The following is excerpted from Ancestors and Descendants of John Coney of Boston, England and Boston, Massachusetts, compiled by Mary Lovering Holman and published in 1928.

Palemon Clark Coney........born in Camillus, [Onondaga County], N. Y., 8 Sept. 1822, died in Webster, Ill., 3 Sept. 1872.  He married in 1859, Mary Brownlee, born in Taylortown, Pa., 20 Feb. 1833, died in Williamstown, [Lewis County], Mo., 18 Feb. 1914, daughter of James and ______ Brownlee.

Palemon Clark Coney emigrated west as a young man, probably with his sister, Maria-Lavinia (Coney) Woolley.  He settled first in Webster, Ill., but went to Bushnell, Ill., about 1863, returning to Webster again in about six years, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was an upright citizen and a kindly father.  He became a member of the United Brethren Church in Webster.

Children, born in Webster and Bushnell, Ill.:

i.   Olive Ann, b. 2 Oct. 1860, Webster, d. 1890; m. John Jarvis.
ii.  Charles Clinton, b. 20 July 1862, Webster, d. infant.
iii. Harrison Edward, b. 21 Dec. 1864, Bushnell; m. Lydia Anne Dow.
iv. William Henry, b. 13, Dec. 1867, Bushnell; d. infant.
v. Margaret Ritta, b. 5 Apr. 1869; m. Joseph Danforth.

The inscription on Palemon's tombstone was read in 1965 by Warren Van Dine, who wrote:
Marble Shaft
Palemon O. Coner
Died Sept 20, 1884 (This is not plain)
Aged 50 ys 11 ds.
(Verse unreadable)

Forty more years of weather will have further deteriorated this inscription.  We may not have the opportunity to reconcile the dates from Ms. Holman's work and the age at death reportedly on the marker.

Palemon did come west as a young man.  The question is whether or not he came west with his stepfather, mother, sister and half-siblings.  (His sister was not yet married to Mr. Woolley, but that's a whole separate chapter.)  It's our bet they all came together.

Palemon did wed Mary Brownlee, but on December 7, 1860, not in 1859.
Marriage License

Mary was one of five children born to James Brownlee (1780-1850) and his third wife.  After James died in Mercer County, Illinois, in late 1850, it appears the children were scattered.  We cannot conclusively determine Mary's location in 1860.

Two of her sisters also lived in Hancock County.  Margaret Brownlee Allen Callihan, was a long-time resident in the Webster area.  Sarah C. was counted with her husband, James, and family in LaHarpe Township in the Illinois State Census of 1855, in Sonora Township in 1870; then, widowed, Sarah was in the village of Webster in Fountain Green Township in 1880.  Sarah's married surname is found as Nowles, Knowles, Nowels and Noles.

Efforts to locate the Coneys anywhere in Illinois in the State Census of 1865 produced no results, but they were in Fountain Green Township in 1870, which matches the Holman account.  We have no firm evidence that they actually lived in the village of Webster, but perhaps the value of real estate Palemon owned, $200, is a positive indication to that effect.

Taking 1872, or thereabouts, as the year Palemon died, between 1872 and 1880 Mary and children left Hancock County.  As is so often the case, we have no clue as to why Mary chose Clark County, Missouri, but that's where she and her children were living in 1880.

Thirty-four years later, Mary's son, Harrison, was the informant for Mary's death certificate.  It was he who lived in Williamstown, Lewis County, Missouri. Mary did not die there; she died February 16 (not the 18th), 1914, in Washington Township, Clark County, and was buried at "Woodvill" Cemetery, presumably New Woodville Baptist Cemetery, located in Section 2 of Washington Township, Clark County, near Wyaconda.  Her death certificate was issued in the name of Mary Taylor; she had married Daniel Taylor on February 6, 1894, in Clark County.
Marriage License

Harrison, like Ms. Holman, reported that Mary was the daughter of James Brownlee and did not know Mary's mother's maiden name.  He stated that Mary was born February 20, 1834 (rather than 1833), in Pennsylvania, and that both of her parents were born in Taylorstown, [Washington County], Pennsylvania.

There's a niggling question regarding Palemon's actual name.  On the death certificate of his daughter, Margaret Coney Danforth, his name was recorded as Isaac Pleamon.  When Harrison's eldest son registered for Selective Service in 1917, the name written at the top of the form was Isaac Plemon Coney; his signature was I. P. Coney.

Now for Palemon and Mary's children.  Oh, dear.  In 1870 Palemon and Mary were in living in Fountain Green Township; their household was listed immediately preceding the home of Byron Fordham, Palemon's half-brother.  Counted in the home were three young children, named as: John (10), Mattie (7), and Albert (5).

Those names certainly don't jibe with Ms. Holman's data, nor do they jibe with later records.  We can, however, support some of Ms. Holman's assertions, so we repeat and expand on her entries while cautioning the reader to be wary.

John Fordham, 41, male, blacksmith, value of real estate 200, born NY
Maria, 50, female, born CT
Byron, 15, male, born NY, attended school within the year
Adaline, 13, female, born NY, attended school within the year
Plenian C Conery, 26, male, blacksmith, born NY
Maria Conery, 23, white, female, born NY

James Brownlee, 70, male, farmer, value of real estate 700, born PA
Jackson Brownlee, 20, male, farmer, born PA
Mary Brownlee, 16, female, born PA
Margaret Brownlee, [age - no entry], female, [place of birth - no entry]
[continued on next page]
Harrison Brownlee, [age - no entry], male, [place of birth - no entry]

Byron Fordham, 25, male, blacksmith, value of real estate 800, value of personal estate 400,
born NY
Angeline, 25, female, born IN
Pelevin Conry, 34, male, farm laborer, born NY

Cooney [or Coonery], Plyman, 40, male, white, farm laborer, value of real estate 200, value of personal estate 50, born NY, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Mary, 36, female, white, keeping house, born OH, could read, but not write
John, 10, male, white, born IL, attended school within the year
Mattie, 7, female, white, born IL, attended school within the year
Albert, 5, male, white, born IL, attended school within the year

Coney, Mary, white, female, 46, mother, widow, keeping house, born PA, father born [no entry], mother born PA
Harrison E, white, male, 15, son, single, day labor, born IL, father born NY, mother born PA
Margaretta M, white, female, 11, daughter, single, at home, born IL, father born NY, mother
born PA

Coney, Edward, head, male, white, 44, married (1st) for 19 years, born IL, father born NY, mother born PA, spoke English, farmer, general farm, employer, could read and write, owned his farm home free of mortgage, farm schedule 11

Lydia A, wife, female, white, 39, married (1st) for 19 years; mother of 7 children, 5 living; born MO, both parents born OH, spoke English, could read and write

Palemon I, son, male, white, 18, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born MO, spoke English, farm laborer, home farm, employee, whether out of work on April 15, 1910 - no, number of weeks out of work during 1909 - 0, could read and write, did not attend school after Sept. 1, 1909

William G, son, male, white, 14, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born MO, spoke English, could read and write, attended school after Sept. 1, 1909

Edward J, son, male, white, 7, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born MO, spoke English, could read and write, attended school after Sept. 1, 1909

Ben F, son, male, white, 4, single, born MO, father born IL, mother born MO

Taylor, Mary, mother, female, white, 76, married (2nd) for 16 years; mother of 5 children, 2 living; born PA, both parents born PA, spoke English, could read and write