George Samuel Neel was born March 20, 1842 near Decatur, Ohio to Hiriam and Malinda Babbers Neel. He married Kentucky schoolteacher Minerva A. Glass on January 17, 1866 in Brown County, Ohio. The couple had eight children. Neel enlisted in the Army on February 26, 1864 and served in Company A of the 70th regiment, Ohio infantry. After serving with Generals Logan and Sherman and participating in the Atlanta campaign, he was honorably discharged on August 14, 1865. Neel died July 1, 1931 at Webster City, Iowa.

This collection contains the photocopies of material Neel's great-grandson, Richard Groves duplicated and collected from various sources. The documents include copies of both Neel and his widow's application for pensions, death certificates, and newspaper clippings, as well as a copy of Neel's 1864 diary and his Civil War-era correspondence.