Crawford Co., AR - Biographies - Berkeley Neal

***********************************************
This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
Archives by: The Goodspeed Publishing Co

Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgenwebarchives.org
***********************************************

----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford,
Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed 
Publishing Co., 1889.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Berkeley Neal, attorney at law of Fort Smith, was born in Crawford 
County, Ark., January 23, 1851, and is a son of William J. and Mouncy 
(Robinson) Neal. The father was born January 9, 1817, in Chatham 
County, N. C., and was a son of Younger and Susanna (Harrington) Neal, 
natives of the same county, born in 1778 and 1790, respectively. They 
moved to Hickman County, Tenn., in 1826, where he died in 1843 and she 
in 1867. Younger Neal served some time as sheriff of Chatham County. 
William J. was the third child, and when the Creek Indians came west 
in 1836 he was employed as cook for the officers, and went with them 
to Fort Gibson, Ind. T. After roughing it for some time he came to Van 
Buren, Ark., and in 1838 married Miss Mouncy Robinson, in Dickson 
County, Tenn., who was born in 1817. The following year he returned to 
Arkansas, and has since passed the remainder of his life in Crawford 
County. He has been a successful man, at one time owning a large tract 
of land, and still has in his possession 440 acres. He has seven 
children, all of whom are living and grown: Jonathan, probate and real 
estate agent; Francis M., justice of the peace; Elizabeth, Young, 
James, Berkeley and Willis H., attorney at law. Berkeley lived upon 
the farm until eighteen, and then clerked in a general store in Van 
Buren until 1872. He then began to study law under Benton J. Brown, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1873, subsequently practicing two years 
in partnership with his former preceptor. Mr. Neal soon became one of 
the leading members of the bar in the county, and about 1882 began to 
practice in the Federal court at Fort Smith, where he met with such 
success that January 2, 1888, he moved his office to Fort Smith, 
although he still retains an office in Van Buren, and spends two days 
a week in that place. In politics Mr. Neal is a Democrat, and although 
he has never sought office he was superintendent of the school board 
of Crawford County for two years. December 14, 1882, he married Miss 
Mary Edwards, daughter of Jesse Edwards, and a native of Crawford 
County. To Mr. and Mrs. Neal one child, Ollie May, has been born. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------