Person:Johannes Dorn (1)

Dorn Family Papers, LDS Film #1307509, Item 32, pg 3 & 4: written by Historian Charles Price, 214 S. Main St, Telford, PA, 18969, date unknown

       Taken from: History of the Descendants of John Adam Dorn of Rockhill & Richland Townships, Bucks County, PA (With primary consideration given to the lines of descent that are found in the membership of CHRIST REFORMED CHURCH AT INDIAN CREEK in Franconia Township, Telford, R.D., Montgomery County, PA.   Pages 43/44. (I have copy which Lew Dorn found at the Telford Library and gave to Martha Timanus).
       "The earliest member of the Dorn Family from which members of the Christ Reformed at Indian Creek are descendants, thus far located in our southeastern area of Pennsylvania is Johannes (John) Adams Dorn who was a resident of Rockhill Township, today East Rockhill, Bucks County in 1791, where we find on the township's Assessor's Transcript of Taxables for that year, where he was taxed for one cow, valued at 4 pounds.  The tax being 4 shillings. By this we know that he had no land, house, slave or an occupation that was taxable.
       That he was of German origin, is without doubt.  We find no record of his entry into the country.  We find no Dorn listed in the US Census of 1790, thus it is a fair conclusion that John Adam Dorn was not a resident of Pennsylvania that year.  He and his family must have moved into Rockhill Township, Bucks County toward the end of 1790 or early 1791 and resided there until they later moved to Richland Township, of the same county, this is where it appears he spent the later days of his life.
       It is a good possibility that he is the son of one of the Dorns that arrived in Pennsylvania at an earlier date, for this reason we listed below the arrivals of this family name as shown in the Pennsylvania German Pioneers, by Strassburger and Hinke, Pennsylvania German Society, 1934.
  CASPER DORN, on the Ship Lydia, arriving in Philadelphia 19 Oct 1749.
  JOHANNES DORN, on Ship Edinburgh, arriving Philadelphia 16 Sep 1751.
  JOHANNES TURNN (TURN) on Ship Rawley, arriving Philadelphia 23 Oct 1752.
  JACOB DORN on Ship Halifax, arriving Philadelphia 20 Oct 1754.
  JOHN HEINRICH DORN on Ship Hop, arriving Philadelphia1 Oct 1773.
       It was related to the author that there were some in the family that believed their name had been changed as someone had told them that there was an Adam Dornberger that emigrated here and he had dropped the last part of his name.  I find a JOHN ADAM DORNBERGER in the Tohickon Reformed Church Record, dated 16 Oct 1769 when he and his wife, MARIA were witnesses to a baptism of JOHN ADAM, the son of John Penter and wife Magdalena.  Now we do know that JOHN ADAM DORN and his wife had a son JOHN ADAM DORN (Jr.) born in 1775.  Also when his son ABRAHAM DORN was confirmed, this same record states this, "Abraham Durn (sic), son of Adam, age 28 years." This and other evidence shows that these were two different families, with the first record being of John Adam Dorn the father of the son by the same name born in 1775.
       We see in the Tohickon Reformed Church Record that the Pastors spelled this name in varying ways, "Durn, Dorn, Darn, Turn."  There is one branch of the family in the Quakertown area that spells it Durn in the present generation.
       We begin this history with John Adam Dorn placing him here as the First Generation, as we mentioned before, there is a possibility that his parents, whom we do not know, were the first generation in Pennsylvania, but since we are not certain that this is the case, he will be the first known of the Dorn

Family whose lines of decendants are members of Christ Reformed Church at Indian Creek.

       John Adam Dorn d. between 1800 and 1810.  (Widow Durn buried 22 Feb 1811, recorded in Tohickon Reformed Church record by Rev. Jacob Senn.) bur. unknown.
       When he or his parents emigrated to Pennsylvania is not known.  That he is of German origin is nearly certain.
       The first we know of him is from the Rockhill Township Assessor Transcript of Taxables for the year 1791, when he was taxed for one cow, have a value of 4 pounds, and taxed 4 shillings.  This makes him a resident of Rockhill Township and probably arriving in the Township about the end of 1790 or early 1791.  He was a man of very modest means as this records shows, he was not taxed for a horse, land, slave or even an occupation that was taxable. Carpenters, masons, wheelwrights, etc., had to pay a tax on their occupation at that time.
       The next record on which we find him is the U.S. Census of 1800, he is not recorded in the Census of Pennsylvania for the year 1790, but in 1800 he and his family are recorded and living in Richland Township, Bucks County during that year.  Besides he and his wife this record shows that they had one son living at home between the age of 10 and 16 years, this would be their son, Abraham.  Also two daughters living at home between the ages of 16 and 26 years, this was Margaret and another sister whose name we do not have.
       Rev. Jacob Senn recorded in the Tochickon Church Record, "Feb 22, 1811, Widow Durn" in his burial Record, this must be the widow of John Adam Dorn and he must have died previous to this date as he is not recorded in the U.S.

Census of 1810.

       Again referring to the Rockhill Township Assessor's Transcript of the Taxables in 1797, this was the year after John Adam, the son, became of age 21 years, and we find him assessed for the tax that year as a single man, the son of John Adam was the residing in Rockhill Township, and he was there until 1800 as shown by these records. (Continued in the record of John Adam Dorn, Jr. and Abraham Dorn)] ...
       ...We thus see that John Adam Dorn was a resident of Rockhill Township in 1791, probably living near the Richland Township line, as in 1800 he is a resident of Richland Township and lived there until between 1800 and 1810, at which time he mus have died, living in Richland Township at the time of his death.