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JACOB NEFF (of Francis #7) was born on the Neff homestead on the North
Fork of the Shenandoah in 1766, married MARY STRICKLER, 24 Aug. 1793
(date on original bond) and died in Tennessee in late 1804. Mary was
born in 1777, daughter of Jacob and Magdalena Moomaw Strickler and died
after 1809. Children:
(1) MAGDALENA NEFF, b. 1794/5,
m. Henry Houser, 1814.
(2) JACOB NEFF, b. 1796, m.
Jane Bussey, 1817, to Rockingham Co. Va.
(3) AARON NEFF, b. 7 Apr.
1798, m. Sarah Gaines, 1819.
(4) ELIZABETH NEFF, b. c.
1803, m. Daniel Miller, 1822.
According to personal property tax records Jacob
came of age in 1787, putting his birth in 1766. He and Mary married in
1793 when she was only in her sixteenth year, according to a consent
note by her guardian, Samuel Strickler (from the original bond, State
Library, Richmond, Va. The 1794 date on the published record is
erroneous). Samuel Strickler was appointed guardian of Mary, daughter
of Jacob Strickler, 28 July 1791 and also received money from
Strickler's estate on her behalf (Shenandoah. County Will Book "D", pp.
44 and 68). Soon after marriage, along with Henry Lonas, Jacob Lonas and
Daniel Stickley, all from the Neff neighborhood in Shenandoah County,
Jacob went to Knox County, Tennessee and purchased land. Francis Neff
mentioned in his will that he had given his deceased son, Jacob, money
to buy land near Knoxville, Tennessee and was therefore leaving less to
Jacob's heirs.
It is not known if Jacob actually moved to
Tennessee with his family. He was living in Shenandoah County when he
wrote a short will in March 1802. In this will he referred to himself
as Jacob Neff of Shenandoah County, made no mention of his wife and left
everything to his beloved children, Magdalena, Jacob and Aaron. His
father, Francis Neff was to be executor of the will. Mary was in fact
still living at that time but it is not known why he made no mention of
her. Mary was named in the will of her brother Isaac in 1803 and was
still living as late as November 1809 when she was named in her sister
Magdalena's will (Shenandoah. County Will Books "F", p. 327 and "G", p.
409).
Jacob moved to Tennessee soon after writing this
will and died little more than two years later at the end of 1804.
Jacob Lonas appeared in the Knox County Court in January 1805 to qualify
as administrator of the estate of Jacob Neff "deceased" and an inventory
of personal property was filed at that time (Knox Co. Tenn. Wills and
Adm. Vol. II, p. 164). His property consisted of many specialized
carpentry and cabinet making tools as well as some furniture and
personal effects, indicating clearly that he was living and working
there at the time of his death. A sale of this property was held and
report was made to the Court in October, 1805 (Knox Co. Tenn. Wills and
Adm. Vol. II, p. 183) There are no records of his orphan children or
widow in Knox County). The will written in 1802 was presented to the
Shenandoah County Court in September 1805 but was unrecorded (file of
unrecorded wills, Shenandoah County Court House). The Jacob "Knave"
estate was taxed for 113 acres in Knox County, Tenn. in 1806 and Jacob
Lonas was named as the executor (Pollyanna Creekmore, Tennessee
Taxpayers, [Easley, S.C., 1980], p. 83). In a deed dated 10 Oct. 1808
Jacob Lonas, having paid off the debts of the estate and been repaid,
deeded Jacob's land back to his heirs.
Jacob Neff named three children in his 1802 will
but his share of his father's estate was distributed four ways in 1825
to Henry Houser, Jacob Neff, Aaron Neff and Daniel Miller (Shenandoah
County Will Book "O", p. 113). It is obvious then, that Jacob fathered
another child between March 1802 and his death in late 1804. The
children may have lived a short while with their father in Tennessee but
they grew up in Shenandoah County and most married there. John Neff,
younger brother of Jacob, has several children over ten in his family in
the 1810 census and Francis Neff had a female under age 10 in his
household. In November 1812, one month after the death of Francis Neff,
Aaron Neff, "orphan of Jacob" was bound to his uncle, Benjamin Gaines,
to learn the trade of a blacksmith. The indenture states that he was 14
years old, 7 Apr. 1812 (Shenandoah County Minute Book 1810-1816, Nov.
Court). Aaron married in Shenandoah County but by 1830 had returned to
Knox County, Tenn. Jacob Jr. lived in Rockingham County and died before
1840. His daughter, Mary, b. 1818, married her cousin, Henry Neff
Kagey. Jacob's youngest child, Elizabeth, who married Daniel Miller in
Clark County, Ohio, also lived with Benjamin and Magdalena Gaines after
the death of her grandfather and went to Ohio with them before 1820.
Jacob Jr. married Jane Bussey and lived in Rockingham County. His
daughter, Mary, b. 1818, married her cousin, Henry N. Kagey.
See the
Correspondence
Between Wayne Haston and Bill Neff Regarding this
Jacob Neff
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