Title
W.A. McNeill, Railroad Capitalist and Entrepreneur, Oskaloosa, Iowa, circa 1906; Mahaska County
Description
Wilbur A. McNeill was a successful businessman in the coal mining industry. Born in 1843, McNeill gained his early education at Sandstone Seminary until 1861, when McNeill enlisted in the Fourth Illinois Cavalry to fight the Confederacy. McNeill was severely wounded in a hand to hand pistol duel while forces were skirmishing in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1873, McNeill partnered with his brother, Hobart A. McNeill, to form the Iowa Central Company, a coal mining business that eventually merged to form the Consolidated Coal Company. In 1881, McNeill and his brother sold the stock in the business for half a million dollars cash. Afterwards, McNeill founded the Oskaloosa Livery and Transfer Company, which enjoyed much success. McNeill then went on to become president of the W.A. Company in Seattle, Washington and the H.W. McNeill Company, Limited, in Alberta, Canada.