Sunday, October 7, 2012

Summer 1998 Susanna Neff

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Fall 1997 Amos Herr Neff part 2











Winter 1997 Amos Herr Neff part 1

These are .jpg files and can be downloaded.  Right click and save image.











Fall 1996 Franklin Neff

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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Family Search Family Tree available

Family Search Family Tree is available and will replace new.FamilySearch.org. It is not completely "done" but has been in use since March.  Any one wishing to get on Family Tree need only type the following into the Internet browser address line familysearch.org/invite/familytree_tab.  (It is an underscore before "tab".)

Instead of opening to a different site, it opens in FamilySearch.org.  From now on every time FamilySearch.org opens and you sign on in the upper right corner a new tab will be available.   The FamilyTree tab is on the top row toward the left.  You can not see the FamilyTree tab unless you are signed in and have gone through the "invite" process.  It is a bit confusing, since there is already a "Tree" tab. 

Family Search Family Tree has some great features - we can fix things that are incorrect and add sources.

I have been cleaning up the record of John Neff, our pioneer ancestor.  I spent several hours this week separating the different John Neff's in new.FamilySearch.org (new.FS).  I then went into Family Search Family Tree (FT) and cleaned up the main record of our John Neff.

Our John Neff has a PID # 94T7-LL9
Mary KWVS-7G9
Barbara KWVL-F5S
Franklin KWJC-58H
Amos KWCK-8SZ
Cyrus 2WJ8-DKQ
Mary Ann KWVL-F5L
Susannah KWNR-GXZ
Benjamin KWNL-DKG
Amanda KWVL-FRS
John KWJC-GK8
Elizabeth KWN4-JR6

I am now going to check some of the other John Neffs.

John KWVS-7G3
Mary KWVS-7G9
Barbara KWVL-F5S  The other children seem to have the same numbers.

I am now looking at the other John Neff's who are the father of Barbara
John MRLG-PWF  - there are children that belong to the Pleasant Grove John.
  I have taken all the wrong wifes and children out.  However, many of them are not gone.  I don't know what to do. 

So, I am deleting John Sr and Barbara Herr.  John Sr has 174 combinations, and many names.  John Moser and Jacob Palmer and others.  Some are married to a Barbara Herr.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Nafenhaus in Kappal am Albis, Switzerland

Here is a picture of the back of the Nafenhaus and below is a link to a map.  From the road you don't really see this magnificient face.  The front looks more like a garage or barn.

The Albis Mountains are west of the Zurich Sea, south west of Zurich.  If you can go and see it, I think you will be impressed.  I have tried to show the house on this map.  Only the west side of the house belongs to the Neff family.  From the driveway, which is on the west, and the back of the house you can look south across open fields to the church.  They have a lovely garden in back and some outbuildings west of the drive.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=216011846557180505928.0004bc1d77c23ca3b488d&msa=0&ll=47.233499,8.526464&spn=0.007912,0.013604

If you would rather I got there by searching for "nafenhauser 13, kappel am albis switzerland" in Google. 
I have marked the Nafenhaus on the map, the Kappel church which is the complex south of the house and the Zwingli Monument to the east and north, just across Albisstrasse.

The article I wrote on the DNA project for the 2008 reunion tells a little about the Kappel war in 1531.  Some reformers were leading people away from the Roman Catholic Church.  Huldrych Zwingli lead the canton (state or county) of Zurich to become protestant.  The 5 inner cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Luzern and Zug were Catholic and the farmers and herdsmen were told to fight for the church.  There were actually 2 battles.  The first in 1529 ended when the Catholic herdsmen and Zurichers shared their bread and milk across the battle lines.

On 11 October, 1531 the second Kappel war began.  The 7000  men from the inner cantons met the 1700 Zurichers near the Kappel am Albis (church in the Albis Mountains.)  In those days a battle was lost when the standard bearer surrendered the regiment's colors or banner.  The Zuricher banner had fallen and Adam Naf, with a two handed sword, cut off the head of an inner canton soldier to save the banner.  The banner was lifted up and the Zurichers won the battle.

After the Zurichers had left the field, their leader, Zwingli, was found wounded on the battle field.  A priest tried in vain to get him to convert to catholicism.  It is said that he was quartered, burned and his ashes scattered over the battle field.

In 1550 Adam and his children were given houses in Kappel am Albis as a thank you for his heroic act in the battle.  Over the years many of them were sold - as they were historic and could not be updated.  In 1884 his descendents, prominent Naf families joined together to buy the one half house that was left.  It is maintained by an artistic couple.  The second floor is a museum of Naf artifacts and documents.

The banner and Adam Naf's sword are in the Landes (or national) Museum in Zurich.  The couple who take care of the house, last I heard, were Margrit and Claude Gressly, Nafenhaus13, 8926 Kappel am Albis, Switzerland.  Telefon 01 764 1274.  I don't have an email address.  It was about 2003 when I was last there, so things may have changed.