Looscan, Adele Lubbock Briscoe, 1848-1935

Born at Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, Mary Jane Harris (1819-1903) was educated in New York before moving to Harrisburg, Texas, to join her family. In 1837, she married Andrew J. Briscoe, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The couple had five children, including Adele Lubbock Briscoe (1848-1935) who married Confederate officer and lawyer Michael Looscan in 1881. In 1885, Adele organized the Ladies Reading Club of Houston, which would become a model for similar study clubs throughout the state. Mother and daughter were also founding members of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and hosted its organizational meeting at the Briscoe home in 1891.

Sources:

Connor, Seymour V. " Briscoe, Mary Jane Harris ." Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed April 28, 2011.

Hazlewood, Claudia. " Looscan, Adele Lubbock Briscoe ." Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed May 6, 2011.

From the guide to the Mary Jane Harris Briscoe and Adele Lubbock Briscoe Looscan Papers, 1886, [1904?], (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)