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Archiver > LOONEY > 2006-05 > 1146835271


From:
Subject: More Looneys in TX
Date: Fri, 05 May 2006 09:21:11 -0400


Posted as found on the Web.

///Steve Looney///

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http://www.txgenes.com/TxUpshur/Schools/LooneySchool.html

Upshur County, Texas

*LOONEY SCHOOL* was established in 1861 by MORGAN H. LOONEY, who first
rented and then bought the old Upshur Masonic College from the Bethesda
lodge in Gilmer, Upshur County. Looney's school averaged 200 students
annually for the ten years (1861-71) he ran it. Courses in English,
mathematics, ancient languages, composition, spelling, and other
subjects were offered during the ten months the school was open each
year. During the years 1868-70 grades ranged from the elementary level
up to the study of law. With such a variety of subjects, the length of
the school year, and the number of students attending, Looney had to
build a large staff of teachers. Among his teachers were J. L. Coven,
Miss Achsa Culberson, W. A. Hart, M. L. LOONEY (a brother of Morgan H.
Looney), Lafayette Camp, Oran M. Roberts (who later became governor of
Texas), J. C. Reagan, and J. B. Norman. In 1863 the Looney School
building was destroyed by fire. Until a new one could be completed,
temporary arrangements had to be made for housing the school. The new
building, a two-story frame structure, was opened in 1866. On the lower
floor were six big classrooms. Upstairs was an auditorium evenly
partitioned by one center wall, but not all the way across. There was a
door at the back of each partition. Girls came in one door and sat in
their section, while the boys came in the other door and sat in the
other section. The teacher could see both sections from an elevated
platform. Over the years about 2,000 students attended Looney School.
Notable graduates included Charles A. Culberson, Judge Sawney Roberts,
who became a state Supreme Court justice; Sam Templeton, who became
attorney general of Texas; and Sallie Stinson, who married James Stephen
Hogg. Many graduates became contributing members of society in such
fields as law, medicine, education, and business. While the school was
flourishing, Looney left Gilmer because of his wife's poor health; the
school closed shortly after his departure, probably in 1871.

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