Annotated Bibliography of Coughenour Reference Books
By Jan Dawson, Ph. D. (1)
Artlip, Elaine Corbin, Hite, Chrisman, Gochanour, Lary, Smootz and Ritter.
Mimeoqraphed by author, Villisca, Iowa, 1977. 75 pp.
The Gochanour section, pp. 16-48, traces nine generations of
descendants of Henry Gochanour, an assumed immigrant who settled in
Augusta Co., VA, in the early 18th century. No progenitors are noted
prior to Henry, and only one page is devoted to him. There is some
documentation, but no index. It does contain a considerable number of
names, and, for that reason mainly, it is worthwhile to examine.
Cocanougher, Russell D., Cocanouqher Family History, 1721-1986. Author
published, Stillwater, OK, 1986. 294 pp. (Out of print (2))
This book concentrates mainly on the descendants of George Cocanougher,
son of Jacob Cocanougher and Neley Silvertooth. The earlier family
history is based somewhat on legends, but the data concerning George
and his descendants appear to be accurate. Included are many family
group sheets and pedigree charts, as well as newspaper articles,
photos, photocopies of relevant pages from censuses, ship lists,
letters and maps. There are hundreds of names in this book, but,
unfortunately, there is no index.
Cokonougher, Ralph William, History and Genealogy of the Ancestors and
Relatives of Ralph William Cokonouqher. Ralco Pub. Co., P.O. Box 245, New
Holland, Ohio, 1979. ? pp.
On pages 2-9, the author prints pedigree charts of his Cokonougher line
from himself, born 1948 in Ross Co., Ohio, back to Adtson Elsworth
Cokonougher, born 1824 in Virginia, and Adtson's wife, Elizabeth
Shoemaker, born 1820 in Ohio. Some of the charts trace Ralph
Cokonougher's maternal lines. This compiler has only sixteen pages of
the work, but it appears there may be additional pages and possibly an
index. There is no documentation, at least not in the first 16 pages.
Coughenour, Dwayne (deceased, 1990) Family Group Sheets.
Dwayne was a Coughenour family historian, who produced a large
number of Coughenour Family Group Sheets that have been widely
circulated. Over time, as Dwayne obtained more data, he revised these
sheets, some of them several times, rendering the older sheets
inaccurate. These revisions, plus the fact that some of his
conclusions were based on circumstantial evidence, suggest that those
possessing these Family Group Sheets should note the compilation dates
and be aware that there may be more recent ones. Further, it would be
prudent for the researcher to verify the information for himself if he
plans to rely on the accuracy of his data.
Coughenour, Izora S., Ralph Stauffer Coughenour, His Forebears and His
Children. Author published, 1961. 56 pp. (Out of print (2))
In pages 1-12 in this book, the author traces her husband's Coughenour
line from Joseph Coughenour, son of Jacob and Mary (?Sheetz)
Coughenour, to John who m. Catherine Moyer, to Isaiah who m. Susan
Blough, to Benjamin Franklin who m. Catherine Stauffer, and, finally,
to her husband, Ralph Stauffer Coughenour. There is a serious lack of
documentation, and it seems as if most of the information was received
from other researchers, who relayed some inaccurate myths. As a
result, there are enough critical errors in this booklet that readers
should be cautioned to validate the information for themselves. There
is an index.
Evans, Robert Lee, History of the Descendants of Jacob Gochenour. First
printing, 1977. Reprinted 1994 by the Jacob Gochenour Family Reunion, Rt.
1, Box 273, Mauertown, VA 22644. 701 pp.
This book traces the descendants of Jacob Gochenour who settled in the
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the early 18th century. The events are
very well documented, and the author was careful not to make
assumptions without sufficient evidence. In Chapter 16, he mentions
"stray" Gochenours for whom he had not found any connections to other
known families of the same surname. This is one of the better and more
reliable histories.
Furlong, Roland Dulany, Dulany-Furlong and Kindred Families. McClain
Printing Co., Parsons, WV, 1975. 544 pp.
On pages 266-272, the author discusses the Coughenour families of
Somerset and Cambria Co., PA. Except for three small references, the
work is undocumented, and the author claims to have obtained his
information from Mrs. Izora Coughenour and Mrs. Francis Gary, which may
explain why he duplicates their errors. The other families in this
book seem to have been researched more carefully and their data are
more extensive.
Garber, Judith Beery, Beery Family History. Brethern Pub. House, Elgin,
IL, 1957. 783 pp. (Out of print (2))
An intensive study of the Beery/Bieri family, whose Mennonite immigrant
ancestor came from Berne, Switzerland, in 1727 and settled in Lancaster
Co., PA. Both the VA and PA Coughenours were associates of the Beerys,
and three references in this book pertain to both families. On pages
29 and 54-55, the history of Elizabeth Gochenour, who married Abraham
Beery, appears. She and her brother John, who married Barbara Beery,
sister of Abraham, were children of Jacob Gochenour of Manheim Twp.,
Lancaster Co., Pa. On page 84, there is a description of a complicated
Rockingham Co., VA, land-switching arrangement involving John and
Barbara Gochenour, Abraham and Elizabeth Beery, and parties named
Pence, Moyers, Pulse and Hogan. The bulk of the material concerns Beery
descendants, but is relative to the Gochenours because of the parallel
lives of the two families. Well documented and indexed.
Gingerich, Hugh F. and Kreider, Rachel W., Amish and Amish Mennonite
Genealogies. Pequea Pub., Gordonville, PA., 1986. 848 pages.
The authors have traced all known Amish and Amish Mennonite immigrants'
descendants down through 1850, especially in Somerset Co., PA.
Lineages are given for the following persons who married Coughenours:
Isaac Miller (m. Emma Coughenour), Susannah Blough (m. Isaiah
Coughenour), Elizabeth Yoder (m. John Coughenour), Mary Magdalena Ashe
(m. Silas D. Coughenour)
Gochanour, Eileen, Bible Records and Family Records from the Files of
Eileen Gochanour, Volume I. Wanda Warkins Allers and Eileen (Lynch)
Gochanour, 2317 N. Fifth Street, Springfield, IL, 1986. 117 pp.
The Gochanour section of this book extends from p. 96 through 102. It
contains bible records for Mrs. Gochanour's family, i.e. her
parents, husband, in-laws, children, etc. For the most part, dates are
in the 1900s. The majority of the book contain records from many other
bibles the author has collected. Some date back to the late 1700s, but
most are from the 1800s. Indexed.
Gochnauer, Harry W., Michael Kauffman Gochnauer, 1860-1940. Pub. 1940. 142
pages. (Out of print (2))
This book concentrates on the descendants of Joseph Gochnauer, who died
in 1764 in Hempfield Twp., Lancaster Co., PA. The author offers a
reasonable amount of documentation, which he calls "exhibits," but,
unfortunately, has not gathered enough information to allow him to
reach correct conclusions in some cases. As a result, the early history
he presents is not entirely reliable. The bulk of the book contains
lines of descent, contributed by cousins, down through the early 1900s.
The work is not indexed, but contains an organized glossary by which
persons can be located through their identification numbers. There are
hundreds of names of descendants listed.
Landen, George E., The Coughenour Family in America. Kinnear Pub. Co.,
Inc., Appomattox, VA, 1991. 136 pp.
This book contains lineages of various Coughenour and related
families. There is a general reference list, but no specific
documentation. The contents were contributed by a number of
individuals, some of whom apparently did not verify their data, so
there are a number of errors throughout. It is an attractive,
interesting book, useful as a general guide to the Coughenours.
Researchers should verify extracted data which is not referenced.
Leitner, Gail, editor, A Current Family History of Clarence Earl
Gouchenour and Clara Rhoda Davis. Pub. 1994 by Mrs. Gail Leitner, 2725
Stone Circle, Minnetonka, MN 55305. Approximately 122 pages.
This is a well-done family reunion type of book which commemorates the
125th anniversary of the homesteading of the William Henry and Mary
Ellen Gouchenour farm in Fredonia, Wilson County, Kansas. William
Henry Gochenour was the descendant of Henry Gochenour, of Augusta
County, Virginia. The book contains Pedigree Charts showing
descendancies from the immigrant, as well as numerous photographs and
Family Group Sheets of living descendants.
(1) The comments in this bibliography are solely the opinion of the author,
and do not reflect those of the editor or any other person.
(2) Books out of print may be obtainable through interlibrary loan, or may be
available for purchase from Books on Demand, University Microfilms,
Internatl., 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
