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Cyrus McNeill in Confederate uniform, scanned from Harlee's Kinfolks. |
Cyrus McNeill dictated this history in 1899-1900, late in life when he was nearly blind, to his daughter, Mrs. G.V. Baker of White Oak, Georgia. People think she wrote the history, but she merely recorded it for her father.
Transcribed by J.F. "Frank" Edgerton, 2000, from an original typed, carbon copy given by its author Cyrus McNeill to his cousin, my great-grandfather, Frank McKay of Robeson County, NC. On an later version typed by Dorothy Edgerton, several local historians for over thirty years added information and corrections. The following is that revised version which Frank typed out.
This is the genealogy of two McNeill families of North Carolina who were connected by marriage but not otherwise related. Beginning with Hector McNeill, who was the first plant of my father’s family in America. He was a Highlander, born in Scotland about the year 1725. His wife’s name is unknown to the author [her name was Mary Graham], and he came to this country soon after he was married and landed in Wilmington, N.C., the place where so many of the Scotsmen landed. From there they took flat boats or barges up the Cape Fear River to Cross Creek where Fayetteville now stands. These boats were propelled by long poles at which the passengers took turn about. At Cross Creek they were met by their friends who had arrived there before them. Thus they were directed to a goodly land, stories of which had been told them in the Auld Countrie before they left their home. [An article sent to Dot Edgerton by Pauline Grimes of Texas (a cousin through "Wild Archie" McNeill) stated that this Hector McNeill was born May 10, 1725 in Auruligua, North Knapdale, Scotland and died on March 10, 1812 in Scotland Co., NC, and states he married Mary Graham who was born in Argyleshire, Scotland and that he came to America in 1753 with the Graham family.] It is not known who met Hector McNeill or whence he first located, but at the close of the Revolution we find him on a farm in Richmond County three miles west of Robeson’s Ferry, now Gilchrist’s Bridge, on Drowning Creek. [Grants for Hector McNeill: One dated 25 May 1757 for 160 acres in Bladen County "on Drownding Creek joining the Swamp of sd Creek;" another dated 6 May 1760 for 100 acres in Bladen County on Drowning Creek, joining Oxendines corner and the Creek.] This was no doubt selected by him as a desirable place for cattle and stock raising. Besides, the country was well stocked with game.
There he reared a family consisting of two sons and one daughter, viz., Angus, Lauchlin [Lauchlin was born 1758, according to the article from Pauline Grimes] and Sarah. Hector McNeill had a neighbor, John McEachern, who lived opposite on the East side of Drowning Creek. They were true and tried friends. For mutual convenience they built a passable causeway across the creek swamp [In the Robeson County court minutes of April 1799 John McEachern is allowed by the county court to operate a bridge across Drowning Creek.]. This bridge is there at the present time. Thus they had easy access to each others homes. So it came about that when their children came to years of maturity, Angus married Margaret McEachern. Their marriage was solemnized as they stood on this bridge over the creek in the year 1799.
Angus and his bride located near his father. Six children were born to them and raised to maturity, viz., Daniel (C.) McNeill, commonly known as Major Jack, born in 1801 and died in 1879; Mary, born in 1803 and died in 1856; Hector, known as Preacher McNeill, born in 1805 and died in 1872; Flora, born in 1807 and died in 1872; Lauchlin, born in 1809-at whose birth his mother died in 1893. These children of Angus McNeill and Margaret McEachern [McEachin].
Lauchlin McNeill [Laughlin, B. 6 mo. 1758, D. 31-8-1838; Laughlin was in the Continental Army during the Revolution and his war record states he was at the battle of Hillsborough and Canes Creek. The record further states his death around age 80 in 1838, and that he married Mary (born Mary McNeill in 1772) of Robeson County on 10 August 1790 in the county of Robeson; that their only child listed in the record, Hector, was born in 3 October 1791 and was alive in 1852.], second son of Hector McNeill, married Mary McNeill [on 10-8-1790. Mary McNeill B. 6 mo. 1772, D. 22-5-1852]. We know nothing of their children except Hector, who married first, Nancy McEachern, and second, Belle McNeill [Isabella McNeill. Belle's estate record in Richmond County shows she died in 1854 and had a slave named Emily. Her daughter's death certificate states Isabella was born in Robeson County. This matches the Isabella McNeill, born circa 1803, who was the daughter of John McNeill of Richland Swamp and his wife Flora McMillan of Robeson County. Isabella was given a slave Emily in her father's estate division. Belle and Hector had seven children.]. He had six children [], two sons and four daughters: John, Daniel, Sarah Ann, Margaret and Almenia. This is all known of Lauchlin McNeill and his descendants by the writer. Sarah McNeill, third child of Hector McNeill [and Mary Graham] never married. [According to the article sent by Pauline Grimes, the child Daniel was born Oct 7, 1827 in NC and died Nov 27, 1866 in old Valley Mills, Texas, and is buried there. He married Harriett Jane McArthur Oct 30, 1855 in NC and in 1869 went to Texas with his sons Arthur Angus and William Thomas and Alexander. He sent for his wife and daughter Janie in 1870 and shortly moved on to Waco.]
John McEachern [or McEachin],
father of my grandmother, Margaret McEachern, was born in Scotland about 1740
and came to this country in early youth and lived and died as above described.
He [John McEachern] married Mary
Currie who was born about 1750 and died at the age of 87. John McEachern lived
to be 74 years old. He had seven children, viz., (1.) Margaret, my grandmother,
who married Angus McNeill, born 1776, died [1809].
(2) James, born 1790, died 1868. He married Effie Purcell, daughter of John
Purcell. She was born 1794, died 1843. They had nine children, viz, John, Archie,
Calvin, Purcell, Mary, Effie, Jane (my old teacher), Margaret Elizabeth and
Harriet. (Children of James McEachern and Effie Purcell.) They are all dead
except three: Effie, Jane and Calvin.
Edward (3) born- died- married Mrs. Mary Johnson [Maybe "Mrs. Mary Johnson", as she could have been married to a Johnson briefly before her marriage to Edward but there is no record of her having been previously married. Mary was sister to Neill B. Johnson who was NC State Senator in 1829,
and they were two of five children – Mary was the only daughter – of Daniel Johnson, Esq. and Isabella Brown. Edward and Mary were married by 1823, per a Robeson County deed. Mary was alive in 1870 living with a Hector McEachern in northern Robeson Co. near Lumber Bridge.]. They had
six children - two sons and four daughters, viz, Daniel (Major),
Evander, Jane, Annie, Eliza and Amanda [and Hector, a third son?].
Peter (4), born- died- married Miss Fairley. They had one daughter, Margaret,
who married Mail Wall of Anson Co., N.C.
Nancy (5) born- died- married Hector McNeill. They had six children, two sons
and four daughters.
Flora (6) born 1785, died 1862, married Archie Lytch. They had five children,
viz Mary, John Angus, William James, John Daniel, Sarah Ann, Mary Margaret and
Almenia. (Some mistake.)
Mary (7) born 1779, died 1856, married Angus McLean. She had three children:
Angus, Giles and Eliza.
My Grandfather [Angus McNeill] died 1835, aged 73. His wife, Margaret, died
in 1809, age 33.
(a) Daniel [Calder Daniel], eldest
son of Angus McNeill and Margaret McEachern [McEachin],
married Ann McNeill [daughter of Malcolm McNeill
and Katie Torrey], Feb. 7, 1828 and to them were born four children,
viz, Hector James, Born June 11, 1832, died May 1, 1860. Margaret Jane, born
March 1, 1835, died January 21, 1883. Cyrus (Author of this record) born February
1840 [died Sept. 22, 1900]. Catherine
Frances, born April 9, 1844.
(b) John, or Major Jack McNeill, was first married to Catherine McKay, sister
of William and Archie McKay and Mrs. Daniel McKinnon. She died in 1840 after
having born three children, Jane, Archie and Cattie who was an infant at her
mother’s death. My mother kept her until her father’s second marriage
to Elizabeth Buchanan, [daughter of John Buchanan]
the gunsmith. She was an amiable woman. They had four children, viz, Sallie
B., John B., Frank and Flora.
(c) Mary McNeill [B. 1803, D. 1856]
married John McCallum [B. April 11, 1804, D. Feb.
22, 1873], son of Archie [Archibald]
McCallum [and Margaret Wilkinson].
They lived near Ashpole Presbyterian Church. They had four children, viz, Margaret
Ann, Flora Ann, James Baxter and Henry.
Margaret Ann married Alexander McRae. They lived near Rowland, at Red Bluff.
Flora Ann married John McRae. Her husband died leaving her with no children.
The two sisters married the same night. Their husbands were cousins. James Baxter
[McCallum] graduated at the University
of N.C. in class of 1861. He volunteered and was elected lieutenant, Co. F,
Scotch Tigers. Fifty one N.C. volunteers were killed at the Battle of [Drury’s]
Bluff [Virginia, 1863]. He (the
lieutenant) was buried temporarily in Major [Drury’s]
front yard. His remains were removed the following winter to the family burial
grounds at Ashpole Church. Henry McCallum was a soldier in the same Co. and
regiment. He married Rev. Angus McCallum’s daughter [Margaret
Ann McCallum] in Mississippi and had three children, John, Scott
and Mary [1. John Baxter, 2. Angus Lawrence, 3.
Mary Bishop].
(d) Hector McNeill, the preacher, married Mary Purcell, daughter of John Purcell.
They had two sons and two daughters, viz, Thomas Angus [Alexander],
Franklin Purcell, Mary Purcell and Annie. The daughters died at the ages of
six and eight. Thomas A, born March 1843, graduated at the University of N.C.,
read law under Judge Pearson, practiced successfully at his profession and represented
Robeson Co. in the legislature in 1872, and 1896 was elected Judge of Superior
Court. He married Miss Carrie Smith of Cumberland County. They have three children,
Mary, Thomas and Cameron. Franklin Purcell McNeill lived on his father’s
farm. He married Miss Catherine Buchanan of Richmond County, a daughter of ex-sheriff
William Buchanan. They had two boys and three girls, viz, Mary Jeanette, Hector,
Flora, William and Caroline.
(e) Flora McNeill [daughter of Angus & Margaret
McEachin McNeill] married William C. McNeill [son
of Archie ‘Gar’ McNeill and Barbara Patterson].
[William C. McNeill born Mar. 5, 1802 - July 31,
1875. Flora McN. Born June 11, 1805 D. Oct. 28, 1875.] They
have five children, viz, James A,, married Miss Miriam Smith of Richmond Co.
They have five daughters, Flora Lee, Miriam, Margaret [Patterson][Mrs.
Garrett] and Carrie Belle [Mrs.
Ernest Graham]. He resided on the old homestead until he recently
moved to Red Springs and is a very successful farmer. Mary Ann attended school
at Floral College and married John H. [Henry]
McEachern, [6] May 1867. They live near Lumber Bridge and have five daughters
and one son, viz, Mary, Flora [Mrs. Neil McKinnon],
Julia, Maggie, Robert [married Frances Fox]
and Carrie [Mrs. H.H. Hodgin].
Margaret Elizabeth also attended school at Floral College and married John M.
McKinnon, son of ‘Big’ Daniel McKinnon. They have six children,
Ida, Dan, Luther, Flora, William and Maggie. John died at nine years of age.
Carrie, born June 3, 1845, also attended Floral College. She married Hector
McN[eill] Lytch of Laurinburg.
They have nine children, viz, William McNeill, James Angus Ferguson, Flora,
Edmund Shaw, Mary Ellen, Clarence, Hector and Albert.
(f) Laughlin McNeill [B. 1809]
married Mary McEachern [McEachin],
daughter of Col. Archie McEachern [Mar. 1788-May
23, 1873] and Effie Sellars McEachern. They had born to them
six sons and two daughters, viz, John McIntyre [killed
in Civil War], Angus, Archie, [Albert]
Sellars, Walter and Lawrence (twins) [B- Aug. 22,
1849], Eliza and Anna.
Angus was a natural born mechanic and was induced by the Confederate Government
to give his services as such in the mechanical force at the Arsenal at Fayetteville
where he contracted typhoid fever and died the same week his brother John was
killed.
Archie Sellars, born 1843, was a soldier in the same company with his brother
John (Co. G., Highland Boys, 24th N.C. Volunteers.) He was severely wounded
in the foot at Sharpsburg in September, 1863, while guarding prisoners from
Richmond to Branchville, S.C. He was standing in the doorway of a boxcar on
duty, his gun slipped out of his hand and in falling it struck the hammer to
the doorstep. In his effort to catch the bayonet the musket was discharged,
the contents going through his right hand, necessitating amputation at the first
joint. (The ‘foot’ injury probably
error.) This accident incapacitated him for further service.
After the war he married Miss Fannie Wright of Fayetteville and lives at Bengam(?)
[Burgaw].
They have several children. [Albert]
Sellars, born ___? [Mar. 6, 1846],
volunteered in Junior Reserves and served in Co. D., First Battalion, N.C. Heavy
Artillery. He was in Fort Fisher at the time of the terrific bombardment which
lasted for several days. He was killed in this battle. His comrade, Malcolm
McNeill, says of him, ‘There was not a better soldier in the Confederate
Army than Sellars McNeill.’
Walter was born August _____ [August 22, 1849].
He attended the business college at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and engaged in business
in S.C. In 1870 he came to Georgia and engaged in the naval stores business
with his brother Lawrence. He opened a successful commission a short time before
his death in Savannah. He joined the firm of Peacock Hunt and Co. In May 1887
he was taken sick and died very suddenly, after which his twin brother, Lawrence
succeeded to the position made vacant by his death. His remains are in Benavent___[Bonaventure]
Cemetery in Savannah [Georgia].
Lawrence, born [Aug. 22,] 1849.
He was engaged in business with his brother Walter up to the time of his death,
then connected himself with Peacock Hunt & Co. He married Miss McConnell
of Marlow Ga. They have one child. His mother and sister reside with him in
Marlow.
Elizabeth [Eliza], born 1851 [1854],
attended school at Floral College and Peace Institute, Raleigh, N.C. She moved
with her parents and brothers to Georgia. She married Mr. Dowil [Walter]
(or Powell) a successful naval stores operator both in Georgia and Florida.
They now live in Georgia. Anna [1857]
attended college--Floral College and Peace Institute. She resides with her mother
at Marlow Ga.
(V-8) Children of Daniel and Ann McNeill:
Hector James [3rd generation] attended
the common schools and prepared for college under the tutorship of J.E. McNair
at Robeson Institute. He entered the University in 1852, and graduated in 1855.
He taught school at Spring Branch in Robeson Co. during the winter of 1855 -
56. He taught at Cromartie Academy, Bladen County, during winter of 1856-57-58-59.
While there he had the misfortune to be thrown from a buggy in a runaway from
which he came near losing his life. This accident caused his death the following
May.
While in Bladen he met Miss Fanny Cromartie to whom he was engaged. After his
death she married John C. Monroe of Cumberland Co.
Margaret Jane attended school at Floral College. On Nov. 1, 1860 she married
to Dr Duncan Smith. They had no children. Her husband was son of ‘Red’
Archie [,Jr.] and Mary McPhetter
[McPhaul] Smith [Mary
McPhaul Smith dau of Daniel McPhaul & Flora
Patterson] who lived and died near Floral College. Dr. Smith
was born in 1825. He graduated at Princeton in 1848, taught school at Lumberton,
N.C. and read medicine under Dr Ed McQueen of Lumberton and later, Dr Ben Robinson
of Fayetteville. He graduated at Philadelphia Medical College. He was a very
successful practitioner, having the confidence of all the people. To all his
friends and those who knew him best he was both kind and genial. He died Jan.
2, 1896, and was buried at Saint Pauls by the side of his wife.
Cyrus McNeill (author of this sketch) attended the common schools of the county
at Old Hickory Grove, now rennert. My teachers were Lauchlan Matthews, William
Conoly, Catharine McGeachy, Mary Evans, Effie McEachern, then William Conoly
again; afterwards for three terms to Daniel A. Malloy; afterwards to my brother
Hector at Red Branch two terms. Boarded at my uncle Lauchlin McNeill’s
and walked three miles to school every day. My aunt Mary and uncle Lauchlin
treated me as one of their own boys and gave me a lot of instruction.
After this I attended school in the years 1857-58-59 at Cromartie Academy in
Bladen Co., my brother Hector being teacher. I boarded at Mr. John H. Wootens,
who was thrown from a horse and killed in 1859. They lived near White Hall.
At my brother’s death, before mentioned, my educational career ended as
the political excitement was running high and the best of thinkers were undecided
as to the future. Nearly all the schools were closed and education was little
thought of. The election came on in November. The excitement caused by it rocked
the country from center to circumference. After Lincoln’s election nothing
was thought of but war. So, early in the spring of 1861, instead of marching
off to college I marched off to war. Patriotism was at a premium. All learned
men, lawyers, doctors and ministers of the gospel volunteered. I remember distinctly
hearing the address of Rev. F.K. Nash at McLean’s Cross Roads in May,
1861 which inspired many of the boys and their parents who, up to this time
hesitated, volunteered for one year.
There was a company formed in the neighborhood of Saint Pauls, Harrelsville,
Floral College and Shoe Heel (Maxton). The company went into camp at Floral
College and organized under the name of Highland Boys. Their officers were Captain
Thaddeus Love of Saint Pauls, 1st Lieutenant A.A. McIver of Saint Pauls, 2nd
Lieutenant Harrison Purcell, 3rd Lieutenant Hector McEachern, orderly Sergeant
A.P. McKinnon, surgeon, Dr Adnell McLean. John H. Mclean, John Regan and T.D.
Love attended a military school in Charlotte which was under the supervision
of D.H. Hill. The ‘Highland Boys’ stayed in camp at Floral College
for three weeks. They were well and suitably named as nearly all the company
were of Scotch ancestry. A reference to the old company roll will show 40 odd
Macks. The company was soon ordered to Weldon where it was soon organized into
a regiment. W.J. Clark was elected Colonel. Lieut. Col. Jonathan Evans.
The regiment was composed of the following companies: A and H from Granville
Co., B from Onslow, C,E, and I from Johnson, F from Cumberland, G from Robeson,
K from Halifax and D from ---? The regiment drilled at Weldon and Garysburg,
N.C., and went to Virginia about August 20, and was ordered to the western part
of Virginia to meet Rosecrans’ advance. Our first brigadier general was
John B. Flody, Sec. Of War under President Buchanan. In the winter of 1861-62
we were returned to Petersburg Va. There we remained until McClellan advanced
upon Richmond. We were then ordered to Seven Pines, east of Richmond, about
the first of June [1862] where we were under heavy fire, June 28, 29, 30, and
at Malvern Hill July 1st; then our brigade returned to Denny’s Bluff and
from there to City Point south of Appamattox. About the last of August we were
ordered to Maryland. We forded the Potomac (armpit deep) opposite Leesburg and
camped a day at Fredericksburg City, Maryland, recrossed the Potomac by fording
at Point Rocks, - this the night of Sept. 10th. On the morning of the 11th at
sunrise we took up a forced march (without rations) and at sundown we had marched
38 miles to Hillsboro Gap. There camped for the night and on the morning of
the 12th advanced on Harper’s Ferry which surrendered to us on the 13th.
13,000 prisoners and a large amount of army supplies, including a U.S. arsenal
were taken. On the afternoon of the same day we crossed the Shennandoah River
and camped at Port Royal for the night. On the next day we marched to Shepardstown
and camped there for a day and night. On the night of the 16th we recrossed
the Potomac On the morning of the 17th our brigade was lined up on the extreme
right of the line already formed by General Lee preparatory to the great battle
fought the next day, called Sharpsburg or Antietam. It was expected the battle
would begin at sunrise but a fog [Sept. 18th]
prevented this and the sun was an hour high before a gun was fired. When the
battle opened our brigade was transferred to the extreme left. Our troops sustained
heavy loss in the flank movement, one shell alone killed 11 and wounded 16 men.
Our flank movement continued and our troops lay in a clump of woods during the
day. We were engaged until late in the afternoon when we sustained a heavy shelling.
We had the pleasure of reviewing the Federal army as they marched about 400
yards in front of us on a big turnpike. 125 regimental colors were counted.
At nightfall we returned to a point west of Sharpsburg where we were prepared
for an attack the second day but strange to say not a gun was fired on either
side. About eight o'clock P.M. orders were passed along up and down the line
in whispered tone ‘follow your file leader and ask no questions,’
and at sunrise the next A.M. the 19th, to the surprise of the Federal General
who had prepared for an attack, found that the Confederates had left the field
for them to hold. The retreat was extremely quiet and orderly. We reached the
south side of Potomac without the loss of a gun or a man. The army rested in
the neighborhood of Winchester for several weeks. However, on December 12th
the great battle of Fredericksburg was fought.
Ramseau’s brigade occupied the second line of infantry works near the
foot of Mary ries (?) Heights. The loss to us was heavy but nothing compared
to the carnage of Yankees in front of our lines. Our troops sustained themselves
honorably.
During the winter I was sent to the hospital in Winchester, then to Staunton,
Richmond and Petersburg, where I had two months of recuperation.
In February I was ordered to eastern N.C. Newbern was invested and Plymouth
was captured. Afterwards a feint was made by way of South Mills up through Edenton
Canals nearly through Dismal Swamp. The main object was to capture negro soldiers
at Suffolk which was effectually accomplished about the last of March. From
Suffolk we advanced toward Petersburg and camped on Black Water River southeast
of Petersburg. From there we went to the east of Richmond and then to the south
of James River. At [Drury’s]
Bluff we confronted ‘Beast Butler’s’ command where some severe
fighting occurred. We held the field of battle. In this fight the reserves from
Wilmington, Goldsboro and Raleigh were hurriedly brought forward to prevent
the capture of Richmond and Petersburg from the rear. These forces were commanded
by General Whiting. This attack occurred about the sixteenth of May. The fighting
consisted of shelling Yankee gunboats. On June 2nd the writer having been placed
on front picket line the night before, orders were given to change the Yankee
pickets out of their line which we found strongly fortified and well manned.
Their forces were above 10,000 strong. Nevertheless a fusillade and a rebel
yell put them on the move, so we soon took their position. In this charge J.H.
McLean was mortally wounded and died at one o'clock the next day. I was also
wounded in the same charge, my index finger being crushed by a minnie ball which
came in contact with the guard of my rifle which imprisoned my hand until relieved
by the bayonet of a comrade, Tom Webster, Co., A, who was a few minutes later
shot through the head and instantly killed. This all occurred before sunrise
and near Wire Bottom church. This slight wound sent me to the hospital at Petersburg
where I was furloughed home for a few days (30) at the expiration of which I
was returned to the Army which I found to the east of Petersburg. The Army remained
quiet receiving cannonading by day and shelling by night.
On Dec. 6th a detail was asked for. I being the next on the roll of detail fortunately
got the position not knowing what to do. For 25 days following, stables were
built for 15,000 cavalry horses. This required 200 men. This work was finished
on the 29th of December. My detail was extended to another unknown field which
terminated more pleasantly than the former. January 1st found me at Greenville,
Pitt County, N.C. in charge of a foraging party of 15 men and 5 three-mule teams.
Our business was to shell and sack corn and stack hay with four of the teams
constantly on the road from Greenville to Tarboro 25 miles off. I shipped a
large quantity of hay and fodder. I bought large quantities of corn from Mr.
William Whitehead, Mr. Flemming, Mr. Peter Reaves from whom I purchased 4500
bushels of corn. Mr. Dupre and Mr. William Newsome and several others. In this
position I enjoyed army life, lived high and had a good time.
My detail expired on April 18th. I received the following telegraphic order:
Rejoin Army with your men and teams ay your earliest moment without delay. On
the next day we took up our march from Greenville to Enfield where we arrived
Sunday A.M. nine o'clock. On Saturday afternoon we met a party of soldiers who
reported the surrender of General Lee. With one of these I came near having
a stiff fight, I having accused him of being a deserter. He produced his parole
from General Grant at Appamattox. I gracefully retracted and accepted his statement.
In Enfield I met Captain John Ferrell who was quartermaster of our regiment,
24th N.C. I asked him for advice as to what I should do which he willingly gave.
He commanded me to disband my company of foragers, each man to mount a mule
and go home. This order was not difficult to obey. I disposed of five wagons
to sheriff Parker of that 60 and each man mounted a mule and went home. On our
trip from Enfield I passed through Sherman’s army, then between Goldsboro
and Raleigh. While they were occupying Goldsboro and Raleigh I swam my horse
(which I got in exchange for my mule) across Neuse River near ‘Windy Billy
Smith’ which brought me to the Bentonville battle field on west side of
river. While passing through the battle field for some reason or other I visited
a church which was used as a hospital. There I found a number of wounded soldiers,
one of whom knew me, a Mr. McPhail, brother of John who lived near Antioch,
Robeson Co. He was very badly wounded and requested me to deliver a message
to his friends which I did on the following Monday. My first visit from this
Field I stopped all night with a Mr. Lee whose hospitality could not be surpassed.
As soon as Mrs. Lee learned that I was from the Army she made anxious inquiry
as to the fate of her son Blackman who was a Lieutenant, Co.E, (F.C.?) of 24th
N.C. Regiment. I told her he would be home soon. When I applied to the family
for lodging they were willing at heart, stating that they had nothing for me
to eat, Sherman’s Army having stripped them of everything except a few
bushels of rough rice which they were pounding out with a pestle. When I told
the lady I had two sides of bacon in a sack which I turned over to her there
came a glow of gratitude over her face that I shall never forget. I afterwards
learned that Blackman Lee was a prisoner at Point Lookout where he was required
like all the others to take the oath and came home about the middle of the summer
and afterwards made a prosperous farmer and a good representative of his county
in the legislature. I stopped all night with Mr. James McKeithan’s family
who were good friends of my parents. The following day brought me to my Uncle
Alex McMillan’s. They were delighted to see me home again. Sunday morning
I went to Saint Pauls Church, Robeson Co., where I met my parents and sisters
who were all glad to see me. I was the center of attention. I rode home that
evening. On Monday I pushed my ride and delivered the message of McPhail above
referred to. Devastation confronted me everywhere. Tuesday morning I started
my plow in company with my father and another run by an old colored woman, Aunt
Elsie. With this force we succeeded in making a good crop of corn.
The next year was a hard one but the neighbors were a unit in the support of
each other. The following year, 1866, all the boys who were living came home.
With many difficulties confronting them they went to work with strong resolutions
to make the best out of their misfortunes.
In December 1886 I was happily married to Mary Caroline McKinnon of Saint Pauls.
She was a daughter of John and Catharine G. [Gaster]
McKinnon who was the daughter of Mrs. Margaret McNeill [McNair],
(? Not plain) a well known lady
of Saint Pauls. By this marriage two children were born to us - Flora Ann and
Laura Virginia Lee. I continued to farm and operate in turpentine until 1871.
In the winter of 71-72 I came to Georgia and located at Eden with Mr. James
Nicholson McLean of Shoe Heel, now Maxton, and John M. McKinnon engaged me in
turpentine business. I sold my interest to Mr. McKinnon in June and secured
a new location six miles south of Waycross and in Dec. 1874 located at Ditman
where I and my family resided until Jan. 1886. Unfortunately I had a fall Dec.
12, 1882 in which I came near losing my life. I fell 25 feet. My spinal column
was injured by the force of the fall. For two years I was a physical wreck.
My physician,Dr. E.H. Jelks, advised me to go to Florida, thinking the change
might help me. I was much improved by this change but early in 1887 my health
declined so much that I had an attack of fever in Aug. I went to be[d] Aug.
26th and was under treatment of Dr Kennedy. I recovered from fever in about
three weeks but found the use of my lower limbs gone. From our place at Bartons
we moved to St. Augustine March 20, 1888 where we remained until March 26, 1889.
Owing to the yellow fever that existed in Jacksonville our experience there
was not very pleasant. The city was under quarantine much of the time and while
the price of provisions was usually very low, now they ran very high. We left
St. Augustine March 26, 1889 and came to Jax, Fernandena and St. Marys the same
day. From Fernandena we took passage on the Martha, a small but very smart boat.
At St. Mary’s we had a rare experience. It seemed that everybody in town
met us. I being an invalid was put on shore in my chair where I remained for
about an hour or more. As there was no vehicle to transfer passengers to the
hotel I employed a strong colored man to come down with a wheel barrow for a
trunk and in this he rolled me up to Mrs. Foxe’s boarding house where
we remained until the second morning. In the meantime having dispatched a messenger
to the home of H.J. McKinnon, brother of Mrs. [Cyrus]
McNeill, who came down and carried us to his home on March 28th and we remained
until April 18. From there we came to this place, White Oak, Wild Neck, Caindow
Co., Ga. where Mr. L.T. McKinnon had a turpentine still and store. Here we found
ourselves at a distance from the busy world but we were in the midst of the
best of neighbors who gave us a hearty welcome. We found them to be friends
of the best kind. Our facilities for mail were not the best. We got only once
a week and sometimes only once in two weeks. Our most accessable depot was 26
miles away. In this, which some would consider a lonely and shut in life, we
found much pleasure and happiness. We had plenty of books and other good reading
matter. The girls spent some time teaching school which was profitable both
financially and mentally.
Flora Ann, my younger daughter, married John A. Ward, July 17, 1892. He was
engaged in the turpentine business 19 miles from Brunswick on the Brunswick
and Western R.R.
The same fall a R.R. was surveyed. The engineer was Capt. Bushner. It passed
directly through our garden which lay in the rear of our house. He, with one
stroke of his Jacob’s staff, demolished a fine gourd vine running on the
garden fence and like Jonah of old the entire family wept bitterly nor were
we consoled until he promised to build a R.R. This promise was carried out in
good faith. On Dec. 25, 1893 the first passenger train passed over the road
from Savanah to Jacksonville.
The new road, F.C.&P., passed immediately in front of the house of Mr. J.H.
Ward which was only 15 miles away. The former route by private conveyance was
26 miles away. Instead of the gourd vine in the garden we now have a nice depot
in which there is an express telegraph and telephone office with a cement walk
in front of the depot. And quite recently a beautiful flower garden enclosed
by a wire woven fence has been added. About this time several new residences
were constructed and built by L.T. McKinnon, quite commodious, containing bath
and water works, the water being obtained from a four inch artesian well nearby.
This water was used by other residents. While Mr. McKinnon was living here he
built by Mr. Floyd but it was burned March 3rd, 1897. It was replaced by a more
substantial building. Others by Mr. Cushing and Dr McKinnon and another just
across the creek by Mr. Burnett and last but not least White Oak Inn built by
Mr. L.T. McKinnon and occupied by the writer and his family. Also two stores
were built, one by Mr. McKinnon and the other by Mr. Floyd. This last named
store together with the dwelling of Mr. Cushing were blown down by the storm
of Sept. 5th, 1896. This storm extended all over the country destroying timber
and buildings. The date of the storm will long be remembered by all the people
of south Ga. Another storm occurred Oct. 2, 1892 but not so destructive as the
other one. This loss of much timber carried much dissatisfaction to many people
in consequence of which L.T. McKinnon sold his entire possession including land,
residence, stock, cattle, hogs, and sheep to a Quaker colony from Ohio. His
horses, mules, wagons and stock of goods were not sold. This colony is managed
by Elder Jas. Singerland who is a man of great intellectual and business capacity.
Catharine Frances, [daughter of Calder McNeill]
born April 9, 1844 and was married to Elam James Harrington, son of our uncle
W.D. Harrington. They now live at Jessup, Moore Co, N.C. They have two sons
and two daughters, viz, Annie McNeill, Welton Daniel, Margaret Smith and [son]
Evelyn McGilvary.
- - - - - - - -
Godfrey McNeill was married to Miss Kittie McDougald in Scotland and came over
to America about 1760. They landed at Wilmington, N.C., then came to Fayetteville
and went to the home of a friend, Jimmie
McNeill on Rockfish Creek, Cumberland Co., where there is an old grave yard
which antedates the Revolution. Phillippi
Church (Presbyterian) [Phillippi Pres. Church
organized in 1888] is located there now. Thence they moved to
and settled on Raft Swamp near where Neill Smith now lives in Robeson Co., (Near
Shannon- near Red Springs, at this time about 1900). Afterwards they moved to
Godfrey’s Crossing [Also called Weaver Neill McLean's Crossing], recently called McLeod’s
Crossing, where the road from Fayetteville to Marion, S.C. crosses the Lumberton
and Carthage road. There they lived and died. Mrs. McNeill was considered one
of the most pious women in the county. So much so she would not eat anything
cooked on the Sabbath. She and her husband were buried in Patterson graveyard
[graves unmarked] with several
children and grandchildren:
Jimmie McNeill, [] above mentioned, was father to "Long Duncan" McNeill’s wife
Margaret who will be referred to later on.
Godfrey had eight sons and four daughters, viz, Malcolm -the saddler- married
Katy Torrey, daughter of David Torrey. He lived and died on the old plantation.
Daniel- The Hatter- married Celia Humphrey, lived and died near Lumberton.
Alexander -The Carpenter- married Polly McEachern [], lived where Neill Smith now
lives -near Shannon.
James, married Sarah McNeill, Long Duncan’s daughter.
Hector - Carpenter- married Lucy Crane at Port Gibson, Miss. About 1816. [Married
Mar. 30, 1817. Died 1825; Lucy Crane born Nov. 17, 1795. D. Aug 13, 1832. They
had John & James McNeill. James marr. Rose Bingham, had son Lorn McN.&
Kate McN. She married Sam Humphreys. They had Neal Humphreys who married and
had a number of children, one Emma. Kate married a Jones and had a number of
children.]
John -The Hatter- married Miss Taylor of Bladen Co., lived and died near Lumberton.
Neill never married, was killed by a runaway horse.
Nancy married Peter Johnson, moved south and located near McDonough, Ga. He
was the father of Gov. James Johnson of Georgia.
Betsy married Archie McNeill ['Wild
Archie'], son of Long Duncan. They were parents of Mrs.
Harriett McKay of Red Springs, N.C. [who married
Duncan McKay, son of Daniel McKay
and Nancy McMillan McKay.]
Katie married Daniel Johnson, brother of Peter Johnson, above mentioned. Sallie
married [Daniel] Stewart and moved
to S.C. Little is known of them. [another son??]
Archie McNeill’s Family-
Betsy, daughter of Godfrey McNeill, married Archie, known as ‘Wild Archie’,
son of Long Duncan, about 1816. They lived and died near Antioch, Robeson Co.
She is buried at Antioch Church (Presbyterian). He was buried on the hill of
a branch running through his farm, by request. (Place now owned by or joins
the farm of John McLeod near Raeford.) They had two girls and two boys:
Alexander married and lived for a while near Spring Branch. About 1858 he moved
to Louisiana.
Harriet married Duncan McKay. [Harriet Elmira McNeill
McKay, b. June 19, 1826 - d. Jan. 4, 1909. Duncan McKay, b. August 22, 1813
- d. March 7, 1889.] They lived near Philadelphus Church near
Red Springs, N.C. He was a mechanic; could turn his hand to anything. They had
ten children:
John A. [John Archibald, C.S.A., b. Jan 8, 1844
d. Nov 28, 1900. M. Rena Burriss], who died at Red Springs in
1900, left two children, John A. [Archibald]
and Bessie.
George A. [George Alexander], who
died when a young man. [C.S.A., b. Aug 10, 1845,
d. Mar 25, 1873.]
Catharine Ann ["Cattie," born June 14,
1847], who married Chalmers B.Cox [on
20 May 1874], and died in Rowland in [May
25,] 1928. They had seven children.
Elizabeth [McNeill, b- Sept. 22, 1851, d.- Feb.1,
1923], who married Edwin C[Chalmers]
McNeill, died in Rowland in 1923, had ten children.
James Franklin, [born June 7, 1849, died April
25, 1941] who is still living in the old McKay place near Red
Springs, celebrated his 84th birthday June 7, 1933. He married [on
19 March 1874] Miss Ann Flora McPherson [daughter
of Gilbert Gilchrist McPherson and Flora Sophia Johnson McPherson, born Aug.
6, 1850, died Mar. 29, 1929] and had nine children.
Harriet Ella [b. Aug. 11, 1859, d. June 20, 1914],
who married [on 22 Dec1881] Frank
[Robert Franklin] Currie, died
in Red Springs about 1915, had no children.
Duncan M. [Duncan McMillan, b. July 21, 1854, d.
Nov. 11, 1923], who married [24
Dec1890] Miss Hattie [Harriet A.]
Covington of Rockingham. They are both dead. Left one son, Willie, who lives
at the old McKay home.
Daniel [Webster], who died [of
appendicitis] when a young man [Sept.
25, 1856 - June 4, 1884].
Willie D. [William David Torrey, B. 20 Aug 1861,
D. 1932], who moved to Texas when a young man, is Judge McKay,
and lives in Fort Worth. He married a Miss [Berta]
Hall [of Cleburne, Tex.] and has
one daughter [Lida, living in Corpus Cristi, Texas,
1973.]
[Mary] Emma [B.
6 May 1865, D. 22 June 1958], who never married and lives at
the old home.
Return to Archie and Betsy McNeill’s family: son Daniel went west; daughter
Mary [Jane] never married.
‘Long’ Duncan McNeill [B. 1761, D.
Sept. 15, 1832. Buried at Phillippi cemetery, son of Turquill McNeill and Mary
Bethune McNeill], married Margaret McNeill [B.
1764, D. April 20, 1839], a daughter of Jimmie McNeill who lived
at McCaskill’s, Cumberland Co. He had six daughters and three sons:
Archie [B. June 4, 1782, D. July 12, 1862]
married Betsy McNeill [B. 1798, D. Feb. 3, 1859].
Daniel never married.
Duncan [B. 1800, D. Sept. 11, 1832]
married Mary Gilchrist [Aug. 26, 1803 - Jan. 3,
1849]. They had one son, James Archie McNeill [Born
Oct. 30, 1831, Died Dec. 22, 1888], who graduated at Chapel
Hill in 1852. He married Miss Flora Graham, daughter of Taylor Graham. They
moved to Texas in 1853 where he died, his wife moving to Charlotte.
Ann [Ann Elizabeth, b. 11 July 1798, d. 2 Aug 1882,
Bremond, Tex.] married William Wilkinson [b.
19 Apr. 1788, d. 6 Oct. 1830 N.C.].
Mary married Duncan Black and lived near Hope Mills, Cumberland Co. [son
James A. Black B. Dec. 1818, D. May 13, 1820.]
Sarah married Jimmie McNeill - Godfrey’s son- and moved to Decatur, Dekalb,
Co., Ga. [Married in Robeson Co. 7 Nov. 1809 -
See ‘Raleigh Register’ 16 Nov 1809.]
Betsy married Eben Powell.
Jeanette married John H. McMillan of Robeson
Co.
[Margaret, B. _____, D. Sept. 28, 1826. Marr. Archibald
Graham. Daughter Mary died Nov. 1824, age 16 days.]
Katie, daughter of Godfrey McNeill; married Daniel Johnson. After five children
were born she died. He then married a Miss McDougald who had five children and
died. He then married a Miss McBride. The youngest child of the first wife being
an infant at its mother’s death was taken and cared for by her aunt Catharine
Tory [Katie Torrey] McNeill [wife
of Malcolm]. One of the sons- Angus-
is a Presbyterian preacher. He was a member of Concord Presbytery. He preached
in Georgia; also near Tampa, Florida four years. He buried one of his daughters
there. He preached several years in Tenn; has two married daughters there. He
has built up four churches in Ellis Co., Texas. At present he is 91 years old
and preaches three times some Sundays. Here is a copy of last letter received
from him:
"Aralon, Texas, April 26, 1900
I married in Concord, N.C., Dec. 26, 1838, Miss Mary A. Means, by whom I had
eight children. On the 11th April 1866 I married Miss Sue J. [SueJette]
Thomas of Lula, Miss., in her 47th year and I in my 77th. My son, T.C., preached
eight years and died in his 28th year. Yours truly, A. Johnson." (Rev.
Angus Johnson and his wife came to a meeting of the General Assembly at Greenville,
S.C., about 1906 or ’07 and came to Red Springs on a visit to his first
cousin, Mrs Harriett McKay, who was my Grandmother. He was then about 97 years
old. He lived to be about 98 or 99 and was active in the ministry as long as
he lived. – Mrs Tom Marrow.) [This
Mrs. Tom Marrow was Juliet Cox Marrow
of Rowland, NC, a family historian of the 1920s and 1930s. Her family history
collection is owned by her granddaughter in Kinston, NC.]
Malcolm McNeill [Died April 8, 1833]
married Katie Tory [died July 21, 1835],
had five sons and seven daughters.
Daniel, born Dec. 4, 1794, never married and died at 30 years of age. He was
a merchant in Cheraw, S.C. [D. Aug. 9, 1825]
Ellen, born Dec. 25, 1796, married Archie McDuffie [Married
20 Jan. 1820], died April, 1849.
Sarah, born June 20, 1799, married Duncan McArthur [son
of John McArthur & Catherine McPhaul], Sept. 19, 1822, died
Dec. 8, 1848.
Margaret, born Dec. 8, 1801, married [Rev.]
J.H. Brown, died at Taladega, Alabama. Her husband married again one year later
(?).
James Alexander, born Feb. 15, 1804, died Dec. 12, 1808.
Catharine, born May 15, 1806, married William D. [Dalrymple]
Harrington, Jan. 19, 1825, died Jan. 2, 1831.
James Alexander and Ann, born Feb. 8, 1809. James died Sept. 27, 1837. Ann died
Jan. 15, 1867. She married Daniel [Calder Daniel]
McNeill [B. 1800, D. Feb. 16, 1868]
Feb. 7, 1828.
Elizabeth, born July 10, 1811, married Alex. McMillan, died Sept 19, 1893. [a
dau. Ellen McMillan who m. Dr. John McMillan]
John David, born May 2, 1814, moved to Miss. About 1836, married a Miss [Mary]
Gilchrist [Dau. Of Malcom Gilchrist and Ann Galbraith],
a niece of John Gilchrist, the lawyer, of Floral College. He died 1854; his
wife died in 1856. [They had 4 children George,
Malcolm, Narcissa, Ella]
Mary Jane, born Dec. 1, 1816, married Simon P. McNeill [B.
1805] in 1837, died in Catawba Co. [21
March 1864. - 8 children]
Hector George Robert Tory [Torrey],
born April 20, 1819, moved to Ga. In 1839, married a Miss Lizzie George of Zebulon,
Pike Co., Ga., Apr. 28, 1842. [Lived in Mobile,
Ala., dentist.]
John McNeill’s family: ‘The Hatter’, married Miss Taylor of
Bladen Co., lived near Lumberton. They had three sons and two daughters: John,
Angus, and James and Sallie and Catharine.
Sallie [Sarah Jane Buie] married
Neill Buie of Lumberton. Their house still stands- 1900. All their children
died and are buried in the cemetery at Lumberton. Mr Buie moved West. The three
boys and Catharine went with him.
Catharine married in New Orleans.
John was in the hat business in New Orleans.
Daniel, ‘The Hatter’, married Celia Humphrey [B.
1788] and lived in several places in Robeson Co. His last home
was on Downing Creek near Lumberton near Celea’s Bridge. They had five
sons and five daughters.
Enoch [B.1820] married Miss [Christianna] McDougald,
a fine writer. [No children.]
William [Born 1808] married
Chattie Stone
[The ancestors of Warren McNeill of Red Springs].
John D. [B. Jan. 4, 1821, D. Aug. 13, 1892]
married Mary Cribbs [B. Nov. 15, 1833, D. May 6,
1912] of S.C.
David Torry married a Miss [Lavinia (sp?)]
Watson; after her death, a Miss [Catherine]
Conolly.
Daisy [Not 'Daisy,' but Daniel per his father's will of 1837. He was called Dawsey] married Emma Smith.
Margaret married [John] Townsend.
Katie married Stephen Wiggins. [Katie born about
1828. Stephen Wiggins born about 1824]
Betsy [B. 1818] and Susan never
married.
Nancy [Ann] married Charles Ivy. After his death, [she
married] Sheriff Reuben King who was killed and robbed by the
‘Lowry Outlaw Gang’.
Alexander married Polly McEachern, had two sons and four daughters [No, five daughters and three sons. James, found only in deeds, was the oldest son of Alexander and Mary, and died before 1839. He has been largely forgotten. He never married and his lands were divided between his siblings.] :
Daniel married Miss Smith, had three daughters and five sons. [Married Barbara Smith who died between 1840 census and 1842. Daniel moved to Cumberland County from where he gifted his lands in Robeson to his five sons. He moved to Union County, Arkansas and lived for a time at least next door to Artemas and Duncan Brown who had migrated from Robeson. Daniel died there in 1877, and may be buried at Scotland Presbyterian Church which he joined in 1858.]
Hector married Ann McDougald, had one daughter who married a Carter
["White Hector" McNeill married Flora Ann McDougald, sister of Effy Carter and Angus B. McDougald of Barbour Co., AL. They all went to Coffee Co. and Barbour Co., AL. Hector and David Carter, Effy's husband, are next door neighbors found there in an 1855 census. Cy McNeill said "White Hector" became dissatisfied there and returned to NC soon after. Amanda F. McNeill married James M. Carter and they lived at Lumber Bridge, Robeson Co. Amanda's will of 1901 names the surviving children of her aunt Elizabeth Buie and those of her uncle "White Daniel" McNeill surviving.].
Amanda, one of Alexander’s daughters, married a Buie and moved West [Anna, not Amanda. Cyrus became confused here with Amanda, daughter of "White Hector". Alexander and Mary's daughter Anna, married late in life to a James R. McDonald and moved to Georgia. Also, records show the daughter who married a Buie was Elizabeth "Betsy", listed in a deed as a sister, who married John J. Buie. They lived in Robeson at least until 1849 and afterwards disappear from the records, likely settling in Georgia per Amanda Carter's Robeson County will of 1901. Some research shows they settled in Liberty Co., Georgia just below Savannah.].
Mary married Angus McDougald and is still living in Sharon [Not Sharon. This should be Shannon community in Robeson County. Mary was unmarried in 1850 and 1860, living with her sister Catherine Jane Campbell and her husband Archibald Campbell. Mary married Angus McDougald after his first wife, Sarah Bethune, died leaving several children. Mary and Angus had no children. She is buried in a little cemetery near Shannon that is today, 2017, threatened by bulldozing].
Sarah married Hector Graham. [Hector R. Graham, a Confederate, was a prisoner at Wilmington at the very end of the Civil War and died at the Pettigrew Hospital in Raleigh. They had no children.]
One daughter married Archie Campbell who lives near Antioch. [This Archibald Campbell was an older son of John and Catherine Campbell of Campbell's Bridge near Maxton. The daughter who married Archie Campbell was named Catherine in Polly's will of 1839 and who is named in Robeson County court minutes as Catherine Jane in 1830. Catherine Jane, Hector and Betsy were listed as Polly's children in her bond to become their guardian in May 1830 Term of Robeson County Court Minutes.]
[There was another son of Alexander McNeill and Mary McEachern named James McNeill who died before 1839. He is mentioned as desceased in two Robeson County deeds, one of 1841 and another in 1849 (Robeson County Deed Book BB page 581: 1849, John J. Buie of Robeson Co. to Hector McEachern of Robeson Co.) which states James's heirs had previously sold his part of Alexander's estate to John J. Buie, though unfortunately no copy of that earlier transaction was recorded in the deed books.]
The Polly McEachern, above mentioned, was the daughter of the husband (by a
former marriage)
[a former marriage to a daughter (whose first name is lost) of James McNeill of Rockfish Creek and his wife Elizabeth McNeill daughter of "Hector Carver" McNeill of the Argyll Colony] of Beatrice Tory [Torrey]
who was the widow of Malcolm Purcell who was either killed by the Tory gang
[Tories/Redcoats] or drowned while
crossing the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville. By this marriage to [Malcolm]
Purcell she had one son John. Beatrice Tory [Torrey]
was a daughter of David Tory [John Torrey].
She had three brothers, George, Robert [David],
and Daniel [James]. They lived
awhile near Lumberton on the Fayetteville road on the property now owned by
Berry Godwin.
Afterwards David Tory [Torrey]
lived where the late Archie Purcell resided who inherited his father’s
estate. By the marriage to [Daniel]
McEachern two children, Col. Archie and Sallie were born. Col. McEachern married
Effie Sellers. They raised ten children, two boys and eight girls. Mary married
Lauchlin McNeill, a son of Angus McNeill already mentioned. Eliza married John
Buie.
Caroline [B. Sept. 20, 1822, D. Aug. 4, 1878]
married Dan McCallum [], brother of John [McCallum]
who married Mary McNeill [1803-1856].
Their daughter (Caroline and Dan McCallum’s) - Cornelia [Nov.
16, 1850 - ] married Hon. E.J. [Edwin] Purcell. Archie T., their
son, married Miss Agnes Townsend. Lou married Mr John Fulmore. Archie McEachern
married a Miss Fairly. Their children are four, viz, John, Archie [‘Dock’],
Sallie and Effie. Effie [McEachern]
married Dr. Sinclair. They had three children: Angus, who married Miss Gusta
Worth of Fayetteville, Sallie who never married and lives in Rowland, Archie
who died when a young man. Also another son [Sinclair]
who died when a child. Julia [McE]
died many years ago. Margaret [McE.]
Jane, [never] married, also died
years ago. Sallie [McE.] married
Neill Buie of Cumberland Co. Has four children.
Hon. D.P. McEachern [Daniel Purcell, B. 1836]
married Mary McNeill [B. 1847],
daughter of ex-Sheriff Hector McNeill [son of Neil
McNeill and his wife Sarah "Pretty Sallie" Graham, both of Scotland] of Cumberland Co. [Hector
McNeill married Mary McNeill.]
Harriet married Angus Baker, had six children--two daughters and four sons.
Beatrice Torrey [Beatrice Torrey was a daughter
of Jno Torrey; David Torrey was her brother- JE Purcell] who
first married Malcolm Purcell, then afterwards married [Daniel]
McEachern, was a daughter of David [John]
Tory [Torrey] and Margaret Tory
[Torrey]; also sister to Katy Tory
[Torrey] who married Malcolm McNeill,
grandparents of the writer.
Archie McDuffie married Elenor [or Ellen],
daughter of Malcolm McNeill and Katy Torrey, Jan. 20, 1820. They lived in Robeson
Co. until 1831 when they moved to Jefferson Co. Miss., where her husband died.
She afterwards returned to N.C. They had three sons, viz, Nathan R., who first
married Mary Jane King. She died in 1831 without issue. He afterwards married
Eliza McDougald of Bladen Co., sister to ‘Big Jim’. He and Nathan
King [McDuffie] engaged in the
turpentine business and mercantile business in Cumberland Co. at a place named
Flea Hill. They failed in business in 1852. Soon afterwards Nathan R. moved
to Ga. And located a turpentine farm on the west side of Alexander River 20
miles from Doctortown in Appling Co. To move their produce they bought a little
steamboat from Wilmington known as the Black River. They worked her successfully
for about three years. From here he moved to southern Texas in Victoria Co.
He engaged in the lumber business with his brother Dr. Hector McDuffie at Springs,
north of Houston. From there he moved to Brenham where he and his wife died.
They had one son. Malcolm James McDuffie graduated at University of N.C. in
class of 1850. He read law under John C. Dobbin and practiced in the counties
adjoining Cumberland. He was a member of the 1st N.C. Regiment. He was in the
first fight of the war at Bethel. After his regiment was mustered out he did
not re-enlist. He moved to Texas and joined his brothers about 1870. He never
married. Died a few years after he went to Texas.
Hector McDuffie read medicine under Dr Ben Robeson of Fayetteville, graduated
at the medical college of Philadelphia in 1852. He came to Georgia with his
brother Nathan and practiced on his brother’s employees for a stated salary,
though he also got a good practice among the neighbors. When his brother went
to Texas he purchased the boat, Black River, by means of which he got a contract
from the Atlantic and Gulf R.R. - then under course of construction- to furnish
stone to build the piers for the bridge across the Attamahow River. This brought
him to board with a Mr McArthur near Bell’s Ferry, Montgomery Co. near
where he got the stone from the river bank. From this contract he made considerable
money. Mr McArthur whose wife was Miss McLaughlin had moved from Fayetteville
some years before. They had several bright children. The youngest, Walter T.,
a bright boy, was the favorite of Mr McDuffie who advised McArthur to educate
him. He offerred to lend him money since he was not able to furnish it, which
he accepted. Thus was educated one of the smartest, brainiest men in Ga. As
a legislative lobbyist, Walter T. McArthur was one of the shrewdest.
Dr McDuffie moved to western La. some years before the war and married a rich
widow. He joined his brother as above stated in Texas. Little is known of him
since. In connection with this family a strange incident happened: One morning
last summer (1899) on the arrival of the 7:30 south bound train, an elderly
man got off and came to our house wanting to know if he could get a cup of coffee.
While the coffee was being prepared as was my custom I engaged in conversation
with with him which was pleasant. As he learned we were both from N.C. he remarked
that he knew some McNeills near Fayetteville and especially Caulder Daniel McNeill,
who was my father. He stated further that a Mrs McDuffie raised him. She was
my Aunt. He knew May McNeill who was my sister. Also knew AnnEliza Harrington.
She was my cousin. He said Mrs McDuffie was a mother to him, that she had trained
him to early rising and before going out in the morning to his work she gave
him a good cup of coffee which caused a lasting remembrance of her and the coffee.
The venerable gentleman in his 74th year was Mr Nat Upchurch of Callahan Fla.
He is very rich. He was an interesting conversationalist and historian. I hope
to see him again.
John A. Brown married Margaret McNeill, daughter of Malcolm McNeill and Katy
Tory [Torrey]. They had two sons
and two daughters. Ellen Jane Hamilton the eldest, born in N.C. Oct. 7, 1830
[died 5 May 1862]. At the death
of her parents, my father D.C. McNeill became her guardian at the request of
her father and administered on her estate in Ala. In 1854 my father took charge
of the property and brought Ellen and her sister Ann to N.C. where they remained
until the early part of 1860.
Milton James, the eldest son, was born May 8, 1833. He remained in Ala. And
got employment as a salesman in a shoe store. On Sept. 9, 1858 he married Miss
Sue James Donahue and soon afterwards became their guardian [of
the two girls above]. Early in the war he went to the Army as
a Lieutenant in a Co. from Talledaga which was commanded by Capt. McAfee. He
came home in poor health and died in 1864, April 29.
The youngest son, Timothy Dwight [?],
was born Sept. 19, 1840, died April 29, 1864. Ellen died May 5, 1862. Ann [born
ca. 1844] the youngest daughter who was about the age of my
sister Catharine Frances. They attended Floral College together in the year
1859. They were joined by another cousin, Narcissus McNeill [daughter
of John David McNeill], who returned to Mississippi under the
care of Dr Hughs, a relative of hers. Narcissus married a soldier during the
war from Texas who wore braid, an indication of an officer of high rank. Sometimes
afterwards he left with his company and never returned. He was thought to have
been killed. She died of grief soon afterwards. Ann Brown [dau.
Of John A. Brown & Margaret McNeill] whose family was all
dead married a farmer near Talleadega named G.W. Stone. They now live at Evansville,
Ala. They have four [five] sons and four daughters, viz,
[1.] William Brown, born Feb. 11, 1867.
[2.] John Litchfield, born Nov. 2, 1868, married Mary Davis, Aug. 30, 1896.
[3.] George Melton, born Aug. 20, 1870.
[4.] Ann Rosella, born Oct. 30, 1872, married John Bastillo in Easonsville,
St Claire Co., Dec. 22, 1891.
[5.] Sue Ethel, born Jan. 27, 1875, married Rev. T.K. Roberts, Dec. 6, 1899.
[6.] Maggie Brown, born Apr. 15, 1877. [8.] Daisy Kellie, born March 11, 1879;
[9.] Frank Branden born Feb. 21, 1881.
[10.] Hugh McNeill born Feb. 4, 1886. James Alexander born Feb. 15, 1888 [1804],
died Dec. 12, 1888 [1808] [son
of Katie Torrey & Malcolm McNeill].
William D. [Dalrymple] Harrington
married Catharine McNeill, daughter of Malcolm McNeill and Katy Tory [Torrey]
on Jan. 19, 1825. They had one son and one daughter. [1] Cyrus Harrington was
a boy of intellect. He attended several schools and graduated at the University
of N.C. in 1852. He married Miss Lucy Roberts and established a fine school
in Carbonton near his father’s home which was very successful for several
years. In the meantime he studied for the ministry and was licensed by Fayetteville
Presbytery in which he served as stated clerk for many years. At the Presbyterial
meeting of Sept. 19, 1893, as he concluded the reading of a report he sank in
his chair and expired in a few minutes. His wife and children are still living
in Mansfield Louisiana (1900). Ann Eliza, the daughter [of W.D. Harrington]
married Dr. Wilcox, a neighbor of her father. They had one son. Dr. Wilcox was
injured in a fall and lived several years getting about in a chair. Their son,
Willie, married Virginia Woddell. He lives at his father’s old home in
Moore Co.
William D. Harrington, after the death of his first wife, married a Mrs Stevens.
The third time he married a Miss McNeill - no relation to his first wife. One
of his sons by this marriage- Elam James- married Catharine Frances McNeill,
my sister. The fourth time he married a Miss Tyson, a neighbor, who died after
many years and her husband soon followed in his 90th year.
James Alexander, twin to my mother, was born Feb. 8, 1809. He attended the common
schools of the county and got a fair education. Took a course in Union Theological
Seminary. He preached in Fayetteville, his first charge; later in Wilmington.
By application to his studies he gained some eminence. Being of a delicate nature
his health failed. He was advised by his physician to take a sea voyage so he
went to St. Thomas Island and from there to Cuba, thence to New Orleans intending
to visit friends in Mississippi but his health was not improved and on Sept.
27, 1837 he died in the city and was buried by friends and relatives.
Alex McMillan and Elizabeth McNeill [dau. of Malcolm
& Catherine Torrey McNeill] were married about 1838. They
had six children- five daughters and one son.
Catharine Jane, born 1840 [8 Dec 1839]
married Wm. McNatt. Allie [McNatt]
married D.P. Musselwhite, had one child and died young. Her husband died in
1888. She died in Columbus Ga., Jan. 7, 1899. They are buried in Long Graveyard,
Camden Co., Ga. She had the care of the family at her parents death. Carrie
is still single. Blanche married a Mr Parish near Pembroke, N.C. She had one
child. James and Shell were two sons who are still living. Wm. McNatt died about
1880. His wife, Jane, died in 1886, at her old home. Ruth Ann born July 18,
1842, married W.H. Fisher [Wm. Harrison, C.S.A.]
of Sampson Co., April 11, 1861. They had nine children. [She
died 4 Apr 1906.]
Mary E. McMillan married W.J. Regan, son of Col. Regan of Howells Mill [Howellsville].
They had eight children. ?? McMillan [Neil Archie
McMillan], born Apr. 27, 1847 never married. He went to Ga.
[Fla. Died 17 Jan. 1938. Buried Tolarsville Bapt.
Ch. Robeson Co. NC.].
Ellen married Dr. John McMillan, son of Daniel McMillan. They had one son John.
She died and her husband married Miss Belle Rowland, daughter of Col. J.H. Rowland.
They live in Lumberton.
Margaret Tory [Torrey], the youngest
daughter, married Hector T. McKinnon, son of John McKinnon and Catharine Gaster
McNair. They had one daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, born August 1881. Margaret
T. McKinnon died in Florence, S.C., Nov. 7, 1899, and was buried there. Her
husband and daughter live at Scotchville Ga., near St. Marys, Camden Co.
Alex McMillan [son of Dougald McMillan who was
son of the emigrant, Arch. Alex. McMillan.], the father, was
born in Scotland [Bn. circa 1804- N.C.],
died in 1867, was buried at Archie Crawford graveyard two miles west of St.
Pauls Church. It was his request to be buried near his relatives who had died
many years before.
His wife, Elizabeth [daughter of Malcolm & Katie Torrey McNeill], died Oct.
19, 1893 and was buried at St. Pauls. She was in her 82nd year. [Born
July 10, 1811.]
John David [McNeill, son of Malcolm & Katie],
born May 2, 1814, moved to Miss. about 1838-9. Soon after arriving there he
married Miss Nancy Gilchrist [Dau. of Malcolm Gilchrist
& Anny Galbreath] whose parents had moved to that section
from near Gilchrists Bridge, Robeson Co. Her father was a brother of lawyer
John Gilchrist, a well known man on account of his being one of the founders
and supporters of Floral College in its early days.
Mary Jean [Jane] McNeill, born
Dec 1, 1816, married Simon P. [Prichard]
McNeill who was born in Marion, S.C. Aug. 5, 1805. They were married Dec. 28,
1837. They had six sons and two daughters. George C. [Campbell],
born Dec 20, 1838, married Mrs Martha Lorence in 1866, died Sept. 5, 1890. They
had three children, viz, George C., born 1869, Avery H., in 1873, Blanche born
1881. None of them married.
Thomas Jefferson, born 1840, died Sept, 14, 1865.
James Franklin, born 1843, was killed in the battle of Fredericksburg Va., Dec.
13, 1865.
Wm. Hamilton, born 1849, married Miss Lucy A. Gimmer in De Soto Co, Miss., in
1872. They have eight living children and three are dead. They now live at Friendship,
Harrison Co., Texas. He is a farmer.
John B., born in 1852, married Miss Mattie in Jackson Co., Texas. He is a druggist.
Mary L., born in 1856 died in 1882.
Charles E., born in 1858, married in Indian, Texas, in 1885.
Mary Jean [Jane, wife of Simon P. McNeill],
died March 21, 1864 in Catawba Co. near Clearmont.
Simon, after her death, married Mary Jane Norwood. Two sons were born to them.
Simon P. died March 15, 1880 in Iredell Co., near Troutman depot. His widow
and one son live at Olar, S.C.
[Hector, son of Malcolm & Katie Torry McNeill]
attended the public schools in the neighborhood and then went to school in Fayetteville
and obtained a fair English education with little Latin and Greek. At his majority
he moved to Ga. where he practiced law in Henry Co. for several years he succeeded
well in his profession. In [On 28]
April 1842 he married Miss Elizabeth George of Zebulon, Pike Co., Ga. In 1846
he became weary of law and turned his attention to dentistry in which profession
he was fairly successful. He practiced in Macon, Griffin and Columbus Ga., and
Chambersburg, Ala., and later at West Point, Ga. My father visited him in 1816
in Columbus on his return from Talledega Ala. No previous notice had been given
of the visit and when my father walked into Dr McNeill’s office he was
politely requested by the Doctor to have a seat. My father hesitated and said,
‘Let us shake hands and renew old acquaintences first,’ upon which
he was recognized and greeted cordially. They raised a daughter and son. Blanche,
the older, born in 1843, married a Texan from Brenham in 1865 and in 1866 they
moved to Texas whither her father and mother and brother Charlie soon followed.
End of Malcolm’s ch.
Alexander, son of Godfrey McNeill, married Polly McEachern whose father [Daniel
McEachern and mother- a McNeill who was a daughter of James McNeill of Rockfish] married Beatrice Torrey McNeill
[Purcell], a widow. [Daniel
McEachern married 3 times.]
They had two sons and four daughters already mentioned. Daniel [‘White’
Daniel], the eldest, married Barbara Smith [Dau.
of Alex. & Mary Leach Smith], in 1822. They had eight children,
viz, Alex G., the oldest son, volunteered in a Co. from Fayetteville and went
to the Mexican war where he died. Douglas Smith, second son, died when 19 years
old. John Calvin, third son, married a Miss Jones in Fayetteville, had one son
and two daughters who are married and have large families. Wm. Henry, fourth
son, moved to Columbus, Ga. in 1853. He was a fine mechanic. He married Miss
Clara Pugh in Ala. and soon died. His widow now lives in Montgomery, Ala. Joseph,
fifth son, married in Wilmington, N.C. Two children were born to him but both
died. He lived [and died] in Raleigh
during the Civil War. His widow married again. Mary Jane, the eldest daughter
married Major J.P. McDougald of Fayetteville before the war. [She married James R. McDonald, not McDougald. James and Mary McDonald and their children are found in Atlanta and Memphis just as Cyrus claimed but he just got the last name wrong.] After the war they
moved to Atlanta where he was City Auctioneer for several years. They then moved
to Memphis Tenn. where he died in 1897 leaving four children- two sons and two
daughters.
Flora Ann, the younger, married Rev. Dr. [Edward T.]
Buist in Greenville, S.C. His widow and two children survive him. Flora Ann’s
aunt, Mrs McEachern- mother of John H- reared her and she often visited our
home. She was a jolly good soul.
Harriet Elizabeth, the third daughter, married Capt. Samuel Stradley of Greenville,
S.C. [Samuel Stradley immigrated with his parents from England when he was a boy.] With four sons and two daughters living in Greenville, S.C. One son and
two daughters are married.
Daniel [‘White Daniel’]
moved to Arkansas and lived to a ripe old age. [see
Phil. Cem. Records # 187 and read the notes on the grave of Sallie Allen. Daniel is found as "Daniel McNeill White" in the 1830 census but must have separated from his wife Barbara because she is living in Robeson County in the 1840 census near Daniel's relatives and former neighbors. Later, in a deed in Cumberland County dated 1842, Barbara is stated to be dead and Daniel is giving his lands in Robeson to his sons.]
Hector (White) [B. 1813, D. 29 Jan 1885]
second son of Alexander McNeill and Polly McEachern, married a Miss [Flora
Ann] McDougald [B. 23 Jul 1820,
D. 29 Jan 1897]. They had one daughter. He lived on and owned
the farm where Neill Smith now lives near Shannon. The McDougald family moved
to Ala. about 1855. Hector and his family soon joined them but were soon displeased
and returned to N.C. and lived and died near Antioch. His wife still resides
on the place. Their only child, Amanda [B. 28 Oct
1845, D. 19 Mar 1902], married a Mr Carter.
One of Alex McNeill’s daughters [Elizabeth "Betsy"]
married a Mr. Buie and moved west. Another daughter [Catherine] married Archie Campbell [son of John Campbell of Campbell's Bridge and his wife Catherine].
They live near Antioch and have a large family.
Sarah married Hector Graham. They lived near James Conoly. They have no children.
Mary married Angus McDougald. They also have no children and live near James
Conoly. She is still living.
James, son of Godfrey McDougald [not McDougald;
should say McNeill], married Sarah McNeill, daughter of ‘Long
Duncan’ and moved to Decatur, De Kalb Co., Ga. They had several children.
He was an influential Elder in the Presbyterian church of that place.
David Tory [John Torry] and his
wife, Margaret, evidently came to America about 1760 and settled in Robeson
Co. among the other Scotch Settlers but the exact place is not know to the writer.
They had three sons and two daughters. Beatrice married Malcolm Purcell who
was either killed by the Tories or drowned in the Cape Fear River while attempting
to escape from them. His wife moved from the neighborhood of Fayetteville to
her brother’s who lived three or four miles east of Lumberton on the Fayetteville
Road and owned the land now owns by Berry Godwin, Sandy McLeod and others, known
as the Jacob Blount Estate. Beatrice Torry Purcell had a son about one year
of age at the death of her husband. She was married a second time to a Mr [Daniel]
McEachern by whom she raised a son and daughter- Col Archie and Sallie, who
married a [Archibald] Patterson.
Beatrice Torrey Purcell McEachern’s first son, John Purcell, lived near
what is now known as Montpelier church in the upper end of the county. John
Purcell married Mrs Mary Gilchrist McKay and raised four sons and three daughters.
John Purcell Jr never married.
Malcolm married Miss Blake. They had several children.
Alexander [Torrey Purcell] married
Miss Harriet [Newell] McIntyre,
a daughter of Rev. John McIntyre [minister of Philadelphus
Pres. Ch.], an ardent Presbyterian minister who died in 1852
at the age of 100 [102]. They had
two sons and four daughters. [21 Aug. 1750 - 17
Nov. 1852]
Archie married Miss Margaret Graham. Hobday and lived and died at the old Purcell
home.
Effie Purcell married John McEachern. They raised four sons and five daughters.
Elizabeth married Alex. Graham. Four sons and four daughters were born to them.
Mary, the youngest, married Rev. Hector McNeill. They had two sons and two daughters.
Col Archie McEachern, son of Beatrice Torry Purcell McEachern by her second
husband, married Effie Sellers, account of them has already been given.
Sallie McEachern married [Archie]
Patterson. They lived on Buffaloe Creek, the dividing line between Robeson and
west Cumberland counties. They had several children. [Eliza
- Margaret]
One daughter, Margaret, married Hector McKinnon, a son of Kenneth McKinnon who
lived near St Pauls. They had two sons and one daughter. Her eldest son, Archie
P., was an Orderly Sergeant of the Highland boys and served faithfully in the
Confederate Army until he was killed Dec. 13, 1862 at Fredericksburg, Va.
Bennie, the second son, was in Fort Fisher. He got sick and died at hospital.
Mary Eliza married William Caldwell who died in 1898.
Hector McKinnon died about 1844 or ’45. I recollect Mrs McKinnon and her
three children in the spring of 1850 or 51 visiting my mother. A.P. cut his
name on an apple tree. The name grew larger with the tree.
Margaret McKinnon married a second time to N.H. McLean for whom she had two
children, William and Ann.
William married a daughter of Hugh Harrell.
Ann still lives at the old homestead. The other (?) (or mother?) [Eliza]
of Sallie Patterson married Neill Sinclair who died about 1865. They live [lived]
at the old Patterson homestead near Buffalo Creek. Their oldest son, John, still
resides there. Their oldest daughter, Sarah Ann, died at the age of 18.
*****************
[the following text is typed exactly as formatted
in the original. It is as if it was typed in a great hurry.]
Descendents of Lauchlin MeNeill
who married Mary McNeill: their only child, was Hector McNeill who married Nancy
McEachern [McEachin] first, by whom he had six children: John, Daniel, Margaret,
Sarah Ann, Almena and Mary. His second wife was Belle McNeill by whom he had
six children, viz, Lauchlin, Catharine, Jane, Ursula, Hugh and Hector. The two
last died in the Civil War. Lauchlin married Margaret Hughes. Ursula married
Tom Smith. Almena married Malcolm McNeill. Sarah Ann married James McDonald.
Hector McNeill, Anunce (?) 1725, near Fayetteville at the close of the Revolution
on a farm in Richmond Co. three miles west of Robesons Ferry, now Gilchrist
Bridge, on Drowning Creek. Children: two sons, one daughter, Angus, Lauchlin
and Sarah. Angus married Margaret McEachern [McEachin].
Children - (Daniel McNeill, known as Calder Daniel, 1800-1868. ( Angus (John
(Major Jack) 1801- 1879. McNeill ( and (Mary 1803- 1856. ( Margaret (Hector
(Preacher, M.N.)1805- 1872. McEachern [McEachin](
(Flora 1807- 1872. ( (Lauchlin 1809- 1893. Lauchlin ( (Nancy McEachern (John
McNeill, ( ( (Daniel second son (Hector( (Sarah of Hector ( (Bellen [Isabella]
McNeill (Hull [? Ann?] and ( (
(Margaret Margaret ( ( Almenia M.E. ( Married ( Mary ( Others not known McNeill
( Sarah ( McNeill ( third child ( of Hector ( Never married and ( Margaret [NO](
Godfrey McNeill (Malcolm (The Saddler) married Katy Torry. ( Kattie [Kittie]
McDougald (Daniel (The Hatter) married Celia Humphrey. ( America (Alexander(Carpenter)
married Polly McEachern ( (James married Sarah McNeill, Long Duncan’s
daughter. ( (Hector (Carpenter) married Miss Lucy Crane. Were met at ( (John
(The Hatter) married Miss Taylor (Bladen Co.) Cross Creek ( (Neill never married.
By ( (Nancy married Peter Johnson (Father of Gov. James J, of Ga.) Jimmie McNeill
( (Betsy married Archie [Wild Archie]
McNeill (Son of Long Duncan) of ( (Katie Married Daniel Johnson (Brother of
Peter Johnson) Rock Fish ( (Sallie married [Daniel]
Stewart and moved to S.C. Creek ( ( ( Jimmie McNeill (Long Duncan married Margaret
McNeill. ( --------------------- [Archie Gar McNeill
son of Jane Campbell & her 1st husband Wm. McNeill.] [Copied
from the Recorder of Land Grant Office in Raleigh, N.C. Archibald McNeill Feb.
25, 1754 Book 10, Page 429 File # 1227- 200 acres on a Branch of Rockfish Creek.]