Confederate Soldier James William 'Bill' Neal^{[1, 2]}

1844 - 1916  (71 years)

• Name	James William 'Bill' Neal
  	Raised his brother's children; after he died in the Civil War
  Title	Confederate Soldier
  Born	6 Jun 1844	Caswell Co., North Carolina
  Gender	Male
  Died	6 May 1916	Caswell County, North Carolina
  Buried	Moons Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Caswell County, North Carolina
  Person ID	I17633	My Reynolds Line
  Last Modified	10 Dec 2018

  
  

  Father	William David Neal,   b. 1814, Halifax County, Virginia ,   d. 25 Jan 1867, Caswell County, North Carolina  (Age 53 years)
  Mother	Sybil Yeaman,   b. 23 Aug 1807, Pittsylvania County, Virginia ,   d. Sep 1873, Caswell County, North Carolina  (Age 66 years)
  Married	5 Oct 1835	Pittsylvania County, Virginia
  	John T Neal (1839 - 1864) Mary P. Neal Sledge (1840 - 1908) James William Neal (1844 - 1916)
  Family ID	F6342	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents » Slide Show		Death Certificate-James William Neal jmswmneal.jpg
  		Headstone James William Neal hs17633JamesWmNeal.jpg
  		James William Neal-Death Notice The Reidsville Review May 9, 1916
  		James William Neal-Death Notice The Times Dispatch May 8, 1916

  
  

• Sources

  [S32] Find-A-Grave.com, https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54252532. James William "Bill" Neal Parents: Sybil Yeaman Neal (1807 - 1873) Spouse: Sallie Belle Riddle Neal (1864 - 1940) Children: William Lewis Neal (1900 - 1993) James William (Bill) Neal, a descendant of the Irish immigrant Beaver Pond Neals of Virginia, was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia on June 6, 1844. He was a son of William David and Sibyl Yeaman Neal who came to Caswell County with their five children, Harriet, John, Mary Pet, Bill, George Wright in late 1850. William David, Sibyl, Harriet and John are discussed in a related story entitled "William David Neal." Mary Pet (1840-1908) in 1868 married Crawford D. Sledge (1825-1896) and they lived all of their lives as farmers on his Dan River farm in North Caswell near Providence. They are buried in the Sledge Cemetery near the farm. They had seven children. Two died young, three lived in Caswell until after they were grown, then moved to Mississippi for the rest of their lives. Two, Jennie and Joe, spent their lives on what had been parts of the Sledge farm. Some of their descendants still live in Caswell. George (1847-1910) married Gillie Fallen (one sentence cut off) moved to Mayfield in Rockingham, NC where they bought a farm. George was a farmer, merchant, Postmaster and Magistrate. They had thirteen children. Gillie died in 1898, and in 1901 George married Lula Collie. They had six children, Geroge and Gillie are buried in the Sledge cemetery. One of their sons, Luther, came to Providence section of Caswell in 1906 and lived his whole life there as a farmer. He died in 1964. Some of his descendants are still living in Caswell. On Sept 1, 1862 when Bill Neal was just past eighteen years old, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. After seeing action in eastern North Carolina he was ordered early in 1863 to join Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and were attached to Jeb Stuart's Cavalry. On June 5, 1863, on a rolling hill near Culpepper, all available Cavalry units were passed in review before the General and a host of dignitaries in what is said to have been one of the most spectacular military displays in modern history. Then, four days later, they were thrown into the most extensive cavalry battle of the entire war at Brandy Station. They fought several battles in Northern Virginia, headed for Hagerstown Maryland, then on to Gettysburg on July 4th. Soon after that battle, they united with three other regiments. After a long trek through Virginia, he arrived at Appomattox one day before the surrender. When the war was over, Bill returned to his Caswell home. His brother John had died in service and his children, Susan and Willie (whose mother had died when he was born) had been added to the family. HIs father's (sentence cut off) died in 1867, and about 1870 the family moved to a farm adjoining the Sledge farm on Dan River. HIs mother, Sibyl Yeaman Neal died in 1873. She is buried in the Sledge Cemetery. In 1875, Bill bought the farm from A.G. Walters. He had become foster father to Susan and Willie and continued to care for them until they were grown. He lived as a bachelor and continued farming. In 1878, Susan married John B. Powell and they reared a large family in Caswell, then moved to Danville in about 1912. John B. died in 1924. Susan died in 1935. They, along with several of their children, are buried in the Shady Grove Methodist Church cemetery in Caswell. Willie farmed with "Uncle Bill" until 1898 when he married Alma Hodges. After farming six years in South Carolina, they returned to Caswell and farmed until Willie's health failed in 1921. He died in Danville in 1923. She died in Winston-Salem in 1976. They had no children. They are buried in the cemetery at Moon's Creek Primitive Baptist Church. On Nov 26, 1895, Bill Neal married Sarah Belle Riddle, a schoolteacher from Pittsylvania County. They spent the rest of their lives as farmers. They had three children, Lenna Sue, Ruth Sibyl and William Lewis. Bill died May 6, 1916 as the result of being kicked by a horse in Danville, Virginia. Belle lived in the home until her death Oct 1 1940. They are buried in the cemetry at Moon's Creek Primitive Baptist Church where they were devout members and where their son William Lewis and wife Lillie are now members. Lenna Neal was born Sept 5 1896, and was educated in the Caswell County Public Schools at Gillians Academy and State Normal. She taught school in Caswell and lives on what had been part of the Neal farm. Louie was a dairy farmer. He died Jan 24, 1966. She died Feb 19, 1983. They are buried in the cemetery at Providence Baptist Church where they were members. For over 50 years, Lenna was a driving force in the educational and religious life of Caswell Couty. They are survived by two sons and a daughter. Louie Aubrey Goodson Jr married Bernice Carroll and they have two sons and two daughters. William Neal Goodson married Jean LeDonne and they have one daughter and two sons. Nanacy Belle Goodson married A.M. Parrott Jr (Bill) and they have one son and one daughter. Ruth Neal was born Sept 24, 1987, and was educated in Caswell County schools, at Gillian's Academy and Averett College in Danville, Virginia. She was a nurse and music teacher. In 1939, she married Samuel Lowerly Lovell. He was a farmer and they spent the rest of their lives at his home, only a mile from where Ruth was born. They had no children. She died Jan 12 (cut off) in the cemetery at Providence Baptist Church where Ruth was a a member. William (Bill, Willie) Neal was born June 10, 1900, and was educated in Caswell County schools and the Danville High School where he was valedictorian. His father's death in 1916, three weeks before his graduation, kept him from completing his education. After a year in a bank in Danville, he took over his father's farm. In 1933, he marreid Alice Lillian (Lillie) Lovell, a sister of Ruth's husband. They have been life-long farmers, and he has also been in the auction warehouse business for over 50 years. They still own and live in the ancestral home, three rooms of which were built in 1803. They have two sons. As of August 1983, William Lewis Neal of Providence, NC is believed to be the only living person whose father fought in the Civil War. [S32] Find-A-Grave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=neal&GSfn=james&GSmn=william&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=54252532&df=all&.