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- MARTIN COONEN, who during a long, useful and eventful life has been intimately associated with the agricultural, public and professional interests of Outagamie county, is now the owner of sixty-three acres in section 33, Buchanan township, and is not only known as a pioneer farmer and veterinary surgeon and as a public-spirited citizen who always has had the best interests of his community at heart, but is honored and respected as a veteran of the great Civil War. Born December 22, 1840, in Zeeland, Holland, Mr. Coonen is a son of James and Cornelia (Jacobs) Coonen, natives of Holland, where Jacob Coonen was the proprietor of a hotel and also owned a farm. In June, 1848, the family came to America, locating on a partly developed farm in Little Chute township, where Jacob Coonen's death occurred about 1855, when he was only forty-seven years of age. After his demise his widow took her family to Buchanan township, buying sixty-three acres of land where Martin Coonen now resides, and here her death occurred in 1882, when she was eighty-three years old, and her burial took place in Buchanan Cemetery, her husband having been interred in Little Chute. The early death of Martin Coonen's father caused him to go to work at an early age, and he was not much past fourteen years old when he started to employ himself at whatever honest occupation presented itself. He continued thus, principally at farming, until 1862, in which year he enlisted for service in the Union army, becoming a member of Company F, Fiftieth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which organization he served until the close of the war. His regiment, starting from Camp Randall, went to St. Louis for ten days, went thence to Memphis, Tennessee, returned to St. Louis and marched through Missouri, visiting Jefferson City, Kansas City, St. Joseph and Waverly; proceeded to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with the Third Cavalry, and two months later were sent to protect the settlers from the Indians, and it was while there that the war closed. The regiment, originally with Sherman's army, was detailed to scout duty, and shifted from one army to another. Mr. Coonen was finally mustered out in Madison, in June, 1866. After his return from the war, Mr. Coonen resumed farming operations on the old homestead, where he was married November 19, 1866, to Miss Johanna C. Verstegen, who was born June 29, 1849, daughter of Arnold and Anna Mary (Beeman) Verstegen, natives of Holland, who were married in that country and came to America in 1850, settling in Little Chute on a farm. The mother died in 1862, aged forty-two years, and the father passed away in 1900, at the age of eighty, and both are buried in Little Chute. They had a family of eleven children, of whom Mrs. Coonen was the fourth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Coonen have had eleven children: the eldest, Mary Catherine, married Michael Whiteman, and died February 23, 1890, aged twenty-two years, leaving one child; and is buried in Buchanan Cemetery; James L., is married and living in Calumet county and has six children; George W., also married and living in Calumet county, has four children; John A. died in infancy; Annie M. married J. Beelen of Buchanan township, and has four children; Cornelia C., married Henry Van Abel of Kaukauna and has five children: Arnold A., who was married and had four children, resided in Taylor county until his death, which was caused by accident September 7, 1910, and he is buried in Buchanan township; John E. is single and a teacher in the Green Bay High school; Christina married George Vanderheiden and lives in Brown county and has three children; Franklin J. is married, lives in Kaukauna and has one child; and Nellie J. is single and living at home. Mr. Coonen has all of his land in a high state of cultivation, fenced with barbed and woven wire, and carries on general farming and stock raising, markets dairy products and rents his land on shares to his neighbors. He milks six cows and breeds high-grade Short Horn and Holstein cattle. For the past forty years he has been engaged in the practice of veterinary surgery, having been the first veterinary in this community, and his reputation in this line extends over a wide district. He is a popular comrade of the Grand Army Post, and his fellow townsmen have evidenced their esteem of his upright character and official ability by electing him to various township offices, including those of school director, member of the township board and chairman of the township. Mr. Coonen has seen and taken part in the various changes that have occurred in Buchanan township and his reminiscences of early days are particularly interesting. His personal adventures have been thrilling, and have not been confined to serving in the army and fighting the Indians. On August 12, 1862, while sailing between Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay, at eight o'clock a. m., the vessel on which Mr. Coonen and his companions were sailing foundered on the west side of the bay, and Mr. Coonen swam to the other shore, saving not only his own life but also that of a companion, although it took him fifteen hours to complete the ten miles. Mr. Coonen's religious connection is with the Roman Catholic Church, and he attends services at the Holy Angels congregation at Darboy.
- Martin, at age 23, enlisted in the Union Army, Company F, Fiftieth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until the end of the Civil War. Most of his time was spent marching across Missouri, from St. Louis to St. Joseph and then on the western plains against the Indians. Martin developed health problems while he was in military service and given a small pension. His pension checks misspelled his last name changing the first 'e' to an 'o'. From then on he used the new spelling Coonen.
Macy Brown, 2007
On August 12, 1862, Martin Coenen, son of Jacob, was shipwrecked between Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay. The vessel, laden with sand and brick, sank in 10 minutes. Martin saved the live of Peter VandenBrook, also a passenger, whom he found lying on or clinging to a board six feet long. Martin swam in the bay with Peter for fifteen hours before they got to the east shore.
Macy Brown, 2007
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1840 - 1915 (74 years)
