The McNeel Family Record Descendants of Pioneer John McNeel and Martha Davis of Pocahontas County, West Virginia 1765-1967 BY BETSY JORDAN EDGAR m McCLAIN PRINTING COMPANY PARSONS, WIST VIRGINIA 24287 1967 / PIONEER JOHN McNEEL This book is dedicated to DR. JOHN 0. McNEEL, DR. HARRY HANDLEY and the many people who supplied information, material and have shown an interest in saving these records for future gener­ ations. FOREWORD No geanealogy or family record is complete and this is no exception. Material for a geanealogy comes from such sources that it is almost im­ possible to be without errors. The principal sources from which this material was obtained was Court House Records, Newspapers, Reference Books, old family Bibles, public records, documents, Church Records, Grave stones and information remembered by family members. For many years D. John 0. McNeel was interested in family history. About 1952 he started researching and collecting records about The Pioneer John Mc Neel family. Much effort and time was spent corresponding with people connected with the different branches of the family. Others who were interested in the McNeel family records supplied him with any mater­ ial they had available. A cousin, Dr. Harry Handley was collecting and compiling records at the same time. Dr. McNeel and Dr. Handley traded information to be used in their own collections. Dr. McNeel had collected about 13 notebooks full of material before his death. When Mrs. Edgar came to live in Hillsboro and later in "The Brick House" or better known & referred to in this book as "Mt. Airy", her in­ terest in family history was encouraged by her father-in-law, the late George P. Edgar. He helped her to compile much of the material found in the Abram & Isaac McNeel branches. She did further research in family records at Court House, Cemeteries, etc. When Dr. McNeel's notes were made available to her she decided to attempt to put all the material available together and preserve in permanent form, for future generations of the Pioneer John Mc Neel ancestors. The Author feels her work is inferrior to what Dr. John McNeel would have done. She would like to have worked with him to help put the material in a permanent form. Since this was impossible, she has done the best she could by putting the book together in her own style, using material she had collected and that which Dr. Mc Neel left. There will be mistakes in spelling, typing and the accuracy in names, dates, etc. For this the author would like to apoligize. She has done most of the work herself. In order to place this book before those people in­ terested in the Pioneer John Mc Neel Family Records, the author has agreed to pay the ·cost of printing this book and do all that is necessary to place it in the hands of the family and other interested persons at as little cost as possible. In order to keep expense at a minimum she did her own typing. A proof reader wasn't available, so she did the best she could by checking the work herself, therefore, mistakes did slip through. This book is based on the material Dr. John O. McNeel worked so hard col­ lecting from 1952 to 195 7. These notes were not easy to read, some of the people were not known by the author, therefore she had to use what was be­ fore her and do the best she could with it. Many times she questioned some of the material. Not all branches are complete but they have been followed through as thoroughly and completely as possible. A satisfactory plan for writing a genealogy or family tree has never been de­ vised, unless the idea of the tree itself be employed. For a family the size of The McNeel's, that would be impossible. With a "tree" the whole thing is in sight at one time, and there the various branches easily traced back to the parent root. When the tree can not be used, a more or less cumbersome plan must be used. That will usually cause difficulty tracing either forward or backward. The author examined many books of genealogy or family rec­ ord and none of them seemed to suit. There was either too much detail or not enough. She decided to use a table of Content plan. However, on page 409 is a Cross Reference and generation breakdown, which is similar to the family tree. In compiling these records, the author did not go into detail on the subject matter, but made comments briefly where information was available. Ref­ erences are given where sources of data are available. HOW TO USE YOUR BOOK This book is made into four sections: 1st section - Nancy McNeel - married Richard Hill 2nd section - Miriam McNeel - married John Jordan 3rd section - Abram McNeel - married 1st Margaret Lamb 2nd Elizabeth Bridger 3rd Magdalen Kelly (Haynes) 4th section - Isaac McNeel - married Rachel McKeever 2nd Ann "Annie" Seybert At the beginning of each section you will find listed in the form of a table of Content, the children of the Couple concerned and the page on which they can be located. Throughout the book these names will appear with 5 asterisk's (*****) above their name, thus making it a little easier to locate the branch you are interested in. Each of their children are made into sections, listing each of their children and who they married, the page number listed at the right, thus breaking down 2 generations. If you look for the branch you are interested in at the beginning of each section and find the page number you will find the book more easily used. In the back of the book is an alphabetical list of names showing the page or pages on which they may be found. The married person is listed under her maiden name. Due to time and expense involved this is not a complete in­ dex. If you do not find the name you are interested in, look for the parent name or a brother or sister. The index is not in alphabetical order where the given name is concerned, just the family name. Having located in the index the name of the person whose ancestry you wish to trace, turn to the page number indicated and find there the name of the person. Having found the name of the person whose ancestry you desire to trace and you want to determine the page number where the parent's record is located, turn to the Cross Reference and Generation Breakdown, page 409. Locate the page number on which the persons name was found and in the column labeled "Parent Page" you will find the page number you desire for the parents. Continue in this manner until the desired information is found. The Cross Reference and Generation Breakdown located in the back of the book can also be used to determine the generation the person you are interest­ ed in belongs. On pages 463, 464 and 465 are located blank pages to record future informa­ tion. Dr. John Osborne McNeel Dr. John Osborne McNeel 1908 - 1957. Born at Mill Point, W. Va. A graduate of Washington & Lee Uni­ versity and the University of Virginia, School of Med­ icine. Served as Director of Student Health at the University of Virginia. During World War II, he served in the National Geodetic Survey made by the Coast Guard. Later he joined the University of Virginia Unit of the 8th Evacuation Hospital, serving in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Austria. He held the rank of Major. After the war he practiced medicine in Marlinton and Lewis­ burg, W. Va. Was associated with the Puget Sound Medical Cooperative, Seattle, Washington, and the La­ bor Health Institute of St. Louis, Mo. Betsy Jordan Edgar Born in Marlinton, W. Va. A daughter of Robert Samuel Jordan and Flora May Moore. Attended Com­ mercial School. Worked as Secretary. Wife of Thomas Callison Edgar, has two children, George Thomas and Martha Irene Edgar. Mrs. Edgar and her family live at "Mt. Airy" the homeplace of the Col. Paul McNeel family. Mr. Edgar is a great-grandson to Col. Paul McNeel. This book was written in what was known as the "Front Parlor" in the "Brick House", also known as "Mt. Airy". Mrs. Edgar's first book, "Our House, the birthplace of Pearl S. Buck", was written about the house her husband and his sisters spent part of their childhood in and Pearl S. Buck, the famous novelist, was born in. CONTENTS Page Beginning - McNeel Family Record 1 SECTION 1 - Contents 2A Nancy McNeel & Richard Hill 2B 2C SECTION II - Contents lllA Miriam (Phoebe) McNeel ~ John Jordan 171B SECTION III - Contents 238A Abram McNeel & 1st Margaret Lamb 238B 2nd Elizabeth Bridger 3rd Magdalen Kelly (Haynes) SECTION N - Contents 274A Isaac McNeel & Rachel McKeever 274B 274C Summation - McNeel, McNeal, McNeil 401 Cross Reference & Generation Breakdown & 409 Corrections Blank Pages - Death Record 463 Marriage Record 464 Birth Record 465 Index 466 1 McNEEL FAMILY RECORD JOHN McNEEL (Pioneer of Pocahontas County) JOHN McNEE L - born 1745 - died 1825 Married - Martha Davis - born 1743 - died 1830 6 children Nancy McNeel - born 21 June 1769 - died 10 Dec. 1861 Abraham McNeel - born 11 May 1767 - died 15 April 1826 Miriam McNeel - born 1776 - died 8 Dec 1851 Martha McNeel Isaac McNeel - born 23 Oct 1775 - died 31 Dec 1832 Unnamed Infant Note: John McNeel was the first settler in The Little Levels by permanent settle­ ment. He was a native of Frederick County, Virginia but lived much of his life in Cumberland, Maryland.