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Among the noted citizens of the southern slope of the Ozark Hills is W. W. Luna, son of Elisha Luna who came to Ozark County from Marshall County, Tennessee in the fall of 1854 and located on Pine Creek 10 miles northeast of the present site of Gainesville. Elisha Luna and his wife Eliza (Gray) Luna were the ... of 16 children, 11 sons and 5 daughters. Among the former is William, ... mentioned at the beginning of this story. Elisha, his father, was an ...sergeant in the Mexican War and served under General Taylor. Owing to his labor in the hot sun that the soldiers were compelled to do at times, he overheated once to such an extent that the result was a bad case of chronic eyes which he never recovered from and they gradually grew worse until he was blind at the time of his death. Some 20 years before he died he applied ... pension and was allowed 72 dollars per month.

During the hard struggle of Taylor’s men in Mexico, Elisha Luna formed the acquantence of Jefferson Davis, the well known President of the Confederate States during the Civil War. Mr. Luna said that Colonel Davis was a gallant and ... officer and commanded a brave regiment of Mississippians. Uncle Elisha ...ted an incident relating to Davis and himself which is worthy to be put in ... On one occasion Taylor’s army was in great stress for food. Provisions were extremely scarce and while this condition existed Sergeant Luna happened to meet Colonel Davis one day and each man halted for a chat. It was a gloomy time ...Uncle Sam’s boys. The men and officers were without money and they all felt that they were on equal footing a sociable way. Davis remarked to Luna that ...not know how he could get along without something to eat. The officer was ... troubled about his men as about himself. At this moment Luna spied a Mexican huckster off some distance approaching them with some chickens. The Mexicans walking up behind Davis and the latter did not see him at the time. While the Mexican was coming slowly up toward them, Luna told Davis that he thought there ... way provided for them to procure something to eat in a few minutes and would ... him a few chickens if nothing else. Then he informed the officer of the ... coming with a load of chickens. Davis looked at the man as he carried his ... along with much curiosity. When the Mexican reached the spot there the ... were conversing together, Sergeant Luna halted him and without saying another ... cut three of the chickens loose from their fastenings with his pocket knife and handed them to Colonel Davis who, with a happy smile, accepted that without a word. Then Luna took three more chickens from the man for himself and ... three men parted at once. A few days after this Luna and Davis happened to ... again and the future President of the Southern Confederacy enjoyed a hearty ... over how Luna had furnished him with a big mess of chickens.

... giving incidents of the time when his father arrived in Ozark County, Mrs. ...m Luna said that he was 2 years old and was too young to remember anything ... time but he had heard his father say, after he could recollect, that he had half a dime when he settled on Pine Creek and he used it to pay postage on a letter he sent back to the old home in Marshall County Tennessee. During their ... first year of residence here Mr. Luna said that his father informed him that they suffered severe hardships. They owned one yoke of steers, a horse and a wagon. ...ther built a cabin and cleared a few acres of land and planted it in corn ...following spring. His father had to sell the oxen, the horse died as soon as ... corn was planted and the crop was cultivated with a hoe and they raised excellent ...corn. The memorable drought of 1854 had cut short the corn crop and bread ...rdly to be had. But notwithstanding the affliction of his eyes, his father ...time enough out of his crop to work for Reid Parker for 1/2 bushel of corn per ...bread. Parker lived on Bryant’s Fork eight miles from our house. His ...John, afoot and barefooted, carried this corn all the way home bringing 1/2 ...of corn at a time and this through a wild country where no one lived between ...Parkers.

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You want to know who was the man to sell goods at Gainesville? My recollections is that it was Wash Smith, an uneducated man. Regarding the first circuit ... held there. I was told it was convened in a log cabin just before the war. ... my father took no part in the civil war, for the disease of his every pre-... him, his sympathies were with the old flag that he had fought under in... The civil war was awful. Several men were killed in our settlement as ...a number of dwellings being burned. This was done by guerrillas of both ... How well I remember that dark period of our history! Our family suffered ...mon with others in our section, but our greatest suffering was after our dwelling, including the contents, was burned on the 24th of December 1864, along with 600 bushels of corn. The party that destroyed the house consisted of 12 men that came up from Arkansas and killed two men and burned three other houses besides ours. This was done in retaliation on a party of men who had gone down into Arkansas and killed a few men and burned 4 houses. I was about 12 years old and how I remember our distressed condition while our house and household goods went up in flames but I did not fully realize it until were face to face with cold ... hunger. Though father was almost blind, yet he escaped being killed by getting into a place of concealment before the men reached the house. The men loaded ...wagon with part of the best of the household goods and some of the men went up ... creek a short distance to hunt our oxen to pull the wagon away but they did not find the cattle and as soon as they came back to the house they slashed the ... wheels to pieces with axes and set the wagon, house and corn cirb on fire. ...ster Neelee was just four months old. My mother had put a feather bed down .. ground and laid the infant on it, but the guerrillas would not permit the ... to rest but a moment when they took it up from the bed. Then they picked ...bed and threw it into the roaring flames.

“I laugh to this day,“ said Mr. Luna, “about a little incident of myself. ... not a laughing matter with me at the time of its occurrence, but I laugh now - every time I think of it. My mother had just woven a bolt of nice...jeans. Among the garments she had intended to make out of it - she had cut ... a coat and aimed to make it in a day or two. When I saw that the band of ... were going to burn the house and grabbed my unmade coat and made my exit out of the ...in haste. I ran my best until I was out of sight of the house and concealed the cloth until the men left. Boy like, I thought more of that jeans than I did ...fine horse and was determined to save it. On the same evening our house was burned, we built a temporary shelter of lumber that the guerrillas forgot to destroy. With the remainder of the lumber we made some boxes long enough and wide enough for three of the family to sleep in each one and filled them all with dry leaves this was our bedding until my parents could prepare something better.”

“The anniversary of the sixtieth year of the marriage of my parents occurred in 1894, Before the exact date of their wedding came around that year, they announced that they wanted a reunion of their children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grand children and great-grand children and other relatives. It was a great ..or the offspring and old folks, for near 300 kinsmen gathered there that day to partake of the sumptuous dinner that my parents, in their old age, had prepared ... In 1900 father and mother crossed the dark river of death. Each was 81 years old. Their bodies were placed to rest on Pine Creek, where they had toiled ...ng to rear their large family of children.”

Mr. William Luna served the people of Ozark County four years as Probate Judgeand a like number of years as Sheriff.

“Well, you want to know if I ever hunted game while it was so plentiful here ...if so, to give you some of my experience as a hunter. I never hunted much

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I can tell you nothing of interest as regards myself but I will tell you of my father and brother, John, going out to hunt one day while snow lay on the ground. ...Father said it was the first winter following our arrival in Ozark County. ...leaving the house some distance, they shot and killed deer and started to ... it back home with a rope. Instead of following their back trail in the snow, ...intended to reach home a nearer way. They soon became bewildered, and pulled ...deer nearly all day before they were able to locate where our cabin stood. Father said that both John and himself were “miserably” tired before they reached ... Another little incident and I have told you enough for the present,” said ... Luna.

“Another brother of mine, whom we called Doc, went out one day in company ... Sam Beard to kill a deer. The latter wounded a five point buck. The sting ..the bullet irritated his buckship and he suddenly grew furious and flew at the ...to gore him with his horns. Beard hustled up a tree and my brother dodged ...nd one. As the deer lunged up to the tree that my brother was behind, which was a small one, Doc reached around the body of the tree and caught the deer by the horns with both hands and prevented the frantic beast from goring him. While ...held the buck he called for Beard to come down out of the tree and help him ...the frightened man was fairly bluffed and refused to render aid so the mad ... and my brother had to fight it out alone. Fortunately the deer was badly wounded and could not hold out long and in a little while the beast was too weak to make much resistance - which gave Doc and opportunity to cut the buck’s throat with his knife and thus end the fight.”

PETER PIT LUNA

...Peter Pitman Luna, Uncle Pit as he usually called, was born in Tennessee on September 11, 1849 and passed away at the home of his son, John, near Dora on October 6, 1942 at the age of 93 years and 25 days.

He was the son of Elisha and Eliza Luna and the last of the family of 16 children, 11 boys and 5 girls. His father, Elisha Luna, was the son of Jim Luna, ..was the son of one of nine Luna brothers who came from Ireland more than 200 years ago and became the first settlers of Marshall County Tennessee. The nine brothers all came across the ocean at the same time and at an early day when there were many hardships and much suffering. They moved on truck wagons and had ...the cane one day and move the next and this way on and on until they finally came to some place where they wanted to stop and make a home. Peter came with his parent to Ozark County when he was very small and was reared here. In ... at the early age of 18 he married Miss Phoebe Turner and they started on a ... life together. To this marriage 8 children were born, five of whom are living.

Eight years ago, in 1934, his faithful companion of 67 years passed away and ... went to live with a son Peter C. Luna of near Gainesville. About a year previous to his death, he moved to the home of another son, John, near Dora where he passed away. He was a member of the Church of Christ for many years.

Funeral services were conducted in Patrick Cemetery Wednesday at 3pm with .. C. Harlin officiating. The Gainesville quartet sang several hymns. The ... bearers were friends and neighbors of the deceased.

Mr. Luna is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Martha Howard and Mrs. Mollie ... of Dora, three sons, E. F. Luna and P. C. Luna of Gainesville and John Luna of Dora, 32 grand children, 96 great grand children and 9 great great grand

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children and also many other relatives and friends to whom Uncle Pit will always be a pleasant memory.

Interment was made in the Patrick Cemetery under the direction of the Clink-...ard Funeral Home of Gainesville.

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ROUGH DRAFT
Peter 2 Luna Manuscript
Fifth Generation

John 5 Smith Luna (James 4, Peter 3) was born 15 Jan 1807,. doubtless in Sumner Co. where his parents were married in 1804. His middle name refers to his mother’s maiden name, and it has been various read as L and F among other variants.

Lunceford 5 Long Luna (James 4, Peter 3) was born 25 Sept 1808 in Sumner or Lincoln Co. He died 16 Nov 1876 and was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. His middle name refers to his Luna grandmother’s maiden name or so it is said. The Lunceford name was usually spelled Lunsford, and the middle initial L was often used, often erroneously copied as S or F.

Both these brothers left home early in life, married sisters, and thus, although separated from their own kinsmen, were not widely separated from each other in either time or place. These families have been difficult, and such success as seems to have been obtained is due in large measure to Mrs. Otis S. Duran, of McAlester, Okla., who is descended from Raney Luan and has been successful in collecting data from others. It will be easier to consider both John 5 and Lunceford L. 5 together at first.

Starting with the wives, John Currin and wife Sarah (Davis) Currin probably lived in Morgan Co., Ala., when John S. Luna was married (1) to Sallie Davis Currin (bond 28 Feb 1826) on 2 Mar 1826 by Thomas Brisco. Lunsford L. Luna was married to Mary Davis Currin (bond 18 Mar 1828) on 19 Mar 1828 by William G. Dossey (Morgan Co., Ala., Marr. Rec. 1, pp. 13, 95) Lunsford L. went to Hardeman Co., Tenn., soon after his marriage (i.e., in 1828 or 1829), probably with John Currin. (Hardeman Co. is not far northwest of Morgan Co., Ala.) Both Lunsford L. Looney and John Currin were listed in the 1830 census of ;Hardeman Co.

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