William Neil, head of the William Neil Coal Company, was born in
Rutherglen, Scotland, on the 21st of January, 1847. He is a son of John
and Margaret (Gillespie) Neil, both of whom were born in the vicinity of
Glasgow. The maternal grandfather came to the United States as
superintendent of bridge construction for the Chicago & Alton Railway.
John Neil when a very young lad went to work in the coal mines of
Scotland, where he continued to be employed until in the early ’50s,
when he emigrated to the United States with his wife and family. He
first located in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, remaining for four or five
years, then came to Alton, this state, continuing to follow mining until
1865 when he went to Bethalto, Illinois, to take a position with the
Madison Coal Co. Six years thereafter he became a citizen of Bunker
Hill, where he continued to reside until his demise which occurred in
1877. The mother passed away in 1872. Six children were born unto Mr.
and Mrs. Neil, the order of birth being as follows: William, our
subject; Peter, who is deceased; John, who is a resident of Bunker Hill;
Martha, the wife of James Monehan, of Gillespie, Illinois; and Robert
and James, both of whom reside in St. Louis.
The public school
of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, provided William Neil with the greater
portion of his education. At the age of fifteen years he went to work in
the mines, but he was an ambitious youth and attended night school,
after the completion of his day’s labor until he had acquired a good
common school education. He has always been engaged in mining in some
capacity, and for more than thirty years has been superintending the
operation of his own mine. He sunk his first shaft in 1880, the company
at that time being known as Neil Bros. It subsequently became The
William Neil Co., then the Bunker Hill Coal Co., and is now known as The
William Neil Coal Co.
In 1868, Mr. Neil was married to Miss
Sarah Birch and to them were born five children: Mary, the wife of L. E.
Jasen, a resident of Bunker Hill; John H., who is in business with his
father; Ethel, the wife of C. P. Jewett; Catherine, who married William
McMillen, of Gillespie, Illinois; and Arthur, who is dead.
Both
Mr. and Mrs. Neil hold membership in the Baptist church of which he is
one of the deacons, while he has served continuously as Sunday School
superintendent for twenty-six years. Fraternally he is affiliated with
the Masonic order, and both he and Mrs. Neil belong to the Order of the
Eastern Star. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic,
having served for one hundred and forty days in Company D, One Hundred
and Thirty-third Illinois Infantry. He enlisted at Alton, his period of
service being occupied by guard duty at the prison at Rock Island. When
first granted the right of franchise Mr. Neil cast his ballot for the
candidate of the republican party, but he has been voting the
prohibition ticket for the past twenty-five years. As a public citizen
he does all within his power to promote the best interests of the
community, and never withholds his support from any movement which he
deems adapted to subserve the interests of the majority.
Extracted 15 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from History of Macoupin County, Illinois: Biographical and Pictorial, by Charles A. Walker, published in 1911, Volume 2, pages 398-399.
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