In April 1974, Cloise Edward “Ed” Mooney sat down to record what he knew about his father’s and mother’s families. His account reaches back to Kentucky, the years following the Civil War, and the family’s move to Illinois. It also preserves the names of relatives whose stories might otherwise have disappeared.
BornDecember 11, 1892
Crouch Township, Illinois
DiedOctober 20, 1976
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
ParentsJ. W. Mooney and
Margaret Mossella Latham
MarriedEthel Lee Turley
September 5, 1916
ChildrenAda Margaret, Cloise Lee,
and Dorothy Opal
Known asEd
What Ed Remembered
“The following comments are, to the best of my knowledge, all I know about my father’s and mother’s families.”
The Mooney Family
“My grandfather Peter Mooney moved from the area of Poole, Kentucky, to the area of McLeansboro, Illinois, about the time the Civil War ended. I do not recall knowing anything about my grandmother Mooney’s family.”
Ed’s father was still a boy when the family came to Illinois. Ed recorded his birth date as March 15, 1852.
“Some years after moving to Illinois, my grandfather married a Mansel, and to them were born two sons and one daughter; namely, Elmore, Willie and Fannie.”
Elmore had no children. Willie had two sons, whose names Ed did not know, and Fannie had one son, Charles Nelson. Ed remembered that Elmore, Willie and Fannie were living in the Campbell, Missouri, area when they died.
The Latham Family
“My mother’s side of the family—my grandfather Latham lived in the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky. I never knew anything about my grandmother Latham’s family.”
Ed believed his grandfather Latham was buried in the Nashville National Cemetery in 1861. He remembered the grave marker as giving no first name, only “Latham 1861 Ky.”
“To my knowledge he left three sons and three daughters; namely Washborn, Robert, Edward, Sofornie, Susanna and Margaret Mossella.”
J. W. and Margaret Mooney’s Children
“My father, J. W. Mooney, married Margaret Mossella, and to them were born nine children; namely Susan, Randal and Johnny, who died at a very young age. Others were Cora, Nora, Fred, Preston, Ed and Raymon.”
After Margaret died, J. W. Mooney married Alice Overfield of Poole, Kentucky. Their children were Woodrow, Howard, Lyda May and Susie Fay. In 1974, Ed wrote that Lyda May Savada lived in North Little Rock, Arkansas, and Susie Fay Vance lived in St. Clair Shores, Michigan.
Passing It On
Ed was living in Plaquemine, Louisiana, when he wrote these memories. He ended with a simple statement that explains why his handwritten account remains so important:
“I have the family Bible that contains the family records of the Mooneys and will pass it on to my children.”