Henry Franklin Mohn was born October 4, 1803 in Plainfield Township, Northampton County, PA, a small settlement just north of Nazareth, PA. His father, Johannes G. Mohn (1755-1822) - see Memorial #125795153, was a native of Germany: a Hessian soldier who arrived in New York Harbor in the spring of 1776 and was later taken prisoner after the First Battle of Trenton. He was subsequently sent to a prisoner of war camp in Allentown, PA where he helped to make shoes for the Revolutionary soldiers. After the War, Henry's father worked as a shoemaker and farmer, married Catarina Metzger (1774-1813) - see Memorial #154710903), and, together, had five children, including Henry. Henry's siblings were, Elisabeth (1795-1813), Christina (1797-?), John G. Jr. (1800-1857) - see Memorial #46104708 and Peter (1806-1888) - see Memorial #64919992.

It is documented that, as a young man, Henry initially worked as a shoemaker, but he later cultivated a farm of 70 acres near Belfast, PA for about 6 years until 1828. In 1834, he began work as a grinder and stocker (a maker of wooden gunstocks) at the Boulton Gun Works in Jacobsburg, PA (part of Bushkill Township), and he continued both full time and part time there until 1857. Also during this time, he became skilled in the concoction of medicinal herbs and roots, and he traveled extensively, selling and delivering his medications to many patrons throughout the region. Later, he became the proprietor of a hotel in Brodheads, PA, which is located between Bethlehem and Nazareth, PA. He subsequently became proprietor of a different hotel located in Salisbury, Lehigh County, PA for 3 years, and then he retired.

About 1823, Henry married Eliza Fehr, the youngest daughter of John Fehr of Bushkill, Northampton County, PA. They had 11 children, 9 of whom survived infancy, including Sylvester Mohn (born 1824), Henry S. Mohn (born 1826), Charles Mohn (born February, 1828), Stephen Andrew Mohn (born 1831 died 1833), Louisa Mohn (born 1834), John J. Mohn (born 1836), Julia Mohn (born 1839), Eleanora C. Mohn (born 1843), and Helen Mohn (born 1846). Their four sons (Sylvester, Henry S., Charles, and John J.) were all Union Army veterans of the Civil War (2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry, 59th Regiment, Companies H and I). Sylvester Mohn died in 1864 from a shoulder wound caused by shell shrapnel in the battle of Deep Bottom (in Virginia). He was buried in an unmarked grave in Annapolis, MD, but his cenotaph was placed in Belfast Union Cemetery (see his record on find-a-grave, Memorial #16130971). At age 73, Henry Mohn died on March 13, 1876 and was buried in Belfast Union Cemetery. His wife, Eliza, died Sept. 22, 1890 and was buried beside Henry (see her record on find-a-grave, Memorial #72914022).

It should be mentioned that on March 16, 1828, Henry Mohn became one of 16 founding members of Union Church and Cemetery in Bushkill, PA (outside of Belfast, PA) by donating either money and/or an acre of land and by signing a revised church constitution. Henry's donation included a portion of his farm which is, today, the site of St. Luke's UCC Church and Belfast Union Cemetery. For many years, Union Church and Cemetery (as they were known then) collectively served Lutheran, Moravian, and Dutch Reformed congregations. Over time, many local people called Union Church and Cemetery, “Henry's Church and Cemetery,” because members of the Henry family, who operated the nearby Henry Rifle Manufactory in Jacobsburg (also known as the Boulton Gun Works), first proposed and encouraged its establishment. Today, the expanded and rebuilt Union Church and Cemetery, located just outside of Belfast, PA, is now called St. Luke's United Church of Christ and Belfast Union Cemetery.