Hosea McNeill was born c. 1784. His father, John McNeill, died in 1791 and the boy emerged from under his guardian's care in 1807. His mother, Annes, later married James Cochran and died in 1820 or 21. Hosea married Isabella Graves (1787?-1861), daughter of the Rev. Barzillai Graves (1759-1827) and Ursula Wright. Barzillai Graves was the pastor of the Busharbor (or Arbor) Primitive Baptist Meeting House in Caswell county, North Carolina until he resigned in 1810. Hosea and Isabella lived on Stony Creek in Caswell, and raised eight children there. Hosea McNeill died Aug. 8, 1857, age 73. Julia, the youngest, was born in 1833 (d. 1910).

Julia married James Poteat (1807-1888), a widower, tavern owner in Yanceyville and large landowner. In 1856 their first son was born, William Louis (d. 1938). Their other children were Ida Belle (1858-1940) and Edwin McNeill (1861-1937). From his previous marriage, James' children were John M., Felix L., James P., Lindsay (d. 1864), Sarah E. and most likely a daughter "Bellie" whose married name was Lindsay. John, Felix and Lindsay all fought in the Civil War, Lindsay dying in battle. Other Poteats who figure in these papers are John Sr., father of James, Miles and William, apparently brothers or uncles.

Julia had a vast quantity of relatives. Her eldest sister was Ursula, who married James Norfleet and pioneered to western Tennessee with her little girl, also Julia, in 1828. Father Hosea came out to visit in 1833, leaving a travelogue of his trip. Ursula's other children were Hosea, Alexander Munroe, Newton, Thomas, James, Jasper and Edward. Later the family moved to Mississippi, where James Sr. died in 1841 or 42. Ursula later had one more child, apparently illegitimate, named John. Other Norfleet relatives mentioned in her letters are James' mother, Priscilla, his sister, Jackey L. and his brother Edward.

The rest of the McNeill siblings are not easy to place in order. Frances married Maj. James Kerr in 1835. The major died in 1848. She later married Dr. Frank Mebane. Mary married William Moore and two of her daughters were named Emma and Jinnie. Margaret married a man named Carter and lived in Halifax until she moved to western Tennessee with her sister, Emily. Emily, or Emma, married a man named Williams and moved to Tennessee in 1860, with her children, Hosea and Alice, in tow. In addition, there was a brother, and perhaps another sister, Melissa, "Lissie", who may have married a Reily and had a daughter, Jinnie.

Isabella McNeill's siblings, mentioned in these papers, were Mary, wife of Thomas W. Graves, Margaret, and Solomon. Frances Williams, wife of Nathan, was either Isabella's sister or Hosea's. Two brothers of Hosea received mention, George, a merchant in Fayetteville, and William.

Sources for more information on these families are, the genealogy file on Barzillai Graves, the Biblical Recorder for appropriate years, William Louis Poteat by Margaret Linder, and the William Louis Poteat Papers.