For many years having followed farming in LaSalle county, Mr. Moon is now living retired in Streator, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He is one of the extensive land-owners of the community, and his property has all been acquired entirely through his well directed efforts. A native of Eden township, LaSalle county, he was born January 27, 1834, his parents being Albert and Elizabeth Moon. The father was born in Virginia, in 1808, and the mother's birth occurred in Kentucky, January 28, 1818. The Moon family was probably established in the Old Dominion at an early period in its history, for the paternal grandfather of our subject, who was of Scotch and English descent, was a native of that state, and there resided until after his marriage. In 1833 he became one of the pioneer settlers of Illinois, making his home in Reading township, Livingston county, until called to his final rest. Albert Moon, the father of our subject, was reared to manhood in Greene county, Ohio, and when twenty-four years of age cast in his lot with the early settlers of LaSalle county, his home being on a farm near Tonica. At the time of the Indian massacre in the Black Hawk war there was a company of sixteen organized at Ottawa to bury the victims of the savage cruelty, and Mr. Moon was among the number chosen for that purpose. In the winter of 1833 he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Boyle, a daughter of David and Rachel Boyle, who settled in Putnam county, Illinois, in 1829. Four children were born of this union: Ammon B., of this review; Salanda, wife of Mr. Sawyer; Matilda, wife of H. B. Schuler, of Chicago, Illinois; and Jacob W., who is living at Iowa Falls, Iowa. In 1834 the father of this family disposed of his property in LaSalle county and the following year purchased a tract of land in Reading township, Livingston county. There he carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred on the 19th of November, 1865.
During his infancy Ammon Moon was taken to Livingston county, where the days of his boyhood and youth were passed upon his father's farm. He assisted in its cultivation, and after acquiring a practical English education in the common schools he began farming on his own account, his early training in the fields then proving of practical value to him. He secured a farm on section 34, Eagle township, erected thereon a frame residence in the fall of 1856, and the following spring took possession of the place and began its development and improvement. Soon the land was transformed into richly cultivated fields, which yielded to the owner a golden tribute. As time passed he extended the boundaries of his place until it comprised four hundred and eighty acres, and he made excellent improvements upon it, erecting substantial buildings and replacing the first residence with a modern and commodious brick structure in 1872. At other times he has purchased property elsewhere, and in addition to the old homestead he has one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 33 and one hundred and sixty on section 27, making an aggregate of eight hundred acres. After a long and active life upon the farm, during which he won most gratifying success, he retired to private life in 1893, taking up his abode in Streator, where he is now living, surrounded with the comforts which make existence most pleasant.
On the 8th of October, 1856, Mr. Moon was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Lyon, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Mills) Lyon. Her father, who was born in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1818, died in Pontiac, Illinois, in 1892, and her mother, who also was a native of the Buckeye state, passed away in Pontiac, in 1882. To Mr. and Mrs. Moon were born five children, but two are now deceased, namely: Carrie, who died in infancy, and Lillie, who died at the age of five years. The three children now living are Nellie I., William A. and Estelle E. Nellie I. married William Turner and has two children, - Guy F. and Harry. In 1882 Mr. Turner passed away and his widow afterward became the wife of Dr. O. J. Raub, of Abilene, Kansas, and by this marriage there is one boy, named Stanley. Estelle E. became the wife of Dr. O. D. Holland, of Streator, and they have one son, named Parke.
Mr. Moon is one of the oldest native sons of LaSalle county, and through more than six decades he has watched with interest the progress and improvement which have marked the onward march of time, ever bearing his part in the same. He has been a citizen loyal and true, and in the management of his business affairs he has accumulated a handsome property, which is the merited reward of his earnest, honest labors.
Extracted by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois published in 1900, volume 1, pages 200-203.
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
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Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
