5th Great Grandfather
9th Generation
Born - 20th September 1788 - Elphingstone, Tranent, ScotlandJohn is the first twin I have come across in my research. He was born on the 20th September 1788. Also note the name change. McNeil is how we know it, a few generations back it was Neil, this here is Niel.
This map shows how little they had moved – Tranent to Mussellborough, then across to Bo’ness before heading to Methil.
Below is John’s marriage banns to Ann Young, They even spell the surname different in Tranent and in Edinburgh
John and Ann had 12 children together and in the 1841 census they are 50 years old with their children Archibald, Thomas, Ann, Beatrix & Margaret all living at home. The are living in the village of Torphichen. There are a few buildings of this time still standing today. The current Preceptory dates from 1700s and William Wallace held his last parliament here (same grounds different building) prior to the Battle of Falkirk in 1298.
Many of the workshippers in the Torphichen Parish “came out” of the established Church of Scotland in the Disruption and the village has the oldest purpose-built Free Church, erected that same year at the top of Low Brae in a Norman Revival Style. The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Scotland or the British Government had the power to control clerical positions and benefits. John would very much have been involved in this.
John had an elder brother James born in 1793. His twin, Isobell, married David McNeill had many children (6 sons, 5 daughters) and lived her whole life in Tranent. She is buried in Tranent Church yard. Records also show his other siblings included Elizabeth, Jane and James.
John’s father James stayed in Tranent all his days and lived to a grand age of 88! John’s wife lived until she was 74, he died before her but i have no record of his death certificate.
John was Coal miner like his father. The local coal mine was called Kipps Colliery, records show that this was one of the early colliers and it was opened again in 1840 but only lasted 3 years as it had already been extensively mined.
Wife – Ann Young
Son – Archibald Neil
Marie's Genealogy 