Notes
Note for: Sarah J. Neal, 1862 -
"Sarah J. Neal, b) 1862. Simply I have no further information on Sarah."
Chester Miller's Neal book
Notes
Note for: Daniel Neal, 1785 -
"Daniel Neal 1785-1864
This Daniel Neal is my g.g.g. grandfather. He was born in Bedford Co.,
Va., not far from Lone Pine Mountain, either on waters of Oslin or
Sycamore Creek. The year was 1785.
He was the son of Walter Neal (or O'Neal)and his mother was Winifred
(Wood) Neal. She was the daughter of John and Agnes (_____?)Wood. The
paternal grandfather of Daniel Neal was also the Daniel Neal (or O'Neal)
and had died in Bedford County about the time that the grandson was
fifteen years old.
Of a family of ten children he was the 7th child.
When about nine years old Daniel's parents moved to Greenbrier County,
Virginia, to the vicinity of Little Mountain and Peters Mountain and
secured three plots of land that were drained by Tukey and Dropping Lick
Creeks, both of which flow into Indian Creek, a branch of Greenbrier
river. The area about 1798-99 where Walter Neal lived became separated
from Greenbrier County and was given the name of Monroe County, with
Union as the County Seat, which it still is. During the time of the
Civil War the state of West Virginia took over this area within its
boundary.
Daniel's father died when he was about sixteen. His father had been a
cooper by trade.
The tradition of the Neal family has it that our Daniel traveled to far
places.
In December of 1810 in Stokes County, N> C., we have a Daniel Neal being
married to Lydia Banks, supposedly the daughter of John and Agatha
[Aggie] (Harmon) Banks.
In 1820 census Daniel was living back in Monroe County, Virginia, with
two boys and three girls. These children were (according to family
records) Polly, born 1811; Delilah, born 1813; Fannie, born 1816; John,
born 1817; and Charles, born 1819. The 1850 and/or 1860 census show the
first four named children to have been born in North Carolina. So
evidently Daniel had not been in Monroe County long when the census of
1820 was taken. We have proof that Walter and Andrew were born while
they were living in the state of Virginia.
Daniel's son William claims Ohio as his birthplace and the rest of his
children also. William was born in 1824. In 1826 Daniel had been on the
tax list of Aid Township of Lawrence County and was taxed for one horse
and two cows, but a note said that he was moving out of County. In 1827
he was taxed in Walnut Township of Gallia County, and still there in 1830
for the census with six boys and four girls.
At the beginning of 1833 (Feb.) he witnessed a deed in Aid Township of
Lawrence and the same year paid chattel tax, and seems that in this
township he finished out his life. In three succeeding decades, 1840,
1850, 1860 when the census was taken he was in Aid Township.
Thomas A. Walton, a noted chronicler of people, places, and events, in
collecting data for the area, spoke of Daniel Neal as being a farmer and
trader among the iron furnaces that were in Lawrence Co. He said that
the Neals generally were thrifty and hard workers.
I have proof of the above to substantiate what was said. Daniel Neal
obtained land by purchase and trade. He got some Congress land in
section four of Aid Township. He also sold quite a bit of land to
neighbors, one farm to a grandson named Daniel Woolum, and two farms to
Enoch he gave in the following way:
"on condition his son Enoch would give good care maintenance, and
medical needs to himself,
Daniel, and his wife, Lydia, during their natural lives, then the
stipulated land would belong to
Enoch, his heirs and assigns forever." Another document gave Enoch
the livestock, household
furnishing, farm implements, etc. for the same reason". These
deeds and documents were made,
witnessed, and signed. The date 2 Apr 1863. It was recorded 16
Dec 1864.
This above was in place of a will, I suppose. Of course the children are
not named. Enoch is mentioned, and John signed one of the documents as a
witness. The above can be found in Vol. 22: pages 436, 437 of Deed Books
of Lawrence Co., OH.
Daniel and Lydia had some twelve children but not all of them grew up to
have families of their own. However, he has descendants that number into
more than a thousand.
Other things about him of interest.
When he moved to the Gallia-Lawrence County area in Ohio covering four
adjoining townships of Walnut and Greenfield in Gallia, and Symmes and
Aid in Lawrence he had a host of relatives: a mother, two brothers, four
sisters, with about seventy-five or more nephews and nieces. Many former
neighbors from Monroe County, Virginia also lived nearby.
In his character of being a horsetrader he must not have been too careful
with the whole truth about what he sold for I find his own brother taking
him to task before a local J.P. with a suit for a horse that had been
misrepresented.
Daniel Neal was patriotic. At the opening of the Civil War Daniel Neal
took an active part. There was a meeting held in the area of Aid and
Symmes Townships at the home of Samuel Burk. It was on May 2, 1861.
Samuel Burk acted as president of the meeting, T. M. Smith as sec'y and
eight vice-presidents were mentioned; among them were Geo. Irvin, Daniel
Neal, and Robert Day. Patriotic speeches were made. Twenty six young
men volunteered for the war. A homeguard was set up of sixty-three men
and officers were elected. Dan Neal had sons, sons-in-law, and grandsons
that served on the Union side.
Lydia Neal, Daniel's wife, who was she?
I, a descendant, have conflicting reports about who she was. What I
heard that Joe Stewart, a great nephew of Daniel had said that Dan Neal
had married Libby Tuckahoe who had a large content of Indian blood in
her. From the Woolum family, descended from Dan Neal, I have a letter
that the father of Jacob Woolum, who married Fannie Neal the daughter of
Dan Neal, that he, Daniel Woolum had married an Indian squaw, moved onto
Aarons Creek (in Aid Township) and reared a family of a dozen children.
I believe the story is one with wires crossed up. There is no record of
an old Daniel Woolum living on Aarons Creek with a dozen children--no
census, no tax records--to give validity to this last.
Further, Thomas A. Walton, writing family histories of Aid Township said
that Daniel Neal had married Lydia Syar, daughter of Enoch Syar. This
was written about 1880 and published later in the Ironton Register.
I spent years hunting for the truth of this. I had these facts to go
on. The wife of Daniel Neal was given as Lydia in two census; and
several deeds bear her name in connection with land sales made by her
husband, and her name is given as Lydia. Further she was born in N.C.
ca. 1788.
I made a trip to Stokes and Rockingham Counties hunting for Neals of
Bedford County, Va. extraction. I knew that Elizabeth Neal who married
Francis Steel was in Stokes County. Elizabeth was aunt to the Dan Neal
of this sketch. I found the Steel family established, owning land, and
living on Snow Creek in Stokes County, N.C. On 7 Nov 1810 Andrew Steel
(cousin to Dan Neal above) married Beutha Banks. About two months later
on 5 Dec 1810 a Daniel Neal married Lydia Banks. Same county as the
other marriage.
Now is this the proper and same Lydia Neal who was wife to my forefather?
What about her being a squaw? What about her being Lydia Syar daughter
of Enoch Syar? To further complicate matters, from some 20 or 30 miles
away from Snow Creek on Mayo Mountain I found, for the first and only
time, a mention of the name Enoch Syar. It was in the year 1784. The
spelling was given as Enuch Sier, and he had acted as a witness to a land
sale. Deed is recorded in Rockingham County, N. C. The children of
Daniel Neal for the first four, all born in North Carolina, were Polly
born 1811; Delilah born 1813; Fannie born 1816, and John born 181?. So I
still wonder or ask 'Who was Lydia Neal'?
I believe that they both died about 1864. They were alive in 1860 and
gone before census of 1870. In 1863 they gave two tracts of land to
their son Enoch on condition that he care for them until death. Enoch
Neal had the deeds recorded 16 Dec 1864. I believe that his obligation
was fulfilled by this time and that they had recently died. I believe
that their burial place is what is known as the Dinnen cemetery. The
cemetery is located in sec.4, of Aid Township and is either on land or
adjoining land that Daniel Neal owned. There are many unmarked graves in
the cemetery and the son of Daniel Neal to whom he gave land for his care
and maintenance (Enoch Neal) is buried there with members of his family
and former neighbors of Daniel Neal are buried there also. Further it is
the cemetery that is nearest to where both Daniel Neal, when alive, and
his son Enoch lived.
The list of Daniel Neal's children I have from different sources. First
from Thomas A. Walton who was writing around the year 1880 and later, but
which was published after 1900 in the Ironton register. Thomas Walton
gives the names of some of the children and grandchildren of Dan Neal.
Then I have the mention of Joseph Stewart, dead some years back, but was
from a Brother's family to Daniel Neal--he was a grand-nephew of Dan.
Then from the descendants of Enoch Neal a Bible record was found that
named the children; and also a man that around 1930 was doing genealogy
on the Neal family. His name was Homer Maddy. He lived in Huntington,
W.VA. He was a Neal descendant. His brother and sister had married two
of Dan Neal's grandchildren, furnished a list of children of this
family. They were: Mary (Polly), Delilah, Fannie, John, Charles,
Walter, Andrew, William, Enoch, Rachel, Martha Jane, and Daniel Jr. The
first five were born in N.C., the next two in VA; and the rest in Ohio.
Statistics, such as I have, for each of the children will now
follow--They cover from E-49 through E-60 for the last."
From Chester I. Miller's book "Neals of Bedford Co., Virginia and family
of Walter Neal, Sr. of Lawrence and Gallia Counties, Ohio"