Summary Information
John R. Coons Papers
1833-1853
- Coons, John R., 1800-1852
Platteville Micro 27; Micro 792
1 reel of microfilm (35mm)
UW-Platteville Southwest Wisconsin Room / Platteville Area Research Ctr. (Map)Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Iowa lead smelter John Coons' customer account journal, mainly 1834-1835, listing lead accounts, cash, and staple groceries; receipts from the Corporation of Potosi; and accounts, 1853, of Coons' son Henry, for a general store, probably located in Potosi, Wisconsin, and including retail price information.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0792 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
From various published histories of Grant County and a booklet by H. K. Hobbs titled John and Sarah Bradbury Coons and Coons and Their Descendants, quite a bit of history of John R. Coons and his family is available in printed form.
In 1827, John R. Coons was assigned a clerkship with the St. Louis trading firm of Gratiot, Chouteau & Company; they sent John to Gratiot's Grove which later became LaFayette, Wisconsin Territory. This was located approximately 15 miles northwest of Galena, Illinois. The business included lead smelting, the sale of equipment and provisions, and fur trading with Native Americans. John was responsible for the daily operations of the trading post.
During the Black Hawk War, John enrolled in the Galena Mounted Riflemen in May 1832. According to Hobbs, the war and confrontations in the surrounding area with Native Americans upset the family. This was apparently the impetus for John and Sarah Coons to move their family to the mouth of Catfish Creek on the west side of the Mississippi River near Dubuque. It would have been here then in 1833 where John erected a lead smelting furnace under a government grant.
In 1835 John's wife Sarah purchased land near Old Belmont when it was first offered for sale. The Coons family later moved to Belmont, probably after April 1835. (The final entries of lead accounts in the microfilmed volume are dated April 31, 1835.) Sometime in 1835 John moved his family to Belmont and opened a store called Coons, Wooley & Company, which was a branch of Hooper, Peck & Scales of Galena. The Coons sold their land after Madison was chosen as the capital for the newly established Wisconsin Territory. In 1836, the Coons moved to LaFayette, Wisconsin Territory, and remained there possibly until their deaths, although it is more likely that they eventually moved to Potosi. Sarah died in 1851, and John in 1852.
Scope and Content Note
The microfilmed volume is in two distinct parts. The first is a journal (1833-1835) of the lead smelting operation owned by John R. Coons, an early pioneer and entrepreneur in the present day Grant County, Wisconsin area. While the journal is mainly dated 1834-1835, there are some 1833 entries and references to a previous journal are made. Interspersed throughout are receipts for the Corporation of Potosi. Henry B. Coons (perhaps a brother of John) and James W. Seaton (later clerk of Potosi) are listed in these receipts and were either employed by John Coons or by the Corporation of Potosi. Durning this time Potosi and LaFayette were both located in Iowa County, Michigan Territory. The second part of the volume was kept by John's son Henry B. Coons in 1853 and appears to be a daybook for a general store probably located in Potosi, as Henry lived most of his life in Potosi.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Original loaned for microfilming by Mary Doser Fiorienza, Potosi, Wisconsin, 1980. Accession Number: M80-046
Prepared for microfilm by Gregor Trinkaus-Randall and Max Evans, 1980. Processed by Anita Taylor, April 1988.
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