Angie (McNeil) Lord (1833-1881)

Angie Lord, née McNeil, was the younger sister of Dorcas Chapin. She was born around 1833 as the fourth child of unknown parents. She was a teacher and principal in Ohio for much of her life, but she spent her last few years as a missionary wife in China. Angie authored two letters in the collection.

On June 9, 1856, Angie wrote from Warsaw, Ohio, to update Dorcas on the exploits of neighbors, shared acquaintances, and recent visitors. She described herself as “a dignified old maid of 23 teaching schule and spouting ideas.”[1]

On November 20, 1861, Angie wrote from Lancaster, Ohio, to inform Dorcas of the death of their younger sister Harriet Pepple’s baby, Fanny, from diphtheria. At the time, Angie was residing with the Pepples and not teaching. She wrote of the grief in the household and continued illnesses of Harriet and her two surviving daughters, Kate and Ella. Additionally, she stated that there was a regiment of soldiers organizing in Lancaster, and that the Pepple bakery was somehow involved.

Although we have no letters from Angie after 1861, Harriet mentioned her in several letters.[2] She stated in January of 1865 that Angie was “away teaching.”[3] It is likely that Angie lived either with or close to the Pepples in Lancaster throughout the 1850s and 1860s, though she left for months at a time to teach.

In 1867, 1868, 1870, 1873, and 1877, Angie McNeil is listed in the Toledo City Directory. Her indicated profession varies between teacher and principal over the years.

In a letter to Dorcas written in August of 1878, Angie’s niece Louise Little indicated that Angie was in Akron, Ohio, but no longer teaching. She followed this news with the prescient observation that “teachers always marry if they don’t teach, don’t they?”[4]

On November 30, 1878, Angie married Baptist missionary Edward Clemens Lord (1817-1887) in Shanghai, China.[5] Lord was thrice-widowed and had several children and step-children from his previous marriages, including Fannie Lord.[6]

In an undated letter, Louise Little said that Angie, from whom she had recently received a letter, “[seemed] very happy” in China.[7] In another letter to Dorcas, written in December of an unknown year, Little stated that Angie had been seriously ill with dysentery but was hoping that her health would improve as the weather cooled.[8]

Angie McNeil Lord passed away in Yantai, China, on August 28, 1881, following an illness.[9] The Summit County Beacon reported that her letters immediately prior to her passing expressed that she was “reconciled to her fate” but worried for her husband’s loneliness.[10] Her memorial service was held at the East Toledo Baptist Church, of which she had been a member for twelve years.[11]  

__________________________________

[1] Schule is the German word for school. The McNeil family has no known German origins, and it is unclear if there is any significance to Angie using this word.

[2] Pepple to Dorcas Chapin, January 29, 1865, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/1861-1865--the-civil-war-in-ch/chapin-1865/january-29--1865; Pepple to Marcia Christy, December 8, 1871, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/1866-1877--reconstruction-and-/1871/december-8--1871; Pepple to Dorcas Chapin, February 16, 1873, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/1866-1877--reconstruction-and-/1873/february-16--1873.

[3] Pepple to Dorcas Chapin, January 29, 1865, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/1861-1865--the-civil-war-in-ch/chapin-1865/january-29--1865.

[4] Little to Dorcas Chapin, August 8, 1878, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/1878-1896-----/1878/april-8--1878.

[5] Champaign County Herald (Urbana, IL), Jan. 22, 1879.

[6] G. Wright Doyle. “Edward Clemens Lord.” Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity. Global China Center. Accessed December 6, 2022. https://bdcconline.net/en/stories/the-rev-edward-c-lord-d-d.

[7] Little to Unknown, Undated, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/miscellaneous-documents/undated-letters/louise-little-fragment.

[8] Little to Dorcas Chapin, December 7, Unknown Year, The Chapin-McNeil Family Letters, 1856-1895, Champaign County History Museum Digital Exhibits, https://champaigncountyhistory.omeka.net/exhibits/show/chapin-family-letters--1856-18/miscellaneous-documents/undated-letters/bradford--december-7--unknown.

[9] The Summit County Beacon (Akron, OH), Nov. 2, 1881; “Particulars of Mrs. Lord’s Death in China.” The Summit County Beacon (Akron, OH), Nov. 9, 1881.

[10] “Memorial Services for Mrs. Angie McNeil Lord.” The Summit County Beacon (Akron, OH), Nov. 9, 1881.

[11] ibid.