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John Lohnes

Birth	:	8 Apr 1719 Stockheim, Odenwaldkreis, Hessen, Germany
Death	:	4 May 1794 Lunenburg, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada
Burial	:	St. John's Anglican Church Crypt, Lunenburg, Lunenburg County, Canada
Description	:	John Lohnes was born 8 Apr 1719, in Pfirschbach bei Höchst, in the Odenwald region of what is today modern Germany, the second-born son of parents Johann Leonhard Lohnes (1680 - 1733) and Anna Katharina Barth (1689 - Bef. 1750), who were married in the Lutheran church in Höchst im Odenwald, 1.5 miles from Pfirschbach, where they lived. Back then, Odenwald was part of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (Ernst Ludwig, Landgraf from 1678 to 1739), in the Hochrheinischer Kreis (Upper Rhenish Circle) of the Holy Roman Empire (Charles VI, Emperor from 1711 to 1740). John was baptized "Johannes... Read More	John Lohnes was born 8 Apr 1719, in Pfirschbach bei Höchst, in the Odenwald region of what is today modern Germany, the second-born son of parents Johann Leonhard Lohnes (1680 - 1733) and Anna Katharina Barth (1689 - Bef. 1750), who were married in the Lutheran church in Höchst im Odenwald, 1.5 miles from Pfirschbach, where they lived. Back then, Odenwald was part of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (Ernst Ludwig, Landgraf from 1678 to 1739), in the Hochrheinischer Kreis (Upper Rhenish Circle) of the Holy Roman Empire (Charles VI, Emperor from 1711 to 1740). John was baptized "Johannes Lohnes"[1] two days later, on 10 Apr 1719, also in Höchst. The baptismal record was marked "evangelisch," which translates to "protestant"---likely the Lutheran Church. The name Johannes Lohnes was later Americanized to John Lohnes. John's Siblings Leonhard and Katharina Lohnes had the following children, all born in Pfirschbach bei Höchst, and baptized in Höchst im Odenwald: Johann Georg (b. 24 Aug 1714 ; d. Aft. 18 Jul 1762, but Bef. 1780) Anna Catharina (b. 2 Oct 1716; d. unknown) Johann Johannes (b. 8 Apr 1719; d. 4 May 1794) (THIS memorial) Johann Leonhard (b. 15 Sep 1722; d. 29 Sep 1722) Johann Nicklaus (b. 4 Oct 1724; d. Mar 1792) Anna Margretha (b. 27 Sep 1726; d. 4 Oct 1726) John's Wife and Children On 13 Nov 1736, at the age of 17, John married Anna Barbara Kahl (1714 - 1778) in a double ceremony in Höchst with his brother Georg Lohnes (1714 - 1762-80) and Anna Barbara's sister Catharina Elizabetha Kahl (1711 - 1754). Such double weddings with two siblings in one family marrying two siblings in another were quite common hundreds of years ago, due to the difficulty of finding suitable spouses. The newly-wedded couple set up housekeeping in the village of Mümling-Grumbach in Odenwald, where they lived until sometime between 8 Sep 1740 and 24 Jul 1743, when they removed to Stockheim, where John operated a farm, according to notes on forms in the emigration office in Odenwald. John and Barbara had the following children, confirmed by baptismal records and other data: Johann Michael Lohnes (1738 - 1804) Johannes Lohnes (1740 - 1821) Johann Georg (1743 - ?) Johann Christoph Lohnes (1745 - 1808) Anna Margretha Lohnes (1748 - 1752) Johann Heinrich Lohnes (1755 - 1813) Anna Barbara Lohnes (1758 - 1778) Emigration to Nova Scotia The above information comes from the book Auswanderungen aus dem Odenwaldkreis, Vol. 1, by Ella Gieg (pub. 1988), which on p. 167 lists Johannes Lohnes, Anna Barbara Kahl and five of their children as having emigrated to Canada, arriving at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, in 1750. [Contributor Rod Corkum states that this probably should have been Halifax, as he says Mahone Bay did not exist until after 1753.] The children who emigrated with them, with dates and places of birth given in the book, were: Johann Michael, Johannes, Johann Georg, Johann Christoph and Anna Margretha. I later found that the ship on which they sailed, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was called the "Ann," with John Spurrier, Master, which landed on 29 June 1750. Why did they come to America? Why would they pack up their belongings and their children, and leave the country in which they were born, in order to face an uncertain future in a faraway land? The main reason was the destruction caused to (what is now) the Rheinland-Palatinate area of Germany as a result of repeated invasions by French troops, which caused widespread economic devastation, famine and disease. As well, they were tired of being conscripted into the armed forces to fight said French troops. They were eager to leave the war-torn area, and start afresh. At the same time, it was said that the British were worried about losing territory to France in the area that is now Canada. They wanted British people to settle the area, but couldn't find enough interested takers (too cold for most English people!). So, they recruited Germans instead, offering them "free" land. But passage to America cost money, which most poor Germans couldn't afford---especially with their typically-large families, as passage was normally by the head. Some enterprising Englishmen took advantage of those who were down on their luck, offering to pay for passage in exchange for a number of years of labor in the New World. The following German legalese is a sample contract that I found, from a "businessman" by the name of John Dick, in which men would borrow the money for passage to America for themselves and their families, promising to repay the debt with indentured servitude in the New World: Wir, die untergeschriebenen Passagiere an Bord des Schiffes genannt die Anne, geführt von hier aus Rotterdam über die See nach Halifax, gelegen in der Provinz Nova Scotia oder Neu-Schottland in Nordamerika, bezeugen und bekennen hiermit: dass wir an den Herrn John Dick, Seiner Britannischen Majestats Agent von der Provinz Nova Scotia in der Hafen von Rotterdam, [...] für unsere und unserer Familien Transportation von hier nach [...] Nova Scotia [...] in holländischer Währung und Summen auf eine ehrliche, treuliche und rechtmäßige Weise schuldig sind [...] treulichst zu bezahlen und abzuführen, durch unserer Hände Arbeit in allem demjenigen, was der all dasige Herr Gouverneur von uns zu begehren oder befinden wird und zwar Arbeitslohn 18 Pence Sterling täglich abzuverdienen so lange, bis unsere Schulden [...] bezahlt sein [werden]. Eigenhändig Unterschriebene und Unterzeichnete, Actum Rotterdam, den 26. Juni 1750. We, the undersigned passengers aboard the ship called the "Anne," ferried from Rotterdam oversea to Halifax, situated in the province of Nova Scotia or New-Scotland in North America, attest and avow herewith: that we are obligated, in an honest, faithful and lawful way, to pay in Dutch currency and sums to Mr. John Dick, His British Majesty's agent from the province of Nova Scotia in the port of Rotterdam, for our family's transportation from here to Nova Scotia, and to work off the debt at the rate of 18 Pence Sterling per diem, by carrying out all those things that the Governor desires of us or deems necessary, until the debt has been paid. Signed / marked, recorded at Rotterdam the 26th of June 1750. [2] We have a word for this today: it is called human trafficking, where foreigners are brought to the U.S. and told they will be able to "work off" the debt. But, once they arrive (and are stuck here), their "overseers" keep adding to their debts, while paying less than was promised, such that they can never get out from under the debt. It is often a criminal enterprise. I'd be willing to bet that this aptly-titled Mr. Dick was just such an unscrupulous person---especially after reading that he was making money on each German brought to Canada. If they didn't like the conditions, couldn't they simply return to Germany? Before you answer this question, read the account of a Mr. Gottlieb Mittelberger's passage from Rotterdam to the New World: This trip lasted from the beginning of May until the end of October, so a whole half a year, under such difficulties that nobody is able to adequately describe their misery. The reason being that the Rhine ships have to pass 36 customs stations between Heilbronn and Holland, at which the ships are all visited. Meanwhile, the ships with the people are held up for such a long time that one must consume a lot, and therefore one spends four, five, or six weeks on only the Rhine trip. When the ships arrive in Holland with the people, they are also stopped there for five to six weeks. Because everything there is so expensive, the poor people must consume almost everything at this time. The people are loaded onto the big ships, partly in Rotterdam and partly in Amsterdam, so close to each other that they are soon, so to speak, packed like Herrings [or, as we would say today, like sardines]. A person has barely two feet by six feet of room in his berth, because such a ship carries four, five or 600 souls, not including countless equipment, boxes, provisions, water barrels and other things that also take up a lot of space. During the voyage, however, arises a pitiful misery, stench, fumes, horrors, vomiting, various seasicknesses, fevers, mouth rot and the like, which all stem from the old and heavily salted food and meat, as well as from the foul, vile water, from which many sicken and die. This misery then reaches its climax when one must endure storms of two or three days and nights, such that everyone believes the ship full of people will perish. In such need, the people pray and cry pathetically together. Some groan and moan: "Oh! If only I could be back home and lie in my pig stall!" or wail: "Oh, dear God, if only I might have a good little piece of bread or a nice drop of fresh water again!" [3] The Germans who were forced to endure such conditions during their passage to America were surely so glad to be alive that they would put up with quite a bit, rather than risk their lives again making a return voyage! Johannes died on 4 May 1794 in Lunenburg, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is interred in the Saint John's Anglican Church Crypt in Lunenburg. His wife preceded him in death on 22 June 1778, also died in Lunenburg, and is interred in the same crypt. ~~~~~~~~~~~ FOOTNOTES~~~~~~~~~~~ [1] Most Germans, at baptism, were given a biblical/spiritual name (usually the name of a saint) and a Rufname, or "call name"---the name the child would actually be called in everyday life. Therefore, a boy baptized Johann Georg was called Georg/George, not John. A boy was named Johannes/John if, and only if, he was baptized Johannes as the only given name. [2] Translation from the original German by Broo. Thanks also to Broo's friend, Tom Wolber, Professor of German at Ohio Wesleyan University, for proofreading the translation, and suggesting a few tweaks. [3] Translation from the original German by Broo. The original German for this story has been omitted for brevity. ---Broo, # 48601467

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is John Lohnes's memorial?
John Lohnes's memorial is located at: St. John's Anglican Church Crypt, Lunenburg, Lunenburg County, Canada.
When did John Lohnes death?
John Lohnes death on 4 May 1794 in Lunenburg, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada

Family Members:

Spouse

Anna Barbara Kahl Lohnes

(1711 - 1778)

Children

Michael Lohnes

(1738 - 1804)

Johannes Lohnes

(1740 - 1821)

Johan Christopher Lohnes

(1745 - 1808)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint James Anglican Church Cemetery
Aldersville, Lunenburg County, Canada

2. Auburndale Cemetery
Auburndale, Lunenburg County, Canada

3. Baker Settlement Cemetery
Bakers Settlement, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4584000, -64.1735200

4. Barss Corner Baptist Cemetery
Barss Corner, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4953500, -64.1073200

5. Barss Corner Community Cemetery
Barss Corner, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4838600, -64.1066200

6. Indian Brook Cemetery - Barss Corner
Barss Corner, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4892500, -64.1025600

7. Bayport Cemetery
Bayport, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4898900, -64.1152100

8. All Saints Anglican Church Cemetery
Bayswater, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4479400, -64.4228800

9. All Saints First Cemetery
Bayswater, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4468900, -64.4110800

10. Boutilier Cemetery
Bayswater, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.3591194, -64.2590942

11. Swissair Crash Victims Mass Burial Site
Bayswater, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.3618000, -64.2657300

12. Beech Hill United Baptist Church
Beech Hill, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4495700, -64.6314500

13. United Baptist Church Cemetery - Beech Hill
Beech Hill, Lunenburg County, Canada

14. United Church Cemetery Beech Hill
Beech Hill, Lunenburg County, Canada

15. Big Tancook Island Cemetery
Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4584000, -64.1735200

16. Old Gates Cemetery
Blandford, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4953500, -64.1073200

17. Old Zinck Cemetery
Blandford, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4838600, -64.1066200

18. Saint Barnabas Anglican Cemetery
Blandford, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4892500, -64.1025600

19. Saint Barnabas Old Anglican Cemetery
Blandford, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4898900, -64.1152100

20. Blockhouse Cemetery
Blockhouse, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4479400, -64.4228800

21. Garden of Rest Cemetery
Blockhouse, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4468900, -64.4110800

22. Lower Blue Rocks Cemetery
Blue Rocks, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.3591194, -64.2590942

23. Upper Blue Rocks Cemetery
Blue Rocks, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.3618000, -64.2657300

24. Hillside Cemetery
Branch LaHave, Lunenburg County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4495700, -64.6314500