McNEESE, John New York City, NY., then Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Mike Miller ** ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 115-116. Edited by Alc e Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association. McNeese, John, of Lake Charles, was born in New York City, July 4, 1843, a son of William and Mary (Beechum) McNeese, both natives of Scotland. His mother died when he was an infant, and his father when he was 9 years of age. He was reared at Baltimore, Md., by relatives. At the age of 18 he enlisted in the Union army, in answer to the first call for volunteers. He served to the close of the war, and then went to Texas, and located in Menard county, where he merchandized, and served as county clerk, and about 1870 came to Louisiana. He had received a good literary education, and on coming to Louisiana engaged in school teaching, and about 1885 graduated in law from Tulane university, and was engaged in practicing law at Lake Charles, when he was appointed superintendent of public schools in Calcasieu parish, which position he held for many years, retiring about one year before his death, which occurred June 2, 1914. His life work was that of an educator, and he accomplished much for the cause of education. He married Susan Bilbo, a daughter of William Bilbo, a pioneer of southwest Louisiana. Unto the marriage were born 5 sons and 2 daughters. Of the family, the second oldest is Oswald W. McNeese, adjutant-general of Louisiana.