[ 2004 AUG 03 ] [ 2004 SEPT 05 ] [ 2004 OCT 22 ] [ 2004 DEC 14 ] [ 2005 JAN 19 ] [ 2005 MAR 09 ] [ 2005 May 26 ] [ 2006 JULY 14 ]

January 19, 2005

Meneely Newsletter #5

 

 

Dear Friends and Family,

 

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

First of all let us take time to welcome everyone who just started getting our newsletter. I hope that it will both inform and entertain you.

 

Our Meneely Clan website is now available at http://clan.meneely.net  Thank you cousin Dave Cuzzort! Our great appreciation also is extended to Melissa and Dean Meneely for hosting us! Please go there and check it out, then let us know how we can improve it. We also would really like for as many of you that can to furnish information and or pictures to either myself or our webmaster.

 

Once again, thanks to all who have sent their information to Larry. There have been 40 different individuals who have taken the time to reply to our requests. There are some more of you out there who have already done some genealogical research and I stand here with my hat in my hands and implore you to send it in. We really could use your help. We have heard from some descendants of William Meneely who, to my knowledge, was the first family member to come to the USA in 1772. We have also had some responses from descendants of Robert Meneely who came in 1841 or 1842 and changed his name from McNeely on the voyage across the Atlantic. Both of these men settled in Pennsylvania, members of my branch of the family lived there too, for a short time. If we all will participate and share what information we have we can probably find a connection there with three distinct branches of the family. Wouldn't that be nice? There has also been responses from other Meneely lines. (Please forgive me if I failed to mention them individually.)

 

So where can we find the Meneely name, besides that occasional phonebook, or odd inscription on a lone tombstone? For such an uncommon surname our name can be found in more places than you might imagine. Let's see....the Meneely name is found on The Vietnam War Memorial in Washington DC, and on a monument in West Kirby, Cheshire, England dedicated to the men who lost their lives in the two world wars; there is Meneely Court in Napa, California and Meneely Street in Nevins Township, Vigo County, Indiana and don't forget Meneely Hall at Wheaton College; there are Meneely tower clocks, Meneely surveying equipment, Meneely boats, and of course Meneely bells. Those same bells, inscribed with our last name, are found all over the world; from Independence Hall in Philadelphia, to church steeples in Washington, at light houses in British Columbia to town squares in Nova Scotia, from the chimes at West Point Military Academy to the ones at the University of Texas, and  also the chimes at Valley Forge National Monument they have called millions to worship, warned of danger, fire and fog, rang in remembrance of deceased presidents and welcomed veterans home. It is quite surprising to me that there is no street in either Troy or Watervliet (formerly West Troy) with our name as the Meneely bell foundries, there were two by the way, were there from 1826 to 1951. By the way, some of us missed a good opportunity because in 2002, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Andrew Meneely, there was a large celebration and Meneely bells all over were rang in his honor. 

 

Some other interesting tidbits... both the Meneely men on the two above war memorials share the name Richard. There was a David C Meneely murdered in Australia in August of 2003 and a Meneely who was a policeman who lost his life in the line of duty in Philadelphia during the early part of the 1900's. There was one family member who served in the American Revolution, three that served with the Union during the Civil War (one cavalry officer, two enlisted men... one in the cavalry and one in the infantry) ,  a few of us in both the world wars and several in both Korea and Viet Nam.

 

I had intended to start on some individual family histories at this time but have opted not to, as the information that is ready to share is already available for all to see on our website. Please visit our website, it belongs to you too. Encourage all your relatives to do the same.

 

We hope to soon have a family coat of arms which will be approved for all to use by the clan committee.

There is still room for volunteers on said committee. Anyone who is interested please contact me.

 

Please forward this to all your relatives in your address books.

 

Peace and Blessings,

 

Vence Meneely