John Wesley Moon was a politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Moon was born in Wayne County, Michigan

Wayne County, Michigan

-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

, near Ypsilanti

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...

 and attended the common school

Common school

A common school was a public school in the United States or Canada in the nineteenth century. The term 'common school' was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions....

s. As a youth, he worked on a farm and attended school during the winter. In 1852, he moved to Jackson County

Jackson County, Michigan

As of the census of 2000, there were 158,422 people, 58,168 households, and 40,833 families residing in the county. The population density was 224 people per square mile . There were 62,906 housing units at an average density of 89/sq mi...

, and left there in the fall of 1854 to work in lumber camps and saw mills on the Flat River

Flat River (Michigan)

The Flat River is a tributary of the Grand River in the western part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It rises as the outflow of the six lakes system in Belvidere Township, west of Edmore in Montcalm County. It flows mostly south and slightly west through Montcalm County, Ionia County, and Kent...

 in central Michigan. In the spring of 1856, he settled in Muskegon County, Michigan

Muskegon County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 170,200 people, 63,330 households, and 44,267 families residing in the county. The population density was 334 people per square mile . There were 68,556 housing units at an average density of 135 per square mile...

 and engaged in the manufacture of lumber and in banking. He was a partner in the firm of A.V. Mann & Co., which established a mill at Lakeside (now a part of the city of Muskegon

Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...

). He held the offices of supervisor, township treasurer, and president of the then village of Muskegon.

He served in the Michigan Senate

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....

 in 1885 from the 23rd district and in 1887 from the 21st district. Also in 1887, he was elected president of the Muskegon Savings Bank. A few years later in 1891, he became a member of the board of education of Muskegon.

In 1892, Moon was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 from Michigan's 9th congressional district

Michigan's 9th Congressional District

Michigan's 9th congressional district is contained within Oakland County in the southeast areas of the state of Michigan and encompasses most of the county. It is the only congressional district to lie entirely within Oakland County....

 to the 53rd Congress

53rd United States Congress

The Fifty-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1895, during the fifth and sixth...

, defeating incumbent Democrat Harrison H. Wheeler

Harrison H. Wheeler

Harrison H. Wheeler was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.-Biography:Wheeler was born at Farmers Creek in Lapeer County, Michigan and attended the common schools. He taught school until 1861 and the outbreak of the Civil War...

. Moon served from March 4, 1893 to March 3, 1895 and was not a candidate for re-nomination in 1894.

After leaving Congress, John W. Moon resumed his former business activities. He died in Muskegon and is interred there at Evergreen Cemetery.