William Neely 'with a sword'

"William Neely - There seems no doubt on the existence of this man because he is listed in the 1630 Donegal muster roll living on the Chichester Estate and having a 'sword only'. He is the only Neely listed in the Donegal 1630 muster roll. My understanding is that these men could be anywhere from 16 to 60 years old. I believe he must be a separate person from William of Burt and indeed, I believe William of Burt was likely his first son. My logic is that William of Burt was born about 1621 according to the LDS records and thus, he would have been only 9 years old in 1630, so would have been too young to be listed in the muster roll. William of Burt's age is also somewhat confirmed by the birth of his son John in 1653 registered in the Derry Cathedral, which would have made him 32 years old if he was born in 1621. Therefore, with the evidence at hand, I believe William Neely (1) was most probably the first Neely in Ulster. It also seems probable he could have come in 1608 as a young soldier with William Stewart per your previous research. If so, he would have been born about 1590 and would have been 31 when William of Burt was born and 40 years old when listed in the 1630 muster roll."

• Taken from "Early Neely's" listed in Source tab.

________________________ Some online trees have a son John Neely-b.1615, but that is unlikely as Margaret would be too young.

Others also have a Nancy-b.1637 as a daughter of William & Margaret, but that Nancy seems to more properly be the daughter of a John Neely-b.1615 and Nancy-b.1615.

John "Seige" Neely-b1657 is likely a grandson, not a son.

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