Title: John R. Neal Collection

Date/Date Range :   1896-circa 1925

Extent: 1.0 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection includes the general and personal correspondence of all seven members of the Neal family. It also includes legal papers (bank statements, land deeds, and receipts), a certificate of State Representative for John R. Neal, Sr., and an English textbook from Emory and Henry College with personal writings. There are also newspaper articles and transcripts documenting the Scopes Trial.

Call number: MS-2014

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

This collection is property of the University of Tennessee's Special Collections Library.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], John R. Neal Collection, MS-2014. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of one box.

John R. Neal was born on November 26, 1836 near Clinton, Tennessee. He studied law at Emory and Henry College, where he earned his degree in 1858. He was admitted to the bar in 1859 and began practicing law in Athens, Tennessee. Neal served in the Confederate Cavalry during the Civil War and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. When the war ended, he settled in Rhea Springs, Tennessee, where he resumed his legal practice. Neal served in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1874 and in the State Senate from 1878 to 1879. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1885, where he continued to serve until his health began to fail in 1888. Neal died on March 26, 1889 in Rhea Springs, Tennessee.

John R. Neal married Mary E.C. Brown and the couple had five children: John Randolph, Jr., George F., Mary, Katherine, and Amanda. John, Jr., served as a defense attorney on the famous case of John Thomas Scopes versus State of Tennessee (1925), challenging the state law prohibiting the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in public schools.

This collection includes the general and personal correspondence of all seven members of the Neal family. It also includes legal papers (bank statements, land deeds, and receipts), a certificate of State Representative for John R. Neal, Sr., and an English textbook from Emory and Henry College with personal writings. There are also newspaper articles and transcripts documenting the Scopes Trial.

• Neal, John Randolph, 1876-1959.
• Neal, John Randolph, 1836-1889.
• Scopes trial -- Tennessee -- Dayton.
• Dayton (Tenn.) -- History.
• Neal family.
• Tennessee -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950.