Neal akaberekerwa pedyo neClayton, Texas, uye aiva mwanasikana waWilliam Lafayette naMartha (Gholston) Neal, vose vakanga vauya kuTexas vachibva kuGeorgia vachitsvaka mikana iri nani. Wechipiri pavana vana, aigara muCarthage yaiva pedyo kwechikamu chikuru choupenyu hwake. Yaiva muCarthage kuti akanga kusangana kwake kwokutanga enyika mamiriro, apo Gavhuna Texas John Ireland akauya kutaura muna 1885 kana 1886; iye aizotaura gare gare pamusoro pfungwa kuti kushanya kwake akanga aita pamusoro pake. Akaenda kuSam Houston State Teachers College, asi haana kupedza kudzidza. Akapedza nguva pfupi achidzidzisa kumusha kwake Panola County uye muFort Worth asati adzokera kuCarthage muna 1903; kunyangwe zvakadaro, akachengetedza kufarira dzidzo kwehupenyu hwake hwese. Kudzoka kwake kwakanga kwakonzerwa zvikurukuru noutano hwaamai vake hwakanga huchikundikana. Baba vake vakanga vatenga pepanhau romunzvimbomo revhiki nevhiki, "Texas Mule", uye akava mupepeti waro nomuparidzi waro. Akamutumidza kuti "East Texas Register" uye akaitungamirira kusvikira yatengeswa muna 1911. Akanga ari mumwe wevakadzi vokutanga muTexas kubudisa pepanhau, uye aizivikanwa nokuda kwokufambira mberi kwake. Neal akanga achishingaira zvikuru munyaya dzomunharaunda kubva pakutanga kwebasa rake. Muna 1921 akava mukadzi wokutanga pabhodhi revatongi veState Teachers Colleges, achiramba ari pachinzvimbo kusvika muna 1927. Akatungamira nhamburiko mudunhu rake kuwana kodzero dzevakadzi dzekuvhota, uye aive mukadzi wekutanga mudunhu kuvhota. Mukadzi wokutanga muDemocratic State Executive Committee, akanga ari nhume kuDemocratic National Convention ya1920
muSan Francisco. Akanga ariwo nhengo yedare reTexas Society for Crippled Children.