William Riley Neal Sr (1855 - 1905)

Born 6 May 1855 in Uvalde, Uvalde, Texas, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Lauretta (Webber) Findley — married 4 Apr 1880 in Uvalda, Uvalde. Texas

Husband of Eleanor Josephine (Jackson) Neal — married 21 Oct 1886 in Duncan, Greenlee, Arizona, United States

Descendants

Died 13 Apr 1905 at age 49 in Gisela, Gila, Arizona, USA

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Biography

Will Neal and his brother, Dan Neal, served as Texas Rangers in West Texas. They are not named among the original rangers, but were later deputized by Texas Rangers which gave them the same authority. Their main job was to fight Comanches. They lived mostly in McLennan, Uvalde, Llano, and Edwards Counties in TX. They left Barksdale, Edwards County in 1884 with their families and a large herd of cattle and headed to Arizona. They got caught in the remnants of the Lincoln County War in NM and lost most of their cattle there, but escaped with their lives. Will settled in the Old Mormon Settlement of Gisela along Tonto Creek in what would become northern Gila County. Dan settled in the area of Superior, AZ. Their two sisters who came with them, Jane and Lou, settled their own ranches. Jane settled on Pinto Creek near Globe, AZ and married six Tombstone outlaws, Phin Clanton being one of them. Louzora "Lou" established her cattle ranch between Globe and Miami, AZ. It was called "Rustler's Roost." They have a rich history.

In 1905, Will drowned while trying to cross Tonto Creek in flood stage. He had goats penned in the other side of the creek and he didn't want them to drown. Two of his sons, Riley and Arthur, were watching. His horse went down, and they think Will hit his head on a boulder and was knocked out because they didn't see him again. The creek was running so wide and swift that his sons could do nothing to help. His horse swam out of the creek farther down stream. The raging waters swept Will's body down Tonto Creek, almost to what later became Roosevelt Lake. Two days later a cowboy, Harry Howell, saw a hand sticking up out of a sand bar. He discovered it was Will Neal. This was April 13, 1905. Note: I grew up on that same ranch. We sold it in 2007. The Forest Service forced most of the cattle off the range. This changed our culture, our way of making a living and left much family history behind. I think it is called "progress."- Jayne Peace Pyle, Will's great-granddaughter.

Sources

https://abish.byui.edu/specialCollections/westernStates/westernStatesRecordDetail.cfm?recordID=98418

1860 Census McLennan Co, TX Will, age 4, living with his parents and sibs; 1880 Census Seguin, Guadalupe, Texas - Will 25 living with a group of men; 1900 Census Gisela, Gila, Arizona - Will 45, with Ellen and kids Web: Western States Marriage Index, 1809-2011- Will & Ellen Neal Find A Grave

Footnotes

- Will Neal and Ellen Jackson Neal married 21 Oct 1886 in Duncan, Graham, Arizona. -Jayne Peace Pyle

William Riley Neal (1855-1905) was first married to Lauretta "Ettie" Webber, b. 13 Mar 1868 in Iowa, & died 26 Feb 1943 Spring, Harris, Texas. They married 4 Apr 1880 in Uvalda, Texas. and had a son John Norman Neal born 3 Sept 1882 in Barksdale, Texas and died 27 Feb 1958 in Malakoff, Henderson, Texas.