Thomas Henry McNeill1,2,3

Family Chart
ID# 1869, (1821 - 1866)
FatherMalcom McNeill4,5,6 (18 Feb 1796 - 21 Feb 1875)
MotherMartha Rivers5,6 (19 Feb 1800 - 5 Aug 1827)

Key Events:

Birth: 1 Aug 1821, Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky7,8,9
Marriage: 26 Oct 1842, Christian Co., Kentucky, Rebecca Ann Tuck (3 Oct 1824 - 22 Nov 1859)10,11
Marriage: 11 Jun 1861, Marshall Co., Mississippi, Ann Eliza Arthur (13 Jul 1833 - 3 Oct 1866)12,13
Death: 29 Nov 1866, Coahoma Co., Mississippi14,15,7,9
Burial: Boddie Family Cemetery, Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky16
ChartsDescendants of Dr. Davis Green Tuck
Descendants of David Dutt/Toot

Copyright Notice

Narrative:

     Thomas Henry McNeill was born on 1 Aug 1821 in Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky.7,8,9
     His mother died on 5 Aug 1827, when Thomas was 6 years old.17
Thomas Henry McNeill
from family portrait, property of Betty Works Fuller, a descendant of Malcom McNeill, used by permission

     He was probably the male under age 5 to 10 listed in the household of his father, Malcom McNeill, in the 1830 Federal Census of Christian Co., Kentucky.18 Thomas gave his son Thomas a parcel of 698 acres from that plantation 22 Dec 1857, leaving over 3,000 acres.19
     Thomas graduated from Yale College at the age of 18.20
     Thomas married first Rebecca Ann Tuck, daughter of Dr. Davis Green Tuck and Elizabeth M. Toot, who lived on the adjoining farm, on 26 Oct 1842 in Christian Co., Kentucky, with Sam B. White officiating.10,11
     Thomas and Rebecca settled near his father's farm, near Lafayette, Kentucky, after their marriage.20

Becoming a Mississippi Planter --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     His father had acquired large parcels of land in Mississippi, and Thomas took charge of them, becoming supposedly the largest cotton planter in the South.20
     Thomas and Rebecca seemed to have moved their family permanently to Coahoma Co., Mississippi, about 1848, as all their subsequent children were born there.
     Thomas has not been found in the 1850 or 1860 census, when they are believed to have been living in Coahoma Co., Mississippi. His holding of 24 slaves is listed on the 1850 census in Coahoma Co., Mississippi, enumerated 16 Oct 1850.21
     Thomas purchased his first land in Coahoma Co., Mississippi, on 5 Dec 1853, a section (one mile square, 644 acres) in the vicinity of his father's plantation on the Mississippi River. He bought it from the county school commissioners, paying $377 to hold it for 99 years.22 He purchased about 524 acres on the Mississippi River, on 2 Feb 1856 from Samuel B. Eason for $900.50.23
     When his wife's eldest brother, Dr. William J. Tuck, died in Memphis in 1859 leaving a library of 536 books, Thomas purchased over half of them when they were offered at auction, for $392.24
     On 22 Dec 1857 his father gave him a parcel of 698 acres fronting on the Mississippi River, adjacent to his previous purchase. The river has since changed course, and this property now is on a cutoff section called Desoto Lake.19 On 31 Dec 1857 Thomas sold all of the parcels he had accumulated in his southern plantation, including those given to him by his father a week before, to Goodloe W. Malone, for $48,625.25

Creating a New Plantation --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

To see the major impact changes in the course of the river have had on his plantations see map.

     Shortly before selling his previous properties Thomas purchased a 1,100-acre parcel about ten miles north, also fronting on the Mississippi River. He purchased the property from Henry H. Beard on 31 Mar 1857, for $33,000 with an unusual "title bond." He paid $12,000 in cash and agreed to pay the remainder in two equal annual installments. The seller wrote him 16 Dec 1859 urging him to come down and perfect his title, but no further record has been found. The title bond and the letter were finally recorded in 1870, but it is not clear by which party.26 According to family correspondence this was the site of a plantation he established called "Dogwood." The river has since changed course, and this property now is on mostly in the river, with parts now on the other side.
     By the late 1850's Thomas and his family spent winters on his plantation in Mississippi, and the fall and spring months in Memphis, Tennessee. They spent the summer months traveling. He was said to entertain his friends "in the most elaborate style."20
     His wife died on 22 Nov 1859 in Garrettsburg, Christian Co., Kentucky.27,28,29
     The 1860 Federal Census of Coahoma Co., Mississippi, enumerated 18 Apr 1860, lists 82 slaves belonging to him. It is not clear whose property they were working on, though there is some indication they were rented to someone named Boon.30
     Thomas married second Ann Eliza Arthur, daughter of William Arthur and Susannah Hill Peters, on 11 Jun 1861 in Marshall Co., Mississippi.12,13

A Brief Military Career --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---


     Thomas enlisted as a Jr. 2nd Lieutenant in Co. B, Chalmers' Battalion, Partisan Rangers on 23 Aug 1862, in Suffordville, now Lyon, Mississippi. That unit later became Co. B, 18th Battalion, Mississippi Cavalry.31 He submitted a letter of resignation, stating he was physically unable to perform the duties of the office, writing from Coahoma Co., Mississippi. His resignation was accepted 30 Jun 1863.32
     His second wife died on 3 Oct 1866.16,7
     Thomas died on 29 Nov 1866 at his plantation in Coahoma Co., Mississippi, at age 45.14,15,7,9 He was buried in the Boddie Family Cemetery, Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky.16

Children:
     Children with Rebecca Ann Tuck:

Children:
     Children with Ann Eliza Arthur:

  • William Arthur McNeill40,41,20 (17 Aug 1862 - 18 Nov 1935)
  • Alexander Chalmers McNeill4,42,41 (30 Aug 1864 - 13 Apr 1924)

Citations

  1. [S2014] Wills, Kentucky, W:501-10, will of Malcom McNeill, Mar 1875, shows name as Thomas Henry McNeill.
  2. [S3372] Anderson, "some facts," e-mail to author, 31 Mar 2008, citing Bible located at "HempHill," Christian County, KY. compiled by Margaret Metcalf McNeill Ayers, Memphis, Tennessee, shows name as Thomas Henry McNeill.
  3. [S8718] Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, pg 238, shows name as Thomsa Henry McNeill.
  4. [S2014] Wills, Kentucky, W:501-10, will of Malcom McNeill, Mar 1875.
  5. [S3372] Anderson, "some facts," e-mail to author, 31 Mar 2008, citing Bible located at "HempHill," Christian County, KY. compiled by Margaret Metcalf McNeill Ayers, Memphis, Tennessee.
  6. [S3374] Boddie and Boddie, Boddie and Allied Families, pg 137.
  7. [S3372] Anderson, "some facts," e-mail to author, 31 Mar 2008, citing Bible located at "HempHill," Christian County, KY. compiled by Margaret Metcalf McNeill Ayers, Memphis, Tennessee, shows date.
  8. [S3374] Boddie and Boddie, Boddie and Allied Families, pg 137, shows date, town, county, and state.
  9. [S2144] Meador and Meador, Cemetery Records of Southern Christian County, pg 135, shows date.
  10. [S7421] Marriage Returns, Christian Co., Kentucky, 2:45, Thomas Henry McNeill and Rebeccah A. Tuck, shows date and officant.
  11. [S8718] Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, pg 238, shows he married at age 20, adjoining farm.
  12. [S8978] Record of Marriages, Marshall Co., Mississippi, F:37, license for Thomas H McNeill and Ann E. Arthur, shows date, no return recorded.
  13. [S2144] Meador and Meador, Cemetery Records of Southern Christian County, pg 135, shows her as wife of Thomas R. [probably actually H] Mc Neill.
  14. [S1225] Anderson, "Rebecca Tuck," e-mail to author, 11 Jun 2007, shows date, Christian Co., Kentucky.
  15. [S3374] Boddie and Boddie, Boddie and Allied Families, pg 137, shows year, and at his plantation, Coahoma Co., Mississippi.
  16. [S2144] Meador and Meador, Cemetery Records of Southern Christian County, pg 135.
  17. [S3374] Boddie and Boddie, Boddie and Allied Families, pg 166.
  18. [S8967] Malcolm McNeill household, 1830 U.S. Census, Christian Co., Kentucky.
  19. [S8958] Deed Books, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, , F:904, Malcom McNeill & wife Catherine to Thomas Henry McNeill, 13 Aug 1858.
  20. [S8718] Biographical Cyclopedia of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, pg 238.
  21. [S1512] Thomas McNeil, owner, 1850 U.S. Census, Coahoma Co., Alabama, slave schedule.
  22. [S8958] Deed Books, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, , E:498-9, School Commissioners to Thomas Henry McNeill, 11 Feb 1854.
  23. [S8958] Deed Books, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, , F:387-9, Samuel B Eason to Thomas Henry McNeill, 28 Feb 1856.
  24. [S4141] Tuck, Shelby Co. Tennessee loose probate records, administrator's inventory 16 Jun 1859; and list of book sales.
  25. [S8958] Deed Books, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, , F:797-8, Thomas Henry McNeill to Goodloe W Malone, 1 Feb 1857.
  26. [S8958] Deed Books, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, , I:346, Henry H Beard to Thomas Henry McNeill, title bond, 18 Apr 1870.
  27. [S1289] Register of Deaths, Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1859, Christian Co. 1859, Rebecca A. McNeal, shows date, as 22nd, place, and residence as Mississippi.
  28. [S2144] Meador and Meador, Cemetery Records of Southern Christian County, pg 134, shows date, as 20th.
  29. [S3372] Anderson, "some facts," e-mail to author, 31 Mar 2008, citing Bible located at "HempHill," Christian County, KY. compiled by Margaret Metcalf McNeill Ayers, Memphis, Tennessee, shows date, as 20th.
  30. [S2155] T. H. McNeill, owner, 1860 U.S. Census, Coahoma Co., Mississippi, slave schedule, shows the six slaves on pg 57 as "Ret by Boon" but that notation is not carried over to those listed on pg 58.
  31. [S8979] Thomas H. McNeill, Compiled Service Records, Confederate, Mississippi, muster roll card 23 Aug 1862.
  32. [S8979] Thomas H. McNeill, Compiled Service Records, Confederate, Mississippi, Thos. Henry McNeill to Capt W. A. Goodman, ___ ___ 1863; Special Orders no. 155, 30 Jun 1863.
  33. [S4937] "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1939, 1959-1995," FamilySearch.org, record for Flora Mcneil Caruthers.
  34. [S1225] Anderson, "Rebecca Tuck," e-mail to author, 11 Jun 2007.
  35. [S2156] Ellen M. Crudup, Standard Certificate of Death.
  36. [S9186] Marriage certificates, Winnebago Co., Illinois, McNeill, Thomas H. and Nannie E. Hammond, 29 Nov 1882.
  37. [S8709] Benjamin F. McNeill, Sr., Certificate of Death.
  38. [S9323] Registration of Marriage, Milwaukee Co., Wisconsin, 112:179, no. 3389, Rivers McNeill and Ella Rebecca de Hart.
  39. [S3462] "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," FamilySearch.org, record for Rivers McNeill, citing cert. no. 1116.
  40. [S9360] William Arthur McNeill, Certificate of Death.
  41. [S3372] Anderson, "some facts," e-mail to author, 31 Mar 2008.
  42. [S3462] "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," FamilySearch.org, record for Alexander Chalmers McNiell.