Open Gates

19 April 1909: 1. 2427 Broadway: Herman B. Kopperl (1868-1915) owner of the Hotel Royal at 219 Tremont; 2. and 3. [See Rosenberg Monument for a 1916 view and explanation of the southeast corner of Broadway and 25th, including details of the monument iconography]; 4. 2508 Broadway (Avenue J): The house here depicted in Yellow was the home of Charles Fowler (1858-1931) [See Broadway at 25th for a view from the other side of Broadway]; 5. 2422 Broadway (Avenue J): "Open Gates" Magnolia Willis Sealy (1854-1933) widow of George Sealy (1835-1901) and her children. The house was built in 1891 by railroad tycoon, George Sealy (1835-1901) who ran the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe RR before he sold it to the Atcheson, Topeka & Santa Fe RR at great profit.

24 March 2019: Oak trees on the boulevard strip have been replaced by sturdy palms, and the Open Gates mansion, now a media center for the University of Texas Medical Branch, is almost completely obscured by the foliage, only the chimneys protrude above the trees.

Postmarked: 19 April 1909; Galveston, Texas
Stamp: 2c Carmine George Washington #319

To: Mr A. Looney
Waterloo Rd Ramsey
Isle of Man British Isles

Message: how are the boys all you will be busy now. at the new floor, how is the (old shell.) most of the houses are wood here and it’s a nice place
Laur.

Laurence Looney wrote this postcard from Galveston to his older brother Albert back home on the Isle of Man. Laurence and Albert were very close in age, just 14 months apart, part of a family of five, three still at home: Margaret Ann (b. 1879), Emily (b. 1884), and Albert (b. 1885). Their father, William Looney (1841-1907) had died 20 months earlier, leaving Jane Elizabeth (Clarke) a widow; two brothers had passed away: William Edward (1880-1899) and William Clarke (1893-1893). Grown members of the family on their own were: Jane Elizabeth Looney (b. 1877 – Mrs. Bertley Crow), Catherine Esther Looney (b. 1878 – Mrs. John Thomas Radcliffe), and Robert Clarke Looney (b. 1882); all but Laurence lived on the Isle of Man in 1909.

Their father had been the customs officer of Ramsey, so Laurence was familiar with ships and cargo, a familiarity that led him to a career as a merchant marine sailor working as a carpenter and engineer on various Atlantic vessels. Laurence mentions the wooden houses in Galveston, and speculates that Albert is still working on a new floor. Albert was a joiner, a carpenter who puts houses together, as was their older brother Robert, and Laurence likely received training in this profession as well.

Coat of Arms Isle of Man

One of the world’s most recogniz-able heraldic symbols, three legs in armor flexed at the knee, conjoined at the thigh: “Quocunque Jeceris Stabit” (whithersoever you throw it, it will stand). Like many sailors, Laurence Looney had tattoos, including this symbol, and one of clasped hands, perhaps symbolizing friendship and implying “my word is my bond.”

The Isle of Man is situated in the Irish Sea between Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. The landmass is 220 sq. mi. (572 sq. km.), about 30 mi. (50 km) x 10 mi. (16 km), with a population of less than 60,000 at the time. One of the oldest continuously settled lands in the British Isles, it was under the control of Norwegian Viking kings through the Medieval Period, and as the United Kingdom formulated itself, Man was always a quasi-independent Crown Dependency. The language long spoken on the island, especially in remoter parts, was Gaelic-based Manx, and English too, of course. The tail-less Manx cat is found across the world, making the island famous among ailurophiles.

Two years after receiving the postcard, Alfred booked passage on board the Lusitania departing Liverpool on 29 April 1911, arriving in New York City on 5 May [This same ship was sunk off the coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915, one of the precipitating causes of WWI]. Alfred then traveled on to Rochester, Monroe County, NY where he joined a friend from home, Wilfred Kerruish Callow at #85 Savannah Street. Wilfred was also a joiner so perhaps they had been co-workers before Callow immigrated in 1905. The Callow family was neighbors in Maughold (just south of Ramsey) to William and Emma (Moore) Looney, related in an uncertain way to William and Jane Elizabeth (Clarke) Looney, probable kinfolk to Laurence. Most anyone named Looney on the Isle of Man was related however distantly.

In 1915 Alfred brought his bride, Elizabeth Annie Moughton, over on the Arabic, arriving in New York on 15 May, marrying her on the same day before leaving New York to return to Rochester. He subsequently brought her sisters as well, Edith Moughton in 1916, and Daisy in 1919, hosting them in his house until they married and made homes of their own. Alfred and Elizabeth Annie had three boys, Alfred James (1916), Robert (1920), and Lawrence William (1922). Elizabeth Annie died 25 December 1925, leaving 9 year old Alfred, 5 year old Robert, and 3 year old Lawrence. In 1927 he married a Scotch immigrant, Mary “Jean” McDonald, and adopted her son Bruce, a year younger than James.

The author of the postcard, Laurence seemed to have continued working as a merchant marine for a number of years, traveling between various ports on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts including Galveston, New Orleans, New York City, Boca Panama, Yokohama Japan, Seattle, Victoria BC. During WWI he earned a British War Medal for protecting the flow of goods to the homeland. In WWII his nephew 1st Lieutenant Alfred James Looney received a posthumous Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross from the Army Air Corps after the B-24 he was piloting perishing over Gotha, Germany on 24 February 1944. His brothers also served in the war.

Laurence Ramsey Looney died at 56 on the Isle of Man on 21 December 1942. Alfred Edward’s second wife, Jean McDonald Looney died in Rochester in 1947; Alfred died there in 1961. None left a burial record that has been found.