Robert Looney, Sr.

https://books.google.com/books?id=UJjP_T4h3_AC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&d...

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See: http://thelibrary.org/lochist/periodicals/ozarkswatch/ow504l.htm

Robert Looney Sr was born about 1692 in Ballagilley Farm, Maughold, Isle of Mann, Great Britain.

He died on 14 Sep 1769 in Looney's Mill Creek, Augusta (Now Botetourt), VA, USA.

In about 1724, Robert and Elizabeth Looney came to America from the Isle of Man, Great Britain, with their family, settling first in Philadelphia, PA and later in colonial Maryland. Soon thereafter they moved west to the new frontier and settled in Augusta County, Virginia on the James River. There on Looney Creek, Robert and Elizabeth raised their family, established the first ferry crossing of the James River, built a mill, grew crops and raised livestock. Due to the constant conflict between France and England, as well as the threat of Indian attack, a fort was ordered built in 1755 around the Looney homesite. This fort was named Fort Looney and was at the junction of Looney Creek and the James River. This fort was part of a series of forts ordered built along the frontier to protect settlers and to keep the French from claiming the territory.

Fort Looney was visited in 1756 by Col. George Washington, future first president of the United States. The Looney sons were frontiersmen and pioneers. Some fought and died with the British against the French and Indians. Some were killed by Indians during frequent frontier raids on settlers while others helped to explore and expand the frontier boundaries first into southwestern Virginia and eventually into Tenneessee Indian Territory. The Looney sons and grandsons fought against the British in the War of Independence.

He was married to Elizabeth Llewellyn (Looney) about 1715 in Ballagilley Farm, Maughold, Isle of Mann, Great Britain.

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Derived from a 1974 article appearing in "The Bulletin of North American Manx Assoc."

Little did Robert Looney, a Manx farmer from Ballagilley, Maughold realize that when he arrived in the New World about 1731, that he and his decendants would be recorded in the annals of their new land as frontiersmen and patriots. Records show that by 1734, Robert Looney and his wife, Elizabeth Llwellyn, and at least seven sons (they were to have 14 sons!) were in Philadelphia where they joined an expedition into the colony of Virginia.

The following year he settled on a patent of 291 acres - for which he was to pay the Crown land rent of one shilling a year- on the south bank of Cohongoronta (Upper Potomac) river, probably near present day Hagerstown, Maryland. By 1739-1740 Robert Looney and his family moved southward through the Shenandoah Valley, finally settling on a grant of 250 acres on the James river, in what was to become Augusta County, where another Manxman, Israel Christian, had prospered. They later donated lands for the county seat, and became influential in colonial politics.

In 1742 Robert gained another 400 acres in grants, and became one of the most prosperous farmers in the area, with his own mill, orchards, nursery, cattle and horses, and even operated a ferry across what may still be found today not far from Natrual Bridge - Looney's Mill creek. At least three of his sons served in the Augusta County Militia.

One of these sons, Absolem, was of a true frontier spirit, trapping and hunting in the rugged southwest of the colony, Virginia's last frontier. There, while living in caves to avoid the Indians, Absolem discovered a fertile valley, rich in blue grass pastures, to which he led his family and some followers and founded a new settlement, at least four years before that noted frontier explorer, Daniel Boone, arrived in the same area to build a fort only six miles from Absolem's homestead. To this day, the quiet valley, some seventeen miles from Bluefield, Virginia, is known as "Abb's Valley" in honor of its discoverer, Absolem Looney.

Indian attacks on these frontier communities were not uncommon, but soon the Indians were to be joined by a new ally, the French, and the settlers were swept violently into the bloody conflict between the Britsh and the French known as the "Seven Years War" or "French and Indian War". General Braddock, the British commander in Cief, was mortally wounded and his regiment turned to route at the "Battle of the Wilderness". Col George Washington commander of the Virginia Militia lost some of his men in the same engagement. The picture was grim, no regular army, no militia to protect the settlers. Robert Looney's son Peter, was captured by the Indians and held prisoner at Fort Detroit for almost a year, dying three years after his release. Another son, Samuel, was killed by the Indians in 1760, and the homestead of Robert's daughter Lucy Jane, was raided and looted by the Indians. Robert Looney, mindful of his responsibilities to his family and followers, errected a fort (Fort Looney). This was one of the few Forts which withstood capture and provided provisions to the militia until the end of the war in 1763. Absolem, recalled from Abb's Valley with his family to assist his father in building the fort, was to learn that those who remained in his valley settlement had been massacred by the Indians, a fate which would later befall him at Dunkard's Spring, VA between 1791-96.

But the end of the Indian Wars was not to spare the Looney family. During the American Revolution, two of Robert Looney's sons, Absolem and David were to see duty. Absolem in patriotic service under General George Washington and David as a Major in the Notrth Carolina Militia. Three of Absolem's sons, like the offsprings of his brothers, were to serve in the Virginia Militia, with one dying of gunshot wounds in both legs after his role in the American Victory at the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina.

Absolem's son Michael, homesteaded after the revolution in eastern Tennessee, where his log cabin stood until 1919 and where the 1,500 acre farm he acquired at a half-shilling an acre is still held by his heirs. Others moved westward into Missouri, and is documented in LeRoy Tilton's "Early Looney's in America". Seven branches of the family founded by Robert Looney's sons have extended into more than fifteen states.

Robert and Elizabeth Looney are presumed buried near the Reed Creek area of Augusta Co. (Botetourt Co.), VA. Another of his sons, Joseph, was a Captain in the Botetort County, Virginia Militia, and is described in a following article.

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Link

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/i/x/Peggy-L-Hix-GA/WEB...

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In 1735, Robert and Elizabeth Looney came to America from the Isle of Mann, Great Britain, with their family and settled in colonial Maryland. Soon thereafter they moved west to the new frontier and settled in Augusta County, Virginia on the James River. There on Looney Creek, Robert and Elizabeth raised their family, established the first ferry crossing of the James River, build a mill, grew crops and raised livestock.

Due to the constant conflict between France and England, as well as the threat of an Indian attack, a fort was ordered built in 1755 around the Looney homesite. The fort was named Fort Looney and was at the junction of Looney Creek and the James River. This fort was a part of a series of forts ordered along the frontier to protect settlers and to keep the French from claiming the territory. Fort Looney was visited in 1756 by Col. George Washington, future first president of the United States.

The Looney sons were frontiersmen and pioneers. Some fought and died with the British against the French and Indians. Some were killed by Indians during frequent frontier raids on settlers while others helped to explore and expand the frontier boundaries first into southwestern Virginia and eventually to Tennessee Indian Territory.

The Looney sons and grandsons fought against the British in the War of Independence. John Looney was wounded in the siege of Savannah, Georgia in 1779. He was later granted a total disability pension of $8 per month for this service by special Act on Congress in 1837.

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: Robert Looney (orig. probably Luna) and family were one of 70 families that formed part of a major settlement of the Virginia uplands in 1735. Alexander Ross and Morgan Bryan of Pennsylvania organized the colony as set forth in an order of the Lieutenant Governor and Council of the Dominion of Virginia, dated April 23, 1735. It appeared to be a Quaker settlement. A thorough book on the Looneys is Madge Looney Crane and Philip L. Crane's Most Distinguished Characters on the American Frontier. Robert Looney (b. 1692-1702 d 1770) of Augusta (now Botetourt) County, Virginia and Some of his Descendants, with Histories of the Great Road, Looney's Ferry, Crow's Ferry, Anderson's Ferry, Boyd's Ferry & Beale's Bridge, Vol. I (Apollo, Pa.: Closson Press, 1998). Robert Looney was born in 1692 in Ballagilley Farm, KM, Isle of Man. He died on 14 Sep 1769 in Augusta County, VA. He was christened Cleared in BOUNT. He was buried Cleared in BOUNT. He was baptized Cleared in Will. He was confirmed in (Sr). According to Peter Jefferson's early map Robert Looney was the owner of the only crossing in the southern section of the James River. "Robert Looney was one of the first men to select a home place on the south side of the James River" (Community Life on the James and the Roanoke, p. 163) His name was given to the fort and the creek at the mouth of the river. He had one of the first surveys in the area and received his grant on July 30, 1742. He had the first ferry where his house stood on the south bank of the river and the west side of the creek. Among his sons, besides John, were Absalom, for whom Abb's Valley was named, Robert Jr. who was killed by the Indians, Peter who was captured by the Indians. "The sons were everywhere, on the frontier their name was Legion." ____________________________________________________________________ Little did Robert Looney, a Manx farmer from Ballagilley, Maughold, realize that when he arrived in the New World about 1731, that he and his descendants would be recorded in the annels of their new land as frontiersmen and patriots. Records show that by 1734, Robert Looney and his wife, Elizabeth Llwellyn, and at least seven sons (they were to have 14 sons) were in Philadelphia where they joined an expedition into the colony of Virginia. The following year he settled on a patent of 291 acres - for which he was to pay the Crown land rent of one shilling a year on the south bank of Cohongoronta (Upper Potomac) River, probably near the present day Hagerstown, MD. By 1739-40 Robert Looney and his family moved southward through the Shenandoh Valley, finally settling on a grant of 250 acres on the James River, in what was to become Augusta County, where Manxman, Isreal Christian, had prospered. They later donated lands for the county seat, and became influential in colonial politics. In 1742 Robert gained another 400 acres in grants, and became one of the most prosperous farmers in the area, with his own mill, orchards, nursery, cattle and hourses, and even operated a ferry across what may stil be found today not far from Natural Bridge - Looney's Mill Creek. At least three of his sons served in the Augusta County Militia.

• ** Indian attacks on these frontier communities were not uncommon, but soon the Indians were to be joined by a new ally, the French, and the settlers were swept violently into the bloody conflict between the British and the French known as the "Seven Years War" or the "French and Indian War". General Braddock, the British commander in chief, was mortally wounded and his regiment turned to route at the "Battle of the Wilderness". Col. George Washington, commander of the Virginia Militia, lost some of his men in the same engagement. The picture was grim, no regular army, no militia to protect the settlers. Robert Looney's son, Peter, was captured by the Indians and held prisoner at Fort Detroit for almost a year, dying three years after his release. Another son, Samuel, was killed by the Indians in 1760, the homestead of Robert's daughter Lucy Jane, was raided and looted by the Indians. Robert Looney, mindful of his responsibilities to his family and followers, errected a fort (Fort Looney). This was one of the few Forts that withstood capture and provided provisions to the militia until the end of the war in 1763, Absolem, recalled from Abb's Valley with his family to assist his father in building the fort, was to learn that those who remainde in his valley settlement had been massacred by the Indians, a fate that would later befal him at Dunkard's Spring, VA between 1791-96. But the end of the Indian wars was not to spare the Looney family. During the American Revolution, two of Robert Looney's sons, Absolem and David were to see duty. Abesolem in patrotic service under General George Washington and David as a Major in the North Carolina Militia. Three of absolem's sons, like the offspring of his brothers, were to serve in the Virginia Militia, with one dying of gunshot wounds in both legs after his role in the American victory at the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina.
  • * Robert and Elizabeth are presumed buried near the Reed Creek area of August county (Botetourt County), VA. Taken from Looney Newsletter--Looney Home Page WILL PROBATED 11/13/1770 ISLE OF MAN IS AN ISLAND OF THE BRITISH ISLES IN THE IRISH SEA. SOME SAY BORN IN MOUGHOLD, ISLE OF MAN AND DIED 13 NOV 1769 IN BOTETORTE,VA.? WILL DATED 9/14/1769 BOTETOURT CO.,VA AND WITNESSED BY JOHN SMITH, JOHN CROW, THOMAS CROW, ELINOR CROW, JOHN BURTON. QUAKER RECORDS FOR PROOF OF ROBERT LOONEY. WE KNOW ROBERT AND ELIZABETH WERE IN PHILADELPHIA, PA BEFORE 1734 WHEN THEIR SON PETER WAS BORN. THERE ARE SAID TO BE 14 SONS, BUT ONLY 10 ARE KNOWN BY NAME. ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY (FIRST KNOWN LOONEY'S IN AMERICA) CAME IN THROUGH THE PORT AT PHILDELPHIA, MOVING WESTWARD THROUGH PA. THEY WERE ONE OF THE SEVENTY THAT ENTERED THE COLONY OF VA WITH ALEXANDER ROSS AND MORGAN BRYAN AND SETTLED IN ORANGE CO ( NOW FREDERICK CO) VA, MOVING ON TO AUGUSTA CO, AND THEN TO BOTETOURT CO, WHERE HE DIED. ROBERT'S WILL WAS DATED 9/14/1769 AND PRBATED NOV 13, 1770, BOTETOURT CO, VA. WHEN BOTETOURT CO WAS FORMED IN 1769, ROBERT'S LAND FELL IN THAT COUNTY RATHER THAN THE PARENT AUGUSTA CO. SO HE DIED BETWEEN 9/14/1769 AND 11/13/1770. IT IS THOUGHT THAT ROBERT HAD A SON NAMES MOSES. SEE NOTES ON SULLIVAN CO TN. SAMUEL COLE WILLIAMS' ACTOS OF NORTH CAROLINA 1779 BUT I HAVE NOT BEEN CONVINCED OF THIS AS YET. ONE NEEDS TO CONSULT THIS STUDY OF WILLIAMS BEFORE MAKING A FACTUAL STATEMENT. IT STANDS TO REASON THAT HE COULD HAVE HAD A SON MOSES, HOWEVER, AS IT HAS BEEN CARRIED DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS. MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF PROPERTY AND OTHER REFERENCES TO LANDS IN PA, ED BY WM. HENRY EGLE, M.D., HARRISBURG, 1894, P.21 TELLS US THAT ROBERT LOUNEY WAS BY 10 AUG 1733, ABOUT TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS ENTRY INTO VA IN CONESTOGA TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER CITY, PA. MINUTE BOOK "K": 8B'R 10 (1733)...JACOB BYERLY (COULD THIS BE DYERLY) REQUESTS THE GRANT OF A PARCELL OF LAND ON MIDDLE BRANCH OF CONESTOGA IN ORDER TO BUILD A MILL, THE PLACE HAS BEEN SETTED BY ROB'T LOUNEY... AS A REMINDER, CONESTOGA TOWNSHIP WAS THE HOME OF PETER VAN BEBBER FOR A WHILE. I HAVE NOT CHECKED THE TAX LISTS FOR LANCASTER CTY, AFTER 1728 AND THIS SHOULD BE DONE 1728-1735. HOPEWELL FRIENDS HISTORY 1734-1934, FREDERICK CTY, VA. P.22 ATTESTS TO ROBERT LUNA'S (LOONEY'S) ENTRY INTO VA. ACQUIRING 294 ACRES BY PATENT GRANTED NOV 12, 1735 IN FREDERICK CTY, VA. THE SAME SOLD TO JEREMIAH ? 4 NOV 1766, ROBERT LOONEY HAVING BEEN PART OF THE QUAKER COLONY OF PA IN VA, A GROUP OF QUAKERS AND NON-QUAKERS ORGANIZED BY A. ROSS AND BRYAN. 1741 MOVED TO JAMES RIVER NEAR NATURAL BRIDGE VA (AUGUSTA CO NOW BOTETOURT CO) BORN NEAR SHEADING OF KIRK LONAN AND KIRK MAUGHOLD, WHICH ADJOIN. DIED 1769 OR AT LEAST BETWEEN SEPT 14, 1769 AND NOV 13, 1770, AS HIS WILL WAS DATED 14 SEP. 1769 AND PROBATED NOV 13, 1770. SAID TO HAVE COME FROM THE ISLE OF MAN AND CLAIM THAT AN ANCESTOR FOUGHT WITH MARLBOROUGH IN FLANDERS. SOME THINK THE LOONEY FAMILY MAY HAVE BEEN IN AMERICA AT AN EARLIER DATE THAN WE HAVE RECORDS OF. WE DO KNOW THAT ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY WERE IN PHILADELPHIA BEFORE 1734 WHEN THEIR SON PETER WAS BORN. IT IS SAID THAT THEY WENT FROM THE ISLE OF MAN AND SAILED FROM LONDON. PIRATES ATTACKED THEIR SHIP, BUT THE IMMIGRANTS WERE UNHARMED. WE SURMISE THAT ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY AND THEIR OLDER CHILDREN, AT LEAST SEVEN SONS, HAD RECENTLY ARRIVED IN AMERICA. THEY SOON MOVED WESTWARD, THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA. THIS FAMILY WA ONE OF SEVENTY THAT ENTERED THE COLONY OF VA WITH ALEXANDER ROSS AND MORGAN BRYAN OF THE PROVINCE OF PA. ACCORDING TO AGREEMENT MADE AND SET FORTH IN AN ORDER OF LT. GOV. AND COUNCIL OF THE COLONY AND DOMINION OF VA, DATED 23 APR 1735. FOUNDERS OF THIS QUAKER COLONY WERE ROSS AND BRYAN. IN 1735 SEVERAL YEARS AFTER FOUNDING THE COLONY, THEY OBTAINED A GRANT OF 100,000 ACRES NEAR THE PRESENT SITE OF WINSHESTER, VA. ONLY 34 NAMES OF THE THE 70 HEADS OF FAMILIES WHO PURCHASED LAND THERE HAVE BEEN PRESERVED. AMONG THESE ARE THOMAS ANDERSON, THOMAS BABB, JOSIAH BELLINGER, BENJAMIN FORDEN, .... DAVIS, .... FROST, ...HOBSON, ...HOGG (HOGUE), JOHN LITTLE, ROBERT LUNA, JOHN MILLS. THIS WAS ORANGE CO, NOW FREDERICK CO VA. ROBERT MOVED ON TO AUGUSTA CO IN 1741. HE DIED IN BOTETOURT CO AT CUCHANAN, VA IN 1770. ROBERT LUNA RECEIVED PATENT DATED 12 NOV 1735 FROM GEORGE I, FOR 294 ACRES ON THE SOUTH BANKS OF THE COHONGORONA (UPPER PATOMAC) RIVER, NEAR SAMUEL OWENS PLANTATION, TO BE HELD AS OF THE KING'S MANOR OF EAST GREENWICH IN THE COUNTY OF KENT. IN FREE AND COMMON SOCAGE, NOT IN CAPITE OR BY KNIGHT'S SERVICES, BY PAYING FOR EVERY FIFTY ACRES OF LAND FREE RENT OF ONE SHILLING YEARLY, AND BY CULTIVATING AND IMPROVING 3, AND PART OF EVERY 50 ACRES OF THE TRACT WITHIN 3 YEARS. THIS PROPERTY WAS NOT FAR FROM HAGERSTOWN, MD., WHERE ACCORDING TO ONE ACCOUNT, THE LOONEY CHILDREN ONCE ATTENDED SCHOOL. ROBERT LOWNEY (NAME SPELLED VARIOUS WAYS) RECEIVED 1540 POUND OF TOBACCO FOR 11 WOLFE'S HEADS AT ORANGE CO VA OCT 26, 1738. ROBERT LUNEY WAS SUED BY JOHN HARRISON IN 1740; CONCERNING ONE LONG GUN. JUDGEMENT WAS OBTAINED BY DEFAULT IN 1741 FOR 40 SHILLINGS AND 133 POUNDS OF TOBACCO (COSTS) BUT IN 1742 IT SEEMED UNCOLLECTABLE AND ROBERT LUNEY WAS NOT FOUND IN THE SHERIFF'S BAILWICH. THE HOME PLACE WAS SOLD TO JEREMIAH JACKS BEFORE THIS SUIT. ON MARCH 2, 1739, THE ORANGE CO COURT ORDERED THE RECORDING OF THE DEED FROM ROBERT LUNA TO JEREMIAH JACKS, BUT IT SEEMS NOT TO HAVE BEEN DONE. A SECOND DEED WAS MADE PERHAPS 4 NOV 1766, BY JAMES JACKS ACTING FOR ROBERT LOONEY OF AUGUSTA CA, DAVID LOONEY AT ALL BEING WITNESSES TO POWER OF ATTORNEY WHICH WAS DATED 13 JUN 1766, OR POSSIBLY MERELY RECORDED IN FREDERICK CO ON THAT DATE. THE LOONEY FAMILY MOVED SOUTH THROUGH THE VALLEY ABOUT 1737 OR 1740. ROBERT LOONEY OBTAINED A GRANT OF LAND ON JAMES RIVER ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK; ALSO 400 ACRES ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK ON 30 JULY 1742. THIS LAND IS NOT FAR FROM NATURAL BRIDGE IN WHAT HAS BECOME AUGUSTA CO IN 1738 (BUT NOT ORGANIZED AS SUCH UNTIL 1745) AND IN 1770 BECAME BOTETOURT CO., VA. KEGLEY'S VIRGINIA FRONTIER GIVES AMONG TRACTS OF LAND ON JAMES RIVER TAKEN FROM 1740 TO 1750 THE FOLLOWING TO ROBERT LOONEY; 30 JULY 1742, 250 ACRES ON JAMES RIVER AND BRANCH THEREOF LUNIE'S MILL CREEK, 30 UL 1742, 313 ACRES BEGINNING AT SOUTHSIDE OF CREEK AND EXTENDING TO WEST SIDE OF BEAVER DAM SWAMP, 30 JULY 1742, 400 ACRES ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK, ETC.; 1750.....160 ACRES ON SINKING SPRING WEST SIDE OF JAMES AND 337 ACRES WEST SIDE OF JAMES RIVER. LOONEY'S CREEK AND LOONEY' MILL CREEK ARE MENTIONED IN OTHER TRACTS OF LAND TAKEN DURING THIS PERIOD. THE OLD LOONEY HOME ON THE JAMES RIVER STOOD ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE RIVER AND THE WEST BANK OF THE CREEK. THERE WAS A FORD ACROSS THE JAMES AT THE MOUTH OF THE CREEK, BUT IT WAS SELDOM USABLE AND THE FAMILY OPERATED A FERRY AT THE EDDY JUST ABOVE THE CREEK. ROBERT AND HIS SONS HUNTED, RAN THE FERRY AND A MILL, GRAZED CATTLE AND HORSES AND DEVELOPED A NURSERY AND ORCHARDS. ONE HISTORIAN SAYS, "ROBERT LOONEY AND HIS SONS WERE EVERYWHERE, WERE MEN OF SUBSTANCE AND OF CHARACTER." NOTE: BAYLOR'S BOOK OF SURVEYS AT THE COURTHOUSE IN FREDERICK CO SHOWS THAT PROPERTY ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK, GRANTED TO ROBERT LOONEY, WAS SURVEYED IN APRIL 1740. KEGLER SAYS OF THESE SURVEYS "THESE GRANTS WERE ISSUED ON SURVEYS MADE BY JAMES WOOD OF ORANGE CO, UPON ORGANIZATION OF AUGUSTA CO. JAMES TRIBLE WAS APPOINTED DEPUTY COUNTY SURVEYOR. HE HAD BROUGHT WITH HIM FROM IRELAND A CERTIFICATE TESTIFYING TO HIS GOOD CHARACTER AND QUALIFICATION. HIS SURVEYS ARE RECORDED IN1747. ALONG WITH TRIMBLE AND THOMAS LEWIS WAS JOHN POAGE, WHO WAS ALSO AN ACTIVE DEPUTY. THE PLATS OF THE EARLY SURVEYS MADE BY THESE MEN WERE IN AUGUSTA CO VA AND WERE PROPERLY RECORDED AND ARE WELL PRESERVED IN THE COUNTY RECORDS. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN CHALELEY'S ABSTRACTS. FROM THE AUGUSTS CO COURT RECORDS, WE LEARNED MUCH ABOUT ROBERT LOONEY, ELIZABETH, AND THEIR CHILDREN. IN 1743, HE RECEIVED SOME CASH, PROBABLY FROM THE ESTATE OF DANIEL MONAHAN. A COURT ORDER OF DEC 9, 1745 APPOINTS LOONEY AS AN APPRAISER. ON AUGUST 20, 1747, HIS WAS WAS EXCUSED FROM ATTENDANCE AT COURT, BEING AGED AND INFIRM, AND A COMMISION WAS APPOINTED TO TAKE HER TESTIMONY. IN 1750 ROBERT LOONEY AND JOHN SMITH WERE SURTIES FOR ELIZABETH BARBER, ADMX. OF GEORGE BARBER. ON 11 OCT 1759, ROBERT LOONEY MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH HIS SONS, PETER LOONEY AND DAVID LOONEY, BY TERMS OF WHICH MUCH OF HIS LAND AND OTHER PROPERTY WERE GIVEN TO THESE SONS, WHO WERE TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR THEIR PARENTS AND CARE FOR THEM. IN 1752, ROBERT LOONEY IS MENTIONED AS EXEMPT FROM A COUNTY LEVY. THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN SOME DELAY OR A DISPUTE OVER THE 1759 AGREEMENT, BECAUSE ON 13 NOV 1762, ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY DEEDED TO JOHN BOYER 250 ACRES, THE LAND THAT WAS PATENTED ON 30 JULY 1742. THIS SEEMS TO HAVE INCLUDED NOT ONLY THE LAND PREVIOUSLY GIVEN TO SONS PETER AND DAVID BUT CERTAIN SUITS WERE BROUGHT BY THE HEIRS OF DANIEL AND PETER LOONEY, AGAINST ROBERT LOONEY AND JOHN BOYER. ROBERT WAS ACTIVE AT LEAST AS LATE AS 1764, WHEN HE ANSWERED SUITS. ON NOV 20, 1764, HE DEEDED 160 ACRES OF LAND AT SINKING SPRINGS, TO JOSEPH LOONEY. ON 24 MAY, 1765, IT WAS DECREED THAT JOHN BOYER SHOULD RECONVEY TO EACH OF THE INTERESTED PARTIES THEIR LANDS. THE AGREEMENT OF 1759 WAS RECORDED IN THE SAME MONTH. JOHN BOYER DEEDED THE LANDS TO DAVID LOONEY, TO PETER LOONEY JR., AND TO MARGARET LOONEY, DAUGHTER OF DANIEL. IN MAY 1768, THERE IS RECORDED AN ACCOUNT OF RECORD OF SETTLEMENT BETWEEN ROBERT LOONEY AND IRWIN PATTERSON'S ESTATE. FROM THIS RECORD WE LEARN THAT ELIZABETH LOONEY BOUGHT ONE LOOKING GLASS AND SUNDRY GOODS ON MAY 1; ALSO THAT FERRIAGE AT 20 SHILLINGS PER ANNUM FOR 10 YEARS WAS DUE FROM PATTERSON'S ESTATE TO LOONEY. LOONEY'S FERRY IS MENTIONED MANY TIMES IN EARLY VA RECORDS. VA. HIST. MAG.V.16, P. 207, (1908 EDITION). IN ITS "NOTE FROM COLONIAL VIRGINIA NEWSPAPERS MADE BY JOHN RANDOLPH IN 1706" HAS THIS ITEM; "WILLIAMSBURG, APRIL 19, COL. BUCHANAN AND OTHERS HAVE REMOVED SINS OF INDIANS AS FAR DOWN AS LOONEY'S FERRY." VOL. 15 P. 248, "THE COUNCIL HELD BY GEN. ASSEMBLY IN MARCH, 1756, ORDERED A CHAIN OF FORTS: TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY COL. GEORGE WASHINGTON TO GOV. DINWIDDLE THROW SOME LIGHT AS TO THEIR LOCATION. WASHINGTON LEFT WINCHESTER SEPT. 29, 1756, TO VISIT THEM; ARRIVED AT STAUNTON AND TRIED TO RAISE A MILITIA, THEN PROCEEDED TO LOONEY'S FERRY ON THE JAMES RIVER, WHERE COL. BUCHANAN LIVED, NEXT HE VISITED FT. WILLIAM NEAR THE CATAWABA RIVER IN PRESENT BOTETOURT CO, THEN COMMANDED BY COL. NASH. (THIS IS THE COL. NASH WHO LATER CAME TO TENNESSEE IT SEEMS)" FROM THE DAIRY OF JOHN BALLR "OCT 24, 1751, LOONEY RECONVERED L15 BY CHANGED OPINION AND WOULD OTHERWISE BEEN RUINED IN SEEKING THE RIGHT." IN A LETTER FROM ROYAL OAKS WRITTEN 12 OCT, 1774, WE LEARN DALE CARTER WAS KILLED BY THE INDIANS. CAPT. JOSEPH LOONEY WAS IN THIS SETTLEMENT. CPT. JOSEPH LOONEY OF BOTETOURT IS LISTED AS BEING IN THE VA. MILITIA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. IN VA. MILITIA OF 1842 ARE LISTED THO. LOONEY, ROBERT LOONEY, DAN LOONEY, ADM. LOONEY. IN THE INDIANS WARS IN AUGUSTA CO., 1756, JUN 25, CPT JOHN SMITH, PRISONER ESCAPED PETER LOONEY. FORT VAUSE, ESCAPED 1756 FEB. ROBERT LOONEY AND A DUTCHMAN, REED CREEK KILLED. (THIS IS ROBERT JR. SON OF ROBERT SR) THE FIRST CENSUS OF U.S. 1790 NANSEMOND COUNTY, VA. LISTS AS HEAD OF FAMILY LOONEY, WILLIAM, 4 WHITE MALES, 2 BLACK (OVER 16), CENSUS OF 1790 HARTFORD CO.,MD. LISTS WILLIAM LOONEY, 2 FEMALES, 2 MALES OVER 16, 2 UNDER 16, 14 SLAVES. IN OTHER COUNTIES IN MARYLAND ARE GIVEN LOTT LOONEY WITH SLAVE, KIT LOONEY WITH ONLY FEMALES IN HER HOUSEHOLD. BY NOV. 1846, SETTLEMENTS S.W. OF ROANOKE HAD BECOME SO IMPORTANT THAT ON 19TH OF THAT MONTH FOUR ROADS WERE ORDERED BUILT FROM ROANOKE LEADING TO THE SETTLEMET. THE SECOND ROAD FROM ADAMS HARMON'S ON THE NEW RIVER TO THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE ROANOKE WAS OF INTEREST TO THE LOONEY FAMILY. LATER, ABSALOM LOONEY, SON OF ROBERT WAS APPOINTED TO MARK THE WAY FOR THE ROAD. THE ABOVE PETER LOONEY, CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS WAS THE SONE OF ROBERT SR, WAS LATER AT NASHBOROUGH, NC AND NOW TENNESSEE. ROBERT LOONEYS WILL IS DATED 14 SEP 1769. IT NAMES HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH AND HIS SON, JOSEPH, AS EXECUTORS, LEAVES TO GRANDSON JOHN LUNEY ONE SHILLING STERLING, AND ALL REMAINDER AFTER CHARGES AND DEBTS TO WIFE, ELIZABETH, FOR HER LIFE AND AFTERWARDS TO SON, JOSEPH. "THE REST OF MY CHILDREN HAVING ALREADY GOT ALL THAT I ALLOW TO THEM OF MY ESTATE." HIS WITNESSES WERE JOHN SMITH, THOMAS CROW, ELINOR CROW, AND JOHN BURTON. THE WILL WAS PROVED BY THE FIRST THREE WITNESSES WHEN PRESENTED TO THE BOTETOURT COURT BY JOSEPH LOONEY, EXECUTOR ON 13 NOV, 1770. CERTAIN ENTRIES AT THE OCTOBER TERM OF COURT IN 1770 INDICATE ROBERT LOONEY WAS LIVING THEN AND CONSEQUENTLY, HIS DEATH OCCURRED IN OCT OR NOV OF THAT YEAR. JOSEPH LOONEY'S SURETIES WERE ABRAHAM MCCLELLAN AND JOHN LOONEY, A BROTHER OR A SON. INDIAN WARS IN AUGUSTA CO. 1756 LISTS ROBERT LOONEY KILLED ESCAPING PRISON; PETER LOONEY ESCAPED AND WAS KILLED LATER; THOMAS, SAMUEL AND ADAM WERE REPORTED KILLED IN INDIAN SKIRMISHES, ABSALOM WAS KILLED BY AN ARROW WHILE HE WAS STOOPED OVER DRINKING FROM DUNKARD'S SPRING, NEAR HIS HOME, NEAR NEW CASTLE VA IN 1798. ABOVE INFORMATION FROM INDIAN WARS SUPPLIED BY MRS. JOE STROUD (ELISE), OF BIRMINGHAM, ALA., DESCENDANT OF ABOVE ABSALOM 2, ROBERT 1. The 1742 homesite of Robert and Elizabeth Looney was at the Junction of Looney Creek and the James River in Augusta Co. now Botetourt Co., VA Notes for Robert Looney Sr.: 1735 the Family of Robt. Looney was one of seventy that entered the Quaker Colony of VA, with Alexander Ross and Morgan Bryan of the Providence of PA. The colony bought 100,000 acres of land near Winchester, VA. Among the purchasers listed is Robert Looney. He also received a patent dated November 12, 1735 from the Crown, George the Second, for 294 acres on the south bank of the Cohongoronta, upper Potomac River, near the Samuel Owens plantation. He received a grant of 250 acres on the JAMES River and on "Lunie s" Mill Creek, 400 acres on "Lunie s" Mill Creek on July 30, 1742. Robt. purchased a large tract of land in Botetourt Co on the upper James River, across the river from Buchanan, VA, a tract well over 1500 acres. The Looney Family is known to have come from Ireland. A Place called Ballagilley, Isle of Mann. Robert Looney B. Abt. 1692 D.Sept. 14, 1769 in Va. married Elizabeth Llewellen. In about 1724, Robert and Elizabeth Looney came to America from the Isle of Man, Great Britain, with their family, settling first in Philadelphia, Pa. and later in colonial Maryland. Soon thereafter they moved west to the new frontier and settled in (Botetourt Co., Va.) Augusta County, Virginia on the James River. There on Looney Creek, Robert and Elizabeth raised their family, established the first ferry crossing of the James River, built a mill, grew crops and raised livestock. They also maintained a nursery. Due to the constant conflict between France and England, as well as the threat of Indian attack, a fort was ordered built in 1755 around the Looney homesite. This fort was named Fort Looney and was at the junction of Looney Creek and the James River. This fort was part of a series of forts ordered built along the frontier to protect settlers and to keep the French from claiming the territory. Fort Looney was visited in 1756 by Col. George Washington, future first president of the United States. WILL OF ROBERT LOONEY --- BOTETOURT CO. VIRGINIA In the name of God, Amen, Sept. the 14, 1769, I, Robert Luney, being very sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory, and calling to mind the uncertainty of this life, and knowing that all born to die once, I recommend my soul to God, who gave it, and my body to the ground to be buried in a decent manner, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but I shall have it again at the Resurrection. As for my worldly estate, that it has pleased God to bless me with, I give and bequeath, in manner and form following; I leave to my beloved wife, Elizabeth Luney, and my beloved son Joseph Luney, to be my sole executors. Next I leave to my beloved grandson John Luney, one shilling, sterling. Also the remainder of my bodily estate after my funeral charge, and lawful debts are paid, I give and bequeath to my well beloved wife, Elizabeth, to live on, and use as she pleases during her natural life, and then to descend to my beloved son, Joseph, at her death, the rest of my children having already got all that I allow to them of my estate. (Robert (R) Luney- his mark) "At a court held for Bote. Co., VA, the 13 day of Nov. 1770, this writing purporting to be the Last Will and Testament of Robert Looney, deceased, was presented in Court by Joseph Looney, one of the executors herein named, and proved by the oaths of Thomas Crow, James Crow, and John Smith, and ordered to be recorded, and motion of the said executor who made oath according to law, certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate thereof, in due form, whereupon, he, together with Abraham McClelland, and John Looney, his securities, entered into and acknowledged their Bond in Five Hundred pounds, conditioned as the law directed. Teste. John May. C.B.C. " REF: Pg. 31 "The House of Looney, A History and Genealogy of John and Llewellyn Looney, who migrated to the American Colonies at an early date, from the Isle of Man. Written by Francis Marshall Gill, at the request of Coyd A. Looney, of Estacada, Oregon (Deceased)." In the Beginning: Robert Looney Derived from a 1974 article appearing in "The Bulletin of North American Manx Assoc." Little did Robert Looney, a Manx farmer from Ballagilley, Maughold realize that when he arrived in the New World about 1731, that he and his decendants would be recorded in the annals of their new land as frontiersmen and patriots. Records show that by 1734, Robert Looney and his wife, Elizabeth Llwellyn, and at least seven sons (they were to have 14 sons!) were in Philadelphia where they joined an expedition into the colony of Virginia. The following year he settled on a patent of 291 acres - for which he was to pay the Crown land rent of one shilling a year- on the south bank of Cohongoronta (Upper Potomac) river, probably near present day Hagerstown, Maryland. By 1739-1740 Robert Looney and his family moved southward through the Shenandoah Valley, finally settling on a grant of 250 acres on the James river, in what was to become Augusta County, where another Manxman, Isreal Christian, had prospered. They later donated lands for the county seat, and became influential in colonial politics. In 1742 Robert gained another 400 acres in grants, and became one of the most prosperous farmers in the area, with his own mill, orchards, nursery, cattle and horses, and even operated a ferry across what may still be found today not far from Natrual Bridge - Looney's Mill creek. At least three of his sons served in the Augusta County Militia. Indian attacks on these frontier communities were not uncommon, but soon the Indians were to be joined by a new ally, the French, and the settlers were swept violently into the bloody conflict between the Britsh and the French known as the "Seven Years War" or "French and Indian War". General Braddock, the British commander in Cief, was mortally wounded and his regiment turned to route at the "Battle of the Wilderness". Col George Washington commander of the Virginia Militia lost some of his men in the same engagement. The picture was grim, no regular army, no militia to protect the settlers. Robert Looney's son Peter, was captured by the Indians and held prisoner at Fort Detroit for almost a year, dying three years after his release. Another son, Samuel, was killed by the Indians in 1760, and the homestead of Robert's daughter Lucy Jane, was raided and looted by the Indians. Robert Looney, mindful of his responsibilities to his family and followers, errected a fort (Fort Looney). This was one of the few Forts which withstood capture and provided provisions to the militia until the end of the war in 1763. Absolem, recalled from Abb's Valley with his family to assist his father in building the fort, was to learn that those who remained in his valley settlement had been massacred by the Indians, a fate which would later befall him at Dunkard's Spring, VA between 1791-96. But the end of the Indian Wars was not to spare the Looney family. During the American Revolution, two of Robert Looney's sons, Absolem and David were to see duty. Absolem in patriotic service under General George Washington and David as a Major in the Notrth Carolina Militia. Three of Absolem's sons, like the offsprings of his brothers, were to serve in the Virginia Militia, with one dying of gunshot wounds in both legs after his role in the American Victory at the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina. Absolem's son Michael, homesteaded after the revolution in eastern Tennessee, where his log cabin stood until 1919 and where the 1,500 acre farm he acquired at a half-shilling an acre is still held by his heirs. Others moved westward into Missouri, and is documented in LeRoy Tilton's "Early Looney's in America". Seven branches of the family founded by Robert Looney's sons have extended into more than fifteen states. Robert and Elizabeth Looney are presumed buried near the Reed Creek area of Augusta Co. (Botetourt Co.), VA. Another of his sons, Joseph, was a Captian in the Botetort County, Virginia Militia. Robert Looney (orig. probably Luna) and family were one of 70 families that formed part of a major settlement of the Virginia uplands in 1735. Alexander Ross and Morgan Bryan of Pennsylvania organized the colony as set forth in an order of the Lieutenant Governor and Council of the Dominion of Virginia, dated April 23, 1735. It appeared to be a Quaker settlement. A thorough book on the Looneys is Madge Looney Crane and Philip L. Crane's Most Distinguished Characters on the American Frontier. Robert Looney (b. 1692-1702 d 1770) of Augusta (now Botetourt) County, Virginia and Some of his Descendants, with Histories of the Great Road, Looney's Ferry, Crow's Ferry, Anderson's Ferry, Boyd's Ferry & Beale's Bridge, Vol. I (Apollo, Pa.: Closson Press, 1998). Robert Looney was born in 1692 in Ballagilley Farm, KM, Isle of Man. He died on 14 Sep 1769 in Augusta County, VA. He was christened Cleared in BOUNT. He was buried Cleared in BOUNT. He was baptized Cleared in Will. He was confirmed in (Sr). According to Peter Jefferson's early map Robert Looney was the owner of the only crossing in the southern section of the James River. "Robert Looney was one of the first men to select a home place on the south side of the James River" (Community Life on the James and the Roanoke, p. 163) His name was given to the fort and the creek at the mouth of the river. He had one of the first surveys in the area and received his grant on July 30, 1742. He had the first ferry where his house stood on the south bank of the river and the west side of the creek. Among his sons, besides John, were Absalom, for whom Abb's Valley was named, Robert Jr. who was killed by the Indians, Peter who was captured by the Indians. "The sons were everywhere, on the frontier their name was Legion." ____________________________________________________________________ Little did Robert Looney, a Manx farmer from Ballagilley, Maughold, realize that when he arrived in the New World about 1731, that he and his descendants would be recorded in the annels of their new land as frontiersmen and patriots. Records show that by 1734, Robert Looney and his wife, Elizabeth Llwellyn, and at least seven sons (they were to have 14 sons) were in Philadelphia where they joined an expedition into the colony of Virginia. The following year he settled on a patent of 291 acres - for which he was to pay the Crown land rent of one shilling a year on the south bank of Cohongoronta (Upper Potomac) River, probably near the present day Hagerstown, MD. By 1739-40 Robert Looney and his family moved southward through the Shenandoh Valley, finally settling on a grant of 250 acres on the James River, in what was to become Augusta County, where Manxman, Isreal Christian, had prospered. They later donated lands for the county seat, and became influential in colonial politics. In 1742 Robert gained another 400 acres in grants, and became one of the most prosperous farmers in the area, with his own mill, orchards, nursery, cattle and hourses, and even operated a ferry across what may stil be found today not far from Natural Bridge - Looney's Mill Creek. At least three of his sons served in the Augusta County Militia.
    • Indian attacks on these frontier communities were not uncommon, but soon the Indians were to be joined by a new ally, the French, and the settlers were swept violently into the bloody conflict between the British and the French known as the "Seven Years War" or the "French and Indian War". General Braddock, the British commander in chief, was mortally wounded and his regiment turned to route at the "Battle of the Wilderness". Col. George Washington, commander of the Virginia Militia, lost some of his men in the same engagement. The picture was grim, no regular army, no militia to protect the settlers. Robert Looney's son, Peter, was captured by the Indians and held prisoner at Fort Detroit for almost a year, dying three years after his release. Another son, Samuel, was killed by the Indians in 1760, the homestead of Robert's daughter Lucy Jane, was raided and looted by the Indians. Robert Looney, mindful of his responsibilities to his family and followers, errected a fort (Fort Looney). This was one of the few Forts that withstood capture and provided provisions to the militia until the end of the war in 1763, Absolem, recalled from Abb's Valley with his family to assist his father in building the fort, was to learn that those who remainde in his valley settlement had been massacred by the Indians, a fate that would later befal him at Dunkard's Spring, VA between 1791-96. But the end of the Indian wars was not to spare the Looney family. During the American Revolution, two of Robert Looney's sons, Absolem and David were to see duty. Abesolem in patrotic service under General George Washington and David as a Major in the North Carolina Militia. Three of absolem's sons, like the offspring of his brothers, were to serve in the Virginia Militia, with one dying of gunshot wounds in both legs after his role in the American victory at the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina.
    • Robert and Elizabeth are presumed buried near the Reed Creek area of August county (Botetourt County), VA. Taken from Looney Newsletter--Looney Home Page WILL PROBATED 11/13/1770 ISLE OF MAN IS AN ISLAND OF THE BRITISH ISLES IN THE IRISH SEA. SOME SAY BORN IN MOUGHOLD, ISLE OF MAN AND DIED 13 NOV 1769 IN BOTETORTE,VA.? WILL DATED 9/14/1769 BOTETOURT CO.,VA AND WITNESSED BY JOHN SMITH, JOHN CROW, THOMAS CROW, ELINOR CROW, JOHN BURTON. QUAKER RECORDS FOR PROOF OF ROBERT LOONEY. WE KNOW ROBERT AND ELIZABETH WERE IN PHILADELPHIA, PA BEFORE 1734 WHEN THEIR SON PETER WAS BORN. THERE ARE SAID TO BE 14 SONS, BUT ONLY 10 ARE KNOWN BY NAME. ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY (FIRST KNOWN LOONEY'S IN AMERICA) CAME IN THROUGH THE PORT AT PHILDELPHIA, MOVING WESTWARD THROUGH PA. THEY WERE ONE OF THE SEVENTY THAT ENTERED THE COLONY OF VA WITH ALEXANDER ROSS AND MORGAN BRYAN AND SETTLED IN ORANGE CO ( NOW FREDERICK CO) VA, MOVING ON TO AUGUSTA CO, AND THEN TO BOTETOURT CO, WHERE HE DIED. ROBERT'S WILL WAS DATED 9/14/1769 AND PRBATED NOV 13, 1770, BOTETOURT CO, VA. WHEN BOTETOURT CO WAS FORMED IN 1769, ROBERT'S LAND FELL IN THAT COUNTY RATHER THAN THE PARENT AUGUSTA CO. SO HE DIED BETWEEN 9/14/1769 AND 11/13/1770. IT IS THOUGHT THAT ROBERT HAD A SON NAMES MOSES. SEE NOTES ON SULLIVAN CO TN. SAMUEL COLE WILLIAMS' ACTOS OF NORTH CAROLINA 1779 BUT I HAVE NOT BEEN CONVINCED OF THIS AS YET. ONE NEEDS TO CONSULT THIS STUDY OF WILLIAMS BEFORE MAKING A FACTUAL STATEMENT. IT STANDS TO REASON THAT HE COULD HAVE HAD A SON MOSES, HOWEVER, AS IT HAS BEEN CARRIED DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS. MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF PROPERTY AND OTHER REFERENCES TO LANDS IN PA, ED BY WM. HENRY EGLE, M.D., HARRISBURG, 1894, P.21 TELLS US THAT ROBERT LOUNEY WAS BY 10 AUG 1733, ABOUT TWO YEARS BEFORE HIS ENTRY INTO VA IN CONESTOGA TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER CITY, PA. MINUTE BOOK "K": 8B'R 10 (1733)...JACOB BYERLY (COULD THIS BE DYERLY) REQUESTS THE GRANT OF A PARCELL OF LAND ON MIDDLE BRANCH OF CONESTOGA IN ORDER TO BUILD A MILL, THE PLACE HAS BEEN SETTED BY ROB'T LOUNEY... AS A REMINDER, CONESTOGA TOWNSHIP WAS THE HOME OF PETER VAN BEBBER FOR A WHILE. I HAVE NOT CHECKED THE TAX LISTS FOR LANCASTER CTY, AFTER 1728 AND THIS SHOULD BE DONE 1728-1735. HOPEWELL FRIENDS HISTORY 1734-1934, FREDERICK CTY, VA. P.22 ATTESTS TO ROBERT LUNA'S (LOONEY'S) ENTRY INTO VA. ACQUIRING 294 ACRES BY PATENT GRANTED NOV 12, 1735 IN FREDERICK CTY, VA. THE SAME SOLD TO JEREMIAH ? 4 NOV 1766, ROBERT LOONEY HAVING BEEN PART OF THE QUAKER COLONY OF PA IN VA, A GROUP OF QUAKERS AND NON-QUAKERS ORGANIZED BY A. ROSS AND BRYAN. 1741 MOVED TO JAMES RIVER NEAR NATURAL BRIDGE VA (AUGUSTA CO NOW BOTETOURT CO) BORN NEAR SHEADING OF KIRK LONAN AND KIRK MAUGHOLD, WHICH ADJOIN. DIED 1769 OR AT LEAST BETWEEN SEPT 14, 1769 AND NOV 13, 1770, AS HIS WILL WAS DATED 14 SEP. 1769 AND PROBATED NOV 13, 1770. SAID TO HAVE COME FROM THE ISLE OF MAN AND CLAIM THAT AN ANCESTOR FOUGHT WITH MARLBOROUGH IN FLANDERS. SOME THINK THE LOONEY FAMILY MAY HAVE BEEN IN AMERICA AT AN EARLIER DATE THAN WE HAVE RECORDS OF. WE DO KNOW THAT ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY WERE IN PHILADELPHIA BEFORE 1734 WHEN THEIR SON PETER WAS BORN. IT IS SAID THAT THEY WENT FROM THE ISLE OF MAN AND SAILED FROM LONDON. PIRATES ATTACKED THEIR SHIP, BUT THE IMMIGRANTS WERE UNHARMED. WE SURMISE THAT ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY AND THEIR OLDER CHILDREN, AT LEAST SEVEN SONS, HAD RECENTLY ARRIVED IN AMERICA. THEY SOON MOVED WESTWARD, THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA. THIS FAMILY WA ONE OF SEVENTY THAT ENTERED THE COLONY OF VA WITH ALEXANDER ROSS AND MORGAN BRYAN OF THE PROVINCE OF PA. ACCORDING TO AGREEMENT MADE AND SET FORTH IN AN ORDER OF LT. GOV. AND COUNCIL OF THE COLONY AND DOMINION OF VA, DATED 23 APR 1735. FOUNDERS OF THIS QUAKER COLONY WERE ROSS AND BRYAN. IN 1735 SEVERAL YEARS AFTER FOUNDING THE COLONY, THEY OBTAINED A GRANT OF 100,000 ACRES NEAR THE PRESENT SITE OF WINSHESTER, VA. ONLY 34 NAMES OF THE THE 70 HEADS OF FAMILIES WHO PURCHASED LAND THERE HAVE BEEN PRESERVED. AMONG THESE ARE THOMAS ANDERSON, THOMAS BABB, JOSIAH BELLINGER, BENJAMIN FORDEN, .... DAVIS, .... FROST, ...HOBSON, ...HOGG (HOGUE), JOHN LITTLE, ROBERT LUNA, JOHN MILLS. THIS WAS ORANGE CO, NOW FREDERICK CO VA. ROBERT MOVED ON TO AUGUSTA CO IN 1741. HE DIED IN BOTETOURT CO AT CUCHANAN, VA IN 1770. ROBERT LUNA RECEIVED PATENT DATED 12 NOV 1735 FROM GEORGE I, FOR 294 ACRES ON THE SOUTH BANKS OF THE COHONGORONA (UPPER PATOMAC) RIVER, NEAR SAMUEL OWENS PLANTATION, TO BE HELD AS OF THE KING'S MANOR OF EAST GREENWICH IN THE COUNTY OF KENT. IN FREE AND COMMON SOCAGE, NOT IN CAPITE OR BY KNIGHT'S SERVICES, BY PAYING FOR EVERY FIFTY ACRES OF LAND FREE RENT OF ONE SHILLING YEARLY, AND BY CULTIVATING AND IMPROVING 3, AND PART OF EVERY 50 ACRES OF THE TRACT WITHIN 3 YEARS. THIS PROPERTY WAS NOT FAR FROM HAGERSTOWN, MD., WHERE ACCORDING TO ONE ACCOUNT, THE LOONEY CHILDREN ONCE ATTENDED SCHOOL. ROBERT LOWNEY (NAME SPELLED VARIOUS WAYS) RECEIVED 1540 POUND OF TOBACCO FOR 11 WOLFE'S HEADS AT ORANGE CO VA OCT 26, 1738. ROBERT LUNEY WAS SUED BY JOHN HARRISON IN 1740; CONCERNING ONE LONG GUN. JUDGEMENT WAS OBTAINED BY DEFAULT IN 1741 FOR 40 SHILLINGS AND 133 POUNDS OF TOBACCO (COSTS) BUT IN 1742 IT SEEMED UNCOLLECTABLE AND ROBERT LUNEY WAS NOT FOUND IN THE SHERIFF'S BAILWICH. THE HOME PLACE WAS SOLD TO JEREMIAH JACKS BEFORE THIS SUIT. ON MARCH 2, 1739, THE ORANGE CO COURT ORDERED THE RECORDING OF THE DEED FROM ROBERT LUNA TO JEREMIAH JACKS, BUT IT SEEMS NOT TO HAVE BEEN DONE. A SECOND DEED WAS MADE PERHAPS 4 NOV 1766, BY JAMES JACKS ACTING FOR ROBERT LOONEY OF AUGUSTA CA, DAVID LOONEY AT ALL BEING WITNESSES TO POWER OF ATTORNEY WHICH WAS DATED 13 JUN 1766, OR POSSIBLY MERELY RECORDED IN FREDERICK CO ON THAT DATE. THE LOONEY FAMILY MOVED SOUTH THROUGH THE VALLEY ABOUT 1737 OR 1740. ROBERT LOONEY OBTAINED A GRANT OF LAND ON JAMES RIVER ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK; ALSO 400 ACRES ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK ON 30 JULY 1742. THIS LAND IS NOT FAR FROM NATURAL BRIDGE IN WHAT HAS BECOME AUGUSTA CO IN 1738 (BUT NOT ORGANIZED AS SUCH UNTIL 1745) AND IN 1770 BECAME BOTETOURT CO., VA. KEGLEY'S VIRGINIA FRONTIER GIVES AMONG TRACTS OF LAND ON JAMES RIVER TAKEN FROM 1740 TO 1750 THE FOLLOWING TO ROBERT LOONEY; 30 JULY 1742, 250 ACRES ON JAMES RIVER AND BRANCH THEREOF LUNIE'S MILL CREEK, 30 UL 1742, 313 ACRES BEGINNING AT SOUTHSIDE OF CREEK AND EXTENDING TO WEST SIDE OF BEAVER DAM SWAMP, 30 JULY 1742, 400 ACRES ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK, ETC.; 1750.....160 ACRES ON SINKING SPRING WEST SIDE OF JAMES AND 337 ACRES WEST SIDE OF JAMES RIVER. LOONEY'S CREEK AND LOONEY' MILL CREEK ARE MENTIONED IN OTHER TRACTS OF LAND TAKEN DURING THIS PERIOD. THE OLD LOONEY HOME ON THE JAMES RIVER STOOD ON THE SOUTH BANK OF THE RIVER AND THE WEST BANK OF THE CREEK. THERE WAS A FORD ACROSS THE JAMES AT THE MOUTH OF THE CREEK, BUT IT WAS SELDOM USABLE AND THE FAMILY OPERATED A FERRY AT THE EDDY JUST ABOVE THE CREEK. ROBERT AND HIS SONS HUNTED, RAN THE FERRY AND A MILL, GRAZED CATTLE AND HORSES AND DEVELOPED A NURSERY AND ORCHARDS. ONE HISTORIAN SAYS, "ROBERT LOONEY AND HIS SONS WERE EVERYWHERE, WERE MEN OF SUBSTANCE AND OF CHARACTER." NOTE: BAYLOR'S BOOK OF SURVEYS AT THE COURTHOUSE IN FREDERICK CO SHOWS THAT PROPERTY ON LUNIE'S MILL CREEK, GRANTED TO ROBERT LOONEY, WAS SURVEYED IN APRIL 1740. KEGLER SAYS OF THESE SURVEYS "THESE GRANTS WERE ISSUED ON SURVEYS MADE BY JAMES WOOD OF ORANGE CO, UPON ORGANIZATION OF AUGUSTA CO. JAMES TRIBLE WAS APPOINTED DEPUTY COUNTY SURVEYOR. HE HAD BROUGHT WITH HIM FROM IRELAND A CERTIFICATE TESTIFYING TO HIS GOOD CHARACTER AND QUALIFICATION. HIS SURVEYS ARE RECORDED IN1747. ALONG WITH TRIMBLE AND THOMAS LEWIS WAS JOHN POAGE, WHO WAS ALSO AN ACTIVE DEPUTY. THE PLATS OF THE EARLY SURVEYS MADE BY THESE MEN WERE IN AUGUSTA CO VA AND WERE PROPERLY RECORDED AND ARE WELL PRESERVED IN THE COUNTY RECORDS. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY ARE NOT INCLUDED IN CHALELEY'S ABSTRACTS. FROM THE AUGUSTS CO COURT RECORDS, WE LEARNED MUCH ABOUT ROBERT LOONEY, ELIZABETH, AND THEIR CHILDREN. IN 1743, HE RECEIVED SOME CASH, PROBABLY FROM THE ESTATE OF DANIEL MONAHAN. A COURT ORDER OF DEC 9, 1745 APPOINTS LOONEY AS AN APPRAISER. ON AUGUST 20, 1747, HIS WAS WAS EXCUSED FROM ATTENDANCE AT COURT, BEING AGED AND INFIRM, AND A COMMISION WAS APPOINTED TO TAKE HER TESTIMONY. IN 1750 ROBERT LOONEY AND JOHN SMITH WERE SURTIES FOR ELIZABETH BARBER, ADMX. OF GEORGE BARBER. ON 11 OCT 1759, ROBERT LOONEY MADE AN AGREEMENT WITH HIS SONS, PETER LOONEY AND DAVID LOONEY, BY TERMS OF WHICH MUCH OF HIS LAND AND OTHER PROPERTY WERE GIVEN TO THESE SONS, WHO WERE TO BUILD A HOUSE FOR THEIR PARENTS AND CARE FOR THEM. IN 1752, ROBERT LOONEY IS MENTIONED AS EXEMPT FROM A COUNTY LEVY. THERE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN SOME DELAY OR A DISPUTE OVER THE 1759 AGREEMENT, BECAUSE ON 13 NOV 1762, ROBERT AND ELIZABETH LOONEY DEEDED TO JOHN BOYER 250 ACRES, THE LAND THAT WAS PATENTED ON 30 JULY 1742. THIS SEEMS TO HAVE INCLUDED NOT ONLY THE LAND PREVIOUSLY GIVEN TO SONS PETER AND DAVID BUT CERTAIN SUITS WERE BROUGHT BY THE HEIRS OF DANIEL AND PETER LOONEY, AGAINST ROBERT LOONEY AND JOHN BOYER. ROBERT WAS ACTIVE AT LEAST AS LATE AS 1764, WHEN HE ANSWERED SUITS. ON NOV 20, 1764, HE DEEDED 160 ACRES OF LAND AT SINKING SPRINGS, TO JOSEPH LOONEY. ON 24 MAY, 1765, IT WAS DECREED THAT JOHN BOYER SHOULD RECONVEY TO EACH OF THE INTERESTED PARTIES THEIR LANDS. THE AGREEMENT OF 1759 WAS RECORDED IN THE SAME MONTH. JOHN BOYER DEEDED THE LANDS TO DAVID LOONEY, TO PETER LOONEY JR., AND TO MARGARET LOONEY, DAUGHTER OF DANIEL. IN MAY 1768, THERE IS RECORDED AN ACCOUNT OF RECORD OF SETTLEMENT BETWEEN ROBERT LOONEY AND IRWIN PATTERSON'S ESTATE. FROM THIS RECORD WE LEARN THAT ELIZABETH LOONEY BOUGHT ONE LOOKING GLASS AND SUNDRY GOODS ON MAY 1; ALSO THAT FERRIAGE AT 20 SHILLINGS PER ANNUM FOR 10 YEARS WAS DUE FROM PATTERSON'S ESTATE TO LOONEY. LOONEY'S FERRY IS MENTIONED MANY TIMES IN EARLY VA RECORDS. VA. HIST. MAG.V.16, P. 207, (1908 EDITION). IN ITS "NOTE FROM COLONIAL VIRGINIA NEWSPAPERS MADE BY JOHN RANDOLPH IN 1706" HAS THIS ITEM; "WILLIAMSBURG, APRIL 19, COL. BUCHANAN AND OTHERS HAVE REMOVED SINS OF INDIANS AS FAR DOWN AS LOONEY'S FERRY." VOL. 15 P. 248, "THE COUNCIL HELD BY GEN. ASSEMBLY IN MARCH, 1756, ORDERED A CHAIN OF FORTS: TWO LETTERS WRITTEN BY COL. GEORGE WASHINGTON TO GOV. DINWIDDLE THROW SOME LIGHT AS TO THEIR LOCATION. WASHINGTON LEFT WINCHESTER SEPT. 29, 1756, TO VISIT THEM; ARRIVED AT STAUNTON AND TRIED TO RAISE A MILITIA, THEN PROCEEDED TO LOONEY'S FERRY ON THE JAMES RIVER, WHERE COL. BUCHANAN LIVED, NEXT HE VISITED FT. WILLIAM NEAR THE CATAWABA RIVER IN PRESENT BOTETOURT CO, THEN COMMANDED BY COL. NASH. (THIS IS THE COL. NASH WHO LATER CAME TO TENNESSEE IT SEEMS)" FROM THE DAIRY OF JOHN BALLR "OCT 24, 1751, LOONEY RECONVERED L15 BY CHANGED OPINION AND WOULD OTHERWISE BEEN RUINED IN SEEKING THE RIGHT." IN A LETTER FROM ROYAL OAKS WRITTEN 12 OCT, 1774, WE LEARN DALE CARTER WAS KILLED BY THE INDIANS. CAPT. JOSEPH LOONEY WAS IN THIS SETTLEMENT. CPT. JOSEPH LOONEY OF BOTETOURT IS LISTED AS BEING IN THE VA. MILITIA IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. IN VA. MILITIA OF 1842 ARE LISTED THO. LOONEY, ROBERT LOONEY, DAN LOONEY, ADM. LOONEY. IN THE INDIANS WARS IN AUGUSTA CO., 1756, JUN 25, CPT JOHN SMITH, PRISONER ESCAPED PETER LOONEY. FORT VAUSE, ESCAPED 1756 FEB. ROBERT LOONEY AND A DUTCHMAN, REED CREEK KILLED. (THIS IS ROBERT JR. SON OF ROBERT SR) THE FIRST CENSUS OF U.S. 1790 NANSEMOND COUNTY, VA. LISTS AS HEAD OF FAMILY LOONEY, WILLIAM, 4 WHITE MALES, 2 BLACK (OVER 16), CENSUS OF 1790 HARTFORD CO.,MD. LISTS WILLIAM LOONEY, 2 FEMALES, 2 MALES OVER 16, 2 UNDER 16, 14 SLAVES. IN OTHER COUNTIES IN MARYLAND ARE GIVEN LOTT LOONEY WITH SLAVE, KIT LOONEY WITH ONLY FEMALES IN HER HOUSEHOLD. BY NOV. 1846, SETTLEMENTS S.W. OF ROANOKE HAD BECOME SO IMPORTANT THAT ON 19TH OF THAT MONTH FOUR ROADS WERE ORDERED BUILT FROM ROANOKE LEADING TO THE SETTLEMET. THE SECOND ROAD FROM ADAMS HARMON'S ON THE NEW RIVER TO THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE ROANOKE WAS OF INTEREST TO THE LOONEY FAMILY. LATER, ABSALOM LOONEY, SON OF ROBERT WAS APPOINTED TO MARK THE WAY FOR THE ROAD. THE ABOVE PETER LOONEY, CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS WAS THE SONE OF ROBERT SR, WAS LATER AT NASHBOROUGH, NC AND NOW TENNESSEE. ROBERT LOONEYS WILL IS DATED 14 SEP 1769. IT NAMES HIS WIFE, ELIZABETH AND HIS SON, JOSEPH, AS EXECUTORS, LEAVES TO GRANDSON JOHN LUNEY ONE SHILLING STERLING, AND ALL REMAINDER AFTER CHARGES AND DEBTS TO WIFE, ELIZABETH, FOR HER LIFE AND AFTERWARDS TO SON, JOSEPH. "THE REST OF MY CHILDREN HAVING ALREADY GOT ALL THAT I ALLOW TO THEM OF MY ESTATE." HIS WITNESSES WERE JOHN SMITH, THOMAS CROW, ELINOR CROW, AND JOHN BURTON. THE WILL WAS PROVED BY THE FIRST THREE WITNESSES WHEN PRESENTED TO THE BOTETOURT COURT BY JOSEPH LOONEY, EXECUTOR ON 13 NOV, 1770. CERTAIN ENTRIES AT THE OCTOBER TERM OF COURT IN 1770 INDICATE ROBERT LOONEY WAS LIVING THEN AND CONSEQUENTLY, HIS DEATH OCCURRED IN OCT OR NOV OF THAT YEAR. JOSEPH LOONEY'S SURETIES WERE ABRAHAM MCCLELLAN AND JOHN LOONEY, A BROTHER OR A SON. INDIAN WARS IN AUGUSTA CO. 1756 LISTS ROBERT LOONEY KILLED ESCAPING PRISON; PETER LOONEY ESCAPED AND WAS KILLED LATER; THOMAS, SAMUEL AND ADAM WERE REPORTED KILLED IN INDIAN SKIRMISHES, ABSALOM WAS KILLED BY AN ARROW WHILE HE WAS STOOPED OVER DRINKING FROM DUNKARD'S SPRING, NEAR HIS HOME, NEAR NEW CASTLE VA IN 1798. ABOVE INFORMATION FROM INDIAN WARS SUPPLIED BY MRS. JOE STROUD (ELISE), OF BIRMINGHAM, ALA., DESCENDANT OF ABOVE ABSALOM 2, ROBERT 1. The 1742 homesite of Robert and Elizabeth Looney was at the Junction of Looney Creek and the James River in Augusta Co. now Botetourt Co., VA Notes for Robert Looney Sr.: 1735 the Family of Robt. Looney was one of seventy that entered the Quaker Colony of VA, with Alexander Ross and Morgan Bryan of the Providence of PA. The colony bought 100,000 acres of land near Winchester, VA. Among the purchasers listed is Robert Looney. He also received a patent dated November 12, 1735 from the Crown, George the Second, for 294 acres on the south bank of the Cohongoronta, upper Potomac River, near the Samuel Owens plantation. He received a grant of 250 acres on the JAMES River and on "Lunie s" Mill Creek, 400 acres on "Lunie s" Mill Creek on July 30, 1742. Robt. purchased a large tract of land in Botetourt Co on the upper James River, across the river from Buchanan, VA, a tract well over 1500 acres. The Looney Family is known to have come from Ireland. A Place called Ballagilley, Isle of Mann. Robert Looney B. Abt. 1692 D.Sept. 14, 1769 in Va. married Elizabeth Llewellen. In about 1724, Robert and Elizabeth Looney came to America from the Isle of Man, Great Britain, with their family, settling first in Philadelphia, Pa. and later in colonial Maryland. Soon thereafter they moved west to the new frontier and settled in (Botetourt Co., Va.) Augusta County, Virginia on the James River. There on Looney Creek, Robert and Elizabeth raised their family, established the first ferry crossing of the James River, built a mill, grew crops and raised livestock. They also maintained a nursery. Due to the constant conflict between France and England, as well as the threat of Indian attack, a fort was ordered built in 1755 around the Looney homesite. This fort was named Fort Looney and was at the junction of Looney Creek and the James River. This fort was part of a series of forts ordered built along the frontier to protect settlers and to keep the French from claiming the territory. Fort Looney was visited in 1756 by Col. George Washington, future first president of the United States. WILL OF ROBERT LOONEY --- BOTETOURT CO. VIRGINIA In the name of God, Amen, Sept. the 14, 1769, I, Robert Luney, being very sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory, and calling to mind the uncertainty of this life, and knowing that all born to die once, I recommend my soul to God, who gave it, and my body to the ground to be buried in a decent manner, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but I shall have it again at the Resurrection. As for my worldly estate, that it has pleased God to bless me with, I give and bequeath, in manner and form following; I leave to my beloved wife, Elizabeth Luney, and my beloved son Joseph Luney, to be my sole executors. Next I leave to my beloved grandson John Luney, one shilling, sterling. Also the remainder of my bodily estate after my funeral charge, and lawful debts are paid, I give and bequeath to my well beloved wife, Elizabeth, to live on, and use as she pleases during her natural life, and then to descend to my beloved son, Joseph, at her death, the rest of my children having already got all that I allow to them of my estate. (Robert (R) Luney- his mark) "At a court held for Bote. Co., VA, the 13 day of Nov. 1770, this writing purporting to be the Last Will and Testament of Robert Looney, deceased, was presented in Court by Joseph Looney, one of the executors herein named, and proved by the oaths of Thomas Crow, James Crow, and John Smith, and ordered to be recorded, and motion of the said executor who made oath according to law, certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate thereof, in due form, whereupon, he, together with Abraham McClelland, and John Looney, his securities, entered into and acknowledged their Bond in Five Hundred pounds, conditioned as the law directed. Teste. John May. C.B.C. " REF: Pg. 31 "The House of Looney, A History and Genealogy of John and Llewellyn Looney, who migrated to the American Colonies at an early date, from the Isle of Man. Written by Francis Marshall Gill, at the request of Coyd A. Looney, of Estacada, Oregon (Deceased)." In the Beginning: Robert Looney Derived from a 1974 article appearing in "The Bulletin of North American Manx Assoc." Little did Robert Looney, a Manx farmer from Ballagilley, Maughold realize that when he arrived in the New World about 1731, that he and his decendants would be recorded in the annals of their new land as frontiersmen and patriots. Records show that by 1734, Robert Looney and his wife, Elizabeth Llwellyn, and at least seven sons (they were to have 14 sons!) were in Philadelphia where they joined an expedition into the colony of Virginia. The following year he settled on a patent of 291 acres - for which he was to pay the Crown land rent of one shilling a year- on the south bank of Cohongoronta (Upper Potomac) river, probably near present day Hagerstown, Maryland. By 1739-1740 Robert Looney and his family moved southward through the Shenandoah Valley, finally settling on a grant of 250 acres on the James river, in what was to become Augusta County, where another Manxman, Isreal Christian, had prospered. They later donated lands for the county seat, and became influential in colonial politics. In 1742 Robert gained another 400 acres in grants, and became one of the most prosperous farmers in the area, with his own mill, orchards, nursery, cattle and horses, and even operated a ferry across what may still be found today not far from Natrual Bridge - Looney's Mill creek. At least three of his sons served in the Augusta County Militia. Indian attacks on these frontier communities were not uncommon, but soon the Indians were to be joined by a new ally, the French, and the settlers were swept violently into the bloody conflict between the Britsh and the French known as the "Seven Years War" or "French and Indian War". General Braddock, the British commander in Cief, was mortally wounded and his regiment turned to route at the "Battle of the Wilderness". Col George Washington commander of the Virginia Militia lost some of his men in the same engagement. The picture was grim, no regular army, no militia to protect the settlers. Robert Looney's son Peter, was captured by the Indians and held prisoner at Fort Detroit for almost a year, dying three years after his release. Another son, Samuel, was killed by the Indians in 1760, and the homestead of Robert's daughter Lucy Jane, was raided and looted by the Indians. Robert Looney, mindful of his responsibilities to his family and followers, errected a fort (Fort Looney). This was one of the few Forts which withstood capture and provided provisions to the militia until the end of the war in 1763. Absolem, recalled from Abb's Valley with his family to assist his father in building the fort, was to learn that those who remained in his valley settlement had been massacred by the Indians, a fate which would later befall him at Dunkard's Spring, VA between 1791-96. But the end of the Indian Wars was not to spare the Looney family. During the American Revolution, two of Robert Looney's sons, Absolem and David were to see duty. Absolem in patriotic service under General George Washington and David as a Major in the Notrth Carolina Militia. Three of Absolem's sons, like the offsprings of his brothers, were to serve in the Virginia Militia, with one dying of gunshot wounds in both legs after his role in the American Victory at the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina. Absolem's son Michael, homesteaded after the revolution in eastern Tennessee, where his log cabin stood until 1919 and where the 1,500 acre farm he acquired at a half-shilling an acre is still held by his heirs. Others moved westward into Missouri, and is documented in LeRoy Tilton's "Early Looney's in America". Seven branches of the family founded by Robert Looney's sons have extended into more than fifteen states. Robert and Elizabeth Looney are presumed buried near the Reed Creek area of Augusta Co. (Botetourt Co.), VA. Another of his sons, Joseph, was a Captian in the Botetort County, Virginia Militia. More About Robert Looney: Immigration: 1731, Came to Pa from the Isle of Man. Occupation: Manx Farmer. More About Robert Looney and Elizabeth Lewellyn: Marriage: Abt. 1715, Isle of Man. Children of Robert Looney and Elizabeth Lewellyn are: Thomas Looney, b. 1718, Pro. Ireland, UK, d. date unknown. Robert Looney, b. 1721, Ireland, UK, d. 15 February 1756, Knox Co., Tn. Daniel Looney, b. 1723, Ireland, UK, d. 1760. Adam Looney, b. 1725, Prob. Ireland, d. 1770, Tryon County, North Carolina. Samuel Looney, b. 1727, Ireland, UK, d. date unknown. Louisa Looney, b. 1728, d. date unknown. +Absalom Looney, b. 1729, Ireland, d. 28 September 1791, Bluefield, Botetourt Co., Va. Lucy Jane Looney, b. 1730, Ireland, UK, d. date unknown. +John Looney, b. 1732, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, d. 17 June 1762. Peter Grancer Looney, b. 1734, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, d. 1772. David Looney, b. 1735, Augusta County, Virginia, d. 1810, Sullivan Co., Tn.. Joseph B. Stover Looney, b. 1740, Looney's Creek, Botetourt Co., Virginia, d. Abt. 1817, Kingstown, Roane Co., Tn.. James Luna Looney, b. 1745, d. date unknown. Mary B. Looney, b. 1750, d. date unknown.

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   In about 1724, Robert and Elizabeth Looney came to America from the Isle of Man, Great Britain, with their family, settling first in Philadelphia, PA and later in colonial Maryland.  Soon thereafter they moved west to the new frontier and settled in Augusta County, Virginia on the James River.  There on Looney Creek, Robert and Elizabeth raised their family, established the first ferry crossing of the James River, built a mill, grew crops and raised livestock.  Due to the constant conflict between France and England, as well as the threat of Indian attack, a fort was ordered built in 1755 around the Looney homesite.  This fort was named Fort Looney and was at the junction of Looney Creek and the James River. This fort was part of a series of forts ordered built along the frontier to protect settlers and to keep the French from claiming the territory. Fort Looney was visited in 1756 by Col. George Washington, future first president of the United States.

The Looney sons were frontiersmen and pioneers. Some fought and died with the British against the French and Indians. Some were killed by Indians during frequent frontier raids on settlers while others helped to explore and expand the frontier boundaries first into southwestern Virginia and eventually into Tenneessee Indian Territory. The Looney sons and grandsons fought against the British in the War of Independence.
Notes from http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/pageload.cgi?peter,lauderdale...
Robert Looney, born 1692-1700 Ballagilly Farm, Maughould Co, Isle of Mann, arrived in Philadelphia, PA 1730-1734 with wife Margaret ? and six sons and one daughter;

   Robert Jr 1721-1757,

   Thomas 1722-1760,

   Adam 1725-1770,

   Daniel 1728-1765,

   Absalom 1729-1770,

   John 1732-1817 and

   Lucy Jane 1730-?.

   Peter 1734-1760 was first child born in America, Phildelphia.

   Then David 1735-1810, born Augusta Co, VA and

   Joseph 1738-1817 also Augusta Co, VA.

Robert died 1769-1770, will dated 14 Sept 1769 and probate 13 Nov 1770 in Botetourt Co, VA. Elizabeth, born 1696, died 20 Aug 1747 Looney Creek, Augusta Co, VA.
Notes from http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/LOONEY/1996-07/0838603640
Robert Looney b. about 1695 d. about 1769 in VA married about 1715 to Elizabeth Barabar b. about 1696 d. about 1770 in VA??Thomas Looney b. 1718 d. 15 APR 1746 married Jane Harmon?Robert Looney b. 1721 d. 12 AUG 1756 married about 1743 to Margaret Rhea ?(I have the same four children listed in the previous message)?Daniel Looney b. 1723 d. 19 NOV 1769 married Jane Evans?Adam Looney b. 1725 d. 4 JUL 1770 married Hannah Wright about 1746?Samuel Looney b. 1727 d. 1752/1760 married Ann_______ ?Louisa Looney b. 1728 d. ? married Capt. Shelby?Absalom Looney b. 1729 d. 1791/1796 married Margaret Moore about 1750 ?(I'm related to this family through their son Michael Looney Sr.)?Lucy Jane Looney b. 1730 d. ? married Stephen Holston 1753 in Wythe co, VA?John Looney b. 1732 d. 1817 married Ester Renfro about 1758 in Augusta co?Peter Looney b. 1734 d. 8 FEB 1760 married Margaret Lauderdale Oct 11, 1759?David Looney b. 1735 d. 25 AUG 1802/1810 married Mary Ann McClellan??She also wrote this note: Robert and Elizabeth were in Philadelphia before 1734 when their son, Peter, was born. They are said to have been 14 sons, but only 12 are known by name. The other two may be William and Moses. She only gave me the children of Peter (1 child listed), Robert Jr.( four children) and Absalom (13 children)
Notes from http://www.samatthews.com/ps02/ps02_335.html
Notes for Robert (Spouse 1) In 1735 the Family of Robert Looney was one of seventy that entered the Quaker Colony of Virginia, with Alexander Ross and Morgan Bryan of the Providence of PA. The colony bought 100,000 acres of land near Winchester, VA. Among the purchasers listed is Robert Looney. He also received a patent dated November 12, 1735 from the Crown, George the Second, for 294 acres on the south bank of the Cohongoronta, upper Potomac river, near the Samuel Owens plantation.

   He received a grant of 250 acres on the James River and on "Lunie's" Mill creek, 400 acres on "Lunie's" Mill Creek on July 30, 1742. Robert purchased a large tract of land in Botetourt Co. on the upper James River, across the river from Buchanan, VA, a tract well over 1500 acres.

   He ran Looney's ferry and Looney's Mill in Augusta, VA. "ÉThis site has been known to the archeological world for many years. A letter in the files of the Valentine Museum of Richmond, from Charles L. Wilson, dated July 9, 1903, reports that the finding of burials on a point where Looney's Creek enters the James River. He reports that many burials werer found and not removed, and that the site yields pottery, axes, etc. The burials were found about 1892 when an ice house was excavated on the site.Éthe ferry was the well-known Looney's Ferry. Because of the ideal topography of the site and its proximity to the road and the ferry -site, it is almost inevitable that the site would have been settled at an early date. While the earliest history of the site is unknown, it is certain that on July 30, 1742, Robert Looney patented the site, lived there and probably somewhat later, operated the ferry. Presumably, he also kept a tavern for lodging and feeding the travelers using his ferry and the Carolina Road."

   "[continuted from same article] With the growing threat of Indian attacks in 1754-55, Looney was obliged to fortify his homestead. He probably had enough men (he had five grown sons) at the tavern-ferry to man the fort for routine guard-duty, and he could count on neighbors and travelers to augment this force if an attack came. The fort was already in existence in 1755 and was called Fort Looney. Apparently the fort was never attacked, possibly because it was too strong. In 1758 the fort at Looney's ferry was renamed Fort Fauquier, in honor of the newly arrived govenor of the Colony. The Subsequent history of the fort is uncertain."

   "[continued from same article] We know that Robert Looney died in 1796, and one son, Abasolom pioneered into Tazewell County. Looney's house continued to stand, with additions and changes until about 1914, when it was torn down. A lolitary pear tree still stands as an indicator that the site was dormerly a farmstead. In addition, there were people in the neighborhood who can remember the house. The site is now a plowed field, and much debris from the more than 175 years of occupaton still litters the ground. Where the house formerly stood, the soil is filled with bricks and stones from the old foundations. The ferry was abandoned long ago, when the James was bridged at Buehanan, and the erstwhile Carolina Road became farm roads, leading to fields along the river."

   WILL OF ROBERT LOONEY --- BOTETOURT CO. VIRGINIA

   In the name of God, Amen, Sept. the 14, 1769, I, Robert Luney, being very sick and weak in body, but of perfect mind and memory, and calling to mind the uncertainty of this life, and knowing that all born to die once, I recommend my soul to God, who gave it, and my body to the ground to be buried in a decent manner, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but I shall have it again at the Resurrection. As for my worldly estate, that it has pleased God to bless me with, I give and bequeath, in manner and form following; I leave to my beloved wife, Elizabeth Luney, and my beloved son Joseph Luney, to be my sole executors. Next I leave to my beloved grandson John Luney, one shilling, sterling. Also the remainder of my bodily estate after my funeral charge, and lawful debts are paid, I give and bequeath to my well beloved wife, Elizabeth, to live on, and use as she pleases during her natural life, and then to descend to my beloved son, Joseph, at her death, the rest of my children having already got all that Iallow to them of my estate.

   (Robert (R) Luney- his mark)

   "At a court held for Bote. Co., VA, the 13 day of Nov. 1770, this writingpurporting to be the Last Will and Testament of Robert Looney, deceased, was presented in Court by Joseph Looney, one of the executors herein named, and proved by the oaths of Thomas Crow, James Crow, and John Smith, and ordered to be recorded, and motion of the said executor who made oath according to law, certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate thereof, in dueform, whereupon, he, together with Abraham McClelland, and John Looney, his securities, entered into and acknowledged their Bond in Five Hundred pounds, conditioned as the law directed. Teste. John May. C.B.C.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Note

One of the first men to own land on the south side of the James river. The grant is dated July 30, 1742. They named a creek (Looney's creek) after him because his land was at the mouth of the creek where it joined the river. They had a ferry, mill, cattle, a nursery, and orchards. The sons mentioned are Absalom, Robert Jr.,Peter, Daniel and David. Source: Kegley's Virginia Frontier, Pg. 163

1759 Jan 15 - Receipt of Robert Looney for beef at Fort Fauquier. Source: Kegley's Virginia Frontier, Pg. 260

Oct 11, 1759, Peter Sr. and brother, David, bought from their father the home place on the James River and Looney's creek except for the part on the south side of the creek which Robert Sr. had already exchanged with David for David's place which was called the Draper place. On August 20, 1765 Robert Sr. claimed his sons had not fulfilled their contract and sold all the land to a John Bowyer. After Peter Sr. died his son, Peter along with his uncle David brought suit against Robert Looney, Sr. and John Bowyer. Peter Looney Jr. and David received their land back. Daniel had died and so his only daughter, Margaret recovered his land. Source: Kegley's Virginia Frontier, Pg. 350

1742 Augusta County Milita listed the following Looneys in Co. 8 Thomas, Robert, Daniel, and Adam Source: Virginia Colonial Milita, 1651 - 1776, Pg.

1769 Sep 14 - Robert Looney's will was probated. He gave his entire estate to his wife Elizabeth and son Joseph except to grandson, John he gave one shilling sterling. A granddaughter Lovis was also mentioned. This will is found in Will book A, in Botetourt Co., VA. Source: Annals of Southwest Virginia, Pg. 584

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Note: Will was dated September 14, 1769 and proved November 13, 1770. Estate was left ot wofe Elizabeth and at her death, the youngest son, Joseph. Little did Robert Looney, a Manx farmer from Ballagilley, Maughold realize that when he arrived in the New World about1731, that he and his decendants would be recorded in the annals of their new land as frontiersmen and patriots. Recordsshow that by 1734, Robert Looney and his wife, Elizabeth Llwellyn, and at least seven sons (they were to have 14 sons!) werein Philadelphia where they joined an expedition into the colony of Virginia. The following year he settled on a patent of 291 acres - for which he was to pay the Crown land rent of one shilling a year- on the south bank of Cohongoronta (Upper Potomac) river, probably near present day Hagerstown, Maryland. By 1739-1740 Robert Looney and his family moved southward through the Shenandoah Valley, finally settling on a grant of 250 acres on the James river, in what was to become Augusta County, where another Manxman, Isreal Christian, had prospered. They later donated lands for the county seat, and became influential in colonial politics. In 1742 Robert gained another 400 acres in grants, and became one of the most prosperous farmers in the area, with his own mill, orchards, nursery, cattle and horses, and even operated a ferry across what may still be found today not far from Natrual Bridge - Looney's Mill creek. At least three of his sons served in the Augusta County Militia. Indian attacks on these frontier communities were not uncommon, but soon the Indians were to be joined by a new ally, the French, and the settlers were swept violently into the bloody conflict between the Britsh and the French known as the "Seven Years War" or "French and Indian War". General Braddock, the British commander in Cief, was mortally wounded and his regiment turned to route at the "Battle of the Wilderness". Col George Washington commander of the Virginia Militia lost some of his men in the same engagement. The picture was grim, no regular army, no militia to protect the settlers. Robert Looney's son Peter, was captured by the Indians and held prisoner at Fort Detroit for almost a year, dying three years after his release. Another son, Samuel, was killed by the Indians in 1760, and the homestead of Robert's daughter Lucy Jane, was raided and looted by the Indians. Robert Looney, mindful of his responsibilities to his family and followers, errected a fort (Fort Looney). This was one of the few Forts which withstood capture and provided provisions to the militia until the end of the war in 1763. Absolem, recalled from Abb's Valley with his family to assist his father in building the fort, was to learn that those who remained in his valley settlement had been massacred by the Indians, a fate which would later befall him at Dunkard's Spring, VA between 1791-96. But the end of the Indian Wars was not to spare the Looney family. During the American Revolution, two of Robert Looney's sons, Absolem and David were to see duty. Absolem in patriotic service under General George Washington and David as a Major in the Notrth Carolina Militia. Three of Absolem's sons, like the offsprings of his brothers, were to serve in the Virginia Militia, with one dying of gunshot wounds in both legs after his role in the American Victory at the Battle of King's Mountain in North Carolina. Absolem's son Michael, homesteaded after the revolution in eastern Tennessee, where his log cabin stood until 1919 and where the 1,500 acre farm he acquired at a half-shilling an acre is still held by his heirs. Others moved westward into Missouri, and is documented in LeRoy Tilton's "Early Looney's in America". Seven branches of the family founded by Robert Looney's sons have extended into more than fifteen states. Robert and Elizabeth Looney are presumed buried near the Reed Creek area of Augusta Co. (Botetourt Co.), VA. Another of his sons, Joseph, was a Captian in the Botetort County, Virginia Militia.