Songs, Merry and Sad

John Charles McNeill (1874-1907) was an American teacher, journalist and poet, born in Scotland County, North Carolina. He attended Wake Forest College, where he received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees, after which he taught English at Mercer University. He was a lawyer for some years in Lumberton, North Carolina. Some of his poems began to be published in 1900, and in 1903 in the Charlotte Observer. In 1904 he joined its staff and wrote many pieces for it. His first and only collection of poems, Songs, Merry and Sad, won the first Patterson Cup in 1905 before being published in 1906.