Henry Clay McNeill

Narrative:

     Henry Clay McNeill was born on 4 Oct 1845.^6,7
     He moved to Coahoma Co., Mississippi, with his parents about 1848. The family has not been found in the 1850 or 1860 census, when they are believed to have been living there.¹⁸
     His mother died on 22 Nov 1859, when Henry was 14 years old.^19,20,21
     He generally used the nickname Harry, even in formal matters.^22,23,24

Joining the Confederate Army --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Henry enlisted as a private in Co. K, 9th Mississippi Volunteers on 27 Mar 1861, at Camp DeSoto, DeSoto Co., Mississippi, for a period of eight months 27 days. He is recorded as present with that unit as late as Oct 1861.²⁵
     He then joined Co. B, Chalmers' Battalion, Mississippi Sharp Shooters. He was a 3rd lieutenant, then commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant 23 Jun 1862. Confederate sharpshooter units functioned as light infantry, with duties including skirmishing and reconnaissance. He was discharged by Dec 1862.^26,27
     He enlisted 16 Apr 1863, at Panola, Mississippi, as a private in Co. D, Chalmers' Battalion, Mississippi Cavalry. This company later became part of the 18th Mississippi Cavalry. No further record of his service with that unit has been found.²⁸ There is however, record of H. C. McNeal, also shown as J. T. McNeal, a sargeant major in Co. B of the 18th Mississippi Cavalry, being captured at Bolivar Co., Mississippi, 19 Feb 1865. It seems most likely that his was Henry. He was received at Memphis 24 Feb, sent to Vicksburg for exchange 12 Mar, and returned to Confederate forces 16 Mar 1865.²⁹

Establishing Himself in Chicago --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Henry moved to Chicago by 1870, when he was living at 333 Wabash Ave. and working as a salesman for Ross & Gossage, a dry goods company.³⁰
     When the Great Chicago fire started 8 Oct 1871 Henry and his younger brother Thomas, who was attending school in the city, were boarding together. They slept until the fire was nearby, then left so hurriedly that they lost some of their clothes.³¹
     By 1873 he was working as a bookkeeper for J. M. Marshall, a real estate agent who handled the Chicago real estate investments of Henry's grandfather Malcom McNeill, at 124 South Clark. By the following year the firm was known as J. M. Marshall & Co., with Henry's name listed in the city directory as part of the firm.³²
     Henry married Eva A. Smith, daughter of Albert B. Smith and Roxana Willard, on 17 Feb 1873 in Warwick, New York, at the residence of Col. John Kenwick, with Rev. J. E. Nassau officiating.^8,9
     It appears that Henry and Eva initially boarded at the Gardner House, at the corner of Michigan Ave and Jackson, after they married.³³ By 1876 they had moved to a house at 360 South Park Ave.³⁴
     Henry was named an heir in the will of Malcom McNeill, his grandfather, dated 8 Nov 1873 in Christian Co., Kentucky, to receive, shared with his eight siblings, the northern part of his plantation in Christian Co., an 11½ acre lot in Memphis two miles outside that city, to be sold rented or divided as the executors thought proper, and the rents on five lots in Chicago. One of them had a four story house, one was vacant, and three which had houses before the great 1871 fire which were to be rebuilt by him or his executor, and the other half of the lot left to his aunt Martha. Title to these lots was to be given to the then living siblings when the youngest of them reached the age of 21, but not to any who had sold their interest before then.^35,36 In addition, he was to receive with his eight siblings, 6½ square miles (about 4,160 acres) of land in Coahoma Co., Mississippi. The executors were to sell, rent, or do what they thought best with it in the interests of the children, with any proceeds to be divided equally between them. He was also to receive his grandfather's large gold watch seal.³⁶
     Henry left the firm of J. M. Marshall & Co. by 1874, and went into the real estate business on his own, at in 133 LaSalle St.³⁷

A Less than Successful Subdivision in Evanston --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     In partnership with Henry M. Payne, Henry subdivided an 80-acre parcel on the northwest edge of Evanston. They offered 300 lots for sale at auction on 4 Jun 1874. According to an advertisement for the auction the site had been improved "at considerable expense," graded and sewered, roads and sidewalks built, and "numbers of fine trees planted in profusion." The sale took place on the property, and a special free train was offered to carry bidders from downtown Chicago.³⁸
     That subdivision, or at least a part of it, was known as "McNeill's addition to Evanston," a term still used in legal descriptions of property within it. The sale was attended by a large number of purchasers and spectators, but "the bidding was such as to not encourage the sellers to put up the entire property." A total of 43 lots were sold, for a total of $20,450.³⁹
     On 6 Jul 1874 he wrote his grandfather, thanking him for returning the interest payment he had sent, and returning (canceling) a note apparently representing a loan he had received from his grandfather. In the letter he said he had bought the property with little cash, borrowing the rest for the land and to lay sidewalks, plant trees, and build four houses. He said he had repaid $7,000 of those loans from sales. But he reported the outlook was not good: "Times are dull and no sales, if times were good I could sell out my investment at a large profit, but as things are, I have to sell low in order to meet some payments."⁴⁰
     On 10 Jul 1874 Henry mortgaged four lots in his subdivision on the outskirts of Evanston to secure a loan of $3,000, at 10% interest.²² He defaulted on a payment due 1 Jul 1875, and trustee foreclosed and sold the lots at the "most westerly of the north doors of the building occupied as a Court House" in Chicago.⁴¹
     His grandfather had sold his 3,000-acre Lake Charles Plantation, in Coahoma Co., Mississippi, some years prior, but the buyer defaulted on the mortgage, and he re-purchased it at auction a few days before his death 21 Feb 1875. Since he had not owned it when he wrote his will the will contained no provision for it, so it passed to his 17 grandchildren under the clause dealing with estate not "willed away." Henry thus received a 1/17th undivided interest in the plantation.⁴²
     On 2 Sep 1876 Henry and his wife gave his brother Malcom, who was executor of their grandfather's estate, a deed of trust to secure orders against Henry's inheritance from the estate. There were five orders, to four individuals, dated from 20 May 1875 to 28 Jul 1876, for a total of $4,860. The deed of trust included all the property he was to inherit. Although no record of his repaying the orders has been found, he apparently did as he later sold his rights to those properties.⁴³
     His business was located at 128 Clark by 1876.⁴⁴ By 1877 he had moved his business to 224 Clark St., a building owned by him and his siblings and where his brother Malcom also had offices.⁴⁵
     Henry was the defendant in a number of lawsuits in Chicago in the late 1870's in which he "confessed," that is agreed he owed, a sum of money. Most were for a few hundred dollars, but in a case in Aug 1877 he agreed he owed $17,677. The plaintiff in this case was Willard A. Smith, one of those he had issued an order to against his inheritance in 1875.⁴⁶

Disappearing from Sight --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     He was a clerk working at 123 Archer Ave., Chicago, by 1878. No further record of his occupation has been found. Copies of Chicago city directories for 1878 to 1881 cannot be found, and he was not listed in the 1882 issue.⁴⁷
     It seems likely Henry and Eva were divorced though no record of a divorce has been found. The 1878 city directory suggests they were separated, showing them boarding at separate locations. Neither of them has been found in the 1880 census. An 1876 deed of trust related to his inheritance from his grandfather includes her as a grantor, but deeds in 1883 related to that inheritance do not list her. She is not mentioned in the obituaries found for him.^10,11,12,13
     Henry sold his one-ninth interest in the northern half of his grandfather's plantation in Christian Co., Kentucky, which he had left to him and his siblings, to his brother Malcom on 12 Mar 1883, for $400.⁴⁸ The next day he sold to Malcom his one-ninth interest in their grandfather's 4,100-acre property west of Clarksdale, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, for $300⁴⁹, and his one-seventeenth interest in his grandfather's 3,000-acre Lake Charles Plantation on the Mississippi River, in Bolivar and Coahoma Co., Mississippi, for $500.⁵⁰
     Henry died on 1 Oct 1883 in Louisville, Jefferson Co., Kentucky, at age 37, at the residence of William C. Kendrick. He was in Louisville to visit his cousin Rev. Dr. Rivers.^14,15,16 He was buried on 3 Oct 1883 in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, in the lot of his brother, Malcom.¹⁷
     Henry died intestate (without leaving a will) and letters of administration for his estate were issued on 29 Jan 1884 in Cook Co., Illinois. to Daniel Goodwin, Jr., after he posted a $20,000 bond. The case was filed by Arthur O. Slaughter, a creditor, who stated the estate did not exceed $10,000.⁵¹