The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: NC
Qualifying Service: Captain
Birth: 1727 / Craven / NC Death: aft 06 Jan 1791 / Jones / NC
Image taken and provided with permission from compatriot Rob Webster (NC) member 215128
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
From New Bern: take US-70 West. Take the NC-41 W exit toward Cove City/Trenton. At the top of the off ramp turn left (south) onto NC-41. Turn right onto Wyse Fork Rd. Turn left onto Mcdaniel Fork Rd. Turn left onto Middle Rd. Turn right onto Chinquapin Chapel Rd (State Rd 1129). Turn Left onto River Ln. The cemetery will be on the right
Grave is located on private property and unmarked with specific burial location unknown beyond
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: Jay Allan DeLoach RDML USN (Ret.)
John Quince Koonce, Sr. was the oldest son of George Michael Koonce, Sr., and his wife Mary L'earge Koonce. John was born about 1727 in Craven County, North Carolina. In 1742, John's father purchased land along the north side of Great Chinquapin Creek in present-day Jones County, North Carolina [then still part of Craven County]. As a young teenager, John moved with his parents and siblings to what became the Koonce family homeplace on the north side of Great Chinquapin Creek in western Craven County [later in the part that became Jones County].
About 1747, he married Catron or Catherine McQuillen of Craven County, and the young couple settled on land adjacent to his father. John received a land patent grant for 150 acres in October 1748 and an additional 240 acres in July 1756.
John became involved in the local militia with three of his younger brothers, Michael, George, and Tobias. He was listed as a "Gentleman Soldier" in December 1754.2 A Gentleman Soldier furnished his own gun, horse, and supplies and usually served without pay. A list of 1756 militia returns for Craven County includes the name of John Koonce.3 As part of Captain John Isler's records, he reports the following Koonce brothers on a list of Gentlemen Soldiers: John, Michael, George, and Tobias Koonce.
In 1781, John served as an Ensign under Captain James Green in the Craven County Regiment and later served under Captain Joseph Rhodes in the Jones County Regiment. John would later become a captain in the local militia during the Revolutionary War. Local Jones County records acknowledge him as "Captain John Koonce." In the post-Revolutionary War pension proclamation statement taken in Lincoln County, Tennessee, of his nephew, Philip Koonce, he states that John Koonce was an ensign in his company. In Volume 22 of North Carolina Colonial Records,4 John Koonts is shown as a Revolutionary War pensioner.
By his death in Jones County, North Carolina, on 6 January 1791, John had acquired an estate of over 1,000 acres. His will was probated on 10 May 1791, bequeathing his property to his wife Catherine and his two sons and five daughters.1 The exact location of John Koonce's burial is unknown. However, it was likely on his estate north of the Great Chinquapin Creek in Jones County, North Carolina.
Sources:
North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970, Jones Wills, 1778-1807, Vol. A FamilySearch
Call No./C. R. 28.186 in the North Carolina Archives in Raleigh, NC.
Clark, Walter, The Colonial Records of North Carolina: Published Under the Supervision of the Trustees of the Public Libraries, by Order of the General Assembly, Volume 22, North Carolina. Goldsboro: Nash Brothers, 1907, page 318
Ibid. page 72
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No entry was found in DAR Ancestor Search in Apr 2023