John Cadwallader Neale

Duane's take

The marker in Fannin County tells it this way, and I'm just passing it along. John Cadwallader Neale came into this world on April 20, 1838, in middle Tennessee. By the time the Civil War came callin, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and rode with the 9th Tennessee Cavalry.

That's a man who knew something about commitment before he ever set foot in Texas. He made his way to Fannin County, and three years after that, in 1877, he purchased a nearby farm. Not a bad start for a man planting roots in new soil.

But Neale wasn't the kind to stop at one thing. He later opened a family grocery in Leonard and built himself into a leading businessman of the community. He was a Mason.

He was a church deacon. And somewhere in all of that, he found time to be twice married and raise fourteen children. Fourteen.

You let that number sit a moment. John Cadwallader Neale passed on December 13, 1906, leaving behind a full farm, a grocery, a lodge, a congregation, and a family tree that must have needed its own county map. Some men pass through a place.

Neale just built one.

What the marker says

(Apr. 20, 1838 - Dec. 13, 1906) Born in middle Tennessee, John Cadwallader Neale enlisted in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and served with the 9th Tennessee Cavalry. In 1877, three years after he migrated to Fannin County, he purchased a nearby farm. He later opened a family grocery in Leonard and became a leading businessman of the community. He was also a Mason and a church deacon. Twice married, Neale was the father of fourteen children.