William H. Neal
An able and honored member of the judiciary of Lawrence County, Mr. Neal is one of the representative citizens of Ironton, the county seat, and here he is giving a most effective administration as justice of the peace, his services being such as to make the office justify its name.
Mr. Neal was born at Keystone Furnace, Jackson County, Ohio, on the 31st of May, 1856. and is a son of Levi and Nancy (Hunt) Neal, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter of whom was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, in 1855, a date that indicates that she is a representative of a pioneer family of this section of the Buckeye State, her home being now in Elizabeth Township, this county, where she is held in affectionate regard by all who know her. Levi Neal promptly manifested his patriotism when the Civil war was precipitated on a divided nation. In response to the first call for volunteers he enlisted in an Ohio Regiment, and he sacrificed his life in the cause of the Union, as he was killed on the field of battle, in 1862, when about twenty-seven years of age. His widow subsequently became the wife of Philip S. Justin, whose death occurred in 1914, he having been a prosperous farmer of Lawrence County. Of the nine children of the first marriage William H., of this review is the only survivor, and by his mother's second marriage she became the parent of five children, of whom four are living — Frank. Philip, Daniel and Charles.
William H. Neal attended the public schools of Lawrence County until he had attained the age of eighteen years, and he thereafter became a workman in the iron mines of the county. While thus employed he was injured by a caving in of the section of mine in which he was working, ami the result of the injury was that it became necessary to amputate his right leg at a point below the knee. This injury incapacitated him for further manual labor of the more strenuous order, and after attending school for another year he proved himself eligible for pedagogic honors. For the long period of sixteen years he was numbered among the successful and popular teachers in the public schools of Lawrence County, and this discipline, in connection with earnest study and reading, enabled him to round out a liberal education, the while he achieved marked prestige in his chosen profession, besides gaining secure vantageground in popular confidence and esteem. For nine years after his retirement from the pedagogic profession Mr. Neal was engaged as manager of the general merchandise store of Halley & Company at Pedro, Lawrence County, and he then removed to Ironton, the county seat, while he engaged in the insurance business. To this line of enterprise he devoted his attention for three years, at the expiration of which, in 1912, he was elected justice of the peace, of which office he has since been the efficient incumbent. He has accurate knowledge of the basic principles of the science of jurisprudence, and his judicial rulings have invariably been marked by circumspection and mature judgment, so that he has wielded emphatic influence in the conserving of equity and justice. While a resident of Elizabeth Township Mr. Neal was called upon to serve in various local offices of public trust, including those of township clerk, assessor, trustee and land appraiser, besides which he was for a number of years a member of the school board of his district. Mr. Neal is a stanch advocate of the principles of the democratic party and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
At Ironton, on the 11th of September, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Neal to Miss Lyda Grant, daughter of the late Stephen Grant, of Pedro, this county. Concerning the eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Neal the following brief record is given: Otis, who is station agent for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad at Russell, Greenup County, Kentucky, married Miss Ethel Taylor, and they have two children—William A. and Estherlin; Harry and Jessie are not married and both reside in Lawrence County; Ray, who occupies a responsible clerical position with a representative firm at Norwood, Ohio, married Miss Mabel Fowler; Inez died in childhood, as did also Clara and Clarence, who were twins; and Nora remains at the parental home.
From "A Standing History of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio" by Eugene B. Willard, Daniel W. Williams, George O. Newman and Charles B. Taylor. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, 1916