Looney Family
Robert Looney
b. 1692-1702 d. 1770
Robert
Looney's
signature on
1746 Augusta
Co.
Virginia, order to
appraise
Zimmerman's
improvements
p. 130
Used by
permission
To view
Robert
Looney's
will
CLICK
HERE
Robert
Looney was a
public
spirited man
who provided
valuable
services on
the Upper
James River,
an area that
was a key to
the
advancement
of the
frontier. An
account with
Moses
Thompson,
made before
1746, may
suggest that
Robert
Looney was a
Long Hunter
during the
1740’s. It
is possible
that nothing
is known
about the
period of
his life
when he
traversed
southwestern
Virginia,
possibly
even into
what is now
Kentucky, as
a hunter,
trapper and
explorer.
Through the
generations,
certain
traits seem
to be common
among some
Looney
descendants;
these
include
hunting and
an interest
in western
land.
One probably
led to
another;
to reach the
best hunting
areas, one
had to push
westward.
Robert
Looney's
main
interest ,
hunting and
exploring,
may not be
recorded in
the records;
but he
probably
taught these
activities
to his sons,
who taught
their sons,
etc.
Click to
enlarge
photo
This
photo
was
taken
just
above
the
mouth
of
Looney's
Mill
Creek
(center
and
far
right)
looking
down
the
James
River.
The
Blue
Ridge
Mountains
are
shown
in the
background.
Looking
east
from
Looney's
Ferry
in the
mid
1700's
,
Robert
Looney
had
this
view.
Used
by
permission
from
the
book:
Most
Distinguished
Characters
On The
American
Frontier,
by
Madge
Looney
Crane
and
Phillip
L.
Crane.
Robert
Looney showed
excellent
judgment in
choosing from
all the vast
wilderness
areas
available a
location that
nature had
foreordained
to be a gate
to the future
of Southwest
Virginia.
Here he and
his sons built
up a
settlement
that became
the center of
a community
extending
throughout the
valley of the
creek that
took its name
from his mill.
They were
capable,
industrious,
hardworking
men.
They cleared
and farmed
land, ran a
mill,
established
and operated a
ferry over the
river, planted
and tended a
nursery, and
started the
first apple
and peach
orchards in
Southwest
Virginia, with
pear, cherry
and plum trees
in all
probability
among the
offerings of
their
nurseries.
The Looney
boys were also
explorers,
seeking out
lands to be
acquired, and
hunters,
ranging far
over the vast
unoccupied
land to the
south and
west.
Robert
established
in 1742,
Looney's
Ferry.
In one of
the first
maps ever
made of this
territory,
by Peter
Jefferson,
father of
Thomas
Jefferson,
the only
designated
place in the
present
confines of
Botetourt is
Looney's
Ferry.
His sons
went forth
to settle
the frontier
and their
descendant's
name is
legion.
Looney's
Ferry was
the first
crossing of
James River
in that
region
LOONEY'S
FERRY,
Augusta County
(now Botetourt
Co).
Picture taken
by Phillip L.
Crane in 1994.
Used by
permission.
Looney's
Mill was
built by
1739-40,
making it
one of the
very first
mills west
of the Blue
Ridge
Mountains.
The mill
operated
from 1740
(or before)
until 1755
(and
possibly
later).
During this
period of
time,
Looney's
Mill was
certainly
essential to
the
development
of the
region and
many
settlers
depended
upon the
valuable
services
that Robert
Looney
provided.
The French
and Indian
War
(1754-1763)
may have
interrupted
activities
at Looney's
Mill, since
many
inhabitants
left the
area or
moved to
forts for
safety.
Robert
married
Elizabeth
Llewellyn
(tradition
says this
was her
maiden name)
and they had
10 children.
Thomas,
Robert Jr.,
Daniel,
Adam,
Samuel,
Absalom,
John, Peter,
David and
Joseph.
There may of
been other
sons and
daughters
unknown.
I descend
from son
Adam Looney.
Leroy
W. Tilton's
Manuscripts.
(Eight
Parts)
The
Tilton
Manuscripts
provide
details
concerning
the history
and
descendants
of Robert
and
Elizabeth
Looney, of
Augusta
County,
Virginia.
These
manuscripts
were created
in 1963
based on 50
years of
work by Mr.
Tilton and
many others
who
collectively
gathered,
coordinated
and composed
these
Manuscripts
for the
benefit of
future
Looney and
Related
Family
Researchers.
|
