Overview
William McKee Koons was a lawyer in Knox County, Ohio from 1874 until the 1930s. Koons's papers include business correspondence and legal documents related to a variety of cases from bankruptcy to divorce and land disputes. The collection also contains correspondence and documents from the office of Samuel Israel, another Knox County attorney.
Dates
- Creation: 1833 - 1935
Conditions Governing Access
Access to these papers is governed by the rules and regulations of the Harvard Law School Library. This collection is open to the public, but is housed off-site at Harvard Depository and requires 2-day advance notice for retrieval. Consult the Special Collections staff for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Law School Library holds copyright on some, but not all, of the material in our collections. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be directed to the Special Collections staff. Researchers who obtain permission to publish from the Harvard Law School Library are also responsible for identifying and contacting the persons or organizations who hold copyright.
Extent
3 boxesThe Papers of William McKee Koons contain both correspondence and legal documents from Koons's Mt. Vernon, Ohio legal practice from about 1874 until the 1930s. This collection also contains correspondence and documents from the practice of Samuel Israel, another Mt. Vernon attorney who was apparently in practice with Koons for some period of time. Both correspondence and court documents treat a variety of cases, from bankruptcy and divorce to land disputes and libel.
Additional papers of Samuel Israel and William M. Koons, 1823-1931, are located at the Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio.
Historical/Biographical Information
William McKee Koons was born in Marion County, Ohio in 1850 and grew up in Mt. Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, where he spent his adult life. Koons attended law school at the University of Michigan and was admitted to the bar in 1874, after working as a machinist for several years as a young adult. He served as city solicitor of Mt. Vernon from 1876 to 1880, and was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1879. Koons was still working as a lawyer and representing clients in court as late as 1935.
Samuel Israel, whose early papers are included in this collection, was apparently in business with Koons for some period of time. Another Mt. Vernon attorney, Israel was born in New York in 1810 and moved to Mt. Vernon in 1830, where he began practicing law in 1840. He was also the vice-president of the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon & Columbus Railroad.
Series List/Description
- Series I: Correspondence, 1859-1935 1859-1935
- Series II: Legal documents, 1833-1921 1833-1921
Within each series and/or subseries individual items or folders are identified by box and folder number. For example, the number 5-12 corresponds to box 5, folder 12.
Physical Location
Harvard Depository
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased December 1997.
Processing Information
Processed by Rebecca Fenning, March 2006
- Title
- William McKee Koons. Papers, 1833-1935: Finding Aid
- Author
- Harvard Law School Library, Cambridge, MA 02138
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- law00189
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Law School Library, Historical & Special Collections Repository
Harvard Law School Library's Historical & Special Collections (HSC) collects, preserves, and makes available research materials for the study of the law and legal history. HSC holds over 8,000 linear feet of manuscripts, over 100,000 rare books, and more than 70,000 visual images.
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