Joseph McNeilly, born in the fall of 1830 in County Antrim, Ireland, was one of eight children born to Andrew and Martha (Boyd) McNeilly. Joseph came to America with his brothers and they all settled in the South Hills area-James in Baldwin Township; Andrew in Beadling, where he worked as a stable boss; Robert farmed in Mt. Lebanon; and John in Mt. Lebanon where he worked as a gardener.
On Jan. 1, 1873, Joseph married Hannah Maria (Fetterman) Silk (1842-1923), the widow of Joseph Silk (a soldier in the Union Army who was killed in Chattanooga). Hannah Maria (1842-1923) was born in Beaver County, the daughter of Anna Maria (Dillon) and lawyer Nathaniel Plummer Fetterman (Nathaniel was the son of Hannah (Plummer) Fetterman and her first husband George Fetterman). Hannah Maria had one daughter, Josephine Silk (1863-1941), by her first husband. Josephine married Samuel Anderson and they lived at 1306 Tennessee Avenue in Dormont.
Joseph and Hannah settled in the Scott Township area where they engaged in farming and gardening on their property of 60 acres. Joseph sold the land in 1875, buying six-and-a-half acres in what was then known as West Liberty borough (their house was located at 851 McNeilly Road). Both were members of MLEPC, Republicans and had only one child, George Fetterman McNeilly.
Like his father, George (1873-1954) was a Republican, a farmer and gardener. In 1908, George married Margaret Lindsay Leeburn (1878-1958), a native of Ireland. Their daughter, Martha Leeburn McNeilly, born June 21, 1912 and died in 1947.
A biographical sketch about George says: “At the time of the organization of the borough of Dormont, when real estate values were increasing, Mr. McNeilly became interested in real estate in his region.” George built at least seven homes in the McNeilly Road area.
St. Clair Cemetery 