Henry N. Coons, M.D.

It is not always easy to discover and define the hidden forces that move a life of ceaseless activity and large professional success; little more can be done to note their manifestation in the career of the individual under consideration. In view of this fact the life of the distinguished physician and public-spirited man of affairs whose name appears at the head of this article affords a striking example of well-defined purpose with the ability to make that purpose subserve not only his own ends but the good of his fellowmen as well. Doctor Coons has long held distinctive prestige in a calling which requires for its base, sound mentality and intellectual discipline of a high order, supplemented by rigid professional training and thorough mastery of technicle [sic] knowledge with the skill to apply the same, without which one cannot hope to rise above mediocrity in ministering to human ills. In his chosen field of endeavor Doctor Coons has achieved success such as few attain, and his present eminent standing- among the leading medical men of this section of Indiana is duly recognized and appreciated not only in his own city and county, but also in adjoining counties.

Doctor Coons, whose name has for a period of thirty years been a household word to the people of Lebanon and Boone county, was born in Jackson township and he has been content to spend his life in this community; the date of his birth is September i8, 1853. He is a son of John and Elizabeth (Beck) Coons, one of our worthy pioneer families. The father was born in Bath county, Kentucky, and the mother was a native of Montgomery county, Indiana, and here she grew to womanhood and received her education in the old-time rural schools, as did also Mr. Coons in his native community in the Blue Grass state, where he spent his boyhood, coming to Boone county, Indiana, in 1848, at the age of twenty-two years, he having been born June 7, 1826. He married soon after coming here and established his home on a farm in Jackson township, becoming in due course of time one of our best general farmers and highly respected citizens. Since the autumn of 1892 he has been living in Lebanon, retired. His wife was called to her eternal rest February 14, 1912.

Doctor Coons was reared on the home farm and there he worked when a boy, and attended the rural schools in his vicinity, later studied in the preparatory school of Wabash College for two years, then entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville, Indiana, from which he was graduated in the class of 1880. After his graduation he began the study of medicine under Dr. William Taylor and Dr. J. A. Utter, of Terre Haute, remaining under their direction for several months, then entered Pulte Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, but completed his medical course at Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago in 1883. The same year he opened an office in Lebanon, which he has maintained continuously until the present time and has enjoyed an extensive and ever-growing practice, for three decades, ranking among the foremost general practitioners in this section of the state. He has remained a close student and has kept fully abreast of the times in medical research, and has taken several short post-graduate courses in Chicago. He has also devoted much attention to surgery and has been very successful in that field. He is a member of the Indiana Institute of Homeopathy and the American Institute of Homeopathy, also belongs to the Marion County Homeopathic Society. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic Order, having attained the thirty-second degree in the latter. He is also a Shriner and Knight Templar. Politically, the Doctor is a Prohibitionist, in which he has long been active and foremost in all movements calculated to advance the best interests of all the people. He and his family are members of the Christian church, in which he is an elder and active in church and Sunday school work. He is chief medical examiner for the Lexington Life Insurance Company, also is examiner for various other companies. His office is in the First National Bank building and his commodious home is at 404 East Pearl street.

Doctor Coons was married August 6, 1884, to Jessie Grubb, a daughter of David and Evelyn (Daniels) Grubb, who lived in Shelby county, Indiana, now both deceased. To the Doctor and wife three children were born, namely: Mary, Fern and John, all at home at this writing. The son is a senior in Wabash College and will study medicine; the eldest daughter is a graduate of Washington College for Girls; she is an accomplished musician and a teacher of music ; the second daughter was also graduated from Washington College, later graduating from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, in the class of 1913, taking a literary course, specializing in French, German, history and literature, and she intends to teach. These children are all talented and promising.

Source Citation: Boone County Biographies [database online] Boone County INGenWeb. 2008. <http://www.rootsweb.com/~inboone> Original data: Hon. L. M. Crist. "History of Boone County, Indiana : With biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families." Indianapolis, Ind.: A. W. Bowen, 1914. pp 602-604.

Transcribed by: T. Stover - October 5, 2008