Size: 4.8 linear feet
Boxes: 14
OCLC No: 50068083
Acquisition: Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, Jr., Houston Public Library, Annie Hume, 1939 - 1940.
Restrictions on Access: None
Terms Governing Use: Open for research by appointment.
Processed by: Sarah Canby Jackson, 2002.
Publication Rights: Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jacinto Museum of History. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Jacinto Museum of History as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Citation: [Identification of Item], Michael Looscan Papers, MC054, San Jacinto Museum of History, Houston, Texas.
Creator Sketch:
Born in Caher, Ireland, to Michael and Mary Walsh O’Looscan on September 25, 1838, Michael Looscan immigrated to the United States in 1855. After a series of menial jobs in Utica, New York, he traveled to Mobile, Alabama, and worked as a press boy for the Mobile Mercury. Looscan’s lifelong desire for self-education and improvement began at this time. In 1858 he moved to Earpville, Texas, and became a schoolteacher. In 1859 Judge M. H. Bonner encouraged Looscan to read law and to become a lawyer. He worked with Bonner in his law office, lived in his home, and passed the bar examination shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
In April 1861, Michael Looscan enlisted as a private in the Second Regiment of the Texas Mounted Riflemen, serving in the Trans-Mississippi West Theater. By the end of the war he had attained the rank of Major and was serving as an acting inspector general. After Appomattox Looscan once again taught school, first in Colorado County near Eagle Lake, later in Lampasas County in the home of Dr. Robert McAnally, and finally in Barnes Settlement, Leon River, Hamilton County. By 1866 he saved $200 and moved to Houston to establish a law practice. He began practice with Judge William S. Oldham and upon Oldham’s death Looscan moved to his own office in 1868. In 1870 he was appointed county attorney of Harris County and was elected to that office in 1876. A 1880 lawsuit accusing him of misappropriating county funds – later ruled invalid by the state supreme court – denied Looscan his party’s 1880 nomination. He continued to practice primarily real estate law, arranging land purchases and obtaining clear legal titles to land. His mishandling of the holdings of the Brazoria Land and Cattle Company and the estate of James O’Donnell (1883 – 1892) resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit against him in 1892 – 1893 and his eventual retirement from the practice of law.
Always an extremely interested and energetic participant in politics, Michael Looscan actively supported the reelection of Governor James S. Hogg in 1892. His role in the election earned him a position on the board of managers of the Confederate Home and a commission as aide-de-camp on the governor’s staff. Looscan belonged to numerous organizations from his earliest days in Houston. Among them are the Irish Benevolent Association, the Emmet Council of Houston, the D. C. F. B. of Houston, the Magnolia Council of O. C. F. (Order of Chosen Friends), and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His interest in Civil War Veterans organizations began as early as 1872.
Michael Looscan married Adele Lubbock Briscoe, the daughter of Andrew Briscoe and Mary Jane Harris Briscoe, on September 13, 1881, thus allying himself with one of the founding families of Texas. They had no children.
Michael Looscan died on September 7, 1897, at his home in Houston, Texas.
Bibliography:
Davis, Ellis A and Edwin H. Grobe, eds. “Major Michael Looscan,” The New Encyclopedia of Texas 852 - 853. Dallas: Texas Development Bureau, 1925.
Scope and Content Note:
Correspondence, legal documents, printed materials, financial documents, creative works, surveyor’s field notes and sketches, and a single scrapbook record the life of Michael Looscan from 1859 – 1898. The papers are divided into two groups: the first comprised of his professional and personal papers and the second group consisting materials related to the James S. Hogg Campaign in 1892. Photographs are in the Adele Briscoe Looscan Papers.
MICHAEL LOOSCAN PAPERS, 1859 - 1899 (Bulk: 1880 - 1892)
Manuscript Collection: MC054
Size: 4.8 linear feet
Boxes: 14
Inventory
Group: Personal and Professional
Correspondence: 1869 – 1899 (Bulk: 1880 – 1892)
Size: 2.6 linear feet
Boxes: 7
Professional correspondence received by Michael Looscan documents his legal practice and forms the bulk of the correspondence series. Of particular interest is the correspondence of H. A. Lloyd, Charles M. Hayes, J. J. Fisher, A. A. Talmage, L. M. Disney and G. W. Durant relating to the Brazoria Land and Cattle Company of St. Louis and their desire to sell their Texas holdings. Much of the land had been purchased earlier by James O’Donnell, another Looscan client, who died intestate in 1885. The correspondence of James O’Donnell, Mary Virginia O’Donnell, Charles O’Donnell, Rochester Ford, Charles Tinsley, and Shields and Shields concern the management and settlement of the O’Donnell estate. The correspondence of John G. Tod (1883 – 1896) ranges from Tod’s days as a student at Yale Law School to a trusted fellow attorney late in Looscan’s life. Letters from friends and Confederate comrades discuss past experiences. Of particular interest is an 1888 letter from G. H. Bailey discussing the Battle of Sabine Pass. The few letters from family are arranged at the end of the series.
Correspondence sent by Michael Looscan deals primarily with business matters. One folder is comprised of his correspondence from October 1891 provides a small representation of his legal practice. Some drafts of personal letters record his personal thoughts. The Third Party correspondence is related to his law practice. It may have been removed from client files.
Envelopes are arranged according to the basic correspondence subseries, received, sent, and third party, and in chronological order by year.
|
Location |
Title |
Dates |
|
75 |
1 |
Anderson & McShan |
1883 - 1886 |
|
75 |
2 |
M. L. Bett, Jr. |
1886 |
|
75 |
3 |
M. H. Bonner |
1878 - 1883 |
|
75 |
4 |
M. H. Bonner, (Mrs.) |
1895 |
|
75 |
5 |
F. H. Bouman |
1886 - 1887 |
|
75 |
6 |
Caro Bryan |
1889 - 1894, n.d. |
|
75 |
7 |
Guy M. Bryan |
1893 - 1895 |
|
75 |
8 |
M. A. Bryan |
1889 - 1890 |
|
75 |
9 |
B. M. Burks |
1881 - 1882 |
|
75 |
10 |
James R. Burnett |
1880 - 1885 |
|
Location |
Title |
Dates |
|
75 |
11 |
F. H. Bushnick |
1880 - 1881 |
|
75 |
12 |
Peter Christen |
1883 - 1886, n.d. |
|
75 |
13 |
Z. Christen |
1873 |
|
75 |
14 |
J. R. Crayton |
1884 - 1885 |
|
75 |
15 |
John L. Croom, Jr. |
1883 - 1887 |
|
75 |
16 |
W. J. Croom |
1884 |
|
75 |
17 |
C. Dart |
1891 - 1892 |
|
75 |
18 |
James Davis |
1881 - 1882 |
|
75 |
19 |
Charles DeMorse |
1884 - 1885 |
|
75 |
20 |
L. M. Disney |
1890 - 1892, n.d. |
|
75 |
21 |
G. W. Durant |
1888 - 1891 |
|
75 |
22 |
J. J. Fisher |
1887 |
|
75 |
23 |
A. H. Foote |
1894 |
|
75 |
24 |
Rochester Ford |
1886 - 1889 |
|
75 |
25 |
Thomas Freeman |
1873 - 1875 |
|
75 |
26 |
Bernard Garry |
1886, 07-12 |
|
75 |
27 |
Bernard Garry |
1887, 01-06 |
|
75 |
28 |
Bernard Garry |
1887, 07-11 |
|
75 |
29 |
Bernard Garry |
1888, 03-08, n.d. |
|
75 |
30 |
G. W. Gayle |
1889 - 1991 |
|
75 |
31 |
T. G. George |
1895 - 1896 |
|
75 |
32 |
E. J. Grainger |
1883 - 1890 |
|
75 |
33 |
Gerald Griffin |
1888 |
|
75 |
34 |
H. C. Grisham |
1883 - 1884 |
|
75 |
35 |
H. S. Grosbeeck |
1887 |
|
75 |
36 |
W. G. Halsey |
1881 - 1888 |
|
75 |
37 |
R. H. Hanna |
1876 - 1882 |
|
75 |
38 |
Belle Harris |
1877, 1895, n.d. |
|
75 |
39 |
Hart & Buchanan |
1880 - 1884 |
|
75 |
40 |
L. W. Hart |
1882 - 1884 |
|
75 |
41 |
A. R. Howard |
1880 -1890 |
|
75 |
42 |
James B. Hawkins |
1883 - 1885 |
|
75 |
43 |
Charles M. Hayes |
1886 - 1887 |
|
75 |
44 |
James Hillyard |
1882 - 1884 |
|
75 |
45 |
James S. Hogg |
1880 - 1887 |
|
75 |
46 |
Jones & Garnett |
1882 - 1897 |
|
75 |
47 |
A. Kearney |
1881 - 1890 |
|
75 |
48 |
B. D. King |
1886 - 1889 |
|
75 |
49 |
W. W. King |
1879 - 1887 |
|
76 |
1 |
R. H. Leonard |
1880 - 1884 |
|
76 |
2 |
H. D. Lidstone |
1882 - 1890 |
|
76 |
3 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1887, 10-12 |
|
76 |
4 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1888, 01-03 |
|
76 |
5 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1888, 04-12 |
|
Location |
Title |
Dates |
|
76 |
6 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1889, 01-05 |
|
76 |
7 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1889, 06 |
|
76 |
8 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1889, 09-12 |
|
76 |
9 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890, 01-02 |
|
76 |
10 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890,03 |
|
76 |
11 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890, 04 |
|
76 |
12 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890, 05 |
|
76 |
13 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890, 06 |
|
76 |
14 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890, 07 |
|
76 |
15 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1890, 08-10 |
|
76 |
16 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1891, 01 |
|
76 |
17 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1891, 03-05 |
|
76 |
18 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1891, 10-12 |
|
76 |
19 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1892, 01-03 |
|
76 |
20 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1892, 04 |
|
76 |
21 |
H. A. Lloyd |
1892, 05-12 |
|
76 |
22 |
H. A. Lloyd |
n.d. |
|
77 |
1 |
Maddox Bros & Anderson |
1889 - 1892 |
|
77 |
2 |
George E. Mann |
1888 |
|
77 |
3 |
Branch T. Masterson |
1884 - 1888, n.d. |
|
77 |
4 |
H. Masterson |
|
