David Neale

David Neale died at his home in Ft. Calhoun, last Saturday, at the advanced age of 82 years, 3 months and 13 days. The funeral was held at the family residence at three o’clock, Monday afternoon, Rev. Daniel E. Jenkins, D.D., of Omaha, officiating. He spoke fittingly of the long and useful life of the departed pioneer. Among those present was Lafe Shipley, who was also a pioneer of Rockport days. The pallbearers were: Wm. Kruse, Jas. Vaughan, Camille Saltzman, George Rohwer, Guy Slader and Henry Rix. Mr. Neale was born in Bredon, Worcestershire, England, Jan. 2nd, 1834 and came to thi country and settle at Point Lesa, afterwards known as Rockport, on the Missouri river near what is now Ft. Calhoun in 1856. He lived on the same farm almost 60 years, moving to Ft. Calhoun a few years ago. On Sept. 25th, 1879, he was married to Alice M. Brain, and of this union five children were born, Mary Anna dying in infancy. Last Thanksgiving time Mr. Neale suffered a paralytic stroke from which he gradually failed until the end came at about 5 o’clock Saturday afternoon. On Thursday afternoon he and his brother, George, who came to this country with him and has likewise made his home in or near Ft. Calhoun all these years, sang a dozen or more hymns and chants, Mr. Neale singing every word. On Friday they again sang several songs and the following day he was released to sing with the heavenly choir above. Mr. Neale was known in engineering circles all over the country as the inventor of the Anchor Rip-Rap System, upon which he secured a U.S. patent and did a great deal of contract work in different parts of the country. He proved the excellence of his system by saving his own farm from the mouth of the old Missouri, when other farms nearby were being gobbled up by that rapacious stream. When he became too old to supervise the work himself he allowed the use of his patents on royalties, which brought him quite an income at one time. Mr. Neale met, conquered and enjoyed the hardships of pioneer life and was always a happy, cheerful, patient husband, father and friend. He was a great lover of music and this love stayed with him to the very last day of his life on this earth. He also had a great fondness for animals and could never stand to see on abused. He lived a brave heroic life and came off more than conqueror. The bereaved family has the sympathy of their many friends, which was beautifully shown in the many floral tributes of love and esteem sent by the State Bank, the Sunday School, the choir, the woman’s club, the Waterloo High school, the Beatrice High school faculty, the junior class at Beatrice and many others.

Enterprise 21 Apr 1916

DAVID NEALE---PIONEER

David Neale, a pioneer settler of Washington county, died at his home in Ft. Calhoun on last Saturday, the 15th inst., at the advanced age of 82 years. He settled on land southeast of that place near the Missouri river and accumulated many acres of land which has come to be valuable while engaged in farming and stock-raising. Some twenty-five or thirty years ago, to protect his land from the encroachments of the river, he devised a riprap fascine of willows so constructed that when dumped into the stream and anchored against the bank the current would fill it with quicksand and hold it in place as a protection to the bank against which it was lodged. This idea attracted the attention of civil engineers employed in railroad bridge construction and deceased was employed by the Mo. Pacific Railroad Co. in the protection of its work in Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. His health failed him some years ago and he lost his eyesight so that for a number of years he has been a helpless invalid at his home in Ft. Calhoun, where he had moved from the farm, constantly cared for by his devoted wife and daughters.

Funeral services were held at the home in Ft. Calhoun on Monday afternoon and the remains were interred in the Ft. Calhoun cemetery.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~