Hi, It's no wonder we have a hard time finding those elusive ancestors; it doesn't seem to be just the Looneys, as these same problems have been seen in several of my lines. Along with all the different spellings, I've also seen where people suddenly switch to their 1st names in the records - when they've been going by their middle names for years. And then we've found some people who switched to a nickname, muddying the research waters even more; in those cases, we would never have known who they were if not for some oral history, bible records, or other documents which identified other family members. Dennis In a message dated 5/26/00 9:28:29 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: [email protected] (Davis) Reply-to: [email protected] To: [email protected] <!--StartFragment-->Deed Bk. 1 p. 486 Botetourt Co. Va. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: "Keith Wright" <[email protected]> Top of page is a deed from Joseph Looney and Jeane his wife to James Gilmore Signed Joseph Luney Jane (her mark) Luny March 9, 1773 Botetourt Co. Court This was found on the Botetourt County, Va site. This gentleman has done a great deal of work posting things from the public records. It is amazing--Looney is spelled three ways in one deed. Hope this helps someone ldavis