My Genealogy Hound

Ferdinand La Fayette Neal, postmaster, El Dorado, Ark. Among the many prominent men and pioneers of El Dorado, Union County, stands the name of Ferdinand La Fayette Neal, who was born in Autauga, County, Ala., in 1827, and who is now one of the much respected and esteemed residents of El Dorado. He was the fourth son of fourteen children, born to Ferdinand and Millie (Neal, nee White) Neal, natives of Georgia, where the father carried on farming for many years, or until 1836, when his death occurred. The mother married the second time, in 1838, to John H. Pearce, and almost immediately started for Arkansas, making the trip by steamboat, and reaching Ecore Fabre (now Camden) in the winter of 1838. During the winter of his arrival at Ecore Fabre, our subject attended a country school about ten miles distant, and in 1840 moved with his mother to Union County, Ark., settling five miles west of El Dorado, where she bought out the claim of five settlers, about 800 acres in all. She died in January, 1844, and the children came into possession of this property. The paternal grandfather, Joel Neal, was a farmer of Warren County, Ga., and lived and died in the same county. The maternal grandfather, Jesse White, was a Virginian by birth, but a very early settler of Georgia. At an early day he emigrated to Alabama and made a settlement on the site of the present city of Montgomery, where he remained but a short time, and then went down the river to an adjoining county—Autauga. There he opened up a large farm and made a large fortune in farming, running at the time of his death, which occurred about 1836, 100 plows. Ferdinand L. Neal was sent east to school, attended the Central Seminary at Autauga County, Ala., in 1841 and 1842, and then in 1843 returned and finished his education under the instruction of his brother. After his mother’s death, in 1844, he entered the employ of A. C. L. Hill, a merchant at Champagnolle and the land receiver of this place, Albert Kust was a partner in the business, and had his office in the store. Much of the duty of that office devolved on Mr. Neal, and during the summer of 1844-45 he carried the chain to correct the surveys of this part of the county. This country store was a post-office with a mail once a week, and Mr. Neal also attended to the duties of this office. Although cotton was then as now, the staple article of production and commerce, many people spent much time in hunting and trapping, so that furs and peltries were handled in large quantities by the firm for which Mr. Neal was employed at that time. In 1847 he came to El Dorado and sold goods in the first framed house erected in that place. In the fall of the same year he went to New Orleans, engaged with a wholesale grocer there, and the next year bought a steamboat, after which he engaged in boating on the Ouachita River from New Orleans to Camden. In collision with another boat, his was sunk, and they chartered another and remained in the business for about a year, three years altogether. In 1851 he went to California, engaged with James Blair in a steamboat office, and later joined the Walker expedition to Central America, gave himself up to Maj. Hancock (later general), was tried and acquitted. He then went up the Sacramento River, engaged in merchandising, and later was in the transportation business with mules overland to the mines. He also ran a store at Marysville, suffered a loss by fire in 1853, and then, in 1854, returned to Arkansas, where he was engaged in merchandising at Miller’s Bluff, and was also in the timber and stave business until 1858. At that date he was married to Miss Maggie L. Brown, a daughter of Warner Brown, a pioneer of this county, from Alabama. In 1861 Mr. Neal enlisted in Company F, Nineteenth Arkansas Regiment, was soon appointed quartermaster sergeant, and after the fall of Fort Pillow became quartermaster. He was at Vicksburg at the time of the surrender of that place, and then came home. After a time he was again on duty as quartermaster of an engineer corps, and remained in that capacity until the close of the war. He surrendered on the Red River, after which he returned home, and in 1865 began business at Three Creeks, this county. In 1869 he began tilling the soil on a farm he owns in Jackson Township, consisting of 320 acres, with 75 acres under cultivation, This is an excellent stock farm. In 1880 Mr. Neal was elected county judge and so great was his popularity that, he was again elected in 1886. In December, 1889, he was appointed postmaster at El Dorado. To Mr. and Mrs. Neal were born fifteen children, ten of whom are living: The eldest died unnamed, Millie (wife of J. T. McCowery, resides in this county), Joel, Kate, an infant son died unnamed, Lucy, Mary, Paul (died at the age of eight years), Sula, Matilda, Carrie, Pattie and Ferdinand L., Jr. The family are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Neal has always been active and prominent in county affairs, is a man of education and one of good business ability, and is social and agreeable with all he meets.