McNeill, Ed 1881-1959

MCNEILL, MCNEIL, HURLEY, OBRIEN

Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 2/29/2008 at 14:24:06

This is not really an obituary, but it seems to 'fit' here better than on the biography board ..... Sharyl
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Everyday Echoes
by Fran O'Brien

"All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts."

These words of Shakespeare apply to every life. And, as each person plays his bit part or his starring role, he helps to shape the destiny of many others. As Longfellow puts it, he "leaves his footprints on the sands of time."

From every life we can learn a lesson, for each one gives something to the world that wasn't here before.

The Creator has implanted something Godlike into each human being, a certain celestial spark that glows on, long after he is gone.

We remember the characteristics that endured our departed ones to us, the little kindnesses, the courageous spirit, the twinkling eyes, the calming, reassuring manner, the sympathetic understanding, the jovial laughter that lighted the fires of friendship.

Even the most ordinary life has its moments of drama, its comedy situations, its triumphs and its defeats. As each one plays his many parts on life's stage, he touches the lives of others. A simple deed, a spoken word, a few written lines, a chance meeting can influence and help shape the destiny of others.

And so it was, that a chance meeting many years ago had some far-reaching reactions. About the year 1903, two youths, Ed and Bill, met as students at a small Iowa college. They formed a friendship that lasted a lifetime and brought two families together.

The two young men had much in common. Both possessed a dynamic personality, a fine sense of humor, and strength of character with a driving force to get things done. Ed had a twin brother, Dan, and Bill, a younger brother, Mike, who were also students at the college. They too, became good friends and the foursome were often seen together.

One weekend Bill accompanied his friend Ed, to his home where he met and became interested in his young sister, Liz. Sometime later his brother also spent a weekend there. He too, became interested in his friend's sister and eventually married her.

Bill went on to medical school and became a successful Chicago surgeon. Ed achieved success as a farmer on the old homestead where his pioneer father had settled many years ago. though their paths were widely separated the friendship of the two men endured thru the years. Bill died at the age of 47. Ed died last week at the age of 78. Both had played their parts in the drama of life.

The couple who married (Mike and Liz) were my mother and dad. The men were my uncles, Bill Hurley and Ed McNeill. We attended funeral service for Uncle Ed at Postville last week. As I listened to the sermon my thoughts kept straying down the by-paths of memory's lane. For on such an occasion one lives in the past more than the present.

I heard the priest mention my grandfather McNeill -- "the old pioneer who gave the ground on which this church stands." And I remembered that rugged, righteous old gentleman, who lived until he was 95. But he never really seemed old. His spirit was young and his mind, keen and alert, despite his years.

"I have lived a wonderful life," grand-dad used to tell us, "When I left Ireland at the age of 24, we sowed the seed by tossing it over our shoulder. And I have lived to see tractors and machines doing the work we did by hand."

America was truly the land of opportunity for him, as it was for other immigrants. As a simple peddlar he walked up and down the Southland, selling his wares. It was a rough and rugged life but it was only temporary. In a few years he had saved $3,000, enough for a down payment on an Iowa farm in Allamakee county. A Postville seed dealer loaned him the rest of the money without a note or a mortgage of any kind. Those were the pioneer days when a man's word was as good as his bond, and people could and did trust others.

The words of the speaker bring me back to the present, as he speaks of my late uncle. "The great humility of this man was the keystone of his character. In all his suffering, he would say to me, 'No matter what I have to suffer, I have been a sinner.'" He mentions his reverence for the name of God, and for the first time I realize that I had never once heard Uncle Ed use the slightest bit of profanity.

I recall the happy summer I spent at his home as a teenager and the many other pleasant visits there. Uncle Ed was a great favorite of mine. He was a handsome, distinguished-looking man, well-built, with a shock of white hair and the bluest eyes -- just like my mother's. And he had that oldtime spirit of hospitality that was generous and sincere.

He was a hard worker but he took time to enjoy life, too. He had a keen sense of humor characterized by rich, hearty laughter. He possessed the dignity of a statesman and once, in Chicago, he was mistaken for a senator. How he roared with laughter. "No, I'm just a plain, old Iowa farmer," he said.

But Uncle Ed had his serous side too. He had a deep sense of righteousness, which he believed in conforming to and influencing others to do likewise. Once he tld me, "If some one I know is doing srong, I don't hesitate to warn him." I admired this quality for I believe it more charitable to help a man lift himself up rather than to silently condone wrong. And Uncle Ed had a way of looking at you as if he could see right through you or through any sham or insincerity.

Again the words of the speaker break through my reverie, "Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall be found waiting."

On a peaceful hillside, lined with rugged oaks, overlooking the winding river in the green valley below, Uncle Ed was laid to rest with his pioneer parents in the Clermont cemetery. Thus, the curtain closed on his life. He had played his part well. He, too, had left his footprints.

~source: 'Kossuth County Advance', September 22, 1959

~Notes: Ed McNeill lived on a farm just south of Postville, in Grand Meadow twp. Clayton co. Iowa. The church where services were held was St. Bridget's Catholic in Postville, Allamakee county. The Clermont cemetery is in Fayette county. He was the son of Daniel (Sr) & Emma McNeil. His twin brother was Daniel (Jr). Ed married Eleanor E. (unknown surname).

There is more about this family on the Allamakee co. IAGenWeb site

Allamakee co. IAGenWeb
 

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