Jacob Moon was born in 1781 in Berkeley County, Va. (now West Va.).  He married Leah Reese in 1806 and moved to Fayetteville County, Ohio in 1808.  He served in the War of 1812, after the war he returned to Fayetteville County and farmed there until he and his family (wife Leah, sons  Rees, Albert, and Thomas and daughter Margaret) emigrated to Reading Twp. sometime around 1830 to 1833-- I have found several accounts giving differing dates for the Moon's arrival, including the following on page 11 in The History of Livingston County, 1878:
    "During the year 1830, Andrew McMillan and Garret M. Blue located on Rook's Creek, and their descendants are numerous. Blue's name and those of his sons frequently appear in the political annals of the county.
   Jacob Moon came to Moon's Point in the same year, and his progeny are among the most wealthy and respected in the county."
 

History does not occur in a vacuum.  About the same time Jacob and Leah were setting up housekeeping at Moon's Point,  the Town of Chicago (pop. 183) was incorporated at the swampy mouth of an otherwise unremarkable river 100 miles to the northwest.  The town grew explosively, in 1837 it incorporated as a city with a population of 4,000.

   Reading Twp. was almost entirely prairie with the exception of the area along the Vermillion River in the NE section of the township:

   In the early 1800s that finger of wooded land (marked Timber and outlined in green by the surveyor) extending a mile or so from the river along the course of the tributary now known as Moon Creek would've been an extremely prominent feature of the landscape.  It's no wonder that this is where farmer Jacob chose to homestead. 
   On Feb. 1st, 1836, Jacob's son Albert bought the SW quarter of Section 11 (outlined in light blue, above) from the government for $1.25/acre.  [NOTE: I had originally identified Albert as being Jacob's brother.]
    On May 18th of the same year, Jacob bought the NE quarter of Section 10 (outlined in red, above), for the same price.  Two years later, Albert bought an additional 80 acres immediately to the east of his first purchase (referred to in documents as "Sec. 11, W2SE", it isn't highlighted).  The blue square approximates the location of Moon Point Cemetery.

   The Moons and their offspring acquired other parcels of land in Livingston and LaSalle counties over the next 20 years or so, but I haven't yet determined when or if Jacob Moon bought the land that is now Moon Point Cemetery.  According to page 154 of The History of Livingston County, 1878:
   "The mode of making a claim in those days was by "blazing" it out in the timber or staking it off on 
the prairie. The land was not surveyed until 1833, and every man squatted where it suited his inclination, providing no one else had preceded him.
   The federal government was offering land as a pension benefit for the War of 1812 veterans, It's probable that Jacob simply claimed the point of timber as his own.  After the land was surveyed he added to his holdings by purchasing the quarter-section highlighted on the map 
above. 

Received from the Streatorland Historical Society, originally dated Oct. 24, 1939: History Crowded Into Epitaphs in Moon's Point Cemetery Lying Southwest of City of Streator -------- Could the tombstones speak in little Moon Point cemetery, a plot of ground of three acres which lies in the northeast part of Reading Township, they could relate much concerning the lives and early history of the pioneers who came to that section of the state even before the city of Streator was even thought of.    A visit to this small but beautiful spot is well worth the time and effort expended.  The second turn to the left after crossing the Vermillion river on S. Bloomington street and a drive of about a mile and a half west brings one opposite the cemetery. [1]  A sharp turn there forms a lane to the north through a corn field which brings one to a set of ornamental wrought iron gates which swing from tall red brick pillars on each side of which are smaller gates for the admission of pedestrians. Carved in the white stone trimmings are the words "Moon's Point cemetery, 1921".  In was in that year that a body of directors was selected from a group of interested descendants to clear the thicket, repair the grounds and lay the land out in lots to be offered for sale to those desiring this spot for a burial ground.  Until that time it was quite customary to make use of the cemetery without charge or obligation. Jacob Moon Donor.    The small tract was given by Jacob Moon, earliest settler of the township to the community for a burial ground.  For many years George Armstrong, son of George Armstrong who came to this community following the Moons, had the power of attorney vested in him for disposal of the burial lots.[2]  This power passed from him to the board in 1921, which is composed of Mr. Armstrong, George Koontz, George Baldwin, Edward Evans, and Ellsworth Allen.  Robert Arnold, whose death occurred early this year, was also a director.  No director has as yet been appointed to succeed him. Crushed Rock Road.    The road of crushed rock that leads from the highway to the cemetery continues through the grounds.  A gentle slope to the east and north adds picturesqueness to the setting.  Protected as it is from the highway by intervening farmland, the place becomes a sanctum for quiet reverie and meditation.    Many of the Moons are buried there among them the patriarch or founder of the community who passed on in 1852 at the age of 70 years.  Leah Moon, his wife, died in 1847, five years before her husband.  The stones on their graves, erected so many years ago are still in an excellent state of preservation.[3]  Close by is the grave of Thomas Moon who died in 1844 and Albert in 1865.    Jacob Moon and his family, consisting of his wife and children, Rees, Albert, Thomas, and Margaret came west from Ohio in 1832. Barickmans-Defenbaughs.    Daniel Barickman, or "Bergman" as the name was spelled in the German language came from Ohio shortly after Jacob Moon and it was but a short time that the township platted that year soon became thickly settled with the two families.  Daniel bringing his wife and seven children with him- James, Upton, Jacob, Benjamin, Daniel Jr., Harriet and Mary Ann.  Practically all of them with many of their offspring are buried in Moon's Point as the headstones indicate.    The Barackman and Moon families spread themselves along the whole north side of the township in the wooded section, which resembled the country from which they came.    Between 1848 and 1853 other settlers began to appear in the township, among whom were the Defenbaughs, Bussards, Mathises, and Mills, almost all of whom were from the old neighborhood in the east.  The original Defenbaughs were Samuel, Andrew and John.  In those days every second person one met was a Defenbaugh.    On the authority of Milton Defenbaugh, a son of Elijah, a class of 27 students in 1874 in the village school were all Defenbaughs but one who was Frank Teegarden.  Even the teacher was a Defenbaugh, Otis by name.   Elijah Defenbaugh was the head of that family which consisted of his wife who was Miss Catherine Defenbaugh and children, Ammon, Alfred, Harvey, Lucretia, Slauterbach, Milton, and Ephron.  Ammon, Milton, and their sister still reside in Reading.  The others are buried in the Defenbaugh cemetery, south of Moon Point.  Elijah Defenbaugh, at his death, left 953 acres to be divided among his children.  Zacharriah Walter, who came west on horseback in 1850 married Malinda Defenbaugh in 1853 and he with many of his descendants are buried in Moon Point.  Many of the other Defenbaughs however are buried in the Defenbaugh cemetery south of that place. Other Familiar Names.    Other familiar names found in the little burying ground were Silas Jones, whose death occurred in 1854; Hugh Grant, 1868; Jeremiah and Mary Hoskinson, both in 1864; Wealthy Norton, 1849; James Mason, 1859; Josiah Wolford, 1866; Sam Turk, 1883; Hetty Allen, 1867.  Then there were the Baldwins, Burtons, Mallorys, McGoverns, Arnolds, Longs, Redferns and Koontz.    Mr. and Mrs. George Armstrong stated that there were many, many graves there without markers, time having obliterated all trace of mound and marble.  The earliest burial, according to stones still legible was that of Wealthy Norton in 1849.[4]  Many of the slabs have become so defaced by the hand of time that the inscription appears as mere tracery on the corroded surface. [1] They may have been accurate when this was originally published, but these directions make no sense to me.  Up until 1981 there was a sweeping S curve on S. Bloomington (Rt. 23) just south of the river.  From there it was a half mile south, then turn west (right) a half mile to the cemetery's access road. [2] George Armstrong quoted in the above is buried in Streator's Riverview Cemetery with his wife's family (Plowman).  His parents, George D. and Roseanne Julian Armstrong are buried in Moon Point.  [3] Apparently there was more reverence for the dead and respect for the surviving families back then.  Since at least the mid-1960's vandalism has been an ongoing problem in the cemetery with many historic and irreplaceable tombstones, including Jacob and Leah Moon's, senselessly damaged or destroyed. [4] I'm puzzled how the author came to this conclusion when older tombstones are mentioned earlier in the text.

There is probably no documentation concerning the creation of the cemetery, things like that were pretty informal back then, but I am fairly confident that the first burial was Jacob's grandson Thomas Moon, who died on Oct. 20, 1843 (left, full sized image available in the Moon family listing).  It simply makes sense that Jacob would've created the cemetery upon the death of a family member.

   Lawren H. Mallery, mentioned above, has popped up many times in my research.  Though he acted as "attorney in fact" for the Moon family as far as I can determine he was not a lawyer, although he did serve as a Justice of the Peace in Reading Twp. for a time.  He would've been a neighbor of the Moons and apparently well enough known by them to be entrusted with the cemetery's affairs.  At some point between 1891 and Mr. Mallery's passing in 1912, George Armstrong took over that role.
   George's son Geo. Arlie related to the author many years ago that prior to the creation of the cemetery board in 1921 a large portion of the cemetery was considered a "potter's field"-- that is, anyone could be buried there without charge.  The only stipulation being that if the gravediggers discovered a previous burial they had to dig elsewhere.  The northeastern portion of the cemetery was surreptitiously used by the miners that worked Streator's coalmines.  Largely immigrants and poor, they led a hard life with little or no medical care. 
Infant mortality was universally high at the time, but among the miners it was appalling.  If they were marked at all many of these 19th century graves probably had simple wooden markers which have long since disappeared.  There are so many unmarked and unknown graves in that part of the cemetery that the cemetery board will not sell plots there.