The Looney Family

    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
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
$8.00 per month for this service by special Act of Congress in 1837.

    In 1783, Absalom Looney went to survey lands in the Cumberland District,
"Wilderness", of Tennessee which were to be set aside for soldiers of the
Continental Line and others.  The first court in Sullivan County, Tennessee
was established in the home of Moses Looney in 1780.  Absalom Looney was
appointed Justice of the Peace for Hawkins County, Tennessee in 1790.  As the
frontiers moved west and south, the Looney families also flourished and
expanded to new territories.

    During the late 1780s', John and Elizabeth Looney moved from Virginia into 
Tennessee where they raised their five children.  One of their sons, Moses was
married to Mary Guest and had six children born in Maury County, Tennessee
before moving to Lawrence County, Alabama in 1820.  Their seventh child was
born 1823.  Moses and Mary's sixth son, Moses Looney Junior, married Susan 
Devault in 1841.  Moses Jr. and Susan had five boys and one girl all born in
Alabama.  After the last child was born, Moses, Susan and their family began
moving west.  They were in Louisiana when the Civil War began and their two
oldest sons, Frances Asbury and George Martin, enlisted and served for the
Confederate States of America with the Louisiana Infantry.  Both lived through
the conflict and returned to their family.  Frances later married Elizabeth Cravy
from Louisiana.

    Moses Jr., Susan and all their children settled in Bosque County, Texas in 1866.
Four of Moses Jr. and Susan's children were married in Bosque County.  George
married Louisa E. Fields, Robert married Elisa J. Phillips, Mary Elizabeth
married John H. R. Spencer and John married Elizabeth J. Scott.  Susan, their
mother, died June 10, 1870 and is buried at the Cove Springs Cemetery west of
Meridian, Texas.  Moses Jr., their father, died that same year in Waco, Texas.

    Frances and Elizabeth had their first child, Dennis Asbury, November 28, 1872
at Whitt (now Whitney), Texas.  They also had Sim, born 1876, Mary, born 1878,
Minnie, born 1880 and Elizabeth, born 1883.  In November, 1888, they moved to
the site where Rosebud is now located.  In December, 1888, Joe was born and in
February, 1890, John was born.  They left Rosebud in 1891.  John was kicked by
a pet pony and died September, 1903 and Mary died of measles the following
year at Saretoga.  Always on the move, this family returned and left the
Rosebud area a total of six times.

    In 1902, Frances and his son Dennis opened a confectioner store at Gladys and made
good for a few months but then made the mistake of moving to Spindle Top and
went broke by giving too much credit.  In 1903, Dennis married Emma McBride at
Sour Lake near Spindle Top oil field.  In 1904, they moved to Pleasant Grove
near Rosebud where Zola May (Guest) was born in 1905, Fountain in 1907 and
Annie (Drake) in 1908.  The family was blessed with more children including
Susie born at Marlin, 1910 (lived only one year), John Dennis (J.D.) born at
Seadrift, 1911, Alma (Jones) born at Rosebud, 1914, Gladys (Blume) born at
Humble, 1916, Margarette born at Houston, 1917, Theo born near Rosebud, 1920,
Opal (Bacher), 1923 and Eula Bea (Johnson), 1925 both in Rosebud.

    Frances and Dennis made their living primarily as farmers either working "on 
the halves" as share croppers and at times farming their own land.  Frances 
lived with Dennis's family until his death in January, 1914.  Dennis's
children were primarily raised on farms around Rosebud, Pleasant Grove and the
Cedar Springs area.  Dennis and Emma attended the Rosebud Church of Christ.
Dennis died of a heart attack at his home in Rosebud, February, 1956.  Emma
died at Rosebud, April, 1979 and was buried with Dennis, Frances, John D.
along with her family (the McBrides) in the Powers Chapel Cemetery.

    The three boys, Fountain, John D. and Theo served with the Army during WWII.
Fountain married Faye Fikes of Rosebud, has two sons, Ray and Roy, ran a
salvage business and was a preacher at the Rosebud Methodist Church until his
death in 1966.  John D. died at Houston soon after the end of the war.  Theo
married Eulaha Davis of Rosebud, has two sons, Nelson and Dale, worked
construction jobs, worked on the pipeline all the way from Texas to Minnesota,
was remarried at Austin and has another son, John.  Theo lived near
Wilderville, Texas when he died August, 1988.

    Zola May has three boys, John, Robert, and Donald.  She currently lives in
Granbury, Texas near her sister Eula.  Annie has two sons, Leonard and Allen.  She
currently lives in Rosebud.  Alma has two sons, Douglas and Richard, and a
daughter, Mina.  She also lives at Lake Granbury.  Gladys has two daughters, Mary
Helen and Thelma and a son, Billy.  Gladys spent most of her life raising a
family "in the sand" near Pleasant Grove.  She lived in Rosebud at the time of
her death in November, 1987.  Margarette lived in Rosebud most of her life and
currently lives with her sister Opal in Burleson.  Opal has a daughter, Dianne
and a son, Dennis.  Eula has two sons, Larry and Charles and two daughters,
Jeanette and Debra.  She owns and operates a "country collectibles shop" on the
Granbury Town Square and lives at Lake Granbury near Alma.

    There are at least two additional generations of Looney Descendants following
those mentioned above.  We have such fond memories of our lives in Rosebud.
Destiny brought the Looneys to the Rosebud area in the beginning, but there
seems to be a certain magic which always draws us back.  Is it the longing for
the good old days, the sand between our toes, the pleasant small town
atmosphere, or maybe the good people who care for one another?  Whatever it is
that makes Rosebud special, no one has ever found a way to take it with them.
We always have to come back in order to get a recharge of that "Magic".

D. A. and Emma Looney's family photos.

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