Results
As of July, 2007, the Neely Project has 37 marker results on seven Neelys. We need many more Neely participants to help define the various family lines back to Ireland. The results so far are grouped by known genealogy into four groups.
1. Thomas Neely Group Descendants (all of the 4 matches are at least 36 out of 37 markers)
Thomas Neely arrived in the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania about 1730 from Ireland with his family. According to family tradition, he came from Co. Tyrone. He was married to Agnes and arrived with 4 sons; Samuel, Thomas, Jackson and John. Mary and Matthew were born in America. Based on the ages of his children, Thomas was probably born about 1695. He finally settled in Tyrone Township, York Co. (now Adams), PA in the late 1740’s and died there in 1756. His oldest son, Samuel, also remained there and raised a large family. Thomas and Jackson moved to the Carolinas in the Charlotte area. Matthew reportedly moved there later. We have no information on John.
· James R. Neely (kit 71156) – Administrator, descended from Jackson, son of Thomas
· Stephen Neely (kit 22654) – Co-Administrator, descended from Samuel, son of Thomas
· Marion Neely (kit 89464) – Uncle to Stephen, descended from Samuel, son of Thomas
· Arthur D. Neely (kit N8310) – Probably descended from John, son of Thomas or John, son of Samuel.
2. “Botetourt, Va & NY Neelys” Group Descendants
The earliest record of a Neely immigrant in America found to date was the purchase of land by John Neely in 1705 in Orange Co., NY. In 1715, John Neely, Samuel Neely and Alexander Neely were listed as Freeholders of Shawengough, which is in the area of the present town of Montgomery, NY. Most of the residents of this area supposedly emigrated from Londonderry, Ireland. Three brothers arrived in that area from Co. Tyrone it is believed over a period of about 5 years. John Nele arrived in 1716 at age 19 with a load of political prisoners from Preston, England. Robert Neely arrived with his family in 1719 as an indentured servant and William Neally arrived a couple of years later also with a family. By the 1750’s, Neelytown had been established between Montgomery and New Windsor and was populated by many Neelys holding various positions in local government and the militias. In 1742, a child of one of the immigrants, James Neely, was married to Jane Grimes in Christ Church in Philadelphia, PA. A well known Neely Researcher, Roy H. Neely, was convinced James was the son of Robert Neely who arrived in 1719 and died in 1756.
James and some of his brothers obtained grants of land in Botetourt Co. VA around the Roanoke area beginning in the early 1750’s. They and other families settled this area and built substantial land holdings before their descendants moved on to TN, KY, NC and the area of Abingdon VA and nearby Scott county shortly after 1800. Some of these Neely families spelled their name as Neelly, which has been retained since then.
· Michael Neelly (kit N7324) – Descended from John Henry Neelly, born Jan. 14, 1800 in Botetourt Co., VA
3. “Fishing Creek Neelys” Group Descendants
A group of adult Neely siblings settled on Fishing Creek, SC in the area close to Chester, SC in about 1752 and are called the ‘Fishing Creek Neelys’ to differentiate them other Neely family groups who also settled in nearby York and Rock Hill, SC about 10 – 15 years later. It is believed the father of the ‘Fishing Creek Neelys’ was Samuel Neely, born about 1695 in Ulster Ireland and immigrated to America before 1730. Whether he landed in NY or PA first before moving to NC is not known. He died about 1761 in Anson Co, NC. There is quite a bit of family history on this Neely group after arriving in Fishing Creek, SC, but very little on their origins.
· William Charles Neely (kit 89950) – Descended from Andrew Neely, born about 1777 in Fishing Creek, and died as sheriff in Carroll Co. TN in 1844.
4. “Viking Neelys” Group Descendants
This is a new group brought about by the recent YDNA results of Samuel Henry Neely whose father and grandfather were both born in Co. Donegal, Ireland. It was nicknamed Viking Neelys because the resulting I1a haplogroup is most commonly found in Scandinavia and is significantly different than the R1b haplogroup the other tested Neelys belong to. Close matches to Sam’s YDNA results have been found in several McNeills from N. Ireland and Scotland that also belong to the I1a haplogroup, but are different from the R1b of most of the other McNeills, which in turn have significantly different haplotypes (YDNA marker results) from the other Neelys. It is possible that ancestors of this haplotype were indeed the Vikings that raided the Hebrides Islands and coasts of Scotland and Ireland for hundreds of years. At this point, we can only speculate about this family line or branch until we get other Neely matches.
· Samuel Henry Neely (kit 92082) – Father and Grandfather both born in Co. Donegal, Ireland
See our Cluster Analysis of Genetic Distance between Neely and some other Surnames.