Research Notes:
There were several men named Henry Neff who emigrated to America in the early 1700s. We are researching the parents of Peter Neff [married to Anna [Good?], whom we suspect to be Henry Neff of Lampeter Twp, Lancaster County, whose 1755 will named son Peter. Notes of other men named Henry Neff might be erroneously shown below. We welcome corrections of these notes.
1712 Henrich Neff was born in Dühren, Germany before April 1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
1735 Heinrich Neff and Dill were married by this time, perhaps in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and they had at least three sons (Peter, Henry, and John). [6] [7]
1738 Hans Henry Neff, Dr of Phisyck, and wife Franca, sold land on Conestoga Creek, Lancaster County, to Sebastian Groffe, on January 18. The tract of 150 acres was part of a larger tract of 300 acres that Henry Neff had purchased in from Tobias Collet, Daniel Quare, and Henry Goldney in 1722. [8]
1746 Henry Neff received a warrant for 207 acres of land in Hempfield Twp, Lancaster County on April 8. [9] A tract of 60 acres was surveyed for Henry Neff, on April 26, in Lancaster County. [10]
c 1746 Henry Neff married secondly to Mary Schantz and they had 3 known children (Abraham, Ann, and Jacob). Two other daughters might be the wives of Martin Bare and Christian Hare who were the guardians for the minor children in 1758.
Several tax and land records are ambiguous about which Henry Neff was named.
1751 Henry, John, Jacob, and Daniel Neff, were taxed in Manor Twp, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. [11]
1751 A tract of 50 acres was surveyed for Henry Neff on August 1, in Lancaster County. [12]
1751 A tract of 25 acres was surveyed for Henry Neif on November 28, in Lancaster County [13].
1752 A tract of 200 acres was surveyed for Henry Neif on December 1, in Lancaster County [14].
1752 Henry Neff and wife lived on a lot on King Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which was sold in 1753.
1754 Henry Neef was taxed in Lampeter Twp, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. [15]
1755 The will of Henry Neave, of Lampeter Twp, Lancaster County, yeoman, was dated June 20 and was affirmed by witnesses on July 4, 1755. [16] [17] [18]
Item I give and devis unto my beloved son Petter Neave this my land and Plandation whereon I now live being one Hundred and Six acers to him his Heirs and Assigns forever. That he shall and may have possession thereof at the time of his marriage. Which land I praise or value to him for Three Hundred Pounds But my beloved wife Mary shall have the use of my said Land & Plandation to the time of marige of my said Son Peter, to raise and bring up my other childfen in the Fear of God.
Item it is my will that my said son Petter shall pay yearly after two years of taking possession of the place the sum of fifteen pounds to his other Brothers & Sisters Dill he & his Brothers and Sisters Stants in Equall Shares.
Item it is my will that if my said beloved Wife should be and remain a Widdow at the time of marriage of my said son Petter, that then and from thence he shall find and provide for my said wife Marry yearly and every year during her widdowhood, with fifteen bushels of Wheat redy ground to Delivered to here door, and one Hundred Pounds of Hocke Meat, and Seven Pounds of Wull and Two Bushell of Rye & Two Bushel of Barrley, and one quarter of an acer with flax & one quarter of an acer with Hemp, and Two Rowes of Aple Trees in the Orchard for her to use, to be taken the lenght the Rowes, to have the Joice among the Rowes and fire Wood redy Cut and Delivered to her door, and also to keep her a Cow in fother in Sumer & Winder as well as his own, and a riden horse as often she Juse to ride, and a halfe quarter of an Acer of land for a Garden, and to Doong the same yearly as Neassesary, and also to Build her a Dwelling House of the lenght ot Twenty feet long & sisteen feet White in Clear for her use during her widowhood.
Item I give to my beloved Wife Mary … Excepted that my children of my first Wife shall have the Sum of Seventy Seven pounds Eight shillings and Six pence in for hand, befor and Divisions be made of my estate, to be equally divided among my children of the former wife.
Item I nominate make and appoint my beloved Brother Jacob Neave and Brother in law John Huber Executors to this my last will and Testament …
1756 Widow Neave was taxed at Lampeter for 100 acres. Jacob Neff [perhaps Henry's brother and executor] for 150 acres. [19]
1757 Widow Nave and Jacob Nave [perhaps Henry's brother and executor] were taxed in Lampeter Twp, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. [20] [21]
1758 Jacob Neave and John Huber, executors, exhibited an account of their administration of the last will and testament of Henry Neave, deceased. [22]
1758 Guardians were named for children of Henry Neave, on September 4, at the Lancaster County Orphans' Court: Henry, age over 14, chose Christian Hare; John, age over 14 chose Martin Baer; Christian Hare and Martin Baer were appointed guardians for Abraham, Ann, and Jacob, age under 14 [23]. Henry's will reads as if there were daughters by both wives. Two of them might be the wives of Christian Hare and Martin Baer. [24]
1762 Henry Neave, in trust, received a survey for a tract of 1 acre in Lancaster County on January 7. [25]
1769 Abraham Neff, son of Henrich deceased, and Anna Catharine Schodder were married on January 31 at the Salem Lutheran Chuch in Dover, York County, Pennsylvania.
1769-72 There were no Neffs taxed at Lampeter. [26]
Research Notes:
1749 A different Henry Neff, with wife Barbara and executors Jacob and Daniel Neave, dated his will on January 17, with probate date April 17, 1749.
Henry Neff and wife Barbara made two deeds, to sons Daniel and Jacob, perhaps for the same land described in the 1733 land patent and 1741 land warrant.
1749 Henry Neave and wife Barbara sold land to son Daniel Neave on January 17, 1749, for natural love and affection, and 5 shillings. The tract was part of a larger tract of 308 acres patented by Henry. The 160 acre tract was in Hempfield Twp, adjacent to lands of Daniel Neave, John Neave, John Bumgardner, and Christn Peelman. Witnessed by John Newcumber, Jacob Segrist, and Ja. Smith. [27]
1749 Henry Neave and wife Barbara sold land to son Jacob Neave on January 17, 1749, for natural love and affection, and 5 shillings. The tract was part of a larger tract of 308 acres patented by Henry. The 160 acre tract was in Hempfield Twp, adjacent to lands of John Neave, John Hestout, Jacob Neave, and Christn Peelman. Witnessed by John Newcumber, Jacob Segrist, and Ja. Smith. [28]
Note that the adjacent landowners, Hestout, Beelman, and Newcomer, were all named in a 1773 land survey for Henry Neif:
1733 Henry Neif [perhaps Henry Neff junior, as named in a 1741 warrant] warranted two tracts on January 11, each of 200 acres, on NW Br (of the Conestoga?) Hempfield Twp, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania [29] [30] [31]. Return date was June 2, 1741. The survey reported 308 acres in Hempfield Twp, part of 820 acres surveyed to him on October 22, 1736, by two proprietary warrants each for 200 acres. The survey was dated May 29, 1741. The land was adjacent to land of John Bumgarner, John Hestout, John Neaf, James Webb, John Newcommet, and Christian Beelman. [32] [33]1741 Henry Neif Jr, warranted a tract of 181 acres on June 23, on L[ower] Br[anch of] Conestoga Creek [34] [35]. The return date was June 23, 1741. The land was adjacent to land of John Hestout, John Neaf, and Christian Care. Henry Neif Jun. 181 acres ... situate on a branch of little Conestogoe Creek in Lancaster County, being part of 820 acres surveyed to Henry Neaf ye elder on October 22, 1736. Henry Neif had 2 warrants both on ye 11th of January 1733, each for 200 acres and this tract is part of a larger tract surveyed in pursuance of both of those warrants. Survey dated 25 May 1741. [36] [37] John Neif had a similar warrant on the same dates with survey map showing his tract between lands of Henry Neff junior and Henry Neff senior. [38] [39] The tract for John Hestout was also part of the division of land [40].
1746 A tract of 207 acres was surveyed for Henry Neff, on April 8, in Hempfield Twp, in Lancaster. [41] [42] The return date was May 30, 1746. The survey suggests that this was part of or near the land of the 1733 survey. [43] [44]
1748 A tract of 60 acres was surveyed for Henry Neff on April 26, in Hempfield Twp, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania [45]. The return date was November 29, 1762. [46] [47]
Pennsylvania Mennonite Vital Records includes notes for Henry Neff. [48] [49]
The Fellowship Brethren Genealogist Newsletter 1996 v28 n1 has more information on this family.
The Millette ancestry tree lists Anna Dill's birth as 1715 in Pennsylvania.
[1] Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online Dühren_(Baden-Württemberg,_Germany), content subject to change, [GlobalAnabaptistEncyclopedia].
[2] John F. Murray and William A. Neff, "Dr Francis Neff, The Lancaster Years, 1728-1739," Neff News, 17 (2007), 15.
[3] John F. Murray, "The Family of Henry and Barbara Neff of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 8 (October, 1985), 11-17, at 31, person 13, reports 1715.
[4] Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Genealogical Card File (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), [AncestryRecord].
[5] Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Genealogical Card File (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), [AncestryRecord].
[6] John F. Murray and William A. Neff, "Dr Francis Neff, The Lancaster Years, 1728-1739," Neff News, 17 (2007), 15.
[7] John F. Murray, "The Family of Henry and Barbara Neff of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 8 (October, 1985), 11-17, at 31, person 13.
[8] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed A-35, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[9] Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952, [AncestryRecord].
[10] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 493, [InternetArchive].
[11] Albert H. Gerberich and Gaius Brumbaugh, "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Tax Lists 1751, 1756, 1757, 1758," National Genealogical Society Quarterly 50 (1962), 2.
[12] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 493, [InternetArchive].
[13] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 493, [InternetArchive].
[14] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 494, [InternetArchive].
[15] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Tax Records, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[16] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Probate Records, Will B-100, [FamilySearchImage].
[17] Pennsylvania, Will and Probate Records, Will B-100, [AncestryRecord].
[18] Pennsylvania, Will and Probate Records, Index, [AncestryRecord].
[19] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Tax Records, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[20] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Tax Records, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[21] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Tax Records, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[22] Lancaster County, Miscellaneous Books 1742-1760, Part 3, 114, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[23] Lancaster County, Miscellaneous Books 1742-1760, Part 3, 115, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[24] John F. Murray and William A. Neff, "Dr Francis Neff, The Lancaster Years, 1728-1739," Neff News, 17 (2007), 15.
[25] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 494, [InternetArchive].
[26] Richard Warren Davis, Mennosearch.com Family Notes, Neff C3, [Website].
[27] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed D-46, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[28] Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed D-45, [FamilySearchImage], [FHLCatalog].
[29] Pennsylvania Land Warrant, Lancaster County, N-5, [PHMC Warrant].
[30] Pennsylvania Land Warrant, Lancaster County, N-6, [PALandWarrantLinks].
[31] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 492, [InternetArchive].
[32] Pennsylvania Archives Land Office Survey, C154-252, [PASurveyBookLinks].
[33] Pennsylvania Land Patent, A9-444, [PAPatentBookLinks].
[34] Pennsylvania Land Warrant, Lancaster County, N-18, [PALandWarrantLinks].
[35] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 492, [InternetArchive].
[36] Pennsylvania Archives Land Office Survey, C154-253, [PASurveyBookLinks].
[37] Pennsylvania Land Patent, A9-436, [PAPatentBookLinks].
[38] Pennsylvania Archives Land Office Survey, C154-254, [PASurveyBookLinks].
[39] Pennsylvania Land Patent, A9-434, [PAPatentBookLinks].
[40] Pennsylvania Archives Land Office Survey, C76-134, [PASurveyBookLinks].
[41] Pennsylvania Land Warrant, Lancaster County, N-46, [PALandWarrantLinks].
[42] William Henry Egle, Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 24 (Warrantees of Land 1) (1898), 493, [InternetArchive].
[43] Pennsylvania Archives Land Office Survey, C154-264, [PASurveyBookLinks].
[44] Pennsylvania Land Patent, A13-88, [PAPatentBookLinks].
[45] Pennsylvania Land Warrant, Lancaster County, N-51, [PALandWarrantLinks].
[46] Pennsylvania Archives Land Office Survey, C179-78, [PASurveyBookLinks].
[47] Pennsylvania Land Patent, AA3-511, [PAPatentBookLinks].
[48] Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Genealogical Card File (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), [AncestryRecord].
[49] Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Genealogical Card File (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), [AncestryRecord].