Individual Details

From Ancestry family tree:

Available info indicates that the first "Coon" (spelled many different ways -- Gohn, Goan, Kohn, Kuhn, etc) in America was John Gohn (Coon) who came from the Palatinate -- a German province--to PA on the ship "The Thistle" which landed in Philadelphia September 19, 1738. Two others of the same name, Adam and Philip Gohn, came on the same ship and it is thought that John, Adam, and Philip were brothers. The three were married before they came or were married shortly after their arrival.

Records show that children of John and Rosanna Gohn (Coon), Philip and Sopia, and Adam and Catherine were baptized in the Christ Lutheran Church of York Co., PA during the years from 1739 to 1759.

Soon after landing in Philadelphia the Gohn (Coon) brothers made their way to the Susquehanna River, Lancaster Co., PA, settling in the area that was to become York Co., PA

John Gohn (Coon) died in the fall of 1769, leaving seven sons and two daughters. No mention was made of his wife, Rosanna, in the settlement of the estate, indicating that she predeceased him.

T he children of John and Rosanna Gohn (Coon) were:

1. ANDREW who succeeded to the ownership of his father's property on the Susquehanna River. He died, leaving his widow Veronica and a number of minor children. It appears that these children continued to live in York Co., PA

2. JOHN married Catherine Synder (perhaps Snyder or Schneidner). He moved with his family from York Co., PA shortly after the Revolution. However, it is not known where he settled after moving from PA. A number of his 9 children came to Botetourt Co., perhaps all of them, in 1797 and 1798. Prior to the War of 1812 they had moved on to Fayette, Co. OHIO.

3. ADAM, born in 1743, left York Co. PA in 1782 and with his wife, Catherine and four children. It is thought that they moved to Berkley Co., VA (now WVA). After Adam's death the widow and children moved to Ohio.

4. JACOB, SR, died in Botetourt Co. in 1813. His wife, Eve Burger Coon, survived him by one year. They left no will or real estate. The had 9 children.

5. MICHAEL died in Botetourt County in 1814, leaving his widow Dorothy and ten children.

6. CHRISTIAN was born in 1753. He left York Co., PA in 1782 or 1783. His wife's name was Elizabeth and they had a son, John.

7. ELIZABETH was born in 1756. It is thought that she married John Fout and moved to Botetourt Co., in 1783.

8. LEWIS was born in 1758. He came to Botetourt Co. in 1782. He was unmarried.

9. CATHERINE was born in 1760. She married John Custer in 170. They came to Botetourt Co., where John died in 1837. They had 12 children.

All of the Gohn (Kuhn, etc.) descendants who came to the Valley of Virginia and on into the Roanoke Valley, Anglicized their name to "Coon". One of the descendants tells us that according to information passed won through the family, members of the family were so incensed over the Hessian soldiers coming to American and fighting against the Colonists during the Revolution, they had their name changed to the Anglicized spelling of "Coon".

Note: Information was obtained from a Museum Library in the Fincastle CourtHouse Square, in Fincastle, VA. There is a more to the article above in terms of the Highland Park area in Roanoke, VA and Coon descendants located there. Unfortunately I do not have the name of the source from which the article I copied came from; but all of the books in the Museum are indexed.

Further, from other articles and records in the County Clerk's Office, plus information on ancestry -- more info is available on Jacob Coon Sr. & his wife, Eve Burger Coon, than on Michael William Coon and his wife Dorothy (both of whom settled in the Fincastle Community, of Botetourt Co. VA).

My family line notes Michael's name was Michael Wm. Coon, born abt 1750 in Chanceford Twp., York Co.PA & died Sept 1813 in Looney's Creek area, Fincastle, Botetourt Co. Va. His parents were Johannes Gohn/Koon/Coon (1714-1769) & Anna Rosina Crantzdorf (1719-1768). His wife was Dorothy or Doratha (1753-1832) and ancestry tree members note she was born and died in Botetourt Co., VA. Michael and Dorothy's daughter Eva Coon (1775-between 1840 & 1850) married John Stipp. They eventually settled in Morgan Co., IN. Eva Coon Stipp was born in York, York Co. PA and is probably buried in the same cemetery as her husband (Sand Hill Cemetery - now called New Butterfield Cemetery, located between Brooklyn and Centerton, Indiana). There are several still marked Stipp graves there -- in the oldest section, with woods encroaching. (Update: The last name for Michael Wm. Coon's wife was STEHLI--her name was Doratha Stehli Coon. This information became available to me in 2011.)

Birth	Abt 1714	Germany
Marriage	Jul 1738	Germany - Anna Rosina Crantzdorf

Spouse	Anna Rosina Crantzdorf ( - )
Child	Johann "John" Coon (1740 - 1791)
Child	Adam Coon (1742 - 1798)
Child	Michael William Coon (1750 - 1813)