Family Tree

William Montgomery McNeill Family

As a young man, William Montgomery McNeill moved from Ohio to Kentucky. He taught school in Graves County, Kentucky, where he met Eliza Victoria, daughter of Liberty Williams.

William Montgomery McNeill

BORN: October 29, 1852, Clermont County, Ohio.
DIED: January 23, 1912.

Eliza Victoria Williams

BORN: May 13, 1853, Graves County, Kentucky.
DIED: May 27, 1936.

William and Eliza were married in 1871 in Graves County, Kentucky. They had tried to elope when Eliza was 17, but the family delayed the marriage until Eliza turned 18.

Children of William and Eliza:

1. Thomas Williams McNeill. Born January 17, 1872, Bracken County, Kentucky.
2. (unknown) McNeill. Born May 1873 in Kentucky.
3. Kate Beatrice McNeill. Born July 1874 in Kentucky. Died in infancy.
4. Fredrick McNeill. Born June 10, 1876, in Kentucky.
5. Lawrence Edison McNeill. Born March 22, 1878, in Kentucky.
6. Amanda Margaret McNeill. Born October 31, 1879, Foster, Bracken County, Kentucky.
7. Amelia Jane McNeill. Born December 20, 1883, in Kentucky.
8. Emily McNeill. Born November 29, 1884, in Kentucky.
9. Alva McNeill. Born April 6, 1886, in Ohio. Died April 1917.
10. Eva Victoria McNeill. Born February 3, 1888, in Covington, Kentucky.
11. Lavina McNeill. Born November 9, 1889, in Winchester, Kentucky. Died February 23, 1950.
12. Augusta McNeill. Born October 25, 1893, in Chicago, Illinois.
13. Viola McNeill. Born April 28, 1896, in Chicago, Illinois.

William Montgomery McNeill was influenced by Thomas Alva Edison, having worked at his laboratory. William and his sons worked constantly at inventing things, and they even succeeded at building their own automobile.

William and his sons helped build early electrical power plants in Kentucky and Illinois. In 1893, William and his sons, Thomas and Fred, went to the World's Fair in Chicago. Soon thereafter, the family moved to Chicago, settling in a large stone house on the shore of Lake Michigan.

William Montgomery McNeill and his sons operated a machine shop in Chicago where they worked on inventions in their free time. They developed a smoke indicator used to control emissions, a liquid level gauge attached to boilers enabling workers to determine the level from the outside of the boiler, and an oil cup.

Information on this page was provided by Carolyn Chapman, from her book Beginning in Belfast: descendants of Sampson Stuart McNeill, 1995.