Biography

09/21/1822 - 08/27/1886

Hugh McNeill (R42) Allegheny (Part) County 1875-1886

Early Life:

Hugh McNeill, born September 21, 1822, Ballycastle, County Antrim, Ireland; son of a Northern Ireland lime manufacturer; educated, Ballycastle, Ireland; engaged agriculture with father; immigrated, New York, 1845 engaged, clerk, bookkeeper; salesman, dry goods company; New Orleans, wharf time-keeper, 1846-1849; clerk, Judge G.E. Warner’s, Herr Island Lumber Company business, Pittsburgh, 1849; married, Mary Awl, 1850, sons, William Winfield McNeill, James McGraw McNeill; received naturalization papers, 1854; attended, private school; formed, partnership, Judge G.E. Warner, Warner and McNeill Planning Mill and Barge Building Yard, 1855-1866; McNeill and Dean and Company; member, Allegheny City Council, 1862-1874; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate 1874-1886, elected, President Pro Tempore, 1881-1882; died, in office, August 27, 1886, stomach inflammation, at home, Washington Street, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; interment Union Dale Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Formed, partnership, Warner and McNeill Planning Mill and Barge Building Yard, 1855-1866; maintained a professional relationship with Judge Warner, the two men entering the coal trade, profiting during the Civil War, constructing boats for the federal government. At the height of production, the business boasted a planning mill, lath mill, boiler-engine house, extensive boat yard, and ample storage and office space. The timber company produced 70 barges a year, processing four million feet of timber.  

President, Sprang Steel and Iron Company; vice president, Allegheny Heating; director, German Nation Bank, Allegheny; director, Second National Bank, Allegheny; director Mechanics Street Bridge Company. 

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 42nd district, Allegheny (Part) County, 1875-1886, elected, President Pro Tempore, 1881-1882; committee assignments, Compare Bills, Congressional Apportionment (Chairman) Municipal Affairs, Public Buildings; member, Union Railroad and Transportation Investigative Committee. 

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members M". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1885) Smull, W.P., (Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 844, 849-851, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 811.

Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Saturday August 28, 1886, Page 4

Hugh “Senator” McNeill (1822-1886) - Find a Grave Memorial