Person:Samuel Gochnauer (1)

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... The marriage of Joseph [sic] Hobson and Catherine Goghnauer was celebrated in Henry county, Indiana, where the respective families settled in the pioneer days. Soon after marriage Joseph [sic] Hobson and his father-in-law decided to remove into the wilds of northern Indiana, and in 1837 they thus became residents of Blackford county. They established their home in the center of the county and they located the county seat, but they did not have sufficient financial reinforcement to exploit their effort, with the result that other persons established the county seat at Hartford City, a few miles distant.
Samuel Goghnauer improved a farm in Jackson township, reclaiming the same from the virgin forest, and there the remains of himself and his noble wife rest in the little family cemetery on their old homestead. ...
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[cos1776 Note: This text incorrectly refers to Jose K Hobson as "Joseph Hobson".]

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... Eli Hughes, who was the only child of his mother, was reared by his
maternal grandparents, Samuel and Catherine (Gochnauer) Gochnauer.
They were likewise natives of Rockingham county and of German ances-
try. In 1836 they made the long overland journey across the mountains
and across the state of Ohio to Indiana, and entered two hundred and
forty acres of land in Jackson township of Blackford county. After
selecting his land Samuel Gochnauer walked the entire distance through
the woods and across the prairies to Fort Wayne in order to perfect
his claim and pay the usual fees at the Land Office. All the experiences
of the typical pioneer were the common lot of the Gochnauer family in
Blackford county. Samuel Gochnauer was remarkable for his strength
and endurance, and by actual test it is said that he could walk further
in a day than a horse. When he settled there it was cleared only in
spots, and practically every home was a rude log cabin, with a puncheon
floor, a rough door hung on leather straps, tables made of slabs, and
nearly all the domestic implements of the crudest sort. The original
log house was replaced by a hewed log habitation, and eventually this
farm of two hundred and forty acres was cleared and cultivated and
became the seat of prosperity. Samuel Gochnauer was a cooper by
trade, and one of the most expert workmen in all the pioneer community.
There was no vessel made of wood which he could not perfect, and it is
related that, in spite of his skill, he worked many a day for a dollar
per diem, which was considered high pay. He was one of the strong
adherents of the Jacksonian Democracy in Blackford county, and was
honored by election as county commissioner. His death occurred when
seventy-six years of age on his farm in section 6 of Jackson township.
He passed away during the decade of the seventies, and had been pre-
ceded several years by his wife, when past sixty. In religion they were
German Reformed. ...

... Eli Hughes, of Hartford City, ex-county treasurer of Blackford county, was born in Jackson township, that county, three miles east of Hartford City, on the farm upon which stands the Gochnauer school house. This farm was entered by Samuel Gochnauer, grandfather of Mr. Hughes, and it was deeded to him, the first deed given for the land being dated February 19, 1840. His parents were David and Eliza (Gochnauer) Hughes, the former of whom came from Virginia and was an only child. ...
... Samuel Gochnauer, grandfather of the subject, was a native of Virginia, but of German parentage. He married Miss Catherine Waldamoth, and about 1837, when their children were all grown to mature years, removed from Virginia to Indiana, locating first in Henry county and later in Blackford county. After looking over the land, in company with his son-in-law, Jacob Emshwiller, he walked to Fort Wayne, going through the woods, guiding their course by the compass, and accomplishing the journey, a distance of fifty miles, in one day ; there they entered the land. The first log house erected by Mr. Gochnauer was what may be with propriety called a "homemade" one, he himself having doen all the work connected with the preparation of the materials of which it was constructed. Here he lived and died and with his wife lies buried in what may be called a neighborhood cemetery, on his farm. He was a typical pioneer, a large, stron, rugged man. By trade he was a cooper, and carried on this business in connection with the management of his farm. While not an office seeker, yet he served as county commissioner one term. He was an old-line Jackson Democrat, first, last and all the time. As a mechanic he built grain cradles, spinning wheels and looms, and also made furniture, one of his tables, made of black walnut wood, in the first place split out of the tree and then finished up in fine style with an adze, being still retained in the family of Mr. Hughes as a souvenir of ancient days. His family consisted of three daughters and two sons, the sons dying while yet young. The daughters were as follows: Mary Ann, wife of Jacob Emshwiller ; Catherine, who married Joseph [sic] K. Hobson, and is now living in Allen county ; and Eliza, the mother of our subject, who died, as stated above, when he was two weeks old. ...