Brief Life History of James Rufus
When James Rufus Neal was born on 19 July 1830, in Cleveland, North Carolina, United States, his father, Robert Neill, was 43 and his mother, Ann Berry, was 40. He married Sarah Josephine Montgomery on 22 January 1854, in Murray, Georgia, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 7 daughters. He died on 17 April 1917, in Resaca, Gordon, Georgia, United States, at the age of 86, and was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Newton, Georgia, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (20)
- James R Neal in household of Robert Neal, "United States Census, 1850"
- James R Niell, "Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950"
- James R. Neal, "Find A Grave Index"
Spouse and Children
Children (11)
+6 More Children
Parents and Siblings
+1 More Child
World Events (8)
1832 · The Black Hawk War
Convinced that a group of Native American tribes were hostile, The United States formed a frontier militia to stop them in their tracks. Even though Black Hawk was hoping to avoid bloodshed while trying to resettle on tribal land, U.S. officials opened fire on the Native Americans. Black Hawk then responded to this confrontation by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run and then left northward. After a few months the militia caught up with Black Hawk and his men and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. While being weakened by hunger, injuries and desertion, Black Hawk and the rest of the many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. Unfortunately, Black Hawk and other leaders were later captured when they surrendered to the US forces and were then imprisoned for a year.
1847
Historical Boundaries: 1847: Murray, Georgia, United States 1852: Gordon, Georgia, United States
1853 · First State Fair
The first state fair in North Carolina was held in Raleigh and was put on by the North Carolina State Agricultural Society in 1853. The fair has been continuous except for during the American Civil War and Reconstruction and WWII.
Name Meaning
English (of Norman origin): from the Old French, Anglo-Norman French, and Middle English personal name Neel, Nele, Nihel, Niel, itself derived from the Latin name Nigellus (a diminutive of Latin niger ‘black’), originally a nickname for someone with black hair or a dark complexion. The name was very common among Normans and was brought to England at the time of the Norman Conquest. There has been considerable confusion with the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name Niall (see Neil ); the two names are now pronounced identically. It is theoretically possible that in Normandy, where the personal name was popular, that it was also used for Old Norse Njáll, but this is difficult to prove. Njáll was adopted from the Irish Gaelic personal name Niall by Vikings in Ireland, who took it back to Iceland and Norway, but whether the Vikings also took Njáll to Normandy and to the northwest of England, is an open question, which cannot be settled on the available evidence.
English: alternatively from the Middle English personal name Nele, a variant of Nell as a pet form of Elias (see Ellis ). Compare Nelson , Nielson .
Scottish and Irish: shortened form of McNeal (see McNeil ).
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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