The first two MacNeils who came to Cape Breton followed their deceased father's instructions for finding the best site on which to start their settlement. Donald "Og" MacNeil, from Barra, Scotland, took part in the siege of Fortress Louisburg in 1758 and was much impressed by the beauty of Bras d'Or Lake. He met an early death in Quebec in 1759, but his sons fulfilled their father's wishes, emigrating more than fifty years later to Pictou and thence finding their way to what is now called Iona, Cape Breton. Author S.R. MacNeil, Donald "Og" MacNeil's great grandson, was curator of the Highland Village museum at Iona and answered many requests for family histories from visitors. In response he compiled this very thorough collection of genealogical data on the families who first settled in Iona. The book begins with MacNeils, and continues with many familiar surnames including Campbell, MacKinnon, MacKenzie, MacLean, and MacDonald. Since it was first published in 1979, this genealogical study has been useful to many thousands of descendants who have traced their roots to Cape Breton immigration in the early nineteenth century.

S.R. MacNeil's profile page