THE NEFF FAMILY HISTORY

The family name Neff, with various spellings is a very common one and at least 20 male persons with this name arrived in Pennsylvania before the Revolutionary War. Among the Pennsylvania Germans in Northern Lehigh County the name is generally written Neff but in conversation is pronounced Nafe (like "a" in the word safe). There is considerable confusion among various writers about the family, but all the Neffs that lived in the northern part of Lehigh county seem to be descendants of two Neffs - Ulrich Neff and Bernard Neff. Ulrich Neff came to Pennsylvania with a group of Swiss families on the ship "Jamaica Galley" on February 7, 1739, and Bernard Neff arrived in Pennsylvania on the ship "Phoenix" on November 22, 1752. In the group that came in 1739 were the Peter family, the Nussil family, the Heinrich Hoffman family, all of whom made up the nucleus of the German Reformed congregation founded at Heidelberg in about 1740.

Our family lineage is through Ulrich Neff.

Our ancestry can be directly traced to Hans Jacob Neff, born about 1611, died October 26, 1687, age 76 years. He was married August 14, 1638 to Salome Hurgenberger. He had a mill at Ramismuhle, not far from Zell.

They had a son, Balthasar Neff, baptized February 8, 1642, died April 28, 1707. He married Cleopha Isler, baptized October 23, 1650. She was the daughter of Hans Ulrich Isler and his wife Dorothea Jucker. They were married about 1699 and had 11 children: Note - all dates listed b. are date of baptism. Date of birth is usually sometime earlier.

  1. Anna Neff, bapt. March 6, 1670
  2. Regula Neff, b. June 21, 1672
  3. Maria Neff, b. December 25, 1673
  4. Hans Ulrich Neff, b. March 27, 1675, married October 16, 1703 to Elisaneth Stadelman, b. about 1684 and had 10 children.
  5. Catharina Neff, b. August 17, 1676
  6. Henrich Neff, b. May 10, 1675 (died in infancy)
  7. Jacob Neff, b. March 31, 1682
  8. Balthasar Neff, b. March 16, 1684
  9. Hans Rudolph Neff, b. March 24, 1687 (died in infancy)
  10. Rudolph Neff, b. March 20, 1690
  11. Hans Heinrich Neff, b. February 7, 1692

Our lineage is from Hans Ulrich Neff. Their children were:
  1. Anna Neff, b. March 8, 1705, buried May 18, 1706
  2. Jacob Neff, b. May 9, 1706
  3. Anna Neff (2nd named Anna), b. May 8, 1707
  4. Hans (Johann) Ulrich Neff, b. April 5, 1709
  5. Maria Neff, b. June 30, 1712
  6. Lizabeth Neff, b. August 29, 1714, buried May 29, 1718
  7. Hans Rudolph Neff, b. October 12, 1717
  8. Anna Magdalena Neff, b. May 18, 1719, buried February 26, 1721
  9. Anna Magdalena (2nd), b. March 29, 1722
  10. Jacob Neff, b. February 29, 1724

Hans (Johann) Ulrich Neff was b. in Zell, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, April 5, 1709. He was the immigrant of 1739. He died in Heidelberg about 1778. His will is dated December 23, 1773 but did not probate until 1778. He was probably buried at Heidelberg Church, but there is no known gravestone. The will named son Conrad and widow Elizabeth as executors, but no names of other children. There were at least five children.
  1. Conrad Neff was probably the oldest child, was born about 1742.
  2. Maria Neff, b. about 1745, married Christian Krum about 1765. A few years ago there is said to have been a gravestone at Heidelberg marked Maria Krum 1789, but this has disappeared.
  3. Susanna Magdalena Neff, b. about 1750, married Dewalt Hunsicker and moved to North Carolina where they established a sizeable family now called "Honsucker".
  4. Ulrich Neff, born probably in the late 1750s, died in December 1799. Will probated in Easton on December 22, 1799. He was married to Dorothea Gabel.
  5. Bernardt Neff, dates of birth and death are not known, but in a deed dated July 19, 1799 he is definitely mentioned as a son of Ulrich Neff. He reached militia age of 18 years between 1780 and 1782 and was therefore born about 1764. He was married to Margaretha Peter January 18, 1791.

Our lineage comes from Bernardt Neff. There is no list of children but there were at least five.
  1. Anna Maria Neff, b. June 25, 1792, d. September 16, 1859.
  2. Eva Maria Neff, b. August 8, 1798, d. March 22, 1874, married Henry German, b. February 9, 1793, d. June 4, 1836, both buried at Heidelberg.
  3. John Neff, b. April 18, 1800, d. April 5, 1853. He was married 30 years to Salome Schmidt, b. April 20, 1804, d. December 21, 1880. They moved north of the Blue Mountain and are both buried at Ben Salem Reformed Church. They had several children baptized at Heidelberg before they moved.
  4. J. George Neff, b. April 10, 1802, d. November 26, 1891. Married first to Eva Missimer, b. August 15, 1807, d. November 23, 1827; married second to Susanna Handwerk, b. July 4, 1810, d. March 16, 1887. All are buried at Heidelberg. There was one child by the first marriage and nine by the second.
  5. Abraham Neff, b. June 27, 1811, d. January 17, 1882. He married Anna Elizabeth Kichline of Allentown, b. January 27, 1816, d. February 12, 1902. Both are buried at Unionville Church. In about 1840 they moved from Heidelberg to North Whitehall where he founded the village of Neffs. They had eleven children.

Our lineage comes from J. George Neff. His children were:
  1. Owen Neff, b. August 5, 1827, d. November 23, 1727 (first marriage).
  2. Caroline Neff, bapt. April 18, 1829, married December 16, 1849 to Daniel Sensinger.
  3. Edward Neff, b. October 11, 1834, d. September 7, 1900, married Fianna Handwerk, b. July 5, 1836, d. February 15, 1892. Both are buried at Heidelberg.
  4. Joel Neff, b. November 28, 1836, d. September 11, 1895. He married Drusilla Handwerk, daughter of Martin Handwerk.
  5. Catharine Neff, married Charles Hallett
  6. Flora Ann Neff, b. March 27, 1842, d. July 20, 1866. She married Peter Roth. Both are buried at Heidelberg.
  7. Leanna Neff, b. January 10, 1848, d. March 20, 1803, married Peter Handwerk who was a shoemaker near Sagersville. He was born March 5, 1845 and died March 2, 1907. Both are buried at Heidelberg.
  8. Maria Neff
  9. Francis Neff, b. Nov. 28, 1851, d. June 28, 1862. Buried at Heidelberg.
  10. Sarah Ann Neff, b. July 16, 1845, d. December 23, 1875. Buried at Heidelberg.

Our lineage comes from Joel and Drusilla Neff. They had three children.
  1. William F.,b. (unknown), d. age 2 years, 2 month, 23 days.
  2. Amandus P. Neff, b. June 29, 1859, d. February 24, 1934. Married Clarissa Kern, b. January 6, 1860, d. March 31, 1931. Both are buried in the Union Cemetery at Slatington, Pa. They had 4 sons and three daughters.
  3. Serena J. Neff, birthdate unknown, died November 1, 1910. Was married in 1883 to John F. Berkemeyer, Slatington undertaker. They had no children.

Our lineage from Amandus and Clarissa Kern is as follows:
  1. Oscar E. Neff, b. 1878, d. 1934, married Nina P. Daily. They had two sons; John Wesley, b. March 8, 1909, d. October 23, 1909 and Paul, b. circa 1910, d. 1983, married Martha (Maiden name unknown).
  2. Frank A. Neff, b. November 25, 1879, d. October 16, 1961 in Wichita, Kansas. Married 1st to Jenny Neff (daughter of Oss Neff), buried in Union Cemetery, Slatington, Pa. Second Marriage was to Iona Keeler Wagner, d. circa 1969 Wichita, Kansas. Frank had one daughter from 1st marriage and one son and two daughters from second marriage. a) Aline Neff (Arms), b. 1902, d. 1989, buried Union Cemetary, Slatington, Pa. b) John d. date unknown, burried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antinio, Texas. c) Mary d. May 15, 2001 d) Anna d. January 8, 2002
  3. George Amandus Neff, b. May 23, 1881, d. March 26, 1951, married Daisy M. Evert, b. October 27, 1883, d. September 25, 1969. Both are buried in Union Cemetery, Slatington, Pa.
  4. Lillian Irene Neff, b. July 15, 1892, d. October 16, 1984. Married to Russell Everett. Both are buried in Union Cemetery, Slatington, Pa.
  5. Thomas Joel Neff, b. November 10, 1893, d. January 21, 1895. Buried in Union Cemetery, Slatington, Pa.
  6. Marguerite Alice Neff, b. March 27, 1895, d. February 13, 1986. Married Irvin Kirk Davis, b. June 24, 1895, d. July 12, 1973. Both are buried in Union Cemetery, Slatington, Pa.
  7. Frances Amanda Neff, b. November 29, 1900, d. 1974. She was married to Harold Snyder, then divorced; no children. She is buried in Union Cemetery, Slatington, Pa.

Our Neff lineage is as follows:

    Hans Jacob Neff, b. circa 1611, m. Salome Hurgenberger August 14, 1638, d. October 26, 1687.
  1. Balthasar Neff, b. February 8, 1642, m. Cleopha Isler circa 1699, d. April 28, 1707.
  2. Hans Ulrich Neff, b. March 27, 1675, m. Elisaneth Stadelman October 16, 1703, d. (date unknown).
  3. Hans (Johann) Ulrich Neff, b. April 5, 1709 in Zell, Switzerland, d. circa 1778 at Heidelberg Township, Pa.
  4. Bernardt Neff, b. circa 1764, m. Margaretha Peter January 18, 1791.
  5. J. George Neff, b. April 10, 1802, m. 1st Eva Missimer, 2nd Susana Handwerk, d. November 26, 1891.
  6. Joel Neff, b. November 28, 1836, m. Drusilla Handwerk, d. September 11, 1895.
  7. Amandus P. Neff, b. June 29, 1859, m. Clarissa Kern, d. February 24, 1934.
  8. Marguerite A. Neff, b. March 27, 1895,m. Irvin K. Davis, d. February 13, 1986.

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