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Ben Dixon MacNeill

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Ben Dixon MacNeill

Birth	:	21 Nov 1889 Scotland County, North Carolina, USA
Death	:	26 May 1960 Buxton, Dare County, North Carolina, USA
Burial	:	McKinnon Cemetery, Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate	:	34.7349600, -79.4994700
Description	:	MacNeill, Ben Dixon by David Stick, 1991 21 Nov. 1889–26 May 1960 Ben Dixon MacNeill, author and journalist, was born on a farm four miles from Laurinburg, the third child of Scottish parents. His father, Angus Benjamin MacNeill, cultivated a small farm but was more interested in singing and fiddling than in agriculture. Known as "Ben MacNeill the Singing Master," he traveled in several southern states, frequently conducting singing schools. His mother, Flora McKinnon MacNeill, exercised an especially strong influence on young Ben, sharing with him an interest in flowers, birds, animals, and even snakes, and encouraging his inquisitiveness. Recognizing... Read More	MacNeill, Ben Dixon by David Stick, 1991 21 Nov. 1889–26 May 1960 Ben Dixon MacNeill, author and journalist, was born on a farm four miles from Laurinburg, the third child of Scottish parents. His father, Angus Benjamin MacNeill, cultivated a small farm but was more interested in singing and fiddling than in agriculture. Known as "Ben MacNeill the Singing Master," he traveled in several southern states, frequently conducting singing schools. His mother, Flora McKinnon MacNeill, exercised an especially strong influence on young Ben, sharing with him an interest in flowers, birds, animals, and even snakes, and encouraging his inquisitiveness. Recognizing his natural affinity for words and their usage, she bought him a blue-back speller, his first book, and followed that later with a copy of Webster's Dictionary. The family moved to Laurinburg, where Ben attended a classical academy conducted by Professor W. G. Quakenbush and worked in the summer in the Dickson Cotton Mills. Even then, at age eleven, he had a reputation for telling tall tales, and with encouragement from Mrs. Walter McEachin, his Sunday school teacher in the Presbyterian church attended by the family, he became an avid reader of classical literature and poetry. Later he was to describe his acquaintance as a teenager with John Charles McNeill, the poet, who at the time was a columnist for the Charlotte Observer: "He was vaguely my cousin. I doubt that he was really. He was a magnificent figure—godlike. And he treated me like a contemporary. I would look dumbly at him and know that, somehow, I'd be a writer, too." In 1905 MacNeill was sent to Bingham Military Academy, near Mebane, and later attended Davidson College for a brief period. His first full-time job was as a teacher at the Troutman School in Iredell County, followed by another stint as a teacher in the Marvin School in Grays Creek, to which his family had moved from Laurinburg. His students remembered him more for his storytelling than for his teaching ability. The urge to write was still strong, and he gave up teaching for a job as a reporter with the Wilmington Morning Star, an association that was interrupted during World War I by three years of service in the army, in which he became a machine-gun instructor. Returning to the Morning Star, he was promoted to city editor, though his interests were more in writing than in editing. In 1920 he left Wilmington to become a reporter for the Raleigh News and Observer, covering state government and the General Assembly among other assignments. His flair for words and his ability to write interesting stories about otherwise mundane happenings attracted the attention of the paper's editor, Josephus Daniels, whom the reporter once described as "a daddy to me," and Ben Dixon was given a special roving assignment, traveling throughout the state and writing about anything that interested him. His column, "Cellar and Garret," became one of the most popular in the South. Following the death of his father in 1931, he returned to Grays Creek and for a brief period managed the family's gristmill, but it was not long before he was writing special features for the People's Advocate in Fayetteville. In 1937 MacNeill went to Manteo to become publicity director for Paul Green's symphonic drama, The Lost Colony, the focal point of the celebration on Roanoke Island of the 350th anniversary of the first attempt at English colonization in the New World. His articles on this innovative experiment with drama were published throughout the country and were a contributing factor to the success of the Green play, which became the longest running outdoor drama in America; it is still shown annually in Waterside Theatre at Fort Raleigh. When The Lost Colony was forced to close during World War II, MacNeill reenlisted in the army, this time as a major, and subsequently became public relations officer at Fort Knox, Ky. After three years of service, he was discharged for physical disability with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He resumed his duties as publicity director for The Lost Colony when it reopened in the summer of 1946, but failing health and a desire to do some serious writing resulted in his retiring to the village of Buxton, at Cape Hatteras, where he lived until his death in a small cottage on a knoll close by the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It was here that he wrote, and put aside, his first and only novel, Sand Roots, which was published after his death, and his highly successful personalized account of the people who lived on the Outer Banks, The Hatterasman, winner of the Mayflower Cup award in 1958. In his declining years he frequently "held court," seated in a special chair in the small living room of the cottage at "Buxton on Cape Hatteras" when visitors came to call, recounting his experiences and telling fascinating stories for hours on end. To one such visitor, in late May 1960, he said: "I am in the place in this world where I most want to be." Death came to him a week later while he was seated in his favorite chair. Additional information from NCpedia editors at the State Library of North Carolina: According to an article published in the Raleigh News & Observer on December 7, 1958, the Mayflower Cup Award was presented to Ben Dixon MacNeill in 1958 by former U.S. president Harry S. Truman. In 1905, a relative, N.C. poet John Charles MacNeill, received the cup from then president Theodore Roosevelt.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Ben Dixon MacNeill's memorial?
Ben Dixon MacNeill's memorial is located at: McKinnon Cemetery, Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA.
When did Ben Dixon MacNeill death?
Ben Dixon MacNeill death on 26 May 1960 in Buxton, Dare County, North Carolina, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Ben Dixon MacNeill's memorial?
Latitude: 34.7349600
Longitude: -79.4994700

Family Members:

Parent

Angus Benjamin McNeill

(1848 - 1931)

Flora McKinnon McNeill

(1859 - 1938)

Siblings

Bernice McNeill

(1880 - 1880)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. McKinnon Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7349600, -79.4994700

2. McCormick Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7454000, -79.5029700

3. Lytch Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7458000, -79.5218964

4. Blue Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7524986, -79.5143967

5. Laurinburg Memorial Park
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7114700, -79.5264800

6. Caledonia United Methodist Church Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7290916, -79.4603958

7. Matthews Chapel AME Zion Church Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7657040, -79.4775010

8. Seales Family Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7008290, -79.5199050

9. Ziba B. Gibson Cemetery
Masons Crossroads, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7208200, -79.5516600

10. Carmichael-McIntyre Cemetery
Stewartsville Township, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7352370, -79.4414480

11. Graham Plantation Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.6997300, -79.5389800

12. Reedy Creek Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7738914, -79.4630585

13. Locklear Family Cemetery
Gibson, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7368870, -79.5632460

14. McNair Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7888985, -79.5141983

15. Gibson Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7825012, -79.5353012

16. Wright Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7747002, -79.5475006

17. Gibson Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7907982, -79.5186005

18. Hillside Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7844009, -79.4625015

19. Cedar Grove Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7817300, -79.4522100

20. Hillside Memorial Park
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7894000, -79.4646000

21. Leach Cemetery
Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7921982, -79.4702988

22. Locklear Native Cemetery
Johns, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.6818761, -79.4581009

23. McColman Cemetery
Laurinburg, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7474600, -79.5765000

24. Saint John United Methodist Church Cemetery
Gibson, Scotland County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7653400, -79.5736800