Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Neil, Samuel
NEIL, SAMUEL (1825–1901), author, born at Edinburgh on 4 August 1825, was second of three sons of James Neil, an Edinburgh bookseller, by his wife Sarah Lindsay, a connection of the Lindsays, earls of Crawford. On the death of the father from cholera in 1832, the family went to live at Glasgow. After education at the old grammar school at Glasgow, Neil entered the university; while an undergraduate he assisted the English master in the high school and worked for the 'Glasgow Argus' (of which Charles Mackay [q. v.] the poet was editor) and other newspapers. For a time he was a private tutor and then master successively of Falkirk charity school in 1850, of Southern Collegiate School, Glasgow, in 1852, and of St. Andrew's school, Glasgow, in 1853. Finally he was rector of Moffat Academy from 1855 to 1873.
With his school work Neil combined much literary activity. He promoted in 1857, and edited during its existence, the 'Moffat Register and Annandale Observer,' the first newspaper published in Moffat, and wrote regularly for other Scottish periodicals and educational journals.
In 1850 Neil planned, and from that date until 1873 edited, the 'British Controversialist' (40 vols. in all), a monthly magazine published in London for the discussion of literary, social, and philosophic questions. He himself contributed numerous philosophical articles, many of which he subsequently collected in separate volumes. Of these his 'Art of Reasoning' (1853) was praised for its clarity and conciseness by John Stuart Mill, George Henry Lewes, Archbishop Whately, and Alexander Bain. Other of his contributions to the 'British Controversialist' were published independently, under the titles of 'Elements of Rhetoric' (1856), 'Composition and Elocution' (1857; 2nd edit. 1857, 12mo), 'Public Meetings and how to conduct them' (1867, 12mo).
On resigning his rectorship of Moffat Academy in 1873 Neil settled in Edinburgh, devoting himself to English literature, and especially to Shakespeare. He founded and was president of the Edinburgh Shakespeare Society, and gave the annual lecture from 1874 till his death. To the 'British Controversialist' in 1860 he had contributed a series of papers which he reissued in 1861 as 'Shakespeare: a Critical Biography.' The work enjoyed a vogue as a useful epitome of the facts, although Neil accepted without demur the forgeries of John Payne Collier. It was translated into French and German. Neil, who was a frequent visitor to Warwickshire, issued a guide to Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford-on-Avon as 'Home of Shakspere described' (Warwick, 1871, 12mo), and he edited the 'Library Shakespeare' (3 vols.) in 1875, besides several separate plays for school use.
Neil took a leading part in educational and philanthropic affairs in Edinburgh, where he was on intimate terms with Professors John Stuart Blackie, Henry Calderwood, John Veitch, and David Masson. He helped to found the Educational Institute of Scotland for granting fellowships to teachers. For the Craigmillar School for the Blind there, which he managed for some years, he compiled a book of poems on the blind and by the blind, entitled 'Dark Days brightened.'
In 1900 his health failed. He died on 28 Aug. 1901, while on a visit at Sullom Manse, Shetland, and was buried in Sullom churchyard. He married on 7 April 1848 Christina, youngest daughter of Archibald Gibson, who served in the navy and was with Nelson on the Victory at the battle of Trafalgar. She predeceased him on 26 Jan. 1901. He had issue three sons and five daughters, of whom one son and three daughters, all married, survive.
A painted portrait by George Barclay is in possession of his daughter at 53 Craiglea Drive, Edinburgh. His head was done in white alabaster by a sculptor of Glasgow in 1853.
Other of Neil's works include:
- 'Cyclopædia of Universal History,' 1855; 2nd edit. 1857 (with I. McBurney).
- 'Synopsis of British History,' 1856, 12mo.
- 'Student's Handbook of Modern History,' 1857.
- 'The Young Debater,' 1863.
- 'Culture and Self-culture,' 1863.
- 'Martin Luther,' 1863, 12mo.
- 'Epoch Men and the Results of their Lives,' 1865, 12mo.
- 'The Art of Public Speaking,' 1867, 12mo.
- 'The Debater's Handbook and Controversialist Manual,' 1874, 12mo; new edit. 1880.
Neil edited and compiled the larger part of 'The Home Teacher, a Cyclopædia of Self-instruction' (1886, 6 vols. 4to).
[James Love's Schools and Schoolmasters of Falkirk, 1898, pp. 232-8; Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald, 20 Sept. 1901 (memoir by Neil's son-in-law. Rev. Charles Davidson); Moffat Express, 5 Sept. 1901; Educational News, 7 Sept. 1901; private information; notes from Mr. James Downie.]