Robert Looney Jr. Branch
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John (4) Looney died in Greene County, Mo., near Walnut Grove and was buried on his own land on Whittenburg Prairie, Section 15, Township 30, Range 23. The grave was located by Opal Looney Frye of Walnut Grove in March 1963 about a mile SSE of Cave Spring. The headstone is inscribed: John Looney, born Sept. X 1774, and the foot stone: John Looney Die Nov. 16, 1839. This was a very important find for this branch of the family. The birthdate records nicely with that of 20. Oct. 1775 (family record) which Mrs. Vanderheide has found for Isham (4) Looney. (It will be remembered that Judge Ben F. Looney of Texas reported John and Isham as adjacent sons of Ben (3) Looney who was killed at Cumberland Gap in 1783. Both birthdates are in fair agreement with estimates furnished by the compiler to Mrs. Tina Clause in 1956 for births in the Ben(3) Looney family.)
Issac Looney applied 2 Dec. 1839 for administration of the estate of John Looney, deceased, and took the oath according to law. William Looney, John Loooney and John Lair were securities on his bond. (Letter Record A, p. 121, 203 Probate Court. This should be reexamined; a list of the heirs may be given!) A list of John's property was made on 16 Dec. by Wm. Parrish and Martin B. Gay, and sworn to before Isaac Looney, J.P. The bill of sale of property sold at the residence of the deceased on 20 Jan 1840 totaled $1052 and was signed 21 Jan. by B.A. Jones, Clerk of Sale and sworn to in court 5 May 1840. A list of notes and accounts due ammounted to $1164.04. The administrator listed the land on 4 Feb. 1840 -- $4696. Isaac also reported receipt of $192.11 from slave hire before they were sold.
Isaac (5) Looney died 15 Dec. 1842 before completing his administration duties. His widow, as administratrix of her husband's estate, thereupon acted at least to some extent, in settling the estate of John (4) Looney, perhaps until
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Feb. court 1843 when William Looney seemed already to be administrator de bonus non of the estate of John Looney, deceased, and as such he was "allowed $356.10 and that the credit be entered on the books as charged against Isaac Looney, dec. former administrator of said John Looney, decd." This credit was probably for inventoried items of notes and accounts that proved to be uncollectable. (Doubtless an important item of this sort was a note for $182.75 dated 23 Nov. 1819 and signed by A. (4) Looney, Senior, who must have been the youngest brother of John (4) Looney, then living in Knox County Tenn. Interest on this old note in the amount of $185.64 was also on the inventory and probably uncollectable. Another doubtful note was that for $150.00 due from John's son Absolom (5) Looney, who died probably soon after 21 Jan. 1841 before settlement of John's estate.)
If it be supposed that the court also granted another credit (not yet found of record) of $150.00 to the administrators, then the net collections from:
(1) notes and accounts ($1164.04 less $518.39) were actually $645.65
(2) sale of house and farm effects $1052.00
(3) sale of slaves $4696.00
(4) received for salve hire $192.11
Making a total of $6585.76
on which 5% commission would be $329.29
and expenses (reported before division) were $17.43 = $ 346.72
Leaving to be divided between 12 heirs $6239.04
i.e. for each $ 519.92
as compared with the actually distributed share of $ 520.00
End Page -37-In the court files Mrs. Vanderheide found receipts from the legatees showing the amounts of cash received by each from Isaac, and then from Isaac's widow. In the final settlement dated 4 Nov 1845, William(6) Looney (Isaac 5) listed (separately) receipts for both cash and articles received and for indebtedness to the estate paid by the adminstrator for the legatees. The court received the final settlement as "the full amount of all his exhibits" and William (6) Looney was discharged from all further administration on the estate. The total of his list of receitps is recorded as $5536.04 but it omits one receipt of $133.50 that Mrs. Vanderheide found and the compiler sees evidence that another $88 was omitted from the final list. With these additions the total disbursements to 11 legatees (excluding Isaac (5)) were $5757.54 as compared with the available $6239.00. Or, in other words, a share of $481.46 for Isaac instead of $520.00.
(Note that no receipt was given by Isaac to himself as administrator either for his commission or for his distributive share in the estate. The shortage in his share came about principally because Isaac overpaid the widow Polly about $23 when he settled with her before he had charged for expenses or his commission, and because a tax of $20 was paid after computations had been made and settlements were in progress.
To summarize in a few words, the estate of John(4) Looney, both real and personal, was divided into twelfths, one for the widow, Polly Looney, and one for each of the children. Each share amounted to $520 and 16 2/3 acres of land. The children were:
Benjamin (5) Looney b. 20 Oct. 1797 See 5th Generation
John (5) Looney b. 18 Jan. 1799 See 5th Generation
Jesse (5) Looney b. 15 Dec. 1801 See 5th Generation
Isaac(5) Looney b. 3 Nov. 1802 See 5th Generation
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Absalom (5) Looney b. ca. 1804 See 5th Generation
William (5) Looney b. ca. 1813 See 5th Generation
Mary (5) Looney m. James M. H. Smith See 5th Generation
Martha (5) Looney m. John Smith See 5th Generation
Nancy (5) Looney m. John Robinson See 5th Generation
Margaret (5) Looney m. John Lair See 5th Generation
Lavinia (5) Looney m. Rodham K. Payne See 5th Generation
Sources for this record of the John (4) Looney family and his estate
settlement are: Letter written in 1920 by Pauline (6) Looney (Jesse5) to
coyd [this word is as typed by Tilton] A. Looney; census records of Tenn.,
Ala., and Mo., and of very great import, abstracts of Greene Co., Mo.,
court records made by Mrs. Julius Vanderheide, great-granddaughter of
Isaac(5) Looney. Miss Pauline Looney, of Jefferson, Oregon, in 1920, was
able to name John (4) and Mary (Garrison) Looney and all their children
except the daughter Mary who married James M. H. Smith. (In the order in
which the children are listed, the placing of all the girls after all the
boys was almost certainly arbritrary.)
The details of the entries and sales of land by John (4) Looney and the
conveyances that show how some of the heirs disposed of their inheritances
of real estate are voluminous. They have been searched and copied by Mrs.
Vanderheide. The inventory shows that John (4) Looney died possessed of
200 acres in Sections 9, 15 and 16 of Township 30, Range 23, In Greene
County. In selling their inherited real estate their interests are figured
in twelfths and 16 2/3 acres seems conveyed by each heir.
An important conveyance is recorded in Green County Deeds H, p. 596, dated
15 April 1850. Jesse Grigsby and Margaret sell to Joseph A. Renshaw an
interest in 200 acres enterd by John Looney Sr., and divided at his
decease. The Grigsbys had purchased their interest from John Smyth and
wife,
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William Looney and Almiry, his wife, Benjamin Looney and Polly, his wife,
and Mary Looney the widow of said John Looney, Senior, deceased, "heirs of
John Looney decd."
Even more important is the conveyance recorded in Greene Deeds G. p. 572,
dated 22 Oct 1855 from William (6) Looney and Dorcas Looney, "legal heirs
of John Looney, deceased" of County of Greene to Stephen M. Dillard of
same, for 16 2/3 acres in Sections 15 and 9 of Township 30, Range 23. (8
1/3 acres in each section.) The consideration was $60.
William (6) M. Looney (as will appear later) was a son of Isaac (5) Looney,
in fact the one who acted as administrtator of the estate of John (4)
Looney after Isaac and his wife. The first wife of William (6) M. Looney
was his second cousin Dorcas Looney, daughter of Alen (5) Looney. Their
inheritanace of land as "legal heirs" of John (4) Looney Senior could only
be through Isaac (5) Looney.
(At present it is not clear why William (6)M. Looney, the fourth child and
third son of Isaac (5) Looney should be entitled to the one-twelfth
interest in his grandfather's estate to the exclusion of his siblings. He
did purchase from some of them their interests in certain lands that had
been Isaac's. It is entirely possible that some of the quit claims were so
executed as to cover Isaac's interests in the John (4) Looney inheritance.)
Polly Looney, widow of John (4) Looney was probably the female 50 to 60
living at the time of the 1840 census of Greene Co., Mo., in the home of
her son William (5) Looney. It has been reported that Polly migrated
westward with one of her daughters and emancipated her only salve just
before she died in Sacramento, Calif.
(The settlement of the estate of John (4) Looney has been discussed in
great detail because some question has been raised as to the relationship
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