ralph Harle, master, from Rotterdam, Holland, on Sept. 1, 1736.  It is not presently known which or if either of these Jacob Gochenours are our ancestor who settled in Shenandoah County before June 15, 1754. Many persons of the name Gochenour live in Pennsylvania today."    (Extracted from Appendix I of HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF JACOB GOCHENOUR, Robert Lee Evans [3512 North Third Street; Arlington, VA 22201], 1977, Carr Publishing Company, Inc., Boyce, VA 22620.)

Viola Cokonougher's Ham Loaf.

Viola (Hester) (Cokonougher) Cassidy (1928-2016) was well known for her cooking and baking skills.  She even worked at separate times as a cook at the local hospital and as a baker in the town bake shop.  One of her most popular and loved dishes was her Ham Loaf.  Everybody wanted a piece of her Ham Loaf, and she always made enough so that everybody could eat some!  Here is her recipe.

Herbert M. Cokonougher Obituary. 1967.

     Here are the obituaries for my uncle Herbert Miller Cokonougher.  At the time of his death, he lived with his wife Christine, on Lower Twin Road next door to the Hester farm in Buckskin Township, Ross County, Ohio.  The brother who preceded him in death was Cecil Lloyd Cokonougher.

Cokonougher origins - Where Did We Come From?

       Our ancestors in 1654, Jacob, Hans, and Heinrich Gochenour (sic Cokonougher) were the original Cokonougher hardheads. They accepted a new religion at a time in history when the practice of any religion other than the official state religion was considered treason.  When they were challenged and persecuted, they stuck to their beliefs. Jacob lost everything he had, including his wife and children, rather than change his mind. He was lucky that he didn't lose his life too.  The genetic link between these people of the past and my family today is strong, for I have observed the same amount of stubbornness and steadfastness in my Cokonougher relatives of today. When we think we are right, then we are right, and no one, I repeat, no one is going to convince us any differently.  Being a Cokonougher myself, I might admit to having shown these traits once or twice myself, but only if I feel like it, and only if no one tries to force me to do so. ☺

       "The Gochenour family is of Swiss ancestry. On the shores of beautiful Lake Zurich is a small village named Gruningen and here was the ancestral home of the Gochenours.
       It is recorded in the "Ausbund", which is the original hymn book of the Mennonites, published in 1751, that one Jacob Gochnauer of Gruningen suffered persecution in 1654 because he adopted the faith of his choice, that is he held to the tenets of the Mennonite Church. He was imprisoned in a castle dungeon and his family was turned out into the fields. Mr. David T. Gochenour of Grinnell, Iowa, has one of these books written in the German language with "Jacob Gochenour" hand written on the fly leaf. It belonged to our first Virginia Gochenour ancestor, Jacob Gochenour.
       We next find evidence of the Gochenours living in the German Palatinate. This is an area along the Rhine River and in the Seventeenth century was divided into many small principalities. The rulers of these provinces at various times allowed persecuted religious sects to live in their dominions subject to various discriminations.
        In "The Mennonite Quarterly Review", Vol. 14, (1940), page 15, is published a list of Mennonites permitted to live at Churpfalz Landen in 1685, and among the list is the name of "Heinrich Gochnaur" saying he had eight children. These Mennonites we permitted to live in this province on paying a fine to the ruler. The lists were made to show who had paid the fine.
       Another list published in the Quarterly shows that the following Gochenours were living in this vicinity: Jacob Gochnauer and Hans Gochnauer. Later lists for 1738 and 1740 omit the names of Jacob and Hans Gochnauer. Possibly this Jacob Gochenour was one of the two emigrant Jacob Gochenours who came to America, landing at Philadelphia, Penn., one on the ship "Samuel" from Rotterdam, Holland arriving August 11, 1732, and the other in the ship "Harle" also from Rotterdam arriving Sept. 1, 1736.
        Large numbers of the inhabitants of the Palatinate came to America in this period. Often the rulers of the several German states revoked their consent or license to the religious dissenters, mostly Mennonites, and began to persecute them. Also a series of wars devastated the area causing the unhappy people to leave the country and come to America."

        This information was extracted from Appendix I of HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF JACOB GOCHENOUR, Robert Lee Evans [3512 North Third Street; Arlington, VA 22201], 1977, Carr Publishing Company, Inc., Boyce, VA 22620.

John Cochenour Attacked by Wolves

This Cochenour (sic "Cokonougher") had to be a distant relative of mine, from the very distant time of over two centuries ago.  He lived in Ross County, Ohio and came to Ohio about the same time as my other Cokonougher relatives.  I don't know anything more about this man than what is written in the article that I have shown below.

John H. Cokonougher WWI Draft Card

This is the World War I draft card of my grandfather, John Henry Cokonougher (b. 6 July1883 - d. 12 Sept. 1963).  He was 35 years old when he was required to register for the draft.  The war ended a month later.

 

The United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917, and Congress passed a Selective Service Act six weeks later on 18 May 1917.  Over 98% of the men in the United States born between 1872 and 1900 (approximately 24 million) completed draft registration.  Registration was accomplished in three separate registrations.  The third and last registration occurred on 12 Sept. 1918 and was for men who had recently turned 18 to 21 and for men between the ages of 31 and 45.  My grandfather was among those in the last registration.

Cokonougher log house in 1910s Ohio.

    When Zackariah and Mary (Wisecup) Cokonougher purchased their farm on Wisecup Hill in Buckskin Township, Ross County, Ohio, in 1904, this old house was already on the property.

      The house was of log construction and was covered with vertical wood siding.  Members of the Cokonougher family lived in the house until 1923, when they constructed a new house to live in.  My father was one year old when they left the old log house and moved into their new wood frame house less than 50 feet from the old log house. 
      The top of the old Smokehouse can be seen behind the house in this picture.  The Smokehouse was still there when my grandparents died on the farm four decades after the old log house was torn down.  By then, though, the building was used only for storage rather than smoking meat.
      Note also the picket fence surrounding the house.  Picket fences were much favored for yards over other fences by Middle European German immigrants and settlers.  Thus the fence gives a clue to the possible and likely background of the people who originally built the old log house.                                                                   
      The story of how Zackariah and Mary Cokonougher came to buy this house and farm is an interesting one.  I tell the story in my book "The Genealogy Of The Family of Ralph William Cokonougher", available at Amazon.com.
      For future archeologists' reference, the log house was located at Latitude N 39º 20' 4.8" and Longitude W 83º 14' 45.2".

Elizabeth Cokonougher Heirs Land Deed 1882

  This is the deed that transfers the Adams County, Ohio real estate owned by the heirs of Elizabeth (Shoemaker) Cokonougher, wife of Adtson Ellsworth Cokonougher, to a new owner. Elizabeth and Adtson Cokonougher were my great-great grandparents, and Zachariah and Mary Cokonougher were my great grandparents. The deed is recorded in Vol.60, p479, of the Adams County deed books.  I have transcripted the deed as follows:

 “Elizabeth Cokonougher heirs

            To
     George A. Thomas

    Know all men by these Presents that John Cokonougher and Mary his wife Zachariah Cokonougher and Mary his wife Rodennia Frost and Andrew Frost her husband Mary E Cokonougher Sarah A Garman and Sylvester Garman her husband of the first part in consideration Three hundred dollars to these fees by George A Thomas of Adams county Ohio the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged do hereby Grant Bargain Sell and convey to the said George A Thomas his heirs and assigns forever the following described Real Estate to wit the following Real Estate Situate in Meigs Township Adams county Ohio to wit

    1^st Tract Beginning as a Red Oak and dogwood in line of A. Eellisons Survey No 8681 thence south said line S25 E70 poles to two white Oaks thence south 118 poles to a cherry tree on the Sulphur Spring Branch thence down the Branch 48 poles to a hickory near the Branch and in line of said survey thence in a Westerly direction with original line 15 poles to a white Oak Stump thence south 62 poles to a red oak and chestnut thence S39 E24 poles to a White Oak Thence South 73 poles to the beginning containing Thirty Eight acres more or less part of Survey No. 13259.
    2^nd Tract Beginning at a Red Oak and two dogwoods in the line of Survey No 8687 corner to Jacob Shultzs Survey No 13253 thence with Said line and the line of Survey No 15164 N25 W73 poles to a white Oak in the last mentioned line thence N60 E26 poles to a Walnut thence N27 W26 poles to a cherry ashen Thence N81 E54 poles to a Stone corner of A Purless Survey No 14128 thence with the line of Said Survey S35 W 37 poles to three White Oaks thence S44 E42 poles to a chestnut and black oak thence S74 W passing three White Oaks corner of Said Shultzs Survey and with his line 5 poles to the beginning containing twenty five acres more or less part of survey No 15655  This land formerly belonged to Elizabeth Cokonougher now deceased and the grantors herein are the heirs at Law of Said Elizabeth Cokonougher deceased to whom Said lands descended upon her death and all the Estate Title and Interest of the Said parties of first part either in Law or in Equity of in and to the Said premises together with all the privileges and appurtenances to the Same belongings and all the rents issues and profits thereof To Have and to Hold the Same to the only proper use of the Said George A. Thomas his heirs and assigns forever And the Said John Cokonougher Mary Cokonougher Zachariah Cokonougher Mary Cokonougher Rodennia Frost and Andrew Frost Mary E Cokonougher and Sarah A. Garman and Sylvester Garman her husband for themselves and for their heirs executors and administrators do hereby covenant with the Said George A Thomas his heirs and assigns That are the True and Lawful owners of the Said premises and have full power to convey the same and That the title So conveyed is clean free and unencumbered and further that they will warrant and defend the same against all claims or claims of all persons whomsoever.
    In Witness Whereof the Said John Cokonougher and his wife Zachariah Cokonougher and Mary his wife hereby release their right and expectancy of Dower in the Said premises have hereunto Set their hands and Seals this 14” day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Eighty two Signed Sealed and acknowledged in presence of us 
J M Cader
Zackariah his X mark Cokonougher (Seal)
James M Aber
Mary her X mark Cokonougher (Seal)
T. J. McCune for Rodennia
Rodennia her X mark Frost (Seal)
W McWest for Andrew Andy Frost (Seal)
Jm Moorehead
Sarah A Garman (Seal)
Edm McKeehan
Sylvester Garman (Seal)
Robert Herdman
Mary E. her X mark Cokonougher (Seal)
Joseph Thurman
John Cokonougher (Seal)

    The State of Ohio Ross County ss

    Be it Remembered that on the 14^” day of February in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty two before me the subscriber Justice of the Peace in and for Said county and State personally came Zachariah Coukouougher (sic: Cokonougher)and Mary Cokonour (sic: Cokonougher) the grantors in the foregoing Deed and acknowledged the signing and Sealing thereof to be their voluntary act and deed for the uses and purposes therein mentioned And the Said Mary Cokonougher wife of the said Zachariah Cokonougher being examined by me Separate and apart from her Said husband and the contents of Said Deed being by made Known and explained to her as the Statute directs declared that She did voluntarily Sign Seal and acknowledge the same and that she is still Satisfied therewith as her act and deed for the uses and purposes therein mentioned
    In Testimony Whereof I have hereunto Subscribed my name and affixed my seal on the day and year aforesaid    J M Cader J.P.

    The State of Ohio Clinton county ss

    Before me the undersigned a Notary Public in and for Said county personally appeared the above named Rodennia Frost and Andrew Frost her husband and acknowledged the signing and sealing of the above conveyance to be their voluntary act and deed and the Said Andrew Frost does hereby relinquish all right and title as to consticy (sic: constancy) in Said premists (sic: premises) after being examined by me Separate and apart from each other and the contents of Said Justmentioned made Known to them by me They Then declared that did voluntarily Sign Seal and acknowledge the Same and that they are still Satisfied therewith This 15” day of February A D 1882
    Wm McWest Notary Public (notarial seal Clinton Co Ohio) In and for Said county

    The State of Ohio Highland County ss

    This day personally appeared Sarah A Garman and Sylvester Garman her husband the grantors in the above Deed Before the undersigned a Justice of the Peace in and for Said county and acknowledged the signing and Sealing of above deed to be their voluntary act and deed for the uses and purposes therein mentioned and Said Sarah A Garman wife of the Said Sylvester Being at the same time examined by me Separate and apart from her husband and the contents of Said instrument made known to her She then declared that she did voluntarily Sign Seal and acknowledge the same and that She is Still Satisfied Therewith.
    Witness my hand this the 9” day of March 1882  Edm McKeehan J.P.

    The State of Ohio Highland county

    This day personally appeared Mary E. Cokonougher one of the grantors in the above Deed before the undersigned a Justice of the Peace in and for Said county and acknowledged the signing and Sealing of the above Deed to be her voluntary act and Deed for the uses and purposes therein mentioned
    Witness my hand this the 9” day of March 1882.  Edm McKeehan J.P.

    The State of Ohio Adams county ss

    Be it remembered that on this 15” day of March A D 1882 and before me the undersigned a Justice of the Peace in and for Said county and State personally came John Cokonougher and Mary Cokonougher his wife the grantors in the forgoing Deed and acknowledged the Signing and Sealing thereof to be their voluntary act and deed for the uses and purposes therein mentioned and the Said Mary A Cokonougher wife of the Said John Cokonougher. Being examined by Separate and apart from her Said husband and the contents of Said Deed being made Known and explained to her as the Statute directs declared that she did voluntary Sign Seal and acknowledge the Same and that She is Still Satisfied as her act and deed for the use and purposes therein mentioned
      In Witness Whereof I have Set my hand on the day and year first above Written    Joseph Thurman J P (seal)

Recorded August 2” 1882

J R Stevenson  R.A.C.”

Viola COKONOUGHER Cassidy obituary. 2016.

        This is my mother, Viola, and me, in 2012.  She passed on to the afterlife day before yesterday after a long and fruitful life, mostly as a Cokonougher.  Her obituary follows:              
        "Viola Mae Cokonougher Cassidy, age 87, of Washington C. H., formerly of South Salem passed away on Friday, April 8, 2016 at home surrounded by her family.  She was born on September 21, 1928 in Fruitdale, the daughter of Harold and Nora (Spurgeon) Hester.  She previously worked as a cook, baker, and health care worker. She was known far and wide for her sewing and cooking skills, and enjoyed her family, organizing reunions, fishing, camping, country music and the Paint Valley Jamboree.  She is survived by two sons, Ralph Cokonougher and Clifford (Wanda) Cokonougher; two daughters, Judy Wical and Shirley Davis; fourteen grandchildren, Akiko Cokonougher, Amelia (Danny) Calhoun, Yasuyo (Philip) Samuels, William (Clarissa) Cokonougher, Scott (Shellie) Brill, Karen Leisure, Tina (Monte) Miller, Carletta (Steve) Garringer, Robert (Nicole) Davis, Bonnie (Michael West, Sarah (Randy) Dean, Craig, Curtis, and Tracy Cokonougher; thirty three great grandchildren; twenty two great-great grandchildren; four brothers, Lawrence (Linda) Hester, Gary (Bonnie) Hester, Warren (Pam) Hester, and Robert Hester; and four sisters, Mary Kingery, Elizabeth (Bill) Hayden, Janet Jovanovic, and Ruth Cheatwood.  She was preceded in death by her husbands, Howard “Bill” Cokonougher in 1984 and Hobert Cassidy in 2002; one great grandchild, Annelaine Davis; two brothers, Harold Hester, Jr. and Dwight Hester; five sisters, Martha Barnhart, Dorothy Watson, Barbara Hester, Fern Tapp, and Violet Stratton.  Funeral service will be 1:00 P.M. Wednesday, April 13 at the Murray-Fettro Funeral Home in Greenfield with Pastor David Wayne officiating. Burial will follow in the South Salem Cemetery.  Visitation will be Tuesday from 4:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M at the funeral home.  Condolences may be sent to www.murrayfettro.com "

John & Charles Cokonougher school class of 1897

This is the school picture for John H. Cokonougher and Charles Cokonougher, sons of Zachariah and Mary (Wisecup) Cokonougher, at the Cunningham Pratt school in Paulding County.  The family moved to Paulding County, Ohio while looking for work.  They left after only a few years and moved to South Salem, in Ross County, Ohio, where Zachariah and Mary eventually bought a farm.  

 

This excerpt describes the school and gives the information necessary to find a copy of the history of Grover Hill and the school for yourself.

My Cokonougher - Frost Connection

          My Ohio Cokonougher ancestors hail back to Adams County, Ohio in the early 1800s.  My Frost ancestors do the same, and they were interconnected with the Cokonougher family! 

          Rodena Cokonougher (b. 31 January 1858), the daughter of my great-great grandparents, Adtson and Elizabeth Cokonougher, married Andrew Frost (b.1855), the son of John and Mary Frost.  The photos you see here are pictures of them and their family. 

          Rodena's brother, my great-grandfather, Zachariah Cokonougher (1853-1904), also married a Frost descendant.  He married Mary Elizabeth Wisecup (1856-1934), who was the daughter of Phoeba (Frost) Wisecup (1830 - 1859) and the grandaughter of Adams County, Ohio residents Jacob (1793-1870) and Proba Frost (b. abt. 1794).  Jacob and Proba's farm was located then in what is now part of the Peebles, Ohio, city limits.

          The Frosts seemed to be a colorful and rough family.  There are many stories in the local newspapers of the time, about Frost scrapes with the law, and there is even a detailed and flowery account of one criminal trial in which two Frost boys were tried and convicted of murder, and sent to prison.  Evidently, Cokonoughers weren't the only family with hard heads.

Zackriah & Mary Cokonougher 1893 family photo

     This picture was originally owned by my grandparents, John and Amelia Cokonougher, who lived on Wisecup Hill in Ross County, Ohio.  John is third from the left in the back row. 

Cocanougher Cemetery in Kentucky.

     I responded to a comment in my previous post of Mary Cokonougher's Bible about Nancy Silvertooth Cokonougher (sic).  Here is an old newspaper clipping that tells more about Nancy and the cemetery in Washington County, Kentucky, in which she is buried.  There is no date on the clipping. 
     I have heard since childhood that there was a native American "Indian" named Nancy Silvertooth somewhere way back in the family tree.  This is that person.  She was the wife of a Jacob Cokonougher (sic), but there were many Jacobs in the family tree, so if one wants to claim her as a direct line descendant, then they need to be sure that they have the right Jacob.

Mary E. Cokonougher Family Bible 1820-1904

Mary E. (Wisecup) Cokonougher began recording births, marriages, and deaths in a family Bible after she married Zackariah Cokonougher in 1873.  Like most other wives and husbands of the times, she recorded the historical data in the Family Record section of the Bible.

       These photos are of the actual Bible.  Mary was my great-grandmother, through my father, Howard William Cokonougher, and my grandfather, John Henry Cokonougher Sr. 
     When I last saw the Bible in 1977, it was in South Salem, Ohio and in the possession of Mary's daughter, Anna Cokonougher Schmidt, who died in 1978.  I lost track of the Bible after that, but I did manage to make copies of the Family Record Section before Anna died. 

      The transcription that follows is
as identical to the original Family Record section as I can record it, including the original spellings,capitalizations, and punctuations. 
    The Bible was published in New York in 1874 by the American Bible Society with the title "The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments:  Translated Out of The Original Tongues and With The Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised”.

         FIRST PAGE

     Adtson Cokonougher

     Born June 28  1824

         
           Elizebeth Cokonougher

     Born October 29, 1820

     Sarah. A. Cokonougher

     Born November 17  1848

     John Cokonougher

     Born July 14  1850

     Mary E Cokonougher

     Born March 18.  1855

     Rodenea Cokonougher

     Born January 31  1858

     William. H. Cokonougher

     Born February 16. 1862

     Lieddy Cokonougher

     Born. September 22,  1863

     SECOND PAGE

     Zachriah  Cokonougher

     Born April 2nd 1853

     Mary Cokonougher

     Born February 14th   1856

     William S. Cokonougher

     Born June the 12th 1874

     Provy M. Cokonougher

     Born January 12th 1877

     Joseph E Cokonougher and

     Adson E Cokonougher

     Born February 22  1880

     John H. Cokonougher

     Born July 6th   1883

     Charles S. Cokonougher

     Born September 20th 1886

     Anna M. Cokonougher

     Born September 17th  1892

     THIRD PAGE

     Zackriah Cokonougher and

     Mary Cokonougher was

     Married August. 29. 1873

     FOURTH PAGE

     Adison Cokonougher

     Died December 21, 1882

     Elizbeth Cokonougher

     Died September 12, 1872

     William H. Cokonougher

     Died October 10  1862

     Lieddy Cokonougher

     Died March 20   1874

        FIFTH PAGE

     Dorcas Frost. B. Dec. 22. 1872

     harvie J Cokonougher

     born June the 23

     1896

     Zacriah Cokonougher

     died sep 14  1904

Rodena Cokonougher Frost family Photo 1890s

     This photo is that of Rodena Cokonougher Frost with her husband Andrew Frost and her children.  the photo was probably taken in the 1890s, based on the age of the daughter in the picture.  Only one daughter is shown in the picture, but Rodena and Andy had at least two daughters:  Gracie, born in 1878, and Eva, born in 1879.  The family lived in Adams County, Ohio.
     Rodena was born 31 January 1858 to Adtson Ellsworth Cokonougher and Elizabeth Shoemaker Cokonougher.  She was also the sister of Zackariah and John E. Cokonougher.  Andrew was born in 1855 as the son of John and Mary Frost. 
     This photo was the property of my grandparents John H. and Amelia Cokonougher, and passed to me when they died in 1963.  Rodena was my grandfather's aunt.

     There is a record of one Andrew Frost being elected to and having served in the Ohio Legislature.  I don't know if this was the same Andrew Frost. 
     My grandfather John, who lived in Ross County, Ohio, used to tell of taking horse and wagon rides with his parents and other family members from Ross County all the way to Adams County, Ohio to visit with the Frosts and other relatives in Adams County.  He said the trip would take all day to get there, so they would stay overnight, and then return on a following day.  They always stopped for a picnic lunch halfway there.