My great-great-grandfather John G. McNeil was blind, disabled, and had rheumatism in the 1880 census for Wilkes County, NC. He was 47 with a wife and six children (ages 8 to 18). (See my previous blog post about John in August 2025.)
Not surprisingly, he qualified for public assistance. The local newspaper published pauper claims and I filled in some gaps by perusing the minutes of county commissioner meetings. In 1891, the Chronicle listed John G. McNeil, $1.25 per month, under “Pauper Claims Allowed.” This amount was between the low of $1 and the high of $2 in this list.[1] In 1895, the Chronicle said the county commissioners awarded John McNeil a pauper allowance of $2 per month.[2] The last claim is in the Board of Commissioners minutes of January 1899: “John McNeil $1.50 per month.”[3] After John’s death in 1899, Polly lived with their youngest son, George Thomas McNeil (my great-grandfather) until her death in 1908.
John’s obituary was published in the (Wilkesboro) Chronicle, 21 Jun 1899, p. 1, col. 1:
|
Mr. John G. McNeill, of Reddies River township,
died last week and was buried Thursday at Pleasant Home church. He was 67 years old, and a consistent
Christian gentleman. His wife and six
children survive him. For about 28
years, he had been a helpless invalid, confined to his bed, and for the last
20 years he had been blind. Through it
all he was patient and resigned to his lot.
The funeral services were conducted by Revs. McNeill and Pardue, at
Pleasant Home Baptist church, of which the deceased was a member. |
Did any of John’s children have similar health issues? Here are the causes of death for all six children. Only one death certificate listed rheumatism (but they don’t list every health problem):
- Louisa, age 65, apoplexy
- Nancy, age 66, myacardia or old age
- Zeb, age 40, cholera morbus
- Banner, age 77, prostate cancer
- George, age 60, heart trouble (also rheumatism)
- Mary Alice, age 79, mitral insufficiency
