William Neil was born around 1746 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and graduated from Glasgow College in Scotland. When he returned to Belfast, he became an important and large-scale manufacturer of linen. He and his wife, Margaret, had seven children: Thomas, Charles, Robert, Ann, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Margaret. Around 1790, William, Margaret, and several of the children emigrated to America and settled in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There, William and Thomas operated a store specializing in linens and tea, located on Buck Street. William's son, Charles, who remained in Belfast, assisted in coordinating trans-Atlantic trading.
Around 1798, Ann Neil married merchant George Andrews of Dover, New Hampshire, cementing the business relationship between Andrews and her father. Thomas Neil (c. 1773-1850) married Sarah McNeil (c. 1772-1821), and they had one son, Thomas, who died at sea in 1820. William Neil died in 1825, aged 79, and after his death, Thomas carried on the trade.
From the guide to the Neil family papers, 1774-1872, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
