MacNeil

 

The historical and genealogical details surrounding Lt. John McNeill (Lot 9), his brother Daniel McNeill (Lot 7), and their ancestral origins highlight key aspects of their legacy:

1. Parentage

• Historical Record: Primary colonial records (such as Lord Fairfax’s South Branch Manor rent rolls and Governor Dinwiddie’s French and Indian War correspondence from 1755) explicitly document Lt. John McNeill on Lot 9 (437 acres) and Daniel McNeill on Lot 7 (320 acres).

• Parents: The exact documented names of their parents remain unverified in primary source records. Traditional family trees frequently attribute their father as either a Thomas or John McNeill who lived in Scotland/Ulster before the family's migration, but no surviving shipping passenger manifest or parish record in Virginia or Pennsylvania definitively confirms the parentage.

2. Passage via Glasgow & Philadelphia

• Family tradition and regional histories consistently state that John and Daniel emigrated from Scotland—often using Glasgow as their port of departure (or passing through Ulster/Northern Ireland)—and landed at the Port of Philadelphia in the 1730s–1740s.

• From Pennsylvania, they followed the Great Wagon Road south into the Shenandoah Valley and settled on Lord Fairfax’s lands along the South Branch of the Potomac.

3. Clan Origin: Barra or Argyll?

Scottish Clan history divides the surname into two main geographical branches:

1. Clan MacNeill of Argyll (Gigha, Colonsay, Knapdale, Taynish):

   • Most likely historical origin for this line. The vast majority of McNeills who moved through Glasgow, settled in Ulster, and subsequently emigrated to Pennsylvania and Virginia originated from the Argyllshire branch in southwestern Scotland due to geographic proximity to Glasgow and Ulster.

2. Clan MacNeil of Barra (Outer Hebrides):

   • Centered on the Hebridean island of Barra (Kisimul Castle). While Barra is the seat of the Chief of the Name under the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, the island's isolation meant fewer direct migrations to the Mid-Atlantic colonies compared to the mainland Argyll families.

Summary: While popular family lore often connects all McNeills to Barra, historical migration patterns heavily favor the Argyll branch for the Scots-Irish lines passing through Glasgow to Philadelphia and the South Branch Valley.