Moon, John A.

The following data is extracted from History of Madison County, Indiana.

JOHN A. MOON, the proprietor of a picture-framing establishment at No, 1418 Main street, has been a resident of Elwood for more than twenty years, and during this time has gained a substantial position among the business men of the city and a place in the confidence of those with whom he has been associated, He has witnessed the marvelous growth and development which has made this city one of the principal commercial and industrial centers of this part of the state, and has been an active participant in many of the movements which have brought this great progress about, Mr. Moon was born November 16, 1848, in Clinton County, Ohio, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Smith) Moon.

Samuel Moon, the paternal grandfather of John A. Moon, was born in Tennessee, and was a farmer all of his life, his death occurring in Clinton County, Ohio, when he was well along in years, He and his wife were the parents of a large family of children, among them Simeon, Isaac, Joshua, Asa, William, Alva, George, David, Susie, Nancy and Martha, John Smith and his wife, the maternal grandparents of John A. Moon were natives of Virginia, were farming people, and attained to ripe old age, They had a family of eight children, namely Elizabeth, Margaret, Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Lena, John and William, George Moon, father of John A. Moon, was reared in Clinton County, Ohio, where he became the owner of a farm, which he cleared and improved.

There he reared his family, spent the balance of his career, and died in 1905, at the age of eighty-four years, Mr. Moon passed away in February, and his wife survived only until the following September, when she followed him to the grave. She was a member of the Society of Friends, while he was a Universalist, They had a family of nine children: Amanda, the wife of William Kester, of Clinton County, Ohio; Emma, the widow of Peace Wallace, of that County; John A., of this review; Columbus, still living in Clinton County, Ohio; Maggie, the wife of Daniel West, of the same County; Marion, deceased; Asa, of Clinton County, Ohio; Oscar, also of that County; and Ulysses, who lives on the old homestead place there.

John A. Moon was reared on his father's farm in Clinton County, Ohio, and received his education in the public schools of Martinsville, He remained under the parental roof until he reached his majority, at which time he began his own career as a farmer on his father's place, subsequently purchasing a tract of thirty-seven acres, which he continued to farm until 1890. At that time Mr. Moon left the farm, and in the spring of 1893, after being variously employed, came to Elwood, which has since been his home. He was employed for three years at the carpenter trade and then entered the employ of R. L. Leeson, in whose department store he remained for eighteen years. Since 1911 he has been engaged in the picture framing business on his own account, a venture which has proven decidedly successful. Mr. Moon is proficient in the artistic framing of pictures, and his skillful work has enabled him to build up a large business, and many samples of his dexterity and excellent judgment are to be found in his establishment at No. 1418 Main street.

On May 18, 1872, Mr. Moon was married to Miss Maggie Page, who was born in Ohio, daughter of Lewis and Margaret Melvina (Leonard) Page, natives of southern Ohio, who became early settlers of Grant County, Indiana, and died there in middle life. Mr. and Mrs. Page had children Maggie, Kate, John, James and Elsie, After the death of his first wife, Mr. Page was again married, and had one son Henry, To Mr. and Mrs. Moon there have come three children: Lillie, who married K. 0. Chandler, of Elwood, and has two children,-Mandron and Otella; Orlan, who died on his sixth birthday; and Lora, who married Charles Osting, of Elwood, and has a daughter,-Irene. Mr. and Mrs. Moon belong to the Christian Church, and he is serving as deacon of the Elwood congregation, The pleasant family home, at No. 1301 South E. street, was erected by Mr. Moon in 1898.

Source: History of Madison County, Indiana

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