Philip Coontz a German born in New Jersey in 1762, for awhile a citizen of Pennsylvania, was an early settler where Huffman post office now stands. He was a large man, high tempered, but a good citizen. His hunting shirt reached his heels and he was a veritable Nimrod. After leaving Pennsylvania he lived with a sister near Hagerstown, Maryland; then he located at Cumberland, and finally took up his abode in Cheat Valley, where the magnificent hunting charmed him. While there his first wife Mary Heflebower died. He then pushed into Barbour and took up his abode near Huffman. In the vicinity lived John Barnhouse, whose daughter Barbara became the second wife of Philip Coontz. They were married in 1775 by Robert Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace on Leading Creek. On the marriage license the name is spelled "Kunce". The date of his coming to Barbour is in doubt. It is related that he was following a wounded wolf when news reached him of the murder of Adam Stalnaker, who was killed near Beverly in the summer of 1782 by Timothy Dorman and his band of Indians. This would place him among the earliest of Barbour County. While living at Huffman several of his children were born (he had seventeen). He was a mill-builder, and wherever he went he could be tracked by his mills. He had a mill and a distillery near Huffman and his place was famous among travelers. He built his second mill at the mouth of Hunter's Fork. This mill was burned by a forest fire. He built his next at the mouth of the Mud Gut, and here he erected a three-story house and spent the remainder of his days, dying in 1856, at age 94. The ruins of his house ant the mill are still seen. He could remember the Revolution and his brother volunteered for service. His sister died 1852, at age 104 years.
The descendants of Philips Coontz are scattered far and wide. Thirteen of his children grew up to be men and women. One of his daughters married and went to Texas; another daughter and son, Lawernce, went west and were never heard of. Henry went to Ohio (Marietta) in 1841. John was the oldest son, and was born in 1800, settled on Sugar Creek and raised nine children, all of whom remained in Barbour County. John Coonts was noted for the fine horses which he kept. Adam settled at Little Laurel, on the Valley River. Frederick was a great hunter and a noted traveler. He claimed to have built the first cabin on the site of Chicago. He lived for a time with the Indians, and finally returned to his old home and died on Sugar Creek, leaving a snug fortune to his five children. He died at the age of 84 years. During the Civil War members of the family faught in both armies.
Note He BIOGRAPHY: Violet Gadd Coonts, author, "The Western Waters: Early Settlers of Eastern Barbour County, West Virginia," (Denver, CO: Stephen P. Coonts, 1991), page 81.
Information from Biography:
"There was an Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek in John BARNHOUSE's Deed of April 26, 1802.
This was a fork of Sugar Creek renamed Wolf Run by Philip COONTZ, because a wounded wolf he was pursuing died in the creek. Philip COONTZ purchased 125 acres in 1806 near his father-in-law John BARNHOUSE, and the Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek was the right hand fork that Philip COONTZ lived near and renamed Wolf Run.
While a creek name was in the process of changing, it might appear by first one name and then the other. This was true of the name Elk Lick Fork in its metamorphosis to Wolf Run. The name Wolf Run was apparently finalized by 1819 when William PRICE came down the old Monongalia Road by from present Preston County and claimed a land grant on Wolf Run."
Page 282. Probably no other name in this book gave the intenerant scribes who labor over county records the difficulty they experienced with the German name COONTZ, or COONTZ. One genealogist of this family has listed 54 variations in the spelling ... Philip COONTZ was born in 1764 in Maryland, probably near Hagerstown, probably to second generation Americans. In 1792 he moved to eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ married his first wife, Mary HEFLEBOWER on May 22, 1779, in the German-Lutheran Church near Hagerstown, Maryland, in a ceremony performed by the Reverend George YOUNG. Philip then moved with older brothers, Jacob and George, to near Trout Run, Hardy County. Their neighbors were the WILSON, KITTLE, KELLER, MYERS, HUFF or HOFF, and BARNHOUSE families.
While living in Hardy County, Philip and Mary had a son, Solomon COONS or KAHN COONS, born February 23, 1780. Solomon died on July 18, 1855, in Hardy County, age 75 years, 5 months and 18 days. At the time of his death he was living on Mill Creek, a tribuary of the Cacapon River. On his death certificate a son, Solomon, gave his father's age, but did not know the names of his father's parents.
Solomon's birth date is right on the dot for the first child of Philip and Mary (HEFLEBOWER) COONTZ, who were married May 22, 1779. Solomon COONTZ was born just nine months later - February 28, 1780. Also, Laurence, a son of Philip COONTZ by his second wife, Barbary (Barbara) (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ, named a son born in 1834 Solomon. This Solomon was probably a namesake of Laurence's half-brother, Solomon.
A second son of Philip and Mary (HELFEBOWER) COONTZ was George COUNCE (COONTZ), who lived in Harrison County. He was born in 1782 and went west in the 1830's.
While living in Hardy County, Philip's first wife died.
In 1792, a Jacob COONROD began to buy land in eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ emigrated to Barbour County at that time. One WOOD's 1822 map, Jacob COONTZ was living on the extreme southern end of Randolph County on the road to Greenbrier County. On the map the name was spelled COONTZ.
Philip COONTZ married for the second time on August 31, 1795. The bride was Barbary (Barbara) BARNHOUSE, daughter of John and Mary BARNHOUSE. The BARNHOUSEs had also emigrated from Hardy County in 1792.
Barbary said on the 1850 census that she was born in Maryland. Barbary's daughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) ENGLAND, said her mother was from Hardy County when she gave the information for Barbary's death certificate. Elizabeth said Barbary was born in 1776 and died August 25, 1855, age 79.
Because many of Philip's children went west when they became mature, it is impossible today to find them all. Tradition had it that there were two sons named Henry and Philip. A Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County, but whether he was the son of Philip cannot be determined. No record of Philip II has been found.
Some of the known children of Philip and Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ who survived to adulthood were:
1. John "Jack" COONTZ, born in 1800 and died 1882. On July 23, 1819, he married Delilah ENGLAND, daughter of James and Elizabeth ENGLAND. Delilah (ENGLAND) COONTZ was born 1802 and died February 1880. Before Jack died, he lived in Huttonsville, Randolph County, but moved back to John Morgan RAMSEY's in present Barbour County and died there. His will was probated March 3, 1882.
2. Elizabeth Ann, born in 1805 and married John ENGLAND, the son of James ENGLAND, on the 18th of September 1828. John was born in 1795.
3. Frederick 'Fritz', born December 16, 1806, and died November 9, 1889. His first marriage was to Rachael POLING on February 3, 1828. Rachael was born 1809 and died 1883. Both Frederick and Rachael are buried in the Lambert Chapel churchyard cemetery in Barbour County. Frederick next married Caroline Carrie' STREETS COONTZ, the widow of Philip COONTS, who was the son of Isaac COONTS and the nephew of Frederick. Frederick 'Fritz' and Caroline were married February 16, 1886. After the death of Frederick, Carrie COONTS married Luther H. KERR on February 2, 1891.
Frederick, Phillip's son, was the son about whom all the Indian stories were later told. Family tradition has it that he went west and lived on the site of Fort Dearborn (present Detroit, Michigan) with the Indians. Since Frederick was not born until 1806, and the Indians were driven west after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, it is unlikely that Frederick lived with Indians. Also, the last battle at Fort Dearborn was in 1812, when Frederick was 6 years old.
There was a Frederick KAHN, living in Hardy County, who did live among the Indians and returned with an Indian bride, Osclita, whom he married about 1804. This Frederick was probably some relation to Philip COONTZ of Barbour. One suspects that later generations in Barbour County confused the two Fredericks.
4. Matilda COONTZ, born in 1809, married Frederick HILL, son of John HILL the Revolutionary Soldier who built a stone house used as an inn. Frederick HILL was sued in 1815 in the Randolph County Court by Philip COONTZ. There is no evidence as to the nature of the suit. Frederick HILL died in 1852. Matilda then married Garrett CADE on March 17, 1855, and they continued to reside in the stone house that John HILL had built until as late as 1863.
5. Lorence (Laurens or Laurence) COONTS was born about 1810. He married Clarissa MYERS, probably the daughter of Jacob MYERS, on April 2, 1830. Laurence died in or prior to 1834 because Clarissa COONTS, a widow, married Peter T. PHILLIPS on October 23, 1834. Clarissa named a son of her second marriage Jacob Myers PHILLIPS. Laurence's only other appearance in the county records occurred when he bought a skillet from Joseph PITMAN's estate on July 26, 1832.
6. Delila, a daughter, was born in 1814 and married William PHILLIPS on September 29, 1838.
7. Rebecca, a daughter, was born about 1816, and was married on December 9, 1838, to Enos JOHNSON. Rebecca and Enos JOHNSON were reputed to have emigrated to Texas, but they were still in Barbour County in 1852 when Enos attended the estate sale of Frederick HILL. This couple may have gone with other members of the family when they emigrated to Ohio in 1856.
8. Henry, a son, was born probably about 1818. According to a family account in the 'History of Barbour County,' he was reputed to have gone west. However, a Henry COONTZ was living in Preston county by the BARNHOUSEs. Then, about 1836, a Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County on the Beverly Pike by Jimtown
.
9. Eve, a daughter born in 1822, married Jacob THORN, the son of John THORN and grandson of Frederick THORN. This couple was still alive and living in Barbour County when the 1880 census was taken.
10. Adam A., born in 1820, married Emily THORN, born in 1825. This couple settled on Laurel Creek, which was the lower part of Sugar Creek, where it empties into the Tygart Valley River. Adam A. also owned land on Roaring Creek at Womelsdorf.
This researcher believes that Philip COONTZ was taken to Ohio by his granddaughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) LANTZ, and probably died there. There is no tombstone or death certificate or estate settlement on record for Philip COONTZ of Barbour County. When Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ died on August 25, 1855, two sons, John and Frederick, paid two dollars an acre for the 986 acre farm on which she had been living. This land had been surveyed in 1792 by William BLAIR, the former assistant surveyor in the party that Ralph HUNT kept busy between 1787 to 1790.
This was preempted land, but there is absolutely no record of a reason why the sons of Philip and Barbary were entitled to the 986 acres, which no doubt had originally been claimed as a thousand acres.
The Commonwealth of Virginia always charged for preempted land and the COONTZ mend must have had some claim or they would not have been entitled to buy it. It is believed that only John and Frederick could produce the cash to buy the land - actually to clear the title - after so many years.
Philip COONTZ of Barbour County was apparently not a Revolutionary Soldier. He was not listed in the 1840 census as a Revolutionary Soldier, when those remaining alive were tabulated. By 1840 the laws had become so lenient that anyone who had served anywhere was placed on the pension list. In effect the military pension system functioned after 1840 in much the same way as Social Security does today. Yet Philip never applied.
This researcher believes that Philip's older brothers, John and Frederick were old enough to have served in the Revolution."
Birth* 1762 He was born in 1762 at New Jersey.1
He was the son of Elder John Jacob Coontz and Mary Magdalena Eve Summers.
Marriage* 22 May 1779 Philip Coontz married Mary Heflebower on 22 May 1779 at Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.1
Marriage* 31 August 1795 Philip Coontz married Barbara Barnhouse, daughter of John Barnhouse and Mary Talbot, on 31 August 1795 at Randolph County, West Virginia; They were married by Robert Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace on Leading Creek. On the marriage license the name is spelled " Kunce".1
Census* 29 July 1850 Philip Coontz appeared on the census of 29 July 1850 at Barbour County, Virginia; Name: Philip Coontz
Age: 86
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1764
Birth Place: Maryland
Gender: Male
Home in 1850: District 5, Barbour, Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Philip Coontz 86
Barbara Coontz 71.2
Death* 1856 He died in 1856 at Barbour County, Virginia.
The descendants of Philips Coontz are scattered far and wide. Thirteen of his children grew up to be men and women. One of his daughters married and went to Texas; another daughter and son, Lawernce, went west and were never heard of. Henry went to Ohio (Marietta) in 1841. John was the oldest son, and was born in 1800, settled on Sugar Creek and raised nine children, all of whom remained in Barbour County. John Coonts was noted for the fine horses which he kept. Adam settled at Little Laurel, on the Valley River. Frederick was a great hunter and a noted traveler. He claimed to have built the first cabin on the site of Chicago. He lived for a time with the Indians, and finally returned to his old home and died on Sugar Creek, leaving a snug fortune to his five children. He died at the age of 84 years. During the Civil War members of the family faught in both armies.
Note He BIOGRAPHY: Violet Gadd Coonts, author, "The Western Waters: Early Settlers of Eastern Barbour County, West Virginia," (Denver, CO: Stephen P. Coonts, 1991), page 81.
Information from Biography:
"There was an Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek in John BARNHOUSE's Deed of April 26, 1802.
This was a fork of Sugar Creek renamed Wolf Run by Philip COONTZ, because a wounded wolf he was pursuing died in the creek. Philip COONTZ purchased 125 acres in 1806 near his father-in-law John BARNHOUSE, and the Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek was the right hand fork that Philip COONTZ lived near and renamed Wolf Run.
While a creek name was in the process of changing, it might appear by first one name and then the other. This was true of the name Elk Lick Fork in its metamorphosis to Wolf Run. The name Wolf Run was apparently finalized by 1819 when William PRICE came down the old Monongalia Road by from present Preston County and claimed a land grant on Wolf Run."
Page 282. Probably no other name in this book gave the intenerant scribes who labor over county records the difficulty they experienced with the German name COONTZ, or COONTZ. One genealogist of this family has listed 54 variations in the spelling ... Philip COONTZ was born in 1764 in Maryland, probably near Hagerstown, probably to second generation Americans. In 1792 he moved to eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ married his first wife, Mary HEFLEBOWER on May 22, 1779, in the German-Lutheran Church near Hagerstown, Maryland, in a ceremony performed by the Reverend George YOUNG. Philip then moved with older brothers, Jacob and George, to near Trout Run, Hardy County. Their neighbors were the WILSON, KITTLE, KELLER, MYERS, HUFF or HOFF, and BARNHOUSE families.
While living in Hardy County, Philip and Mary had a son, Solomon COONS or KAHN COONS, born February 23, 1780. Solomon died on July 18, 1855, in Hardy County, age 75 years, 5 months and 18 days. At the time of his death he was living on Mill Creek, a tribuary of the Cacapon River. On his death certificate a son, Solomon, gave his father's age, but did not know the names of his father's parents.
Solomon's birth date is right on the dot for the first child of Philip and Mary (HEFLEBOWER) COONTZ, who were married May 22, 1779. Solomon COONTZ was born just nine months later - February 28, 1780. Also, Laurence, a son of Philip COONTZ by his second wife, Barbary (Barbara) (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ, named a son born in 1834 Solomon. This Solomon was probably a namesake of Laurence's half-brother, Solomon.
A second son of Philip and Mary (HELFEBOWER) COONTZ was George COUNCE (COONTZ), who lived in Harrison County. He was born in 1782 and went west in the 1830's.
While living in Hardy County, Philip's first wife died.
In 1792, a Jacob COONROD began to buy land in eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ emigrated to Barbour County at that time. One WOOD's 1822 map, Jacob COONTZ was living on the extreme southern end of Randolph County on the road to Greenbrier County. On the map the name was spelled COONTZ.
Philip COONTZ married for the second time on August 31, 1795. The bride was Barbary (Barbara) BARNHOUSE, daughter of John and Mary BARNHOUSE. The BARNHOUSEs had also emigrated from Hardy County in 1792.
Barbary said on the 1850 census that she was born in Maryland. Barbary's daughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) ENGLAND, said her mother was from Hardy County when she gave the information for Barbary's death certificate. Elizabeth said Barbary was born in 1776 and died August 25, 1855, age 79.
Because many of Philip's children went west when they became mature, it is impossible today to find them all. Tradition had it that there were two sons named Henry and Philip. A Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County, but whether he was the son of Philip cannot be determined. No record of Philip II has been found.
Some of the known children of Philip and Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ who survived to adulthood were:
1. John "Jack" COONTZ, born in 1800 and died 1882. On July 23, 1819, he married Delilah ENGLAND, daughter of James and Elizabeth ENGLAND. Delilah (ENGLAND) COONTZ was born 1802 and died February 1880. Before Jack died, he lived in Huttonsville, Randolph County, but moved back to John Morgan RAMSEY's in present Barbour County and died there. His will was probated March 3, 1882.
2. Elizabeth Ann, born in 1805 and married John ENGLAND, the son of James ENGLAND, on the 18th of September 1828. John was born in 1795.
3. Frederick 'Fritz', born December 16, 1806, and died November 9, 1889. His first marriage was to Rachael POLING on February 3, 1828. Rachael was born 1809 and died 1883. Both Frederick and Rachael are buried in the Lambert Chapel churchyard cemetery in Barbour County. Frederick next married Caroline Carrie' STREETS COONTZ, the widow of Philip COONTS, who was the son of Isaac COONTS and the nephew of Frederick. Frederick 'Fritz' and Caroline were married February 16, 1886. After the death of Frederick, Carrie COONTS married Luther H. KERR on February 2, 1891.
Frederick, Phillip's son, was the son about whom all the Indian stories were later told. Family tradition has it that he went west and lived on the site of Fort Dearborn (present Detroit, Michigan) with the Indians. Since Frederick was not born until 1806, and the Indians were driven west after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, it is unlikely that Frederick lived with Indians. Also, the last battle at Fort Dearborn was in 1812, when Frederick was 6 years old.
There was a Frederick KAHN, living in Hardy County, who did live among the Indians and returned with an Indian bride, Osclita, whom he married about 1804. This Frederick was probably some relation to Philip COONTZ of Barbour. One suspects that later generations in Barbour County confused the two Fredericks.
4. Matilda COONTZ, born in 1809, married Frederick HILL, son of John HILL the Revolutionary Soldier who built a stone house used as an inn. Frederick HILL was sued in 1815 in the Randolph County Court by Philip COONTZ. There is no evidence as to the nature of the suit. Frederick HILL died in 1852. Matilda then married Garrett CADE on March 17, 1855, and they continued to reside in the stone house that John HILL had built until as late as 1863.
5. Lorence (Laurens or Laurence) COONTS was born about 1810. He married Clarissa MYERS, probably the daughter of Jacob MYERS, on April 2, 1830. Laurence died in or prior to 1834 because Clarissa COONTS, a widow, married Peter T. PHILLIPS on October 23, 1834. Clarissa named a son of her second marriage Jacob Myers PHILLIPS. Laurence's only other appearance in the county records occurred when he bought a skillet from Joseph PITMAN's estate on July 26, 1832.
6. Delila, a daughter, was born in 1814 and married William PHILLIPS on September 29, 1838.
7. Rebecca, a daughter, was born about 1816, and was married on December 9, 1838, to Enos JOHNSON. Rebecca and Enos JOHNSON were reputed to have emigrated to Texas, but they were still in Barbour County in 1852 when Enos attended the estate sale of Frederick HILL. This couple may have gone with other members of the family when they emigrated to Ohio in 1856.
8. Henry, a son, was born probably about 1818. According to a family account in the 'History of Barbour County,' he was reputed to have gone west. However, a Henry COONTZ was living in Preston county by the BARNHOUSEs. Then, about 1836, a Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County on the Beverly Pike by Jimtown
.
9. Eve, a daughter born in 1822, married Jacob THORN, the son of John THORN and grandson of Frederick THORN. This couple was still alive and living in Barbour County when the 1880 census was taken.
10. Adam A., born in 1820, married Emily THORN, born in 1825. This couple settled on Laurel Creek, which was the lower part of Sugar Creek, where it empties into the Tygart Valley River. Adam A. also owned land on Roaring Creek at Womelsdorf.
This researcher believes that Philip COONTZ was taken to Ohio by his granddaughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) LANTZ, and probably died there. There is no tombstone or death certificate or estate settlement on record for Philip COONTZ of Barbour County. When Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ died on August 25, 1855, two sons, John and Frederick, paid two dollars an acre for the 986 acre farm on which she had been living. This land had been surveyed in 1792 by William BLAIR, the former assistant surveyor in the party that Ralph HUNT kept busy between 1787 to 1790.
This was preempted land, but there is absolutely no record of a reason why the sons of Philip and Barbary were entitled to the 986 acres, which no doubt had originally been claimed as a thousand acres.
The Commonwealth of Virginia always charged for preempted land and the COONTZ mend must have had some claim or they would not have been entitled to buy it. It is believed that only John and Frederick could produce the cash to buy the land - actually to clear the title - after so many years.
Philip COONTZ of Barbour County was apparently not a Revolutionary Soldier. He was not listed in the 1840 census as a Revolutionary Soldier, when those remaining alive were tabulated. By 1840 the laws had become so lenient that anyone who had served anywhere was placed on the pension list. In effect the military pension system functioned after 1840 in much the same way as Social Security does today. Yet Philip never applied.
This researcher believes that Philip's older brothers, John and Frederick were old enough to have served in the Revolution."
Birth* 1762 He was born in 1762 at New Jersey.1
He was the son of Elder John Jacob Coontz and Mary Magdalena Eve Summers.
Marriage* 22 May 1779 Philip Coontz married Mary Heflebower on 22 May 1779 at Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.1
Marriage* 31 August 1795 Philip Coontz married Barbara Barnhouse, daughter of John Barnhouse and Mary Talbot, on 31 August 1795 at Randolph County, West Virginia; They were married by Robert Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace on Leading Creek. On the marriage license the name is spelled " Kunce".1
Census* 29 July 1850 Philip Coontz appeared on the census of 29 July 1850 at Barbour County, Virginia; Name: Philip Coontz
Age: 86
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1764
Birth Place: Maryland
Gender: Male
Home in 1850: District 5, Barbour, Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Philip Coontz 86
Barbara Coontz 71.2
Death* 1856 He died in 1856 at Barbour County, Virginia.
Philip Coontz a German born in New Jersey in 1762, for awhile a citizen of Pennsylvania, was an early settler where Huffman post office now stands. He was a large man, high tempered, but a good citizen. His hunting shirt reached his heels and he was a veritable Nimrod. After leaving Pennsylvania he lived with a sister near Hagerstown, Maryland; then he located at Cumberland, and finally took up his abode in Cheat Valley, where the magnificent hunting charmed him. While there his first wife Mary Heflebower died. He then pushed into Barbour and took up his abode near Huffman. In the vicinity lived John Barnhouse, whose daughter Barbara became the second wife of Philip Coontz. They were married in 1775 by Robert Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace on Leading Creek. On the marriage license the name is spelled "Kunce". The date of his coming to Barbour is in doubt. It is related that he was following a wounded wolf when news reached him of the murder of Adam Stalnaker, who was killed near Beverly in the summer of 1782 by Timothy Dorman and his band of Indians. This would place him among the earliest of Barbour County. While living at Huffman several of his children were born (he had seventeen). He was a mill-builder, and wherever he went he could be tracked by his mills. He had a mill and a distillery near Huffman and his place was famous among travelers. He built his second mill at the mouth of Hunter's Fork. This mill was burned by a forest fire. He built his next at the mouth of the Mud Gut, and here he erected a three-story house and spent the remainder of his days, dying in 1856, at age 94. The ruins of his house ant the mill are still seen. He could remember the Revolution and his brother volunteered for service. His sister died 1852, at age 104 years.
The descendants of Philips Coontz are scattered far and wide. Thirteen of his children grew up to be men and women. One of his daughters married and went to Texas; another daughter and son, Lawernce, went west and were never heard of. Henry went to Ohio (Marietta) in 1841. John was the oldest son, and was born in 1800, settled on Sugar Creek and raised nine children, all of whom remained in Barbour County. John Coonts was noted for the fine horses which he kept. Adam settled at Little Laurel, on the Valley River. Frederick was a great hunter and a noted traveler. He claimed to have built the first cabin on the site of Chicago. He lived for a time with the Indians, and finally returned to his old home and died on Sugar Creek, leaving a snug fortune to his five children. He died at the age of 84 years. During the Civil War members of the family faught in both armies.
Note He BIOGRAPHY: Violet Gadd Coonts, author, "The Western Waters: Early Settlers of Eastern Barbour County, West Virginia," (Denver, CO: Stephen P. Coonts, 1991), page 81.
Information from Biography:
"There was an Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek in John BARNHOUSE's Deed of April 26, 1802.
This was a fork of Sugar Creek renamed Wolf Run by Philip COONTZ, because a wounded wolf he was pursuing died in the creek. Philip COONTZ purchased 125 acres in 1806 near his father-in-law John BARNHOUSE, and the Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek was the right hand fork that Philip COONTZ lived near and renamed Wolf Run.
While a creek name was in the process of changing, it might appear by first one name and then the other. This was true of the name Elk Lick Fork in its metamorphosis to Wolf Run. The name Wolf Run was apparently finalized by 1819 when William PRICE came down the old Monongalia Road by from present Preston County and claimed a land grant on Wolf Run."
Page 282. Probably no other name in this book gave the intenerant scribes who labor over county records the difficulty they experienced with the German name COONTZ, or COONTZ. One genealogist of this family has listed 54 variations in the spelling ... Philip COONTZ was born in 1764 in Maryland, probably near Hagerstown, probably to second generation Americans. In 1792 he moved to eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ married his first wife, Mary HEFLEBOWER on May 22, 1779, in the German-Lutheran Church near Hagerstown, Maryland, in a ceremony performed by the Reverend George YOUNG. Philip then moved with older brothers, Jacob and George, to near Trout Run, Hardy County. Their neighbors were the WILSON, KITTLE, KELLER, MYERS, HUFF or HOFF, and BARNHOUSE families.
While living in Hardy County, Philip and Mary had a son, Solomon COONS or KAHN COONS, born February 23, 1780. Solomon died on July 18, 1855, in Hardy County, age 75 years, 5 months and 18 days. At the time of his death he was living on Mill Creek, a tribuary of the Cacapon River. On his death certificate a son, Solomon, gave his father's age, but did not know the names of his father's parents.
Solomon's birth date is right on the dot for the first child of Philip and Mary (HEFLEBOWER) COONTZ, who were married May 22, 1779. Solomon COONTZ was born just nine months later - February 28, 1780. Also, Laurence, a son of Philip COONTZ by his second wife, Barbary (Barbara) (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ, named a son born in 1834 Solomon. This Solomon was probably a namesake of Laurence's half-brother, Solomon.
A second son of Philip and Mary (HELFEBOWER) COONTZ was George COUNCE (COONTZ), who lived in Harrison County. He was born in 1782 and went west in the 1830's.
While living in Hardy County, Philip's first wife died.
In 1792, a Jacob COONROD began to buy land in eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ emigrated to Barbour County at that time. One WOOD's 1822 map, Jacob COONTZ was living on the extreme southern end of Randolph County on the road to Greenbrier County. On the map the name was spelled COONTZ.
Philip COONTZ married for the second time on August 31, 1795. The bride was Barbary (Barbara) BARNHOUSE, daughter of John and Mary BARNHOUSE. The BARNHOUSEs had also emigrated from Hardy County in 1792.
Barbary said on the 1850 census that she was born in Maryland. Barbary's daughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) ENGLAND, said her mother was from Hardy County when she gave the information for Barbary's death certificate. Elizabeth said Barbary was born in 1776 and died August 25, 1855, age 79.
Because many of Philip's children went west when they became mature, it is impossible today to find them all. Tradition had it that there were two sons named Henry and Philip. A Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County, but whether he was the son of Philip cannot be determined. No record of Philip II has been found.
Some of the known children of Philip and Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ who survived to adulthood were:
1. John "Jack" COONTZ, born in 1800 and died 1882. On July 23, 1819, he married Delilah ENGLAND, daughter of James and Elizabeth ENGLAND. Delilah (ENGLAND) COONTZ was born 1802 and died February 1880. Before Jack died, he lived in Huttonsville, Randolph County, but moved back to John Morgan RAMSEY's in present Barbour County and died there. His will was probated March 3, 1882.
2. Elizabeth Ann, born in 1805 and married John ENGLAND, the son of James ENGLAND, on the 18th of September 1828. John was born in 1795.
3. Frederick 'Fritz', born December 16, 1806, and died November 9, 1889. His first marriage was to Rachael POLING on February 3, 1828. Rachael was born 1809 and died 1883. Both Frederick and Rachael are buried in the Lambert Chapel churchyard cemetery in Barbour County. Frederick next married Caroline Carrie' STREETS COONTZ, the widow of Philip COONTS, who was the son of Isaac COONTS and the nephew of Frederick. Frederick 'Fritz' and Caroline were married February 16, 1886. After the death of Frederick, Carrie COONTS married Luther H. KERR on February 2, 1891.
Frederick, Phillip's son, was the son about whom all the Indian stories were later told. Family tradition has it that he went west and lived on the site of Fort Dearborn (present Detroit, Michigan) with the Indians. Since Frederick was not born until 1806, and the Indians were driven west after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, it is unlikely that Frederick lived with Indians. Also, the last battle at Fort Dearborn was in 1812, when Frederick was 6 years old.
There was a Frederick KAHN, living in Hardy County, who did live among the Indians and returned with an Indian bride, Osclita, whom he married about 1804. This Frederick was probably some relation to Philip COONTZ of Barbour. One suspects that later generations in Barbour County confused the two Fredericks.
4. Matilda COONTZ, born in 1809, married Frederick HILL, son of John HILL the Revolutionary Soldier who built a stone house used as an inn. Frederick HILL was sued in 1815 in the Randolph County Court by Philip COONTZ. There is no evidence as to the nature of the suit. Frederick HILL died in 1852. Matilda then married Garrett CADE on March 17, 1855, and they continued to reside in the stone house that John HILL had built until as late as 1863.
5. Lorence (Laurens or Laurence) COONTS was born about 1810. He married Clarissa MYERS, probably the daughter of Jacob MYERS, on April 2, 1830. Laurence died in or prior to 1834 because Clarissa COONTS, a widow, married Peter T. PHILLIPS on October 23, 1834. Clarissa named a son of her second marriage Jacob Myers PHILLIPS. Laurence's only other appearance in the county records occurred when he bought a skillet from Joseph PITMAN's estate on July 26, 1832.
6. Delila, a daughter, was born in 1814 and married William PHILLIPS on September 29, 1838.
7. Rebecca, a daughter, was born about 1816, and was married on December 9, 1838, to Enos JOHNSON. Rebecca and Enos JOHNSON were reputed to have emigrated to Texas, but they were still in Barbour County in 1852 when Enos attended the estate sale of Frederick HILL. This couple may have gone with other members of the family when they emigrated to Ohio in 1856.
8. Henry, a son, was born probably about 1818. According to a family account in the 'History of Barbour County,' he was reputed to have gone west. However, a Henry COONTZ was living in Preston county by the BARNHOUSEs. Then, about 1836, a Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County on the Beverly Pike by Jimtown
.
9. Eve, a daughter born in 1822, married Jacob THORN, the son of John THORN and grandson of Frederick THORN. This couple was still alive and living in Barbour County when the 1880 census was taken.
10. Adam A., born in 1820, married Emily THORN, born in 1825. This couple settled on Laurel Creek, which was the lower part of Sugar Creek, where it empties into the Tygart Valley River. Adam A. also owned land on Roaring Creek at Womelsdorf.
This researcher believes that Philip COONTZ was taken to Ohio by his granddaughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) LANTZ, and probably died there. There is no tombstone or death certificate or estate settlement on record for Philip COONTZ of Barbour County. When Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ died on August 25, 1855, two sons, John and Frederick, paid two dollars an acre for the 986 acre farm on which she had been living. This land had been surveyed in 1792 by William BLAIR, the former assistant surveyor in the party that Ralph HUNT kept busy between 1787 to 1790.
This was preempted land, but there is absolutely no record of a reason why the sons of Philip and Barbary were entitled to the 986 acres, which no doubt had originally been claimed as a thousand acres.
The Commonwealth of Virginia always charged for preempted land and the COONTZ mend must have had some claim or they would not have been entitled to buy it. It is believed that only John and Frederick could produce the cash to buy the land - actually to clear the title - after so many years.
Philip COONTZ of Barbour County was apparently not a Revolutionary Soldier. He was not listed in the 1840 census as a Revolutionary Soldier, when those remaining alive were tabulated. By 1840 the laws had become so lenient that anyone who had served anywhere was placed on the pension list. In effect the military pension system functioned after 1840 in much the same way as Social Security does today. Yet Philip never applied.
This researcher believes that Philip's older brothers, John and Frederick were old enough to have served in the Revolution."
Birth* 1762 He was born in 1762 at New Jersey.1
He was the son of Elder John Jacob Coontz and Mary Magdalena Eve Summers.
Marriage* 22 May 1779 Philip Coontz married Mary Heflebower on 22 May 1779 at Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.1
Marriage* 31 August 1795 Philip Coontz married Barbara Barnhouse, daughter of John Barnhouse and Mary Talbot, on 31 August 1795 at Randolph County, West Virginia; They were married by Robert Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace on Leading Creek. On the marriage license the name is spelled " Kunce".1
Census* 29 July 1850 Philip Coontz appeared on the census of 29 July 1850 at Barbour County, Virginia; Name: Philip Coontz
Age: 86
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1764
Birth Place: Maryland
Gender: Male
Home in 1850: District 5, Barbour, Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Philip Coontz 86
Barbara Coontz 71.2
Death* 1856 He died in 1856 at Barbour County, Virginia.
The descendants of Philips Coontz are scattered far and wide. Thirteen of his children grew up to be men and women. One of his daughters married and went to Texas; another daughter and son, Lawernce, went west and were never heard of. Henry went to Ohio (Marietta) in 1841. John was the oldest son, and was born in 1800, settled on Sugar Creek and raised nine children, all of whom remained in Barbour County. John Coonts was noted for the fine horses which he kept. Adam settled at Little Laurel, on the Valley River. Frederick was a great hunter and a noted traveler. He claimed to have built the first cabin on the site of Chicago. He lived for a time with the Indians, and finally returned to his old home and died on Sugar Creek, leaving a snug fortune to his five children. He died at the age of 84 years. During the Civil War members of the family faught in both armies.
Note He BIOGRAPHY: Violet Gadd Coonts, author, "The Western Waters: Early Settlers of Eastern Barbour County, West Virginia," (Denver, CO: Stephen P. Coonts, 1991), page 81.
Information from Biography:
"There was an Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek in John BARNHOUSE's Deed of April 26, 1802.
This was a fork of Sugar Creek renamed Wolf Run by Philip COONTZ, because a wounded wolf he was pursuing died in the creek. Philip COONTZ purchased 125 acres in 1806 near his father-in-law John BARNHOUSE, and the Elk Lick Fork of Sugar Creek was the right hand fork that Philip COONTZ lived near and renamed Wolf Run.
While a creek name was in the process of changing, it might appear by first one name and then the other. This was true of the name Elk Lick Fork in its metamorphosis to Wolf Run. The name Wolf Run was apparently finalized by 1819 when William PRICE came down the old Monongalia Road by from present Preston County and claimed a land grant on Wolf Run."
Page 282. Probably no other name in this book gave the intenerant scribes who labor over county records the difficulty they experienced with the German name COONTZ, or COONTZ. One genealogist of this family has listed 54 variations in the spelling ... Philip COONTZ was born in 1764 in Maryland, probably near Hagerstown, probably to second generation Americans. In 1792 he moved to eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ married his first wife, Mary HEFLEBOWER on May 22, 1779, in the German-Lutheran Church near Hagerstown, Maryland, in a ceremony performed by the Reverend George YOUNG. Philip then moved with older brothers, Jacob and George, to near Trout Run, Hardy County. Their neighbors were the WILSON, KITTLE, KELLER, MYERS, HUFF or HOFF, and BARNHOUSE families.
While living in Hardy County, Philip and Mary had a son, Solomon COONS or KAHN COONS, born February 23, 1780. Solomon died on July 18, 1855, in Hardy County, age 75 years, 5 months and 18 days. At the time of his death he was living on Mill Creek, a tribuary of the Cacapon River. On his death certificate a son, Solomon, gave his father's age, but did not know the names of his father's parents.
Solomon's birth date is right on the dot for the first child of Philip and Mary (HEFLEBOWER) COONTZ, who were married May 22, 1779. Solomon COONTZ was born just nine months later - February 28, 1780. Also, Laurence, a son of Philip COONTZ by his second wife, Barbary (Barbara) (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ, named a son born in 1834 Solomon. This Solomon was probably a namesake of Laurence's half-brother, Solomon.
A second son of Philip and Mary (HELFEBOWER) COONTZ was George COUNCE (COONTZ), who lived in Harrison County. He was born in 1782 and went west in the 1830's.
While living in Hardy County, Philip's first wife died.
In 1792, a Jacob COONROD began to buy land in eastern Barbour County. Philip COONTZ emigrated to Barbour County at that time. One WOOD's 1822 map, Jacob COONTZ was living on the extreme southern end of Randolph County on the road to Greenbrier County. On the map the name was spelled COONTZ.
Philip COONTZ married for the second time on August 31, 1795. The bride was Barbary (Barbara) BARNHOUSE, daughter of John and Mary BARNHOUSE. The BARNHOUSEs had also emigrated from Hardy County in 1792.
Barbary said on the 1850 census that she was born in Maryland. Barbary's daughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) ENGLAND, said her mother was from Hardy County when she gave the information for Barbary's death certificate. Elizabeth said Barbary was born in 1776 and died August 25, 1855, age 79.
Because many of Philip's children went west when they became mature, it is impossible today to find them all. Tradition had it that there were two sons named Henry and Philip. A Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County, but whether he was the son of Philip cannot be determined. No record of Philip II has been found.
Some of the known children of Philip and Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ who survived to adulthood were:
1. John "Jack" COONTZ, born in 1800 and died 1882. On July 23, 1819, he married Delilah ENGLAND, daughter of James and Elizabeth ENGLAND. Delilah (ENGLAND) COONTZ was born 1802 and died February 1880. Before Jack died, he lived in Huttonsville, Randolph County, but moved back to John Morgan RAMSEY's in present Barbour County and died there. His will was probated March 3, 1882.
2. Elizabeth Ann, born in 1805 and married John ENGLAND, the son of James ENGLAND, on the 18th of September 1828. John was born in 1795.
3. Frederick 'Fritz', born December 16, 1806, and died November 9, 1889. His first marriage was to Rachael POLING on February 3, 1828. Rachael was born 1809 and died 1883. Both Frederick and Rachael are buried in the Lambert Chapel churchyard cemetery in Barbour County. Frederick next married Caroline Carrie' STREETS COONTZ, the widow of Philip COONTS, who was the son of Isaac COONTS and the nephew of Frederick. Frederick 'Fritz' and Caroline were married February 16, 1886. After the death of Frederick, Carrie COONTS married Luther H. KERR on February 2, 1891.
Frederick, Phillip's son, was the son about whom all the Indian stories were later told. Family tradition has it that he went west and lived on the site of Fort Dearborn (present Detroit, Michigan) with the Indians. Since Frederick was not born until 1806, and the Indians were driven west after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, it is unlikely that Frederick lived with Indians. Also, the last battle at Fort Dearborn was in 1812, when Frederick was 6 years old.
There was a Frederick KAHN, living in Hardy County, who did live among the Indians and returned with an Indian bride, Osclita, whom he married about 1804. This Frederick was probably some relation to Philip COONTZ of Barbour. One suspects that later generations in Barbour County confused the two Fredericks.
4. Matilda COONTZ, born in 1809, married Frederick HILL, son of John HILL the Revolutionary Soldier who built a stone house used as an inn. Frederick HILL was sued in 1815 in the Randolph County Court by Philip COONTZ. There is no evidence as to the nature of the suit. Frederick HILL died in 1852. Matilda then married Garrett CADE on March 17, 1855, and they continued to reside in the stone house that John HILL had built until as late as 1863.
5. Lorence (Laurens or Laurence) COONTS was born about 1810. He married Clarissa MYERS, probably the daughter of Jacob MYERS, on April 2, 1830. Laurence died in or prior to 1834 because Clarissa COONTS, a widow, married Peter T. PHILLIPS on October 23, 1834. Clarissa named a son of her second marriage Jacob Myers PHILLIPS. Laurence's only other appearance in the county records occurred when he bought a skillet from Joseph PITMAN's estate on July 26, 1832.
6. Delila, a daughter, was born in 1814 and married William PHILLIPS on September 29, 1838.
7. Rebecca, a daughter, was born about 1816, and was married on December 9, 1838, to Enos JOHNSON. Rebecca and Enos JOHNSON were reputed to have emigrated to Texas, but they were still in Barbour County in 1852 when Enos attended the estate sale of Frederick HILL. This couple may have gone with other members of the family when they emigrated to Ohio in 1856.
8. Henry, a son, was born probably about 1818. According to a family account in the 'History of Barbour County,' he was reputed to have gone west. However, a Henry COONTZ was living in Preston county by the BARNHOUSEs. Then, about 1836, a Henry COONTZ lived in Monongalia County on the Beverly Pike by Jimtown
.
9. Eve, a daughter born in 1822, married Jacob THORN, the son of John THORN and grandson of Frederick THORN. This couple was still alive and living in Barbour County when the 1880 census was taken.
10. Adam A., born in 1820, married Emily THORN, born in 1825. This couple settled on Laurel Creek, which was the lower part of Sugar Creek, where it empties into the Tygart Valley River. Adam A. also owned land on Roaring Creek at Womelsdorf.
This researcher believes that Philip COONTZ was taken to Ohio by his granddaughter, Elizabeth (COONTZ) LANTZ, and probably died there. There is no tombstone or death certificate or estate settlement on record for Philip COONTZ of Barbour County. When Barbary (BARNHOUSE) COONTZ died on August 25, 1855, two sons, John and Frederick, paid two dollars an acre for the 986 acre farm on which she had been living. This land had been surveyed in 1792 by William BLAIR, the former assistant surveyor in the party that Ralph HUNT kept busy between 1787 to 1790.
This was preempted land, but there is absolutely no record of a reason why the sons of Philip and Barbary were entitled to the 986 acres, which no doubt had originally been claimed as a thousand acres.
The Commonwealth of Virginia always charged for preempted land and the COONTZ mend must have had some claim or they would not have been entitled to buy it. It is believed that only John and Frederick could produce the cash to buy the land - actually to clear the title - after so many years.
Philip COONTZ of Barbour County was apparently not a Revolutionary Soldier. He was not listed in the 1840 census as a Revolutionary Soldier, when those remaining alive were tabulated. By 1840 the laws had become so lenient that anyone who had served anywhere was placed on the pension list. In effect the military pension system functioned after 1840 in much the same way as Social Security does today. Yet Philip never applied.
This researcher believes that Philip's older brothers, John and Frederick were old enough to have served in the Revolution."
Birth* 1762 He was born in 1762 at New Jersey.1
He was the son of Elder John Jacob Coontz and Mary Magdalena Eve Summers.
Marriage* 22 May 1779 Philip Coontz married Mary Heflebower on 22 May 1779 at Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.1
Marriage* 31 August 1795 Philip Coontz married Barbara Barnhouse, daughter of John Barnhouse and Mary Talbot, on 31 August 1795 at Randolph County, West Virginia; They were married by Robert Maxwell, a Justice of the Peace on Leading Creek. On the marriage license the name is spelled " Kunce".1
Census* 29 July 1850 Philip Coontz appeared on the census of 29 July 1850 at Barbour County, Virginia; Name: Philip Coontz
Age: 86
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1764
Birth Place: Maryland
Gender: Male
Home in 1850: District 5, Barbour, Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Philip Coontz 86
Barbara Coontz 71.2
Death* 1856 He died in 1856 at Barbour County, Virginia.
Family Members
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