============================ HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY By H. Claude Pobst The oldest small grant issued to anyone who might have settled thereon, so far as I have been able to ascertain, was an 180 acre grant issued to James Catesby Madison and others, devisees of Rev. James Madison. The survey on which the grant was based is dated December 24, 1783, and the grant was issued March 2, 1856. Richard Yates was the father of Almarine and Richard Yates, and he conveyed to Robert Looney, the father of Charlie Looney. One of the Fredericks in 1832 conveyed his 124 acre grant to John Yates. Hannibal A. Compton, former Commissioner of the Revenue of the county, says in his history written for the 1958 Centennial, that Robert Looney came first to the county, and then Joseph and John Looney in 1823. In some of the histories it is stated that the Looneys came from Botetourt County, Virginia, but other writers say they came from Tazewell County. I am inclined to believe that they came from Botetourt to that part of Tazewell County which afterwards became Buchanan County. ============================