Robert Neil was a silversmith who started business in 1803 in High Street. He was a partner with Henry L. Gardner and helped turn the firm into a successful company of jewellers, watchmakers and opticians.
He was married to Letitia and had nine surviving children. He was an advocate of radical, progressive causes and was involved in various activities such as anti-slavery, Parliamentary reform, and support for the Belfast Poor House.
He was a strong anti-slavery man and hosted visiting abolitionist lecturers such as William Lloyd Garrison, Henry C. Wright, and Frederick Douglass. He died in Holywood in 1857, where he may have been living with his son James. Letitia predeceased him by 12 years.
Belfast played a role in the international slave trade and its abolition, to learn more, sign up for the ANTI SLAVERY BELFAST TOUR via the website.
