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Cemeteries of Redstone Arsenal Process And Summary, page 15
Mary had first married Pleasant Austin, who owned land adjacent to the Smith Plantation and to the Jacobs holdings. Pleasant died before the 1850 census, and Mary didn't go home to live in the house of her father, apparently choosing instead to live with “Becka” Jacobs and her children. In 1852 Mary married again, this time to William Parker, and moved out of the Jacobs household. It is also interesting to note in the census records that some Jacobs children were named “Stanhope”, apparently after Stanhope Smith, who was a brother of Mary and son of Hughy. Stanhope was a physician, so he may have delivered the Jacobs babies, and their names may have been given in respect and gratitude for that service. It was Stanhope who inherited Hughy's plantation, but Stanhope refused to remain on the land and be a farmer, so he eventually moved into Huntsville and Morgan County.
The Looney Cemetery is another with great historical significance, as the Looney family was headed in Madison County by Absolem Looney, who was another Revolutionary War soldier. Absolem assumed the defaulted debt for John Hunt's land where the old Huntsville Airport was located, on the west end of Airport Road. John Hunt, of course, was the recognized first settler of the town of Huntsville. Two of Absolem Looney's sons took land within the arsenal boundaries, and one of them operated a mill at the confluence of the Indian Creek (today known as Huntsville Spring Branch) with Price's Branch (also known as Hurricane Creek in the early 1800s) that has now become known as Indian Creek. His mill and surrounding property was bought by Thomas Fearn and his brother to complete the Indian Creek Navigation Company's plan to transport cotton to the mill site (“Looney's Landing”), from whence it was transferred to paddle wheeled steamboats for shipment to New Orleans markets. The Looney Cemetery is thought to have been located by using tips from old time residents and by field inspections that indicate possible grave sites, but the use of ground penetrating radar and/or archaeological excavations may be necessary to conclusively prove the existence of a cemetery at the assumed site.
As can be seen from this highly abbreviated overview, there are many items of great historical significance associated with the land that became Redstone Arsenal. While much has already been discovered, very little of the total available information has been compiled into these Summary Reports, and more remains to be discovered or proved with additional research. It is intended that the reports will occasionally be updated as time allows and information is further compiled.
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