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.
From the guide to the Papers, 1833-1935, (Harvard Law School Library, Harvard University.)
