Kauffman/Coffman Surname Project Immigrant Listing

Kauffman's To America

This list is created from several sources and may, or may not, be all-inclusive. It is presented here as a starting point for those interested in the Kauffman lines in America. The original list included those who were known or suspected to be Mennonite or Amish, part of the Anabaptist group of people that were exiled from Switzerland in the years from about 1640 - 1710. Others have been added . . .

It is known that in August of 1717 three ships arrived in Philadelphia carrying 363 Mennonite passengers, soon to be settlers in Pennsylvania. The names of the ships are not known, and passenger lists were not kept, but tax lists, warrants in Pennsylvania, and other sources give enough clues that "reconstructed " lists have been made.

On these ships were the following Kauffman's (with families or partial families listed):

1a. Andrew Kauffman, b. c1690, d 1742, Manor Twp., Lancastor Co. PA
DNA Kit # 36455 (R. Terry Kauffman) a possible/probable descendant --- I received a “pedigree” from Shelby who is interested in the DNA project, but for the last three generations is connected to the Kauffman tree through mothers and grandmothers, therefore NOT tested. She sent the name of her immigrant Kauffman ancestor as “Johan Andreas Kaufmann, b. 1668. Is this Johan Andreas the same as “Andrew”?

1b. Isaac Kauffman, b. c1690, d 1735, Manor Twp., Lancastor Co. PA;
- Elizabeth, his wife.
- Isaac Kauffman, b. c1713,
- Audrey Kauffman, b. c1716

1c. Michael Kauffman, b. 1675, (the “Patriarch” in America) d. 1718, Lancaster Co., PA. m. Anna (Knicely), b. 1688
Children:
- John, b. 1701, d. 1759 Landisville, Lancaster Co., PA
- Catherine, b. 1703
- Martin, b. 1708, d. 1749 Page Co., Virginia ---- DNA Kit #: 40692, N8706, 41087 (“this is the first Martin in the Massanutten Settlement, founder of my line in Virginia” (Martin Whitehouse b. 1743) Dean Franklin Coffman)
- Christian, b. c1710
- Michael, b. 1714, d. 1788 Rockingham Co., Virginia
- David b. c1716, d. Shanandoah Co., Virginia

1a, b, c [Mennonites settled in Lancaster Co., PA]

In 1727 the British government declared that because of the great number of foreigners arriving in America it was now necessary to keep lists of those entering the country. On Sept. 14, 1727 the following resolution was passed:

" That the masters of the vessels, importing Germans and others from the continent of Europe, shall be examined whether they have leave granted them by the Court of Great Britain for the importation of these foreigners, and that a LIST be taken of all these people, their several occupations, and place from whence they came, and shall be further examined touching their intentions in coming hither; and that a writing be drawn up for them to sign, declaring their allegiance and subjection to the King of Great Britain, and fidelity to the Proprietary of this Province, and that they will demean themselves peaceably towards all His Majesty's subjects, and observe and conform to the Laws of England and the Government of Pennsylvania." Col. Rec., pp 29, 283.

All males, aged 16 years and older were to be listed, after signing the oath of allegiance or making their marks if they could not write.

Below are listed several Kauffman's recorded as coming to Pennsylvania between 1727 and 1776 - from the ships lists:

2. Johan Koofman entered Philadelphia Sept. 21, 1727.
3. Henry (Heinrich) Kauffman, Sept. 30, 1727 on ship "Molly" from Rotterdam.
4. Hans Kaufmann came Aug. 23, 1728 on the "Mortonhouse".
5. John Kaufmann, age 43; entered Aug. 17,1733 on ship "Samuel" from Rotterdam.
6. KF-Isaac Kauffman, age 55; Hans Kauffmann age 24; and Isaac Jr. age 19 entered Sept. 24, 1737, on ship "Virtuous Grace" from Rotterdam [Amish] ---matching DNA tests : kit # 51755, 20382, 44817, 14790, 98180 - through KF3, KF4, KF5.
6a. - Joseph N. Kaufman and family immigrated to America from the Volhynia region of the Ukraine in 1874 - source Barry Kaufman, kit # N52490. Joseph N. is a descendant of Michael Kauffman, brother to KF-Isaac.

7. Hans Jacob Kauffman, Barbara, Anna Maria, and Abraham under 16 entered Oct.3, 1737 on ship "Charming Polly" from Amsterdam.
8. John Jurg Kaufmann, age 20, entered Sept 20, 1738, on "Nancy and Frederick" from Rotterdam.
9. Augustus Kaufmann came Oct. 2, 1741 on the "St. Andrew" from Rotterdam. On the same ship was Hans, age 25, and Philip, age 34.
10. Friedrich Kaufman came Sept. 21, 1742 on the "Francis & Elizabeth".
11. Johannes and Christian Kaufmann came Sept. 27, 1746 on the "Ann Galley" from Rotterdam.
12. John Adam Kaufmann came Oct. 9, 1747 on the "Restoration" from Rotterdam
13. Samuel Kaufmann came Sept. 9 1749, on the "St. Andrew" from Rotterdam.
14. Joseph, Christian, and Jacob Kaufmann, came Sept. I5, 1749, on the "Phoenix" from Rotterdam. Passengers on ship were from Zweibrucken and Wurttemberg. [Settled in Bern Twp., Berks, Co., PA]
15. Peter and Isaac Kaufmann came Sept. 19, 1749, from Rotterdam.
16. John and Christian Kauffmann came Aug. 21, 1750, on the "Osgood" from Rotterdam.
17. Gottlieb Kaufmann came Sept. 29,1750, from Rotterdam.
18. Christian Kaufmann came Nov. 3, 1750, on the ''Brothernood'' from Rotterdam.
19. Jacob Kaufmann came Sept. 16 1751.
20. John Kaufmann came Oct. 7,1751, on the "Janet" from Rotterdam.
21. Jacob Kaufmann came Sept. 23,1752, on "St. Andrew" from Rotterdam.
22. Jacob Kaufmann came Sept. 14, 1753, on the "Edinborough" from Rotterdam.
23. Carl Henry Jacob Kaufman came Sept. 30, 1754, on the "Brothers" from Rotterdam. Passengers were from Palatinate, Maintz.
24. John Kaufmann, Sr. and Jr., came Oct 1, 1754, on tht "Phoenix" from Rotterdam. Passengers were from Palatinate and Zweibrucken.
25. John Michael Kaufmann came Oct. 22, 1754, on the "Halifax" from Rotterdam.
26. George Kaufmann came Oct. 26, 1754, on the "John and Elizabeth" from Amsterdam. Passengers were from Wurttemberg, Palatinate, Franconia.
Kauffman, William, of Conyngham, a native of Prussia, was born June 9, 1832 came to America 1854. (source: PANORTHA@rootsweb.com)
27. Christopher Kaufmann came on the "Neptune" Oct. 3, 1755, from Rotterdam.
28. John Jacob Kaufmann came Sept. 20, 1764, on the "Polly" from Rotterdam.
29. John Conrad Kaufmann came Oct. 20, 1764, on the "Richard" from Rotterdam.
30. John Reinhardt Kaufmann and Jacob Kaufmann came Oct. 27,1764, on the "Hero" from Rotterdam.
31. Valentine Kaufmann came Oct. 24, 1765, on the "Polly" from Rotterdam.
32. Jacob Kaufmann came Oct. 13,1766, on the "Betsy" from Rotterdam.
33. Christian Kaufmann came Nov. 9, 1767, on the ''Minerva'' from Rotterdam.
34. Henry Kaufmann came Aug. 19, 1797.
35. John and Henry Kaufmann came Aug. 26, 1802.

It is possible that a few may not have been included through oversight or mistakes through spelling. The major portion of these shiploads of immigrants is listed as Palatines. Women and males under sixteen are not counted, except in totals of passengers. After leaving Holland, the vessels sailed to England, probably docked at London's West India Co. wharves, and after clearance was given, sailed to Cowes, on the Isle of Wright or Portsmouth near-by. Then came the long two or more months voyage across the Atlantic. These ships were crowded with passengers whose quarters and food were filthy. Sickness and death too often cut the load of passengers to half the number who set out. Later, laws became more severe, giving the passengers some protection from the inhuman greed of the ship owners.” (John Murray)

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Other Kauffman Arrivals:

B. German (Hessian) Mercenary Soldiers
German mercenaries were troops hired by England to fight against the rebellious American colonies. England had a shortage of trained soldiers in the years 1775-1783 so the English authorities went to their cousins in Germany for help. They hired 29,875 officers and men, and paid the German princes £1,770,000 sterling. The Germans troops constituted one third of British land forces in North America during the "American Revolution"; also known as the "American War of Independence".
The German soldiers were highly trained and, as soldiers, soon earned the respect of the Americans. Congress issued several proclamations urging them to desert. It is believed that 12,554 never did return to Germany. Some were killed in action, others died of disease or accidents. About 5000 deserted and/or received permission to remain in the United States or Canada after the war. (footnotes 1, 2, 3)
These German soldiers are usually referred to as "Hessians". A quick search on the following website reveals three Kauffman men who remained in North America after the war. This list may not be complete, but does show that a few soldiers bearing the name Kaufmann (with spelling variations) did get to North America in this way.
AMREV-HESSIAN MAILING LIST WEBSITE
The Largest offering of Hessian Information on the internet.
http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~bonsteinandgilpin/g/index.htm
Listings of Hessian Soldiers by Name

36. KAUFFMANN, Christopher, Hessians of Nova Scotia.
37. Coffman, Chris., see Kauffmann, Christopher, H.of N.S.
38. Kaufmann Heinrich Jäger J II Des. 10.8.1781
39. Kaufmann, Peter, 3. Co., 1755/56 Obersuhl, D2-6/1778

Footnotes:
1 Answers.com, "German Mercenaries"; http://www.answers.com/topic/german-mercenaries
2 Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessian
3 "German Mercenaries"; http://www.revwarhome.com/germans.html

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Immigrants From the Pedigrees of those who were yDNA tested to date:

40. Theadore George Albright Kauffman 7 May 1743, Waldenberg, Hohenlohe, Wuerttemberg (Near Stuttgard) DNA kit # 68855 Robert Lee Kaufman
41. John Nicholas Coffman, b. abt 1725 in Rhineland, Germany, d. abt 1804 in Tennessee, sailed on the “Europa”, settled in Pennsylvania, we know that the Kauffmans were in Virginia prior to their final move to Arkansas.

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Sources:

- Rupp, I. Daniel, "A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French, and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania From 1727 to 1776", originally published 1876

- Kauffman, Charles Fah, "A Genealogy and History of the Kauffman-Coffman Families of North America 1585 to 1937", Published by the Author 1940

- additional notes from John Murray.

- additional names harvested from pedigree reports of those who were yDNA tested (by Don Kauffman)

Kauffman/Coffman Surname Project

Kauffman's To America

Papers/Documents: