Sue, I think you make a very good point. Why would Daniel pass Crow Creen, the obvious best of the two properties, to his son Robert when the elder son John was still around? Heirship on the Isle of Man was established based on the oldest son inheriting first and the best. If the older son was alive and unable to inherit, the will said something about it. This is exactly what happened in John and Margaret (Kelvie) Looney's will where the oldest son William did not inherit land. Daniel, being next in line was to get the best property "Crow Creen" upon the death of the last parent. He had been given 1/2 of the lesser property, Gob ny Scoote, when he was married and his possession of Crow Creen was contingent upon him giving up his 1/2 of Gob ny Scoote to his next younger brother John upon his last parents death.

Daniel's "sale" of the Crow Creen to his younger son Robert would not be reasonable if the older brother, John were still alive or in the area. I say "in the area" because he may have left the Island with the purpose of never returning.

I too looked at this situation from another angle and from looking at all the John Looney who were born in the appropriate time period and trying to match them all up with their parents and a wife, From this analysis I came to the conclusion that Daniel's son John b. 1770 most likely married Ann Cannell there in Maughold Parish on 9 Aug 1795. Given all the other John Looney births and marriages, this is the best fit. It appears that this John Looney was married at about age 25 which makes more sense. Searching for children of this John Looney and Ann Cannell, I did not find any. I also could not find any other record of this couple.

There was another John Looney married in Maughold Parish 6 Oct 1797 to Ann Corteen, but from my analysis this is most likely the John Looney b. 8 July 1781.

One of the main issues with Heirship was the fact that the eldest son almost always ended up with the parents property. If the eldest son was bypassed then a reason was stated in the parents will. The reason the property was not divided equally between all the sons was due to the fact that the land would become smaller and smaller until no one could earn a living on it. With the older son inheriting the land, he could earn a living and the other sons were left to fend for themselves, prompting them to become tailors, masons, laborers, seamen, etc. Of course some of these younger sons chose to leave the island and seek a living elsewhere.

I personally believe that the terms of the Will for John and Margaret (Kelvie) Looney were followed and occurred exactly as they intended. Daniel the older son got Crow Creen and he gave up his 1/2 of Gob ny Scoote to his next younger brother, John, who also inherited his mother's remaining 1/2 of Gob ny Scoote upon her death giving John all 100% of Gob ny Scoote and Daniel all 100% of Crow Creen.

There is no logic behind Daniel receiving all of both Crow Creen and Gob ny Scoote. If John had died his stated share of the lands, Gob ny Scoote would have passed down to his son, John Looney Jr. As stated in historical record, John Looney Sr passed all of Gob ny Scoote to his son, John Looney Jr. Historical records also show that Daniel passed his Crow Creen lands to his younger son Robert, bypassing his older son, John who had either died or left the island with no intention of returning.

In the end, Daniel obtained the best property and his nex younger brother John obtained the next best property. They in turn passed their share of their parents estate on to their eldest surviving male heirs.