Monica Looney Ryan 1907 - 1983 and her family

Let's take a look at the Looney family.  My siblings and I are not directly descended from the Looneys, but they can be confirmed as cousins.  Their story is muddled but intriguing.  I'll mention right now that they seem to have been pretty "loosy-goosey" with their first names which has made some of the research more difficult. 

You may remember Grampie's (Paul M. Ryan, Sr.) brother John "Jack" Ryan, who died of accidental gunshot wounds inflicted by a friend.  Jack died at the age of 32 with a wife and two young children.  His wife, Monica, was the daughter of John J. and Julia Looney.  She never remarried and lived a long life in Massachusetts.

John J. and Julia/Monica (Curtin) Looney probably came to the United States in 1914, quite a bit later than many of our other Irish ancestors.  Five children accompanied them on this trip, and I have found some evidence of four others.  Monica was among the children arriving in 1914 at the age of 7.  By 1920, census records indicate they were living in Cambridge, Massachusetts with 2 additional older children. 

By 1930, Monica was still living with her parents in Medford Mass and working as a stenographer for the telegraph company.  I don't yet know how Jack and Monica came to meet, but they married in Gloucester in 1934.  They quickly had 2 children, Patrick and Sheila.  Jack died in 1939 and Monica stayed in Gloucester for some time.  In the meanwhile, her parents John and Julia moved to Gloucester also.  Inf act, her father John died in her home in Gloucester in 1942.

Monica died in 1983 in Amesbury and she was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Gloucester (same place as our grandparents Paul Ryan Sr and Catherine Pierce Ryan). 

I am still tracking her siblings Julia/Sheila; Katherine; Mary C (perhaps could be same person as Katherine); Dennis (died in San Francisco); Eugene (died in Pennsylvania); Daniel; Nora Josephine; and Thomas.  The rich Irish history they left behind is what keeps bringing me back to them.  They apparently came from Cork City Ireland and I'm quite hopeful that someday I will find out more about them.  In the meantime, if anyone calls you Looney, well, they aren't wrong!