SAR John Hancock Chapter Member - Steve Bennett
Levi Coon was born on June 31, 1756, in Somerset County, New Jersey, the son of Benjamin and Abigail Grey Coon. He married Margaret Compton on February 1, 1776. They had ten children in 15 years. He died on August 7, 1826, at the age of 70, and was buried in Trumansburg Cemetery, Tompkins County, New York.
Levi Coon enlisted in 1776 or 1777 serving first as Private and later Sergeant in the Company of Express Riders, Continental Line, commanded by Capt. Jeremiah Dunn. The company worked closely with General Washington in battles around the New York and New Jersey area including the Battle of Long Island. Levi Coon served several tours of duty during the war.
In his later years Coon moved to Ithaca, New York, looking for a water source to operate a water driven triphammer for the manufacture of rifle barrels. Fall Creek in Ithaca was ideal for his needs. It was on the south side of the falls that he built his gun factory. He used the triphammer to weld the metal in his gun barrels. The adjacent falls to this day are known as Triphammer Falls. The triphammer site is now located on the Cornell University campus.
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