Researcher Robert McCormick had this to say about William and hisfamil y:
"William (4) Looney was bom about 1785 in what is now Hawkins County,T ennessee. He descends from a long lineof frontiersmen: his father,Mich ael Looney, was a Revolutionary War veteran and an early settlerin Sta nley Valley,near Rogersville, Hawkins County, Tennessee.Williarn's gra ndfather, Absalom Looney, discovered the areainVirginia known as Abb's V alley. William's great-grandfather, RobertLooney, was the first of his l ine to arrive inAmerica, with wifeElizabeth, in the early 1720s from t he Isle of Man. Robertestablished Looney's Mill, Looney'sFerry, and Lo oney's Fort, allimportant frontier outposts in Virginia near the James R iver.
William Looney is recorded as one of the first settlers on ElevenPoint R iver in what is now Randolph County,Arkansas. William and twoStubblefi eld cousins (probably Fielding and Coleman) arrived atEleven Point pos siblyas early as 1802. William and cousins oftentraveled a two-week jo urney of 13 5 miles as far as Cape Girardeau,Missouri to purchase suppl ies.
William, his Stubblefield cousins, and others who came shortlyafterwar d including the Baker, Garrett, Mcllroy,Rice, Vandergriff,Wells, and W hite families laid the foundations for communities suchas Dalton, Elm S tore, andGladesville.
During this period, William Looney served as justice of the peace andm agistrate in Davidson and Union townships (I 816 - ea 1825), andCaptai n in the 3rd Regiment, Arkansas Militia (commissioned 1820).
In 1823, William was granted patents for land south of Dalton. He,wife R hoda Stubblefield (daughter of WilliamStubblefield andElizabeth McDani el) and family, built a home that still exists today.The William Loone yHomeplace is noted as one of the oldest in RandolphCounty. At its pea k, the old homeplace included 1,500 acres,and itsorchards produced as m uch as 1,500 gallons of brandy each year. Byabout 1850, the extended L ooney,Mcllroy, Stubblefield, and Wellsfamilies owned most of the land n ear Eleven Point River in a 30-milestretch fromElm Store to Birdell. T he old homeplace has remained inthe hands of William Looney's relative s, descendants ofthe Downey,Rice and Stubblefield families.
In 1843, William Looney purchased land in Pocahontas (originallycalled B ettis'Bluff) from Thomas Drew. Theinitial map of Pocahontasshowed that W illiam Looney owned the whole block on the south side ofthe old courts quare.
The town of Pitman was established near Current River in 1853. Amongit s first businessmen were WilliamLooney's son, Michael Looney, andson-i n-law, Erasmus Pitman. Together, they built a steam/saw/gristmill and a distillery.
William Looney died April 1846 in Randolph Co, Arkansas. His wife,Rhod a, died in August 1847. They had 10children."
Residences & events:
1840 Davidson, Randolph Co, TN. The family lived within shoutingdist ance of Rhoda's siblings. William's family included: 2 malesaged 15- 20, 2 at 20-30, William at 50-60, 1 female under 5, 3 at10-15, and 1 a t 40-50 years. Next door was nephew Pleasant and Thena(Looney) Stubbl efield, their daughter.
