Gregg Neel was a prominent Donora (Washington County), Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania real estate developer and businessman who also played a significant role in local and statewide politics, medical care and insurance. Neel was a prominent civic figure in Pittsburgh and remained active in the city until his death in 1975. Neel was born on February 1, 1893 as the only son of Rev. J. Thomas Neel and Rhoda A. (Gregg) Neel of Brownsville. In 1912, Neel graduated from Waynesburg College (Greene County, Pennsylvania) and, soon after, began his career in real estate and insurance. Neel established a real estate office in Donora and sold new houses for the city's middle class. He remained in the real estate and insurance business until Governor Edward Martin appointed him Pennsylvania insurance commissioner on January 19, 1943, a position he held for four years. This position was the first of many political positions that Neel held. Furthermore, Neel worked on many political campaigns for Allegheny County's Republican Party, including his unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for the mayoral election of Pittsburgh in 1941. Neel was an active member of the Republican Party throughout his life and at one time, served as secretary of the Republican Executive Committees for both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Allegheny County. Prior to his appointment as insurance commissioner, Neel was a strong supporter of Governor Edward Martin and served as the western manager and campaign manager for Martin's primary race for Governor in spring 1942. Neel also was a member of the Advisory Committee of the State Council of Defense of Pennsylvania during World War II.
Gregg Neel was active in numerous historical concerns across the state including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission, Fort Hunter Museum (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. While working with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission in the 1930s, Neel played an important role in the establishment of Old Economy Village (Ambridge (Beaver County), Pennsylvania) as a state run historic site. Neel was active with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania where he served as vice president and acting Secretary in the 1930s. During Neel's service to the Historical Society, that institution witnessed the greatest growth of programs prior to 1986, highlighted by the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey that was led by Solon Buck. A lifetime member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Neel was an active genealogist and wrote the book The Ancestors of Gregg Livingston Neel in 1973.
Gregg Neel was involved with the local medical community through his service as last president of the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary and as a board member of Allegheny General Hospital. Located in the North Side neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary offered low cost and free medical care to Pittsburgh residents who could not afford regular doctors. The Dispensary was founded in 1873 as a successor organization to the Church Guild Dispensary, supported in large part by the work and money of Dr. Levi Harris. Noted Pittsburgh philanthropist Felix R. Brunot was elected the first president and Dr. Harris was elected vice-president. Like many relief organizations of its day, the Dispensary operated without government support and at a nominal charge for patients. While house calls by physicians was done at a fee, no charge was levied for visits to the Dispensary building that, after 1904, was located at 43 Federal Street in Pittsburgh's North Side neighborhood. By 1920, the Dispensary treated 551,289 patients at the Dispensary building and treated 30,000 more patients on house calls. In 1922, the Dispensary signed an agreement with the University of Pittsburgh, whereby the University would supply the doctors and nurses for the Dispensary as a training ground for students in their medical school. In 1931, the Dispensary changed their affiliation and opted to work with nearby Allegheny General Hospital through the hospital's outpatient clinic. After 1931, the Dispensary became a component of Allegheny General Hospital and continued the work defined in their 1873 charter.
Gregg Neel was also involved in numerous local and national civic, business and social organizations. Neel's long standing activity in the real estate business propelled him to positions in state-wide professional organizations including president of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Society, state counselor of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Association and governor of the Pittsburgh Real Estate Board. A member of the Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh, Chairman of the Municipal Affairs Committee for twenty-four years, and member of the Welfare and Charities Committee were yet other ways that Neel remained active in Pittsburgh. Gregg Neel was an Honorary Life Member of the Delta Mu Delta, a scholastic fraternity of the University of Pittsburgh. Neel served on the Board of Trustees of Pittsburgh Presbytery, as well as a member of its Executive and Finance Committee, and an elder of the Sixth Presbyterian Church. Neel also held memberships in Pittsburgh's leading social clubs including the Duquesne Club, Pittsburgh Athletic Association, Civic Club of Allegheny County, and Rotary Club.
Gregg Neel married Miss Hazel Mancha on February 3, 1914. Hazel Neel died on September 9, 1938, leaving Gregg with two daughters: Virginia Neel Alter (Mrs. Willard Stuart Alter), and Ruth Gregg Neel Soles (Mrs. Robert Lee Soles, Jr.). On July 1, 1951 Gregg Neel married Miss Avis Mary Curtis Cauley. Like Gregg Neel, Avis Neel was also actively involved with historical organizations in Pennsylvania. She served as the assistant state historian for Pennsylvania, the Director of Secondary Education for Pennsylvania, President of the Junior Historians Club, and was a member of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Avis was the author of the book Remember William Penn.
These papers include correspondence, speeches, reports, organizational records, real estate materials, and other sundry items documenting Neel's numerous commercial and political activities in Pittsburgh and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. These papers also document the historical work and career of Neel's second wife, Avis Cauley Neel. With the exception of the medical materials on the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary and Allegheny General Hospital, these papers primarily document Neel's work and activities during the 1930s and 1940s. Researchers should note that Gregg Neel's speeches on all subjects have been consolidated and arranged with the personal papers in series I. Neel presented speeches on subjects closely related to his organizational work (documented in series II) including his views on insurance, local history and historic preservation, real estate taxes, and Pennsylvania's role during World War II.
The Gregg Neel Papers are arranged in two series. Series have been designated for Personal Papers and Organizational Materials.
The Gregg Neel Papers are housed in nine archival boxes and one shelf volume.
This collection is open for research.
These materials came in three accessions and were combined into one body of papers in 1994.
Acc# 1987.0062 Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Gregg Neel, (Personal Papers).
Acc# 1987.0063 Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Gregg Neel, (Records of the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary).
Acc# 1987.0064 Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Gregg Neel, (Allegheny General Hospital Materials).
Gregg L. Neel Papers, 1873-1883, MSS# 140, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in 1988. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Alexis Morgan and Corey Seeman on September 1, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on June 26, 2001.
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Organizational Materials are arranged in four sub-series, with sub-series designated for General Organizations, Historical Organizations, Political Materials and Medical Organizations. These papers constitute the bulk of Neel's papers and include annual reports, minutes, correspondence, publications, financial materials and other sundry items documenting Neel's role in the operation of these organizations and general material about these organizations. Of note among the organizational materials are documentation of Neel's role with historic organizations, his philanthropic activities with Waynesburg College, service as insurance commissioner, participation in the statewide Republican Party in the 1940s and 1950s, and his hands on role in the management of the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary before their merger with Allegheny General Hospital.
General Organizations materials include correspondence, membership materials, printed items and other sundry items documenting his involvement and/or membership in numerous civic and professional organizations. Of note are materials relating to the Pennsylvania Real Estate Association and Waynesburg College. Waynesburg College materials primarily date from the 1950s through the early 1980s and include correspondence and financial materials regarding the Gregg L. Neel Memorial Library.
The financial materials primarily document the real estate in Neel's hometown of Donora, Pennsylvania that was given to the school to finance the library and include maps, deeds, and mortgages. Of note are brochures that Neel used to sell real estate in Donora. Church materials include minutes and correspondence of the First Presbyterian Church and primarily the Sixth Presbyterian Church. Other organizations documented in these papers include the Amen Corner, Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Athletic Association, Rotary Club, Squirrel Hill Board of Trade, Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, the Wisdom Hall of Fame, Duquesne Club, National Fraternal Congress, Sons of the American Revolution, and Daughters of the American Revolution.
Historical Materials include minutes, correspondence, appointments to committees, and financial papers regarding the Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, and the Fort Hunter Museum. Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission materials include minutes, correspondence, and reports of the commission and its sites such as Old Economy Village (Ambridge, Pennsylvania), Logstown, and Fort Pitt. Old Economy Village materials are extensive and include correspondence, primarily from John S. Duss (the last living member of the Harmony Society), regarding life at the Society and the care and condition of Old Economy Village during the archaeological excavation and renovation of the site. Also included with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission are papers from 1940 to 1945 concerning the historical markers for Pennsylvanians Brasher, Knox, and Blaine. These materials also include extensive correspondence from Avis Neel regarding the Commission, and correspondence regarding Pennsylvania legislation concerning historical preservation. Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Materials include correspondence, financial materials, and other sundry items primarily documenting Neel's service as vice president and trustee of the Historical Society from 1931 to the early 1940s. These materials also document the work of Solon Buck and members of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey that was underwritten by the Buhl Foundation of Pittsburgh. Included are numerous letters and financial reports concerning the Special Fund established at the Historical Society to fund their obligations relating to the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey. Fort Hunter Museum materials are not comprehensive and primarily include minutes, announcement of meetings, and committee material documenting Neel's work on the Museum Advisory Committee in the 1950s. Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies materials contain minutes of their annual meetings.
The Political Materials primarily include correspondence and other working files documenting Neel's work for the Republican Party in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Pennsylvania and his work as Insurance Commissioner from 1943 until 1947. Papers created through Neel's work as Insurance Commissioner include correspondence, invitations, programs, newspaper clippings and other sundry items. The correspondence dates from 1923 until 1952 and documents issues relating the office of the insurance commissioner and other insurance concerns before and after his term as commissioner. Included are several letters of congratulations to Neel regarding his service in the office, speeches, and working notes. Of note is extensive correspondence with Governor Edward Martin regarding insurance programs for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Other items documenting Neel's service as Insurance Commissioner include invitations and programs for dinners, and several news clippings. Keystone Mutual Casualty Company materials contain news clippings, reports, and correspondence documenting the state investigation that started in 1944 concerning the default and closure of that Pittsburgh insurance firm.
Republican Party materials include correspondence, reports, and other working papers documenting Neel's work on behalf of the Republican Party in city, county and state-wide elections, and for his own candidacy for Republican Party's nomination for Pittsburgh's mayor in 1941. Governor Edward Martin correspondence dates from 1937 to 1953 and primarily includes letters regarding appointments, speeches, and day-to-day activity of the governor. Arranged separately, materials concerning Neel's work for the Edward Martin's gubernatorial campaigns between 1938 and 1947 include telegrams, campaign meetings, programs for fundraising banquets, letters to the business community, correspondence from Edward Martin, and congratulatory letters. Miscellaneous materials concerning Martin's campaign for governor include voters guides, primary sample ballots, biographical cards of Edward Martin, and a Martin for Governor poster. Also included in the political papers are 1941 petitions for Gregg Neel's run for Pittsburgh mayor, and lists of active people in the Republican Party in Allegheny County. Republican Executive Committee and Republican Finance Committee materials include correspondence regarding campaigns to raise funds, and invitations for dinners and luncheons. Republican Women materials are invitations and announcements for dinners and luncheons, as well as thank you letters.
Materials for Medical Organizations include Neel's copies of materials generated by Allegheny General Hospital and the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary. Medical materials include annual reports, minutes, correspondence, financial information and other sundry items documenting nearly the entire history of the Pittsburgh Free Dispensary and the 1930s through the 1970s of Allegheny General Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). The Pittsburgh Free Dispensary materials are comprehensive and pre-date Neel's involvement with the Dispensary. As last president of the Dispensary before its merger with Allegheny General Hospital, Neel served as custodian for these records that are included with his papers. The Dispensary records include annual reports, correspondence, minutes, historical materials, financial materials, agreements with hospitals, and other sundry items. The minutes date from 1873-1903 and from 1923-1972 and include annual reports, information on the contributions made to the Dispensary, physician activity, and other information providing details about the operation of the Dispensary. Of note is a news clipping announcing the opening of the Dispensary that is pasted to the front cover of the minute book. The annual reports are published and contain information on the number of people and the ailments treated at the Dispensary, as well as the names of the Dispensary's doctors and board members. Financial materials include ledgers, account sheets, report of general funds, checkbooks and stubs. The ledgers document the time period between 1889 and 1940 and provide detailed information on the financial transactions of the Dispensary including expenditures, contributions, endowment balances, and other financial information. The Henry C. Frick Bequest Fund is mentioned in the financial ledgers for the years after Frick's death in 1919. The correspondence dates from 1934 to 1975 and is primarily between Neel and the Union National Bank concerning the Dispensary's endowment fund. Also included are letters from Allegheny General Hospital to the Dispensary thanking them for their donations. Historical materials include printed and manuscript historical works, constitution, charters, bylaws, and copies of the agreements between the Dispensary and the two Pittsburgh hospitals that they worked with. Of note among the historical materials is a 1924 booklet, The Story of a Great and Necessary Work. Miscellaneous materials contain a formulary printed for the Dispensary, and a court statement made by Neel in 1931 regarding the Dispensary and its history.
The Allegheny General Hospital materials include sporadic annual reports from 1936 through 1975, board of trustee correspondence (1939-1977), board of trustee minutes from 1974 to 1975, an investment summary for the hospital in 1966, and several hospital publications from 1957 to 1975. Miscellaneous materials for the Hospital include a comparative statistical report 1935 and 1936, and a parking permit.