Malcom M. McNeill

Narrative:

     Malcom M. McNeill was born on 14 Oct 1846 in "Hemphill", Lafayette, Christian Co., Kentucky.^8,9,10 He was known as by some in the family Malcom Jr. to distinguish him from his paternal grandfather, not from his father. After the death of his grandfather he was generally know simply as Malcom.¹
     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.²¹
     His mother died on 22 Nov 1859, when Malcom was 13 years old.^22,23,24

Military Service --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Malcom was a Confederate soldier, but records of his service are scant. He supposedly enlisted at age 16, but no muster rolls of his unit survive for his period of service. He does appear, as a private in Co. B, 18th Regiment Mississippi Cavalry, in a report dated 8 Mar 1865.^25,26,27
     Malcom was promoted to sargent in Company L by May, when he was surrendered with his unit at Citronelle, Alabama, 4 May 1865.²⁸ He was paroled at Grenada, Mississippi, 18 May 1865.²⁸
     Malcom married first Eliza M. Burke, daughter of John M. Burke and Mourning M. Pledger, on 19 Sep 1869 in Garner Station, Yalobusha Co., Mississippi, with Rev. George P. Richardson officating.^11,12
     Malcom and Eliza appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Coffeeville, Yalobusha Co., Mississippi, enumerated 12 Aug 1870, reporting real estate valued at $425. They were apparently living near her parents, as they are listed as adjacent households.²⁹
     He was a retail merchant in Mississippi.^30,31

His Grandfather's Will --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Malcom 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.^32,4 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 gold shirt collar button.⁴
     Malcom was named an executor in his grandfather's will, along with his cousin Malcolm Caruthers, and John Boddie Crudup, husband of his sister Ellen.⁴
     On 1 Jan 1874 Malcom's father-in-law, John M. Burke, gave him 138 acres of land in Coahoma Co., Mississippi. Five days later Malcom sold that land, except for one acre around the home of one Hulbert, for $5,000 to Susan E. Wall, wife of Henry Wall, of Coahoma Co.³³
     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." Malcom thus received a 1/17th undivided interest in the plantation.³⁴

Moving to Chicago to Execute His Grandfather's Estate --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Malcom and Eliza moved to Chicago about 1876, when they were living at 86 Lincoln Ave.³⁵ They moved to 418 N State St. by the following year.³⁶
     It appears that Malcom established himself in Chicago before the family moved there. The 1875 city directory lists him with offices at 224 Clark St., one of the properties owned by his grandfather's estate, but shows no residence address. It is clear that he moved there to manage the estate as exector. While he was only one of three named executors, he clearly took the leading role. His brother-in-law, John Boddie Crudup, lived in North Carolina and apparently never took an active role. His cousin Malcolm Caruthers did soon after move to Chicago, but he later claimed that he did not take any substantial part in managing the estate either.³⁷
     The executors were responsible for renting, selling, or dividing a lot in Memphis, and large parcels of land in Mississippi, which had been left Malcom and his siblings, and the 3,000-acre Lake Charles Plantation in Mississippi which had been left to all 17 grandchildren. But their major responsibility was managing the dozen properties in downtown Chicago which they were to hold in trust until the various devisees reached specified ages. They were charged with renting those properties which had been re-built since the fire of 1871, and using the proceeds to re-build on the others.
     Under their grandfather's will, Malcolm Caruthers was to receive title to two lots in Chicago when he reached age 30. When he reached that age in May 1878 he asked the executors to deed him the property, but the other executors said they still needed the rents on it to rebuild other properties as directed in the will. On 23 Sep 1878 he brought suit in Circuit Court to compel them to deed the property to him, claiming it was worth $100,000, and brought annual rents of $2,500.³⁸ On 22 Feb 1879 the judge ruled that the provision granting title took presence.³⁹ The decision was appealed, and the Appellate Court reversed the decree of the Circuit Court. Malcolm Caruthers appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which on 3 Feb 1881 reversed the Appellate Court decision, thus affirming the lower court's finding.⁴⁰
     On 18 Apr 1881 Malcolm Caruthers again filed suit against the other executors. He stated that he had taken little or no part in administering the estate, and since his first suit in Sep 1878 John Boddie Crudup and Malcom M. McNeill had acted alone as executors. He complained that no accounting had been made of the estate, and questions were likely arise about the education of the children, the erection of buildings, etc., and therefore he asked to be relieved of his position as trustee. No record has been found of the outcome of the suit.⁴¹
     Malcom and Eliza moved to 118 Oakley Ave., Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, about 1879.⁴²
     Eliza died on 5 Jun 1880 at 118 Oakley Ave., Chicago, Illinois.^43,44,45
     Malcom appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, at 118 South Oakley St., enumerated 11 Jun 1880. His children Flora, Stella, Malcom, Willie and Thomas were listed as living with him, as was a 24-year old housekeeper.³

Consolidating His Siblings' Inheritances --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Under the terms of their grandfather's will, Malcom and his eight siblings as a group received title to several of his properties after his death in 1875. Before long some of them started selling their interests to others. For the north part of his Christian Co., Kentucky, plantation, at first Malcom was the purchaser, accumulating six of the nine shares by Mar 1883, but then he began to sell his shares to Benjamin and Alexander. Malcom bought her share from his sister Flora and her husband on 17 May 1878, for $888.88⁴⁶ and the share of his brother Thomas on 13 Mar 1881, for $350.⁴⁷ He bought the share his sister Ellen from her and her husband on 8 Jun 1882, for $400⁴⁸, the share of his brother Rivers on 10 Mar 1883, for $500⁴⁹ and the share of his brother Henry on 12 Mar 1883, for $400.⁵⁰ Malcom sold two and one half of his six shares to his brother Benjamin on 21 Mar 1883, for $1,500.⁵¹ He bought the share of his brother William on 3 Nov 1883, for $500.⁵² He then sold his remaining four and one half shares to his brothers Alexander and Benjamin on 3 Aug 1886, for $3,500.⁵³
     Malcom also bought the shares of his siblings in their grandfather's 4,100-acre property west of Clarksdale, Coahoma Co., Mississippi. He bought from his sister Ellen and her husband her share on 8 Jun 1882, for $500.⁵⁴ He bought each of their one-ninth interests from his brothers Benjamin and Rivers on 2 Jan 1883, for $1,600⁵⁵ and the share of his brother Thomas on 2 Jan 1883, for $800⁵⁶ and the share of his brother Henry on 13 Mar 1883, for $300.⁵⁷ Malcom bought from his sister Flora and her husband her share on 8 Dec 1883, for $800.⁵⁸ He bought the share of his brother Alexander on 13 Dec 1883, for $800.⁵⁹ Now holding the entire interest in the property, on 15 Nov 1887 Malcom sold about 1,400 acres of it to James C. Arrington and Joseph R. Woolin for $8,500. No record has been found of what became of the rest of it.⁶⁰
     In 1882 Malcom began purchasing from his siblings their one-seventeenth interests in their grandfather's 3,000-acre Lake Charles Plantation on the Mississippi River, in Bolivar and Coahoma Co., Mississippi. On 14 Oct 1882 he bought his brother Thomas's share for $1,000.⁵⁶ On 2 Jan 1883 Malcom bought each of their one-seventeenth interests, and that if their sister Ellen which they had previously purchased, from his brothers Benjamin and Rivers on 2 Jan 1883, for $3,000⁶¹ and the share of his brother Henry on 13 Mar 1883, for $500.⁶² Malcom bought her share from his sister Flora and her husband on 13 Mar 1883, for $1,000⁶³ and the share of his brother Alexander on 5 Oct 1883, for $1,000.⁶⁴ On 18 Oct 1883 Malcom sold his one-seventeenth interest and those of his seven siblings that he had purchased to John W. Eldridge for $6,000.⁶⁵ Malcom bought the share of his brother William on 3 Nov 1883, for $1,000⁶⁶ and sold it on 22 Feb 1884 to Eldridge for $850.⁶⁷
     Malcom married second Willie M. Gilmore, daughter of George W. Gilmore and Carolina F. Jones, on 20 Jun 1883 in Grenada, Grenada Co., Mississippi, with Rev. J. C. Caruthers officiating. She was the best friend of his first wife, who, according to family lore, had asked him on her death bed to marry her so their children would have a loving mother.^13,14,15

Contesting His Aunt's Will --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Malcom seems to have taken the lead in filing a contest to the will of his mother's sister, Sarah, on 20 Oct 1883. He was joined by his brothers, his sisters and their husbands, his mother's brother Richard, her sister Elizabeth, and her husband. The contest was based on the grounds that she was "of weak mind" when she made the will, and was "unduly influenced," a standard basis for such claims. After the executors made the customary responses, the case was sent to Circuit Court 9 Feb 1884 to determine the validity of the will.⁶⁸ The case was tried before a jury in early 1885. There was extensive testimony from over 40 witnesses, including several of Sarah's siblings, neighbors, servants, doctors, lawyers, and others. The jury rendered a verdict on 7 Feb 1885 that upheld the will.^69,70 The contestants appealed the decision of the Circuit Court, and the case was heard in the Apr 1886 term of Tennessee Supreme Court. The record of the lower court proceedings, 1,302 handwritten pages, bound into a volume some five inches thick, cost the contestants $195 to produce. The decision of the Supreme Court has not been found, but it appears it confirmed lower court's decision, as the beneficiaries specified in the will eventually received their legacies.^71,70

Expanding His Real Estate Empire --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     By 1885 Malcom had been joined in the real estate business by his younger brother Benjamin, when they had offices at 113 Adams St.^72,73
     The Chicago properties left to Malcom and his siblings by their grandfather were held in trust for them under the terms of the will until the youngest of them, Alexander, reached age 21 in Aug 1885. The eight surviving siblings (Henry having died in the meantime) then took title as a group. They shortly agreed on a plan to divide the properties into two groups. Rivers, Thomas and Ellen were given title to some properties, including 201- 203 South Clark St., by deed on 16 Nov 1885. In exchange, all the other Chicago properties, and $96,115.36 in cash, were received by Flora, Malcom, Benjamin, William and Alexander. What the five of them did with those properties after that has not been found.^74,75
     On 30 Dec 1885 Malcom, Alexander, and William had a license to incorporate the Argyle Company, with a capital stock of $135,000, to build and maintain apartment houses in Chicago. In Jan 1886 they announced the construction of the Argyle Apartment House on the northwest corner of Jackson St. and Michigan Ave. fronting on the lake. The building was to be seven stories high, with two large restaurants on the first floor, and flats with very large rooms above. The second and third floors were to have suites of three rooms, especially adapted to the needs of bachelors, including bathrooms, storerooms, and a wine cellar. They also announced the building of the Pickwick Apartments, a six-story building on the southeast corner of Michigan Ave. and 12th St.^76,77

The World's Pastime Exposition --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     The board of directors of the World's Pastime Exposition, an attraction planned for the grounds of a failed resort at Cheltanham Beach, on the lakeshore south of Chicago, elected Malcom as president on 22 Apr 1886.⁷⁸
     The formal opening of the World's Pastime Exposition was on 3 Jul 1886. It is difficult to judge it's success because the contemporaneous reviews were so mixed. The weekly newspaper from Newton, Kansas, reads like a press release from the sponsors, which it may have been. It declared that it "was in every way a pronounced success," continuing that 20,000 people had arrived by noon. It reported that the railroad and lake steamship companies had arranged to transport 100,000 people there, and it was expected that number will have arrived by nightfall. It mentioned an opening address by the "Hon. Malcom McNeill" shortly after two o'clock, followed by speeches by Chicago mayor Carter H. Harrison "and other prominent speakers."⁷⁹
     A Chicago newspaper was much less impressed. Its report mentions "a showy little frame hotel which is three parts veranda and one part beer bars; a few short dusty walks leading nowhere; a big barn-like structure, in which are displayed some bicycles, some paper lanterns, a glass blower, some soda fountains, some stalls of photographs and fancy knick-knacks, a few cheap painting, and a lot of bunting." It reported the opening exercise which were to begin at 2:00 pm were delayed until 4:30 because the orator of the day failed to show up, and after several others declined to replace him Mayor Harrison agreed to do so. It described Mr. Ryckman's talk as reading an analytical paper on the sports and pastimes of the ancients. It reported that about 2,000 people visited the grounds during the day.⁸⁰
     Two of the three steamers taking attendees back to the city after the fireworks on opening night ran aground backing away from the pier, damaging one enough that it did not arrive in the city until mid-morning the next day. One of the local papers, in a page one article, blamed management's failure to widen the narrow channel to the docks for the mishaps.⁸¹
     Within weeks disappointing attendance was being reported. According to a newspaper report, only about 60 people attended the afternoon of 21 Jul 1886, and exhibitors such as the cutlery firm of Henry Sears & Co., the National Ladder Co., and toy dealer T. F. Townsley had decided to remove their exhibits. Others said that the 75¢ charge for round-trip rail fare and admission, 25¢ for any performance, and high prices for refreshments were too high, and they were considering leaving too. Malcom said he had negotiated a reduction in the rail fare and admission to 50¢, to be effective within two days, and the next day the manager responded that there had actually been 3,500 in attendance that evening.^82,83
     On 26 Jul 1886 Malcom's brother Benjamin filed suit to foreclose on a deed of trust he held on the leasehold and personal property of the World's Pastime Exposition, which were to secure notes of more than $50,000 due him. At Benjamin's request, the judge appointed Frank E. Gilmore, his brother-in-law as receiver, which he said was required to protect his interests because of the great many suits likely to result from the company's many debts. When asked about reports that J. H. Haverly was to take over management of the business Malcom said he was only too glad to have him take charge, as he was out $25,000 already and "would do anything that gives a reasonable promise of securing its return."⁸⁴ Appointment of Haverly as manager was approved by the judge on 6 Aug 1886, at a salary of $200 per week. It was reported that he was also to receive stock in the company with a face value of $100,000. According to a letter later that year from his aunt, Malcom's eventual loses were $75,000 on the enterprise.^85,86

More Trying Times --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     In Jan 1886 Elbert W. Shirk and Charles W. Rigdon obtained an option to purchase a site at Michigan Ave. and 12th St., Chicago, for $105,000. They decided to find someone to lease the land and build a $400,000, seven-story, fire-proof hotel, and Malcom agreed to form a company to do that. He formed the company, subscribed to $370,000 in stock, and made himself president and treasurer. Shirk did buy the property. But Malcom did not pay for the stock, and finally had to admit that he was "in embarrassed circumstances and unable to carry out his agreement." On 20 Sep 1886 Shirk sued his two partners to gain clear title to the property. The court granted his request on 9 Jun 1887.^87,88
     By 1887 Malcom, Benjamin, and Alexander were operating under the firm name of Malcom McNeill and Brothers, with offices located at 92 Washington St.⁸⁹ Malcom, Benjamin, and Alexander continued to operate the firm of Malcom McNeill and Brothers until about 1890. About 1889 its offices were relocated to 59 Dearborn St.⁹⁰
     By 1891 his brothers had left the firm, and Malcom had joined with Cuthbert W. Laing, under firm name of Malcom McNeill & Co. The partial city directories available after that year do not include pages for McNeill until 1900, when Malcom is not listed. The firm of Malcom McNeill & Co. is found in newspaper "To Rent" ads until Dec 1898.^91,92
     His obituary reported that "he was quite successful in business until the financial depression of 1893-95 caused him to lose all his previous gains." No doubt he did achieve success, but it seems the losses started long before this time. In addition to those noted above, his aunt reported in her Dec 1886 letter reported that he "was quite blue having just lost three or four hundred thousand at some watering place." No other record of that loss has been found.^93,86,94
     Neither Malcom nor his son Frank have been found in the 1900 census. They were not with Willie, who with her mother was listed in the household her brother Frank in Leake Co., Mississippi.⁹⁵

Moving to Atlanta --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Malcom and Willie, with their son Frank and her mother, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, by 1903, when they were living at 32 Queen St.^96,97 They moved to 1008 Peeples St. with their son Frank by 1905.⁹⁸
     Malcom was engaged in the real estate business in Atlanta by 1905. By the following year he was operating under the name of McNeill & Sherwood, in partnership with William S. Sherwood, who was listed as living with them. By 1908 he was a salesman with Moore & Gaunt Co.^99,31
     He changed the spelling of both his given name and surname, taking on more traditional spellings, becoming Malcolm MacNeill. The alternate spelling of his given name is found consistently after he moved to Georgia, and the surname after about 1907.^100,101,102
     Malcom and Willie appeared on the 1910 Federal Census of Atlanta, Fulton Co., Georgia, at 46 East Linden, enumerated 28 Apr 1910. His daughter Willie was listed as living with him.¹⁰³
     He was operating the Co-Operative Real Estate & Loan Co. with Edward H. Lake, of Smyrna, Georgia, by 1910. He continued with that firm until he left Atlanta.¹⁰⁴
     Malcom and Willie moved to Mississippi, to the home of his son Thomas about 1916, after he retired because of ill health.^105,106,107
     Malcom died on 28 Mar 1917, at the home of is son Thomas in Estill, Mississippi, at age 70.^16,17,18,19 He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee.²⁰