INTRODUCTION
One of my previous newsletters, published on Feb. 26, 2024, mentioned Peter Looney. That article was entitled “Killed, Wounded, Captured by Indians". The source I used said that in 1756, Peter Looney was captured by Indians.
“Fort Vause” is a Wikipedia entry, and there is a plaque in Virginia memorializing the attack. The above list says that Peter Looney escaped. Well, he did escape, but it didn’t happen right away. This article will include (1) an account of his experiences, and (2) how his wife is connected to my mother’s family. As usual, sources do not agree and are sometimes vague, but I will try to work around that without making inaccurate statements.
Fort Vause was in the area of Shawsville, Virginia, which is about 50 miles from Peterstown, Monroe County, West Virginia, according to Googlemaps.
If you are interested in the Looneys, the sources at the end of this article mention various family members, including Peter’s father, Robert, and one of his brothers, Absalom. Absalom lent his name to the region in northern Tazewell County known as “Abb’s Valley”, which is right on the border of McDowell County, West Virgina. (see below) Abb’s Valley was about 100 miles from Fort Vause. There were many other Looney siblings.
Here is an account of the Indian attack in Abb’s Valley.
PETER’S ADVENTURE
Peter was born in Philadelphia, but he had moved to Virginia with his family. After he escaped from the Indians, he ended up back in Philadelphia. He recounted his experiences, which were published in a newspaper in 1757, when he was 23 years old. The account begins with his capture from Fort Vause.
Peter Looney’s Connection to Me
After returning to Virginia, Peter Looney married Margaret Lauderdale, daughter of James Lauderdale, around 1758. (By the way, there are lots of crazy spellings of Lauderdale, including Lidderdale and Leatherdale.) They had a son, Peter Looney, Jr., very soon after marriage. Peter Looney, Sr. died around 1759-1760, but I do not know the cause of death. Margaret remarried soon after that to James McKain. As usual, sources do not agree on the date or the spelling of James’ last name. Sometimes the “Mc” syllable is omitted. James McKain and Margaret had a daughter named Sarah McKain within a year or so of marriage. They later moved to Tennessee, as did Margaret’s son, Peter Looney, Jr.
Margaret had a sister named Elizabeth Lauderdale, who was married to Lewis Green of “Bear Hunt” fame. Lewis Green and Elizabeth had a son named Zachariah Green. I mentioned him in the Bear Hunt story. They also moved to Tennessee.
Sarah McKain ended up marrying her first cousin Zachariah Green, and their daughter, Sarah “Sally” Green, was the mother of my earliest ancestor who immigrated to Texas, Cave Johnson of Beaumont. He arrived in Texas as a teenager in 1839.
Tombstone of Zachariah and Sarah McKain Green in Sumner County, Tennessee:
These family connections and events are confusing, as usual. It is taxing trying to untangle all the different vague, unreliable sources. As I get older, I find I have less and less patience with trying to piece it all together, so I have included my sources below. If you are related to the Looneys, Lauderdales, or Greens, I will be happy to do more digging if it will help you, so let me know what your connection is.
SOURCES:
Manuscripts from the Burton Historical Collection, Vol. 1, pp. 113ff, by Burton, Clarence Monroe, and Burton, Mary Agnes, 1916-1918.
The captives of Abb's Valley : a legend of frontier life [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data: Brown, James Moore,. The captives of Abb's Valley : a legend of frontier life. Staunton, Va.: Printed for the author by the McClure Co., 1942, c1943
Settlers by the Long Grey Trail [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data: Harrison, J. Houston. Settlers by the Long Grey Trail. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1998.
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900. Ancestry.com, 2004
Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.Original data: The Virginia Genealogical Society. Virginia Genealogical Society Quarterly and Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Volume 4.
Davidson, Sumner, and Tennessee Counties, U.S., Census of the Cumberland Settlements, 1770-1790 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors.Original data: Fulcher, Richard Carlton. 1770–1790 Census of the Cumberland Settlements. Davidson, Sumner and Tennessee Counties (In What is Now Tennessee). Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.
History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, by Lewis Preston Summers