Koontz was born in
Somerset, Pennsylvania. He completed preparatory studies, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1851 and commenced practice in Somerset. He was district attorney for
Somerset County, Pennsylvania, from 1853 to 1856. He was a delegate to the
1860 Republican National Convention. He served as
prothonotary and clerk of the county court from 1861 to 1868. He successfully contested as a Republican the election of
Alexander H. Coffroth to the
Thirty-ninth Congress. He was reelected to the
Fortieth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in
1868. He resumed the practice of law at Somerset and served as counsel for the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He was a member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1899 to 1902. He died in Somerset in 1911 and was interment in Somerset's Union Cemetery. ==References==