Tuesday, September 30, 2008

 Franz or Hans Heinrich???

I have heard that when John Neff III went to Pennsylvania on a mission, he collected family records, visited cemeteries and gathered information on his family line. When he put his pedigree together, it went something like this:

John Neff III born 28 Dec 1837 in Lancaster, PA son of
John Neff Jr born 19 Sep 1794 in Lancaster, PA,
our pioneer ancestor, married Mary Barr, son of
John Neff Sr born 1 Jan 1769 in Lancaster, PA,
married Barbara Herr, son of
Reverend Jacob Neff born either 16 Feb 1724 or
8 Feb 1727 in Germantown, PA, married Anna Brackbill, son of
Dr Hans Heinrich Neff born about 1684 in Germany
or Switzerland, married Franca and unknown spouse.

We have documents showing that he is correct about his father, grandfather, and great grandfather. We have not found documents proving Dr Hans Heinrich Neff is his great great grandfather.

After a lot of research, by a several of people here, in Pennsylvania and in Germany, we are quite sure Jacob is the son of Dr Franz or Francis Neff not Dr Hans Heinrich Neff. In order to explain, I will write out how the family should look and then quote liberally from the April 1984 article on pages 68 - 72 of the Mennonite Family History Magazine. Please understand, we do not have enough records to be 100% sure that this is how it is. And it doesn’t matter so much anyway, since the temple work has been done both ways and it is very likely that Dr Hans Heinrich Neff and Dr Franz Neff are brothers.

1 -Franz or Francis Neff - b (born) abt 1685 in Germany or Switzerland, d (died) abt 1739 in Pennsylvania (Numbers will help with the explanation. Franz is (1), his children are (1 plus their place number in the family). So (11) means first child of (1) Franz. We will give Hans Heinrich (2) and his children (21), (22) etc.)
m (Married) - Barbara Eby if Michelfeld, Germany 22 April 1710 in Duhren, Germany
11 - Francis Neff b abt 1711 Germany
12 - Magdalena Neff b abt 1713 Germany d Dec 1793 Lancaster, PA
m 1 - 17 Oct 1733 Samuel Miller (b 21 Jan 1711 d 4 Nov 1739)
m 2 - John Shantz (d 1776)
13 - Henry Neff b abt 1715 Germany d 1755 Lancaster, PA
m 1 - Dill or Diller
m 2 - Mary Shantz
14 - Margaret Neff b abt 1718 d Apr 1782 Lancaster, PA
m - abt 1740 Martin Miller (b abt 1713 d Mar 1773 Lancaster, PA)
15 - Esther Neff b abt 1724 d abt 1750 Lancaster, PA
m - John Herr
16 - Jacob Neff b 8 Feb 1727 or 16 Feb 1724 Lancaster, PA d 16 Feb 1814 Lancaster, PA
17 - Catherine Neff b 5 Jul 1729 Lancaster, PA d 5 Dec 1802 Lancaster, PA
m - Jacob Kendig or Kendrick (d 1814)
18 - Elizabeth Neff b abt 1731 d abt 1787
m - Martin Kendig or Kendrick (d 1785)
2 -Dr Hans Heinrich Neff b abt 1684 d Apr 1745
m - twice, one wife was Franca ?
21 - Hans Heinrich Neff Jr b abt 1708 Bonfield, Germany d July 1784 Shenandoah County, VA
m - Ann
22 - Hans or John Jacob Neff b abt 1709 Bonfield, Germany d I Feb 1717 Bonfield, Germany
23 - Catherine Neff b 15 May 1711 Bonfield, Germany d 26 Mar 1789
24 - dau ?
25 - Dr Abraham Neff b abt 1719 d abt 1793
m - Mary Hershey (b abt 1721 d abt 1799)

THE FAMILY OF DR. FRANCIS NEFF

The parish records of Duhren, Germany show that Dr Franz Neff (1) married Barbara Eby, 22 April 1710. Additional records have been found showing that Dr Franz and Barbara and their children prepared to come to America in the spring of 1719. The Neff News, May 2005 Issue, has a detailed list of the things Franz sold and the things he brought with him covering pages 5 to 22. The next Issue of the Neff News, May 2006, goes into great detail about the time Franz Neff spent in Germantown, PA.

Back to the April 1984 article on pages 68 - 72 of the Mennonite Family History Magazine.

“Dr. Francis Neff(1) died intestate in Feb. 1739. The court appointed Thomas Cookson administrator, who reported to court that there were insufficient funds to pay all bills and support the minor children. The court then ordered his land to be sold and payment made. The land in Lancaster Twp. on the west side of the Conestoga Creek with the "grist mill or corn mill" was sold to Ludwig Stone and land on the east side of the Creek in Lampeter Twp. was sold to Michael Beyerly.

“No list of children is given in the estate, but the family is pieced together as follows: Francis Neff Jr. (11), Henry Neff (13), and Martin Miller (14) along with other creditors received money in the final settlement of the estate in 1741. Francis Neff Jr. (11) was a son. He signed as a witness to a deed in 1740 for Martin Miller (14) when Martin bought land from his father, Jacob Miller.

“When Martin Miller died in 1773, he named "my brothers-in-law Jacob Neff (16) and Jacob Kendig (17)" executors. Martin's wife, Margaret Neff (14), died in 1782 and named "my brother Jacob Neff (16)" executor. Magdalena (Neff-Miller) Shantz (12) died in 1793/94. In her will she named "my brother Jacob Neff (16)" executor, and willed him a third of the estate; another third to "my sister Catherine Kendig (17) wife of Jacob Kendig/Kendrick"; and the final third to Martin, Elizabeth, David, and Francis Kendig/ Kendrick, children of "my sister Elizabeth Kendig, wife of Martin Kendig."

“Jacob Neff (16) in his will mentioned the land he received from "my sister Magdalena Schantz." Henry Neff (13) in his will named "my beloved brother Jacob Neave/Neff (16) and my brother-in-law John Huber" executors. The proof of Esther Neff (15) belonging to this family rests on two facts. Her second son was named Francis and her husband, John Herr, was executor for John Schantz, the second husband of Magdalena Neff (12).

“Another person who might belong to this family was the wife of John Huber, whom Henry Neff (13) called "my brother-in-law." This John Huber bought land in Strasburg Township on May 28, 1748 (Deed D, p. 450). Neither of Henry's (13) wives was a Huber. But John Huber's wife might have been a sister to one of Henry Neff's(13) wives. Therefore, she is not listed in the above listings.

“The name of Francis Neff (11) appears in several Lancaster records, but none shows a wife and family. His birth year is uncertain. If he were 21 when he signed the naturalization list of 1729, he was born as early as 1708. But all men 16 years and older had to sign the ship list and Oath of Allegiance when entering Pennsylvania. If this "16 years old" rule applied to the naturalization list of 1729, then Francis (11) could have been born as late as 1713. This writer favors the 1711-1713 birth date because his father was married to Barbara Eby in 1710. This was a second marriage, if Francis Jr. was born before 1710. However, no records even hint at a second marriage. All children of Francis Neff (1) appear to have been full brothers and sisters, their mother, Barbara, seems to have died between 1735 and 1739. Then Magdalena (Neff-Miller) Schantz (12) raised the younger children in her home, and named them her heirs in her will.

“The family of Henry Neff (13) may not be complete. He died between June 5, 1755, the date of his will, and July 4, 1755, the date his will was probated. Henry's will names his second wife, Mary, and indicates two sets of children, one set with a mother whose maiden name Dill or Diller (name not clear) and the other set a Shantz. Peter, the only child named in the will, was, no doubt, the eldest son, but not necessarily the oldest child. The unnamed sisters may have been older...”

“THE FAMILY OF DR. HANS HEINRICH NEFF

“The will of Dr. Hans Henry Neff (2) shows that he was married twice. The first wife was the mother of his children. Two sons and two daughters and their step-mother survived him. Abraham (25), the only child mentioned by name in the will, received the plantation of 150 acres and was to pay his brother, sisters, and step-mother 15 pounds (English money) per year until all shared equally. He signed the will "Henrich Neife", but the probate proceedings also used the name Hans Heinrich Neff. The will appointed no executor, so the court appointed Abraham Neff (25)...

“Deed A35 names one of his wives as Franca. Deed B301 gives the number of his living children as four, two sons Henry(21) eldest, and Abraham(25), and two unnamed daughters. The Bonfield Church records show a son, Joh. Jacob(22) who died Feb. 1, 1717, at age seven. There might have been other children who died young.

“Henry Neff (21), the eldest son as given in Deed B301, was better known as Hans Heinrich Neff, Jr.(21) as given in the 1729 naturalization list. He continued to use this name when he moved south to Virginia where his name appears as early as 1747 in the court records of Augusta Co., Virginia, now Shenandoah County. There he served as the doctor in the Mennonite community transplanted from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

“The children listed under (21) may not be in chronological order. In John Henry's (21) will, both daughters are listed last, but Catherine (212) is listed second in the will of her brother Abraham (216). Elizabeth (217) predeceased Abraham without issue and so was not listed in Abraham's (216) will.

“The witnesses to the will of Dr. John Henry Neff (21) were Adam Neff (2114), Aaron Solomon, John Miller (2113), and Margaret Gabriel (2112).

“Unfortunately, the names of the two daughters of Dr. Hans Heinrich Neff (2) were not given in his will or court proceeding. One might have been Catherine (23), wife of Michael Pfautz. She is placed in the above listing by the process of elimination. She could not be Dr. Francis Neff's (1) daughter, as his daughter Catherine (17), was the first wife of Jacob Kendig, and she was not the daughter of Henry and Barbara Neff of Hempfield Township. Her birthday, May 14, 1711, fits well into known records of Dr. Hans Heinrich Neff's family. However, another possibility is that she arrived in this country as the wife of Michael Pfautz.

“Dr. Abraham Neff (25) appears to have died in 1793. In that year there was a sheriff's sale of his property to Christopher Marshall of Philadelphia, Pa., to pay the debts of his estate, but no record of the estate settlement has been found. The only known children were: Dr. Christian (251), Esther (252), and Maria (253). The Brenneman History on page 370 gives Esther's father as Joseph Neff. But, there is no record of any Joseph Neff in that period of history and Dr. Abraham Neff (25) was the executor for the estate for Adam Brenneman. Further, the History of Lancaster County on pages 247 and 248 states that both doctors named Abraham Brenneman (2523 and 2532) were nephews of Dr. Christian Neff (251) and both studied medicine under him. Dr. Abraham Brenneman (2523) practiced "physics and surgery" and Dr. Abraham Brenneman (2532) was known as "the water doctor" because he was among the first in Lancaster to use urine analysis to diagnose the illness of his patients.

“BIBLIOGRAPHY

“”Best, Jane Evans, "Three Bears of Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and other Bears," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, Vol. IV, No. 4, pp. 12-27. (BR)

“Brubaker, Jacob N. The Brubaker Genealogy, Elkhart, Ind., 1884. (BK)

“Gerberich, Albert H. The Brenneman History, Scottdale, Pa., 1938. (BM)

“Herr, Theodore W. The Genealogical Record of Rev. Hans Herr and His Lineal Descendants. Lancaster, Pa., 1908. (HR)

“Kauffman, Charles F. The Kauffman-Coffman Lineage. Reprint, 1980. (KCL)

“Neff, Elmer Ellsworth. Genealogy of the Neff Family, 1931. (NF)"

Page 71 and 72 April 1984 Mennonite Family History

Monday, September 29, 2008

2008 Neff Family Reunion Report

John Neff Family Organization 2008 Reunion and Meeting
September 19, 2008
Brighton Stake Center, 2895 East Creek Road, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
Dinner at 6 p.m., bring your own picnic
Family Meeting 7:30 in the Relief Society Room
Alice Neff, president
832 East Grenoble, Midvale, Utah 84047
801-255-1617
neff1617@comcast.net
JohnNeffFamily.blogspot.com

Thanks to all who attended the John Neff Family Reunion September 19th at the Brighton Stake Center. I am so sorry I transposed the address numbers and sent everyone on a wild-goose chase. I was delighted that so many Neffs found us. Because of the problem, we started a little late. We had copies of some of the old “Neff Times” that we were able to sell. We made enough from the sales to pay for the lemonade and cookies. Some of the cousins updated addresses and we visited for a while.

At 7:30 the adults moved into the Relief Society Room for a meeting while the children remained outside with Steve, Corey, Dave and Jamie Neff and Sandy Pick, for games and activities.

I took charge of the meeting, thanking those who helped make the reunion happen; MarShan and Virginia Nelson, Becky Rosander, Cherry Oldroyd, Natalie Brinton, Elwood, Ted and Bob Neff and the crew outside with the children.

My friend Sidney Wells presented information on using Y-Chromosome DNA to prove relationships of males to their male ancestors. I then told a bit about the Neff DNA test. We then explained a little about the newFamilySearch Internet Site the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is developing and asked for assistance from the family in updating the system, with your children, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins information and leaving the problems of the John Neff, Mary Barr, John Neff senior, Jacob Neff and Franz Neff to the family organization to straighten out.

Please read these two reports below.

We have additional back issues of the old “Neff Times” and the printed picture of John Neff and Mary Barr. Each of these is available for $3 plus $1 shipping for each 3 ordered. Some of the back issues are not available, they would have to be reprinted or copied. I would like help scanning or typing the histories contained in the “Neff Times” to this blog. Here are the issues that are available:
Franklin Neff Fall 1996
Amos Herr Neff Winter 1997
Reunion issue, no histories Spring 1997
Amos Herr Neff, continued Fall 1997
Mary Ann Neff Rockwell Spring 1998
Susannah Neff Peirce Booth Summer 1998
Benjamin Barr Neff Spring 1999
John Neff III Summer 1999

There are no back issues available for:
Mary Barr Neff Spring 1995
John Neff II Summer 1995
Elizabeth Neff Stillman Fall 1999
John Neff Story Spring 2000

We had began with Mary Barr and John Neff II because they are the parents of this wonderful family that all joined the church and came west. It is amazing to me that teenage and young adult children would all choose to follow their parents, leaving their wealth behind, to worship God in a new way. The John Neff Story that we began in 2000 should have had 1 or 2 more installments. We were repeating the information researched by Bill Neff and John Murray of the Neff Family Historical Society in Pennsylvania. They presented their research in the “NEFF NEWS” September 1996, February 1997 and May 1997 issues.

The above back issues of the “NEFF NEWS” are available from the Neff Family Historical Society, P. O. Box 6664, Harrisburg, PA 17112-0664, neffnews@ix.netcom.com. Also, you may be interested in the last two issues of the “NEFF NEWS”, May 2005 and May 2006 which cover some history of Franz Neff, our immigrant ancestor, what he brought with him to the US and settling in Germantown. Back Issues are $5, postage included.

Please call or send names and addresses of family members to update our mailing list. Also, we would like to update our family history information. We have many descendants of John Neff and Mary Barr in our database but new babies are born every day, marriages and deaths happen about as fast. I keep the information in my computer. It is not available on the Internet nor will it ever be. I am aware of the dangers of letting personal information out into the public. Having the information on my computer helps us track the family address list and helps me identify who I am talking to when you call. It will never be all up to date, but with your help it can continue to be a useful resource.

Additional information on the Neff family can be found on the NFHS website at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~neff/ . Your cousin John Fisher has
http://www.eternal-links.net/Family_History/ngf/11/2/history/John%20Neff%20II.html which is a history of John Neff and Mary Barr.

NEFF DNA Project

John Neff Family Organization

DNA Report by Alice Neff

The Neff Family Historical Society has been doing a DNA study through Family Tree DNA, http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Neff click on “Y results”, on the International Neff Family. My husband submitted a sample of his DNA on behalf of the John Neff Family. The John Neff Family Organization paid for a DNA test for Hanns Naef, a descendant of Rudolf Näf, Adam’s brother, when none of Adam’s descendants would agree to the test. It is a match.

As a family we have never been able to trace our ancestry beyond the father of Dr. Franz Neff, Dr. Hans Heinrich Neff of Duhren, Germany. We have long felt we were descended from the Adam Näf who is a hero of the 1531 Kappel War. Some of us have been to the Näfenhaus in Kappel, Switzerland. I have met descendants of Adam Näf and was astonished by the similarities between them and my husband’s uncles.

We have much of the research done on Kappel Näfs.  For hundreds of years they lived in this little farming village in the Albis Mountains southwest of Zurich. The Battle of Kappel in 1531 was a fight between the Catholic Church and the Canton of Zurich, which wanted to reform the church. Each side had a standard or banner. To win the battle, all the other side had to do was bring down the standard, which often meant killing the standard bearer. Adam Näf was a guard. When the enemy attempted to wrest the banner from the standard bearer Adam swung his broad sword, severing the head of the enemy. The banner was saved. Zurich won the battle. Adam’s father Hans Näf died in that battle, 11 Oct 1531. Ulrich Zwingli, the leader of the reform movement in Switzerland, was injured, captured and, because he would not renounce his faith, killed, quartered and burned. Because of the heroic effort on his part, Adam Näf was honored for the rest of his live. He was given citizenship in Zurich in 1533. In 1550 he and each of his children were given a home in Kappel.

Our records going back and many of the records of the Näfs of Kappel were lost during the 1600's. The Näfs, and many others from Switzerland, felt the Reformed or Protestant Churches didn’t go far enough in trying to teach the correct principles Jesus had taught. They felt infant baptism was wrong and they could not get Zwingli or Martin Luther to go that far. So they became part of the Anabaptist movement, lead by Menno Simons (1496-1561) and Jacob Amman (founder of the Amish Religion). Anabaptists were hunted and persecuted by both Catholics and Reformers. To have your name on a list of Anabaptists was a death sentence. They were often married in the Reformed Church, so it would be recognized by the state, but they were not christened nor could they be buried in a Church Cemetery. Anabaptists from Switzerland were often exiled to Germany, their lands and property taken, they were imprisoned, beaten, and killed for their beliefs.

Records have not yet been found to link us to the Adam Näf Family. However, the DNA test has proven that you are part of these courageous folks. You are descended from heros, not just Adam, but all those who gave their lives trying to live the principles they believed in.

To find out more about the DNA study, go to www.familytreedna.com/public/neff and go to Y Results. You will be able to see the markers for different individuals, identified by the Letter given the different families by John Murray and Bill Neff of the Neff Family Historical Society and a brief description. If you need it, the kit number is 59870 and the password E4816. Our John Neff, the miller who settled in East Millcreek, line is # 13, identified as “A1 line, Germany, Baden, Duhren c. 1685".

Two (2) John Neffs

New FamilySearch and 2 John Neffs
by Alice Neff

Sidney Wells, a friend of mine, introduce the newFamlySearch Internet program that will come out in a year or two. This is a huge project, linking all the families of the world into one database. It is inspired and unique. Nothing like it has never been done before. Everyone will be able to add to it and correct data they have entered. As soon as information is added, everyone in the world can view it and send an email to the person who submitted it. We will all be able to work together to get this great work done, that we might present to the Lord “...a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.” D&C 128:24

There are problems with the program right now. The first is that in combining all the records that have ever been submitted to the church, errors that were in the database were carried forward. The computer engineers at the church are working to find a way to eliminate these errors. We are working to fix the errors in the information about our ancestors.

When newFamilySearch.org becomes available please type in information you have on your own children, parents, aunts, cousins and ancestors for whom you have done the original research. I think we will be able to resolve the problems with the John Neffs better if everyone isn’t making changes.

The big problem is that John Neff, the pioneer, has been recorded as having more than one wife. Here is the explanation of the problem.

There are two John Neffs who came to Utah as pioneers. Both must have been wonderful men, but they are not the same man.

Our ancestor John Neff of East Millcreek, was a Mennonite born in Strasburg, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 19 Sep 1794 to John Neff (born 1 Jan 1769 in Strasburg) and Barbara Herr (born 28 Jul 1762 in Strasburg). On 12 Jan 1822 John married Mary Barr born 1 Dec 1801 in Bart Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania to Christian Barr (born 11 Oct 1765 in Bart Township) and Susanna Brenneman (born 1 Apr 1772 in Donegal, Lancaster, Pennsylvania).

John and Mary have 10 children, 8 came to Salt Lake and raised their families in the LDS church, Amanda died young and Cyrus died in Winter Quarters. When John and Mary arrived in Winter Quarters late in 1846, John bought the flour mill Brigham Young was having built and got it up and running.

When the family went west in 1847, they left their son, Franklin Neff, and his wife, Elizabeth Musser, behind to run the mill. The rest of the family traveled with the Jedediah M. Grant Company and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, 2 October 1847. The next spring their son, Amos Herr Neff, and his new wife, Martha Ann Dilworth, went back to Winter Quarters to help Franklin and Elizabeth and their new baby girl, Martha Elizabeth Neff, get to Salt Lake. They happened to be in the same company as another John Neff and his family.

John Neff of East Millcreek only ever had one wife, Mary Barr. They lived the rest of their lives in East Millcreek running a flour mill, building and running lumber mills and serving in the church. Their sons kept the mills going after they died. John died 9 May 1869 and is buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

The John Neff who died in Pleasant Grove 5 June 1877 was born in Amsterdam, Montgomery, New York 16 July 1795 to John Neff and Martha Beckwith (who were married in the Dutch Reform Church). This John Neff married Rachel Starr who was born 30 April 1784 in Brookfield, Connecticut to Elijah Starr and Mary Smith. They were married about 1815 in New York and then moved to Illinois where their three daughters were born, Lucy, Lodema and Laura. Rachel died between 1840 and 1846. John had joined the LDS Church before 1840 and in 1846 took the children to Winter Quarters on their way to Utah. There he married Susannah Gazey, 10 October 1847. (Notice Susannah Gazey was married to the other John Neff in Winter Quarters 8 days after our John Neff arrived in Salt Lake.) Susannah and her first husband William Beers had joined the church in England and come to New York and then Nauvoo with their 6 children. William died or left the family.

This is where it gets confusing. John Neff of Pleasant Grove, his daughters, Susannah and her children were in the Brigham Young Company arriving in Salt Lake Valley the 20-24 of September 1848. Franklin Neff, (son of the our John Neff) his wife Elizabeth, their daughter Martha Elizabeth, his brother Amos and his wife Martha Ann were in the company also. On June 8, 1848 Elizabeth wrote to her mother, Anna Bitner “there has been two deths Since the we are here[,] A babe Six weeks old[,] the other was drowned[,] one of John Neffs children[,] A boy Eight years old...” This boy was Susannah’s son, Charles Beers, who died 25 May 1848, in the Elkhorn River.

John and Susannah settled in Pleasant Grove where Susannah served in the Relief Society for several years. They were sealed 11 Oct 1852,

On 9 June 1870 the John Neff of Pleasant Grove went to the Endowment House and
was sealed to his second wife, Susannah Gazey and
Mary Gazey and
Ann Gazey, her sisters, and
Rachel Starr, his first wife and
Mary Lull, daughter of Rachel Starr and her first husband Walter Lull and
his mother Martha Beckwith.

After Susanna died, John went on a mission back East at 80 years old. When he returned John Neff of Pleasant Grove married Susan Roberts on 25 Nov 1874 and they had the John Myron Neff born 26 Mar 1876 in Pleasant Grove. This child died 5 April 1891. John Neff of Pleasant Grove died 6 Jun 1877 in Pleasant Grove and is buried there with his wife and son.

Notice the sealings in 1870, the marriage in 1874 and the birth of John Myron Neff in 1876 are after our John Neff of East Millcreek died in 1869.