Almira Adams Coon is buried in Section 1, Lot 64 along with her sons Edward Coon and William H. Coon Jr., and grand-daughter Stella (daughter of Edward). Her son John Coon may also be buried in that lot, however, the records at the cemetery have not recorded his burial location. There are no grave markers for the Coons on Lot 64.
WILLIAM HENRY COON
1816-1898
William Henry Coon, son of James Coon and Eunice Ellsworth, was born in October 1816 in the area of Sacketts Harbor, New York. Little is known of William's life as a youth. His name does not appear in any public or private records before 1840, however, various public records identify his widowed mother and two sisters living in the area of Henderson and Adams in Jefferson County, New York. It is presumed that William was living there too. He first appears as a married man in the 1840 New York Federal Census, living in the town of Hempstead in Queens, Long Island. From that point on he is consistently found in the public records of Ohio and Michigan where it is revealed that he was married four times, had seven children, and lived to the age of 81 years. His obituary states that he passed the earlier days of his life in his native state and, while yet in his twenties, followed the famous Horace Greeley's advice and came West, landing at the site of the city of Cleveland--his first stop on the way to Ludington, Michigan.
William and his first wife Hannah were married around 1839, probably near William's hometown in Jefferson County, New York. In the year 1843 or 1844 William, Hannah, and their two young daughters moved to Ohio where they resided just outside of Cleveland in the small village of Brooklyn (or Brooklyn Centre). It was here that Hannah died, perhaps during childbirth. Seven weeks later, on 6 November 1847, William married 15 year old Mary Ann Kellogg. This must certainly have been a marriage of necessity since William had three daughters under age seven and perhaps a newborn baby that needed immediate care. Because a wife needed to be found quickly, Mary Ann may have already been known to William. It is speculated that she may have been the sister of his first wife, Hannah. The marriage was short-lived however. Mary Ann died 16 months later, leaving William a widower for the second time. Then, three months later, he married for the third time to Almira Adams* in Brooklyn on 23 June 1849. They had four children. The family lived in Elyria Village, Lorain County, Ohio, between 1850 and 1864. They briefly resided in Wellington in the same county at the close of the Civil War.
While a resident of Ohio, William Coon served during the Civil War in Company B of the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He mustered in as a private on October 13, 1861 at Camp Chase in Wilmington, Ohio for a term of three years. At 44 years old he was one of the oldest men in the Company. His service record describes him as 5'10" tall, with black eyes, gray hair and a fair complexion. He was listed as occupied as a cooper but erroneously noted as born in Ohio. His primary duty during his service was that of cook. He served as hospital cook (July-Nov 1862), company cook (Feb & Oct 1863; Feb-Mar 1864), and as the captain's cook (Apr-Jul 1864). His final duty before being mustered out was that of guard to the Division Supply Train (Nov 1864).
* Almira Adams is purported to be descended from Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
On several occasions William was absent from duty. For one week in June 1863 he was sent to a convalescent camp at Ft. Pickering in Memphis, Tennessee due to acute diarrhea. He also had a 30-day furlough beginning on August 10, 1863. According to a family friend, Madeline Turner (nee Gott), he went home to Ohio during that time period. Then in November 1864 he was sent to the hospital at Marietta, Georgia for an undisclosed reason.
The activities of the 43rd Ohio were many. The infantry joined in the Siege of Atlanta from July 22 through August 25, 1864, and won praises of splendid and steady fighting for advancing the lines on August 4th and 7th. It was during this campaign (around July 26) that William Coon was injured when his musket backfired and a piece of gun cap hit him in the right eye. He did not go to the hospital for treatment and eventually lost his sight in that eye. Then in November of the same year, William was sent to the back of the ranks and mustered out of the service on 26 December 1864 at Louisville, Kentucky.
After his return from the war William and Almira moved their family to Mason County, Michigan in July 1866. One account in the Mason County Record of 9 June 1868 reports that new settlers are moving into [the county] and clearing up new farms and otherwise making valuable improvements. William Coon was one of those settlers. His farm was 86 acres of homestead property in Amber Township. Today that property is sandwiched between Gordon and LaSalle Roads at the Decker Road intersection. A small pond is located on the north side of the property but over a century ago it was much larger and known as Mud Lake, Chandler Lake, or Coon Lake. The property was in the midst of hardwood forests with only trails leading to Amber Village and Sugar Grove. Among their neighbors were the Congers and Gensons who eventually married into the family. The Coons lived on their Amber Township property from 1866 through 1872. In May 1873 they sold it to Delos Filer. The family subsequently moved to Charles Street in Ludington.
Throughout William's life his occupation was primarily that of a cooper and farmer but he also participated in local government. While living in Mason County, Michigan he was appointed to the County Committee (representing the township of Lincoln) for 2 years beginning in September 1882. In 1884 he was elected to a four year term as Justice of the Peace for Lincoln Township. But as he grew older, work was not easy for him. He slowly went blind in one eye and by the 1880s he was so impaired that he could no longer work at his trade of coopering. Between 1886 and 1891 he applied for a military pension due to the eye injury he sustained during the war. He received a pension of $4 per month which was increased to $6 per month by 1891. His application for pension was supported with testimonials from family friends and fellow soldiers.
Testimony of Moses E. Gott, 26 July 1886 as recorded by notary:
. . . he knew the claimant before he entered the Service of the United States & said claimant was a sound man. There was nothing the matter with his eyes or either of them. He was a cooper by trade. Claimant worked for my father [Adolphus Gott] at his trade both before and after he was in the service in the State of Ohio. Claimant & I came to this county from Ohio together. I have worked with claimant at the cooper's trade since his return from the army in the years 1868 & 1869. He did at that time about two-thirds as much work as he did before the war at the same kind of work. He earned from $6.00 to $8.00 per week in '68 & '69. Others earned at the same labor, $10.00 to $12.00 per week. From that time till now his disability has steadily increased till at the present time he cannot see well enough to make tight barrels & he has to find other employment to make a living by.
Testimony from Medaline [sic] L. Turner, 21 July 1888 as recorded by notary:
Deponent was well acquainted with applicant Wm Henry Coon before he Enlisted in the Army for the Suppression of the Rebellion in 1861-5. Deponent Saw applicant When he first returned from the Army in 1863 and deponent lived a near Nabore to applicant for Some Fifteen Years and our families [Gotts] Were intimate and visited back and forth and I have actual knowledge that applicant went into the Army a well Man and both Eyes were good and when he returned from the Army his right Eye Sight was nearly gone but I thought he could see a little, but I don’t think he can See any more and applicant told deponent that his Eye was injured by the Explosion of a gun Cap in the line of his duty in the Army. He was a loyal Man and of good habits.
After almost 30 years of marriage his third wife, Almira, died in 1878. A year later William married for the fourth and last time to Clarissa Elliott Gott, a family friend. They married on 14 November 1879 and remained together until Clarissa's death in 1894. When Clarissa died William moved to the home of his daughter, Lovilla McMullen. He remained there until his death on July 31, 1898. His obituary begins William H. Coon died at noon last Sunday of old age, being eighty-one years and nine months old. He had been in feeble health for some months and his death was not unexpected. He was buried on 2 August 1898 at Lakeview Cemetery in the GAR Lot.
WILLIAM HENRY COON
1816-1898
William Henry Coon, son of James Coon and Eunice Ellsworth, was born in October 1816 in the area of Sacketts Harbor, New York. Little is known of William's life as a youth. His name does not appear in any public or private records before 1840, however, various public records identify his widowed mother and two sisters living in the area of Henderson and Adams in Jefferson County, New York. It is presumed that William was living there too. He first appears as a married man in the 1840 New York Federal Census, living in the town of Hempstead in Queens, Long Island. From that point on he is consistently found in the public records of Ohio and Michigan where it is revealed that he was married four times, had seven children, and lived to the age of 81 years. His obituary states that he passed the earlier days of his life in his native state and, while yet in his twenties, followed the famous Horace Greeley's advice and came West, landing at the site of the city of Cleveland--his first stop on the way to Ludington, Michigan.
William and his first wife Hannah were married around 1839, probably near William's hometown in Jefferson County, New York. In the year 1843 or 1844 William, Hannah, and their two young daughters moved to Ohio where they resided just outside of Cleveland in the small village of Brooklyn (or Brooklyn Centre). It was here that Hannah died, perhaps during childbirth. Seven weeks later, on 6 November 1847, William married 15 year old Mary Ann Kellogg. This must certainly have been a marriage of necessity since William had three daughters under age seven and perhaps a newborn baby that needed immediate care. Because a wife needed to be found quickly, Mary Ann may have already been known to William. It is speculated that she may have been the sister of his first wife, Hannah. The marriage was short-lived however. Mary Ann died 16 months later, leaving William a widower for the second time. Then, three months later, he married for the third time to Almira Adams* in Brooklyn on 23 June 1849. They had four children. The family lived in Elyria Village, Lorain County, Ohio, between 1850 and 1864. They briefly resided in Wellington in the same county at the close of the Civil War.
While a resident of Ohio, William Coon served during the Civil War in Company B of the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He mustered in as a private on October 13, 1861 at Camp Chase in Wilmington, Ohio for a term of three years. At 44 years old he was one of the oldest men in the Company. His service record describes him as 5'10" tall, with black eyes, gray hair and a fair complexion. He was listed as occupied as a cooper but erroneously noted as born in Ohio. His primary duty during his service was that of cook. He served as hospital cook (July-Nov 1862), company cook (Feb & Oct 1863; Feb-Mar 1864), and as the captain's cook (Apr-Jul 1864). His final duty before being mustered out was that of guard to the Division Supply Train (Nov 1864).
* Almira Adams is purported to be descended from Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
On several occasions William was absent from duty. For one week in June 1863 he was sent to a convalescent camp at Ft. Pickering in Memphis, Tennessee due to acute diarrhea. He also had a 30-day furlough beginning on August 10, 1863. According to a family friend, Madeline Turner (nee Gott), he went home to Ohio during that time period. Then in November 1864 he was sent to the hospital at Marietta, Georgia for an undisclosed reason.
The activities of the 43rd Ohio were many. The infantry joined in the Siege of Atlanta from July 22 through August 25, 1864, and won praises of splendid and steady fighting for advancing the lines on August 4th and 7th. It was during this campaign (around July 26) that William Coon was injured when his musket backfired and a piece of gun cap hit him in the right eye. He did not go to the hospital for treatment and eventually lost his sight in that eye. Then in November of the same year, William was sent to the back of the ranks and mustered out of the service on 26 December 1864 at Louisville, Kentucky.
After his return from the war William and Almira moved their family to Mason County, Michigan in July 1866. One account in the Mason County Record of 9 June 1868 reports that new settlers are moving into [the county] and clearing up new farms and otherwise making valuable improvements. William Coon was one of those settlers. His farm was 86 acres of homestead property in Amber Township. Today that property is sandwiched between Gordon and LaSalle Roads at the Decker Road intersection. A small pond is located on the north side of the property but over a century ago it was much larger and known as Mud Lake, Chandler Lake, or Coon Lake. The property was in the midst of hardwood forests with only trails leading to Amber Village and Sugar Grove. Among their neighbors were the Congers and Gensons who eventually married into the family. The Coons lived on their Amber Township property from 1866 through 1872. In May 1873 they sold it to Delos Filer. The family subsequently moved to Charles Street in Ludington.
Throughout William's life his occupation was primarily that of a cooper and farmer but he also participated in local government. While living in Mason County, Michigan he was appointed to the County Committee (representing the township of Lincoln) for 2 years beginning in September 1882. In 1884 he was elected to a four year term as Justice of the Peace for Lincoln Township. But as he grew older, work was not easy for him. He slowly went blind in one eye and by the 1880s he was so impaired that he could no longer work at his trade of coopering. Between 1886 and 1891 he applied for a military pension due to the eye injury he sustained during the war. He received a pension of $4 per month which was increased to $6 per month by 1891. His application for pension was supported with testimonials from family friends and fellow soldiers.
Testimony of Moses E. Gott, 26 July 1886 as recorded by notary:
. . . he knew the claimant before he entered the Service of the United States & said claimant was a sound man. There was nothing the matter with his eyes or either of them. He was a cooper by trade. Claimant worked for my father [Adolphus Gott] at his trade both before and after he was in the service in the State of Ohio. Claimant & I came to this county from Ohio together. I have worked with claimant at the cooper's trade since his return from the army in the years 1868 & 1869. He did at that time about two-thirds as much work as he did before the war at the same kind of work. He earned from $6.00 to $8.00 per week in '68 & '69. Others earned at the same labor, $10.00 to $12.00 per week. From that time till now his disability has steadily increased till at the present time he cannot see well enough to make tight barrels & he has to find other employment to make a living by.
Testimony from Medaline [sic] L. Turner, 21 July 1888 as recorded by notary:
Deponent was well acquainted with applicant Wm Henry Coon before he Enlisted in the Army for the Suppression of the Rebellion in 1861-5. Deponent Saw applicant When he first returned from the Army in 1863 and deponent lived a near Nabore to applicant for Some Fifteen Years and our families [Gotts] Were intimate and visited back and forth and I have actual knowledge that applicant went into the Army a well Man and both Eyes were good and when he returned from the Army his right Eye Sight was nearly gone but I thought he could see a little, but I don’t think he can See any more and applicant told deponent that his Eye was injured by the Explosion of a gun Cap in the line of his duty in the Army. He was a loyal Man and of good habits.
After almost 30 years of marriage his third wife, Almira, died in 1878. A year later William married for the fourth and last time to Clarissa Elliott Gott, a family friend. They married on 14 November 1879 and remained together until Clarissa's death in 1894. When Clarissa died William moved to the home of his daughter, Lovilla McMullen. He remained there until his death on July 31, 1898. His obituary begins William H. Coon died at noon last Sunday of old age, being eighty-one years and nine months old. He had been in feeble health for some months and his death was not unexpected. He was buried on 2 August 1898 at Lakeview Cemetery in the GAR Lot.
Almira Adams Coon is buried in Section 1, Lot 64 along with her sons Edward Coon and William H. Coon Jr., and grand-daughter Stella (daughter of Edward). Her son John Coon may also be buried in that lot, however, the records at the cemetery have not recorded his burial location. There are no grave markers for the Coons on Lot 64.
WILLIAM HENRY COON
1816-1898
William Henry Coon, son of James Coon and Eunice Ellsworth, was born in October 1816 in the area of Sacketts Harbor, New York. Little is known of William's life as a youth. His name does not appear in any public or private records before 1840, however, various public records identify his widowed mother and two sisters living in the area of Henderson and Adams in Jefferson County, New York. It is presumed that William was living there too. He first appears as a married man in the 1840 New York Federal Census, living in the town of Hempstead in Queens, Long Island. From that point on he is consistently found in the public records of Ohio and Michigan where it is revealed that he was married four times, had seven children, and lived to the age of 81 years. His obituary states that he passed the earlier days of his life in his native state and, while yet in his twenties, followed the famous Horace Greeley's advice and came West, landing at the site of the city of Cleveland--his first stop on the way to Ludington, Michigan.
William and his first wife Hannah were married around 1839, probably near William's hometown in Jefferson County, New York. In the year 1843 or 1844 William, Hannah, and their two young daughters moved to Ohio where they resided just outside of Cleveland in the small village of Brooklyn (or Brooklyn Centre). It was here that Hannah died, perhaps during childbirth. Seven weeks later, on 6 November 1847, William married 15 year old Mary Ann Kellogg. This must certainly have been a marriage of necessity since William had three daughters under age seven and perhaps a newborn baby that needed immediate care. Because a wife needed to be found quickly, Mary Ann may have already been known to William. It is speculated that she may have been the sister of his first wife, Hannah. The marriage was short-lived however. Mary Ann died 16 months later, leaving William a widower for the second time. Then, three months later, he married for the third time to Almira Adams* in Brooklyn on 23 June 1849. They had four children. The family lived in Elyria Village, Lorain County, Ohio, between 1850 and 1864. They briefly resided in Wellington in the same county at the close of the Civil War.
While a resident of Ohio, William Coon served during the Civil War in Company B of the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He mustered in as a private on October 13, 1861 at Camp Chase in Wilmington, Ohio for a term of three years. At 44 years old he was one of the oldest men in the Company. His service record describes him as 5'10" tall, with black eyes, gray hair and a fair complexion. He was listed as occupied as a cooper but erroneously noted as born in Ohio. His primary duty during his service was that of cook. He served as hospital cook (July-Nov 1862), company cook (Feb & Oct 1863; Feb-Mar 1864), and as the captain's cook (Apr-Jul 1864). His final duty before being mustered out was that of guard to the Division Supply Train (Nov 1864).
* Almira Adams is purported to be descended from Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
On several occasions William was absent from duty. For one week in June 1863 he was sent to a convalescent camp at Ft. Pickering in Memphis, Tennessee due to acute diarrhea. He also had a 30-day furlough beginning on August 10, 1863. According to a family friend, Madeline Turner (nee Gott), he went home to Ohio during that time period. Then in November 1864 he was sent to the hospital at Marietta, Georgia for an undisclosed reason.
The activities of the 43rd Ohio were many. The infantry joined in the Siege of Atlanta from July 22 through August 25, 1864, and won praises of splendid and steady fighting for advancing the lines on August 4th and 7th. It was during this campaign (around July 26) that William Coon was injured when his musket backfired and a piece of gun cap hit him in the right eye. He did not go to the hospital for treatment and eventually lost his sight in that eye. Then in November of the same year, William was sent to the back of the ranks and mustered out of the service on 26 December 1864 at Louisville, Kentucky.
After his return from the war William and Almira moved their family to Mason County, Michigan in July 1866. One account in the Mason County Record of 9 June 1868 reports that new settlers are moving into [the county] and clearing up new farms and otherwise making valuable improvements. William Coon was one of those settlers. His farm was 86 acres of homestead property in Amber Township. Today that property is sandwiched between Gordon and LaSalle Roads at the Decker Road intersection. A small pond is located on the north side of the property but over a century ago it was much larger and known as Mud Lake, Chandler Lake, or Coon Lake. The property was in the midst of hardwood forests with only trails leading to Amber Village and Sugar Grove. Among their neighbors were the Congers and Gensons who eventually married into the family. The Coons lived on their Amber Township property from 1866 through 1872. In May 1873 they sold it to Delos Filer. The family subsequently moved to Charles Street in Ludington.
Throughout William's life his occupation was primarily that of a cooper and farmer but he also participated in local government. While living in Mason County, Michigan he was appointed to the County Committee (representing the township of Lincoln) for 2 years beginning in September 1882. In 1884 he was elected to a four year term as Justice of the Peace for Lincoln Township. But as he grew older, work was not easy for him. He slowly went blind in one eye and by the 1880s he was so impaired that he could no longer work at his trade of coopering. Between 1886 and 1891 he applied for a military pension due to the eye injury he sustained during the war. He received a pension of $4 per month which was increased to $6 per month by 1891. His application for pension was supported with testimonials from family friends and fellow soldiers.
Testimony of Moses E. Gott, 26 July 1886 as recorded by notary:
. . . he knew the claimant before he entered the Service of the United States & said claimant was a sound man. There was nothing the matter with his eyes or either of them. He was a cooper by trade. Claimant worked for my father [Adolphus Gott] at his trade both before and after he was in the service in the State of Ohio. Claimant & I came to this county from Ohio together. I have worked with claimant at the cooper's trade since his return from the army in the years 1868 & 1869. He did at that time about two-thirds as much work as he did before the war at the same kind of work. He earned from $6.00 to $8.00 per week in '68 & '69. Others earned at the same labor, $10.00 to $12.00 per week. From that time till now his disability has steadily increased till at the present time he cannot see well enough to make tight barrels & he has to find other employment to make a living by.
Testimony from Medaline [sic] L. Turner, 21 July 1888 as recorded by notary:
Deponent was well acquainted with applicant Wm Henry Coon before he Enlisted in the Army for the Suppression of the Rebellion in 1861-5. Deponent Saw applicant When he first returned from the Army in 1863 and deponent lived a near Nabore to applicant for Some Fifteen Years and our families [Gotts] Were intimate and visited back and forth and I have actual knowledge that applicant went into the Army a well Man and both Eyes were good and when he returned from the Army his right Eye Sight was nearly gone but I thought he could see a little, but I don’t think he can See any more and applicant told deponent that his Eye was injured by the Explosion of a gun Cap in the line of his duty in the Army. He was a loyal Man and of good habits.
After almost 30 years of marriage his third wife, Almira, died in 1878. A year later William married for the fourth and last time to Clarissa Elliott Gott, a family friend. They married on 14 November 1879 and remained together until Clarissa's death in 1894. When Clarissa died William moved to the home of his daughter, Lovilla McMullen. He remained there until his death on July 31, 1898. His obituary begins William H. Coon died at noon last Sunday of old age, being eighty-one years and nine months old. He had been in feeble health for some months and his death was not unexpected. He was buried on 2 August 1898 at Lakeview Cemetery in the GAR Lot.
WILLIAM HENRY COON
1816-1898
William Henry Coon, son of James Coon and Eunice Ellsworth, was born in October 1816 in the area of Sacketts Harbor, New York. Little is known of William's life as a youth. His name does not appear in any public or private records before 1840, however, various public records identify his widowed mother and two sisters living in the area of Henderson and Adams in Jefferson County, New York. It is presumed that William was living there too. He first appears as a married man in the 1840 New York Federal Census, living in the town of Hempstead in Queens, Long Island. From that point on he is consistently found in the public records of Ohio and Michigan where it is revealed that he was married four times, had seven children, and lived to the age of 81 years. His obituary states that he passed the earlier days of his life in his native state and, while yet in his twenties, followed the famous Horace Greeley's advice and came West, landing at the site of the city of Cleveland--his first stop on the way to Ludington, Michigan.
William and his first wife Hannah were married around 1839, probably near William's hometown in Jefferson County, New York. In the year 1843 or 1844 William, Hannah, and their two young daughters moved to Ohio where they resided just outside of Cleveland in the small village of Brooklyn (or Brooklyn Centre). It was here that Hannah died, perhaps during childbirth. Seven weeks later, on 6 November 1847, William married 15 year old Mary Ann Kellogg. This must certainly have been a marriage of necessity since William had three daughters under age seven and perhaps a newborn baby that needed immediate care. Because a wife needed to be found quickly, Mary Ann may have already been known to William. It is speculated that she may have been the sister of his first wife, Hannah. The marriage was short-lived however. Mary Ann died 16 months later, leaving William a widower for the second time. Then, three months later, he married for the third time to Almira Adams* in Brooklyn on 23 June 1849. They had four children. The family lived in Elyria Village, Lorain County, Ohio, between 1850 and 1864. They briefly resided in Wellington in the same county at the close of the Civil War.
While a resident of Ohio, William Coon served during the Civil War in Company B of the 43rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He mustered in as a private on October 13, 1861 at Camp Chase in Wilmington, Ohio for a term of three years. At 44 years old he was one of the oldest men in the Company. His service record describes him as 5'10" tall, with black eyes, gray hair and a fair complexion. He was listed as occupied as a cooper but erroneously noted as born in Ohio. His primary duty during his service was that of cook. He served as hospital cook (July-Nov 1862), company cook (Feb & Oct 1863; Feb-Mar 1864), and as the captain's cook (Apr-Jul 1864). His final duty before being mustered out was that of guard to the Division Supply Train (Nov 1864).
* Almira Adams is purported to be descended from Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
On several occasions William was absent from duty. For one week in June 1863 he was sent to a convalescent camp at Ft. Pickering in Memphis, Tennessee due to acute diarrhea. He also had a 30-day furlough beginning on August 10, 1863. According to a family friend, Madeline Turner (nee Gott), he went home to Ohio during that time period. Then in November 1864 he was sent to the hospital at Marietta, Georgia for an undisclosed reason.
The activities of the 43rd Ohio were many. The infantry joined in the Siege of Atlanta from July 22 through August 25, 1864, and won praises of splendid and steady fighting for advancing the lines on August 4th and 7th. It was during this campaign (around July 26) that William Coon was injured when his musket backfired and a piece of gun cap hit him in the right eye. He did not go to the hospital for treatment and eventually lost his sight in that eye. Then in November of the same year, William was sent to the back of the ranks and mustered out of the service on 26 December 1864 at Louisville, Kentucky.
After his return from the war William and Almira moved their family to Mason County, Michigan in July 1866. One account in the Mason County Record of 9 June 1868 reports that new settlers are moving into [the county] and clearing up new farms and otherwise making valuable improvements. William Coon was one of those settlers. His farm was 86 acres of homestead property in Amber Township. Today that property is sandwiched between Gordon and LaSalle Roads at the Decker Road intersection. A small pond is located on the north side of the property but over a century ago it was much larger and known as Mud Lake, Chandler Lake, or Coon Lake. The property was in the midst of hardwood forests with only trails leading to Amber Village and Sugar Grove. Among their neighbors were the Congers and Gensons who eventually married into the family. The Coons lived on their Amber Township property from 1866 through 1872. In May 1873 they sold it to Delos Filer. The family subsequently moved to Charles Street in Ludington.
Throughout William's life his occupation was primarily that of a cooper and farmer but he also participated in local government. While living in Mason County, Michigan he was appointed to the County Committee (representing the township of Lincoln) for 2 years beginning in September 1882. In 1884 he was elected to a four year term as Justice of the Peace for Lincoln Township. But as he grew older, work was not easy for him. He slowly went blind in one eye and by the 1880s he was so impaired that he could no longer work at his trade of coopering. Between 1886 and 1891 he applied for a military pension due to the eye injury he sustained during the war. He received a pension of $4 per month which was increased to $6 per month by 1891. His application for pension was supported with testimonials from family friends and fellow soldiers.
Testimony of Moses E. Gott, 26 July 1886 as recorded by notary:
. . . he knew the claimant before he entered the Service of the United States & said claimant was a sound man. There was nothing the matter with his eyes or either of them. He was a cooper by trade. Claimant worked for my father [Adolphus Gott] at his trade both before and after he was in the service in the State of Ohio. Claimant & I came to this county from Ohio together. I have worked with claimant at the cooper's trade since his return from the army in the years 1868 & 1869. He did at that time about two-thirds as much work as he did before the war at the same kind of work. He earned from $6.00 to $8.00 per week in '68 & '69. Others earned at the same labor, $10.00 to $12.00 per week. From that time till now his disability has steadily increased till at the present time he cannot see well enough to make tight barrels & he has to find other employment to make a living by.
Testimony from Medaline [sic] L. Turner, 21 July 1888 as recorded by notary:
Deponent was well acquainted with applicant Wm Henry Coon before he Enlisted in the Army for the Suppression of the Rebellion in 1861-5. Deponent Saw applicant When he first returned from the Army in 1863 and deponent lived a near Nabore to applicant for Some Fifteen Years and our families [Gotts] Were intimate and visited back and forth and I have actual knowledge that applicant went into the Army a well Man and both Eyes were good and when he returned from the Army his right Eye Sight was nearly gone but I thought he could see a little, but I don’t think he can See any more and applicant told deponent that his Eye was injured by the Explosion of a gun Cap in the line of his duty in the Army. He was a loyal Man and of good habits.
After almost 30 years of marriage his third wife, Almira, died in 1878. A year later William married for the fourth and last time to Clarissa Elliott Gott, a family friend. They married on 14 November 1879 and remained together until Clarissa's death in 1894. When Clarissa died William moved to the home of his daughter, Lovilla McMullen. He remained there until his death on July 31, 1898. His obituary begins William H. Coon died at noon last Sunday of old age, being eighty-one years and nine months old. He had been in feeble health for some months and his death was not unexpected. He was buried on 2 August 1898 at Lakeview Cemetery in the GAR Lot.
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