Michael Neill's Genealogy Web Site

The Neills

My earliest NEILL ancestor is a John NEILL who was born ca. 1810 in Ireland and most likely lived in or around Newtown Limavady and environs in County Derry. John supposedly had more than twelve children. I only know of two, Joseph and Samuel. Samuel was my great-great-grandfather.  Some information I have already obtained follows.

Additions, corrections, and comments are welcome. I'd love to hear from relatives still in Ireland. These areas are the only ones where I have information on the NEILL family. Please do not email me about NEILLs in Virginia in 1750--I don't have the information.

From  the "Quarterly returns of Marriages 1862 Ireland  Vol.  9," LDS microfilm roll 0101440, page 375.

What  follows is an abstract. My attempts to interpret  illegible handwriting are in brackets.

On  16 January 1862 at the Derrymore Presbyterian Church,  Joseph NEIL[sic] and Ann BRYCE[sic] were married by Wm. [JAMISON?], with witnesses  of  Wm. MC INTOSH and John ARCHIBALD.  Joseph  was  of full  age  and was a bachelor who lived in [Taques] Hill  in  the parish  of Drumachose.  Joseph was a servant, and was the son  of John NEIL[sic] who was a laborer.  Ann was a spinster of full age and  was  a servant living in White [??] in the parish of  Drumachose.  Her father was James BRYCE, a laborer. 

Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871: Lists of Passengers Sailing from Londonderry to America on Ships of the J. & J. COOKE Line and the McCORKELL  Line,  Brian MITCHELL,  Genealogical  Publishing  Co., Balto., MD.  1988.

p.  158    listing of passengers who sailed to St. John  in  1864 mentions  Samuel NEILL (aged 22 from Limavady) and the family  of Joseph  NEILL (aged 26), Ann NEILL (aged 30) and Sarah Ann  NEILL (aged 1).  They were also from Limavady as well.
 

Summary

Samuel NEILL married Anne MURPHY on 9 November 1865 in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. Around 1870 both Samuel and Joseph brought their families to the West Point, Hancock County, Illinois area where the men worked for the railroad. Samuel (according to family tradition) worked until he had enough capital to purchase a farm. Both men died in the early 1900s and they and their wives are buried in the West Point, Illinois, Cemetery. My great-grandparents, Charlie and Fannie (RAMPLEY) NEILL are buried in this cemetery as are my grandparents, Cecil and Ida (TRAUTVETTER) NEILL. Charlie and Fannie lived in the West Point area most of their life. My grandparents moved to a farm near Carthage, Illinois in the late 1930s--a half-mile from where I grew up.

Email: michaeln2@winco.net