Eugene Gochenour's Memoirs: Alger Gochenour

Alger Jordan Gochenour

Today I share my father Eugene Gochenour's memoirs of his father Alger Jordan Gochenour, with added information from my genealogy research.

The Gochenour family were Swiss Brethren who came to America for religious freedom. They first arrived in Philadelphia and went west to Lancaster. So many Germans were coming to Pennsylvania there was less land available and it was becoming expensive. Some like my ancestor followed the Susquehanna River south into Virginia. 

Our ancestor Jacob Gochenour was in the second wave of Swiss Brethren in the Shenandoah Valley, and married Elizabeth Rhodes, daughter of one of the first settler families. I wrote about the massacre of the Rev. John Rhodes family here. 

The first Gochenours were German speaking Anabapists, separatists and pacifists who did not fight in the Revolution. They did give horses to the cause, and started the first church and school in the area. 

Many of the Brethern were converted by a popular Baptist preacher. My ancestor married a Baptist and joined that church.

Samuel Gochenour, 1926-1901

Susannah Hammon Gochenour

My second great-grandfather Samuel Gochenour was conscripted into the Confederate Army and worked in manual, non-combat work. His son was David Henry, father of my grandfather Al Gochenour.

 Henry David Gochenour, Mary Ellen Stultz Gochenour and family

Henry David and Mary Ellen Stultz Gochenour,
Clarence and Alice Gochenonur

The Shenandoah River near Woodstock 

The Gochenour family homestead in Woodstock, VA
where Al Gochenour was born

Al Gochenour, Sherdian Park Volunteer Fireman Chief

Here is what Dad wrote about his father:

"Father Alger Jordan Gochenour was born on March 25th, 1904, on a farm at the community of Fairview, Virginia, located in the Shenandoah Valley.

"The first Gochenours came to America in 1735, years before we were a nation. Jacob Gochenour and his family were Mennonites, and came to America to avoid religious persecution. He acquired 400 acres in 1735 in the valley.

"I never met my grandparents, as they had died before I was born. Henry David Gochenour, Dad’s father was born on December 5th, 1861 and died on May 28th, 1924. Dad’s mother’s maiden name was Mary Stultz. She was born on June 4th, 1864, and died on April 23rd, 1927. Her nickname was Mollie.

"Dad’s father had operated a tanyard, which had been operated by his father. Most of my father’s decedents of his lineage are buried at the Mount Zion Lutheran Church cemetery, located near the farm.

"Father never told me why he ran away from his home as a youth, but I was told that he only had an eighth grade education. He and a friend ran away together and their travels took them to New York City. They earned money by cleaning and polishing office furniture far business people.

"Dad was a good salesman, and he and his friend had unique skills. Dad, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase, would go into an office building and ask the receptionist if he could talk to the person responsible for cleaning the office furniture. Since no one had ever done this service for them before, he would often be taken to talk to the owner or manager of the office. Dad knew that their office was the showplace where business people met with their clients, and that their office furniture and desks were very expensive. Many of their chairs were upholstered with leather, and the desks were made from cherry wood.

"After he introduced himself, he gave them a demonstration on one of the office chairs. To show that the cleaner would not harm the finish, he drank some of it. This impressed the customer, but it was harmless, since it was only water with baking soda. I don’t know where Dad learned about the cleaner, but it did a great job. After he cleaned the chair, he took a clean white cloth and wiped it dry, and showed all the dirt he had removed. Then he applied the polish, and when he buffed it, it looked like new. He explained that he was aware how important the clothes business people wore were, and that the polish he used would not soil them. Dad told them he would work in the evening after they had left for the day, and would not expect to be paid until the job was finished.

"Dad and his friend had many jobs at New York City, but eventually he went to Tonawanda, leaving them behind. I don’t know why father left New York City, or how he came to live at Tonawanda, but once there he became an insurance salesman. In those days insurance salesman went from door to door to collect the money for the policies, and that is how I suspect he met Mother. "

In my genealogy research, I learned that my grandfather Al Gochenour was 15 years old and living at home in 1920; his father died in 1924; in 1926 he appears in a Buffalo city directory working as a salesman for F. Becker Roofing. I do not have an F. Becker in my family tree so I do not know if he is a relation to my grandmother.  

In 1927 at age 23 when Al married Emma Gochenour he was an insurance collector. He was on top of the world with a family, new house, new car, and I was told even had a maid.

Dad said that when his father's customers could not pay their insurance premiums he would cover the cost for them. As the Depression wore on his clients were unable to keep up with the premiums. Al could not pay the taxes on his house, and was arrears for several years when he lost it to the bank and moved to an apartment in the Military Road house. 

I have shared about Al's building a garage, volunteer fireman experience, and leader as a boy scout in previous posts.

The Rhodes Family Massacre at Tom's Brook

“A period of terror and fear.” (from Old Homes of Page County, Virginia by Jennie Ann Kerkhoff)

In the late afternoon on August 11, 1764, the Reverend John Hans Rhodes came to the door of his home in the Shenandoah Valley after he heard shouting from the yard. Before the sun had set, the Reverend, his wife, and five of his children were murdered, and likely scalped, and his home burned.

My sixth great-grandfather, the Reverend John Rhodes (Rood, Roodt, Rhodes, Roads) died in one of a series of "Indian raids" that occurred in the Shenandoah Valley. He was a Swiss Brethren (or Mennonite) and a pacifist who would not use arms, even for self-protection. His twelve-year-old daughter Elizabeth escaped and married my fifth great-grandfather Jacob Gochenour.

Mennonite Persecution and Emigration

The 16th c saw the emergence of radical ideas that birthed the Protestant movement. Their beliefs included that baptism should be the mark of a believer who has chosen Jesus Christ as Lord so they did not baptise infants. Known today as Anabaptists, meaning "one baptism," they also eschewed paid ministers and prepared sermons, participation in government, and the swearing of oaths, swearing allegiance to the state, and as non-violent pacifists, would not bear arms.

Anabaptists were persecuted across Europe by state churches and governments. Their afflictions included beatings, jailings, loss of property, confiscation of children, and even death.

The Swiss Mennonites of Lake Zurich in the Canton of Berne were exiled and moved to outlying small towns. In 1650 these capable farmers were invited to the Palatine in Germany to restore the war-torn, once rich farm and orchard lands. They paid a fine to live there. Then, around 1700 a new ruler ended toleration.

Those who remained in Switzerland were banished in 1710. The Berne Mennonites were allowed to sell their property if they agreed to take the money and leave forever.

William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, felt a kinship with the Mennonites and welcomed them to settle in America.

So, the Swiss Mennonites left the Palatine. Between 1711 and 1732 thousands immigrated to Pennsylvania, settling in Germantown outside of Philadelphia and in Berks and Lancaster Counties. Others left for Holland and England, some becoming indentured servants to pay their way to New York State and the Mohawk Valley. By 1730 so many Germans had come to Pennsylvania that the British colonists worried about "The German Peril." As land became scarce in Pennsylvania some followed the 'river road' of the Susquehanna River south into the Shenandoah Valley and beyond.

John Rhodes Immigration

In 1711 the Mennonites in Sumiswald, Canton of Berne, Switzerland were exiled.

Ulrich Rhodes born May of 1680 in Interlaken, Bern, Switzerland to Daniel Rode and Susannah Ballmer (1689-1729) immigrated with his family to Pennsylvania, arriving in the port of Philadelphia on August 19, 1728. They settled in Lancaster, PA.

In 1730 John Rhodes and other Swiss Brethren arrived in the Shenandoah Valley as the first European settlers along with the Strickler and Kauffman families. The Gochenours came with the second wave of settlers. In 1740 John Rhodes married Eva Catharina Albright (born 1723 in Germany). They had thirteen children.

In 1741 John Rhodes purchased 100 acres along the Shenandoah River adjacent to Martin Kauffman's tract. On November 4, 1760, he purchased land from Thomas Palmer of New York, who was granted the Virginia land from Lord Fairfax in 1751. Rev. Rhodes's estate grew to over 400 acres along the Shenandoah River, with his home situated at the mouth of Tom's Brook. The area today is three miles northeast of Maurertown, VA not far from Luray. The Rhodes home was in the shadow of Kennedy's Peak, the highest point in the Massanutten mountains.

For an article with photos on the area see: http://www.wendtroot.com/cockrill/d0004/d0004notes/MassanuttenHistory.html

On the fatal day, his eldest son Joseph and two daughters were already in their own homes. The younger children were still at home.

The Massacre at Tom's Brook

They were called Indian Raids. Between 5 and 6 p.m. on August 11, 1764, some allege that Simon Girty,“The White Savage” * who had committed a string of attacks against settlers, led a party of eight Native Americans into the valley and to the Rhodes home. Their intent was robbery. The method was murder.

Rev. Rhodes was shot in the doorway of his home. Eva and a son had been killed in the yard of the house. The raiders followed two boys who had fled into a cornfield along the river. One boy climbed a pear tree located 150 yards from the house, perhaps to hide, perhaps to see what was happening. The marauders found him and shot him. The other boy had run to the river hoping to cross to safety. He was killed in Tom's Brook, the area known afterward as Bloody Ford.

The marauders searched the Rhodes home but did not find the money that was hidden in a niche in the cellar wall. They burned the house down with Rev. Rhodes body in it. The money, along with important papers, were found safe afterward.

Twelve-year-old Elizabeth had grabbed 15-month-old Esther and run into the barn. While a man tried to break into the barn, the girls escaped through an opening in the back of the barn. They ran through a field of hemp, crossing the river to find refuge in a neighbor's house about four miles away. Then, Elizabeth walked another eight miles to her brother's home in Ida, her baby sister in her arms. She told Joseph of the horror that had descended upon their parents and siblings.

Two boys and one or two girls were captured and taken into the Massanutten Mountains. The party was in a hurry to get away and the frightened children could not keep up the pace. First, they killed the seven-year-old boy who had been ailing. The girl(s) refused to go on and were murdered and left with their brother. Michael alone survived. He was taken to Ohio and spent three years with the Native Americans before a treaty brought his released. He then returned home.

Michael told that his family was scalped and the scalps sold to the French for $15 each. The next day neighbors came and buried the Rhodes family near the river, their headstones now in the Brubaker family cemetery.

Rev. Rhodes father, Ulrich, died shortly afterward on August 31, 1764.

Birth Certificate Fraktur art by Jacob Strickler

The Children

1. Joseph Rhodes was born in 1735 and died in 1766 at Massanutten, August Co., VA. He had a farm in Ida at the time of the massacre. By law, he inherited his father's estate. Joseph married Elizabeth Mary Strickler, who was the daughter of Shenandoah Valley pioneer Rev. Abraham Stickler. Abraham immigrated from Zurich, Switzerland around 1705 and came to Chester Co, PA before migrating to the Shenandoah Valley in 1726 with his sons. Stickler was a master weaver, Fraktur artist, and a Mennonite preacher.
2. Anna was born around 1738 and died on May 6, 1774, in Ohio. In 1758 she married Christian Grove. In 1765 Christian was deeded 116 acres on the North Branch of the Shenandoah by Joseph Rhodes. Christian was born in 1738 in Lancaster, PA and fought in the Revolutionary War. After Anna's death Christian married Ester Musselman, of another early settler family. He died at Woodstock, VA in 1786. The Groves great-grandfather had left Zurich, Switzerland for Lancaster, PA.
3. Susannah (Susan) Elizabeth was born in 1740. She married Mark (Marcus) Grove, brother to Christian Grove who married her sister Anna. Joseph Rhodes gave Mark 120 acres on the north fork of the Shenandoah River at the mouth of Elk Lick Run. After Susan's death, Mark married Mary. He died in 1800.
4. Daniel was born in  1746 and died in the massacre on August 11, 1764.
5. David who was born in 1745 and died at age 19 in the massacre on Aug 11, 1764.
6. A son born 1757 and died in the Massanutten mountains on August 11, 1764.
7. A daughter, perhaps Mary, born in 1754 and died on August 11, 1764.
8. A son born 1760 and died on August 11, 1764. Likely he was the son with Eva, killed in the house yard with her.
9. Michael was born May 1, 1749, He was captured and taken to Ohio for three years. On March 26, 1780, he married Anna Strickler, daughter to Benjamin. Benjamin was a brother to Elizabeth Strickler who married Michael's brother Joseph.
10. Esther was born in 1762. She was rescued by her sister Elizabeth. In 1786 she married Dr. Jacob Kauffman. Esther died in 1836. Jacob's father the Rev. Martin Kauffman was one of the earliest settlers in the area. Kauffmans appear in the earliest annals of the Mennonite church.
11. Elizabeth born July 21, 1752, and died August 26, 1818. She married Jacob Gochenour, my fifth great-grandfather. Elizabeth married Jacob Gochenour. Jacob Gochenour was born near Woodstock, VA, the grandson of the original Gochenour immigrant from Lake Zurich, Switzerland. The Gochenours had been Mennonite for generations; a Gochenour appears in the annals of Mennonite martyrs. They were converted to Anabaptism by the Peter family. Elizabeth was deeded 177 acres by her brother Joseph, situated on the east side of the Shenandoah River near Tom's Brook where her brothers were killed. Jacob bought land across the river near Luray and built a flour mill.

My Gochenour family tree goes like this:

1. Gorg or Georg Gochanauwer born 1567 in Fischenthal, Zurich, Switzerland and died in Alsace Lorraine in 1609. He married Maria Weber in 1589.
2. Jacob or Jakob Weber Gachnauwer born 1605 in Fischenthal, Zurich, Switzerland and married Margarethe Peter/Petter, whose family were Mennonites and likely converted Jacob to the faith. A 1634 Census for Fischenthal shows Jacob Gachnauer and Margareta Peter with children Jorg age 5, Hannss age 3, Heinrich age 2, and Barbel age 1. Jacob died in 1660 in Onhenheim, Alsace, France.
3. Heinrich Gochenour who was born in 1632 in Fischenthal, Zurich, Switzerland and immigrated with his father to Alsace Lorraine and then to Ibersheim, Hesse, Germany. He was a tailor.
4. Joseph Gachnauwer b. 1673 in Ibersheim, West Palatinate, Germany and died 1738 in Hemfield, PA. he married Mary Magdalena Teather.
5. Jacob Gochenour born 1717 in VA and died in 1771. He married Mary.
6. Jacob Gochenour (1747-1809) Jacob was a literate man who owned ten books. In 1769 he and Jacob Strickler petitioned the House of Burgess for the right to follow their faith and not bear arms but instead would contribute a “proportional part of their Estates whenever the Exigencies of Government may require it.” A second petition in 1785 asked Mennonites be exempted from military duties. Among the seventy-four Mennonite signatures are the names of Jacob Gochenour, Joseph Gochenour, John (Johannes) Gochenour, and Abraham Gochenour. He married Elizabeth Rhoades. Jacob and Elizabeth settled on land which she had obtained by deed from her brother Joseph Roads, situated on the east side of the Shenandoah River adjacent to where Toms Brook flows into it. Jacob bought other land on the opposite side of the River where he operated a flour mill until the time of his death in 1809. This is not far from the present town of Luray, Va. In the 1785 census published in Wayland's Shenandoah county history, Jacob Gochenour (Coughener) is listed as living in the area from North Mountain to the Massanutten including Mt. Olive, Toms Brook and the adjacent portions of the river. The "First Census of the United States" under "Heads of Families-Virginia 1783" lists Jacob Caughenhour with eleven white persons in his house and no black (slaves).  Jacob Gochenour died October 27, 1809, leaving a considerable estate, personal property of $2200 and real estate of $8000. His will is lengthy. He left a life estate in two tracts of land to his wife Elizabeth which was land where "my son Daniel Gochenour now lives." It directed that the land on the east side of the river be sold including the mill. It gave his "granddaughter Mary Fisher (that I raised and now lives with me)" personal property, stating that the rest be equally divided among his children. It gave his grandchildren Mary and Rebecca Fisher, "children of my late daughter Mary a share, my daughter Elizabeth the wife of George Howbert one share, my daughter Barbara the wife of Philip Bare one share, my daughter Ann the wife of Jacob Fisher one share, my daughter Esther the wife of David Stover one share, my son John one share, my daughter Catherine wife of John Crabill one share, my son Jacob one share, Magdalene the wife of John Stover one share, my son Daniel one share, my daughter Rebecca the wife of Henry Jordan one share, my son Joseph one share and my son Shen one share." The will was made October 13, 1809 and probated November 13, 1809. 
7. Abraham Gochenour born in Alonzaville, VA around 1771 and died in 1812. In 1782, Abraham married Christina Haas, whose father Johann was an immigrant from Germany. The First Census of the United States under Heads of Families-Virginia 1783 lists Abraham Coughenour with his wife. His will included a 'grist mill'.
8. Henry Gochenour (1791-1856)  married Barbara Wiseman whose grandfather Johann Phillip immigrated from Germany. His first wife had died and he married again after Barbara's death. 
9. Samuel Gochenour 1826-1901, who was conscripted into the Virginia Militia as a Private, Company C, 3^rd Regiment, 7^th Brigade from July 1861 to September 1861; also from December 1861 at Woodstock, VA; and he volunteered March of 1862. He earned the rank of Corporal. The Militia were issued no uniform or arms and usually were employed in manual labor. In 1873 he was Post Master in Alonzaville, VA. Samuel married Susannah Catherine Hammon whose grandfather immigrated from Germany. She was a devoted Evangelical Lutheran. They are buried in the Mt. Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery.
10. Henry David Gochenour born in Fairview, VA in 1861 and died in Stonewall, VA in 1924. He married Mary Ellen Stutz whose grandfather immigrated from Germany.
11. Alger Jordan Gochenour born in Woodstock VA in 1904 and died in Tonawanda, NY in 1955. He married Emma Becker, born in Volhynia, Russia, daughter of immigrant John Becker and Martha Kelm.
12. Eugene Vernon Gochenour 1930-2008, my father.

Samuel Gochenour

Henry David Gochenour family

Henry Gochenour and wife Mollie with son Clarence and wife Alice

Gochenour homestead, the birthplace of Alger Gochenour, Woodstock VA

* Further research into Simon Girty shows that in 1764 he in Western Pennsylvania, finally reunited with his mother and siblings eight years after he was kidnapped by Native Americans. It was not until later that he allied with the British against the colonists. I am hesitant to accept that Girty lead the raid until I find evidence of his being in the area in 1764 when the Shenandoah Valley settlers underwent several attacks by natives.

In A Short History of Page County by Harry M. Strickler, he writes that some suggest Simon Girty led the Rhodes raid but "this could not have been possible for he was loyal until the battle of Point Pleasant."