I was thrilled to see so many recent postings regarding Looney families in GA. and am hopeful that someone will be able to connect our branch to the proper lineage. Toward that end, I concentrated my efforts on tracing the 1st spouse of our G.W. Looney in the hope that his family may have lived in / near hers through the years. Here's what I have: George Washington Looney; b. 23 March 1864 in Ga. (on headstone in Ellisville, MS.); (24 Nov 1863 in Ga. IAW Death certif.); March 1864 in Ga. (1900 Madison Co., Ga. census); 1864 in Ga. (1910 Lawrence Co., AL. census); the 1920 & 1930 census' seem to confirm the 1864 birthyear. All sources confirm birthplace as Ga. and state that both parents (always un-named) were also born in Ga. On 25 February 1886, in Madison Co., Ga., he married Mary "Lee" Eaton. In tracing "Lee's" ancestry, I learned the following: Mary "Lee" Eaton was born on 8 March 1870 in the Hartwell District of Hart Co., Ga. to James H. Eaton and his wife Ionia Frances (maiden name not yet determined). "Lee" had two older brothers (Benjamin F. / bc. 1861 and James W. / bc. 1863), both born in Ga. Census records locate the family of James H. & Ionia Eaton as follows: 12 July 1860 / Carnesville District, Franklin Co., Ga. 1 July 1870 / Hartwell District, Hart Co., Ga. 3 June 1880 / Carnesville District #26, Franklin Co., Ga. They appear to have married before July 1860 / probably in / near Carnesville, Franklin Co., Ga. James H. Eaton; bc. 1837 in SC. (both parents born in SC.); d. aft 1880 Ionia Frances; bc. 1846 in Ga. / died bef. June 1880 (prob.in Ga.) James H. Eaton was the son of Bardie (bc. 1813 in SC.) & Rhoda (bc. 1820 in SC.) Eaton. He had a sister named Jane Eaton , who was born about 1838 in Ga. This family is also located in the 1860, Carnesville Dist.; Franklin Co., Ga. census. If any of this helps bring suggestions or guesses to anyone's minds... please share them with me. Thanks. John C. Sears (of NY) _JSears2111@aol.com_ (mailto:JSears2111@aol.com)

John, Thanks for this most informative report; however, I take exception to your statement relating the extinction of the passenger pigeon to the cutting of the forests. Forests in 1914, when the last pigeon died, were more than adequate. The passenger pigeon was slaughtered wholesale by hunters and trappers who sought the birds as a cheap source of meat. The following link is just one of the many sources available for this conclusion. http://www.eco-action.org/dt/pigeon.html Again, I enjoyed your Looney information. Best regards, Glenn Looney (and Cherokee descendant) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JSears2111@aol.com wrote: >I was thrilled to see so many recent postings regarding Looney families in >GA. and am hopeful that someone will be able to connect our branch to the >proper lineage. Toward that end, I concentrated my efforts on tracing the 1st >spouse of our G.W. Looney in the hope that his family may have lived in / near >hers through the years. Here's what I have: > >George Washington Looney; b. 23 March 1864 in Ga. (on headstone in >Ellisville, MS.); (24 Nov 1863 in Ga. IAW Death certif.); March 1864 in Ga. (1900 >Madison Co., Ga. census); 1864 in Ga. (1910 Lawrence Co., AL. census); the 1920 & >1930 census' seem to confirm the 1864 birthyear. All sources confirm >birthplace as Ga. and state that both parents (always un-named) were also born in >Ga. >On 25 February 1886, in Madison Co., Ga., he married Mary "Lee" Eaton. In >tracing "Lee's" ancestry, I learned the following: > >Mary "Lee" Eaton was born on 8 March 1870 in the Hartwell District of Hart >Co., Ga. to James H. Eaton and his wife Ionia Frances (maiden name not yet >determined). "Lee" had two older brothers (Benjamin F. / bc. 1861 and James W. >/ bc. 1863), both born in Ga. > >Census records locate the family of James H. & Ionia Eaton as follows: >12 July 1860 / Carnesville District, Franklin Co., Ga. >1 July 1870 / Hartwell District, Hart Co., Ga. >3 June 1880 / Carnesville District #26, Franklin Co., Ga. >They appear to have married before July 1860 / probably in / near >Carnesville, Franklin Co., Ga. > >James H. Eaton; bc. 1837 in SC. (both parents born in SC.); d. aft 1880 >Ionia Frances; bc. 1846 in Ga. / died bef. June 1880 (prob.in Ga.) >James H. Eaton was the son of Bardie (bc. 1813 in SC.) & Rhoda (bc. 1820 in >SC.) Eaton. He had a sister named Jane Eaton , who was born about 1838 in >Ga. This family is also located in the 1860, Carnesville Dist.; Franklin Co., >Ga. census. > >If any of this helps bring suggestions or guesses to anyone's minds... >please share them with me. Thanks. > >John C. Sears (of NY) >_JSears2111@aol.com_ (mailto:JSears2111@aol.com) > > > >==== LOONEY Mailing List ==== >If you find a web page somewhere listing Manx, Irish or Scotch surnames >and they don't include LOONEY/LUNA/etc., send them a note to let them >know we're around. The more advertising we have, the more help we get. > > > >

Hi, Glenn: John didn't send the message in on passenger pigeons, Jim did, but he was just quoting an article written by Varley Graves in 1977 in the small town newspaper in Fayetteville, GA. Varley was in his 70's or so when he wrote this piece. I corresponded with him in the early 1980's and he was at least 80 years old then. He had many inaccuracies in his historical and genealogy columns, but he was so enthusiastic and collected so much information that he was fun to read and write to. He was also very opinionated. He may still be around for you to take up the passenger pigeon topic with, but he is probably over 100 by now, if he is still with us. I agree about the wholesale slaughter, which is what I have always heard, but Varley may have also had a good point about the forest clearing contributing to their demise--in those days farmers clear-cut forests, farmed a few years, grazed horses, cattle and pigs, then moved on, which is one reason our ancestors were so mobile--always looking for new land because they had wornout the old--especially farming cotton and tobacco. Morgan Harbin Looney, my husband's ancestor, moved from GA to AR, to TX teaching, opening schools, and going along with the general migration west. BTW, the last passenger pigeon is still at the Cincinatti Zoo--stuffed. Teresa ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Glenn's original message: John, Thanks for this most informative report; however, I take exception to your statement relating the extinction of the passenger pigeon to the cutting of the forests. Forests in 1914, when the last pigeon died, were more than adequate. The passenger pigeon was slaughtered wholesale by hunters and trappers who sought the birds as a cheap source of meat. The following link is just one of the many sources available for this conclusion. http://www.eco-action.org/dt/pigeon.html Again, I enjoyed your Looney information. Best regards, Glenn Looney (and Cherokee descendant) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part of Jim's original message: Morgan Harbin Looney was written up by Varley Graves in VIGNETTES OF HISTORY on December 15, 1977 in the Fayette GA newspaper. ..... near was a pigeon-roost where the migration of the passenger pigeon took place in the autumn of each year. At one time about 150 years ago this bird was the most numerous of any in all of North America. The birds came for the nuts and acorns, but when the forest were cut, the nuts disappeared and so the birds became extinct. The last one died in the Cincinnati Zoo Sept. 1, 1914.

I am so happy to see this Looney research in Ga., I hope someone can help me with my brick wall. My gg grandmother was Lydia "Liddy" Looney b. abt 1808 in Ga. She married Levy/Levi London in Maury Co., Tn. in 1829. About 1830 they went to Illinois for a while, but returned to Maury Co., tn. The only Looney family that I can't account for in Ga. is Joseph Looney b. 1807 Ga.shown below He was married in the same area as all the other Looney families lived at that time, 1830 Franklin Co., Ga census Joseph Looney 20/30 b. 1800-1810 Male 0/5 b. 1825-1830 Male 0/5 b. 1825-1830 Male 5/10 b. 1820-1825 Fem 20/30 b. 1800-1810 Everyone says this is the Joseph Looney, son of Adam 4, Robert 3, Adam 2, Robert 1, who married Martha McNeil b. abt 1803 Ga. Is there any chance that Martha McNeil Looney died before Dec 1829??? and this is the same Joseph who md Permelia Wright? 1840 Franklin Co., Ga census Joseph Looney 30/40 b. 1800-1810 Male 0//5 b. 1835-1840 Male5/10 b. 1830-1835 Make 10/15 b. 1825-1830 Male 10/15 b. 1825-1830 Male 15/20 b. 1820-1825 Fem. 0/5 b. 1835-1840 Fem. 5/10 b. 1830-1835 Fem. 30/40 b. 1800-1810 1850 Georgia Census Maury Co., Ga. Joseph C. Looney md Permelia Wright in Franklin Co., Ga on 12/10/1829 Looney Joseph C. 43 b. Ga. 1807 labor Permelia 43 " Martha 18 " Mary 16 " Benjamine 12 " Adaline 10 " Willie 8 " prob James shown below Jephah 6 " male Harriet 2 " 1860 census note the name has changed to LUNA Whitfield County Ga. Luna Permelia ,widow 40 Adeline 18 Jas. W. 16 Jephtha C. 14 Harriet 12 Frances 10 M.J. 8 Benj. F. 22 1870 Whitfield Co., Ga. Luna Harriet 19 Permelia 65 Frances A. 18 name hard to read Jeptha 25 Percilla 29 Dora L. 5 Martha M 1 I wonder about this Joseph C. Looney because 1. he is the only other Looney I can find born in Ga. about the same time as my Lydia. 2. their children's names are very similiar I would really appreciate ANYTHING Thanks Brenda ----- Original Message ----- From: <JSears2111@aol.com> To: <LOONEY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2004 7:48 AM Subject: [LOONEY-L] Re: GA. Looney Families > I was thrilled to see so many recent postings regarding Looney families in > GA. and am hopeful that someone will be able to connect our branch to the > proper lineage. Toward that end, I concentrated my efforts on tracing the 1st > spouse of our G.W. Looney in the hope that his family may have lived in / near > hers through the years. Here's what I have: > > George Washington Looney; b. 23 March 1864 in Ga. (on headstone in > Ellisville, MS.); (24 Nov 1863 in Ga. IAW Death certif.); March 1864 in Ga. (1900 > Madison Co., Ga. census); 1864 in Ga. (1910 Lawrence Co., AL. census); the 1920 & > 1930 census' seem to confirm the 1864 birthyear. All sources confirm > birthplace as Ga. and state that both parents (always un-named) were also born in > Ga. > On 25 February 1886, in Madison Co., Ga., he married Mary "Lee" Eaton. In > tracing "Lee's" ancestry, I learned the following: > > Mary "Lee" Eaton was born on 8 March 1870 in the Hartwell District of Hart > Co., Ga. to James H. Eaton and his wife Ionia Frances (maiden name not yet > determined). "Lee" had two older brothers (Benjamin F. / bc. 1861 and James W. > / bc. 1863), both born in Ga. > > Census records locate the family of James H. & Ionia Eaton as follows: > 12 July 1860 / Carnesville District, Franklin Co., Ga. > 1 July 1870 / Hartwell District, Hart Co., Ga. > 3 June 1880 / Carnesville District #26, Franklin Co., Ga. > They appear to have married before July 1860 / probably in / near > Carnesville, Franklin Co., Ga. > > James H. Eaton; bc. 1837 in SC. (both parents born in SC.); d. aft 1880 > Ionia Frances; bc. 1846 in Ga. / died bef. June 1880 (prob.in Ga.) > James H. Eaton was the son of Bardie (bc. 1813 in SC.) & Rhoda (bc. 1820 in > SC.) Eaton. He had a sister named Jane Eaton , who was born about 1838 in > Ga. This family is also located in the 1860, Carnesville Dist.; Franklin Co., > Ga. census. > > If any of this helps bring suggestions or guesses to anyone's minds... > please share them with me. Thanks. > > John C. Sears (of NY) > _JSears2111@aol.com_ (mailto:JSears2111@aol.com) > > > > ==== LOONEY Mailing List ==== > If you find a web page somewhere listing Manx, Irish or Scotch surnames > and they don't include LOONEY/LUNA/etc., send them a note to let them > know we're around. The more advertising we have, the more help we get. > >