Rev. John C. Coss was one of the early ministers in southwestern Vernon County. By March 1879 a church was built between the two "towns" of Igo and Zulu not far from English School and a few miles south of Moundville. The name of the church was Mounds Chapel and it was located one mile north of what became Bronaugh and was on land that was later referred to as the James Quigley farm. Rev. J. C. Coss was probably the first pastor.

In the 1880 census, John Coss, age 40, and his four children were boarding with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Phillips in the town of Moundville. Coss was a "minister of the Gospel" at the local Methodist Church South. He had been born in Pennsylvania and had been a union soldier during the Civil War. So it is strange that although Coss had been a soldier for the north, he was ministering to a Methodist Church South in Missouri. His wife, Evaline, had died the year before and been buried at Moundville cemetery. Their four children had all been born in Missouri. They were, James, age 9; William, age 6; Martha, age 4; and Mary, age 1. Although the Coss's were listed as boarders, Mr. Coss and Mrs. Phillips were brother and sister. Early census records show that John Coss and Elizabeth Coss (Phillips) were children of Charles and Levina Coss of Greene County, Pennsylvania. On September 28, 1880 Rev. Coss re-married. His new wife was Mrs. Martha M. Weyand. A. W. Reynolds performed the marriage. The 40-20 article to the far right is from the Sedalia Bazoo Newspaper ov October 12, 1880. The Bazoo routinely made events sound more spectacular than they really were. By 1886, the family was in California, Moniteau County, Missouri. On July 18, 1886, Mable Coss was born to Martha M. and John Calhoun Coss in California, MO. By 1900, Rev. Coss and his family had moved on further north and were enumerated in Lexington, Lafayette County, Missouri: John C Coss 60 Martha M Coss 47 Martha S Coss 24 Clara E Weyend 22 Mary E Coss 21 Maybell (Mable) Coss 13

Gary Wise wrote that John C. and Martha M. Coss are buried in the Machpelah Cemetery in Lexington Lafayette County Missouri. He had been born Mar. 23, 1840 in Pennsylvania and died October 13, 1906. His wife Martha was born May 13, 1853 in Missouri, and died January 28, 1909. She is buried beside John. Three of the children born to John and his first wife Evaline, are also buried at Machpelah Cemetery: William, Martha and Mary. Gary has shared a great deal of other interesting tidbits about Rev. John C. Coss:

• He was the son of Charles and Levina Coss who are buried at Mason's Ridge Cemetery, Dunkard Township, Greene County, PA
• John's son, Charles, said that although his father had been a union soldier, his sympathy was to the south. John had a brother, Lemon Coss, who was also a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South in Pennsylvania.
• John served in the Company F of the 7th (West) Virginia Infantry. He was recruited out of Pennsylvania.
• John had a first wife - before Evaline and Martha. Her name was Mary Daly and they had one son, Charles E. Coss, born April 14, 1865. Mary had died about ten weeks after the birth.
• Mary Daly Coss died June 24, 1865, at the age of 21 years, 3 months, 5 days and was buried at Eakin Cemetery, near Jollytown, Gilmore Township, Greene County, PA.
• Charles E. Coss apparently did not move west to Missouri with his father. Instead, he remained in Pennsylvania and was raised by his grandparents, Charles and Levina Coss.
• John's third wife, Martha had been married to Tillman N. Weyand. He had died September 14, 1878 and was buried in Coleman Cemetery, northwest of Deerfield, MO in Richland, Township. Tillman was buried near their twin sons, Elmer and Clarence Weyand. Clarence died March 16, 1877 and Elmer died a week later, March 23, 1877. The twins had been born in 1872.
• Thomas Phillips, John Coss' brother in law, who lived at Moundville, MO had served in the same Infantry unit that John did.

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