THE COON FAMILY OF ALLEN COUNTY OHIO

GEORGE S. COON, father of WESLEY, was born in Pennsylvania(death record shows Virginia) in 1783, and after arriving at his maturety he removed to Kentucky and married there(not proven). some time later he removed to Ohio, (Proof;early tax records show 1807-1808 Belmont co.richland twp. ohio 1809 wheeling twp. Belmont co. ohio)most of his children were born in belmont co..subsequently he removed to Logan co. ohio.(proof;1830-census).in 1832 he purchased 80 acres of land in section 4, Shawnee township, Allen co. Ohio, to which he afterward added forty acres. on the original eighty acres he erected his log cabin in the woods, and cleared up his farm, and followed farming there the remaindes of his days, dying in 1873(proof;death record show 1871)He was married twice; first to CHRISTIANA MOORE, in Kentucky(not proven),in the 1804,(proof; marriage record for a george coone m. senna moore 1804 belmont co.may be this george coon)by her he had 15 children; PHOEBE, who married THOMAS HALL; ALEXANDER,WESLEY, MAHALA,ASA,NOAH,MARGARET who married WILLIAM MILLER,GEORGE J.,ABIGAIL who married william cattles, TOBIAS(moved to michigan) AMY who married fredrick reese,MARY who married thomas young and after his death married thomas gaylord, ELIZABETH who married phillip coon(proof;marriage record in belmont co. ohio in 1828), ISAAC, and JOHN, who died in infancy.the second wife of GEORGE COON was SUSANNAH WRIGHT(proof; marriage record in 1844 allen co. ohio).they had five children; maria,martha,joannes m.of paulding co. franklin of sugar creek twp allen co. ohio and susannah. GEORGE COON the father of these twenty children, was a prominent member of the church of god, and lies buried in the shawnee township cemetery. he always took great interest in public affairs, but was at the same time comestic in habits and devoted his life to his family affairs. he was a good citizen and was highly respected by all who knew him.

WESLEY COON of Shawnee townwship, Allen co. ohio, descends from a family whose members were in america prior to the Revolutionary War. WESLEY was the third of GEORGE S.COON, he was born in 1807 in belmont co. ohio. in this county he was reared and educated in the old log school house. upon arriving at maturety he located in logan co. ohio with his brother alexander, following various employments wntil 1832, when he removed to allen co. ohio. he bought 80 acres of land in section no. 4 which he converted into a good farm, upon he lived the remainder of his days, his death occuring in 1866.politically he was whig, but later became a republican. religiously he was reared a Quaker, and through his entire life adhered to this faith.he married mary flynn, daughter of thomas and polly flynn, who were of irish descent, and residents of shawnee twp.Mrs coon died in 1856 leaving five children; joshua b. philena,of van wert co. caleb of shawnee twp, sarah a;wife of thomas gorham. of ontario canada, and mary a. wife of henry hungester, his second wife was caroline craft by whom he had three children; lydia wife of william benedum, rachel wife of scott rumbaugh, and nettie wife of william neley.

JOSHUA B. COON , the eldest son of wesley, was born 1-23-1842 on th old homestead. he was brought up on the farm and inured to all kinds of farm labor, and he received his education in the common schools. when the war of the rebellion broke out in 1861, he enlisted in company E., forty-sixth ohio bolunteer infantry, and served his country as a soldier three years and nine months. he participated in the battles of shiloh,corinth and vicksburg,miss. in the battles of missionary tidge, of resaca, ga. of new hope church of kenesaw mountain, of peach tree creek and of atlanta, and he went on the march through georgia to the sea. from savannah he went on up through the carolinas, and was a portion of the grand review at washington, D.C.he served under gen. john a logan,in the fifteenth army corps, which corps veteranized in 1864. at the close of the war he returned to allen county, and purchased his present farm in section no. 5 shawnee township. his purchase comprised eighty acres of land, which he himself cleared and to which he subsequently added forty acres more, so that now he has 120 acres of excellent farming land. in 1889 he began dairing and 1891 began making a specialty of butter making, which he has continued ever since, making on an average 3,000 puonds per year.

mr. coon has three times held the office of township trustee, and he has also held other minor offices. he is an active and influential member of the republican party, always interested in his party's success/ he is also a member of mart. armstrong post, no.202 G.A.R. and of the methodist episcopal church and takes an acrive interest in its work and success.

he was married to mary b. buckley, daughter of william and eliza buckley, the ceremony taking place in 1866. they had the following children; naocia, maud charles, mary a., and virgil n.. mr coon is, as will have been seen by most prominent, enterprising, and patriotic citizen, earnest in all good work for every honorable department of human interest.