Gohn/Coon/Goan Family
FAMILY BACKGROUND
According to the "Coon-Gohn Descendants from Chanceford Township, York County Pennsylvania" by Frances Davis McTeer (1979), the Gohn family arrived in America September 19, 1738, on the ship "Thistle" (John Wilson, Commander) and landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Rotterdam via Plymouth, England.
In reviewing the Ship's passenger list published by ProGenealogists®, 4 Gohn family members were listed:
Fielip Gohn
Johannes Gohn
Hans Adam Gohn and Catharina (Schäffer) from Altdorf, Bayern-Pfalz
There was no reference to Phillip's wife, Maria Sophia Braher, on the ship passenger list. They were married in 1737 in Hornbach, Zweibrucken, Pfalz, Germany. According to the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society Yearbook, Philip Gohn was the son-in-law of "George Brahr" who also came to America about the same time.
There have been references that a John Ulrick Gohn was listed as boarding the ship "Thistle", however, there is no record that he left the ship in Philadelphia. He was listed as "old and sick" and there is speculation that he died at sea.
The assumption is that Phillip (Fielip) Gohn was the father of Johann (John) and Adam. According to "A Historical Sketch of the Gohn Family in Canada", by Lloyd B. Gohn, published in 1989:
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"The name of his (Phillip) first wife is unknown. His second wife was Sophia Braher. Philip and his first wife had two sons: Adam, born 1718 and John, born 1720 who came with their parents to America aboard The Thistle. Philip and his second wife, Maria Sophia (Braher) Gohn, had three children: Philip, born October 13, 1739, Catherine Elizabeth, born November 16, 1741. Apparently Catherine Elizabeth must have died since the third child was also named Catherine Elizabeth, born September 16, 1744. Philip Sr. died about 1746." |
Different years have been posted for Adam's and John's birth than stated above. Based on information known, the following chart depicts the known children of Phillip Gohn.
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FAMILY NAME SPELLING
As with many early families that settled in America, the spelling of names were varied. The original German spelling of Göhn evolved into other variations, such as Coon, Goan, Kuhn, Kohn.
Some possible reasons for the name variations are:
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People wrote the name the way it was pronounced. Lloyd B. Gohn, author of the book "A Historical Sketch of the Gohn Family in Canada" writes on page 3 that "In Pennsylvania to this day the name "Gohn" is pronounce "Goon"". Census recorders and others wrote the name the way they understood it and sometimes the alternate spelling was carried on.
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One story passed on through the family was that early Gohn settlers were so incensed over the Hessian soldiers coming to America and fighting against the Colonists during the Revolution, they changed their name to the Anglicized spelling of "Coon".
The most common other spellings used today of descendants of Phillip Gohn are COON and GOAN.
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Many of Peter Gohn's children used the GOAN spelling. Peter (b. abt 1804) was the GG Grandson of Phillip Gohn. Fava E. Goan
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Many of Johann 'John' Gohn's children used the COON spelling. John Gohn (Abt 1714-1769) was the son of Phillip Gohn.
There are 3 Gohn family members that are interesting to note. Abraham Coon, Adam Gohn and David Gohn. Their stories follow below.
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Phillip Gohn (1680-1744)
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| Johann 'John' Gohn Adam Gohn | | John Coon (1740-1791) Adam Gohn| ________|_______ | | | John Coon (1768-1841) Adam Gohn David Gohn| (1781-1810) (1787-1861) Abraham Coon (1810-1885)
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THE GOHNS IN CANADA
Adam Gohn (1781-1810), the great grandson of Phillip Gohn, emigrated from the United States to Upper Canada. Family lore indicates he traveled on foot for 3 months from Somerset County, Pennsylvania to Markham Township, County of York, Ontario where he settled on 100 acres.
David Gohn (1787-1861), Adam's younger brother, went to Canada in 1811 to settle Adam's estate. While there, the War of 1812 broke out between England and the United States. David was either conscripted or joined the British Army.
After the war, David Gohn remained in Upper Canada (now Ontario). Since he was an American citizen who served with the British Army during the war, he was not allowed to return to America. He went on to live on Lot 9, Concession 3 in Markham Township where he married Lucy Hederick and had nine children.
David Gohn rebuilt the house that was on the farm. It remained there until 1987. The house was moved to the Heritage Subdivision in Markham, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. The pictures below are courtesy of Wayne Gohn.
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ABRAHAM COON
Abraham Coon, the GGG Grandson of Phillip Gohn, is credited with settling the Magna, Utah area as can be seen on the memorial below.
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The inscription on the memorial reads, in part: EARLY MAGNA SETTLEMENTS In Commemoration of the First Communities Established on the West Side of Salt Lake Valley and the First Major Industry of Utah In 1853 Abraham Coon, an early Mormon pioneer, explored a canyon in the Oquirrh Mountains on the west side of Salt Lake Valley. He found an abundance of timber suitable for lumber and also a variety of oak tree the bark of which was useful in tanning leather. There was ample water to power a saw mill and a tan-bark processing plant. Abraham Coon obtained permission to open the canyon for these purposes, established a toll fee for access to the canyon, and used the revenue for the construction and maintenance of the road. The canyon was officially named Coon Canyon. Abraham Coon and his family settled at the mouth of the canyon, and started a farming community that became known as Coonville. This was the first settlement on the west side of Salt Lake Valley and it covered a one-square-mile area south of this marker. The Coon, Deardon, Hardman, Shafer, Thomas, Sadler, Ek, Jenkins, and Larson families settled in the area. |
In May 1839, Abraham Coon was baptized into the Church of the Latter-day Saints in Greene County, Arkansas. In 1845, he was ordained a Seventy and soon thereafter joined the Mormons' western trek, spent the winter of 1846-1847 in Winter Quarters (now Florence, Nebraska), where he was ordained a Bishop and called to look after the families of the men who went ahead with the Mormon Battalion.
Abraham actively participated in polygamy, having 4 wives and 16 known children. His grave marker indicates his marital relationship and the 1880 U.S. Federal Census shows 2 wives recorded.
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1880 U.S. Federal Census, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, Enumeration District 46, Roll 1337, Page 116D, Dwelling 328, Family 330
Name Sex Age Relation MS PoB FPoB MPoB Occupation Coon, Abraham M 70 Head M Ohio Penn Va Farmer Coon, Elizabeth F 73 Wife M Tenn Tenn Tenn Keeping House Coon, Sarah F 68 Wife M England England England Keeping House
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Abraham Coon |
Elizabeth Yarbrough |
FAMILY INFORMATION
Click on the following links to view information of all the known
descendants
of Phillip Gohn to the present. These reports are generated by the
Legacy Genealogy program.
Gohn/Coon Family Descendant Book (1680 - Present) - a privatized (dates & places of living people omitted) 13 Generation Descendant Book (PDF), with index and with notes, starting with Phillip Gohn - 888 pages plus index (Large file may take extra time to download)
Gohn/Coon Family Descendant Book (1680 - Present) - a privatized (dates & places of living people omitted) 13 Generation Descendant Book (PDF), with index but without notes, starting with Phillip Gohn - 639 pages plus index (Large file may take extra time to download)
Adam Gohn Family Descendant Book (1710 - Present) a privatized (dates & places of living people omitted) Descendant Book (PDF), with notes and index, starting with Adam Gohn (son of Phillip Gohn) - 103 pages plus index. (This information is included with the Gohn/Coon report 1 above)
Abraham Coon Family Descendant Book (1810 - Present) a privatized (dates & places of living people omitted) Descendant Book (PDF), with notes and index, starting with Abraham Gohn - 34 pages plus index. (This information is included with the Gohn/Coon report 1 above)
Several books have been published on the GOHN/GOAN/COON family. Below are portions of two books that can be used for research.
A Historical Sketch of the Gohn Family in Canada, by Lloyd B. Gohn (1909-1990). The book, published in 1989, outlines his research on the history of the Gohn family in Canada and their origin from the United States and Germany. (1st 7 pages - other pages will be added in the future)
Gohn – Goan Descendants from Somerset County, Pennsylvania by Fava E. Goan (1898-1988). The book, published in 1980, outlines her research on the descendants of Philip Gohn (Abt 1680 - Abt 1744). (1st 5 pages)
