HENRY SWEET McNEIL, b 21 Apr 1835

MCNEIL, SWEET, START, SYMONS, WALKER, MARTIN, JOHNSON, BALDWIN

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 7/10/2004 at 17:22:31

In the property of this gentleman, which is finely located on sections 22 and 23, in Van Buren Township, we find one of the most beautiful homesteads in this region. The residence and grounds indicate the exercise of cultivated tastes and ample means. The dwelling is tasteful in architecture, finely finished and furnished, and within it everything is indicative of the habits of thought and mode of living of its inmates. They are undoubtedly people of education, fond of music, books, and literature.

Mr. and Mrs. McNeil are people of more than ordinary intelligence, and they have a bright, handsome, and intelligent group of children, which they may look upon with pardonable pride. Added to this they have hosts of friends, and are surrounded by all the good things of life. These they have not gained without some struggles, and Mr. McNeil generously acknowledges that it is largely through the efforts of his noble and gifted wife that he occupies his present position, socially and financially. During his absence in the army and his subsequent ill-health, she stood at the helm and guided their financial affairs to a prosperous ending. They have now a valuable and finely-cultivated farm, the whole embracing 200 acres of land, which with its appurtenances forms one of the most valuable estates in this region, and is the source of a handsome income.

Among other things, Mr. McNeil also has reason to be proud of his family history. He is the offspring of most excellent stock, being the son of Miller and Rowena (Sweet) McNeil, the former a native of Litchfield, Conn., and the latter born in Milford, Otsego Co., N.Y. Miller McNeil, when a lad ten years of age, started out on horseback with his parents for the Empire State, the mother traveling in the same manner, and carrying an infant in her arms. Upon nearing their destination they settled in Oneida County, where they spent the remainder of their days. There Miller McNeil was reared to man's estate, becoming familiar with agricultural pursuits, and after his marriage took up his residence at the old homestead, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying, in 1871, at the age of seventy-one years. The mother had passed away in 1865, aged sixty-three.

To the parents of our subject there were born six children, namely: David, Charles, Henry S. (our subject), Mary A.T., Minerva R., and Laura L. Henry Sweet McNeil, our subject, was born near Whiteboro, in Marcy Township, Oneida Co., N.Y., April 21, 1835. He was reared at the homestead, which had been built up by his grandfather, and at an early age exhibited, among other bright qualities, a most remarkable memory. He is still enabled to recall many of the indicents of his earliest childhood, and among them one which occurred when he was a boy four years of age. He was riding one day in a wagon with his father's hired man, when the team ran away, and the wagon was thrown off the bridge into the Mohawk River. The child sank to the bottom once, and was carried down the stream, but when finally rising, grasped the trunk of a tree which had fallen into the water, and was rescued by Prof. Henderson, who fortunately happened to be in that vicinity at the time. This gentleman then presided over Whitesboro Academy, but later entered upon missionary work in foreign countries. When the two met again our subject was a lad of twelve years. The Professor inquired if he was the boy whom he had saved from drowning, and upon being answered in the affirmative, presented the lad with a Bible.

Young McNeil continued a resident of his native county until twenty-three years old. His educational advantages in the meantime were very good, but he was a weakly child, and was troubled with defective eyesight. He also suffered from dyspepsia. His father finally sent him to sea, hoping the ocean air would benefit him, and he fell in with some mackerel fishers, and started for the vicinity of Portland, Me. They were shipwrecked on Green Island Reef, and barely escaped with their lives. The voyage, which was attended with various other adventures, had the desired effect of producing sea sickness, and our subject was thereby cured of his ailments.

Mr. McNeil was for some time a student of Whitesboro Academy, leaving it when about seventeen years of age. After recovering his health he set about the establishment of a home of his own, and was married Dec. 8, 1858, in Oneida County, N.Y., to Miss Mary Ann Start. Mrs. McNeil was born in the same county as her husband, May 11, 1841, and is the daughter of Robert and Mary A. (Symons) Start. They, with two other friends, were married in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Marcy at the same time, the other parties to the double wedding being Jack DeGroat and Mr. McNeil's sister, Minerva R. McNeil. Immediately after marriage Mr. and Mrs. McNeil set out for the West together, with Mr. DeGroat and his bride, and the two gentlemen purchased a farm in partnership. This comprised a half-section of land in Van Buren Township, which they divided up the following summer, and Mr. McNeil traded around until he became the owner of his present property. Mr. DeGroat died recently at Preston.

Just as he had begun to make good headway in the improvement of his land, the outbreak of the Civil War directed the thoughts of Mr. McNeil into another channel, and he felt that he owed a duty to his country which could not be evaded. On the 14th of August, 1862, he enlisted, at Sabula, in Company A, 24th Iowa Infantry, and was mustered into service at Muscatine. They drilled there two or three months, and in the October following proceeded South to Helena, Ark., where they made their headquarters that winter. Later, during an expedition up the Mississippi, Mr. McNeil contracted a serious illness, but was unwilling to leave his regiment, and remained with his comrades until, finally exhausted, he was obliged to consent to be taken to Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, Mo. From there he was conveyed to the Third Street Hospital, in Keokuk, Iowa, and remained theire until receiving his honorable discharge, on the 22d of May, 1865. During that time he experienced all the horrors of hospital life, insufficient food, scant attendance, and the other sufferings and inconveniences which can better be imagined than described. In the meantime there came to him sad news from home, the death of his little son, Charles, who was a babe when his father left for the army.

While her husband was in the army Mrs. McNeil, notwithstanding the natural anxiety which she felt upon his account, nerved herself to the duties of the hour, and did what she could to carry on the farm and keep the property together until the following December, when she returned to the old home in New York. She learned cheesemaking in New York, and from this industry realized a comfortable income. Upon his return Mr. McNeil joined his wife in this enterprise, and they have since followed it very successfully. They have thus been enabled to expend over $10,000 in improvements, but this was capital wisely invested, as the homestead indicates. Mr. McNeil has built more than a mile of stone fence about his fields, has also fully a mile of hedge fence, and a very convenient and substantial stone barn. The residence was put up at a cost of $4,000, and is viewed by the passing traveler with admiring interest.

In connection with his dairy operations Mr. McNeil keeps about seventeen milch cows, heretofore having had as many as forty, and has built up a large patronage in the cheese trade, which, from its excellent quality, has brought him as high as eighteen cents per pound. His factory is furnished with the modern appliances for carrying on this industry profitably, and his farm machinery generally is of the latest improved pattern. Besides the barn spoken of he has numerous other outbuildings for the accomodation of his cattle, swine and chickens; has also a fine spring house and ice house, in fact, everything required for the comfort of the modern agriculturist and his family. The homestead with its appurtenances closely resembles a village. A fish pond, stocked with German carp, adds to the attraction of the place, and its banks, with their drooping shade trees, afford a most delightful retreat during the summer season.

to Mr. and Mrs. McNeil there have been born seven children, viz: Rowena M., Charles, who died when seventeen months old, Samuel M., William H., Mabel, Seward S., and Archibald A. The eldest daughter is the wife of Byron Walker, a skilled mechanic of Janesville, Wis.; Samuel M. married Miss Anna Martin, and lives on a farm in Van buren Township; they have one child, a daughter, Mazella. William H. operates a vegetable garden in the vicinity of Ft. Collins, Colo. The other children are at home with their parents, although during school sessions their daughter, Mabel, pursues her studies at the High school in Preston.

This branch of the McNeil family originated in Ireland, whence one of the early ancestors of our subject, Archibald McNeil, together with three brothers, emigrated to America, after having disposed of a large estate in the North of Ireland, and with the proceeds purchased a vessel, in which they started upon their voyage to this country, prior to the Revolutionary War. Their vessel was wrecked near the coast of New Foundland, and they were cast ashore on that island, where they nearly starved to death. They finally built a raft, and on it braved the ocean storms. It brought them safely near the present site of Litchfield, Conn., whose first buildings they erected, and, in fact, became the founders of the town. From them sprang the McNeils of America, now a large following.

The subject of this sketch, politically, is a stanch Republican. He is remarkably liberal and public-spirited, the friend of education and every other enterprise calculated to benefit the people. He donated the grounds for the school-house which stands on his farm, and is a man whom his neighbors invariably call upon for aid in the accomplishment of every worthy object. He became identified with the Masonic fraternity many years ago in this county, and is a warm admirer and defender of its principles, in which he is thoroughly versed, and has attained the Thirty-second degree. He belongs to Astral Lodge No. 324, Bath Kol Chapter No. 94, Tancred Commandery U.D., and DeMolay Consistory No. 5. He is also identified with the G.A.R., being a member of Scofield Post at Miles.

From an old, yellow, carefully-preserved, and time-worn record in ancient hand writing, not easily deciphered by the modern scholar, we find that the McNeil family, as aforesaid, founded the town of Litchfield, Conn., the two brothers, besides Archibald, being Adam and Alexander. The first mentioned was the eldest, but Adam commanded the vessel which brought them over, and Alexander was a lad of about fifteen years. Archibald was accompanied by his wife and child. The latter was drowned, and the wife, Mrs. Sarah (Johnson) McNeil, was nearly so, being saved with great difficulty, having been rolled vigorously after being taken from the water. From the deed which Archibald secured for his land, it appears that in Ireland he had lived in Bronford. His land was purchased for the sum of 150 pounds sterling, and the deed was dated March 23, 1736. The property was situated on what was afterward known as East Chestnut Hill Road, about one-half mile north of Chestnut Hill school-house. There was later born to him a son, Archibald, Jr., July 17, 1738, and another one, John, born Feb. 14, 1741. These were married and had children, and one daughter, Elizabeth, was a woman of very commanding stature, being six feet in height. Archibald in due time took up his residence on the Hudson River, north of Albany it is believed. Alexander, having been captured by the British during the Revolutionary war died of poison in the Sugar House in New York City; he is recorded as having been a "very likely man." The records give the genealogy of the family through several generations, and shows them to have been people of more than ordinary intelligence.

From the three McNeil brothers, who so long ago crossed the Atlantic in their little craft and landed safely on a foreign shore, sprang descendants almost innumerable, and at least one branch of the family is now extinct. From Connecticut they emigrated to several of the other New England States, among them Vermont, and some finally drifted to New York State, and later to the farther West. They intermarried with the Baldwins, who it is believed originated in Ireland. Among the early representatives of this family was one David Baldwin, who purchased land of Benjamin Hartford, and the deed bears the date of June 5, 1733. He paid therefor the sum of 300 pounds sterling, and the land is supposed to have included a valuable mine, which, however, was probably never developed. The Baldwin family also became prominent in Connecticut, and was identified with the early history of Hartford, in which they are mentioned, as was also the McNeil family. This time-worn record, which we have already mentioned, was copied by a friend of the family from the Town Record, May 12 and 13, 1831, and was copied from the town record of Hartford by Mrs. Mary Jones, of Litchfield, a relative of the McNeils and Baldwins.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois.)