The Search for John McNeil

Part of an A.F Church map of Antigonish County showing Malignant Cove 

Recently, I have been trying to find out about a land grant given to a soldier at the end of the American Revolution. This was the soldier I wrote about in my December 14, 2019 post with the title of Loyalist or Just Loyal? After listening to a webinar, I was not sure if this soldier should be called a Loyalist or if he had been in the 84th Regiment that had been referred to in the same webinar.

The soldier in question was called John McNeil and after the war, he settled in Nova Scotia. He was part of one branch of a family line that lived in Malignant Cove in Antigonish County, a place whose name sticks in my mind. The name of the place is easy to remember, but the name of the man can be lost in a score of men in the area named McNeil many of them with the first name John. The canny Scots assigned nicknames to get around this problem. From prior research I knew the man I wanted was John McNeil Breac or Brack. Rev. D.J. Rankin's very useful book, A History of the County of Antigonish, Nova Scotia (1929) explains that Breac refers to this John's freckled face.* The book also contains the genealogies of many Antigonish County families, a boon if you are trying to sort out your McDonalds in the area, helpful as John McNeil Breac married Margaret MacDonald. 

But that came later, first how had John McNeil ended up in Canada? Previous correspondence that I had on file, indicated that John hadn't been in the 84th Regiment but rather, the 82nd Regiment which was also known as Hamilton's Regiment. Most of the men for this regiment were recruited in Lanarkshire with a few additions from Glasgow and the Highlands. After the revolution the regiment was disbanded. The soldiers were offered land grants, the size of which depended on their rank. This land was in Pictou County which is right next door to Antigonish County. So, if John McNeil took up one of the grants that was offered, he was close to where he ended up.

Lucy Campey's After the Hector: The Scottish Pioneers of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton 1773-1852, contained a table of the former soldiers of the 82nd Regiment who had received land grants but there were 3 John McNeils, an officer who received 300 acres, and two privates who received 100 acres each. One of these privates was called John McNeil, jun., the other, just plain John McNeil. Which of the 3 John McNeils was the John I was looking for? Unfortunately, they didn't use his nickname Breac in the official list. 

Sources:

Campey, Lucille H. After the Hector: The Scottish Pioneers of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton 1773-1852. Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 2004.

Rankin, Rev. D.J., A History of the County of Antigonish, Nova Scotia (1929). Global Heritage Press/GlobalGenealogy.com Inc., Milton, Ontario, 2003. p329*

http://sites.rootsweb.com/~nspictou/grants/eighty2a_l.html