The ancestral history of the Moons is said to have originated in Denmark. During a certain period of history, the kingdom of Denmark formed a part of the English domain, under the partial rule of England. At this time the King of England requested from the King of Denmark a regiment of soldiers as bodyguards.

The Danish Monarch issued orders that the best men of his kingdom be selected – men erect in stature, athletic, of light complexion and red hair. Carl Moon had red hair and blue eyes. A regiment from the best families was recruited; they called themselves "The Order of the Crescent". The banner they bore was in the Danish National colors with a half moon or crescent as their insignia.

Carl Moon

They rendered excellent service to the King. In one occasion during a battle, the King met such stubborn resistance from the enemy that he was forced to call for volunteers. The "Order of the Crescent" came forward and was successful in subduing the enemy. As a reward for their bravery the King granted them land in England if they would settle there. He presented them with a coat of arms, and the company unanimously adopted the surname Moon. Kings and lesser nobles were often granted "Coat of Arms" as a sign of nobility, but a like number were bestowed as a reward of valor. The moons earned theirs for gallantry in action and not by "accident of birth".

The Moons prospered in their adopted country and concerned themselves with the civic and religious affairs of their community. At sometime during the Reformation, the Moons became converts to the religious movement "Society of Friends", or Quakers.

A Quaker preacher named George Fox gave William Penn the idea that religious freedom could be found in the New World.

Among the passengers on Penn’s first trip to America, on the Good Ship Welcome in 1692, were two brothers, their wives and children. These were John Moon, his wife Sarah Snead and their six children and James Moon, his wife Joan Burgess and their seven children.

The two families settled on a land grant deeded jointly to the brothers by William Penn. They named it Bucks County, abbreviated from their old home in Burlinghamshire County, England. Colonial farmers purchased their land from William Penn for 25 to 75 cents an acre, depending on the distance from Philadelphia. John remained in Pennsylvania where he raised his family. The original homesite is now a railroad yard in Fallsington, Pennsylvania.

James Moon was born in England about 1640 and married Joan Burgess about 1665. She was born in 1649 in Bristol, England. James died n July 1713 and Joan on October 1739. Before coming to America, she had been clerk of the Bristol M. M. Records for many years. Their children were Sarah, John, James, Jonas, Jasper, Mary and Roger.

The lineage of Carl Moon can be traced directly back to James and Joan Moon, through their son Jasper and Jasper’s son by a second marriage.

Jasper left his brother John on Pennsylvania soon after 1688 and joined relatives in the old Dominion. The death of his first wife is presumed to have occurred about this time, leaving on son, Simon, who grew up in Frederick County, Virginia. He dies there in 1748.

At an early date the colony of North Carolina offered complete religious freedom in order to encourage immigration. This appealed to the Quakers, for Virginia had not been as tolerant of their beliefs as they had hoped.

The plantation owners had slaves and the Church of England was the predominant religion. About 1735 a large number of Quaker colonists from Virginia and Pennsylvania immigrated to North Carolina. They settled in Randolph, Guilford, Alamance and Chatham counties where they formed colonies. Among those who led come at an earlier date was Jasper Moon. He had married for a second time and one son, John, was born in 1715 on the Neuse River, Randolph County. Jasper died there on April 27, 1726.

Letters of administration were granted to his widow in Pennsylvania, April 27, 1726. The son John was bound to learn the carpenter trade. At the expiration of his seven-year apprenticeship he married Mary Farmer. (Cane Creek M. M. Records) Mary’s family had come on the Welcome to Pennsylvania on October 23, 1742. She died February 6, 1791. Their children were Rachel, who married Marmaduke Bookout and never left North Carolina, and John, who migrated to Georgia about 1770. He became the progenitor of most of the Moons of the South. He served in the Revolutionary War. John married Lucy Baldwin and become quite wealthy.

Two more sons, James and Lawrence, followed John to Georgia, but are said to have gone West, first to Alabama and finally to Texas. Joseph, another son, was born March 20, 1850 in Randolph County. He married Ann Brown on April 13, 1772. Anne was the daughter of Daniel and Grace Thompson Brown. Her father was a Quaker preacher.

There were troublesome times. A break with England was almost a certainty and the Quakers were opposed to war. Furthermore, the colonial governor of North Carolina had passed a law making all marriages performed by Quaker preachers void and the offspring illegitimate. Many other cruel laws caused Joseph Moon to look elsewhere for peace of mind and religious tolerance. Her with his wife and seven children moved to Jefferson County, which was 20 miles east of Knoxville, Tennessee in 1796. Their last four children were born here. Their stay was short because of the ruling class in Tennessee was the wealthy slave owners. The Quakers were outspoken in their opposition to slavery and this caused much ill will. Consequently, Joseph Moon sought a home in a non-slave state North of the Mason-Dixon Line. From 1808 until 1811 Joseph, his wife and family, eleven sons and two daughters, moved to Ohio and settled about a mile or two east of Martinsville in what is now Clark Township. In all fifty-five persons, thirty-four males and twenty-one females made the journey to what proved to be the Promised Land.

Joseph died in Martinsville on the 14^th day of the 4^th month of 1838. He was 88 years and 25 days old. Ann died on the 31^st day of the 8^th month on 1824. She was 69 years and 7 months old. (Newborn Stone Records)

Of particular interest is John and Mary’s second son, William, born January 25, 1777 in Randolph County, North Carolina. He died June 10^th, 1850 in Martinsville Ohio. He married Jane, daughter of Richard and Sarah Huston, in Jefferson County, Tennessee. They were the parents of seven children. There following were born in Tennessee – Sarah, James, Daniel, Joseph H. and Henry R. Two who were born in Ohio died as infants. Jane’s death occurred about 1814 or 1815. She is thought to be buried in an unmarked grave in a burial plot on the original Moon homesite in the Clark Township. Several persons are known to have been buried there before the Newberry Burial Ground was laid out.

William married a second wife, Hannah Hockett. She was born November 28, 1796 and died November 30, 1842. They were the parents of twelve children.

My great grandfather was James Moon. He was born in Jefferson County, Tennessee on September 19, 1801. He married Sarah Ann Clark who was born in Louden County, Virginia on December 25, 1802. They were married in Martinsville, Ohio on December 25, 1819 and settled near Westboro, Ohio. They were the parents of sixteen children, eight sons and eight daughters, two died in infancy.

My grandfather was Josiah D. Moon, born March 17, 1835. He married Catherine Hixson on March 17, 1839. She was born April 6, 1840 and died on December 20, 1876.

His son, Byron Valentine was born July 21, 1874 and died December 3, 1946. He married Lou Otta Margaret Hessler on January 3, 1893. At the close of the Civil War, James and Sarah Moon homesteaded near Independence, Kansas. It was here that they established a Quaker church. They both lived to be over 90 years of age. They are buried in Maydew Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas.

Henry H., the fourth son of William and Jane Huston Moon was born on July 14, 1808 in Jefferson County, Tennessee. On May 21, 1830 he married Mary Hoffman Paxton in Wilmington, Ohio. Mary was the daughter of Dr. Reuben and Mary Paxton. Henry died in Dayton, Ohio in 1881. Mary Paxton Moon died in Indiana on July 8, 1870. They were the parents of eleven children. Their third son, Sylvester Bronson Moon was born May 11, 1835 in Martinsville, Ohio. He married Lucy Brunette, daughter of Jasper W. and Abigail White Gudgen. Lucy B. was born February 3, 1846 in Westboro, Ohio. Sylvester died December 21, 1919 in his 84^th year. Lucy B. died on April 7  1928. Both are buried in the Wilmington Cemetery.

Their children were Ernest, Mary, and Maude, born in Cuba, Karl and Ralph born in Wilmington. Their father was a medical doctor. He first practiced for two years in Martinsville and six years in Cuba. In 1879 he moved to Wilmington where he practiced for the remainder of his professional life.

It has been said of Dr. Moon that he had a very courtly manner and always wore a high silk hat.

Karl (spelled with a K, later changed to C) was born October 6, 1878 in the Moon homestead on East Main Street. The old landmark has since been torn down. He attended public school and graduated from Wilmington High School in the class of 1897. Soon after graduation he went to Cincinnati where he learned the photography trade.

Carl first married Bessie Wilson, a schoolmate, and later moved to New Mexico due to her poor health. In 1904 they settled in Albuquerque. It was here he first became attracted to Indians as photographic subjects. The Indians were very solicitous of the ailing Bessie; they called her their "Princess". They gave her an amulet that she wore to her grave. She is buried on the Moon lot, Wilmington Cemetery.

Carl returned to Albuquerque after her death and his wife’s faithful Indian friends became his lucky tailsmen. He set up a photographic studio and began making his first collection of photographs and paintings of the Pueblo Indians. For the next seven years he was in charge of the Fred Harvey Headquarters at the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Lorincito  Hubbel (holding Francis) with Grace Moon

 and Katherine Shopitch at Hopi Village of Walpi 1914

It was here that he met his second wife, Grace Purdie. They were married on June 5, 1911. They had two children, a son Francis and a daughter Mary Caryl. Carl and Grace settled in Pasadena, California in 1914.

  Mary Caryl and Francis 

Grace Moon with son Francis