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Size | 3.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 600 items) |
Abstract | The MacNeill family (sometimes spelled McNeill) owned plantations in Kentucky and Mississippi during the 19th century. Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) and his immediate family started their plantation home, "Hemphill," in Christian County, Ky. His daughter Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887) attended the Nashville Female Academy in the 1840s. His son, Thomas Henry McNeill (1821-1866), bought land in Coahoma County, Miss., to start a second plantation. During the Civil War, Thomas Henry McNeill (1821-1866) served as a second lieutenant in the 18th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, Company B. He also had at least one son, Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917), who moved to Chicago, Ill., after the death of his first wife. He lived there with his second wife, Willie Gilmore McNeill (1848-1921). The collection consists of records of the purchase, sale, and upkeep of land and correspondence discussing business, crops, slaves and former slaves, legal concerns, family health, and personal matters, chiefly among the MacNeill extended family. There are also letters exchanged between Martha Rivers MacNeill (1827-1887) and her friends from Nashville Female Academy concerning school, family, and social events. Civil War materials of Thomas Henry MacNeill include an order to purchase mules and wagons for the Army of the Mississippi; a notice to attend the trial of the steamer Blue Bird under arrest at Helena, Ark.; and cotton receipts, including one for $30,000 for cotton taken by the U.S. government. Other materials include World's Fair keepsakes from events Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) attended in Chicago; portraits of family members and images of their homes; a scrapbook of Quigley House in Mobile, Ala.; land surveys; legal documents; and genealogical research on the Boddie and MacNeill families. Also of note are two books self-published by the family, "Trials and Triumphs: The MacNeill Family History" (2012) and "Malcolm G. MacNeill, Sr.: A Life Well Lived" (2012), which discuss important events in their history and Malcolm G. MacNeill's (1928-2011) life. |
Creator | MacNeill (Family : MacNeill, Malcolm, 1796-1875) |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Ashlyn Velte, July 2015
Encoded by: Ashlyn Velte, July 2015
Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, November 2020
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
The MacNeill family (sometimes spelled McNeill) of Christian County, Ky., and Mississippi begins largely with Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875), the youngest son of Henry MacNeill (1755-1820) and Dorothy Pryor MacNeill (1755-1824) of Person County, N.C. Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) moved to Christian County, Ky., where the family purchased a plantation that became known as "Hemphill." He married five times, his last wife being Catherine Boddie Bell MacNeill (1805-1876). Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) had at least two children: Thomas Henry McNeill (1821-1866) and Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887).
Thomas Henry McNeill (1821-1866) eventually moved away from "Hemphill" to Mississippi and purchased land there. His marriage to Rebecca Tuck McNeill (1824-1859) resulted in many children, including Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) and Alexander McNeill, who graduated from Lake Forest University. Thomas Henry McNeill served as a second lieutenant in the 18th Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, Company B.
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887) attended the Nashville Female Academy in Tennessee. In 1848 she married Wiley Perry Boddie, the brother of her father's fifth wife. Boddie worked for a time in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Boddie's had at least one child together: Lucie Williams Boddie (1854-1931). Lucie Williams Boddie married into the Anderson family.
After the Civil War, Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) remained in Mississippi with his first wife, Eliza Burke (1845-1880). After her death he moved to Chicago, Ill., where he married Willie Gilmore McNeill (1848-1921) in 1883. She was the daughter of George W. and Caroline Gilmore of Mississippi. During his time in Chicago, Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) attended the unveiling of Confederate monuments and the opening of the Columbian Field Museum and the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Around this time he also vacationed with his family in the Great Lakes. Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) had at least one son with Willie Gilmore McNeill (1848-1921): Frank Rivers McNeill (1885-1977).
Frank Rivers McNeill (1885-1977) attended Hogsett Military Academy in Kentucky in 1898. He married Ann Lee and with her had a least one child, Malcolm G. MacNeill (1928-2011), in Florida. Malcolm G. MacNeill (1928-2011) eventually returned to North Carolina.
See "Trials and Triumphs: The MacNeill Family History" by Kaylynn L. Washnock and Joan MacNeill for more family biography.
Back to TopThe MacNeill Family Papers (sometimes spelled McNeill) document family plantation business concerns and social lives in Christian County, Ky. and Mississippi during 19th century. Included are records of the purchase, sale, and upkeep of the land. Early documents, 1820s-1870s, concern the family of Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) and include correspondence, chiefly between him and Boddie, Lancaster, Anderson, Caruthers, Lynch, Grant, Burke and Tuck family members. Letters discuss slaves, business, crops, legal concerns, marriages, and other social events. Letters exchanged between Martha Rivers MacNeill (1827-1887) and her friends from Nashville Female Academy concern school, family, and social events. Civil War materials of Thomas Henry MacNeill include an order to purchase mules and wagons for the Army of the Mississippi; a notice to attend the trial of the steamer Blue Bird under arrest at Helena, Ark.; and cotton receipts, including one for $30,000 for cotton taken by the U.S. government. Materials, 1870s-1910s, chiefly concern the family of Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917). Correspondence discusses familial business, financial, and legal matters, as well as updates on health, weather, and social events. Other materials in the collection include portraits of family members and their homes; certificates and diplomas; land surveys; keepsakes from the Chicago World's Fair and the Columbian Field Museum; legal documents concerning property and estates; a scrapbook of Quigley House in Mobile, Ala.; and genealogical research on the Boddie and MacNeill families. Also of note are two self-published books entitled Trials and Triumphs: The MacNeill Family History (2012) and Malcolm G. MacNeill, Sr.: A Life Well Lived (2012) that were compiled by the family. They discuss important events in their history and Malcolm G. MacNeill's (1928-2011) life using images, scans of documents, and letter transcriptions.
Back to TopArrangement: by family member.
Box
1
Folder 1 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Business and personal correspondence, 1826-1840s
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Box
1
Folder 2 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Business and personal correspondence, 1820s-1840s
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Box
1
Folder 3 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Business and personal correspondence, 1830s-1850s
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Box
1
Folder 4 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Business and personal correspondence, 1840s-1855
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Box
1
Folder 5 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Business and personal correspondence, 1850s
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Box
1
Folder 6 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Business and personal correspondence, 1850s-1870s
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Box
1
Folder 7 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875), 20 October 1857Letter regarding the death of a family member. |
Box
1
Folder 8 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Correspondence with Catherine Boddie Bell McNeill (wife), 1850s
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Box
1
Folder 9 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letters to Catherine Boddie Bell McNeill (wife), 1851-1868
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Box
2
Folder 10 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letters to his children, 1840s-1850s
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Box
2
Folder 11 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letters from his children, 1830-1840Chiefly letters from his son Thomas Henry MacNeill. |
Box
2
Folder 12 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letters from his MacNeill nephews, 1830s-1860sOf particular interest are his letters from H. McNeill, who discusses court cases, slaves, and crops. |
Box
2
Folder 13 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letter to Lemuel MacNeill, 1826
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Box
2
Folder 14 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letters from family members, 1830s-1850sIncludes letters from Ann "Nancy" Terrell Lynch (sister-in-law), Anna Eliza Lancaster (Ann's daughter), and Elizabeth Rivers MacNeill (daughter). |
Box
2
Folder 15 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Letters from Samuel Lancaster (brother-in-law), 1835-1846
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Box
2
Folder 16 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Miscellaneous letters from relatives, 1830s-1870sIncludes letters from Anderson, Lynch, Grant, Burke, Tuck, and Caruthers families, all of whom are related to Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) through marriage. |
Box
2
Folder 17 |
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887): Letters from friends and family, 1840sChiefly from her time at Nashville Female Academy in the 1840s. Includes letters from Anna Maria Melville and from M.C. Patterson. |
Box
2
Folder 18 |
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887): Letters from Cora Thomas Calhoun Marable, 1846-1848
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Box
2
Folder 19 |
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887): Letters from Mary Ann Bostick, 1840sBostick was a friend of Martha's from the Nashville Female Academy. |
Box
2
Folder 20 |
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887): Letter from Jane E. Grider, 1848
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Box
2
Folder 21 |
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887): Letters from Elizabeth Jane "Lizzy" Peck, circa 1846
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Box
2
Folder 22 |
Martha Rivers McNeill (1827-1887): Letters from Bethunia Perkins Smith, 1846-1848
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Box
2
Folder 23 |
Martha Rivers McNeill Boddie (1827-1887): Letters from family, 1850s-1880s
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Box
2
Folder 24 |
Martha Rivers McNeill Boddie (1827-1887): Correspondence with family, 1870sChiefly regarding business, insurance, and loans. |
Box
2
Folder 25 |
Lucy Williams Boddie Anderson (1854-1931): Correspondence with family, 1870s-1900sChieffly regarding business, insurance, and loans. |
Box
3
Folder 26 |
Martha Rivers Boddie (1894-1931), 1870s-1910sPersonal correspondence about family visits, health updates, weather, and social events; also includes some of the last letters received by her mother, Martha Rivers McNeill Boddie (1827-1887). |
Box
3
Folder 27 |
Martha Rivers Boddie (1894-1931), 1910sPersonal correspondence about family visits, health updates, weather, and social events; also includes letters from suitors. |
Box
3
Folder 28 |
Thomas Henry McNeill, 1862-1866An order to purchase mules and wagons for the Army of the Mississippi; a notice to attend the trial of the steamer Blue Bird under arrest at Helena, Ark.; and cotton receipts, including one for $30,000 for cotton taken by the U.S. government. |
Box
3
Folder 29 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Letters from Willie Gilmore McNeill (wife), 1880s-1900s
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Box
3
Folder 30 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Letters from his children, 1890s-1900s
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Box
3
Folder 31 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Correspondence with friends and family, 1890s-1900sIncludes business letters and responses to inquiries about families' former slaves. McNeill wrote to the National Baptist Convention to inquire about George Harris and Minerva McNeal, who had been enslaved by his father. It appears that McNeill was seeking information about their memories of the Union Army taking cotton from the family. |
Box
3
Folder 32 |
Willie Gilmore McNeill: Letters from her children and friends, 1880s-1890s
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Box
3
Folder 33 |
Wiley Perry Boddie: Correspondence with family and friends while in Colorado Springs, Colo., 1880s-1910sChiefly regarding business; personal letters concern children, health, and crops back home. |
Box
3
Folder 34 |
George Boddie (1856-1929): Letters from family and friends, 1880s-1900Regarding health, social events, and weather; also includes some business letters about real estate, bank, and legal concerns, and one political letter about the voting process for the county. |
Box
3
Folder 35 |
George Boddie (1856-1929): Correspondence with family and friends, 1900s-1910sLetters from family and friends regarding health, social events, and weather. One political letter about the voting process for the county. Also includes some business letters concerning real estate and financial and legal interests. |
Box
3
Folder 36 |
Miscellaneous Boddie family letters, 1890s-1910s
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Box
3
Folder 37 |
Miscellaneous McNeill family letters, 1804-1920s (bulk 1890s-1920s)
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Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5575/1 |
Mississippi plantation survey, 1857
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Box
4
Folder 38 |
MacNeill financial materials, circa 1840s-1860sReceipts and other records. |
Box
4
Folder 39 |
Other financial papers, 1850s-1920s
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Box
4
Folder 40 |
Mississippi Public Land Grant, 1840
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Box
4
Folder 41 |
Mississippi plantation survey, 1857
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Box
4
Folder 42 |
Miscellaneous legal papers, 1840-1883
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Box
4
Folder 43 |
Estate of Henry McNeill, circa 1820
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Box
4
Folder 44 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Last Will and Testament, March 1875
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Box
4
Folder 45 |
Eneus Africanns, 1920s
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Box
4
Folder 46 |
Boddie estate sale in Kentucky, 1970sSale was executed by the heirs of Catherine Boddie Bell MacNeill (1805-1876), last wife of Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) |
Box
4
Folder 47 |
Scrapbook of Quigley House, Mobile, Ala.Includes photographs of and an essay on the home of George W. Gilmore and Caroline Francis Jones Gilmore in 1860. |
Box
4
Folder 48 |
Civil War remembrance documentsIncludes illustration of Jefferson Davis from messages and papers of the Confederacy, Willie Gilmore McNeill's certificate from Daughters of the Confederacy, poems and newspaper clippings. |
Box
4
Folder 49 |
Confederate Monument Banquet menu, 1895
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Box
4
Folder 50 |
Dedication ceremonies at Oakwood Cemetery and the Confederate Monument, 1865Includes a letter dated 15 March 1898 from the Maine Monument Fund Committee, and other letters, programs, and pamphlets related to the dedication of the Maine Monument and Confederate Monument. |
Box
4
Folder 51 |
Calling cards
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Box
4
Folder 52 |
Willie Gilmore: Autograph book, 1869
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Box
4
Folder 53 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Illinois National Guard orders, July 1877
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Box
4
Folder 54 |
Alexander McNeill: Diploma, Lake Forest University, 1885
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Box
4
Folder 55 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Notebook, 1881-1883 ; Correspondence, 1897-1898, 1921 |
Box
4
Folder 56 |
Malcolm G. McNeill (1928-2011): School materials,Also includes a life insurance document. |
Box
5
Folder 57 |
MiscellaneousIncludes a catalogue of shoes, some undated correspondence, and a newspaper clipping about Richmond P. Hobson. |
Box
5
Folder 58 |
Naval commission by President James Polk, 1847
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Box
5
Folder 59 |
Frank McNeill: School books, circa 1896Fractions book and Harvard School report cards. |
Box
5
Folder 60 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Keepsakes from the opening of the Columbian Field Museum, 1894
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Box
5
Folder 61 |
Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917): Ribbons from the Chicago Southern States Association, 1895
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Box
5
Folder 62 |
MacNeill family genealogyCopies of research conducted by the family. |
Box
5
Folder 63 |
McNeill family genealogyIncludes photographic prints of cemetery gravestones and monuments. |
Box
5
Folder 64 |
Elmwood CemeteryPhotographic prints of McNeill family plot in historic cemetery; also includes a diagram of the family plot. |
Box
5
Folder 65 |
MacNeill family genealogyFamily tree tracing the MacNeill family back to Scotland. |
Box
5
Folder 66 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Biography from the "History of Christian County, Ky"Also includes biography of Henry MacNeill (1755-1820). |
Box
5
Folder 67 |
Thomas Henry MacNeill genealogy |
Box
5
Folder 68 |
MacNeill family genealogy: Correspondence, 1960s |
Box
5
Folder 69 |
Boddie family, Christian County, Ky. |
Box
5
Folder 70 |
MacNeill family genealogy, 1895-1910 |
Box
5
Folder 71 |
McNeill family genealogy |
Box
5
Folder 72 |
Boddie family genealogy, 1847 |
Box
5
Folder 73 |
Boddie family genealogy, 1850s-1910s |
Box
5
Folder 74 |
Thomas Rivers will (copy), 1789 |
Box
5
Folder 75 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875): Estate settlement, 1875 |
Box
5
Folder 76 |
Boddie property lease, 1927 |
Box
6
Folder 77 |
"Malcolm G. MacNeill, Sr.: A Life Well Lived" by Malcolm MacNeill, Joan MacNeill, Jill Ingram and Kaylynn Washnock, 2012A book created by the MacNeill family commemorating the life of Malcolm G. MacNeill (1828-2011). Includes photographs, letter transcriptions, and personal accounts of his life compiled from MacNeill Family Papers. |
Box
6
Folder 78 |
"Trials and Triumphs: The MacNeill Family History" by Kaylynn L. Washnock and Joan MacNeill, 2012A book of photographs, document scans, and letter transcriptions compiled from MacNeill Family Papers. |
Museum Item
MU-5575/1
|
Wooden stakes |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/1 |
Malcolm MacNeill (1796-1875) homePictures of the house built in 1821 in Christian County, Ky. |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/2 |
Photographs 1861-1890sPortrait of Horace Tucker in Confederate Army uniform, portraits of MacNeill family men and women, snapshot of an unidentified family, panorama of football game, and silhouettes by C.D. Ruggles at Inter-State Expo in Chicago, Ill. |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/3 |
Portraits, 1890sPortraits of W. A. Giles, Alexander H. Revell, Geo. B. Swift, Wm. T. Baker, Ferdinand W. Peck, and Gor. J. P. Altgeld. |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/4 |
Portraits, 1890sPortraits of L.J. Gagr, Rs. J. Stewart, E. H. Lawrence, William H. Harper, and two unknown men. |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/5 |
Miscellaneous family snapshots,
|
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/6 |
Hemphill Plantation, Christian County, Ky., 1898 |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/7 |
Family portraits, circa 1898Includes two portraits of Frank Gilmore (1850-1928); four portraits of Frank Rivers McNeill (1885-1977); a portrait of Estella "Stella" McNeill (1871-1970) with her daughter Mildred McNeill (1903-1990); and three portraits of the family vacationing on Lake Michigan in 1898. |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/8 |
Portraits of Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) and Willie Gilmore McNeill, circa 1870-1900 |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/9 |
Willie Gilmore McNeill, 1880s-1890sImage taken in Rabun County, Ga. |
Image Box
1
Image Folder PF-05575/10 |
MacNeill family on vacation, 1898 |
Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-5575/1 |
Family portraits, 1895Malcolm McNeill (1846-1917) and his wife Willie Gilmore McNeill (1948-1921) at the Chicago World's Fair in 1895; Thomas Henry McNeill (1821-1866) and his sons; Caroline Gilmore (1816-1905), Frank Rivers McNeill (1885-1977), and Willie Gilmore (1848-1921). There is also a photograph of the Gilmore family home on Government Street, Mobile, Ala. |