Biography - William Looney
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS LOONEY, M. D. Among those whose activities in the field
of medicine have made their names well known in Southern Illinois was the
late William Augustus Looney, M. D., who for more than forty years followed
his profession in Vienna, and who also attained an eminent position in
public and social life. Starting life as a poor lad without influence or
financial aid, he earned the means with which to pursue his medical studies,
and eventually rose to such a high position that his death was a distinct
loss to the community where he labored for so long. William Augustus Looney
was born in Henry county, Tennessee, April 9, 1831, and was a son of William
E. Looney, and grandson of Samuel Looney, a native of the Isle of Man, of
Scotch-Irish descent. William E. Looney migrated from his native state of
North Carolina to Tennessee, and in 1834 removed to Hinds county,
Mississippi, where he died in 1836, after spending his life as a stock
buyer. He married Phetna M. Prazier, daughter of Julian and Elizabeth
(McBee) Prazier.
William A. Looney was two years of age when his father died, and his mother
engaged in school teaching in order to rear her son and give him educational
advantages. After her death, in 1855, he removed to Illinois and began
teaching school in Johnson county, in order to accumulate enough money to
put him through medical college. He began the practice of his profession in
Williamson county in 1865, during which year he attended a course of
lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and graduated from that
institution in 1868. In 1861 he raised the first company for the war in
Williamson county, Company C, of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, of
which he was elected captain. On November 7, 1861, at Belmont, Missouri, he
was severely wounded, but took part in the siege of Corinth, after which he
was honorably discharged on account of disability. In January, 1862, he
removed to Vienna where he continued to follow his profession until his
death, January 5, 1903. He was one of the leading practitioners of his city,
and also became prominent in politics, serving with distinction in the State
Legislature in 1864. His profession connected him with the Southern Illinois
Medical Association, and he was also a member of Vienna Lodge, No. 150,
Vienna Chapter, No. 67, and Cairo Commandery, No. 13, of Masonry. Dr. Looney
was a popular comrade of Vienna Post, No. 221, G. A. R., and was an intimate
friend of General John A. Logan. He was a strong feature in the Methodist
Episcopal church work of Southern Illinois.
In 1856 Dr. Looney was married in Calloway county, Kentucky, to Miss Rachel
P. Caldwell, who died in 1872, leaving three children: James E., John T. and
Fanny A. His second marriage occurred in 1874, when he married Miss Maria
Oliver, who died in 1884, and in March, 1886, he was united with Fannie E.
Whitehead, in Indiana.
Fanny E. Whitehead was born in Vienna, Johnson county, Illinois, daughter of
Charles Fletcher and Maria Theresa (Weismeyer) Whitehead, natives of
Illinois and Germany, respectively. Her grandfather, Silas Whitehead, who
resided near Martinsville, Illinois, reared a family of several sons, one of
whom, Silas, was a journalist at Marshall, Illinois. He was a prominent
pioneer lawyer and subsequently became a judge. Her father was a veteran of
the Civil war and wielded a powerful influence among his fellows. Charles
Fletcher Whitehead was born in 1835, and was reared near Marshall, Illinois,
where he received his education in the public school. He early learned the
tinner and hardware business at Evansville, Illinois, with an uncle, Thomas
Scantlin, who was a pioneer of Evansville, Indiana, and but lately died, at
the age of ninety-eight years and five months. About 1850 the father came to
Vienna, where he was employed in a hardware establishment. At the outbreak
of the Civil war he enlisted in Company M, Sixth Illinois Cavalry, in which
he served two years, and his death occurred in 1868, from the effects of
typhoid fever contracted during the war. His first wife died in 1860,
leaving one daughter, Fanny E., and he married (second) Ann Caldwell, who
died in 1867, leaving two children, L. C. and Henry Parks Whitehead. His
third marriage was to Romaine Whitney, of near Martinsville, and she now
resides at Casey, Illinois, and has a daughter, Cassandra. After her
father's death, Fannie E. Whitehead went to live with an aunt in Pike
county, Indiana, who educated her, and with whom she was living at the time
of her marriage to Dr. Looney in 1886. Dr. and Mrs. Looney had three
children: Mrs. Esther Dill, who resides in St. Louis; Joseph Whitehead, who
is attending high school; and Harold Frazier.
Mrs. Looney is now the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and
forty-three acres situated near Vienna, which she manages successfully. She
is a faithful member of the Methodist church, and is widely known in
religious and charitable work.
Extracted from 1912 A History of Southern Illinois, volume 2, pages 615-616.
