Archibald Gaston McNeely
1812 - 1880 (68 years)-
Name Archibald Gaston McNeely Birth 1812 ,,Rowan County,North Carolina,United States 
Gender Male Death 10 Feb 1880 Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA Record Created 06 Jun 2020 familyserch.org ID KD7C-MQ9 Burial Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Fruitland,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA Notes - Courtesy Donna McNeely Burke :
Archibald Gaston McNeely was born in North Carolina. He immigrated to Cape Girardeau County, Missouri as a teen, along with his family. His parents were Samuel and Matilda (Templeton) McNeely. He married a daughter of Ebenezer Flinn, the man upon whose land Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church was built. In the early 1850s, when Archibald Gaston McNeely was in his early 40s, he and some other men from the neighborhood formed a group and went to the California Gold Rush. They crossed the continent by wagon and the journey took several months. It's not known how long the men stayed in California or whether they had any luck there, but in 1852, Archibald returned to Missouri. This time, instead of traveling by land, he instead boarded a ship in San Francisco and sailed to Panama, which he crossed on land through the jungle. (This was many years before the Panama Canal was built.) After reaching the Caribbean, he boarded another ship and sailed to New Orleans. Upon his arrival in New Orleans, a letter from his wife was awaiting him at the post office. In it, she wrote that everything at home was fine. He boarded another boat and proceeded up the Mississippi River to Neelys Landing, Missouri. Upon his arrival he learned that his wife had died. He then married Margaret Elizabeth Harris. They had four children: daughter Carrie McNeely, and sons John "Jack" Gracey McNeely, M.B. "Berne" McNeely, and James P. "Jimmy" McNeely. Archibald's son John "Jack" Gracey McNeely was killed at age 27 on 18 August 1884 in an accident on the Mississippi River. He was on a riverboat, standing near the engine, when it suddenly exploded, decapitating him. ---contributed by great-great granddaughter, Donna McNeely Burke, based on oral history told to me by my grandfather, Archie Harris McNeely, who was the grandson of Archibald Gaston McNeely.
By Marcia Grimsley:
Correction - it was not John "Jack" Gracey McNeely who was killed in the riverboat accident, it was another brother, Robert H. McNeely (1855 - 1880)*
Person ID 40975424 robsgenealogy Last Modified 22 Aug 2025
Father Samuel McNeely, b. 15 May 1784, ,,Rowan County,North Carolina,United States d. 10 Jun 1835, Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA (Age 51 years) Mother Matilda Templeton, b. abt. 1787, ,,Iredell County,North Carolina,United States d. 1881, Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA (Age 94 years) Record Created 06 Jun 2020 Family ID F57128920 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 Louisa Clara Flinn, b. 7 Apr 1822, Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA d. 5 Jul 1852, Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA (Age 30 years) Marriage 9 Sep 1841 ,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA Age at Marriage He : ~ 29 years and 9 months - She : 19 years and 5 months. Record Created 18 Jun 2023 Family ID F8838146 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 27 Jul 2023
Family 2 Margaret Elizabeth Harris, b. 1833, ,,,Missouri,USA d. 29 Jan 1879, Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA (Age 46 years) Marriage 11 Jan 1854 Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA Age at Marriage He : ~ 42 years and 1 month - She : ~ 21 years and 1 month. Record Created 06 Jun 2020 Children 1. James Pinkney McNeely, b. 20 May 1868, Neelys Landing,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,United States d. 19 Mar 1931, Fruitland,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA (Age 62 years)Family ID F78865912 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- Courtesy Donna McNeely Burke :
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Event Map 
Birth - 1812 - ,,Rowan County,North Carolina,United States 
Marriage - 9 Sep 1841 - ,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA 
Marriage - 11 Jan 1854 - Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA Death - 10 Feb 1880 - Cape Girardeau County,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA 
Burial - - Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Fruitland,,Cape Girardeau County,Missouri,USA = Link to Google Earth
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Photos 
Archibald Gaston McNeely - courtesy Donna McNeely Burke
